Happy Hour - Relax and Enjoy: Picture This quilt

If you have ever had the opportunity to make a quilt from a pattern created by Terry Atkinson, you know what a joy it is to work with her patterns. I'd decided a few months ago to take a class at my LQS which featured the Happy Hour: Relax and Enjoy quilt booklet, and the Picture This quilt in particular.

The quilt pictured on the cover is the quilt I will be making. I, too, chose batiks, but I chose tans, browns and reds. It will match the great room in my house. However, I think I will be adding a narrow inner border and a wide outer border; I like the look of the two borders in a quilt.

Yesterday, I took this class. For all of the sewing and quilting I've done, it was the first time I'd ever taken a quilting class, and it was all that I'd anticipated that it would be. Granted, I did not learn anything new, and I moved quickly enough to complete all of my blocks by the end of the day, but I greatly enjoyed the experience. I will definitely do it again.

As of today, I have ironed all 30 blocks, and I am partway through the process of trimming them down to a uniform size. I'll keep you posted.

Quilting 101: A book review

Whether you are trying to decide if quilting is something you’d like to try, or maybe you’ve already decided to take the plunge, you will need a good instructional book on the basics of quilting. Quilting 101: A beginners guide to quilting is such a book. As its name implies, Quilting 101 is an ideal guide for introducing the beginner to the first steps of creating a quilt. Even for those who are more experienced, this book very clearly illustrates some of the elements of the craft that quilters may find confusing, and may want to receive more details on the subject.

Quilting 101 begins with an introduction as to how to use the book as a reference. Assuming no foreknowledge of quilting, the book introduces the reader to Sewing Basics: the sewing machine and its accessories, including presser feet and needles; how to sew a seam; quilting supplies; fabric and batting information; rotary cutting; layering and basting; basic quilting techniques; and binding. Even for those who have sewn a number of quilts, you will still find this discussion of the basics to be very helpful and informative.

The rest of the book is dedicated to basic quilting projects: kitchen accessories (hot pads, coasters, placemats, table toppers, and table runners); lap quilts; pillows; zippered bags; Christmas stockings; wall hangings; sewing machine covers; pillows; even doll quilts. Through these projects, quilters are introduced to the most common quilt blocks, such as Rail Fence, Log Cabin, Nine Patch, Ohio Star, Churn Dash, Flying Geese, and Bow Ties. Also, the projects allow the quilter to sew using common quilting techniques, such as applique, quilt-as-you-go, sewing triangles, sashing, paper piecing, strip piecing, and chain piecing.

Everything that is described in Quilting 101 is also illustrated in full color photographs, making the quilting process that much easier. Quilting 101 is an excellent book and comes highly recommended to you; you could easily own this book alone, and possess virtually everything you need to know about basic quilting. Many thanks to Creative Publishing for yet another great publication!

For the love of quilting

Recently, I was asked for a sewing machine contest by YCQT to share why I love quilting. So, I stopped to really think about it.

I thought about how it gives me a diversion from all of the crazyness that life has to offer at times. If you quilt or sew, or really do any type of crafting, you can relate; just by planting myself in front of the sewing machine, or by handling fabric, I can feel the tension begin to melt away. There is something tranquil, almost therapeutic in the cutting and arranging of fabric, or in the soft whirring of the sewing machine.

I thought about how, while quilting is something I do in solitude, I can also do it with others. Sometimes my daughters quilt and sew with me.

I thought about how sometimes I quilt and sew with my sewing circle (our group is mentioned in previous posts on this blog) in our quest to provide quilts and other sewn items for those in need in our area. We have sewn for families of deceased infants, abandoned babies, the elderly, the homeless, families living in shelters–the list goes on and on. We do not have outside financial backing, and many of us are not much better off than those for whom we sew; our fabric comes to us through donations. (If you have any fabric you'd like to donate, by the way, let me know; we'd be ever so grateful.)

I thought about how it would be great to work with a brand new machine. New machines often sew faster, and, for the most part, do not need frequent repairs, so you can sew more in the same amount of time. But whether our machines are new, fairly new, vintage, or otherwise, we will continue with our mission. Even with older, vintage machines (from the 60s, quite often), we do all that we can for the babies, children, women and men of our community.

Hawaiin quilting: An interesting story

The Pillows to Patch Quilt Collection: The Hawaiian Way

I don't know if you have ever looked closely at the origins and significance of quilting in Hawaii, but it took an interesting detour from the route that was taken here in America, and one with which we are accustomed. Most cultures can take a guess or make an estimate as to when a particular practice first came into being, and where it may have begun. Attempting to figure out who the first users are is almost impossible.

With Hawaiian quilting, however, this is not the case. In fact, quilting in Hawaii can be traced back to a specific year, place, event, and persons. It is my understanding that in 1820, the wives of two prominent Hawaiians were invited aboard a ship named the Thaddeus. Once aboard, they were taught the traditional method of piecing quilts by missionary wives. Over the next few years, Hawaiian women wrestled with this strange concept of cutting up perfectly good fabric, only to sew it back together again. To a culture which had no use for warm bedcoverings, and was highly resourceful, this was considered to be wasteful indeed.

So the women of Hawaii took this art form and placed their own unique spin on it. First of all, they appear to have abandoned the practice of piecework. Instead, they used one piece of fabric for an applique and cut their design of choice from this fabric. It is in the cutting that Hawaiians made their quilts distinct from the rest of the world. Using a cutting method not unlike the one you may have used as a child to cut snowflakes, they folded the fabric into fourths or eighths and created their applique pattern. They then allegedly handed the remnant pieces back to the misisonaries! Isn't that funny?

Hawaiian quilts are highly symbolic, as they are not utilitarian. The quilts of Hawaiian women were a reflection of their beautiful surroundings, their religious beliefs, and their homeland. They memorialized and celebrated loved ones who had passed on, as well as yet to be born babies. In a land where an elaborate hand appliqued design could take several months to complete, quilts were considered to be very special, and were regarded as heirlooms. Since there was no need to ward off the cold, it did not matter how long a quilting project took to complete.

Who knew that quilts in different regions of the world could have such different meanings and evolve so differently? Because quilts have their beginnings in necessity here in our American culture, it may be difficult for us to understand, at least initially, how quilts could become so different in other places in the world. Today, it is perfectly normal to see quilts here in the United States that were created specifically as art and not as bedcoverings, but in the early 19th century, this could not have been anticipated.

Elm Creek Quilts series: Some thoughts

I have decided to stop reading and rating the Elm Creek Quilts series--at least for now. Mainly, I can no longer overlook the storylines that have been created for this book. I believe that historical fiction has to have some grounding in history, and these books feel very contrived and "over-the-top" to me. Practically all of them have a modern-day storyline with flashbacks to families of the past who once resided in the region. Now, I have no objection to this method of storytelling. What has made me decide to stop reading them is the fact that, as an African American, I have a hard time believing that events in the flashback stories described in the books could have even remotely happened. Perhaps I am just no longer a starry-eyed optimist (hmm; was I ever?) and unable to accept the degree of opposition to slavery that is described in the books. Yes, there were certainly those who opposed it, but to romanticize this period in history and its surrounding events is almost an insult.

There is also the fact that the myth of underground railroad quilts still, in a roundabout fashion, continues to be suggested. Again, the notion of using quilts to aid escaping slaves in their journey to freedom, which has not been proven to be true, is put forth repeatedly in these books. African American history is complicated enough without adding fiction and wishful thinking. I wish I could keep ignoring this and try to enjoy the books (after all, I am a quilter!), but I think I have just read my last book of this series, and written my last review. At least for now.

The Master Quilter: A book review

The Master Quilter (Elm Creek Quilts Series #6) begins at the point at which Sylvia has just wed her companion Andrew in a surprise Christmas ceremony. It is a sign of things to come, for this sixth novel in the series is about a host of surprises that the Elm Creek quilters experience and share with one another. The central surprise is that of the quilt that the Elm Creek quilters are attempting to create as a belated wedding present for the newlyweds--without their knowledge.

Surprises:

Summer moves in with her boyfriend, then moves out, then announces she is leaving Elm Creek Manor to pursue her educational dreams she never realized she had

Bonnie, teetering on the edge of insolvency, is hit with three blows all at once. Her husband reveals his intention to divorce her; her shop is vandalized and the insurance company may not reimburse her for damages; her landlord sells her building to an unscrupulous realty management company, who will most likely force her to close the doors of her quilt shop.

Judy accepts a position at an Ivy League university, located no less than a hundred miles away, thus creating the need for her and her family to relocate.

Diane's ongoing feud with her next-door neighbor and quilting rival reaches a climax.

The Quilter's Legacy, Elm Creek Quilts: A book review

The Quilter’s Legacy (Elm Creek Quilts Series #5) continues the story of the Elm Creek quilters by focusing once again on the life of Sylvia Compson. More accurately, the novel focuses on her ancestry, and Sylvia’s mother, Eleanor, in particular. When Sylvia prepares to go the attic to find her mother’s quilts, she is informed that her sister sold them several decades ago. Sylvia then decides to conduct a nationwide search in the effort to determine where they might have gone.

Along the way, we are given a lot of detail regarding Eleanor and her relatively short life. We learn that she was born with a condition that rendered her physically less robust than others, which, she was told, would eventually lead to an early death. However, when she lived beyond childhood, which was not anticipated, Eleanor began to truly live life and to make decisions, such as getting married and having children, that she had otherwise never dreamed she’d be able to do. We not only learn about her family life before she married and left home, but we also learn about her difficult relationship with her parents, and how they lived during Eleanor’s adult years. In this history of Eleanor’s life, we learn of the quilts she expertly sewed at certain times and in response to certain events.

Yet this novel is as much about the importance of the documentation of family history as it is about a particular family. Eleanor was faithful to sign and label all of her quilts, which provided Sylvia with a bit of assistance during her search for them. However, had Claudia, Sylvia’s sister who sold the heirloom quilts, been faithful to at least note where she sold them or to whom she sold them, it would have perhaps given Sylvia a bit more of assistance when she searched for them.

The manner in which the story unfolds is similar to other Elm Creek novels, yet slightly different. As in earlier novels, the history is told in flashbacks. However, unlike other novels in the series, only the reader is allowed to know the history; the characters remain ignorant of the events. So, essentially, while we find out about Eleanor’s life, Sylvia and her friends do not have the benefit of receiving the same information. Again, here is a reason to ensure that a family’s history gets recorded; it would have been nice for Sylvia to have more knowledge of her mother than the few scanty details that she had.

As always, you will enjoy this book as the lighthearted, entertaining novel it was meant to be. Even in spite of the author’s desire to incorporate a dose of reality into the book, it is still rather “pie in the sky” at times. But I think you will still find this book entertaining and, at times, even suspenseful and tear-jerking.

Color Mastery from a master

On Monday, February 9th, Maria Peagler will be stopping by my other blog (http://harperacademy.blogspot.com) to offer expert advice on creating quilts with visual "bling" through color choices. She will most likely be offering excerpts and juicy tidbits from her new book, Color Mastery: 10 Principles for Creating Stunning Quilts. I have a copy of it; it is eye candy at its finest! Fabulous color illustrations, step-by-step processes, lots of great detail and explanation--and for those of you who are intimidated by the use of THE color wheel, she explains this very clearly! Maria is eager to discuss the incorporation of fine arts into the homeschool environment, by using a craft as practical as quilting.

Hope you can drop by; see you then!

The Runaway Quilt, Elm Creek Quilts: A book review

In this fourth book of the series, The Runaway Quilt (Elm Creek Quilts Series #4) opens with Sylvia Bergstrom having received news that her family's connections with the Underground Railroad may have been more than what she'd originally been told. When a quilt which was most likely made by a resident of Elm Creek more than a century ago ends up in the hands of the descendants of slave owners, Sylvia is driven to determine the truth, and to find out the extent of what part her family played in history during the pre-Civil War era.

Sylvia tackles a task she'd been putting off for a long time--she goes to the attic and begins searching through over a century's worth of family heirlooms to find clues to her past. She discovers a trunk with quilts and a journal, written by her great-grandfather's sister, her aunt Gerda. Sylvia is delighted and reassured to find confirmation of many of the family stories which had been handed down through the generations. Her family did indeed conduct a station on the Underground Railroad. However, they came to be stationmasters in a rather unexpected manner. The journal holds other surprises, as well.

The story is told in a series of flashbacks, with Sylvia moving between the past and the present. Her friends are supportive of her journey, and Elm Creek Manager Summer even quietly conducts library research to one day share with Sylvia. Sylvia's relationship with her suitor and childhood friend, Andrew, continues to grow and blossom. Other recurring characters make an occasional appearance. But, clearly, this particular book of the series is about Sylvia.

This book also makes reference to the myth of quilt codes being used on the Underground Railroad. The author, however, chose not to support too strongly the fabricated "quilt clues," only occasionally making reference to these unfounded elements. Rather, she opted to use the concept of a picture quilt, showing the way like a map, not unlike a well known children's book published not many years before this novel. Perhaps this concept should have been left out altogether, as there is no evidence that such picture quilts existed either, but the author at least made somewhat of an attempt to make clear to the reader that all of these concepts are not historically accurate.

Nonetheless, it is another light-hearted, enjoyable read in the series. The Runaway Quilt (Elm Creek Quilts Series #4) will keep you in suspense, and brings you to a couple of very surprising and unexpected revelations. If you like fiction, and you like to quilt, you will like this book!

The Cross-Country Quilters, Elm Creek Quilts: A book review

Book three of the series, The Cross-Country Quilters introduces us to new quilters. As suggested by the title, these quilters make their way from various regions of the country to Elm Creek for a quilt retreat. Naturally, the established characters make appearances throughout the book. Sylvia is on the mend from an occurrence in the second book. Sarah and Matthew, who have now assumed a greater role in the management of Elm Creek Manor, are seen from time to time, as well, with issues between them growing.

We are introduced to women who are unlikely to become friends, were it not for their Cross Country Quilters group, but yet form friendships. One character, Julia, is making a last-ditch effort to revive her failing movie career by learning to quilt for a part in a movie. Two other quilters, Donna and Megan, met on the Internet and have the opportunity to meet in person at Elm Creek Manor at the quilt retreat. Vinnie, a spunky octogenerian, is hoping to pair her grandson with Donna.

We are introduced to quilters of color in this book. Grace, a world famous quilter, has been unable to quilt for several months. While she states that she has a severe case of 'quilter's block,' the reality is that she is hiding MS, a debilitating illness, which robs her of her ability to hold scissors or to sew fabric pieces together. We also meet Judy, whose soldier father abandoned her and her mother not long after she was born. Judy has recently been contacted by her father's other family, and is debating traveling to meet them.

As always, there is a healthy mix of triumphs and trials, successes and failures in the book. In a society where a large segment of the population is nearing retirement age, dealing with issues of aging and illness are very appropriate. It is also appreciated that quilters of color are included, as well. Also, there are parenting challenges, marital problems, physical illnesses (other than MS), just to name of few. Cross-Country Quilters is an enjoyable read.