Introduction

Last week after CUTTING all the shapes needed for our I Ching Modern Quilts we placed them in paper bags for blind random drawings. This week we go through the complete process of TRANSLATING and SEWING a quilt block based on ASKING, CASTING, and READING an I Ching hexagram.

Information

Asking

Since I’ve moved to San Francisco Bay Area four years ago, I’ve had a hard time focusing on my creative process. Mainly because relocating across the country and from a smaller city to a major metropolitan area has required most of my time and resources.

So my question for the I Ching today is:

I’ve lost my inspiration. How do I nurture or find it again?

Casting

I cast my three coins six times to get my answer or hexagram. (circled in orange above).

Reading

WAITING with line one changing into THE WELL. Here are a few of my notes:

The overall situation: WAITING – Wait patiently with truth and confidence. This is ACTIVE waiting which begins an engagement with the world. Thrive in the moment. Revitalize my relationship with what provides and nourishes me.

Where I am now: Line 1 changing – take in wider spaces and the longer views. Don’t rush to the center of action or focus on a single issue. By seeing my desire as a small part of a larger landscape I will be able to see the potential and realize it. Consistently act in a way that invites the possibility nearer.

What this means specifically for me: THE WELL – I have transplanted my center and changed everything about my life, but I can not carry the well with me. The well is a shared resource and everyone must coöperate to build and maintain it. I have to rebuild the well here. I have to develop my community. Community is the source of inspiration for me.

What a great reading! It’s applicable to my creative life and my personal life. I’m already thinking of ways to put this answer into play.

Translating

1. Solid and changing, so I pull BLINDLY from the bag with bright strips.
2. Solid and unchanging, so I pull from the bag with dark strips.
3. Solid and unchanging, so I pull from the bag with dark strips.
4. Broken and unchanging, so I pull two from the bag with dark rectangles and one from the bag of light rectangles.
5. Solid and unchanging, so I pull from the bag with dark strips
6. Broken and unchanging, so I pull two from the bag with dark rectangles and one from the bag of light rectangles.

Sewing

Sew strips in the order of the hexagram from the bottom up. Keep a 1/4 inch seam allowance throughout.

For precise alignment, pin seams going in opposite directions.

Assignment

Begin translating your hexagrams into blocks and sewing them together.

In the overall quilt I am aligning my blocks in the order that I cast them – in rows from the bottom right hand corner moving up and to the left. The image below includes a block based on the first hexagram I cast for this project, MARRYING MAIDEN, with the one I cast today, WAITING to THE WELL, sewn above it.

Over the next several weeks I will continue to create and sew my modern I Ching blocks according to the hexagrams cast as I divine and clarify what’s next for me on my creative journey. I hope you will follow along and create your own I Ching Modern Quilt!

Please comment with any questions you might have.

It’s never too late to join an online quilt-along! I’ll be posting new segments of the quilt-along on Mondays. Access the archive and subscribe to the RSS feed here: I Ching Modern Quilt-along. I’ve set up an I Ching Modern Flickr Group if you want to share images of your sketches, process, and final results.