I Did It. My Way.

We've already established that reading pattern directions is my kryptonite. Even when I was making dresses and blouses for Home Ec I needed help translating arrows and darts. The fact that my mother was a pretty accomplished "sewist" didn't help matters because she was left-handed and (to me) did everything upside down and backwards.

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I wanted a purse made from my treasured stash of Japanese fabrics.  I knew how I wanted it to look, and I knew I had all the hardware and fabric and fusible fleece to do it.  I even had the right size hexagons to paper piece the top part so I dove right in and then spent an inordinate amount of time ripping it apart.  Ironically - I understand purse construction SO much better that now I might actually be able to tackle reading a pattern!

When I made this I tended to put pieces together and then say, "Hmm, I should have put those snaps in before I joined the 2 pieces together."  I honestly think I made a purse upside down and backwards.  While I don't think Mom would be proud,  it is finished.  I might need to remake one of the snap-in inserts, I got so caught up in stippling that the finished insert might be too heavy for the purse.  I was always so afraid to stipple but I'm finding it can be very Zen-like.  (It's also quite a workout for your upper arms, let me tell you!)  I have no explanation for my obsession with pockets other than to admit I have a fantasy of presiding over a completely organized purse. I bought a special zipper for the topmost closure - just in case those pockets get overstuffed and unseemly, I can zip the whole thing shut and no one will know.

I'd say it came out about 85% like what I wanted, and I might up that percentage after using it for a while. Think I'll move into it and give it a test drive next week.  But YAY, I finally (after years of waiting) did it!

Why Quilts Matter - to Me

As a museum (and quilt museum) professional, I have a major chip on my shoulder formed by years of friends and acquaintances dismissing what I do as not a "real job".  Tell people you work at a quilt museum and they tilt their head a little and say something like, "(pause...) Well....isn't that niiiiice! You must lovooooove it!" They act like it's just a big 'ol quaint, cozy sewing bee.  Let me tell you something - there is nothing cozy about it. We have layoffs, budgets, deadlines, evaluations and performance goals. We are dealing with decreasing revenues and increasing costs - AND we have to deal with the general public e-v-e-r-y day. Believe me, it's a real freakin' job.

I promised a review of this program and here it is. I really did not know what to expect when I popped a copy of Why Quilts Matter: History, Art and Politics into my DVD player. There are some quilts in the series from the collection of the New England Quilt Museum  (where I have my "pretend job") so we received an advance copy.   I was so afraid it was going to be all Sunbonnet Sue and ditsy prints and old grannies with their white hair in a severe bun at the back of their neck - or go on to reinforce other negative stereotypes about quilters.

BOY WAS I WRONG.

I was positively thrilled at how wrong I was.  Shelly Zegart has taken the quilting bull by the horns and put it all out there - the good, the bad, and the dicey politics. There are nine programs in this series, each featuring good scholarship and interviews with experts. These are interspersed with photographs, images of many beautiful quilts and some good b-roll of exhibitions and colorful locations.  I downloaded the nine episode guides to my iPad so I could follow along with the narration. When I saw a particularly beautiful quilt all I had to do was look down and see the name, maker, location, etc. Nice touch.

The best pat?  Oh, how I bonded.  I bonded with the Gee's Bend quilter who said, "When I finish the top I love it, and then when I take it out later to quilt....I get another breath of it."   I nodded knowingly when Shelly Zegart talked about how quilting is often dismissed as "just" the work of women or looked upon as a domestic chore - not an accomplishment or an art or craft. I stood up and cheered when Shelly took on The Sun Sets on Sunbonnet Sue, threw down about the MYTH of the Underground Railroad Quilts, and called out THE QUILT POLICE on their marginalizing hostility. I felt proud to be a quilter, I felt my peeps were finally getting some respect.

As a museum professional I especially enjoyed Episode 6: How Quilts Have Been Viewed and Collected.  There was a wonderful discussion of how quilts are appraised and evaluated (just because they are old doesn't mean they are priceless, people)  and what makes them historically important. It was so gratifying to see it put out there for all the world to see and learn what epic changes and the rise of authoritative scholarship that has come about in the past decades.  The existence of The Quilt Index is one shining example of the tremendous knowledge base that has been created. The database of over 50,000 quilts, essays, lesson plans, and images has become the preeminent starting point for quilt research and exhibit planning.  Let's not forget the mothership - The International Quilt Study Center in Lincoln, Nebraska.  I guarantee that if you visit their website and play with the Quilt Explorer you will look up 2 hours later and say, "WHAT? WHAT TIME IS IT?" There are numerous organizations that promote quilt scholarship and research. The American Quilt Study Group is one of the most preeminent of them, and I am proud to note they are also based in Lincoln, Nebraska.

Fair Disclosure: I was born and raised in Nebraska.  When I hear people disparage the fact that the IQSC is located in Nebraska I get a little sideways. I grit my teeth and nicely point out what a great idea it was to locate it in the CENTER of the country where everyone has equidistant access. I then take the opportunity to educate them about the outstanding textile studies programs in place there long before the IQSC was founded.  

Let's wrap it up: this program is well worth the purchase price.  Yes, you'll see it on PBS but you won't see it all because you'll miss an episode and you won't be able to realize the full impact of this production. It will move you, inspire you and enable you to carry your head a little higher. If we truly want to promote and continue the work, art and craft of quilting we need to make it a priority.  We need to support this kind of scholarship and PR  with our blogs, our actions, and our money.  Buy it from the Kentucky Quilt Project. Buy it from your locally owned quilt shop or from a museum.  Just be sure you share it with as many people, guilds, neighbors, townspeople, church groups as you can.  It is a wonderful production that will entertain, inform and enrich anyone who appreciates something truly beautiful.

Quilts really matter to me.  I've given up more financially rewarding job opportunities to do what I do.  I don't want to burn out for a corporation. I don't want to come home exhausted to benefit a bunch of faceless stockholders. Don't kid yourself - I come home burned out and exhausted all the time. My daily commute is a 100 mile round trip. The cost of gas is killing me. I do it because I want to be around this kind of art. I learn from my co-workers and visitors every day. I'm willing to do it as long as I can because I thrive on the emotion I have always felt when seeing a quilt for the first time. It never lessens. I have the curators trained to call me when they are opening boxes for the next exhibit.  I want to be with them and see them first. When I go upstairs to open or close the galleries I have my own private time with the quilts and it just. fills. me. up. I am inspired, I feel creative, and I feel proud knowing I use my daytime hours to care for, promote and share this art. I can then go home and use my talents (and what I have learned at work) to create my own beautiful quilts.

Quilts have always mattered to me. From my earliest childhood I have always felt and known hand-made objects to give off a sort of emotion, energy, karma - I'm not sure what to call it.  I feel it when I touch quilts made by others - especially old ones. They almost whisper to me. Willa Cather (another Nebraska girl) called it, "That irregular and intimate quality of things made entirely by the human hand." This quote says it best:

It took me more than twenty years, nearly twenty-five, I reckon, in the evenings after supper when the children were all put to bed. My whole life is in that quilt. It scares me sometimes when I look at it. All my joys and all my sorrows are stitched into those little pieces. When I was proud of the boys and when I was downright provoked and angry with them. When the girls annoyed me or when they gave me a warm feeling around my heart. And John, too.  He was stitched into that quilt and all the thirty years we were married.  Sometimes I loved him and sometimes I sat there hating him as I pieced the patches together.  So they are all in that quilt,  my hopes and fears, my joys and sorrows, my loves and hates.  I tremble sometimes when I remember what that quilt knows about me. 

Marguerite Ickis, quoting her great-grandmother in the book,  Anonymous Was a Woman, 1979, Mirra Bank, St. Martin's Press.

A Few Small Bites

That is what my Dad used to say when he pushed back from an especially huge, rich, filling meal.  "Weellllll, a few small bites....." always made me giggle.  It still does whenever one of my siblings says the same.

While I haven't got time today for a full-blown thought I can report the following few small bites:

The  Brace Cove Beach Glass quilt has been handed over to the happy couple. I think they were kind of shocked, I'm sure it wasn't what they thought I (who trends toward antiques) would have made for them.   It went without a label because (building-the-pyramids-in-Africa-long-story) it will have to happen when I finish yet another one.  Don't ask.   We also returned their dog, a lab mix named Ella (AKA Cujo). I need to walk the house to find out if she had any special places she left her "mark" that I may have missed while we were dog-sitting.  She is in dire need of training - behavioral and other - but it's up to her daddies to get that done.  Meanwhile, when Joe spoke - SHE LISTENED.  He's the alpha dog, man. Watching Ella/Cujo is a mixed bag - we miss having a dog but we were reminded of how much work they are to feed, maintain and exercise. The sad part is the acres of conservation land behind us are now full of coyotes and foxes and fisher cats. We could never  put Ella on a lead (like we did for our dog, Rusty) and let her run around the backyard.  That makes me sad because I believe dogs should be able to run around outdoors as much as possible. I can't sit on the back porch with a gun to ward of critters for 2 reasons - 1) I have a life and multiple jobs and,  2) Joe won't let me pack heat.  I have asked. (I hate crows, they can wreck the garden,  and a BB gun seems a reasonable solution to me.)



While I was minding Ella the past couple of nights I was able to watch a preview copy of Why Quilts Matter: History, Art & Politics that is coming out this fall on PBS.  You can also purchase a copy - and I recommend you do.  You may not watch it 100 times but I guarantee you'll watch it more than once,  and we all need to step up and support this kind of work.  I actually made notes while I watched the last 4 episodes and I'll go back and do the same for the first 5.  There is a LOT in this production.  I laughed - and yes, I cried. (Those Gees Bend women do it to me every time.) I also wept thinking of how I'd give anything to being able to watch and discuss this with my mom.  Sigh....

I was especially pleased that  Why Quilts Matter dove in and covered the dark side of the ugly politics between and about quilters - such hot button issues.  Even if you do not quilt, the art vs. craft themes,  how often the work of women is dismissed as unimportant or simply domestic duty, studio quilts vs. traditional bed quilts  - it's all there.  I'll have much more on it when I get caught up with myself and de-dog the house.  I have a lot to say about this production and I know you will, too.

The Healing Power of Fabric Arts

A wonderful article about an artist to be featured in the next exhibit at the New England Quilt Museum.  Dr. Michele David has quite a story - and a marvelous talent.  You just want to grit your teeth at such an overachiever, but you gotta love her.  All that talent, brains and spirit in one woman - WOW!

A Healing Art by Sandra Lawson

Homage to my Sherpa

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Deborah Janes is my sherpa.  I have the very good fortune to work with this talented woman and I learn from her every single day that I do.  In addition to being one of the most talented quilters I know (click on the above picture)  she has an endless supply of patience.   Seriously.  I know I sometimes ask the most basic questions of her and she manages to look thoughtful (like she has never been asked that before) and give me an answer that in no way makes me feel like an idiot.

I think I am most in awe of the latter - someone with her skills and abilities could easily take the high and haughty route but she does not. Heaven knows there are enough **QB's on the planet.  She demonstrates such a genuine love for what she does that it becomes contagious.  I've seen people in the museum shop watch her, ask her questions, and she draws them in to whatever she is working on and always tells them, "Oh yes you CAN do this,  it's fun!" and they walk away shaking their heads in amazement....and encouraged by her infused energy.

I am inspired by Debbie  for these and other reasons that go beyond what can be discussed here.  She has faced major battles in her life and she meets them head on.  I try to remember her example when I am asked questions (not about quilting) by tourists in my husband's store, by people who think working at a quilt museum is (tilt your head to the side) "sooo cute!" and who generally exhibit a disregard for personal property.  (I honk the hell out of my horn when I see someone throw a cigarette butt out their car window.)  I think we all have knowledge and gifts that we need to share with others even if we don't realize it ourselves.  I hope before I leave this earth I have been a sherpa to someone, or a whole lot of someones.

**QB's  =  Quilt Bitches.  We all know a few..... make sure you aren't one of them.

Ever Get the Slows?

I am a slug.  I have achieved some sort of house-sitting-non-vacation nirvana and I don't feel even remotely productive.   That is unfortunate because I still have 2 jobs, still have to go to work, do laundry, the whole nine yards.  It is some sort of limbo not being fully in one place or the other. It  is fascinating - I've never had this sensation before.  I'm fully convinced  I will  show up at work in clam digger pants and one of my husband's old shirts, and on a day I can be house sitting I'll get up, shower, do the hair and make-up bit and go sit in the living room and make applique grapes (don't  ask) for the next quilt  project taking shape in my head.

This summer's best-selling t-shirt at Joe's store says, "Say no to pot!"  Next to that, there is a cartoon of a lobster pointing to a boiling pot of water.  It's pretty cute.  Last night there were 3 lobsters that said YES to a  pot. We steamed them, then took them out on the front porch and cracked, dunked, poked and inhaled their buttery goodness. It was delish.  Not to be wasteful, we put all the shells and bits of legs into a zip lock bag and in to the freezer.  Next time we are wanting some shrimp scampi, we'll pull the bag out of the freezer and use the shells to make a lovely broth.  Being married to the son of a fisherman has its perks - the man does things with fish that make my head explode.  It's a good thing he can because all of his bad habits at home are starting to show up at the house-sitting-house, including his unexplainable penchant for leaving cupboard doors wide open in the kitchen.  It makes me NUTS.

I wish I could go back to house-sitting-house and take a nap.  I even brought one of mom's quilts over there to crawl under and just bliss off to sleep.  I take the BEST naps over there.  I am a slug.  I have the slows.

BP - the Good One, Not the Evil One

I loves me a new exhibit opening, and this one is a beaut.

Contemporary Broderie Perse: An Elegant Revival

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Opening today at the New England Quilt Museum,  this is a contemporary take on a beautiful technique.  BONUS - the quilts from the permanent collection are of the vintage variety, so you get the best of both worlds!   This from our PR maven  Christina Inge:

Combining collage, fine appliqué, and fine quilting, broderie perse, also known as cut-out chintz appliqué, presents a high point in the art of quilting and deserves the admiration and attention of all who appreciate fine needlework.  The technique emerged in the late eighteenth century when chintz fabrics were very expensive and only the very wealthy could afford whole cloth bed coverings made from large pieces of chintz.  By cutting motifs out of a small amount of fabric, the quilter could rearrange them onto a large field of inexpensive plain cotton to imitate the designs on larger fabrics.  Plain cream or white fields filled by fine quilting surround the trees, floral sprays, wreaths, urns, birds, and baskets appliquéd with tiny whip, buttonhole, or reverse buttonhole stitches.  The style, which was very popular in the Middle Atlantic States and the South into the 1840s, largely disappeared after the 1850s. The exhibition, curated by Anita B. Loscalzo, presents 30 contemporary broderie perse quilts and several antique examples in order to familiarize viewers with the style and its history.

I'm still working on my little no-faux-bro but I think there is a workshop scheduled in October and I really should take THAT before I sit down and attempt this technique. (Especially after seeing some of these quilts up close - wowza!)

Bernina Held Hostage - Day 25

I'm holding up pretty well, considering I have NO IDEA if or when the Porsche needle clamp screw will ever show up on my doorstep. I am trapped in back-ordered  limbo.  It isn't like I can drive down to the local hardware store and pick one up - I would have done that ages ago.  So, I'm stuck with my canvas needle in my Bernina - and since it's being held in place by the broken needle clamp screw, I'm not even sure how stable that is  - or for how long.

So I need a suitable canvas needle project and I think I have one in mind. Our new TV came with a nice remote, we have the satellite remote, we have the remote for the Bose stereo (hooked up to the TV) and the VCR/DVD remote.  I know - one remote can control all of those things, but my husband is not ready to let go of his precious stash of remotes.  Whatever - he watches more TV than I do, so whatever keeps him occupied (so I can go upstairs and sew.....) is good with me.

We need something to reign in this hodgepodge of remote controls, so I think I'll make up a basket that is 1) long enough and 2) wide enough so they can all nest nicely together. I bought the book It's A Wrap last summer, fooled around a little and loved the technique & the ability to use up some not-so-nice fabrics in a way that makes them look wonderful. Bonus - I have a strong needle in the machine, so sewing through all the layers of clothesline & fabric will be a snap.  Wish me luck, I'll post pictures if/when I'm successful!

Quilts 1700 to 2010 - The Book!

Well, the gang is all back from the trip to England, and our lovely boss brought home  fabric trip treats, woo hoo!   Lots of comments on the exhibit at the V&A, and some lovely books made the trip back "across the pond" with them.  I was able to bring home the Quilts 1700 to 2010 - Hidden Histories, Untold Stories (by Sue Prichard) for a long weekend. Fortunately, or unfortunately, this coincided with my rotary cutter finger shearing, so it was a perfect few days to sit and read. (I was careful not to bleed on the book, relax.)

The book is a beauty, filled with wonderful histories and lots of background on the quilts and quiltmakers.   I saw details in the quilts that astonished me, inspired me, and gave me a few ideas of my own.

For some reason, about halfway through the book, the contemporary quilts and quilters were explored. It was like hitting a concrete wall - the flow, the timeline, the whole experience was interrupted, and not pleasantly.  I am a new-born fan of contemporary quilts, but these were, um, how can I be nice about this - unique. Okay, yeah, unique and unusual. Yeah, that. Unusual. That is all I can say in a family publication.

When I returned the book to my boss,  I told her if it was my book I would have taken an X-Acto  knife and carved out those middle pages.  (The quilts all reappear at the end of the book, so no worries.)   She looked at my mangled finger and gave me a look that said, "Hey- no sharp instruments for a while, m'kay?"   I'm going to buy the book - it's a definite keeper. Nice to have the chance to spend so much time with it before purchase, tho.  Sometimes being the stay-at-home Cinderella has a few advantages.

I Got a Screw....ing

EIGHT DOLLARS AND NINETY NINE CENTS worth of screwing.  That does not include an additional $2.39 for postage (ouch).  Don't get me wrong, I'm thrilled to have a genuine  Bernina needle clamp screw on the way to my house, but jeeeesh, what a bite in the shorts.  This thing is so small that if you dropped it you would never see it again.  I know, I've already had the "milling to exact specifications" lecture from my husband, blah blah blah,  "you'll strip the head of the screw"  blah blah blah.  I get it.  I really do.  But lets face it, it's not like these screws are hand milled by blind nuns in Switzerland.  Whatever.  Meanwhile, I'm working on a canvas tote bag, being very careful to not break the needle because I can't replace it until my Porsche needle screw arrives.  Heaven help me if I rip open the envelope and drop the thing.....

Shameless Plug

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I am a quilter, and I was shamelessly rigid in my beliefs of what fabrics to use, what patterns, blocks, etc. were (in my lofty opinion) acceptable.

Masters: 40 Contemporary Art Quilters (on display through February 25th at the New England Quilt Museum in Lowell, Massachusetts) is a mind bending experience that will open up your head and get you revved up to try new colors, techniques, fabric combinations and - dare I say it - embellishments?  This show is an amazing example of ingenuity in the fiber arts.  Granted, these aren't traditional quilts - they are art quilts, wall hangings, etc. - but merit a closer look. In case you get overwhelmed, step in to the permanent collection galleries where more traditional and historic quilts are on display.  (They do try to balance things out!)

Self-disclosure:  I work here. But in the three years I have worked here, I have learned more, grown more, opened up and accepted more than I thought was humanly possible.  I never in a million years would have dreamed that I would enjoy this  show as much as I have. And if you knew me, you would say that was  (no pun intended)  MAJOR progress.    Support your local museums - all of them.  And while you are at it - try something new and outside your comfort zone.