How modern is Modern?

Posted on April 14, 2013 by edges

Everybody knows quilting has taken a turn.

When I was growing up, even into mid-life, there simply wasn’t anything modern about quilting.

Quilting was traditional.

I inherited stacks of quilting books from my mother-in-law, all of them filled to the brim with beautiful designs pieced from blocks with special names, and techniques passed down from generation to generation. When you learned to quilt, you started with blocks that were already well-known: Log Cabin, Nine Patch, Flying Geese, Dresdan Plate, Drunkard’s Path (!), and don’t forget Sun Bonnet Sue.

To this day, I am fascinated by my mother-in-law’s quilts: her meticulous piecing, her hand-quilting and attention to detail, the HOURS and HOURS she must have put into many of them. They seemed unattainable to me, hallmarks of patience and perfection, dedication and perseverance.

Thank heavens, today’s designers have set in motion a quilting rennaissance. They’ve blown the lid off the quilting world and set new standards for what perfection looks like.

It’s fun. It’s colorful.

And it’s original. Of course, we all still need to learn technique. And good design never changes. It has an eye candy appeal that defies description. Young graphic artists have made their way into the world of sewing and quilting and given it new life.

People like Tula Pink, Kate Spain, and Angela Walters.

Years before the latest “modern” quilt trend seemed everywhere, I created this sample for the store. Such a simple design, taken from “The Modern Quilt Workshop” by Weeks Ringle and Bill Kerr. The book was published in 2005, far ahead of its time. Yet it paved the way for the kinds of things we are seeing out there now. Simple graphics, free form quilting, negative space, and color color color.

I love that traditional quilting is still as popular as it has always been. I love even more that quilting has opened up to new people who are using fabric and design in unusual ways. And most of all, I love that people seem to be making things, spending time thinking and constructing and using their imaginations and their hands.

Is that modern?

Wonder Clips

Posted on February 5, 2013 by edges

This one is for the quilters. If you are not already using them, these simple little clips are just the best thing since sliced bread. Made by Clover, you can probably purchase Wonder Clips anywhere online and certainly in your local quilt store. They are like the invention of the post-it or the paper clip. So simple I want to slap my head and say why didn’t I think of that? Of course, they are nothing more than tiny clips made the perfect size to fit on a quilt binding.

I will never use pins again on a binding, as these are so easy. And I just hate to be someone who endorses product because heaven knows, no one is paying me for the endorsement. But doggone it, go get yourself a stack of these for your next quilt. No getting stuck by the pins as you stitch on the binding, no bending your pins because the quilt sandwich is too thick. Just move these little guys along as you go. Easy as pie.

There. I did my good deed for the day.

Visit Your Local Quilt Shop Day – Thursday Jan 24

Posted on January 24, 2013 by edges

“When I stand before God at the end of my life, I would hope that I would not have a single bit of talent left, and could say, ‘I used everything you gave me’.” –Erma Bombeck

That quote stands 3 or 4 feet tall, posted high on the wall of our local quilt shop, Sew Generously in St. Charles.

I have seen first hand the heart, soul and plain old hard work that goes into running a small business. I have seen the dedication of owners and the passion of associates, teachers, artists, craftswomen and friends. I have seen fabric purchased based on the creativity and vision of youthful designers, classes and events offered to inspire, genuine support given to each other and to those in need. I have seen gentle encouragement of the next generation of sewists, artisans and leaders.

It is good.

So run, don’t walk, to your local quilt shop tomorrow. Show your support, let yourself be welcomed, and join in the community.

Ode to the Time-Consuming Project

Posted on January 20, 2013 by edges

The average sewist is looking for a project that can be completed in 3 hours or less–a weekend afternoon, an evening. It’s not a function of laziness or lack of commitment. It’s lack of time. It’s lack of time coupled with a need for instant gratification. There’s no doubt, we’re a society that wants to accomplish and create wonderful, beautiful things. We just want to do it in the sliver of time that’s free on our calendar.

So I started thinking about the types of things that CANNOT be accomplished in 3 hours:

–We cannot grow a healthy baby (or child, for that matter) in 3 hours.

–We cannot grow a garden in 3 hours.

–We cannot learn and become proficient at a musical instrument in 3 hours.

–We cannot become experts at embroidery software in 3 hours.

–We cannot get over a 24 hour stomach virus in 3 hours.

–We cannot grow up in 3 hours.

–And finally, we cannot complete a decent quilt in 3 hours.

And that’s OK. It’s OK because there are plenty of things we CAN do in 3 hours (cook a meal, paint a picture, meet with friends, spend time with our children, get a jump on the laundry. Nah, let’s not get into laundry. Let ‘s not get into cleaning our houses and the guilt that piles on us. That’s a whole other blog post.)

Back to quilting.

After Hurricane Sandy, I heard about a number of east coast quilt shops who began collecting clean, new quilts to distribute to those who had lost everything.

I resolved to make a quilt. No problem, I thought. I’ll dip into my stash of lovely fabrics, I’ll whip up something simple and send it out.

Right.

I spent at least an hour or two sifting through various fabrics, finding fabrics that complemented one another. Do these go together? Do I have enough of that? What will I do for backing? Will this pattern work? Am I short some of that color? Many of you are quilters. You know the process: the cutting, organizing, piecing, pressing.

The funny thing is, I never once stopped to think, “Gee, this is taking a long time.” I’d begin in the evening after work, continue on days off, after grocery shopping. I’d pick up again on a Sunday afternoon, an hour or two before bed.

For a few days, the pieced front was spread out on our bedroom floor. My husband obligingly stepped around it on the way to the bathroom, while I decided how to piece the back (I ran low on one fabric). The quilt then moved to our front hallway, the only space large enough to lay it out and create the quilt sandwich and pin baste it. Again, my family dutifully stepped around it while I was working.

Like reading a book, the process of quilting is something we squeeze into those moments when we’re not overloaded with something else.

If every time I started a project, I thought long and hard about the hours I would be required to devote to it, I would never start a thing. But the beauty of a quilt is that the process itself is relaxing, often repetitive. And, as rewarding as instant gratification may be, there’s a calm peacefulness to slow and steady progress. A finished quilt represents a season. Yet, as each step of progress was made, I thought about where this quilt was going. I thought about the people affected by the hurricane and I thought about how maybe this quilt could bring some comfort. Maybe. It’s a bit like prayer.

And 3 hours just isn’t enough time to pray for the world.

Done

Posted on October 8, 2012 by edges

Finally. It’s done.

I wish I were able to follow a pattern without making modifications and adjustments and tweaking in different ways. It might all be easier. Then again, it might not be so much fun. On this pattern, I doubled the amount of ruffles (because once I started with the ruffler, basically, I couldn’t stop). The bag has nine yards of pieced and bias-cut ruffles ON EACH SIDE.

Of course, it made the pattern bulkier, but very touchable. Really. Whenever I walk past the bag, I just want to run my hands over all those delicious ruffles. And sometimes I want to hug it. (Possibly because it’s stuffed with a pillow). I worried it would be too heavy, but turns out it’s just fine.

If you want to see it in person, stop by Sew Generously in St. Charles – any time after Tuesday Oct 9.

You may want to hug it too. Or make one of your own. The bag is modified from a pattern created by Kay Whitt in her book Sew Serendipity Bags.

I see a pillow in my future.

How do you know?

Posted on August 16, 2012 by edges

I’m visual. The universe speaks to me in form, shape, color and sometimes font style. I’d call it a subtext to reality, except that it’s not a subtext. It’s the headline, the feature show. And it’s taken me this long in life to realize it.

A few years ago, I took a local class about compelling issues, which included a video presentation during every session. The video was mainly people talking, expressing their points of view and providing intellectual insights. For whatever reason, the video director chose to periodically — sometimes in the middle of someone’s sentence — switch to black and white.

Now I’m sure this was done to get our attention and to make sure the audience stayed focused on the content. However, it had the opposite effect on me. Whenever the screen would switch to black and white, the whole context changed. For a few minutes afterward, I heard nothing, as the image took over and did all the communicating. I had to physically redirect my attention, and the sentences spoken in the interim were lost to me forever.

You may be visual too. If you are, you know what it’s like to:

–Purchase a book because you like the font on the pages.

–Recall the sunlight streaming into the church, the look on the pastor’s face, the swaying of the choir, but not a word of the sermon. (Don’t worry, I read it online again later.)

–Know instinctively by the looks on your friends’ faces how things are going.

–Have a desk that’s piled high because out of site means out of mind.

How do you learn? My husband and son are auditory. If I ask a question at home, to heads buried in books, computers, TV screens or even conversations, both of them can repeat back my exact words. They can quote characters from movies and cartoons and real life, having only heard a line spoken once. Astounding.

Or maybe you are tactile. I know you well. I teach sewing and machine embroidery, and believe me, many of you are tactile. You nod as we speak instructions, you understand when you watch the video. But until you are asked to perform the task yourself, all the effort just goes *poof*. Performing the task, touching the machine, pushing the buttons, head down, hands working, is the only way to make it stick.

The truth is, we all use various combinations of communication and learning styles. Most of us need to hear it, see it and do it.

The quilt in this post is a free pattern from Moda Bake Shop, made with Bella solids. I haven’t decided how to quilt it yet, but I’m thinking about a delightful chicklet-colored variegated King Tut from Superior. I’m not sure yet about the thread.

I’ll know when I see it.

Opening Our Eyes

Posted on July 29, 2012 by edges

Sometimes, I find the most stunning beauty right in front of my nose. Often enough, I’m sure I miss the moment, preoccupied with the trivialities of the day, the busyness of life. But every now and then a moment sticks, and I’m able to transfer, if not the actual beauty of a thing, than at least my interpretation of something I once thought was beautiful.

I thought I’d share a couple of landscape quilts. The first was from several years ago. I seem to have an ongoing fascination with trees. Living in the midwest, trees, sky and grasses are our landscapes. So that’s my focus. Occasionally, we’re lucky enough to find a bluff, or even a small hill, usually near a river. As much as I try to let abstractions come through, I still have a tendency toward realism. I’m working on it.

Last year, I met some friends for coffee in a coffee shop in a small town nearby. Quaint, cozy and lovely. As I waited for them to show, I gazed out the window at the chilly November view. I did a little sketch on the notepad I had with me. That sketch turned into this wall hanging. (yes, those are my toes at the bottom)

Lately, I’ve been experimenting with Spoonflower. If you haven’t checked out this website, you really should. What a hoot. You can download any graphic or photo and turn it into fabric — a fatquarter, a yard or 10 yards, depending on what you want to pay.

I printed up a couple of yards of this fabric. If you look closely, you’ll see that this is actually a B/W picture of reeds and their reflection in a very calm lake. The graphic on the fabric makes a wonderful nature-inspired abstract. I’m still not sure what to do with this fabric, but I’ll think of something in time. For now, I just get a kick out of knowing it’s designed from my photo.

Who Are You?

Posted on December 5, 2011 by edges

I never knew my mother-in-law.

She died of breast cancer a couple of years before I met her son. (www.breastcancerawareness.com)

She was a mystery to me–a woman in pictures taken long before I came into the family, a person my husband could not describe other than, “dark hair, not very tall”. As time went on, he characterized her to our son as someone who could terrorize small children into eating their supper. “Eat it hot now, or cold for breakfast,” my husband would quote her as saying.

This always makes me smile. Because while he remembers her as a mom, I’ve grown to know her as a person–through her quilts.

Now I don’t claim to be a Quilt Whisperer, but I’ve done enough quilting to understand the process. And it is a process, you know: choosing a pattern or designing your own, selecting fabric, color placement, cutting, piecing, and on and on. If you’re not someone who enjoys the process, (Are we there yet, are we there yet?”) don’t even start.

Yet so many choices are made along the way, that by the time a quilt is finished, it’s very much like a life story. Some days, I’m so tired of the colors in a certain quilt that I can’t wait to be done with it and pitch it into a corner. And much like certain books, sometimes I’m so attached to the work, that last stitch of binding is bittersweet, knowing that I’ll never recreate this quilt again. The fabric was so lovely, the process so fulfilling and the time of my life so remarkable, that I’m sorry to have it all end.

Even an ugly quilt has its place in my life. I dedicated precious time, effort and creativity to bring it into existence. Every stitch in every quilt tells my story.

And so it is with my mother-in-law. Her quilts tell the story. Little by little, piece by piece, I learn about her by watching her grandson snuggle under a quilt made long before she knew precisely who would enjoy it.

Edgestitch

Sewing is life. Life is art.

Category Archives: quilting