Riffing on Fabric

My latest inspiration came from a hand lettered sign on an overpass on the Maine turnpike.  It said "Never Stop Exploring."  I have no idea what the context was for the sign or what it meant to whoever put it up, but it got my mind going.

Ever since I took a workshop on diary quilts from Susan Shie years ago, one of my favorite things is to stitch words into my art quilts.  I start with a topic and see where it leads me.  During the last open studios at Western Ave., a woman commented on a piece of mine in the hallway that it looked like I was just riffing as I stitched.  I was delighted, because she captured exactly what I was doing, but I hadn't thought of it that way.

So here's my latest riff in progress.

I've been thinking about just what that phrase "never stop exploring" means in my life--learning new things, making new friends, trying new recipes.  One of the things I admired most about my dad was his love of learning.  At an age when many people retired, he learned to build Finnish masonry heaters and traveled the country building them for people who wanted to heat with wood without polluting the air.  I definitely want to follow in his footsteps in this way.  Creating this little quilt (12"x9") will help me think about just what that means.