02.10.08
Posted in Quilting at 5:35 pm by Administrator
One of my brother Steve’s favorite sayings was, “A Place for Everything, and Everything in its Place.” Of course, he was referring to the farm tool shop. He’d sometimes get exasperated when he found that a tool had wandered, either left “out of place” or removed entirely … to the house.
Of course, the same is true of any home studio. Quilters often collect fabric and gadgets and old quilts and old fabrics and sewing machines and magazines and handkerchiefs and old ties and threads and heaven knows what else … faster than they realize. Suddenly, a one room studio has “expanded” to include every spare closet in the house, every under bed space, every guest room bed, and any other nook and cranny.
I say, “Hoarders, unite!” We have to develop a plan, and so saying, I am mainly speaking of myself. I heard one quilter describe herself as a SABLE quilter. She explains that SABLE, to her, means “Stash Acquired Beyond Life Expectancy.” Scary thought, but I could include myself in that category.
Where to start? Well, I think it will be with organizing fabrics. Trouble is, do I organize them by color or type? For example, I could stack up plain colors, print colors, batiks, and florals, etc., trying to keep like-colors together. A dear friend suggested that the individual pieces of fabric be rolled, using a 6″ wide Omnigrid ruler, and that is what I’m trying. Of course, we all have scraps, too. At the moment, those are stored in a large canvas bag, yet I know I need to do something different with them. I’m thinking of net bags that would allow the air in.
Once I get a handle on the fabric situation, I think I’ll look at all the unfinished embroidery and quilt projects and make some decisions. The magazines will be next. I can cull out the articles I really want to keep, and store them logically, marked with a tab, in a notebook. Make that more than one notebook.
I want to write down what I remember about each of the quilts in my collection. In some cases, I know precious little, other than I liked it when I bought it. Of course, ones that I made but have not yet marked, I can add labels with quite a lot of details, and I should do that because no one knows more about my collection than I do, and I really don’t want orphans floating around about whom no one knows a thing, when I’m not here to tell them.
In the meantime, it sure would be nice to feel more organized. Then, I can more easily make decisions about what to downsize so that my life will feel more sane, and less cramped. If you’re like me, it must seem that fabrics, pens and pencils, papers, magazines, etc. reproduce while you’re sleeping. Suddenly, you have an overwhelming mess of “all good stuff” - too good to throw away, and too much to keep.
Our days are limited, a thought only truly realized the older we become. Therefore, we have to pick our projects and the way we spend our time, carefully. I just know that I will feel like being more creative, once I get feel like I’m managing the material goods I own. When it gets to the point when finding even a simple tool is difficult, you know you’re in trouble. Some words are timeless - “A place for everything and everything in its place.” They still ring true, whether you are cooking in the kitchen, or woodworking in the basement. All I can do is to start this organizing project.
Wish me luck!
Patricia Cummings in snowy NH
http://www.quiltersmuse.com
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01.30.08
Posted in Quilting at 1:29 am by Administrator
Yesterday was a glorious sunny day and we decided to head the car in the direction of Keepsake Quilting. Sometimes we feel guilty having the store to ourselves in New Hampshire, but I know that many of you put it on your “destinations” list in better weather, and with good reason.
If I had not had in mind what I actually wanted to buy, I would have felt overwhelmed, as has happened before. There have been times when I have walked out the door empty handed, and only because the selections are so numerous. It’s the same kind of feeling I get when I go to the candy section of the Vermont Country Store. There they have every single kind of chocolate and licorice confection every made. Where else would you still find “Good and Plenty” candies?
Yesterday, gift certificate in hand, I headed for the sections with medleys. I love the look of scrap quilts and so I don’t mind having a fat quarter of this and a fat quarter (yard) of that. Scrap quilts suit my personality perfectly.
So, this morning, my new task was to wash all of the fabrics. I chose the most delicate/hand wash cycle, cold water, no detergent, and threw in a color catcher sheet to pick up loose dyes in the wash. Better there than on a piece of white fabric in the quilt, at a later date.
One hundred dollars later, I felt virtuous in having stimulated the economy. I have great plans for my new quilting fabrics. They are just the impetus I needed to get me out of a period of inactivity when all I’ve wanted to do is to write. I’m almost finished making a counted thread work piece of the Tudor Rose, a pattern which was brought to me from London, from someone dear to my heart.
I feel inexplicably happy. I suppose it’s not good to voice that because it’s sort of like tempting the fates. She’s happy? Can’t have that! Let’s send down a lightening bolt, or have a black cat cross her path. Luckily, superstition is not my thing. I think I’ll just continue being creative and thinking creative thoughts because those activities are truly the root of my happiness.
Happy Quilting!
Patricia Cummings
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01.26.08
Posted in Uncategorized, Quilting at 3:22 am by Administrator
Lately, I’ve noticed some signs, subtle though some of them may be, that quilting as a trend is taking a downswing. Within the past two days, I have received fabric or quilt supplies advertisements in the mail. Instead of the slick paper that shows off the wares to their best advantage, the catalogs are printed on the least expensive, newsprint type, paper one could buy.
I am noticing a lot less activity on quilt and needlework lists. I’m realizing that quilt shows that used to be held every year are now happening only every other year. Crochet and Knitting magazines dominate the newsstands. The shelves in major bookstores, once teaming with quilt titles have a mere fraction of their former book offerings. I could go on and on.
I hate to be the bearer of bad tidings, but it seems like the writing is (literally) on the wall. I’ve thought about this situation a bit and have come to a few conclusions.
The most obvious conclusion is that most quilters do not make quilts to keep the family warm. Therefore, quilting classes, the purchase of quilting supplies, quilt magazines, paid online memberships, quilt books, quilt trips, and anything else related to the hobby is in the category of “entertainment” in the family budget. The economy is not doing too well, at the moment.
When I began quilting, circa 1984/1985, the old standards were in place. With “practice,” anyone had a shot at being “good” at quilting - good enough to enter shows; good enough to win ribbons. Precise piecing was valued as was hand quilting.
Today, the bar has been raised. One has to have some tricks up one’s sleeves and know how to manipulate photography, discharge and dye fabrics, embellish until the cow’s come home, and be original with a capital “O.” Gone are the days of someone oohing and aahing over a simple Double Irish Chain Quilt. Those quilts are passé.
Art quilts of all types are “in.” However, can they sustain an industry that has traditionally depended on the common, everyday, Susie-Q housewife to keep the craft of quilting alive?
In the balance of things, it seems as though the ordinary quilter who buys the threads and the fabrics to make their everyday quilts are still at the heart and essence of quilt making. These women and men may rely only on their plied hand needle or between, not a long-arm machine with an automatic stitch regulator that they have had to remortgage the house to own, yet the old-fashioned methods make for the most dedicated quilters.
I am watching and waiting to see what other changes will be coming down the line. I’m afraid that those who think of quilting as Big Business, may in the long run, come up short, and sorely disappointed when the trend does not continue much longer. I hope I’m wrong. If someone has the inside track on all of this, I’d love to hear from you.
What I do hear is that demand for professional long arm quilting is very slow, and the request for appraisals has dropped considerably since before Christmas. I hear of formerly active professionals, in quilting, reporting being “burnt out,” and turning to other matters. These are worrisome signs, indeed, for those of us who love quilting and would like to see it continue to be promoted. Any thoughts?
Patricia Cummings, http://www.quiltersmuse.com
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