A Sketch With Breakfast
Reply
Category Archives: quilting
Second Half of the Polka Dot Fabric Arrived!
Your fabric should either be here or in the previous post! All polka dot exchange fabric has arrived…60 squares!
Well, the second half of the fabric has arrived, and I spent the morning pouring over the notes, and fabric and addresses (just to see where everything came from). This whole event has been a fabulous experience…and I haven’t even started to work with the fabric!
Vilbert, Germany. Wisconsin. California. Illinois. Derry, Ireland. Canberra, Australia.
Then, of course, was the fabric square from Edyta Sitar, from Laundry Basket Quilts, who also participated and did a lot of promoting of the exchange on her blog.
At this point, I have an idea of what I want to create with all of the polka dot fabric, but I need to work out exactly what I’m going to do…I’ll keep you posted.
Many thanks to everyone who participated and to Prairie Stitches for coordinating. This has been a terrific experience and I hope we can inspire one another to great things with all of our polka dot creations!
Greetings, Polka Dot Exchangers!
Do you see your fabric yet??
OK folks, this is the first time I have ever participated in a fabric exchange. What a hoot!
So far, about half of the fabric has come in…I think. It was 60 that we sent out, so I’m guessing that it will be 60 that we receive. Just getting all the fabric is wonderful, but I am so pleasantly surprised and charmed by the lovely notes and greetings sent in each envelope!
I love quilters. No doubt about it.
And I am moved by some of the people in this exchange…like 85 year old Eula Mae in Kansas who’s been quilting for 65 years. Bless her heart. And Carollee in California who’s husband recently passed away and is hoping the polka dots will cheer her up. (Hi Carollee! Hope they cheer you up too! Aren’t they interesting to receive?)
As soon as I opened the first two or three, I decided to create a tiny scrapbook of the notes from everyone, which are just as lovely as can be, don’t you think? If you are receiving them, you know just what I mean–each one unique.
It’s also unbelievable to me the reach that was achieved on this exchange:
Texas. Washington State. Mississippi. Massachusetts. Californinia. Indiana. Virginia. Michigan. New Jersey. Colorado. And that’s just in the first half.
I can’t wait to start using all your fabric and I am SO grateful to all of you for participating!
If you want to send photos of any of your projects that you work on using the polka dots, feel free to contact me.
And I’ll keep up the posting when the rest come in!
I Must Be Crazy
And so it begins. The long task of hand quilting this baby, stitch by stitch.
I started with a lovely 28 wt. Aurifil, which I would highly recommend for machine quilting. But after a few minutes, I switched to a much heavier weight (8) Valdani cotton. I agonized over the two threads for a long time, finally consulting my husband who asked what would happen if I mixed them, or if, heaven forbid, I decided to machine quilt about half way through. What if you get bored, he asked, or frustrated, or your hands seize up from the constant grip of the needle, or carpel tunnel sets in, or arthritis? Will the quilt police come after you??
I thanked him for all the positive encouragement and cursed the fact that he knows me too well.
Meanwhile I decided on the Valdani. It will be a wee bit more expensive, but I love the obvious hand sewn look. At a size 8, this thread simply will not go through a machine, at least not as a top thread, and therefore is only used for hand work.
I love that it gives the whole quilt top a homespun look. I really do not want a quilt that looks like I purchased it at Pottery Barn (no offense to Pottery Barn, they have lovely merchandise.)
I just wanted something that could not be purchased anywhere. So, yes, as crazy as it may seem, I’m going with the large thread and the hand quilting.
According to my calculations, it takes me a steady 1 hour to complete a block, and in the quilt there’s approximately 108 blocks, plus the border. I would have no problem machine quilting the border, but for kicks, let’s add it in. If I worked an hour every single day, I could complete the quilting in 4 months. Skipping days here and there, 6 months.
Realistically… one year. So, boys and girls, this is not a project for the instant gratification crowd. This is an endurance sport. If you haven’t noticed, I’m trying to psych myself up for the task.
I can do this.
Even though I have lots of other projects I want to work on in between bouts of hand quilting, and you know, life.
I won’t bore you with the ongoing work, at least not too much. I’ll just give you occasional updates.
So call me crazy. Or call me overextended. Just don’t call me late for dinner.
How Many Quilts in a Lifetime?
One of the things I hear constantly in a quilt shop is “I wish I had more time.”
Usually someone is walking around a store, inspired by the work of others, inspired by the patterns, inspired by the fabric, just plain inspired. But what is it about quilting that brings out the lament, “I wish I had more time” ?
When I worked in a fast-paced, deadline-oriented job, I never heard those words. Never.
Something about the act of creating makes us wish we had more time. Or maybe it makes us wish we didn’t have to ever make any decisions.
But the truth is, we all make decisions about how to spend our time. Walking around a quilt shop, looking at all the work and beauty that goes into each and every project, we come face to face with the hard reality that none of us will ever be able to do it all. We simply cannot make all the quilts, travel to all the places, have all the adventures, meet all the people, have it all, be it all, do it all.
None of us. No matter how productive, no matter how many sewing machines, no matter how much time we devote, no matter how skilled, no matter how trained or talented, no matter how much balance or non-balance, no matter how hard we plan, or how well we implement the plan, no matter how. hard. we. try.
We cannot do it all.
And every now and then, we look at one another and while we’re in a safe place, we say the words out loud.
I wish I had more time.
On a good day, someone smiles, gives us a hug and replies, “Me too.”
Larger than queen size. Finally assembled and ready to be hand-quilted.
Color My World … with Polka Dots
I’m ready for the World Wide Polka Dot exchange.
The fabric has been cut. The envelopes are stuffed.
Now all I have to do is bring it all over to the quilt shop that’s sponsoring the event — Prairie Stitches Quilt Shoppe in Oswego.
Honestly, there’s still time if you want to join! It took me a total of about an hour and a half to 1. cut the fabric, 2. stuff the envelopes, and 3. add my return address labels.
I realize, of course, that this whole little event will mean I absolutely must create something with the fabric I receive from others. But that will be a fun little challenge I can take on over the summer. I’m leaning toward a sweet polka dot garden idea. With ricrac. Because what in the world is cuter than polka dots with ricrac?
Covering the World in Polka Dots
The thing about quilters is that they never seem to run out of interesting ways to connect to one another and to further their hobby/obsession.
This year, I am participating in a fun program from Prairie Stitches Quilt Shoppe in Oswego IL. It’s a Worldwide Polka Dot Quilt Fabric Exchange. You still have plenty of time to get involved, you just have to send or bring your quilt fabric to them before March 31. The details of the rules are here in their latest newsletter.
The basic premise is this: Cut 60 – 10 in. x 10 in. squares of polka dot fabric. Could be anything with polka dots. You know you have some in your stash or you can purchase it at any quilt store. The only thing they ask is that the fabric be quilt shop quality (no chain store stuff….we all know their fabric is of lesser quality).
Put each 10 in. square into a business size envelope with your return address in the upper left corner. Mailing address left blank. Bring all 60 envelopes (or ship them) to Prairie Stitches in Oswego. You have to call and sign up with them as they have a fee which they will use for postage and handling, and they’ll need to register your address.
Then just sit back and wait for 60 pieces of polka dot fabric from around the world to be delivered to your mailbox! That’s pretty simple! The fabric will start arriving in April.
What’s even more fun is they have a couple of Moda designers working on some great pattern ideas for your polka dots when they come in. Prairie Stitches says they have participants now from around the world…Great Britain, New Zealand, Australia and across the US.
So tell your friends everywhere to join in. The more the merrier!
Find out the details from https://prairiestitchesquiltshop.com/
Valentine’s Day – Then and Now
I don’t much care for Valentine’s Day.
In a lifetime, we probably only have one or two Valentine’s Days that stay with us, that capture our memory, that hold the actual magic we see in the sentiments on a card.
My first came when I was 12 years old and in 7th grade. An 8th grade boy found out I thought he was cute (remember those days…good grief my son is heading straight into that territory in the next couple of years!) and he gave me this Valentine. Yes, it’s been 40 years and I still have it.
It was a real card, bought at a store, just for me.
My favorite part is the note on inside.
ur 2nice 2b 4 gotten. It was a tweet in the days before twitter. A text message that can’t be erased.
Even in this era of Facebook, I don’t know where he is, if he’s still alive or if he’s a millionaire or homeless. And I am quite sure I am 4 gotten.
Fast forward about 25 years. My husband bought an engagement ring intending to give it to me on Valentine’s Day. But when he got the ring, he couldn’t wait another day and asked me to marry him on Jan. 31. That Valentine’s Day was the sweetest I can remember. Engaged, in love, happy.
This Valentine’s Day, I took to the sewing machine.
I created a little card for my husband using scraps and pieces of lace I had in the back drawers of my sewing room.
The flowers were cut from some old flea market hankies that were stuffed in a drawer for 15 years…no heirlooms to me, just hidden away so I pulled some out and found the perfect Valentine flowers.
I used the machine to add embellishments, sentiment and personalization. I also played with a little transfer artist paper to add musical notes that my husband would understand.
And of course I added the date. Because, you know, 40 years from now, this time in my life will be 2 nice 2b 4 gotten.
When I showed it to my son, he said, “I don’t think Dad is going to appreciate that.”
“Why not?” I said, not sounding at all crushed.
He just laughed and shook his 11-year-old-almost-a-teenager head.
Men.
Like I said. I don’t much care for Valentine’s Day.
Who Sews?
When I first started working again after our son began school full time, my neighbor and I were chatting about work. I told her that I worked for a woman-owned small business very close to home…a sewing store.
She looked at me quizzically and said…”Who sews?”
Behind her words were the unspoken questions of “Who has the time for that? Why would anyone take up such an old-fashioned, albeit charming, skill? Isn’t that what a grandma does?”
And I realized, that in the world of non-sewers, there seems to be a real lack of understanding of the whole sewing world/phenomenon.
Who sews?
Having spent a number of years in a sewing store now, I can give at least anecdotal answers to that question. But it may surprise you.
–Young moms. All you have to do is glance at etsy or pinterest to see this group. They will try anything with a sewing machine! And they are also the source for a lot of new fabric designs, patterns, and books.
–Newlyweds. Starting fresh, they get excited about creating together.
–Middle-aged women with highly stressful full time jobs. They sew for their sanity. Truly.
–Artists, artisans and crafts people, in general. Once they learn to sew, the ideas keep pouring in. One can never know it all. They find self-expression in the techniques and fellowship in classes.
–Men. They are usually drawn to the creative — tackling the technical challenges with gusto.
–People who are grieving or caregiving. Sewing is such a healing task, especially a quilt made of a loved one’s fabrics or shirts. Not long ago, a woman told me she spent the last year of her husband’s life working on hand quilting a wool blanket, and it kept her from losing her own mind, as her husband faded farther and farther away.
–Volunteers. If you ever want to know who makes pillowcases for cancer victims, quilts of Valor for the families of veterans, lap quilts for friends in chemo, quilts for women’s shelters, hospital gowns for kids in Haiti, and on and on and on, let me fill you in. Sewists and quilters. I don’t know anyone who hasn’t made something for someone else
–Retirees and empty nesters. Finally, finally, they decide to do something for themselves. Which is ironic, because the first thing they do is make something for their kids or grandkids.
–Anyone with a love of fabric.
Who sews?
Maybe the question should be:
Who doesn’t sew?
The Problem With Starting Projects
Yeah.
The problem with starting projects…or buying fabric for that matter…is that you have to finish them. You know what I’m talking about. Every single one of you has a project somewhere that has been lurking for, um, years. You’ve lost interest, moved onto something new and exciting. Or maybe you just haven’t had the time.
Well.
I hearby declare January the “Finish a Project” month. And 2014 the “Get Out From Under” Year. If, like me, you have projects waiting patiently for you to complete them, then let’s all agree to get one done in January.
We can’t do it in December and everyone knows why. Even if you will be completing projects in December they are likely gifts and you are under a deadline and those don’t count. We’re looking for the poor, neglected, procrastinated projects. We’re looking for the ones you gave up because it became tedious, or boring or difficult. We want to clear away that ever-growing stack of projects that get sidelined for a “higher priority”. Usually for me, it’s work or classes, or housecleaning, as if housecleaning will be on my list of life’s accomplishments.
Let’s find at least one that’s worth completing. I’m starting with the three shown below. I have no idea if I will be able to get one of them done in January, but I’m certainly going to try. The others will get incorporated over the course of the new year.
I know, without a doubt, that life will get in the way.
But that doesn’t mean I can’t try.
A fun Christmas Baltimore Album quilt. Needs a bunch more blocks put together, but a good January project. No chance I’ll get it done this Christmas, so a good one to work on during Downton Abbey episodes.
Definitely want to get this one done by spring. Problem is that it’s queen size. Won’t be easy to quilt on my machine at home. Dreaming of a longarm.
This is a grown up quilt. Complete with instructions, history of each block and reproduction fabric. I’m ready.