TIPS AND TRICKS: THINKING OUTSIDE THE BOX

I want you to start thinking outside the box that most of us 21st century quilters inhabit. This box has been made to look cushy and creative, but really is more about selling product than it is about creativity. I have nothing against any of the current trends but am concerned that when adopted quickly by beginning quilters these trends can stifle their creativity and lead them to believe that complex is difficult and fast is best.

Quilter unknown - not mine!!! Definitely lovely

Basically my feeling is that the more gizmos and machines you add to the quiltmaking mix, the farther away you get from the ability to see your quilt develop and make changes and improvements as you go along. I think most artists will tell you that is the creative process itself that is so essential to them, not the end product and personally I find that the less that is between me and the process of making a quilt, the happier I am and the more successful I am.
I want you to do this exercise TODAY: think about it first. Imagine you are going away to an isolated spot where you will spend an extended holiday - no shops and no internet although you can bring along a laptop with your notes and files.
You can bring only your basic quilting supplies - good dressmaker's shears, utility scissors, needles, thread and marking devices (mechanical pencil, chalk pencil, tailor's chalk and powdered chalk in a holder with wheel. You will be allowed to bring with you a selection of fabric cut into squares, rectangles and half square triangles and you can bring a bit of yardage too if you wish. And for patterns you will have some rough schematic drawings and some plain lined and unlined paper along with a favourite ruler and some template plastic, gridded and plain.
You will have to do lots of homework before you set off, so come along with me over the next couple of weeks and see what that will entail and what you may learn!!
START RIGHT NOW AND KEEP LOTS OF NOTES EITHER ON YOUR COMPUTER OR IN YOUR PROJECT BOX!!
See you soon!

What's New?

My goodness! What isn't new? This is a catch-up post and I'm going to flit here and there to bring folks up to date.
QUILTS AT THE HARBOUR:What a weekend that was - catching up with old friends and meeting new ones while hosting an event which has become an annual must-do for local quilt lovers, and always a few tourists doing some early leaf-peeping come along too.
We had our most successful show so far with 4 major quilts sold and over $700 raised for the church as well. To this tiny community, that amount is remarkable and I want to thank all the people, exhibitors and visitors plus faithful volunteers (in particulart, Richard, Joanne, Kathryn and Grace) who are there for us each year. Word has spread too, about the quilters' gently used table and things sold so well that Saturday night I had to go home and raid my fabric stash for more items as the table was so badly picked over!!! I'm looking forward to next year already!!!

FALL INTO FALL GIVEAWAY BLOG HOP: Debi is hosting this blog hop at: http://www.fallintofall.blogspot.com/ if you haven't already been "hopping", hop on over and check it out - she has signed up over 150 blogs; each one of us is giving some lovely item(s) away if you sign up before October 15th, so there is still plenty of time to do some hopping. I'm thrilled at the number of people who have visited my blog to sign up for the set of three handmade lavender sachets that I am offering and if I reach 125, which is my goal, I will be adding a second prize of three more sachets. I've found so many new-to-me blogs that I want to follow that I know my winter will be a busy one!! Keep an eye on my blogroll for new additions. And thank you to the additional followers I have noticed signing up!

On the home front I'm plugging away at clearing all the summer accumulation out of my back porch so I can store my winter supply of wood under cover for those days when the wind blows hard and the snow falls deep. Slow work as I have two large and two smaller projects on the go for patient customers and those need to take priority. However, today I lit the stove for the first time this year and the warmth is lovely! Nothing beats heating with wood for surrounding you with  cosy comfort. And as they say, it warms you twice: while stacking and lugging, and while sitting cosy by the stove with a cup of coffee and some handwork.

And finally: QUILTING WITH JANET: GETTING STARTED: I haven't forgotten my promise to so many people that I will begin a programme of tips and projects and essays designed to help newbies with their biggest puzzles - I have talked to several other new and not so new quilters who are puzzled by such things as getting your corners to meet up, quilting across spots where several seams come together and things like choice of patterns and colours.
I'm debating starting with all the things you can do with half square triangles - see above! I have located some papers, workshops and lesson plans and will be adding content to the pages you see listed at the side of my blog. If you decide to become a follower, I will give you a heads-up when new content appears on those pages.

Now I really must make myself a hot turkey sandwich and while the gravy is heating up I will lug in  more wood.
See you all later.
Hugs, and warm wishes for a happy Canadian Thanksgiving
Janet

Announcing Fall into Fall - and my giveaway prize is!!

In order to have a very inclusive giveaway, I decided to give a set of three handmade lavender sachets filled with fresh lovely smelling lavender - because this gift can be packaged very small and therefore mailed very economically, I can include everyone, worldwide in this draw! So come along and join in the fun - just leave a comment on this particular post and I will include you for the draw! This is so much fun I think I will soon have a giveaway on my other blog soon too!

Because all the sachets I had for sale at the local Quilt Show and Sale last weekend sold out, the fabrics used might not be the same - and in fact perhaps you would like to choose colours - that's possible too as I am making more at the moment.

Giveaway will be drawn for at midnight my time, on October 15th - hope you win!!!

QUILTS AT THE HARBOUR 12th ANNUAL SHOW AND SALE

An overview of the  Sepember 2009 show

It's that time again!!! The last weekend in September is reserved for the Quilts at the Harbour Quilt Show and Sale and it's hard to believe that we are coming up for our 12th show!
This coming weekend:
WHEN: Saturday Sept 25th from 10AM until 5PM and Sunday Sept 26 from Noon until 5PM
WHERE: West Hall's Harbour United Baptist Church, 885 West Hall's Harbour Road - follow the road around through the Harbour, past the Lobster Pound and on up the hill on the paved road - the church is on the right hand side facing toward Sullivan Road coming in from the west.
WHAT: Quilts and Quilted items, gently used tables for quilters, bakesale table and free light refreshments
              In addition, an opportunity to view a small heritage country church and cemetery dating to the   
             1840's - original furnishings intact
HOW MUCH: freewill offering. All proceeds will benefit the church

Come and bring your friends - a great opportunity for Christmas shopping and for quilters to get new ideas. Buy local and buy hand made!!!!! Green is the trend these days.
                   
See you there!!!!!

WHAT THE QUILTING INDUSTRY DOESN'T WANT YOU TO KNOW!

Okay - you've decided you want to learn to quilt - you've visited a quilt show or two and looked at a few sites online and the idea is very appealing. And why shouldn't it be? There are countless numbers of women and men too who are making quilts and supporting a multi-million dollar business in the process.
Just think of the number of fabric designers, quilt designers, sewing machine dealers, long arm quilting machine dealers and long arm quilters, the notions business, thread business, local quilt stores, quilt teachers, quilt retreat operators and on and on and you get an idea of what I mean.

My very strong feeling is that in the rush to get to something new, finish as many pieces as possible and take the next popular set of lessons, we have become driven by the industry's need to forever innovate and grow their markets, and our own creative processes have been left to one side while we are encouraged to follow te latest trend and do it "exactly as it is shown in the magazine".
.
Do we really need to have the latest sewing machine with all the bells and whistles that we may never use? Do we even need a sewing machine? Personally I have had a love/hate relationship with my two sewing machines - a 35 year old Bernina which was state of the art back when I bought it in the early 70's, and my chain store 'el cheapo' I bought when my Bernina needed service and we had no trained service person within 600 miles! Yikes! We do now, thank goodness for Jean Hunjtley the Bernina Lady.
I eventually came around to thinking hand piecing ,although slow, was the way forward to accuracy for me and in fact was a lot faster and more self-affirming than picking stitches out.

Do we need all the notions that are being pushed on us - special acrylic rulers for this and that with special patterns and instructions? What is wrong with one omnigrid ruler with some angles etched on it?
And what is wrong with making your own templates and marking and cutting pieces individually? I do have a rotary cutter and a self healing cutting board  but I'd be hard pressed to tell you where the cutter is right now - haven't used it in months!

Do we need the very latest fabric release?

In case you haven't been looking closely at what fabric designers are releasing, there seem to be a lot of copycat fabrics out there - what you need to do is be aware of what your favourite designers and fabric companies are doing, what colours you prefer and look really closely at their output - many fabric lines use the same basic hues and choices can be made among them interchangeably - for example Minick and Simpson's last three or four lines have been easily interchangeable with one another, so if you find full price hard to do you can look for 'remaindered' fabrics and buy on sale at a considerable discount - you don't have to have the exact same fabric as the pattern shows - the world doesn't end and actually no one will even notice if you don't. You definitely don't need "special occasion" fabrics - Xmas, thanksgiving, hallowe'en, patriotic etc your colour choices will send the message.

We do need quality though - some fabrics that are remaindered or end up in the chain stores are made from lesser quality greige goods - the undyed fabric - and are a poor choice as they become flimsy and wear out quickly once the sizing is removed by the first wash - so buy first quality but on clearance.

Books and Patterns: I have a stack of books as high as I am and a huge cache of patterns and yet I rarely open a book or follow an actual pattem.

Why is that?

For starters, when I began to make quilts about 20 years ago I bought one very good "how to" book - Fons and Porter's Quilter's Complete Guide which was written before all the innovations in quiltmaking happened so I was instructed on how to draft a quilt block, basic quiltmaker's math and basic handquilting - all skills that are now lost to many newer quilters. From this book I learned the particular hints and tricks unique to quiltmakers as I already had the basic sewing skills I needed. I have a few copies in stock - they are hard to find now - out of print.

I buy patterns every chance I get if they tell me something useful to add to my design skills but I seldom actually sit down and follow one pattern from start to finish - in this way my quilts never become just like someone else's. I am still stunned when I visit an online site selling high end quilts and see one made from a kit or a pattern - what's the point in that?

These are a few points I want to make to help you free up your creativity from the strictures of popular quiltmaking. I will be adding several articles shortly expanding on the topics discussed above.

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Minick and Simpson Stars and Irish Chain using their Wiscasset line

"old faithful"

Please accept my apologies for the repeat pictures and their poor placement. It appears Blogger is having some glitches. I will attempt to straighten things out later!!

Changes Coming - series of tutorials for confident beginners

You could make this quilt as your first big project!

Over the last couple of years I have had increasing numbers of beginning quiltmakers contact me about lessons and where they might find the support they need.

As I see it, potential quiltmakers fall into several categories and need programmes tailored to their specific interests and needs. The first and probably larger group is composed of people who want to make one or two projects that are easy and readily available. They want to have a social experience mainly and secondarily a quiltmaking experience, and are not too interested in going further into the tradition and becoming intensely involved.

The second and smaller group of potential quiltmakers will not be best served by a large, mainly social group such as a guild or a class at the local quiltshop. Instead they are ready to learn all the skills needed in traditional quiltmaking and want to do so from the ground up - and in an organized and detailed way while at the same time exploring their creativity, their access to all art forms and to the history of quiltmaking over the years.

The latter group is the group I am interested in reaching out to and I have given  a lot of thought to how best to serve  their needs.

As I age and as my own quiltmaking business expands rapidly, I have less and less energy to spend on the direct teaching aspects but have spent considerable time in polishing online lessons or tutorials and getting them ready to present to you, and am well aware of the need to provide feedback. This blog seems like the ideal vehicle to serve your needs and I will be interested in hearing from those of you who feel they would like to expand their skills at the same time as they unleash their creative quiltmaking "inner self".

Your comments will help me to gauge the need for this type of tutorial and what the content should include. Don't be shy, talk to me and I will respond to your comments.

Basically I am going to offer this as a free service but may expand to provide at cost simple fabric packs and instructions including templates for a limited number of projects.

See you soon!

Giveaway Reminder!!!

I want to remind you all that you have until midnight my time - Atlantic Daylight Saving Time - to visit my sister website:  http://www.funkybabymine.blogspot.com/ and enroll as a follower to be eligible for my giveaway prizes. For those who miss out, stay tuned as I will be running another giveaway later this summer.

KEEPING IT SIMPLE IN THE SUMMER:

Unusual in my Northeastern Atlantic corner of North America, but this summer has been unbearably hot humid and muggy. I have no real desire to do anything about food except to eat very lightly, using what is available locally and is fresh and light. A typical menu one day this week was coffee and fresh fruit(berries) for breakfast, a mid afternoon meal of doorstep sized slabs of fresh white bakery bread popped under the broiler with slices of swiss cheese and minced green onion washed down with nice cold well water and for supper after the heat of the day a sauce of stewed blueberries and a sprinkle of nutmeg over a small slice of lemon loaf cake.

RECIPE FOR LEMON LOAF:
half cup softened margarine or butter
three quarter cup fine sugar
three quarter cup flour
teaspoon baking powder
4 tablespoons milk or water
2 large eggs
grated rind of one lemon

bake 40-45 minutes in 325F (180C) oven
pour mixture of 3 tablespoons lemon juice and 3 tablespoons of icing sugar over hot cake - let cool in tin and then turn out or cut and lift out as required - yummy!

Not long ago I acquired a tin of Crabtree and Evelyn shortbread cookies which supplies my need for a sweet now and then and awaits company for tea and a biscuit! And I get to have the lovely tin to keep needlework notions in later!!
For tonight I am thinking of fresh peas and carrots with a side of sliced fried new potatoes saved from boiling extra the other evening to serve smothered in caramelized onions alonside fresh veggies and a hamburg patty.
There is no need to heat the kitchen with cooking, and no real need for meat when so much fresh produce is available and so plentiful and yummy, and there will be time enough for long simmered oven stews, casseroles and home baked bread in winter when the extra heat generated is welcome in my old and drafty house.