They're Off!

Today was a big day for me and the pony express. I mailed not one, but two significant packages. One box contained all the projects for my book. They're off to California to be photographed. The other had the Twinkle quilt. I'm glad I mailed these items on the same day because for me they're connected.
When I was first commissioned to make Twinkle, a big part of me wondered what the hell I was doing. I'd made a few big quilts before, but not in this pattern. Could I really dye all those circles? Did I have the discipline to stay with such a huge project? And I asked the same questions when I first took on this book project. Now, the book project is not quite done and I'm way too superstitious to say otherwise, but I have met my deadlines so far and I'm feeling pretty good about the process.
As for Twinkle...well here it is... all done.


Both these projects have taught me that it's important to pursue every opportunity because you never know what it might lead to or how it might push you out of your comfort zone.


Several of you have asked me if I'll be sad to see this quilt go, but I'm really not. I can honestly say that this has been so much more about the process than the product.
That's true for the book project as well. I've discovered new interests and abilities and even a few new limitations. But, that too, is the point of pushing your personal boundaries. It just makes you feel like you're really living and growing, no matter your age. Which, in my case, is not that old.

Binding is the New Yoga

I hope that's not an especially polarizing statement. I mention this because I don't think I've ever met a quilter who expressed a positive opinion of binding a quilt. As recently as a couple of days ago, a friend grimaced as she mentioned that, though she was very pleased with her latest quilt, she still had to bind it and what a drudgery that was. I'm not going to even pretend that I understand this perspective on binding. I've got sympathy, but no real empathy.
I really like binding quilts. And, who knows, maybe I really like doing a lot of things that most folks would find tedious. Because I prefer to think of myself as a relatively normal person, I don't delve too deeply into this issue. But, I stand by what I said, I like binding quilts.


Actually I find it pretty darn relaxing. There's something about gathering a quilt on your lap and slowly, patiently hand stitching the binding. I sometimes think of it as reconnecting with the quilt. Think about it. Everything else about making a quilt has been done, at least in my case, by machine. This is the one job associated with this process that doesn't require electricity.


It also never fails to make me feel connected to the way quilts have been made for generations. I think that's pretty powerful and really quite comforting. And maybe that's why I always feel calm when I'm binding a quilt. I'm slowing down to work at a pace that for better or worse belonged to a bygone era. I'm reconnecting by taking the stitches one at a time the way they used to.


It's a vacation from my usual pace and that's why I like binding quilts.

My Adventures in Long Arm Quilting

When we first moved into our current house, I scoffed at the fact that it had an automatic garage door opener. My contention was that I'd lived my entire life without this superfluous bit of technology and I didn't think I needed it now. I was wrong. A fact that became incredibly apparent to me the first time it poured down rain and I didn't have to get drenched in the process of opening the garage.
Well, I'm here to eat a bit of humble pie as regards long arm quilting machines. I can't tell you how many times I went to Quilt Festival and laughed at the vendors selling these machines. "Why on earth would you need this machine?" I argued. I can quilt anything on my trusty sewing machine. Sure it might take me a little longer and maybe it will be a little more cumbersome, but the net effect is the same, right? Wrong.
Over the past 3 days, I have machine quilted 2 very large quilts on a rented long arm machine and I can proudly proclaim that I'm a different person. It's like that scene in the Ten Commandments where Charleton Heston/Moses descends the mountain after his encounter with the burning bush and his face has completely changed. I am a new woman. A new long arm machine loving woman.


Although both quilts took me about 5 hours a piece to quilt, that is a fraction of the time they would have taken on a standard sewing machine.


Add to that the fact that there is no basting involved. No moving furniture so that I can attempt to smoothly layout the backing and batting and then spend the next three hours scooting around on my bottom basting the quilt.


And the piece de resistance, no puckering in back. As long as you carefully wind the backing on to the machine, you will have a perfectly smooth back.
This is, without a doubt, the greatest thing since sliced bread and way cooler than the garage door opener.

The Last Seam

First things first. I have to thank all of you who wrote such nice, heart warming comments to me about the Quilting Arts article. It's been wonderful to see my work in print, but it's beyond great to be able to share it with others and to feel their enthusiasm and support. Thank you, thank you, thank you!

Yep! It's been sewn(visual evidence provided below).


And here it is all laid out on my bed.


Well maybe not all laid out because this is king size and our bed is a common double, but you get the picture. I had a minor panic attack earlier in the day when I seemed to have mislaid a couple of blocks, but, after some well chosen curse words (the kind I tell my kids not to use), I found the missing pieces and finished the sewing.


I purchased the backing fabric a week or so ago and the other day bought the batting. I ended up buying batting that was sized as "generous queen", but I'm having second thoughts and may run to the store to purchase a certified king size batting.


Sunday I'm quilting this on a rented long arm. Monday, I'll finish the binding. And then it will just be a matter of mailing it to it's new home. I see the light at the end of the tunnel.

Cover Girl

I've never been a cover girl before and I guess technically I'm still not, but can I fudge it a little now that my quilt is on the cover of the December/January issue of Quilting Arts Magazine?


See. There are my little twinkle circles.
A couple of months ago the editor, Pokey Bolton, contacted me and asked me if I had any ideas for articles. The first thing that came to mind was to write about the process I use to make my twinkle circles. I've had a lot of folks ask me about this and it's a technique that I've turned to off and on for several years, but recently I've used it a lot on commercial fabric. The technique itself is not new or exclusive to me, but I felt like I had a perspective on it that I wanted to share.


I wrote about the process and included a few examples of finished work. I even got to include some of my process shots. For some strange reason I really liked these photos. Not because they're particularly good images, but rather because they were taken in my dye studio. When I first saw the pictures I called one of my girls over to look at the pictures. "Look,"I said,"in the background you can see our door and, way over in the corner, almost out of the frame, you can make out the handle of that broom we never seem to throw out." No one else in my family got a kick out of these pictures, but I did.
One of the best parts of writing this article was the writing itself. I was frankly taken aback by how much I enjoyed putting pen to paper or more accurately digit to keyboard. I was also a little surprised that I could put together coherent sentences. Having spent the better part of 17 years speaking primarily to children I'm shocked that I didn't describe at least one thing as "so cool" or pepper my text with the word "freaking".
Another amazing highlight was finding out that my quilt was going to be on the cover. When I went to quilt festival in Houston, I stopped by the Quilting Arts booth. I knew I would get a chance to see a copy of Stitch and I thought I might have an opportunity to meet some of the folks who worked on the magazine. Thankfully they were all wearing name tags, so I approached Pokey Bolton, introduced myself and was very warmly greeted. Then she told me the big news. I was floored. It has taken the most amazing amount of willpower not to talk about it, but once my copies came in the mail I knew that the magazine would be on the newsstands very soon.


I won't deny that I'm prone to hyperbole but this is...so freaking cool!

Just a few more

I had to move the furniture and stand on a step ladder to take this photo, but I managed to get the entirety of the twinkle quilt in this shot. That's no mean feat when you factor in that I have ten foot ceilings. Just positioning the top row of blocks requires that I stand on the top rung of my step ladder, stretch out as far as my 5'3" frame will allow me, slap the block on to the felt wall and smooth it out with a ruler. I just plain can't reach the top. All the edge blocks are just pinned onto a corner of the felt board. This baby is big. But boy am I happy with how it has come together. As of this writing I have about 40 more circles to make. That means I've already made 714.
On the one hand I can't believe I said I would make something so labor intensive, but on the other hand I'm so glad I did. While it's nice to make small, quick pieces there's something deeply satisfying about working on a piece that feels expansive and ambitious. I usually don't have a problem sending my work on to new homes, but I'll be a little sad to see this piece go. I know I can make another, but for now I also know that this is probably the best quilt I've ever made. That is if all goes well with the quilting. I'm pretty optimistic about that as I've done the training on a long arm machine and set up an appointment to come in and quilt.
For now I have the last of the circles and some piecing left. Though there too I'm glad I didn't just make a pile of circles, but pieced periodically as I dyed. It gave me the opportunity to see the quilt top come together and I don't have a huge, daunting task waiting.
I'm planning more pictures when the top is completed and, of course, a few more shots once it's all completed.
So, stay tuned...

Winners and More

Wow! There are a lot of you interested in Stitch. I had a lot of fun reading your comments and was frankly kind of surprised by how many of you couldn't find the magazine locally.
Anyway, courtesy of www.random.org, we have two winners:

Jeni said...

Me, me, pick me! Love your blog and that mag looks great. :-)

November 14, 2008 2:37:00 PM CST

Micheala said...

Beautiful sweater! I once started knitting myself a vest (I was probably 11 or 12, by the time I finished it was too small already. Here goes my knitting.

November 14, 2008 4:31:00 PM CST

Jeni and Michaela: Email me your addresses and I'll get your magazines to you ASAP. My email is malka@stitchindye.com

Other than reading your comments, or should I say in between reading your comments, I've been finishing up a few projects.
I finished knitting the second sleeve on my February Lady Sweater and it's now blocking. I hope to attach the buttons tomorrow and have pictures of the completed cardigan in a few days. I also made some pillow covers for a wonderful customer. I've mentioned before that she has quite the amazing collection of Oillily fabrics and I've made several items from that collection before. These are the latest.


I especially like the pieced backs on these pillow covers and the little embroidered Oillily ladybug.