The Sky is Falling in the Quilt Universe

Is this the beginning of the end for Quilting?

If you follow any of the things published lately on social media you certainly might think so. 


People are talking about the fact that several giants in the industry are closing or streamlining their operations, iconic quilt shops are closing their brick and motor stores (The City Quilter in NYC is but one example) and magazines are shutting down as well.

Quilters Newsletter Magazine is without a doubt the longest operating quilt magazine in America and sadly it will cease operations after the October/November issue. The magazine has been published since 1969 and Bonnie Leman the founder, certainly was a pioneer in the industry when she published her very first issue written on a manual typewriter on her kitchen table. For me the news was a huge shock - I have been a loyal subscriber for most of my 40+ years as a quilter.  I liked that it covered all the news; shows and historical quilts and new products like no other magazine out there.  Granted the revolving door of editors and the constantly changing direction had me questioning my renewal the past few years but I could not let it go. It will be missed.

Earlier this year I published my first ever quilt book with AQS!  I was so excited to share my quilts with the public and it's first outing after being published was Paducah and by all accounts sales were good. 

Imagine my shock when AQS announced just a few short weeks ago that they were getting out of publishing altogether and going to focus on shows and their magazine. Many authors, myself included are caught in the crossfire and may never see much financial reward for their efforts as AQS tries to sell off every book in their warehouse by whatever means they can as quickly as they can. 





Quilt shops all over the country are closing, many owners say they want to retire but if the business was good and sales supported it then why not sell it and the inventory to the next generation of ownership?  So many just go out and very few find new owners which I find telling.  There is a lot of competition from online sellers who have less overhead and don't offer any of the resources or classes that your local quilt shop provides.

So you may be asking yourself "Linda what is the point of your post today?  Well you can bet there is one and it's big!!!

First some facts....

Many quilters are middle age and older - much older in fact. Many have more disposable income and more time as they may be retired or done raising a family than younger quilters.  Some are dedicated quilters who are constantly working on quilts or some aspect of quilting and others used to be but now other life interests or health issues have gotten in the way of being hyper focused on creating quilts.  

Another factor is that quilting is not an inexpensive hobby - you can easily spend $300 or more on a bed size quilt just on the fabric.  If you are raising a family buying quilt fabric and supplies may not be in the budget. 

Still another factor is that we have more than one generation now that was not taught sewing in school.  No Home Ec classes in many schools across the country means that young people are not exposed to sewing or quilting to the degree that the current largest group of quilters was. For example my grandmother was a quilter, my mother was not but she was an amazing seamstress and taught me to sew garments as a young child. I sewed my first skirt at 9 years of age. 


And that ladies and gentlemen brings me to the point of this blog post!!! 

In April of last year I attended MQX East in Manchester NH. They have a cool program where they provide a starter kit of supplies as door prizes specifically with the goal of a seasoned quilter mentoring a young person.  At the banquet on Friday night a table mate won one of the kits and said she didn't know anyone to mentor, she gave it to me. At the same event, my friend Cathy Wiggins won a Janome Gem sewing machine from SewVac Direct and upon learning that I was going to look for a child to mentor, gifted it to me.  I got home from the show and posted on Facebook what had happened and asked if any of my local friends had a child that wanted to learn to sew.  My cycling pal Erik and his wife Susie reached out to me and said their daughter Georgia was very interested and would I be willing to take her on.  Of course I agreed and we met to figure out a calendar.  School got out and Georgia who also goes by G to those that know and love her; started sewing. The first day we made a book bag out of a pair of jeans I had retired and we continued to meet once a week to work on projects. 

Of course the best part of the day is when the cats come to help out.  Georgia loves cats and we spend almost as much time petting them and playing with them as we do sewing. Here she is with her completed book bag - it has two pockets on the outside and one on the inside and is fully lined.  Not bad for a first project.

Summer progressed and Georgia got to the point where she could do the pedal by herself - this was a big step. She made a place mat for her mom who loves baseball and we used some of the decorative stitches on my machine that she picked. 

She does not use the rotary cutter and the iron only with help and supervision.  But each week her skills improve and she is loving it. 

We decided that she was ready to tackle a quilt. Her mom does not sew and would not have the first idea about choosing fabric for a quilt so my vast-will-not-be-used-up-in-my-lifetime-stash came into play.  We went shopping in my stash for the fabrics for the quilt and I will never even miss the fabric and it made it a whole lot easier for G to make her first quilt.  Many of you have a similar stash so mentoring a child can be easy on the parents of the child as they won't have to buy a thing and you probably won't miss it either!!!
We have a mascot - Hello Kitty!  Here is G with her first row of blocks sewn together.  She did all the sewing by herself. Each week we worked on the quilt and it started to come together one block at a time. Georgia was excited with each step of the way and especially as it grew.   



She told me just a week ago as we were sewing blocks together for her first quilt that she did not like quilting.  I said "well I think it's a little late to be telling me this."  She replied "I don't like quilting, I love it!" and that is the reason for this blog post. 

And here she is with the very first quilt she ever made.  She named it Colorful Confetti and we have entered it into the MQX Springfield show in the Kids category.  Next up we have to quilt it.


The bottom line of this conversation is this:

We as seasoned, dedicated quilters have to mentor our youth. We have to help them fall in love with quilting and sewing as we have or yes indeed this quilt industry will die out and the sky will fall. We dedicated quilters are getting older and many make fewer and fewer quilts every year.

We have to discover ways to involve them in projects they can use and that will spark their interest.  Georgia made a book bag, a dress (you know those pre-shirred ones where you sew one seam and add straps), and a place mat all before we even talked about making a quilt.  They were easy projects completed in one day.  She is excited about sewing and wants to try everything.  My big quilting machine is a bit intimidating to her right now but if I know anything about G she will tackle that with gusto as soon as she learns how to use it.


We have the power to interest kids in one of the greatest hobbies and vocations out there.  It teaches them math and perseverance and lets them be creative and is just down right fun to have something you made with your own hands.  Is it easy being the mentor? No.  While G is a delight, she is only 8 and often loses focus, she often gets off track and forgets what she is doing and quite honestly is just a typical 8 year old girl who some days would rather pet my cats.  

Could I do something creative for myself every Monday afternoon? Yes.  Could I spend time on one of my projects versus coming up with something she can do in one session that I think would be fun for her - yes.  But in my opinion that is not what life is supposed to be all about.  We quilters have been given a gift and many of us have had a lot of success and made money from that gift.  For me the gift would be wasted if I kept it to myself.  So for me the verse in Luke is being applied every Monday afternoon as I mentor Georgia and fall a little more in love with this bright little girl that loves to sew and wants to make everything...."To whom much is given, much is required." 


So my friends, save a quilt shop or a book publisher or a magazine of the future by mentoring a child today!  I can tell you first hand - it will be worth it!

~ Blessings,

Linda T.

 

Cutting Loose

Winds of change....

 Some of you will get this....the last week I have been going in and out of my sewing room (the place I make the quilts) and not really getting much done. Sometimes I just go and sit and look at quilt pictures and projects. Other times I was organizing things that really didn't need to be. I've been doing this for a few weeks. I thought it was maybe the "let down" of the book being done. I have been so focused on that, I wondered if now that it is done if there was anything else for me to strive for. 
 
Then I realized that I had this Dr. appointment this week. 23 years have gone by and yet it's there. Funny how it is in the back of my mind. Until you have faced that giant you probably cannot understand. It's not fear - I'm not afraid to die. It's not even about getting sick again. What I discovered it is about is the fact that a lot of years have gone by and I have lived more life than I have left to live. Something about the ski racer turning 60 this year......maybe? I don't know.  What I do know is I'm taking stock and contemplating cutting things loose.  Not just in my sewing room but in my house. I have so many quilts - show quilts and snuggle quilts and quilts I made when I was just starting out (not that many) and my house is full of them.  This list from my insurance agent for my land and sea policy that covers them is 2 pages long. So I have begun to look for ways to cut some of them loose.

So last night I was going through the lovely boxes up on the shelf above my design wall where I store projects in process (see the pic of my sewing room above and imagine about 2x as many as when that pic was taken) and asking myself questions like "do I even like this fabric" or "do I really plan to finish this" and "will this quilt make my heart sing while I work on it?" Honestly there are so many projects (and so much fabric) that I feel the need to clear out. I'm being brutal with the answers and several projects have already been cut loose. Luckily I have a BFF who loves random blocks and makes beautiful things with them so there is no guilt.  I can give them to her and put the rest of the fabric that was set aside back into my stash.

But I think the whole Orlando tragedy, the fact that I'm getting older and that another cancer anniversary have all converged into "what do I want to really accomplish before I leave this earth" and while I don't have the answer I feel energized at the process. Like I don't want to waste a minute.

So I have come up with some questions regarding my quilting; works in process as well as future quilts:

Will it make someone else happy to see it?
Will it make me feel good while creating it?
Is this show worthy? Do I want to invest that kind of time in the quilt?
Who else in my life needs a quilt made by me?
What charity group that I support could use one of my quilts for an auction?
Do I have any bed in my house that could use a new quilt?
Is there another book in me and is this project a candidate?

I have the answers to a few of the questions but time will tell hopefully about the others.  But it does not end here....


I also have a studio.  

My studio is where I quilt and embroider. It is also where a completed top goes and is no longer considered a UFO. I know that's a bit crazy but it works for me.

My "to be quilted" closet is full to the gills. Charity quilts, a few customer quilts and lots of quilt tops I have made over the years that were just for fun and are still not quilted.  Show quilts have a deadline so they get quilted and are not usually in that closet for long. But it's full.  I need to find time this summer to make a serious dent in that closet or cut them loose for someone else to complete.


And then there is the stash!

I have a relatively small sewing room with a large closet - it is full.  I have a cutting table that has a skirt and under the skirt are wire basket drawers that are full.  Bolts are under my sewing table and there are more in the studio that could be backings...... It's starting to come in on me, not so much that I want to get rid of it but more like "Get busy Missy and make some quilts!"   





I have gone through much of it and culled a ton of fabric that is now in bins for use on Quilted EMbrace quilts.  There is so much, I could make hundreds of quilts and probably not make much of a dent.

 And then there are the bins of string strips.  I love making those quilts but how many strings does one girl need?

So I'm reviewing everything.  Deciding what I'm really interested in working on and with and what I need to cut loose!

Now the question goes to you ~ the reader of this blog:   

Have you been where I am and what did you do to navigate it and did it inspire you to new a greater things and more creativity?  Please share below.

~ Blessings
          Linda

On My Way to Baltimore

On My Way to Baltimore has hit the streets!

What had been a long time dream has now become reality - I'm an author of a book! What a journey this has been and quite frankly, I still can't believe it and I'm thrilled at the response so far. I have written many articles for magazines over the years and before that a lot of words for brochures and ads and newsletters but writing a quilt book is different. 

For starters you have to make sure you keep track of every aspect of the design. When I started on this journey I was not thinking that my original designs would become a book so my notes and measurements were sketchy and not always complete. After about the third quilt I thought "hey, this may become a book or a pattern series so I had better take better notes."  On several of the early quilts I had to re-make certain aspects to double check my notes as to the size due to the fact that in a couple of cases the quilt was already quilted.  

 

 

My design process for the book quilts is the same method that I have always used since I made my first quilt over 40 years ago.  Paper and pencil.  I hand drew all the applique pieces for the book and used EQ7 for much of the layout just to make sure the math was correct.

 

I find it ironic that my very first quilt was applique.  Here it is. The letters were cats I drew and then use the satin stitch on my machine to applique them to the background fabric.  I didn't know how to quilt so I tied it using embroidery floss. I was 13. I made two more of this same quilt for other family members and this is the only one that survived. I still have the original hand drawn patterns of these cats.  Little did I know the love affair that was unfolding would last this long. I'm still a quilter 42 years after making my first quilt and I still love applique.

The quilts in the book are not "typical" Baltimore album quilts.  They are a lot simpler and the blocks are a lot larger but the style of the elements is to some degree evocative of the late 1800's and since I don't have time to make a Baltimore Album quilt this is a  nice option.  Which is why we are on our way to Baltimore and not likely to get there.

Tulip Splendor on my design wall.

The cover quilt!  Ah yes, the cover quilt Tulip Splendor. To be honest I was less than thrilled that one of my least favorite quilts in the book was chosen by my publisher/editor as the cover. It was not one I would have chosen and yet now I see why they picked it.  It's colorful and fun and flirty and just catches the eye with the rainbow of colors against the white background. After living with it for several months now I have to say I love it. It's still not my favorite quilt in the book but as I cover I think it was a great choice and I do love how the quilting came out on this one.

Tulip Splendor center block

What is unique about the book is that in all but two quilts there are two colorways of the quilt.  The featured one and then an alternate.  I thought it would be helpful for people buying the book to see the quilts in different colors.  Of course to be honest I didn't take into account the fact that it would be twice as much work but luckily I had a couple of willing friends who made a few of the alternates.  I have had so much positive feedback about this aspect of the book that I'm glad I went that route. I've seen it done in magazines but never in a book.

 

My favorite quilt in the book is "Midnight In Baltimore" and I have to say I just love every aspect of this quilt.  The colors, the blocks and the quilting.  I think this is some of my best work from a design standpoint and looking at it just makes me smile. The feathers in the border are my original design and are available as a pattern from  Legacy Quilting. Currently this quilt does not have an alternate but I do have plans to make one in red and white - stay tuned.

All the applique work in the book was done by machine with the exception of the ric rack on this quilt.  I love the speed and the look of machine applique. I've tried all the methods and I always come back to fusible (using Wonder Under) and the button hole stitch on my machine using matching thread.

 

Two of the quilts I had made for the book did not make the cut. I figured one would not due to page count limitations so I was not surprised.  With all the applique patterns and the pages they took up one more had to go.  They may find themselves into another book, a pattern or a magazine.

 

This is Carnivale.  

  This is the quilt that AQS (my publisher) is displaying at all their shows in the author showcase, it will be well traveled by the time it comes back to me a year from now. This is a fun and funky quilt and I love the mix of applique with string piecing. This one currently does not have an alternate but I'm working on one done all in blue - might be interesting.

 

For many of the quilts in the book I decided to go "old school" and use muslin for the backing.  On this quilt "Maryland Rose" you can really see the quilting.  When I first started quilting we always used muslin for the back and would not dream of using a pretty quilt fabric for the back of the quilt.  I like the look and find I'm doing this more and more. Here is a view of the same quilt still in the machine quilt quilting underway.

Quilting Maryland Rose

 
The quilting on the quilts in the book is

not what I would call show quilting, but rather just regular everyday custom quilting.  In this still in the machine view of Chatham County you can see the relaxed crosshatching and a nifty cable I did in the very busy border.  On two of the applique quilts in the book I did an all over edge to edge design and while you might not think doing that on an applique quilt, it worked really well.

On this alternate version of Seville I think the all over quilting was just the ticket for this quilt and the paisley design blended well with the paisley border fabric.

In the original version of Seville I did custom quilting and I love how the feathers look on the different shades of green fabric. I have a thing for purple and green together and want to use these two colors in another quilt soon. The quilting designs used in this quilt are my own and available from Legacy Quilting.

Of course the quilts are the star of any how to quilt book but there is a lot of time and effort put forth by many people to make certain that the math is correct and that the cutting instructions are accurate and I so appreciate all the hard work of the talented staff at AQS. I'm thrilled at how the book "looks" and I am thankful to have worked with such talent especially the photographer - capturing the detail on the quilting on some of the quilts is no easy task and yet you can see it clearly in the photos throughout the book.   

 

Throughout the book I found ready and willing helpers. My sweet boy Zach (who has since crossed over the rainbow bridge) helping me with applique and Winnie with book edits. 

After all the focus, planning, quilt making and quilting time that went into this book I find that I'm a tad at loose ends.  What to work on?  Or better yet what to work on just for fun and without a deadline?  I'm enjoying these post release days and doing some creating just for the fun of it.  If you joined me on this journey I would love to; a) hear what you thought of the book and; b) see any photos of quilts you were inspired to make.  

 

 Enjoy your journey On You Way to Baltimore. Hopefully I will meet up with you on the road.

~Blessings
           Linda

22.10 ~ Not Just Another Wednesday

FYI: This is not about quilting....

It stormed most of the night.  I slept like a baby.

Today seemed like any other Wednesday when I awoke, except it wasn't.  Somehow it was fitting that it stormed most of the night.  Typical Michigan weather, rain in the morning, sun and heat in the afternoon.  

 

My annual cancer Dr. appointment was today.  I was not fearful.  I've been down this road before. Twenty-two times to be exact. Still, I did what I have done for 22 years, I prayed.  I asked my friends to pray. I've learned the power or prayer and I trust it and my God.

Twenty-two years ago I was newly engaged and planning a wedding. Cancer was not a word I thought much about.  It had been nearly a decade and a half since it took my mothers life but like so many other women I thought it only happened to "old" women.

 

The news came while in the hospital. What two Doctors thought was just a fibroid turned out to be ovarian cancer. Everyone was shocked.  Upon waking up from my morphine induced haze they told me.  The first words out of my mouth were "who will take care of Em (my special needs sister)?"  I was fearful. I had heard it was deadly and the one you don't want.  How was this possible, we were planning a life together?  A wedding.  Maybe children.  We prayed.  We cried.  

Shortly after I got home from the hospital My dad sent me a book called "A Cancer Battle Plan" by Anne E. Frahm.  It changed my life. She was basically told to go home and get her affairs in order.  She was just a few years older than me when she heard those words.  She started on a path of nutrition - she had nothing to lose. I embarked on a similar path.

 

Fast forward 10 months, we had a wonderful wedding and an amazing honeymoon in the Dutch West Indies.  We lived our life.  We thanked God. 

 

I bought a juicer, read everything and anything I could on nutrition.  I gave up red meat, ate mostly vegetables and fruits and started learning about supplements and giving my body the fuel it needed to heal and survive.  

Ten years ago I heard those words again. To say we were stunned is an understatement.  This time it was Uterine cancer.  The path was the same.  I had surgery and really took the nutrition and exercise thing seriously.  I had fallen off the wagon more than a few times in those 12 years. 

Fast forward again a decade and I'm still here. You may be asking yourself what is the big deal Linda?  Why are you telling this old story again?  You were lucky so what's the deal?

Today when I came out of the Doctors office I sat in my car for probably 15 minutes and just praised God.  I was just overwhelmed at the grace that has covered my life for 22 years.  I was stunned that me, an ordinary person with ordinary problems and nothing remarkable much to say about me, would be spared.  Ovarian cancer is deadly.  The stats are that roughly 22,000 women will be diagnosed this year.  This same year roughly 14,000 women will die from ovarian cancer. Not much has changed in 22 years.

What has changed is me.  Cancer has taught me to be kinder.  To cherish the people that I love.  To take time to pray and thank God for everyday miracles.  To not waste a minute.  To not waste my gifts, however small and insignificant they may be.  To share what God has blessed me with. To take time to care.  To take time to encourage.  To take time to pray.  Yes.  To pray. To say thanks.   I read a book a couple of years ago called One Thousand Gifts. The writer Ann Voskamp tells about how we should live in a mindset of gratefulness or thankfulness and how one goes about doing that. It changed my life. I have kept a gratitude journal since reading that book and wow, it is full of so many blessings and good things.  It's hard to imagine all that goodness is in my life.  I share this with you because I'm grateful for you and for this thing called quilting and all that it has brought to my life.  I thank God for that and for you. 

 

I had to share that.  To praise God for another year of doing what I love.  Another chance to share my passion. Another year to get this book done.  LOL  Another year to teach a class.  Another year to make quilts for others.  To say thanks for allowing me to launch the non-profit in memory of my sister Em.  Another year to give anyone battling cancer hope, to show that there is life on the other side. 



 You know I'm crazy for exercise and cycling right?  You've no doubt seen those half marathon 13.1 ovals on the back of cars?  Or the full marathon 26.2? Or even better, those crazy people that do Ironman 140.0? 

So today I will post a sticker. I have completed a 22.10

Thanks be to God!!!

Midnight Musings

The past several weeks have been pedal to the metal for me as I worked on show quilts and a very special QOV that was part of a special exhibit at MQX Quilt Festival in Manchester, NH. I'm not good with deadlines, I know they are coming and I think I'm on track and then well life gets in the way and things always take longer than you think they should.  There were many nights where I was burning the midnight oil till 1, 2 or 3 AM. I never learn.

It was such an honor to be part of this exhibit and many thanks to Candace West for organizing and curating this event.  There was a need for tissues when they were presented.  I called my quilt Heartstring Star.

What was really fun about this project is we all started with the same two block options.  Candace designed them and we could do what we wanted on each of our quilts.  I love that they are all so different and as unique as each recipient.


Most of you that know me, know that I am a huge supporter of our military. They deserve the best of everything.  This is just one small thing I can do to show that I support them and the sacrifices they and their families make while serving.  We owe them a debt we cannot pay.  May God bless them and their families and keep those on active duty safe.

Till next time keep on quilting.  



Hugs,  Linda

Help a hero heal and learn something new too!

Quilts for Heroes!

A quick and easy way to make a bunch of half square triangles and help a hero heal is what is on deck today.

Two of my friends operate some of the best Quilt Shows in the country - MQX Festivals - and they are hosting a block drive for Quilts of Valor.  Make a block or two or twenty and Mary and Janet-Lee will see that they get made into quilts for our veterans who need to know they are appreciated and loved.

They have all the information posted on their website MQX Festivals QOV Block Drive and since our goal is a ton of blocks I would love the share a quick and easy way to make tons of half square triangles that are used in one of their chosen blocks (and can be used in any block):  

 

 

Anvil

You can see in the picture of my block that you need 8 half square triangles.



Cutting: 
Gray:  Cut one 7 3/4" x 7 3/4" square (HST)
Red: Cut one 7 3/4" x 7 3/4" square (HST) Gray: Cut four 3 1/2" x 3 1/2" squares (corners)
Red: Cut one 6 1/2" x 6 1/2" square (center)

 Normally when you make Half Square Triangles (HST) they tell you to cut the square, draw a line down the middle...

Draw on the line, sew 1/4" on either side of the line and then cut on the line.

After sewing and cutting, press to the dark.

But if you have to make a lot of HST there is an easier way!

 

Since you know the cut size of the beginning square (in this case 3 7/8") all you have to do is double it. This is the same for any quilt block - as long as you know the size of the square you start with you just double it.

For this 12 Anvil block that works out to 6 3/4" x 6 3/4" and you need one of each color fabric you are using. 

Draw two lines diagonally as shown here.

Lay the two squares needed on top of each other with right sides together.

 Because I like accuracy I put one pin across the lines as shown.  I don't want any slipping around just don't sew over them. Sew 1/4's seam on both sides of the lines.

After you sew on either side of the lines it should look like this.

Now you have to make the cuts.  Remember our original size to make TWO HST was 3 7/8" square right?  Lay your ruler across as I have shown and the 3 7/8" line should be on the outer edge (bottom in the pic) and the edge I would use to cut should fall right in the middle when there lines intersect.  Cut. 






Note: Whatever size your "make two at a time" HST blocks start with is the measurement you need to know for this cutting part.

Without moving anything, do the same thing going the other direction.   Don't move any of the parts.

Next go from corner to corner and make another cut. Do this in both directions.

Next up you cut on the DRAWN lines - cut in both directions.

After cutting this is what you will end up with - 8 half square triangles done all at one time.

Press to the dark, trim the ends and bingo you are all done with 8 HST!  

To recap:  All you need to know in order to use this method on any block is the size of the square you start with to make a pair of HST at one time. You don't need to know the finished size of the HST, you don't need to sew them one pair at a time, you just need to know the size of the original square you cut.  Double that size and follow the cutting and sewing as I have outlined here and you are good to go. 


Use the photo of my block as placement and sew together as you normally would any block. 

I made this in spite of the fact that I broke my shoulder 10 days ago and sew if I can do this using mainly my left hand surely you can make a block or two :-)

Address and fabric requirements are shown on this link MQX QOV Block Drive

And just in case you think you might want to make a ton of them you can put them all in one quilt as shown here.  LOL

Sew get your friends together and have a QOV block making party and send our heroes some love!  And in case you are curious, I'll be at MQX Springfield in September and look forward to seeing you there!

 

Quilty hugs ~  Linda