Tag: Thinking

Weeks writes: “Give and receive. Learn how to give and receive constructive criticism for those who seek it. Find four positive things to say about someone else’s quilt and look for one thing that you think they could improve”

I have been to many quilt shows. I have also stood in front of many quilts where I often have heard people talking openly about what they disliked about a quilt. At first, I was so green I did not notice these words, being completely in awe of the quilts hanging, the work involved and the time taken for creating all parts of the works. As I gained experience and some understanding of construction, color, fabric and design in relation to quilts, I began to take notice of the words spoken around me. I did not realize at the time that I had gained quite a lot of experience and only listened to these words thinking how much these women, for they were mostly women, must know about quilts to say such things about them. I turned away from a lot of quilts, thinking they were bad because these women thought so. I lost confidence and thought that I must know nothing about quiltmaking if I could stand in front of such awful quilts finding good in them.

At a dark time in my life, I had escaped to a quilt show for a few hours and was standing in front of a quilt that I really liked. It wasn’t a quilt I would make, but I found it to be  cheerful.  The fabrics were bright and there was a lot to look at. As I stood there, people swirled around me and two women stopped to look at the quilt. They were slightly behind me, so I couldn’t see them, but I could hear them. They proceeded to point out all the mistakes and, in their opinion, poor choices the maker had made. All the things I liked about the quilt were not good enough for them. In fact, they made these qualities seem so terrible that if I had been listening a few years further, I would have thought that cheerful quilts and bright colors were the spawn of the devil.

I thought of the unknown person who made the quilt and how hurt s/he would be if the words of the women had reached his/her ears. Unable to help myself, I turned to stare, openly stare at the women, not opened mouth, but glaring at them. They didn’t say anything, but saw my look and moved away. Not in embarrassment, but in indignation, as if my rebuke was unwarranted.

While I may have had no business acting the way I did, I learned a lesson that day. I didn’t know the lesson at the time, but it is clear to me know. I try very hard to find something good about every quilt I see. If someone has taken the time to make a quilt, and we all know that it takes significant time, there must be some good in that quilt.

I am not such a great person that I like ALL quilts, don’t get me wrong. I have a hard time with Civil War fabrics, but often the block designs can be quite interesting. I find many of the big block quilts not quite as interesting as they could be, but the vast space for fabrics often shows off the most magnificent fabric designs. The point is that I try and find something good about each quilt – a nice fabric, a bit of excellent quilting, the obvious knowledge of the maker’s machine.

I get nothing out of bashing someone’s quilt. In fact, I might hurt the maker if s/he is standing within earshot. I do get good exercise in ‘seeing’ when I look for something good in a quilt. This exercise can enrich my future quiltmaking and doesn’t hurt anyone.

In my teaching, I try very hard to boost confidence and steer the students towards good construction and good design. In the course of this effort, I remind them that quiltmaking is a process, that it takes practice and they will get better. I want more people to make quilts, not fewer. I want to encourage not discourage.

There are ways of suggesting improvements to a quilt or design:

• “what would happen if you turned this block this way?”
• “What would happen if you used a bit more blue here or lightened this up over here?”
• Ask the person what they are trying to achieve. Keep in mind that the maker may not know. We don’t always know why we are making something when the urge simply to create is very strong. Be gentle. coax don’t pound.

There are a lot of other things to say depending on the quilt’s design; just find four things to compliment another quiltmaker about. Be nice.

 

Image courtesy of The Modern Quilt Studio

Weeks writes: “Share your work – volunteering to organize a quilting day to make quilts for your favorite charity, offer to give a lecture on your work at your aunt’s retirement community – you needn’t be famous or have written a book to share your quilts with others”

I was listening to a podcast the other day (Frances??) and the hostess said that a town near her had a Quilting Day. They had for years and it consisted of people working together on projects. Quiltmakers went to the local hgh school and worked with the kids on quilts. I love this idea because there is so much to share in quiltmaking – the camaraderie, math, love of fabric, the feeling of making something that will bring someone joy, whether your own family for friend or someone you don’t know.

This blog is all about sharing. While I write the blog for myself to keep track of my projects and progress, I have come to enjoy the comments and back and forth with readers. This has really become a venue for me to share. I like posting the tutorials. Well, I like posting the tutorials. Writing them can be a chore! I like sharing what I know and my opinions about quiltmaking.

I don’t like people stealing my content or my photos. That is the NOT FUN part of sharing. It is also a little sad when I don’t receive comments on a post or several, but I remind myself that I am writing this for me. It is a good exercise in not seeking attention.

I think there are a lot of different ways to share. Like Weeks says above, you can organize a quilting day, but you can also write a tutorial or help a friend to make some quilted placemats. I think that if we share, even just the project we are working on Flickr, then the community is richer for your contribution.

 

Weeks Ringle wrote “Experiment. Work with small prototypes that are a minimal investment of time and money – don’t get overwhelmed the thought of a big project. Experiment with different types of stitching, mix genres of fabric, play with unlikely color combinations, make sample pieces that are entirely unlike anything you’ve ever made before[.]”

My mantra is “there is always more fabric”. And there is. Really. Trust me on this one.

I like to say that there is always more fabric, because I want to remember it myself and also to remind my students that if they screw something up that it isn’t the end of the world. There is more fabric.

Why not try embroidery?

Why not try thread painting?

Why not try fusing? Or curved piecing? or taking a Craftsy class? Why not?

While I don’t always want to do something, because the technique is messy and I don’t know it well enough to contain the messiness, I have found ways around that ‘phobia.’ I take classes. I have to say that I have been most inspired when I have taken a random class. Sometimes I’ll take classes, because a friend wants someone to go with; sometimes I’ll take a class, because the time is convenient. I have found so much inspiration in these happy accidents.

As Weeks says, work small. Remember the journal quilts? You can embroider a whole quilt in a couple of evenings, if the quilt is 8.5″x 11″. I also like to try new materials and techniques on ATCs (2.5″x3.5″) works of art.

You don’t have to leave your family or pets and quit your job to experiment. Experimentation can be as simple as adding a new color to your palette, trying a new shape in a block, follow a tutorial for putting in a zipper or a new technique for making Flying Geese for Triangle Squares. A lot of experimentation doesn’t come out exactly as planned. These experiments can become bags or donation quilts or pet beds or the most amazing start to something wonderful. There is usually no waste, but the learning process is very important. Failure is part of the learning process.

Just try.

Just experiment.

*No copyright claimed on Modern Quilt Studio image. thanks to Bill Kerr and Weeks Ringle for allowing me to use it. See the original blog post on the Craft Nectar blog.

Weeks wrote “Think broadly. Don’t get hung up on labels; you needn’t adhere to making one type of quilt—even though we consider ourselves modern quilters, there’s something to be learned from every genre of quilting. Which types of quilting could you learn from?”

You might like bright fabrics like me, but it won’t kill me to look at a quilt made with Civil War fabrics or a quilt splashed with house paint. I like to keep an open mind when looking at quilts. I have come across quilts that I thought were hideous. Nonetheless, I looked at them and found something I could use. It might have been a spark of a color or a little block or piecing trick or some clever embellishment. By taking the time to look, I saw.

I think I can learn from all types of quilting, even those types that I wouldn’t want to do myself.

 

 

 

 

*No copyright claimed on Modern Quilt Studio image. thanks to Bill Kerr and Weeks Ringle for allowing me to use it. See the original blog post on the Craft Nectar blog.

I am continuing on with the QuiltCon Homework that Weeks Ringle issued in February. Number 4 is ‘Reflect’. Weeks wrote “Reflect. Who you will be tomorrow as a quilter doesn’t have to be who you were yesterday. What would you like to learn?”

I want to continue to explore my quiltmaking as an expression of my creativity. I could do anything to express my creativity, but quiltmaking is what is making me happy (as Tanesha at CraftyGardenMom says) right now. I don’t expect that to change, though I am having fun with my little forays into bookmaking, Tsukineko inks, scrapbooking and journal making.

Mark Lipinski has had several good episodes of Creative Mojo lately where he talks with other artist quiltmaker types and the things they say really spoke to me on a “what to do next level.” The guests said things like reorganizing their fabrics so it looks different; getting rid of things (old news, moving on), making a creative block day a “writing day”, thinking about things differently, making an effort at self-care. All of these things are real food for thought for me. I don’t spend much time in the creative block zone, but it happens. Having options is a good thing. Ice cream, too.

tomorrow, I want to be a quiltmaker who doesn’t have to classify herself as a modern quiltmaker or a traditional quiltmaker or an art quiltmaker. I want to take the best of all of those and move my creative life forward. I want to bring my quiltmaking more into my daily life. that will be a challenge, since I sew as much as humanly possible, have projects everywhere ready to pick up at a moment’s notice and will cancel plans in order to sew. I guess I will have to stop tidying up the house and get someone to do that for me. Any volunteers? 😉

I also want to continue to learn and evolve. I want to adopt new tools and techniques and continue to improve the quality of my work. I’d like to sell a quilt to a collector (that is a secret wish, so don’t tell) and I’d like to stop being lazy and enter more shows.

What about you?

 

 

*No copyright claimed on Modern Quilt Studio image. thanks to Bill Kerr and Weeks Ringle for allowing me to use it. See the original blog post on the Craft Nectar blog.

Weeks writes “Challenge yourself  – if you could only make one more quilt, what would it be?”

I would make something really hard, some quilt that would make people stop in their tracks and would make their mouths hang open. It would be a completely insane quilt with thousands of pieces or something so difficult that people would not know how it was put together.

If I had to pin down a pattern, I would choose the Double Wedding Ring. I don’t know why as I think there are harder patterns out there, but it sticks in my mind.

I hope I never have to choose. I have so many ideas in my head and I want to make them all.

How would you answer this question?

*No copyright claimed on Modern Quilt Studio image. thanks to Bill Kerr and Weeks Ringle for allowing me to use it. See the original blog post on the Craft Nectar blog.

A couple of years ago before Memorial Day, I came down with a  terrible cold or the ‘flu. I didn’t go to the doc, so I don’t know which. I don’t get deathly (yes, slight exaggeration) ill very often, but during that time I had a 102+ fever for multiple days, aches and pains, cough: the whole 9 yards. I was in bed for about 10 days. You nurses are asking why I didn’t go to the doctor, I know. I spoke with her several times and everything was under control.

At the end of it, I felt weak and off balance and still generally hungover from this bout of whatever. I exercise regularly and am fairly strong, but I was shocked at how fast I got weak. I had to go back to my exercise routine slowly. I had to build up my lung capacity. I had to get strong again.

During the last week, I have not been able to sew. The last fabric related thing I did was drive an hour each way to pick up my sewing machine from the dealer. And that was really driving and listening to podcasts.No fabric was harmed in this activity.

I am, as we speak, putting my workroom back together. I had morphed my workroom into a guestroom. I pulled out the cutting table and decided to cut some fabric I had pressed last weekend just to warm myself back up. Weirdly, the rotary cutter feels strange in my hand. I didn’t get a smooth cut. I feel off. I am not gliding smoothly back into the groove.

I am trying not to panic. I get stuff done, because I can I can move in and out of the groove quickly and seamlessly.If I panic I will start to spiral and no good can come of that.

I am at a loss for handwork at the moment and that would have helped during the week. Feeling fabric is good. I need to get some handwork ASAP.

I am going to change my rotary blade, put on a book, take a breath and try again. I can do this.

I am out of the groove.

What does it all mean?

Traditional

Modern

Art

Lately, I feel like I am being bombarded by the differences in types of quiltmaking. This post is my attempt to puzzle out the differences.

All of the above words evoke something in each of our minds related to quiltmaking. Each of them probably evokes something different. Language is important, because it is a mode of communication and if the words above evoke something different in each of our minds then communication is breaking down.

I would add to this, already confusing, list:

Classic

Contemporary

Fresh

All this means that I really think we, as quiltmakers, are not communicating clearly about what we do. Think about what a “traditional” quilt means to you. How would you describe a “traditional” quilt? Calico fabrics? Certain designs?

How would you describe a “Modern” quilt. Is there any overlap between “Traditional” and “Modern”?

This conversation really started with “Art” quilts. I remember the conversation being hot and heavy in the early-mid 1990s. I remember long essays about art vs. craft, art quilts vs. traditional quilts when the Internet was young and we could find people with whom to have such conversations. Modern quilts, labeled and followed, did not exist then.

While TFQ was living near me for 5 months this year, we had many discussions about quiltmaking language. She is a language person, so these types of conversations are fun, but tax my brain. I have to be precise and clear. It is good for me. Some of what I am writing comes from those conversations.

I am concerned about the assumptions that are surrounding every day language in the quiltmaking community. I don’t think it is always relevant and I think the stereotypes brought to mind when this language is used can be harmful, not only to the community, but also to people’s feelings. What do we gain by using these distinctions?

Traditional: I don’t know if there is a distinct definition of a “traditional” quilt. Does a “traditional” quilt use “traditional” blocks? I have seen “Modern” quilts made from 9 patch blocks, so are they really “traditional” quilts?

Art: What is an ‘art’ quilt? Is it a “traditional” quilt made with hand dyed fabrics? Is it a quilt of a tree where you know it is a tree and not the Pine Tree block? Is realism included? Painting? Inks? Crazy free motion quilting? Couching? Embroidery? Embellishment?

I realize that humans seem to have a need to segregate themselves into exclusive groups and that may be the distinction.

Traditional, in Random House Webster’s College Dictionary (1999), is defined as 1. of or pertaining to tradition; 2. handed down by tradition; 3. in accordance with tradition. Tradition is defined as “the handing down of statements, beliefs, legends, customs, etc., from generation to generation, esp. by word of mouth or by practice.” It is also defined as “… a long-established or inherited way of thinking or acting.” This definition doesn’t say anything about design or fabric type.

Modern, in that same resource, is defined as “of or pertaining to present and recent time. 2. characteristic of present and recent time; contemporary.” From the Modern Quilt Guild website, they define Modern quiltmaking as:

“Modern quilts and quilters:

• Make primarily functional rather than decorative quilts
• Use asymmetry in quilt design
• Rely less on repetition and on the interaction of quilt block motifs
• Contain reinterpreted traditional blocks
• Embrace simplicity and minimalism
• Utilize alternative block structures or lack of visible block structure
• Incorporate increased use of negative space
• Are inspired by modern art and architecture
• Frequently use improvisational piecing
• Contain bold colors, on trend color combinations and graphic prints
• Often use gray and white as neutrals
• Reflect an increased use of solid fabrics
• Focus on finishing quilts on home sewing machines

Modern quilting has its roots in rebellion, in our desire to do something different, but simultaneously its feet are firmly planted in the field of tradition.  Modern quilting is our response to what has come before.  We are quilters first, modern quilters second. There are however, characteristics that set modern quilters apart from our traditional and art quilting friends.

Modern quilters are a diverse group of woman and men, young and old, experienced and novice, yet each of us feels the need to differentiate ourselves as modern quilters by how we work, the fabrics we choose, and the aesthetic of our quilts. We create in a way that supports our individual creative needs and our lifestyle preferences.” (from Modern quilt guild website About Us page)

From the dictionary definition, I could infer that any quilt made this year is modern. The definition says “of or pertaining to present and recent time, ” so isn’t that what it means?

The above Modern Quilt Guild definition is very helpful to me for a number of reasons, but mostly because it tells me that some of the definitions and assumptions about what a modern quilt is, which I have heard on the web and in social media, are untrue. There seems to be “information” floating around that is suffering from the “Telephone Game” syndrome. The information is read, extrapolated out from the original source, morphed and then disseminated incorrectly. The Modern Quilt Guild website is pretty clear about what modern quilts are. There is no mention of age, time of guild meetings. This makes me think that the advent of the Modern Quilt Guild became popular, because people were given permission to start guilds of their own; guilds that fit their needs and aesthetic sensibilities. The attitude of “we did it, so can you.”

I do think “modern” quilts exist. I just don’t think that all quilts being made by members of the modern quilt movement are modern. I think Jackie of Tall Grass Prairie Studio’s Babyscapes work in progress is Modern. Perhaps there is an offshoot or subsidiary of Modern quiltmaking called fresh or contemporary quiltmaking where the newer, lighter fabrics are used in classic patterns? Perhaps the intersection of Modern and Traditional is Classic, Fresh?

Yes, I would add a category for Classic patterns. Classics are like the little black dress of quiltmaking: 9 Patches come to mind, as well as 4 patches. They are both elements of a quilt in and of themselves, as well units in larger designs.

Art, again from the same resource noted above, is defined as “… the quality, production, expression, or realm of what is beautiful or of more than ordinary significance. 2. the class of objects subject to aesthetic criteria, as paintings, sculptures, or drawings. … 7. the principles or methods governing any craft or branch of learning…9. skill conducting any human activity. …” The definitions for art go on and on (and I have omitted some, but you can look up the long list yourself). None of them say you have to have things hanging off of your quilt or that you have to throw paint at your quilt and use only hand dyed fabrics for your piece to make it an art quilt. SAQA defines an art quilt as “a creative visual work that is layered and stitched or that references this form of stitched layered structure.”

I just think that the language could be improved. Really, I don’t think we absolutely need categories. The important question is “does this quilt (or quilt-like structure) appeal to me? Am I being playful and having fun?

Instead of “traditional”, I prefer the term classic. Classic blocks, to me, are blocks that have been around for awhile. They might have first shown up in Godey’s Ladies Book,  in a newspaper in the 1930s, or in a farm journal in the 1910s. You might now find them in the Encyclopedia of Pieced Quilt Patterns by Barbara Brackman or in Jinny Beyer’s The Quilter’s Album of Patchwork Patterns (2009) book. They are also blocks that conform to the accepted structure we know as blocks – usually squares (though hexagons and Double Wedding Ring come to mind as well) with shapes making up that structure. This means that they don’t have to come from Godey’s Ladies Book, but could have been designed by Jinny Beyer or another designer more recently.

Classic quilts are an offshoot of Classic blocks and cannot be defined absolutely in my mind. Two different quiltmakers could take the same fabric and the block pattern  and make very different pieces. Designs can diverge in completely different directions even if everything else remains the same. Quilts must, then, be categorized even further, if categorization is necessary, into a taxonomy that includes fabric and designers, such as Civil War, 1930s, calico, etc. I also think such a categorization would have to have multiple layers to accommodate a variety of choices:

• Block choice: 9 Patch
• Fabric Choice: Civil War reproduction or Amy Butler Soul Blossoms?
• Sewing style: straight or wonky
• etc

Each of the above categorizations is an example of how a quilt could be defined more clearly. The key would be what element to start with: block design or fabric? Sewing style or quilt layout?

Contemporary or Classic Modern may more exactly describe quilts using fresh, new fabrics such as Bonnie and Camille fabrics, large scale prints or dots combined with classic block designs.

Mark Lipinski said, in his May 9, 2012 podcast that making quilts is about doing what you love. I think is true. Let’s make quilts in the style that makes us happy, welcome other people into the quiltmaking fold, enjoy their work even if we do not want to make a duplicate, and not judge.

There are some ugly and inaccurate words and generally accepted principles in quiltmaking. Here is my opinion about them

* Stash implies we are doing something sordid or illegal. I prefer palette or materials.

* The term ‘Quilting‘ does not acknowledge all the aspects that comprises making a quilt.  Whenever I hear the word quilting, I think of the process of putting three layers together. I understand that the same terms are often used for different, but related concepts. Still, I don’t often do my own quilting; I prefer to be called a quiltmaker rather than a quilter.

* A lot of quiltmakers are nice people. I don’t assume that all are. I have been at shows where the police have been called and people are shocked when a quiltmaker is taken away for shoplifting. Quiltmakers are people like every other group.

*While I may have something in common with others who make quilts, I don’t automatically assume that every quiltmaker is my friend. Friendships are developed and nurtured.

* Design is given short shrift in quiltmaking. A good design is everything. If you have a beautifully executed quilt with poor design, it doesn’t matter how great the design is.
* Hand-dyed fabric is not always the be-all end all. People can make gorgeous quilts without hand-dyes. In your artist statement, please do not include how much hand-dyed fabric you used. We all know what hand-dyed fabrics look like and can tell. Do a great design and tell us your inspiration. We will admire your hand-dyed fabric along with the design.