What kind of Quilter am I?

The following contains excerpts of an excellent newsletter from Quilt University. www.QuiltUniversity.com    A great place for on-line classes if you haven't discovered them already.  I have put the parts from their newsletter in italics, and I do have their permission to repeat their thoughts here.  I thought it was a great thought-provoking and introspective article. 

If I asked what kind of quilter you are, how would you answer?  A dear friend of mine told me I couldn’t call myself a quilter until I had at least five unfinished projects under the cutting table.  If that is true, I think I qualify to be three quilters by now!   

Can you remember when you actually finished one project before starting another?  I don’t honestly think I ever did!  The fabrics and patterns became very insistent, shoving each other and jostling to the front of the line, screaming "me next!!"  That was pretty hard to resist.  Soon my sewing room had UFO’s everywhere.

At the same time, there were new books, each one showcasing beautiful projects and new techniques.  How could I keep quilting if I didn't learn it all?  I became a technique junkie, afraid I might miss the one magic trick that would change my quilting life forever. 

Pretty soon, I began designing my own quilt patterns.  This came as much from a personality flaw as from any great urge to be a designer.  It seems I am constitutionally incapable of following directions for any length of time. 

Have you recognized yourself yet?  Let's look at some other kinds of quilters.  First, there are those who are just stopping by, trying this as they have tried decoupage or knitting.  They usually move on after a quilt or two. This was not me.....I got into quilting because four friends that I made lace with challenged me to take it up.  I said I was not good with math, not good with color, and I couldn’t afford it......I was right on the I couldn’t (or shouldn’t) afford it!

Then there are those who see themselves as part of a great tradition.  They are interested in making a quilt for each member of their family because that's what grandma did.  They often stick with traditional patterns and methods.  A subset of these quilters are the ones who are driven to recreate quilts from the past.  They often search out vintage fabrics to work with.  If old fabrics are not available, they buy reproductions.  They want their quilts to look old.  They value the historical aspect of quilting above any new explorations. This is most definitely NOT me! 

Some quilters just like to sew.  They enjoy handling the fabric and seeing the patterns.  Their real love is the process.  They like to keep their hands busy and making a quilt gives them an outlet and produces a useful product. This description is definitely a part of me!

For some, their favorite part is the quilting.  They lavish endless hours on marking and quilting, taking up to a year creating tiny little stitches.  They are creating heirlooms to be kept and treasured. NOT! 

Then there are the explorers.  They want to learn it all, do it all and then change it all.  They use a bit of this and a dab of that, mix it with their own ideas of what a quilt should be and add new depth and richness to an old tradition.  They often become teachers because quilting has taken over their lives.  They need to support their habit, but they also feel driven to bring others into the fold.  I'm not sure if this is an urge to share or a variation on misery loves company, but nothing makes a teacher happier than watching a new student share her addiction. Now we’re beginning to describe my quilting life! 

Finally, there are those who make art quilts.  Sometimes they are explorers who have moved in this direction.  For others, they were artists in another medium and have moved to fabric from painting or drawing.  Some even come from dimensional art like sculpture and they experiment with ways to make fabric dimensional.

So, who am I?  Like many, a combination of most of the above!  This summer we’ve been working on an addition to our house which is for my parents to live in, which you’ll know if you’ve read my earlier posts.  This week the electrician found a wire that was live in the crawl space, but not connected to anything.  In order to fix that, he needed to get at a plug in the back wall of my sewing room, behind my fabric storage unit.  He asked if I could move all that out of there while they had lunch so that he could access it!  I said a bad word!  But I did it!  And in these photos you can see the results of my obsessions.....it takes great organizational skills to keep all this stuff where you can find it when you need it......and I don’t have them!  Here's a little video to show you just how it looked!

However, the happy outcome of this rather frustrating day was that everything got tidied up and reorganized and I actually got some sewing done this week, as opposed to painting, staining, digging, sweeping and all the other construction related interruptions! 

Teaching Trees at the Schoolhouse Guild

On Saturday I had the privilege of teaching the tree technique (used in the project on the cover of my book) to the Schoolhouse Quilter's Guild of the Comox Valley.  http://www.schoolhousequilters.com/  What a delightful group of students I had.  Humour reigned supreme in this class, as did self confidence and creativity.  These ladies were enthusiastic, dedicated and outstanding students. 

I only have some quick pictures of their work, they've promised to send me individual photos as they finish them up.  It's such fun to teach that class because people are always amazed at how it works and that they can do it. 

And in the midst of the class, one of the students looked out the window and noticed this tree.  We all found it fascinating how it had hung onto it's seed pods all through the winter winds, rains and snow!  It's a Chestnut tree, but also inspiration for another project!  Zoom in on this one if you can to see nature's decorations hanging in the branches (I couldn't leave the classroom to go out and get a better picture!)

The Rainbow is .... Finishing!!!

While on the island for holidays I fell.  I'd love to say I was rock climbing or beachcombing, but it was actually a slip in the bathroom.  How "old lady" is that!!  I've discovered that gum boots and heavy socks are very forgiving footwear......that and a holiday season where a lot of visiting is done and not a lot of activity.  But I did trek around the island, wander on the beaches and get in and out of boats!  Albeit tenderly. 

I came home three days before I had to go back to work and took it fairly easy, other than a walk to the beach and back with the dog.  But it was when I went back to work, sat at my desk all day and was wearing a work shoe that it became apparent something was really wrong.  My foot swelled quite badly and was burning inside.  I decided I should go to a walk-in clinic and have it checked.  Long story short.....I ended up with my foot in an air cast with three broken metatarsals to nurse back to health!  I was quite honestly surprised as I thought it was just sprained!  I told my husband that I'd felt like a very old woman getting in and out of the boats....bad enough they rock and slide away from you when you get in them, but I was nursing a tender foot.  His reply?  You looked like one too! 

However, the rainbow in this story is that I've been instructed to keep the foot elevated as much as possible, and haven't been able to drive.  Doesn't seem like a silver lining does it?  But it's led me to FINISHING things!  Anything I can do sitting with my foot up.  I've done hand quilting, stitched on binding, and even did some hand mending!  I used to say "Finishing is an "F" word", but now I'm thinking it's a pretty good feeling. 

Here are some pictures of the things I've completed.  The top one is a quilt for a friend's baby, two are samles of classes I'll be teaching this spring.....and I won't bore you with the mending! 

Stitching on an Island in the Pacific!

Not a tropical island, but one that was just as beautiful in it's own way.  This winter saw a change in our lifestyle as my husband has taken on the position as caretaker on a remote island.  The island has several cabins on it and is owned by a doctor whose family only visits in the summer months.  They are missing a lot  by only seeing it in one season!  This is the view from the caretaker's cabin.  Just at sunrise and that mountain was SO pink!  My camera has not done it justice!

This Christmas vacation it has been my pleasure to join my husband and experience remote island living. I am fortunate enough to have two weeks off work over the Christmas holiday period.  This year I spent that with my husband on that tiny little island in the Pacific Ocean. It didn’t start out well when he said as we climbed out of the boat onto the wharf.....”You’re in my domain now.”  I laughed at him as I unloaded a suitcase of fabric, two sewing machines, all my stitching equipment, my laptop, my clothes, my baking supplies and a couple of boxes of fresh vegetables!  However, at point of writing, day 7 of my visit, most of the fresh vegetables are gone, and I’ve staked my claim on “his” domain!!!  Because he works on that island, I took things with me to keep me busy.  Samples for upcoming classes, some mending (I know...quilters don’t do mending.....but he hasn’t caught onto that yet)!  We had ten days in the wilderness and it was spectacular.  Here I am in the biggest house, doing what I love, in a "dream studio"! 

When he was working I spent my time working on sewing projects.  The skipper on the crew boat who brought me into the island asked if I was staying six months!  But I left at least half of it there for next time.  A sewing machine, sewing supplies, cutting mat, pressing cloth, design wall....everything I would normally take to a workshop.  It was like dying and going to heaven.   Here's a photo of the view from where I was sitting. 

I cut fabric, arranged, stitched and just luxuriated in the time available to just design and sew.  I worked on a class that will be offered at Serge ‘N Sew in March.  And this one......to be offered at Serge ‘N Sew in April.  Here’s the link to their web site so you can see other classes they offer as well.  http://www.sergesew.com/

During the times I wasn’t sewing, we went on boat rides to beach comb.  We saw Bottlenose Dolphin which have caused another quilt to percolate, noisy Ravens, Bald Eagles, Flying Squirrels, any number of tiny birds looking for crumbs, and best of all, on the day I went home, Killer Whales!  Absolutely exhilarating!