How small things get big

 

I know this is not a very good photo. It was taken by setting my camera on a ledge, aiming it at Gerrie, setting the timer and quickly plopping myself into the chair. It is not a good picture, but it is documentation. Another step on a journey. What we are doing is sitting at my dining room table and reviewing the final proofs of the Twelve by Twelve book., which, by the way, will be called "Twelve by Twelve, the International Art Quilt Challenge." It is being published by Lark Books and is due to be released in March, 2011.

When I was asked to participate in the Twelve by Twelve challenge group nearly 3 years ago none of us had an inkling of what was to come. A book? That wasn't even on our radar. It was just something fun to do. It was fun. It is fun! Spread around the world, the twelve of us got to know each other through our work, our blogs, the Twelve by Twelve blog and gradually we began to see that this might be more than we thought. Maybe an exhibit. Maybe a magazine article. Maybe...............................................a book? 

I think we all giggled a little bit about the idea, but the idea didn't go away and eventually someone said, "what do we have to lose? Let's see if any publishers are interested." The first one we approached wasn't. The second one was. And here's where I think we were really lucky. The people at Lark love our book. I think they love us! Our editor is as excited and enthusiastic as we are. Heck, what's not to love? I have to say this is the best group! (but it just as easily could have not been) Everyone has done their part. With patience. With humor—especially humor. And with respect. No nagging, no struggles, no divas.

I often wonder if this could have happened any other way, than the way it did. Could someone have said to themselves, "I'm going to assemble just the right group of twelve women for this project and we are going to make 144 quilts over a two-year period, and no one is going to drop out or make crummy work and we are going to post them on a blog and it is going to appeal to a lot of people and then we are going to write a book." Nope. I don't see that happening. I guess some things are that well-planned and actually happen, but I think this happened the only way it could have. Luck and serendipity, and kind of like eating an elephant. One bite at a time.