- Triangulation: The last word

Jude Hill has been talking about measuring in her Small Journeys on Spirit Cloth ... or more accurately, about not measuring. About trusting the process and one's own internal measure.

Which makes sense. When you think about it, we're all pretty good at measure. Think of tipping your head while looking at a picture on the wall and saying, "That's not quite level" ... then confirming it with a level, as if you really needed it.

For years I have reveled in clean-the-fridge cooking, where there always seems to be the right amount needed for a pasta or a salad, a soup or a sandwich. I made bread at my daughter's recently and there was just enough bread flour in the bag for what I needed. I love it when that happens.

But it takes practice to trust one's gut, to accept the unexpected, to internalize the measure of things.

And so ... Triangulation was a huge leap of faith for me. Made without measuring, without a plan ... strips of cloth torn and woven together ... then stitched and stitched and stitched again until its integrity was sure in my hand ... then wrapped around a piece of stuffing that had been free-cut from an old body-length pillow months before ... finally safety pinned and ladder stitched together.

Resting at last on the couch, a-side ...

or b-side, depending on how it falls ...

The top seam more obvious ...

the back seam less so (it's the second from the right) ...

There is much to be said for not measuring.