Quilt A Long

So. . . I'm keeping up now!

I think he liked it!!!

Accomplishing

Well, there has been the colds, the Holidays, and really, the general disinterest in the sewing room lately. I put together a garment rack and got it up in my studio so all the colors of the rainbow are now clearly well represented by t-shirts in my wardrobe. My new shoes are organized. There is some residual clutter that I am dealing with as a result, but overall the result is pleasing.

I am working on my blocks of the week (catch-up) for the quilt a long, and have finished my part of a round robin for quilt group, so soon I will be back to the art quilt that nags at me on my design wall. The sun is nice today, and it lifts the mood toward the new year ahead.

All in all this has been a year of trial for me. I am expecting the year ahead to hold more cheer. I have been contemplating my resolutions, and so far only one stands out to me, and that is that I would like to sew more garment and utility items. I feel like I have been doing a lot of quiltmaking and that that has been taking over my creative time. Some of the items I would like to sew are:
1. Lounge pants
2. Sundress out of cotton lawn
3. A carry all bag
4. A patchwork purse
I will get to the storage cart covers, hopefully start sewing on them after the party I am throwing this next week.

Thought for the new year:

An easy hobby is a boring hobby-

Cheers

Colors cheer me up in the month of December. So I appreciate them wherever I stumble upon them. This is a shot of me brushing off radishes. Did you know that radishes are a source of calcium, magnesium, potassium, phosphorus, beta-carotene, folic acid and vitamin C?

I will get the lights on the tree tonight. I will get the lights on the tree tonight. Yet for now as the wind howls and the rain whispers against it, I will keep my joy during the doings of little things.

What's Up In The Studio

I have the cure for that need to fabric shop that strikes at odd moments and won't leave you alone. Open up a tub of your scraps and iron them, get them ready for a larger purpose.

I'm smothered in cookie dough, but finally it is in the fridge- waiting. I steal a few moments to myself- maybe I will catch up on my blocks since I am BEHIND in the quilt-a-long. Bright fruit can cheer on a winter day.

I have the peace that comes with a freshly cleaned house which smells of lemon, and soon buttery dough. I will get two cookies, and the rest are off to be exchanged tonight. The peanut brittle is packed away from me.

There is a quilt that needs wrapping.

DON'T DO IT. (No, I am not a fabric snob)

Women, you know who you are. Men, you're guilty too. You are out there spending tons of time on your creations and you are using subpar materials from big box stores that fade, bleed, come apart, and will not last or endure in the fine projects they are worked into.

Fabric companies make special runs for these stores, and so the quilt shop will get the same print on a better good, while this print for the big box store is done on a cheap base cloth. Didn't you ever wonder about the price variation?

I know this one quilter who is so defensive about using fabrics from a big box store. She defends this all the time, and quite frankly I respect her choice to use crappy fabrics and I don't argue with her. I just wonder, since she is such a good piecer, why she doesn't value herself and her work enough to use better materials, materials which will ensure that her wonderful quilts will outlive herself and her grandchildren. We are not talking about a woman who could not afford the slightly higher cost.
Why sacrifice excellence for a few dollars?

Now there are some times when using cheap fabric is applicable. For drafting patters, or making costumes or things that will get used once and don't need to last, and for the occasions when you find just the right print that is unique and cannot be found elsewhere.

Yet why risk using fabric that will bleed, possible ruining a quilt you have spent hours on? Now I know that even fabric (read batiks) from quilt shops can bleed, but in my experience that is very rare and any fabric shop of merit will take that fabric back no questions asked. Every purchase I have made of cotton quilting fabric from a big box store, I have been unable to stop color loss from. I have also been upset about the quality of it after it has been prewashed. So I just stopped purchasing it.

Why do I want to just scream at these women -
"YOU ARE WORTH USING GOOD MATERIALS!" This is your legacy, and what do you want that gift to be? Now people can argue cost difference with me, but my reply is a firm,
"Every good quilt shop or fabric store has a sale table of high quality goods, and quite frankly I would rather sew with first rate fabric that is on sale, than cheap fabric if they are giving it away."

I know that quilting is a tradition that evolved from taking the useful parts out of worn out garments and household items, and that this was the material that the original quilts came from. Utility in quilt making is a wonderful quality. However, most women today making creations quilting have to buy materials. They have a choice to make, a vote to cast with their dollar. The American consumer is choosing crap, time and time again, for what?

I plead of you, as a patriot, as a lover of fabric and quilts and all that is of textile-
if you are going to put your time into something, have the courage to use good materials. Pursue excellence in craftsmanship please, and this starts with the best materials that are available to the craftsman.

Have you ever wondered what our world would look like if everyone voted for cheap garish fabric with their dollars? Think about it. No innovative designers, no fabric companies pushing for quality and ingenuity. What are our quilts going to look like in fifty years? I for one, don't want whomever gets my quilts repairing holes or worse shoving them under the dog because all the fabrics have bleed into one another or they are so threadbare that they are useless.

I admit, I am a little firm in my view. Think twice about what you purchase for your art. Buy cheap toilet paper, whatever. But don't you dare buy cheap fabric for your quilts. You're worth more than that, my friend.

As I Thought...

You Are Christmas

More than most people, you are able to find magic in life's small moments.Traditions mean a lot to you, and you tend to be quite nostalgic.You are a giving, kind person who really understands the true meaning of holidays.You inspire others to be as altruistic and caring as you are. What makes you celebrate: Tradition and a generous spirit At holiday get togethers, you do best as: The storyteller. You like to recount memories with everyone. On a holiday, you're the one most likely to: Give a gift to everyone you know

http://www.blogthings.com/whatholidayareyouquiz/">What Holiday Are You?

"If it isn't a ROSE it's a weed"

And I thought I had an odd affection for roses. The characters in:
Otherwise Normal People - Inside The Thorny World of Competitive Rose Gardening (Aurelia C. Scott)
are on the level to which I aspire. These are people who have pursued their passion to the point of excellence.

My favorite character in the book is Clarence. With his pots, and his garage full of roses and rose paraphernalia, he clearly wins the affection of every rose buff. His ingenuity concerning the gadgets he creates for the the care of his roses is amazing. I admire how he keeps trying new ideas out, and I vow to remember that this trait is a hallmark of excellence.

The only thing is, that for myself, instead of showing roses competitively, I have always wanted to use my roses to bless other people, so I give them away to surprise people. Maybe this book will make me want to show my roses at a later date - who knows?
For now the roses are dormant, enriched by melted snow, and what is a rose gardener to do in the winter beside wrinkle the nose smelling the new varieties that do not exist yet in their collection - well read about them, of course.