Don’t mention the “p” word!

Please join me in welcoming today’s guest blogger Munaiba Khan.

Perfection. It is the bane of many people’s lives. It prevented me from doing something I loved to do for almost 35 years. How silly is that? One day I had the proverbial “ah ha moment” when I realized there is one thing sadder than not doing something perfectly. That is, not doing it at all, even though you love to do it, just because you can’t do it perfectly.

Once I realized this I started quilting. That was only two years ago. In fact I finished my first hand-pieced and hand-quilted lap quilt in October 2008.

I love to sew by hand. I find it therapeutic, meditative and rewarding. The quilts I make are not perfect but I enjoy making them and other people like them too. I’m not looking for ribbons to validate my quilts. I just want to try to make something I think is beautiful.

One day while blog surfing I came across Rossie’s blog and a link to a talk she gave which I watched. She spoke about the concept of Wabi Sabi and the beauty of the imperfect and I just knew that this was the way for me. I wrote about this in my blog post – A confluence of inspirations – if you’re interested.

Wabi Sabi is a Japanese term for the aesthetic of the “impermanent, imperfect and incomplete”. I used this inspiration to make a quilted meditation mat and meditation stool cover which you can see here:

It’s made from recycled linen, is simple and, I think, elegant and useful and I believe it embodies the Wabi Sabi concept. It certainly isn’t “Perfect”.

I invested in some books on Wabi Sabi and in Diane Durston’s – Wabi Sabi – The art of everyday life. I found the quote you can see below which I think just about sums it up.

People throw away what they could have by insisting on perfection, which they cannot have, and looking for it where they will never find it. – Edith Schaeffer

So forget the “p” word. If you love something do it anyway. And you know what? The more you do it the better you will get and you can’t ask for more than that.

Happy quilting.
Munaiba Khan

Want to be a guest blogger? (scroll to the bottom). I’m now booking November’s guests.