Quilt progress!

Finally two quilt tops done an done of them to be sent off to be quilted. In spite of the fact that work has been hectic I've also managed to keep working on a couple of additional applique projects. Fingers crossed that the progress continues

Quilt challenge

For some odd reason, even though I have a slew of unfinished quilt projects (18 and counting if you must know) I insist that a friend participate in a quilt challenge each year. The rules vary from year to year but basically we are to use a new technique, use a fabric choice we normally would never use etc.

To participate in a quilt challenge is insane for me as I hand piece and I know I will never finish anything in 365 days yet every January I optimistically assume that I will. Case in point – for our 2014 challenge we were to each use a selected piece of modern quilt fabric. I used a cute Riley Blake raccoon fabric and my friend got a print with large pineapples on it. I then decided I would further challenge myself by making an autobiographical sampler quilt with my raccoons. So, for example, I put in Dutchman’s puzzle as my mother’s family come from Dutch stock, there is a Colorado star for my birthplace etc. I should mention that I am still working on this quilt as hand piecing takes forever. My friend wisely chose a big block pattern and machine pieced it. I don’t think she has quilted it down yet so we both are not yet technically done but still…she is so much farther ahead than I am. I’m closing in though – just have to put on some borders….

Even though I never complete these things on time I do learn valuable lessons. For example, I learned two things from the 2014 challenge: the first being I should have really thought out my complementary color palate before starting, and after having figured out the palate to sticking with either solids or smaller prints that read as solid; the second being that working with different sized blocks can be very frustrating. I also probably shouldn't have used such traditional blocks but I'm on the fence about this. Other modern quilts do use traditional pieced blocks but on a smaller scale. I can say that I grew as a quilter from having participated in this particular challenge but I can also say that I probably won’t repeat trying to work with different sized blocks unless I have a predetermined pattern on how to use them. I will definitely try working with modern quilt fabrics again though but with a little more thought put into it this time. In the meanwhile I'm posting the quilt pre borders/sashing. I hope to have the completed quilt top posted soon.

Slow Quilting

I’m so glad that more attention is being paid to taking a leisurely attitude towards quilting. Mark Lipinski has been advocating for slow quilting for a while now and quilting daily also recently featured an article on it. Slow quilting is really the concept of slowing down and enjoying what we do. It isn't about how many projects get down nor how quickly and it is also a step away form the commercialization of quilting. We don't always have to have the latest tool, product etc.

I’ve always been a “slow” stitcher as I do almost everything by hand and work full time so I don’t get to devote a lot of daily time to it. I began to feel a little intimidated by all the other quilting folks I ran into who had finished this project or that project and had then rushed on to yet another project. I also began to notice that many of the quilts in my quilt show also looked almost exactly like its neighbor and/or were fairly simple in design. Now don’t get me wrong I enjoy simple and straightforward as much as the next person but I began to notice that there seemed to be less variety and interest in the recent crop of quilt patterns. It seemed to me that people were less interested in being creative and more interested in just getting product out there. I understand why people and shops are pushing product, they too need to make a living after all and I do enjoy buying new materials but…I also don’t want to feel chained to a craft that I’m supposed to enjoy. Sometimes I want to be creative and play with my fabric without necessarily producing an end result. So when I saw one of Lipinski’s Rules I was stoked “Slow Stitching is about enjoying the process, rather than anticipating a deadline or project completion” However I need to do more than stitch slowly – I need to stitch mindfully - “Slow Stitching is making time to immerse yourself in your creative process” - I stitch but I’m not always thinking about why I am stitching. Sometimes it, like reading these days, can be a bit of a chore. This feeling is all on me as I worry that I’ve got all these projects piling up so I need to go back to the rule that says …don’t anticipate completion…So this morning I took this advice and just sat and thought about the block I was working on and why I was working on it rather than “this should have been done last year”. I found that I enjoyed my time with the fabric more and it made a great way to start the day before heading to work.

I’ve decided to incorporate this attitude on a daily basis – how about you, do you think you can craft mindfully in whatever it is that you do? I think if you do you’ll fall even in more love with your craft.