Finding My Way Home

It's not that one necessarily starts or sets out to create a "Grief Quilt" but rather that one is grieving during the making of that quilt.  It is my experience, that the life behind the quilt has a way of showing up, in the quilt.

I started my journey, map in hand, with the cocky idealism of youth. With a relatively pain free childhood behind me, I thought I knew where I was going. Nothing really prepared me for the unexpected bumps in the road. The mountain tops and the valleys....the exquisite moments of joy and the dark valleys of pain.

Somewhere along the line I threw my map away and discovered that many roads lead home. At times there is the death of a dream but often around the corner is the birth of a new one.  The longer I journey, I find the less I know....perhaps that's a good thing.

There is vulnerability in working improv, as it documents one's journey through life. Perhaps this is why I love working this way so much....for me it's cathartic as I loose myself in the process. 

Then suddenly, the quilt is finished and I am often somewhat restless and bereft at that moment. Such was the case when I finished the quilt I started in Krista's Hennebury's Class (Improv Under the Influence).

Finding My Way Home

Finding My Way Home...close up

The center of the quilt is the orginal set of instructions or map, if you will.  Then somewhere along the way, the quilt took several twists and turns of it's own. The colours started to mingle and things started to fracture. I also incorporated several different techniques along the way....changing things at will. 

I will always see this quilt of part my journey of finding my way through.

Below are several process shots.

And through it all we had a wedding......

 My two beautiful daughters at the rehearsal...

And of course, there is nothing like my beautiful grandchildren to give me a reason to Find My Way Home!!

Creating a Work Flow

When I'm in improv mode (which is most of the time), I find it helpful to create a work flow of sorts. I don't usually do much in the way of sketching before I start, but tend to cut right into the fabric, which begs the question....WHERE does one begin? And after one has begun and the fabric is flying in multiple directions.....HOW does one keep on top of the chaos?

Sometimes it begins with an inspiration, but more often than not, it can be just a simple technique that I'm trying out. I have started being a bit more observant about what works for me and what doesn't. I have also taken note of what size strips I seem to gravitate towards and seem to use over and over again.

After choosing a few colours I just start cutting a variety of strips.

 



Here are some buckets of my favourite strip sizes.....they just happen to be the same widths needed, in the various QAYG  joining methods I like to use and also the width I prefer to use for binding. Well, actually I plan it that way.
 
My favourite  go-to strip widths:

• four and one half inches
• two inches
• one and one quarter inches
• two and one half inches

I used to try and sort them by size.....that just didn't seem to work for me. As soon as I started sorting, by colour things became a little less chaotic.

 

Something else I like to do when I'm in that improv mode is set up a machine at standing height for piecing.

 

 

 

Right next to the machine, I have a pressing board and right next to that is a cutting board.

 

I go from:

• cutting
• to piecing
• to pressing
• to cutting some more
• and on back again



 

 

Because I often Quilt As I Go (QAYG), I sit down at another machine for that. All throughout the process I keep adding more fabrics and putting stuff up on the design wall. And then I start the whole cutting and piecing process etc. all over again. At this point I don't worry to much how it will all come together. I find working this way to be a very interactive process. 







Fearless Quilting

Ah....FEARLESSNESS in quilting gets my heart beating a little faster. You know the cliff diving, wind surfing, roller coaster riding type of fearlessness. All, of which I wouldn't attempt, in real life, even if my very existence depended on it. In other words, I sort of....okay, I really like to play it safe. I am basically a non-risk taker. Just ask my kids, they will verify this without blinking. There is always talk of my "Worry Line" showing. But when I quilt.......I get to ride the wave, fly through the air....well, you get the picture.

When I registered for Quilt Con I got booted out of the system three times. By the time I got back in, most of the classes were full.....I managed to get into one workshop, but that was it. At first I was a little disappointed but I decided to check out the lectures. For me, this really turned out for the best.

Luke Haynes...... just jumped right into the deep end of quilting....he didn't seem to know there were rules. I mean, why would you change a sewing machine needle unless it was actually broken!! Fearless!!!

Victoria Findlay Wolfe....When something doesn't work, what do you do....cut it up!!!! Fearless!!!

Sherri Lynn Wood.....Ruler free! Letting our work come from a deeper place!  Fearless!!!

Having fun....in Sherri Lynn's workshop...It was a struggle limiting myself to only a few colours for this particular score from the Improve Handbook for Modern Quilters. Never fear....if it doesn't work out I'll just cut it up!! Fearless....right??

Then there's Jacquie....always ready with a smile and a hug. Jacquie gave a fabulous lecture on The Art of Teaching. So completely authentic, when sharing her experiences as a teacher (the negative as well as the positive)! Fearless!!!
Pardon the goofy expression on my face.....there seems to be a lot of that whenever the camera comes near me. And yes, we planned our co-coordinating outfits. Kidding!!

The word FEARLESS just resonated within me throughout all of Quilt Con. The Gee Bend Quilters shared from the heart.  Again....the word fearless came to mind as they sang and shared.

Then, there was the meeting of the other quilters....perhaps a little fearful. But no need, the friendliness was simply overwhelming.

The exchange of cards and buttons......wonderful!!

Meeting up with Kathleen....catching up, exchanging ideas, stories and of course good food!!

Lots of laughter and hugs! Good times with Jo-Anne! 

Meeting new friends and catching up with old ones....it was a total delight and I haven't even talked about the quilts. Maybe next post. The show was a delightful visual overload! 

One Step Forward.....Two Steps Back

Sometimes....quite often actually, it's one step forward then two steps (or maybe even several) steps back, when working improv. Well, that was the way of it, for me today. It all started on Saturday.....

 I was in a mood....rotary cutters and moods just might be a lethal combination!!!! You guessed it, I started slicing!!! 

And slicing some more....with gusto, I might add!!

 And then it was over.....my project was in pieces!!! Later that day I read a beautiful post by Diane of O'Quilts and thought yes, there is anger in grief. 

In a much calmer state, two days later.....I naively thought, I will just pick up these beautiful pieces and put them in a nice calm background and that will be the end of it. The pieces will be picked up and put back together, hopefully creating something beautiful.

I'm testing out or trying to develop some ways to set quilted pieces into backgrounds.....more on that later.

Here's me calmly playing....

 Things are working out rather well....

Along the way, I modified the method slightly, making things simpler and faster.....and then, I hated it. Oh, Oh, me and my rotary cutter.....well, I imagine you know the rest. 

Yup, everything in pieces on the ground. 

Then it came to me....when something is cut or broken in pieces, whether it be your quilt or something else, it's just not a matter of putting it back on a calm background....things might just be a little more complex than that....and not all that calm.

Hmm....with that thought in mind, I'll be trying something else. 

P.S. All was not lost, my QAYG method development is coming along nicely. 

The Upside to Procrastination

There's an upside to procrastination??? You bet there is....

 I had put today aside, in order to work in my office....something I've been avoiding for quite sometime.  There are still several jobs lurking, from well before Christmas. So why not procrastinate a little longer???

 I went for a wild quilting ride instead.  You know the kind.....

 Fabric flying, no plan, no finishing a WIP......just pure, hair blowing in the wind, type quilting!!!! The fact that I was not doing what I should be doing, made it all the more delicious. 

  

 

Oh the joy....of working this way!!! 

The Beauty of Improvising....is Just That

There is a lot of freedom in improvisational type quilting, if you can get over the initial fear of "making a mistake".  Sometimes "mistakes" bring the most wonderful surprises.

I do a fair bit of improvising in my quilting, but this project is the first time, that I've just put an inspiration photo, in front of me and just started cutting and sewing. My goal is not to make an exact copy but a sort of "free form" copy if you will.

There's the photo.....from the Montreal Metro on my ipad

A little cutting and sewing......

and here we are.

The beauty of this method is there are no drawings to make,  free hand or otherwise, no paper piecing (to finicky for me), no templates, just cutting and sewing . It's sort of like jumping into the deep end, of the pool, if you don't drown you actually swim. 

Since it's only fabric....just how dangerous can it be!!

Take the Fear Out of Improvising.....I Have the Book For you

Does the thought of improvisational quilting and design sends shivers of anticipation and fear up your spine? 


Are you scared of cutting into your most precious fabrics? 


Are you blocked, with no idea, of what you want to create...... but want to create something?


I discovered a number of years ago, that just cutting strips and improvising, can be very liberating.  Just going into your stash and cutting a number of strips, at various lengths, can be very freeing.


 After all you are only taking a strip or two...what could possibly go wrong? Not to much, I promise....you will probably find the experience very freeing.

 A little free form log cabin partnered with QAYG........ is my first improvisational quilt of this type (2007).

Block Detail

I woke up this morning, to find this fabulous book, create your own free-form quilts by Rayna Gillman in my mail box. It made my day!! 

 If improvisational is something you long to try, this book is for you. Rayna's book is fun, inspirational and very well laid out....and not intimidating in the least.

I have a number of books on liberated or improvisational quilting, but this particular one, really strikes a chord with me. I highly recommend it...my fingers are itching to start sewing.

 Rayna also incorporates the use of scraps....does anyone have a shortage of those?? 

Not Me!!

My bins are overflowing!