old masters

Last summer I spent a week in western New York in a workshop at Quilting by the Lake. The instructor was Betty Busby.

da Vinci

Klimt

Monet

Renoir

O'Keefe

Munch

what we learn from sewing and quilting.

Night and Day

Many people tell me that they don't have the patience to make a quilt.  Sometimes I get the feeling that they think it's way too boring and pedestrian and crafty for them. They lead much more exciting sophisticated lives than people like me who like nothing better than an evening cutting fabric into little bits and then putting them together again.

Perhaps they are right. But I don't really think that an evening at the mall or perhaps the casino is more fun than what I do.

 I have learned a lot by making quilts.

i have learned that accuracy counts.

i have studied geometry in a real life situation. and i know how to use it.

i have learned how to simplify my life by taking one step at a time.

i have learned to ask for help when the project is too big or too unwieldly for one person.

i have learned that rotary blades are very sharp.

i have learned that being an introvert can be a gift.

i have learned that patience is a virtue.

i have learned to see design possibilities everywhere and how to interpret them into my quiltmaking.

i have made many friends and taken many adventures because i am a quilter.

There's more than one way to skin a cat

My father had a grade five education in a tiny one room school house yet he taught himself enough geometry to be able to make complicated staircases that were perfectly aligned. The first time he left the farm--it wasn't really a farm: it was the train station in the middle of the farmers field where his father was the station master---was to go to the army recruiting station and then to basic training before being sent to Europe to fight in WW2. He was 18 years old.

One of his favourite sayings was that there was more than one way to skin a cat. Really who skins cats? where did that saying come from? and why?

But he was right. Most often there is more than one way to do just about anything. Certainly there is more than one way to make a quilt for good example.

I have been working on another double wedding ring quilt. it's large and colourful. A woman in our sewing group came to see what I was making. She said "Oh a double wedding ring quilt. That's a pattern that's been on my list for a long time. I am going to make one soon. But mine will have all pieced arcs," and she walked away.

hmm. Was that a put down? I didn't make a real double wedding ring quilt--I cheated again? only pieced arcs make real double wedding ring quilts. Solid arcs are just about like using a cheater panel. and calling it a quilt.

Oh yes.It was a putdown.Not the first from this woman. She knows the way to make a quilt. The right way. and she's not afraid to let me know. She's one of the quilt police. She's there to protect and serve the status quo. The one and only way. the true north of quiltdom. Probably the next time she comes to sewing day she will have a perfectly executed double wedding ring quilt made. And it will be lovely.

The thing about making a quilt is that you can do it the way that you want to do it. Sure it's good to listen to someone who calls herself an expert. and it's certainly good to follow advice from experts if it works for you. If you have figured out another way to make a quilt and you like the way it looks...then do it your way. Follow your own expert advice.


And if you find yourself offering more advice than was solicited, think carefully.

IS IT HARD TO SELL A QUILT?

A FRIEND ASKED ME LAST NIGHT...Is it hard to sell a quilt?

My first reaction was Well yes its hard to SELL a quilt. People do not understand how much time effort and expense go into the making of a quilt....so its very hard to get the money that its worth for a quilt. Quilting has to be one of the most labour intensive arts there are. Fabric costs a lot of money. and time is money they say... so it costs a lot of money to make a quilt..and a lot of money to sell a quilt and get that money back..and make some money for the artistic and creative aspect of the art. Is there ever enough money to have to pay for the hours that you spend in the making of any art.

Calendar 2014

I sold this quilt. Its a calendar that I made in 2014. I made one block a day. marking time in fabric. It was in a show and was purchased by someone..I don't know who bought it or where it's gone but I am so honoured that someone liked it well enough to pay money for it and I hope they had a good spot to hang it.
In my head I have a picture of it hanging in a long hallway or maybe at the top of the stairs. Its colourful and interesting and I hope that the owner appreciated it. I think they do.

And then I realized that my friend was asking.  Is it hard to sell a QUILT? Is it hard to let it go? Is it hard to let go of something that you have spent so much time and labour making? Maybe.. maybe its hard to let it go into a new world where they might not really know why that quilt was made and appreciate all of the little decisions that made that quilt appear. Decisions about fabric choice and colour representations. Why you chose to do what you did when you made the quilt.

Is it hard to let it go? For money?

Calendar 2015

How long did it take you to make this quilt is a question that comes up frequently. And the answer is difficult. Sometimes a quilt takes a very long time from conception to completion. A deadline helps.

Well this one took a year--its a calendar representation of one year in my life...one block a day ..every day ..for a year.  That's a commitment that I didn't know I could keep. I am not a committed person.  I don't like to do the same thing at the same time every day. I am easily bored with routine.and I committed to making one block a day..every day for a year.

And I did it again.

And the third time I tried to start another one I failed. In January 2016 I decided not to start another one. I just didn't think I wanted to do it. Then in late June I decided that I would try again. It really doesn't matter when you start. So I started on July 1.and I worked for about a month and a half on my new project but I just really didn't enjoy doing it and I abandoned it mid August.

So now we are coming to the end of another year. I think I am ready for another year long commitment. I am going to start another calendar quilt.

 These are my rules.
 Fabrics from my stash..that's a given. I have lots and lots of fabirc in my stash.
one block a day..every day..no going ahead..or falling behind..one a day...
I think that I  will alter the layout a bit this year. I would like it to be more bedshaped ..I am not sure yet how I will arrange the block but I think it will work out.

For the other two calendar quilts I stitched the blocks together by month,,but I don't think I will do it that way this time.. and I stitched them together as I made them. I will do that for sure. I don't want to be left with a huge bag of blocks that need to be assembled at the end of the year.
And maybe I won't stop at the end of the year..maybe. I am leaving the finish date open. I might keep going for a little longer. (Ahhhh such optimism at the beginning of a big project)

Wish me luck.

Bloom where you are planted.

Some days I just wish I was in Paris....

Sitting at a table in a little cafe. Eating a croissant ....watching the beautiful Parisian women strolling by.
I have my dress..Its silk. it's printed with French themed graphics. The Eiffel Tower, bridges, French words. I am not sure where it is from or who made it..it doesn't have a label. It has that lovely warp construction that changes from copper to brown to purple depending on how the light hits it. Even the lining is lovely. I bought it in a thrift store.  I love it.....It will never fit me..

and here is a closeup.

It"s lovely. and I will probably cut it up someday to use in another project. But today I will just look at it.

I don't do a lot of dressmaking any more. I used to but now I find it just too easy to buy t shirts and jeans which form the staple of my wardrobe.

Instead I will sit in my little house near the corner and look out the window to this lovely display of early works by Jack Frost.

Thanks for stopping by. Keep warm.

Using what you have. Making do.

I love receiving fabric scraps from friends.I love little bits of leftovers and do-overs that my friends save for me. They save leftovers from their own projects and give them to me. Sometimes they are just tiny bits, sometimes larger scraps. Most of the time they are fabrics that I would not purchase myself. Someone else's taste. But that really is the special challenge of receiving them. Doing something meaningful--at least for myself-- with something that would otherwise be tossed into the landfill.


Recently a friend gifted me with this lovely kit.

It's a collection of hand dyed cottons and a pattern to make a quilt inspired by the quilt of Gees Bend. All contained in a lovey little screen printed bag.

The quilters of Gees Bend have come into notoriety because of their unique style of quiltmaking. Their quilts were made in isolation from the larger world. Their quilts were made of castoff fabric and worn out clothing. They were made in a very poor community in Alabama. The women are descendants of slaves.

And their work is strikingly beautiful. Graphic. Bold. Original. Unique.

The women didn't buy kits. They didn't buy patterns. They took what they had and made it fit. And in doing so they created their own beauty.

So what am i going to do with this kit?

I have decided to make a quilt with what I have. Make do. I won't follow the pattern. I will make my own pattern.

Many years ago my husband and I bought two quilts at auction. They were new, hand quilted. I loved them. I remember the day we bought them as if it was yesterday. A bold crisp autumn day. A little chilly but I wore my new jean jacket. I think it might have been 1989 or 90.

This is one of them. Its a bit bedraggled. Its been well used. Its been dragged about. Its comforted us. Its seen better days.

This is going to be the backing for my new Gees Bend inspired quilt. Making do.

I am going to put this on the longarm machine because i am going to use what i have. I am going to give this old friend a new coat. i am going to flip and fold strips of new hand dyed fabrics over the old quilt log cabin style and cover it completely. No machine stitching to show.

Now if you think well that"s easy--she has a long arm --how hard can that be? There are some logistical problems that i will have to solve as i go along. The beauty of the longarm is that the quilt will be supported on a frame. This also can be a bit problematic. The seams that run parallel to the frame will be easy to stitch. The seams that run right angle will be harder. there will only be about 18 inches to work on at a time. i will have to roll the quilt a few times to finish these seams--especially as the strips get longer and longer.

I pieced this center strip on my sewing The gold is from my stash.  I laid it onto the quilt following

the lines of the hand
quilting. I didn't measure.or center it. I just picked a spot. and then i started adding strips. Its a little harder to sew straight lines on the longarm. I have tried the channel locks which are just rings that attach to the wheels but don't find them convenient. you have to walk around the machine to adjust them every time and i find it annoying. Some longarms come with a button on the controls--something to investigate when purchasing a machine.

I am almost finished. I am going to make a few strips on my sewing machine before i go any further. I want the strips to be pieced and i can't do this without some machine stitching showing if i just flip and fold.

and them maybe I will do a little bit of hand stitching--maybe--

I will post more pics as the work progresses.
Thanks for stopping by...

Women's Work

 In Canada May 14. 1918 marked the passage of women's suffrage for most Canadian women.  Asian women were excluded. and Inuit too. One hundred years. Not really a long time but almost  unthinkable is the fact that it is so recent that a woman could have been not considered a citizen with rights and privileges and responsibilities.

Imagine today needing a man's signature in order to get a bank loan, or buy a house or a car. Or hold a job. or a credit card. What if you didn't have a male who would or could sign for you.

In my family it seemed like it was my mother who handled the money. who kept the books . who acted  as treasurer. My father went to work every day but left all of the accounting and bookkeeping in my mothers hands--but it was his signature on the bank books and the mortgage papers.

One of my favourite types of quilts are those that take a political stand.
Throughout history women have announced their political leaning in the work of their hands.



Schoolhouse quilts celebrated universal education. when my eldest went --escaped --ran headfirst--to university I made her a schoolhouse quilt. i don't know where  it is now.  Its been missing for a long time.

I made this quilt to honour my mother. its called Willingly She Works With Her Hands.

And that is what my mother did. She willingly worked. She worked at making a home for her husband and her children. She cared for her aging mother and then her aging aunt. She bore children into her menopausal years. last one at 42 years of age and called her a blessing. She did whatever she needed to do to keep our lives on track. And she did it willingly. And she was a maker. She crocheted doilies . I picture her sitting on the couch with her pattern and ball of cotton, hook in hand, crocheting another doily.

I stitched words from a love letter that my father had written to her from Italy during the war onto a slip that had been hers. It was the most I had ever heard of my father talking.And he was in love. nice.

She was of the generation that wore gloves, went to church and did everything their husband told her to do. She never wore those gloves, never went to church but she did follow directions from her husband. Even though she really was the brains of the family.

She married at the age of 20. She was a war bride; married my father after knowing him for several months. She gave birth to 5 children over 21 years. There was always a baby in the house. They were married for more than 50 years. After my fathers death, mom struggled.

I made this quilt to honor her in her struggles against dementia. She lost her way, her voice, her memory and finally her life to Alzheimers.