Our harshest critics

Why are we our own harshest critics? What makes us quilters so judgemental about our work and ourselves? I can't tell you how many times, when I've complimented someone on a quilt, that the maker has quickly pointed out supposed faults or mistakes. I think one reason may be that we have it in our heads that our foremothers made only the most perfect quilts, and that we'll never live up to those high standards. But have a good look at some antique quilts which aren't in museums, magazines or books. Look at the family quilts Aunt Betty made. Are they really beautiful? Probably. Are they examples of perfection? Most likely not.
Do artists in who work in other mediums do this? No, not really.
So get over it! Enjoy the process. Accept the adulation. And keep on quilting.

Deadlines

I  set deadlines for myself, as you sometimes must, when making a quilt. Perhaps you're entering a quilt show, or are making a birthday quilt, or a wedding quilt.  I hate to admit, that sometimes I don't meet those deadlines, and have been known to give an unfinished quilt for a gift, to be completed later. I'ts important to set realistic goals, but it may be just as important to set one's goals a little higher, with a greater expectation for what can be accomplished in a given amount of time. By that I mean you might want to tell yourself that a quilt must be done by the first of the month, rather than the fifteenth. This will give you a little leeway, and there always seems to be some kind of issue which comes up in order to finish a quilt, and stitches to be ripped out, or a block fixed, or some such.
And of course, it's important to have balance in your life, between work, family and friends, as well as being good to yourself.
And if I'm making a quilt for myself, it always takes so much longer! Sometimes years.

A park bench

Quilting designs can be found anywhere at all. Here are some pictures of a park bench, and there are a number of elements of the iron work which can be used as inspiration for free motion stitching. I would use these as a starting point, and let my imagination flow from there. Who knows, maybe you'll see these in one of my quilts!

Signatures

Here are a couple of my "signatures", little features which I will try to work into my quilts whenever I can, and whenever they are appropriate. Both photos show borders of the same quilt. The top picture is of the side border, and shows a little sheep print I sometime sneak in. I have a lot of this fabric (from the 80's), so will have it for years to come. The bottom picture shows how I've extended the on-point blocks out into the border, which I believe leads to a more interesting composition.
Try to develop some of your own signatures (besides making a label for the back) and add your own touches to your quilts.
Did I mention that I love red and green quilts?

The importance of contrast

Low contrast

High contrast

I have written before about the differences between high and low contrast in a quilt block. This is the first element of a design which the human eye will see.As you will notice from the two pictures, the design element of the block is somewhat lost in the low contrast square.You can barely see the star! I purposely did this on a quilt currently in progress, to mimic some of the elements I've seen in older quilts. Many times women would use whatever fabric was on hand, and may have had some limited choices. Today we just tend to run out to the local quilt shop, or to really plan each fabric in a quilt, but our ancestresses didn't always have that luxury.
A good understanding of the many elements of design is important to be able to produce a striking quilt. Quilt blocks need't be complicated, but thoughtful use of color and composition can make or break a quilt.
This doesn't mean that every quilt must have high contrast to be successful. It is just one thing to take into account, among many.

A comment at a local quilt shop

I was in the Prairie Queens quilt shop (San Jose, CA) some time ago when I overheard a customer tell one of the staff, "My husband says I can't buy any more fabric" When she left I told the same staff member, "I don't have a husband. I can buy all the fabric I want."

A very glamorous thread catcher

Here is a stunning (ha!) thread catcher I fashioned from a couple of pieces of cardboard (a Twinnings Earl Grey tea box), some blue painters tape, and a plastic bag. I just sandwiched the bag in between two layers of the cardboard, and taped them together around the edges. Hey, it works!
I've made very nice thread catchers for friends, but this is the one next to my sewing machine at home.
As you can see, this acts as a convenient coaster as well. The beautiful ceramic mug was made by California artist Wayne Duke.

Matched pockets

I'm making a Hawaiian shirt for my brother, Rob, for his birthday. I've given him many shirts over the years, and one of the things I always feature is the matched pocket. If you look closely at the picture you can see the pocket on the shirt, which has been matched up exactly with the print. This is a design feature of the best Hawaiian shirts, and to me it presents a fun challenge to fussy cut the fabric so precisely. He didn't realize that the first shirt I made for him even had a pocket!
If you're wondering about the term "fussy cut", it refers to a precise placement of a template or pattern piece on the fabric, so that a design element of a print is featured exactly where the quilt maker wishes it to be, as opposed to just randomly cutting up the fabric.We'll explore this more at another time.

Choosing thread colors for quilting

Here are my three choices for thread color. I think the green shows up best .

I previously used a lot of monofilament thread for my free motion quilting, but have now switched to using other types of thread. For this quilt I'm using a  selection of Superior Threads (Masterpiece by Alex Anderson). I spent what I thought was a small fortune for five spools, but it's a very beautiful fine Egyptian cotton and now I consider it well worth the cost. I decided some time ago that if I was going to do all the work of free-motion quilting that I really wanted the stitches to show up, and not blend into the background. This quilt has been a bit of a learning curve for me, with every section featuring more detailed quilting, and better color choices. I double-stitched the veins in the leaf, and now I think that double-stitching around the edges would be an improvement. Whether that will happen I have yet to decide.

Here is the quilted leaf design

The Lamington story

Lamingtons are an Australian dessert, made of small squares of yellow cake coated in chocolate frosting and rolled in coconut. I had a chance to take a quilting class from the well-known Australian quilter, Pam Holland, and decided to take some lamingtons to the class as a snack. I had never made them before, but how hard could it be? I made the cake from a mix, and cut up the squares. Easy enough. Rolling them in the runny chocolate frosting (icing in Aussie-speak) and dipping them in the shredded coconut was another matter altogether, but after a rather delicious mess, I had them all done.
Imagine my dismay when Pam mentioned something about a bread allergy. Oh, no, I thought, she can't have them! I was so relieved when she spotted the plate at class the next day and said, "Oooh. Lamingtons!"
I believe most Australian women these days buy theirs and do not make them at home.

Color inspirations from nature

Can one leaf provide color inspiration for an entire quilt?

Can a tiny little leaf provide a brilliant color scheme for a quilt? The answer is a resounding yes! The colors in this leaf range from yellows to deep oranges, to rich burgundies, plus a hint of a spring green. I've interpreted those in Autumn Log Cabin, created in 2005.The only color which isn't really represented in the quilt is blue, so the quilt features the entire color wheel except for the color blue (although there the tiniest specks of it in the yellow center squares.)  The fabric for the center squares features the back of the fabric, to provide a softer hue.Your fabric has two sides, so feel free to use the back if it's more appropriate.

My fondness for leaves

Morning Glory leaves

I'm showing a photo of a quilt I finished a few years ago. It was quilted entirely with a morning glory leaf pattern. I collected the leaves, traced them onto freezer paper, then cut them out and pressed them onto the quilt top.I stitched around each leaf shape, then pulled off the freezer paper and stitched through the middle to the next leaf. The freezer paper shapes can each be used a number of times before being discarded.
 I like using leaves for a quilting motif. I love their natural beauty and variety, their colors, textures and shapes. One thing I really love about using them for quilting inspirations is that they are not all perfect, so if my stitching is a little off, well, that's okay.Sometimes I even add little "bug bites" to the edges of the leaves, as if they have been chewed by a critter.

My design wall

The design "wall"

Here is a picture of the winter quilt which is currently under construction. I call it a winter quilt because of the wool batting I'm using. As you can see, the design "wall" is my living room floor. I don't actually have a studio per se, and sometimes this is the only way I can lay out a quilt that I'm working on.The quilt is a version of the Amish/Welsh, Diamond in a Square, although I believe the Amish call it a Center Diamond.
It would be great if I could manage to finish it while it's still winter. Yes, I know, we Californians don't really know what winter is all about!

Some tips on free motion quilting

First of all, let me say that if you wish to learn free motion quilting you will have to be prepared to spend time (dreaded "P" word coming up here) practicing. Yes, it's true. You will have to put considerable time in just doing it over and over, and putting all of that into your muscle memory bank. I taught myself, with the help of the Goddess of Free Motion Diane Gaudinsky (my description, not hers). I bought one of her books and pored over it for many years until I had the right sewing machine to use. You don't need a lot of fancy bells and whistles, but ideally you need to be able to drop your feed dogs, and to have some type of free motion presser foot for your machine. The one I favor is the open toe foot for my Bernina, the #24. I've tried a see-though plastic foot, but I felt that it limited my vision of the lines I was trying to follow. I also found that I didn't care for the stitch regulator on the Bernina, as it also impaired my vision. A good free motion foot will not clamp down onto your fabric like an ordinary foot, but will sort of hover above it. It's up to you to guide the fabric, and this type of foot will let you move your quilt freely as you sew.
I set the stitch length to zero. I've had workshop instructors tell me that this isn't necessary, but I feel that it can put a strain on your motor if you do not. I also use the needle down feature on my machine. It's good to have the needle down in the fabric every time you stop, as the presser foot will not hold your work in place.
There are many ways of marking your quilt top, none of them perfect for every application.I have used the wash away pens, freezer paper cut outs, and a new iron off pen (Ultimate Marking Pencil by Hancy). You need to experiment to find out what will work for you and your fabric.Always do a test, to make sure you can get rid of your marking lines once you have completed your quilting. And whatever you do, do not iron over the wash away pen marks (the turquoise ones by Mark-Be-Gone, Clover or others), because this will permanently set the marks, and can lead to some real heartbreak. It's usually best to mark the quilt before layering the batting and backing. With freezer paper cutouts, however you can do this afterwards.
Start by doing smaller samples, and build up your confidence on small projects like pillow tops, or wall hangings.
 In the words of the great jazz legend Miles Davis, "There are no mistakes."

Piecing the Pieces

One of my little "signatures", which I will often include in a quilt is what I call Piecing the Pieces. If you examine many old quilts you will often see that some of the pieces in a quilt block have a little seam in them. You might not even notice until you look closely, but I have seen this many times in vintage quilts. The reason for this is simple; a quilter might not have a big enough piece of fabric from which to cut her squares, but she could sew together two smaller pieces to be able to cut out her larger one. I do this myself out of necessity sometimes, especially if I'm making a scrap quilt.This is actually a preference for me if I'm making a quilt for charity. Not to be cheap, but I can't afford to spend a lot of money on every quilt I make, so if I can squeeze out enough blocks to make an attractive quilt without having to run to the fabric store, I will always do so. Besides, I think it adds to the charm. I first noticed pieced pieces when I was closely examining a quilt made by my great-grandmother, who lived on a ranch in Montana in the early part of the last century. She certainly couldn't run out to the quilt shop, because there weren't any! Since then I've spotted this little trick in many older quilts.
This is just something to keep in mind, and I can pretty much assure you that no one will notice, especially if you're using a print. And if it can keep you from panicking when you start to run out of a fabric, then so much the better.

Color inspirations

Color choices for quilt fabrics may be one of the most important decisions when designing a quilt. Color is probably the most important factor which will make a successful quilt, and can be used to convey many types of emotions, moods, or feelings. We may want to make a quilt which will be used with the color schemes for a particular room, and we can make our choices based on the other furnishings in that room. Often I will hesitate to make a quilt for someone if I haven't been to their home to see what they might like.
With all that being said, however, I find the greatest pleasure in just making whatever suits my fancy, using the colors which will give me the greatest pleasure. My very favorites are intense, color-saturated deep, bright colors. These kinds of colors can often be found in Amish quilts, and the Amish  are certainly amazing in some of the combinations they put together. One of the most important elements in a successful design comes with a good use of contrast. Contrast is the element of a quilt design which the human eye will first notice.Color becomes secondary, but without the use of contrast, many of the other design elements will be lost.
I was quite surprised a couple of years ago, when I purchased a DVD of Walt Disney's version of Sleeping Beauty, and watched it for the first time in many years. When I was a little girl, that was my Disney movie. Other girls would favor other heroines, such as Cinderella, Belle, or the Little Mermaid. My idol was Princess Aurora. What really amazed me when I watched the movie were the amazing colors, and how bright and vivid they were. Hey! Those are my colors! And that was when I realized what a huge influence that movie had on my color choices, without me even knowing it. Watch the movie sometime, if you can, and you will see what I mean.
Now I notice in nature those same intense colors; the rich blue of an October sky, the amazing hues of the crape myrtle when the leaves turn in the fall, and the brilliant green grass when it starts to come back in the spring.. It's all out there for us to see and from which we can take our inspirations.
You can also start to look around you and see where you get your color inspirations. Study the subject of color whenever you can, and you will find that you will have a better grasp of how to use it successfully.

Letting your inner child pick out your fabric

I try to stay in close touch with my inner child, and let her loose sometimes when I'm picking out fabrics for a quilt . I just set that little seven or eight-year-old loose and let her have her own way."Oooh, look! This is pretty!" she'll say, and then she will put this one with that one, and I can usually get a very sweet look from her choices. Usually it will be some kind of pastel florals, or sometimes it's a bit brighter, but she really does have pretty good instincts.The fabrics in my previously mentioned Sunbonnet Sue quilt were picked out by me, but the combinations in each block were put together by her. I tried to stick to Depression era colors, and of course with a bubble gum pink for the sashing and borders the sweetness really did have a chance to shine.
I also let the inner child pick out the fabrics for the winter quilt I'm currently working on. (Title still to be decided.) The fabrics are few, but simple, with black, a rich pale blue and a turquoise print.And the little girl in me picked out a bright fuchsia print for the binding. Wow! I promise to let you have a look at it very soon.

Giving your quilts a title

Most of the time it may not be necessary to give your quilt a name or title, but if you're entering a show, or if the quilt is for a special occasion you may want to give a bit more thought than just calling it by a block name (Bow Tie, Four Patch, etc.) Sometimes this can present as much of a challenge as selecting the colors, or picking the fabrics for a quilt. Sometimes a name will just pop into my head, and sometimes I "borrow" a title from elsewhere, a song or a movie, or some such. Recent quilts which come to mind are San Bruno Rising, a quilt I made after the disastrous explosion and fire which happened last September. I also named one Ode to Oz, to be sent to Australia for bushfire relief in 2009.
Right now I'm working on a quilt for myself, which so far has the name Winter Quilt. A bit boring, don't you think? I love the colors, and the simple pattern, and the leaft quilting motifs I'm using. Something will come to mind, and that will be it, but for now...well, maybe I'll take a walk and the name will come to me.

Working through the pain. Is it worth it?

Many times we quilters (and other hobbyists, I'm sure) keep working on a project, even though this may be causing us some kind of physical pain, whether it's a sore back, stiff hands, aching neck or something else.Is it really worth it? If we're trying to meet some kind of deadline it may seem so.But I think it's so important to listen to your body, and to take clues from it. When I was doing production sewing, working eight hours a day behind a sewing machine, there was almost always neck pain involved. This was in spite of the fact that I took great care with my posture, and didn't "hunch" over the machine. As someone who quilts for an enjoyable hobby, I don't see the point of continuing on if something is hurting.This is your body's way of telling you to take a rest, get up, do something else for a bit of a break. We can try to make sure that our workspaces are the very best ergonomically-speaking, but working for hours at one task can sometimes take its toll. We are almost always able to switch tasks (get up from the machine for some cutting or pressing, do some hand sewing sitting on the couch, etc.) or even stop completely and go outside for a walk.I don't think it's worth doing possible long-term or even permanent damage just to finish a quilt.
And while I'm on the subject, be sure to take very good care of your eyes. What a great and complex thing our vision is! I came very close to losing the vision in one eye, and am so thankful that I was able to have the very best care and can see clearly once more. Thanks Dr. Kim!

What to enter in the upcoming guild show?

The quilt guild to which I belong, the Santa Clara Valley Quilt Association, is having our every-other-year quilt show coming up in March. Each member (we are 400+, I believe) is encouraged to enter at least one quilt. This is something of a dilemma, not only for me, but for others, I'm sure. It's not a juried show, so that takes the pressure off, and one needn't submit a photo, etc. Nor does the quilt need to be finished until the actual drop-off date. But the problem is this: do I try to finish up one of the many quilts I'm currently working on, and make the extra stress for myself of meeting a deadline? I don't have too many quilts lying around that I would consider truly show-worthy, although they are fine quilts. Some of my best recent work has been given away, never to be seen again. What to do? What to do?

Then I look up from the computer, and I spot one of my favorites, a very tradional Sunbonnet Sue. Yes I think Sue is show-worthy. It's the only quilt I've made which features hand applique, and others might like to see it close up, so I think I'll go with that.
Our guild show is called Heart of the Valley, and will be held at the Santa Clara Convenion Center March5-6. If you're able to, we'd love to have you in attendance.

Loose Threads

I'm currently working on a winter quilt for my bed, which is a variation of a Diamond in a Square, typical of many Amish quilts. It has a number of borders, and I'm doing free motion quilting in each diamond, triangle, and border section. I stititched-in-the-ditch around each part of the quilt, and then I will go back to do my free-motion quilting.I'm matching the backing thread to the top thread, and this has meant many stops and starts. I have been trying to knot and tie off each pair of threads as I complete a section, or several sections, but I invariably seem to find threads which haven't been finished off. This can result in a bit of a mess on the back of the quilt, so I think it's time to sit down with a cup of tea, and really search the back of the quilt for any loose threads. And the top too, I guess.
My method is to pull top and bobbin threads to the back of the quilt, using a needle if necessary, and then tie a square knot, thread both threads into a large-eyed needle, then run the needle about an inch or so between top and quilt backing, at which point I can then finally cut the threads.This has worked well for me, but I'm always open to new ways of doing things.

Perfection? Not from me!

There are some quilters who purposely put a mistake into their quilts, by turning a block the wrong way or some such, but really, do they think that their work is so perfect? Not me. I strive to do the very best work that I can, but there will always be a seam that doesn't  quite match, or a point which is cut off, or something which isn't quite right. In the end none of that really matters to me.If you look at vintage quilts, you will find that most of them are less than perfect, and that's what often gives them their charm. This is folk art, after all, not some mass produced piece of perfection. When I'm piecing, and I can't get a seam allowance to match the way I want it to, I will rip it out once or twice, no more than that. There are some who would advocate throwing out a block at that point, but that's very wasteful in my eyes. Better to just include it in the quilt with the thought that that's just the way it's going to be.And I do not worry about the Quilt Police! Most quilts will not be going into a juried show, and it takes the fun out if you worry about every little detail.
With all that having been said, I did once rip out a block from a quilt which was turned the wrong way.  (I think I even had the binding on at this point) I hadn't noticed it until the very end, and I thought of leaving it in to see if anyone would notice, but it would have driven me crazy, I think, to leave it in.

Musings on the New Year

Just a few thoughts for 2011:
Strive to be happy.
Search for beauty and you will find it.
Make yourself useful to others, whether they are aware of it or not.
Learn at least one new skill.
Don't judge others too harshly.

All that being said, I try not to make resolutions, because they are invariably broken, so why start with failure? But you can always try to improve yourself and your work. Strive to do better in the things which matter most, and let some of the less important things go. There is no such thing as perfection.
I'm sitting at the computer on a cold rainy day, and am quite happy with this weather, when I see that so many others are suffering because of it, from the east and west coasts of the U.S. to the south east of Australia, where they are having terrible floods. So I will gladly settle for a little rain here! I have some Celtic music playing, one of the many Christmas albums I have which are Highland, Scottish, Celtic or what have you. They tend to be a bit New Age-y, but that's very calming right now. I have foregone watching the Tournament of Roses parade from Pasadena, because one of my non-resolutions is to spend less time in front of the TV. we'll just see how long that one lasts! (As I said....) I have told myself that I can't watch any more re-runs, which should be useful. I do love my TV, don't get me wrong, but how many times much I watch the same episode of Gordon Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares? Once should be plenty.
I spent yesterday at Hakone Gardens in Saratoga, with my trusty camera, and came away with a few good shots, out of more than 150. That's what editing is for, and there is at least one photo of some fern leaves which will undoubtedly make its way into a quilt.
I will sit down with the sewing machine today, if only for a short while, because if I can't sew on a cold and rainy day, when can I?
So, one more cup of tea, and a bit of Christmas pudding, and a-quilting I will go!
Happy New Year!