This week I am making my fourth stained glass quilt. The fabrics are luscious batiks, and the pattern showcases them nicely. Because people ask about the process I have started paying attention to what makes it successful. When I started eighteen months ago each block took a laborious two or three hours, with lots of ripping, recutting and deep breathing. Foundation piecing, which involves sewing on paper and ripping it off later, necessitates spatial reasoning and x-ray vision. This week I was able to finish each block in forty minutes.

One guideline I have learned the hard way is to be generous. It is difficult to explain the intricacies of why an extra half an inch can make the difference between a star block that works and one that has a gap. While I am usually frugal when it comes to batiks, which run twelve bucks a yard, adding a wide margin around pieces prevents frustration later. When the yard costs twelve dollars, a fat quarter is three, and the five inch triangle I am using runs me nineteen cents. I can afford to be generous with seam allowances. Actually I can't afford not to. 

The other day John was not ready when I wanted us to leave. I was right of course, we needed to be out the door in order to arrive on time. But then those two words came back to me. Be generous. Couldn't I give John a wider margin? Did it really matter if we were late? I sat on the sunny deck as he finished getting ready, and we left when we left.  

The best part was that I didn't bring any frustration with me. He is a good man, and I can afford to be generous. Actually I can't afford not to.