i just posted a version of this over on MQResource, and then decided to post it here, too, apologies to those of you that might see this twice.

I pieced this quilt as a shop sample, I designed the quilt (and you can download the free pattern from the shop blog).

When I quilted it, I wanted something fast and simple, like an allover loopy meander.

Now, since I started quilting, I’ve always quilted my allover loopy meander such that I always changed direction after each loop, like so:

Apologies for the terrible mouse drawing.

Well, the stripy fabric that I used in the quilt had these squiggly lines on it and I had an epiphany:

Look!  The loopies don’t always change direction!!!!  Did you know that you CAN actually quilt meandering loops that DON’T change direction after each loop?  Deep down, I’m sure I did know this, but I was so used to making myself change direction, I didn’t even think about it anymore.

So, this is how I quilted it, and you are going to have to suffer through another bad mouse drawing, because the quilting doesn’t actually show up in photographs.  It does look quite cute in person on the quilt:

I was pretty irritated with myself when I realized I was doing something “just because” someone told me that’s the way the loops had to be.  I hate that kind of thinking: “that’s the way it’s always been done” is like nails on a chalkboard to me.  Yes, I realize that this is a pretty minor sort of epiphany, but it’s got me wondering.

What other “rules” do I subconsciously follow in my quilting??  Sure, there are some that I follow because they make sense to me, or because I’ve learned from experience that that is what works the best — but what are the things that I do just because I was told to do so?

Of course, I can’t think of any others right now, but I thought I’d open the challenge up to all of you, my beloved blog readers.

What sorts of things do you do because someone said you HAD to do it that way? Maybe you could take some time to think about a different way to do them, or maybe you will discover that the way you do it really does make sense to you!

My challenge to you:  go break some rules, challenge some assumptions, and try something new.

And then come back and tell me about it.  Or post about it on your blog, but be sure to leave me a link so I can read about your rule-breaking ways.

Suzanne