A Quilt of Quiet Intention
January is often filled with noise about resolutions and reinvention, but for me, it’s always been quieter than that. I think of it as a time for reflection and preparation — for choosing actions that move me forward, intentionally and thoughtfully. Sometimes that choice is bold and visible. Sometimes it’s something quieter: like deliberate rest, giving myself the space to recover so that I can meet the next day's work with clarity. Recovery, after all, is one of the most important parts of growth — not just in training, but in life.
Which Way? grew out of that mindset: not about finding a perfect path or forcing a fresh start, but about preparing the way forward, even when the way is a little murky.
A snowy sunrise at the park.
Early mornings have always been my clearest time. I'm what scientists call an “extreme lark” — happiest when the world is still dark and quiet, with a strong cup of coffee and a day not yet fully unspooled. During those early morning runs with Gracie through the barely-lit trails, I found the colors that shaped this quilt: soft corals, clear teals, and deep shadows. These are the colors of sunrise breaking through a winter forest. It's a peaceful kind of beginning — one that's deliberate, not rushed.
In designing Which Way?, I leaned into the messiness that often comes with decisions. I deliberately chose dark batiks and prints for the background — blacks and teals close in value — to create a tangle of directional arrows. They aren't perfectly clear, and that’s intentional. Real choices rarely are. They overlap, blur, and shift depending on where you're standing.
Against that layered, complex background, the stars stand out: bright, crisp points of clarity. They're not about having everything figured out. They're about catching those rare moments when you know, even briefly, which way you want to go.
Wherever you are this January — standing at a crossroads, starting fresh, or simply choosing to take a breath — my hope is that Which Way? offers you a quiet place to sew, reflect, and move forward with intention. Whether you approach this quilt as a meditation on movement, a reflection on choices, or simply as a design you love, there’s space here for whatever you need it to be.
There’s no race. No pressure. Just a pretty quilt.
