March 2012 – Page 2 – Artquiltmaker Blog

Book Review: The Creative Habit

The Creative Habit: Learn It and Use It for Life by Twyla Tharp

I started this book some time ago after I received it as a gift. I didn’t get very far as it didn’t grab my attention and other books elbowed their way to the front of the line. I, finally, decided to get serious and really start reading it. One of the best things about it so far is that Twyla Tharp describes creativity as a habit. While that sounds much more boring that creativity being a flash of light from God, it is much more comforting for me. I can develop a habit; I can’t really wait around for a flash from God.

I took the first test and had a hard time with some of the questions, but found that I got into it as I went on. I also gained some insight and was able to go back and fill in other answers I had skipped.

Not being a student, I don’t sit with my books at a table and read and write notes or take tests. I like the tests and think they are useful, but the tests came up periodically, usually at times when I didn’t have a writing implement or the time to devote to the test. This was one of the reasons I got stalled.

Eventually, I just started to read the book, not do the tests and underline words and phrases that spoke to me. That was a much better plan and I got a lot out of it.

I plan to take bits I underlined out of the book and write about them here. Look for those snippets or review-lets in the future.

View all my reviews

EBHQ Show

On Saturday (National Quilting Day!), I went to the Voices in Cloth Show, which is put on every 2 years by one of my guilds, the East Bay Heritage Quilters. Friend Julie of High Fiber Content, Mom of Mary’s Art Musings and TFQ of No Scrap too Small made up my carpool.

It was a great show! I would say that the overarching theme that I saw was color: GLORIOUS color and not just in the Kaffe Fassett way. The colors of the show were colors that I use and I realized that it must be the light in our area. The bright colors can stand up to the bright light we get.

The location was new and I was reluctant to go, but I couldn’t back out after promising to drive 3 other people I would drive them. I am glad I went. I wasn’t able to take the train, which was a big downside, but aside from the quilts being gorgeous, the space was wonderful! There were huge windows and lots of natural light that made for a pleasant viewing experience and showed off the quilts to their best advantage.

We had a respite from the rain, which poured down in buckets yesterday. I was glad, because although I could have taken our heavier car, I didn’t really want to. I don’t drive it much so am not as comfortable driving it in heavy traffic. I am glad I had the option.

The clouds were still dark and looking like they would let loose anytime. The clouds made for beautiful views out the windows. I could see at least two bridges and some of the islands.

One of the first things I did was drop the Food Quilt off to my quilter. She had a booth at the show and I was so glad to see her. She is down until at least April 18, so I have time to bring two more quilts over. I have FOTY 2011 and the Stepping Stones in the queue. Also, perhaps, with any luck, I can finish The Renewed Jelly Roll Race and bring that one to her, too. That is a lot of quilting in a month!

I am not sure if this quilt by Carolyn Brien is my favorite of the whole show, but it does epitomize the color and vibrancy of the show.

This is a great, classic pattern. Carolyn said that she was inspired by the cover of Kaffe Fassett’s book, Quilt Romance.

The food situation was a little dicey. For me, I always bring something, because I never know if there will be food I can eat. In this case there was a restaurant next door to the venue. They supplied the box lunches, but we went into the restaurant to sit down for awhile. It was over an hour from the time we walked in the door until the time we had food set in front of us. Some of my companions were about to start gnawing on their own limbs by the time the food arrived. I wasn’t really very hungry and there was very little on the menu I could eat, so I wasn’t terribly enthusiastic about the meal anyway. The restaurant near the venue is a great idea, but they just did not have enough tables and waitstaff to accommodate the crush of quiltmakers. I think next time they should arrange for the gourmet food trucks to come. That would be awesome!

One thing I was asked to do was a beading/embellishment demo.I am not sure why they pegged me for beading (perhaps someone saw Kissy Fish?), but it was fun. It lasted about half an hour. I showed them what I do, which is VERY basic, answered questions and then was done. I am embarrassed to say that I did very little preparation. I got out the Garden quilt and decided to use that as an example. I meant to quilt it, but just didn’t take the time, so I went ahead with the demo without the quilting. I did tell them to machine quilt it before beading is usually the best route. It was fun and I was glad to have recently completed Kissy Fish, so the process was fresh in my mind.

I also did a bit of fabric damage and bought some beads. I actually have some ideas for some of the pieces. I seem to be falling into the grey fad. I bought a large piece of a background grey on spec (lower left corner). TFQ bought some as well. She will test the pattern I am writing with it and some Bali Pops Tonga treats.

All in all it was a good day. I am glad I went.

Sonja Journal Cover

I found myself needing a journal cover last Sunday when I finished the last page of my previous journal and was facing the naked cover of a new one. Since I was wrecked from the Daylight Savings Time change, I thought a journal cover would be an easy project. It turned out great and it warmed me up for working on some of the diamonds.

I wanted to use as much of the fabric intact as possible (this is one of the big problems I have with hand dyes. I find them too luscious to cut up!) so as to preserve the dots. The dots didn’t land exactly where I would have liked them to land, but they are good.

I call this my Sonja Journal Cover, because my friend Sonja made the fabric-well, dyed it or waxed or somehow made the pretty color and applied the pretty dots.

CREATE…Again

Some time ago, I posted a photo of the letters Lil Sissy bought for me. I have been feeling bad that I hadn’t put them up on the wall, so I finally did it. The Young Man came upstairs and helped me and now they are up and inspiring me. Lil Sissy thinks the C is too small, so I am expecting a new ‘C’ sometime. I’d love to get similar letters and spell out other words all around the wall, but one thing at a time. I think that these letters stand out much more than the temporary paper letters.

Various & Sundry 2012 #4

You might have noticed that I am changing settings to disallow comments on some posts, but mostly pages. Sorry about that, but some of my tutorial pages are getting hammered with spam. You can always comment in other ways (see below), if you have questions and I will be sure to answer.

Quilt World News

Quilter’s Newsletter Magazine is coming out with an Internet TV show. They finally sent me a promised issue after they cancelled Quilter’s Home and the notice was in that issue.

The headline of this article grabbed me. Women are Fabric, Quilts Reflect their Strength. There is a lot in those few words. I think of the current firestorm surrounding THAT talk show host (whose name shall not appear in this blog; please do not write it in a comment. I will edit your comment!). I think about whether we are strong and what that strength means. I think about how we hold our communities together. I think about what we could do if we banded together. What comes to mind for you? BTW, the article talks about an exhibit at the United Nations. “The exhibition, which will be on display from 5 March through 30 April, is presented by UNFPA, the UN agency that delivers a world in which every pregnancy is wanted, every childbirth is safe and every young person’s potential is fulfilled. The Fund is on the ground improving lives in more than 140 countries.”

And from the Knitting Department: Did you see the Yarnbomber’s London 2012 Olympic installation on a Saltburn-by-the-Sea pier overnight. Apparently, nobody knows who did it, but it is pleasing the locals. There are gymnasts, rowers, synchronized swimmers (my fave!), weight-lifters, skiers, and many more. The detail is amazing!

WOW!

Check out these patchwork couches and chairs! Quite Bright. I like the shape of the couches.

Resources

Quilting Arts (Quilting Daily) has some free eBooks on quilting including something on Jelly Rolls. I haven’t checked them out, but will consider doing a review. What the heck? They are free.

In two days, Fran Gonzalez will start teaching an EQ7 class. The first of Fran Gonzalez’ wonderful online EQ7 classes, EQ7 Sampler, starts on March 23. Fran guides you beginners as you explore the libraries, draw and color blocks, and design quilts. This 4-lesson class is the first class in Fran’s 4-class series, and the pre-req for taking the more advanced classes. Sign up now.

Other Artists

Friend Julie of High Fiber Content fame has her quilt, The Word for the World is Water, on display at the Atkinson Public Library and in a news article. Her name is even mentioned! That means she is now searchable on databases to which I subscribe at work!

Julie also posted some great photos of the Purple Journal. The photos are so clear!

Patsy Thompson has had some quilts, parts of quilts, her sewing machine and other quilt and teaching related items stolen from her car in Corbin, Kentucky. Sigh. Really? She writes about it on her blog. Other artists such as Bonnie K. Hunter are helping to let people know. Spread the word and look for the quilts.

I really like what Danny Gregory says about his own work in this essay on the Altered Page blog. he writes, partially:

“My art is an opportunity to reflect on the everyday, from the clutter on my desk to my neighbor’s fruit stand, from what I ate for lunch to my unfolded laundry. In recording and meditating on it, I find beauty and significance in the things I do.”

The everyday is what we do. Every day we walk to work, get a coffee, drive children to school, fold laundry, take dogs for walks, cook. I think I need to notice the beauty in the every day things. I need to find their value, create joy in doing those things and use them in my creativity. What do you think?

Find out about Mark Lipinski’s fetish with Pink in the interview with him over at Bumble Beans Inc..

Commitment to Creativity

I am constantly haranguing you to do the creative prompt. People like QuiltRat and SherriD and XXX create responses. I do responses, but have become inconsistent lately. Reading Danny Gregory’s blog, I found this great quote:

“First of all, he insists that they consistently make pages: they work on them at home and in school and their grades are based on their consistent commitment not on any evaluation of the work itself. Nonetheless, the quality was really high and it was clear that they had spent a lot of time and thought day after day.” (Quotes and highlights are mine)

I need to be consistently committed to my sketchbook and drawings. I wonder, though, how that fits in with my quiltmaking. I normally don’t sew during the week. With work and everything it would just be too hard, but lately I have been snatching every second I can to sew. I am consistently committed to my quilts, but do I have the time to expand that commitment to drawing as well? I wish I had a teacher like the one described. I think I would be in a different place right now. There is a list of resources at the end of the post.

You can email me at jlapac[at]gmail[dot]com, but please continue to place relevant comments on the related post. It helps to keep me organized! Thanks.

26 Projects Update – March 2012

Here is the list, again, still in no particular order. This time I have moved the finished pieces off. 22 WIPs left!

~~Stars for San Bruno #3~~: Quilted; applying binding
~~Food Quilt~~: needs quilting, backing and binding.
Jelly Roll Race: top cut into diamonds. Sashing being applied; diamonds being sewn together into chunks.
Original Bullseye: needs border, backing, quilting and binding. Went rummaging through my fabric closet to find this top, because I was fired up to put the border on. I couldn’t find it. It is lost. I know it is in there somewhere. I am also working on my border idea and have definitely decided not to put that particular border on this quilt, if I ever find it, but I am glad I am doing the test.
Corner Store: foundations cut; some blocks made, triangles pinned to foundations and ready to sew.
Spin Wheel: really not started, but supplies gathered.
Infinity blocks: I know where they are.
A-B-C (A-Z) BAMQG Challenge – I am actually not sure if this should be considered a WIP, because I don’t really have enough blocks with which to make anything yet. I am making good progress. This month I need to make K and L blocks.
Aqua-Red Sampler – steady progress has stopped and the class more than the quilt is really weighing on my mind. As far as I know Frances has still not finished her Dresden Plate. I really don’t know what am I going to do with her? The next class was going to be fusible machine applique’, but I haven’t gotten past cutting out the templates. Perhaps I should skip to machine piecing curves?
The Tarts Come to Tea: I haven’t quilted on this since April 2011. I need to work on the quilting. I was making good progress and then got sidetracked.
~~FOTY 2011~~: ready to go to the quilter.
Flowering Snowballs: I decided not to abandon this project, partially because I am so far along and partially because I need a hand project.The templates I made for the border blocks really helped me do a vast amount of cutting in a short time last Friday. All the cutting for the border is done. One corner block made. I am on my way!
Garden: decided to use this piece for my beading demo for the 2012 EBHQ Voices in cloth show (March 17). It will get me moving on that project again, too.
Flower Garden: I still find the ‘flowers’ too spiky. I think I need to soften them up a bit.
Moon and Stars: need to finish handquilting. This quilt is not interesting.
Pointillist Palette #4
See: needs satin stitching.
Self Portrait
Spiderweb
Under the Sea: class project; like the design, but not the colors much.
Flower Sugar Hexagon: sewed more hexagons together. Sewing Y seams is a bit of a chore, so I get tired of doing it after awhile.
Young Man’s t-shirt quilt: have cut up the t-shirts and am in the process of applying fusible.

Finished or Abandoned:

Stars for San Bruno #2: Finished! YAY!
Pavers. Finished! YAY!
Kissy Fish: Finished! Yay!
Pineapple: Abandoned; will remake blocks at a later time with more care.

Inspiration Monday

Just to clarify: I saw this flower at the Embarcadero. It is not called an Embarcadero Flower.

Auburn

My DH is on the board of an organization that supports California history. Their charitable foundation supports efforts to repair of craniofacial deformities (such as Cleft Palette- click to find the donation form, even $5 helps a kid). Mostly he goes off to different places around the state and looks official, kisses babies and shakes hands while I stay home and deal with the Young Man or laundry or sew. [Not so much baby kissing really goes on. I am trying to be funny, but you get the idea. 😉 ] When I do attend, the events can be challenging for me, because I don’t attend many and have to work hard to remember people’s names, smile and be sparkling.

About two weeks ago, DH asked me if I wanted to go with him to an event and I said no. Give up a whole day of sewing? Forget it. He said we could go to quilt shops, which was unusual and caught my attention. I thought about it for a few days and decided to go. We have been running past each other for several weeks, kissing each other while one of us is on the way out the door to work or another meeting or to drive the Young Man somewhere. I thought it would be nice to spend some time with him and maybe catch up on discussing stuff about the house, life etc. Also, this time of year is gorgeous in the Gold Country.

I decided to go, so Friday night (after mind-prepping all week), I prepared some of the border pieces for the Flowering Snowball. I only have the border left to make to complete this quilt and, since I am a terrible, nervous passenger while riding in the car, it is a good time to hand piece. I cut boatloads of patches, but only finished this one block. Unfortunately, the ride back was too dark to piece. It doesn’t matter. One block is great and as soon as I finish the Stars for San Bruno #3 binding, I will have a lot of hand work I can do while watching TV when the boys are out.

As an added bonus, the hand piecing enabled me to chalk up my 15 minutes of sewing in for Scientific Quilter‘s 15 Minutes a Day Challenge (#mal15 on Twitter). As another added bonus, I got back in the groove to finish this project in the not too distant future.

As expected, the drive was beautiful and not too long on the way up (on the way back, we were both tired, it was too dark to sew and neither of us could gather the energy to talk much, though I tried since DH was driving and sleeping while driving isn’t very successful, usually). Auburn is about 2 hours away from us. My normally quiet and mild mannered, easy going DH becomes a speed demon on the road, which is entertaining when I think about it objectively. We all need to let loose sometimes.

We participated in an event at noon and then went to lunch with some of the other board members and their wives. I always get the question about why I don’t show up more so I give my standard “In order for my DH to attend the events that he does, I need to stay home and manage the Young Man.” Of course, this line is delivered with a sparkling sorority smile and the right amount of humbleness and apology. 😉 This time one of the other wives who has taken a shine to me, said it for me. I was thrilled. She has, apparently, taken a shine to me and actually remembers what it was like to have kids at home. In terms of age, the organization skews older. Many of the men are retired. I know they forget what it was like to have to work and drive kids around to soccer, Scouts, tennis, Quiz Bowl, to hang out with friends, etc.

After the lunch, we walked around to try and find a quilt store (DH was quite insistent), but it turned out that they had gone out of business. I wasn’t very enthusiastic, but he insisted that I look for another one. I found one called Howell’s Sew and Vac.Their quilt shop quality fabric is on $5.99 a yard! They don’t have much, but the woman at the counter said that she was trying to slowly ad more. They had an interesting selection of rulers. I bought a half diamond ruler. Aside from the fact that I am a ruler sucker, this ruler would have been really handy for FOTY 2010 and the Renewed Jelly Roll Race. I wasn’t planning on making another diamond quilt, but if I do, I will be ready. I wasn’t really in the mood to buy fabric. Shocking, I know, but there you have it.

It looks like Howell’s is trying to make up the void left by the other quilt shop. I hope they succeed. The shop looks like a normal Sew and Vac type shop, but there is plenty of parking and I think they could really create a community there.

We also looked at a few antique stores, but didn’t see anything of interest. i lookf or Desert Rose china for my aunt and SIL. I look for my silver pattern and interesting sewing machines and implements. I don’t want to collect sewing machines, but you never know. There was a pink Necchi for sale at one, which made me think of Darla the Scientific Quilter and her recent Necchi adventures.

The flowering trees were wonderful. In case you hadn’t noticed, I love flowering trees. It is a profound disappointment to me that the flowering quince in my front yard has never flowered. I am not a gardener, but I do try and treat it nicely.

In general, I like to look for interesting patterns and shapes when I am out of my normal habitat. Because of the beautiful sun coupled with the clouds, there was a lot of opportunity for good pictures that will, with any luck, find a way to inspire me in future quiltmaking project.

All in all, it was a nice day. I enjoyed having some time with DH and checking out the great views. I could do without Daylight Savings Time today, but nobody asked me.

Design Series: Repetition

Sandy and I got together, virtually, of course, and recorded another episode. This time the topic was Repetition, which is a Principle of Design. Repetition is closely related to Unity, another principle of design and a topic we discussed in this series previously. If you didn’t listen to the Unity podcast, you would be well served to listen to it before you listen to this one.

As a reminder, the design definition with which we are working is: Design is a problem solving activity within all the arts, placing or creating subject matter so it is of visual significance and interesting to the artist. (from The

“The principle of repetition is very versatile. It not only promotes the existence of unity, but it plays a significant role in the appearances of the principles of rhythm and harmony (Adventures in Design, pg. 97)

Definitions of Repetition:

“[Repetition] provides visual clues to help move the eye about the picture. Similarities in elements reinforce the viewer’s recognition of symbols, strengthen the rhythm, encourage movement, and produce patterns. Introduce variations of repeated elements to prevent boredom.” (Liz Berg handout entitled Principles of Design from “Design the Abstract Quilt” workshop). Nota bene: When she uses ‘elements’ in this definition, she doesn’t mean design elements, but elements in the design; parts of the design, e.g. repeating a checkerboard at various intervals.
“We use the word repetition to describe the practice of using design elements over and over again” (A Fiber Artist’s Guide to Color & Design, pg. 124)
An element that repeats in various parts of a design to relate the parts (The Quilter’s Book of Design, 2d ed, pg.155)
“Repetition in design is simply repeating one or more elements. (Wolfrom, Adventures in Design, pg. 97)
“…something simply repeats in various parts of the design to relate the parts to each other. The element that repeats may be almost anything: a color, a shape, a texture, a direction or an angle.” (Pentak & Lauer, pg.28)
Provides visual clues to help move the eye around the image. (Liz Berg handout entitled Principles of Design from “Design the Abstract Quilt” class)

“…repeated elements will help bring unity to our artistic creations.” (Art+Quilt, pg. 80)

“A definite focal point is not a necessity in creating a successful design. It is a tool that arts may or many not use, depending on their aims. An artist may wish to emphasize the entire surface of a composition over any individual elements.” (Pentak & Lauer, pg.57) One way to do this is to repeat a motif or element.

In Andy Warhol’s 100 Cans painting, there are “a hundred repetitions of precisely the same image with no change, no contrast, and no point of emphasis. But the repetitive, unrelieved quality is the basic point and dictated the design.” (Pentak & Lauer, pg.57)

Repetition is used frequently in quiltmaking.

blocks
similar fabrics or colors
fabric repeats
Repeated vertical stripes in an Amish Bars quilt (Art+Quilt, pg. 80)

Repetition can be used in representational work as well. In Degas’ painting, The Millinery Shop, the artist often repeats a circle motif. The circles are a repeating element of visual unity, but the circles fit into the painting, because they represent objects such as hats, flowers, bows, the woman’s head, bosom, and skirt. (Pentak & Lauer, pg.28)

Examples of repetition in quilts and other art:

Cabbages: http://www.flickr.com/photos/artquiltmaker/6259339035/in/photostream/
Doors: http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-rSe2s1w5dFY/TbyYeslJqeI/AAAAAAAAAIE/Fo9Qdklxrh0/s1600/DSC01043.JPG (http://sewwhat-maryse.blogspot.com/)
Stamps: http://www.flickr.com/photos/kitty80/4935066650/ (via Pinterest)
Group of repetition on Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/littlebluebell/6686547963/in/photostream/

Integrating with other Principles and Elements

Repetition is the element of choice to create unity. (Wolfrom, Adventures in Design, pg.97)
- Tinturaria’s Ski Crowd 1 : http://tinturaria-handprinting.com/product/ski-crowd-i
“Repetition promotes the existence of unity, but it plays a significant role” in the appearances of rhythm as well. “Repetition that flows fluidly throughout a design allows rhythm to come forth. When Repetition and Rhythm work together in a visually pleasing manner, harmony is created.” (Wolfrom, Adventures in Design, pg.97)
“…at least one repeating element” can serve to create unity.” (Wolfrom, Adventures in Design, pg.97)
“If no repetition exists there is nothing to hold the design together.” (Wolfrom, Adventures in Design, pg.98)
“Pattern is a repetitive design with a motif appearing again and again. A pattern is created when the viewer is led to anticipate the same elements in a design. The repetition does not have to symmetrical, nor does it have to be precisely placed for the view to be able to anticipate or a find a pattern.” (The Quilter’s Book of Design, 2d ed, pg.49)
Repetition is “a valuable and widely used device for achieving visual unity.” (Pentak & Lauer, pg.28)
Rhythm is “the repetition of a regular pattern, or a harmonious sequence or correlation of colors or elements.” (Art+Quilt by Lyric Kinard, pg.80)

Tips and Tricks

- - “Every element does not need to be repeated. If too many elements are repeated, predictability, visual monotony, and disinterest can result.” (Wolfrom, Adventures in Design, pg.97)
  - Elements can be repeated in different sizes, shapes or textures, etc and still be considered repetition. (Pentak & Lauer, pg.28)
    - A good example of this is: Sophie Taeuber-Arp‘s Composition with Circles Shaped by Curves and Composition in a Circle. 1937 (Pentak & Lauer, pg.28)

“Similarities in elements reinforce the viewer’s recognition of symbols, strengthen the rhythm, encourage movement, and produce patterns. Introduce variations of repeated elements to prevent boredom.” (Liz Berg handout entitled Principles of Design from “Design the Abstract Quilt” class)

Notes:

If you have not seen Wayne Thiebaud‘s work, not only are his cakes and candies paintings whimsical, they are GREAT examples of repetition.

“Repetition is another way to create unity in a quilt design. The repetition of an element in a composition can tie the whole together, creating a relationship among the elements.” (The Quilter’s Book of Design, 2d ed, pg.15) Nota bene: again, ‘element’ in this context means part.

“…repetition of an element creates visual rhythm.” (The Quilter’s Book of Design, 2d ed, pg.15). Static rhythm, alternating rhythm and progressive rhythm have an effect on unity through repetition, but we will cover that when we cover the Principle of Rhythm.

“Repetition that flows fluidly throughout a design allows rhythm to come forth.” (Adventures in Design, pg. 97)
“When repetition and rhythm work together in a visually pleasing manner, harmony is created.” (Adventures in Design, pg. 97)

Repetition Resources

A Fiber Artist’s Guide to Color and Design by Heather Thomas
Adventures in Design by Joen Wolfrom
Art+Quilt by Lyric Kinard
Design Basics by Pentak & Lauer
John Lovett website: http://www.johnlovett.com/test.htm
Liz Berg handout entitled Principles of Design from “Design the Abstract Quilt” class
The Quilter’s Book of Design, 2d ed by Ann Johnston
Scrapbook Design Basics – Repetition: http://scrapbooking.about.com/od/gettingstarted/tp/Scrapbook-Design-Basics-Repetition.htm
Understanding Design Basics: Rhythm & Repetition by Vanessa Gardner Nagel, http://www.seasonsgardendesign.com/Article-UDB-Rhythm_Repetition.html

Examples of Repetition:

Paper Christmas Tree by Little Lovables (http://littlelovables.blogspot.com/2009/12/paper-christmas-trees.html)

The triangles of the branches are what caught my attention.

Camellias in glass and water (https://www.cathyhecknurseryart.com/blog/2011/03/the-bewildered-gardner-and-her-husband-on-camelias)

Source: cathyhecknurseryart.com via Jaye on Pinterest

Camellias in vases lined up are gorgeous.

Stamps by iHanna (https://www.flickr.com/photos/kitty80/4935066650/in/photostream/)

Source: umla.tumblr.com via Jaye on Pinterest

Source: alifeofblue.blogspot.com via Jaye on Pinterest

Over the Hump

Process, for me, can be a killer. I want everything to move smoothly along until I finish, then I want to hang the quilt up and move to the next project. When that happens, though, the project is often boring and uninteresting. The humps are the interesting part.

Earlier this week, I wanted you all to put me out of my misery on the Jelly Roll Race. I was struggling, I was ripping out a lot, I was not happy. Nobody stepped up to the plate to help out, so I powered through. I did something that I don’t normally do:I sewed a little bit in the evenings. I was able to fill in a major missing chunk and somehow that made the whole project come together in part.

Don’t get me wrong. I still have a long way to go on this quilt, but I am making progress. I don’t feel tortured anymore and have some home that I’ll make more progress this weekend.

Book Review: Adventures with Leaders & Enders

Adventures With Leaders & Enders: Make More Quilts In Less Time! by Bonnie K. Hunter

I bought this book with an Amazon gift card, because I had heard so much about Bonnie K. Hunter, especially from Katie of Katie’s Quilting Corner. I have been using the the Leaders & Enders technique, which Hunter calls L&E in the book, for awhile. I didn’t really need a book to tell me to cut my scraps into manageable and usable sizes and sew them together.

The first 14 pages talk about the Leaders & Enders technique, including useful sizes in which to cut your scraps, sorting scraps, making some basic units (4 patch, 9 patch, half square triangles), and a small section on strip piecing. The last page (pg.15) is called “What quilters are saying about Bonnie Hunter’s Leaders & Enders method.” All the praise is glowing and there are little stories about people using the Leaders & Enders technique.

The Leaders & Enders technique is explained thoroughly on pages 8-9. If the quiltmaker reads these two pages, s/he will know what to do.

The beginning section also talks about finding time and getting organized. Finding time is a perpetual problem for most people, so Hunter’s advice is useful and realistic. The Getting Organized section (pg.12) talks a lot about containers, what she likes about certain types and what she doesn’t like about others.

Aside from the fact that publishers are demanding that quilt authors make many projects, I think Bonnie K. Hunter had to create projects for this book. If a quiltmaker cut up his/her scraps and made bunches of 4 and 9 patches accented by half square triangles, most wouldn’t know what to do with them. The projects make sense in this book.

Adventures with Leaders and Enders has 13 projects and all of the quilts are made from pieces cut using Hunter’s method. Larger pieces of fabric are used for sashing, borders, etc in most of the quilts, but the majority of the blocks are made with scraps using the Leaders & Enders technique.

At the end of the book (pg. 92-93), there is a section that includes paragraphs on “Additional thoughts on color”, “Allow yourself playtime”, “Analyze the pattern” and “How to gauge yardage.” In this section, she says “If I run out of something, I just substitute something else.” I think that is very good advice. Many vintage quilts have random pieces that don’t match, because, presumably, the quiltmaker ran out of fabric. We are fortunate to have plenty of fabric, but keep this advice in mind as a few different fabrics can add interest and movement to a quilt.

My favorite quilt in this book is the Blue Ridge Beauty, which uses a similar block to my the block used in my Stepping Stones quilt. I like the combination of 4 patches and half square triangles. Actually, I like most the quilts in the book, though I do find the total scrappiness of some of them somewhat unsuccessful. In Sisters Nine Patch, Ms. Hunter sticks to a certain color palette and I think this choice makes this quilt one of the more successful projects.

I am not much of one for randomly selecting fabrics and putting them in a quilt. I like a little more thought, so some of these projects strike me as not being well chosen in terms of color. Still, they have charm. I also think that Hunter’s color palette is a little muddier and more Civil War-ish than mine. That difference definitely affects my view.

I would have dearly loved to have a seen a gallery of quilts (made by students??) in different colors in this book. I think the reader would really benefit from such a gallery.

This is a quick read. I would get it from the Library, but the tips and tricks are good and can be used with any type of fabric.

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