Morning Make - March 2020

On February 29 I woke up with the flu. Just the regular flu, thankfully, but I still spent the next few weeks sicker than I can remember being in my adult life. And I thought shingles was bad this past fall! Anyway, when it came time to start March Morning Make I absolutely needed something easy, something mindless, something that was creative without being terribly challenging. In my fever addled state I remembered my Creative Bug membership and the multiple daily challenge classes.

With my kiddo’s IKEA paint set at my side I started Lisa Solomon’s Color Meditation class. I had no idea how perfect of a choice this was. More on that.

Note: I am spelling Color the American way here so people can find the class.

Once I was able to be vertical I went out and bought more watercolours, fancy ones from the art store. A week later I bought another set. That was when the kids came home. They joined me in the mornings then. We painted together, a calm start to these crazy days.

I knew zero about watercolour before starting this class. I can’t claim to know much more now - this isn’t a class on technique - but I have a comfortableness and willingness to play with the paint now. Any previous watercolour experience on my part was sitting beside the kids while they made shapes and landscapes and such.

Even when sick I found this painting to be pure escape. Then when our world got turned inside I found it to be a perfect balm. Lisa calls them Color Meditations and it is apt. I got lost in the process, much like I do when I am sewing. The end result didn’t matter, it was about the physical act of paint on paper. It was about playing without colour and water and shape. It was about the breath when we did it.

Sometimes the daily painting was only 15-20 minutes. Sometimes I sat there over an hour. Many, many times one or more of us would come to the table throughout the day with a cup of water and play.

You don’t have to start a daily practice like this on the 1st of the month. Try it tomorrow morning, I promise you won’t regret it.

Any daily creative practice is so important right now. People are baking bread, learning how to knit, picking up the guitar. Why? Because we need both the physical action of making/doing and the mental break from the rest of the world. When we do this our brain and body release from what is going on and allows us to be fully present. This is what meditation does for us and there is no one who can argue that meditation is bad. If sitting on a pillow and taking deep breaths while on a big journey isn’t your thing, then a creative challenge may suit you. Whatever that may be.

For April I am back to sewing. It’s been a few months since I did that for Morning Make. Each day I am making a 12.5” square X Plus blocks.

Itty Bitty Improv Curves - A Quilt Top

No one prepares you for the emotions of making a quilt. The thrill of picking fabric. The boredom of cutting fabric. The thrill of sewing. The boredom of pressing. The thrill of finishing a top. It’s a roller coaster journey for sure. And this is not counting the therapy contained within the emotional journey. Quilting can often have me working through some stuff, processing and feeling the feels while making a quilt, to have the release at the end.

Sometimes, though, the opposite happens. The quilt making gives you all the thrills and makes you smile with each stitch, no matter the work. Then you finish and there is a let down. There was so much joy in making that when you finish you are sad. I want to keep going! Don’t make me stop.

Alas, I’ve run out of fabric.

I started this quilt with some scraps, a stack I grabbed for the initial class with the amazing Chawne Kimber at QuiltCon. Once I embraced the itty bitty curves I made in her class I eventually augmented the selection - more from the recesses of my stash and a trip to a local shop. I tried to match the colours of the vintage pieces (I think some of these purples came from my Baba’s house) and samples as best I could. With no real plan in mind other than to make blocks I made blocks until I more or less ran out of fabric.

Okay, there is a bit of fabric left, but not enough to make a random assortment of blocks. If I continued on I would have a big pink section somewhere. Yes, I could buy more, but I can’t replicate all the fabrics so, again, it would look less random. It pains me a little to not have this be a giant quilt, but so be it.

So with not enough fabric left to make it bigger I’ve stopped the sewing. It measures into a generous lap size (73’’ x 66’’). Considering the smallest blocks are finishing at 3/4’’ that amounts to a lot of piecing. Not once did that piecing feel like work or drudgery. It was addictive. Better than eating M&Ms, although the let down kind of feels like a sugar crash.

The whole quilt isn’t square and I’m not sure exactly how I will deal with that, but for now, let me wallow in it being done. And count the number of blocks. 1,2,3,4,…1000, 10001, 1002…

Chawne warned us about going small, that the high from it was glorious. That only means the low of finishing is that much so. That’s okay, I’m not done with itty bitty curves yet, even if this quilt top is finished.

Morning Make 2020

Morning Make

A daily (or mostly daily) practice of creative action.

Completed before caffeine, social media, regular media, or even interaction with family.

A moment, the moment, where one creates for the sake of creating and the rest of the world falls away.

For me, this has always meant doing it first thing in the morning. I set my alarm at least 20 minutes before I have to actually get up. It required an adjustment at the beginning, and a readjustment after each school break where we all sleep in, but it is worth it. I don’t feel that anything is lost because my mental health AND creative production benefit. Others I’ve spoken to about Morning Make find that the first thing timing is hard. So make it what works for you. Right after the kids go to school, home from a workout, in the quiet after bedtime for everyone else. The real key to success is to make this a regular practice.

I’ve chosen the word practice quite deliberately. While I like the stretching of yoga it isn’t spiritually my thing. Same with meditation. But the notion of showing up regularly and being completely present is central to both. And it is exactly the same with Morning Make. That is why I do it with no media or entertainment for company. Just me and the creative action. I am completely present. The more you do it, the easier it becomes and the more you see the benefits. Like a practice.

You can do your own Googling, but the benefits of a regular meditation practice are well known. For me, a regular practice reduces stress and calms my anxiety. If I miss Morning Make for a few days because my sewing room is engaged as a guest room I definitely get antsy. Those are the times I have to do something else like write and sketch to make sure my stress levels don’t increase. A regular practice boosts my creativity because, like any other muscle, your creativity grows when you use it. Most days my Morning Make is the only creative time or sewing time I get. It might not be long, but a lot can get done when you show up every day.

In 2020 I’ve decide to change things up a bit for my Morning Make. Just a little push for myself. Instead of sewing on whatever project happens to be out at the time I am going to create monthly motives for my Morning Make. It might be sewing, it might be writing, it might be something else entirely. A month doesn’t seem like a huge commitment to try something different, but also a good way to get some different skills primed, try new techniques, and devote time to my creative development.

Here is the brainstormed list of ideas.

• Letters

• Improv Doodles

• Houses/Buildings

• Haiku

• Quilt Sketch

• 30 versions of a block

• NaNoWriMo

• Nature Photo Macros

• Sunrise Pictures

• Free Motion Quilting Doodles

• Tassles

• Dream Big brainstorming

• Plant Sketch

• Watercolour Abstract

• Carve a Stamp

• Make Cards

• Embroidery stitch sample

There are obviously more than 12 ideas here. And I certainly open to more suggestions. Each month I will decide what to embrace. The decision will be based on desire, motivation, and what exactly our family schedule looks like that month.

Here’s to a year of making!

PS For January, I’ve chosen Haiku. One poem a day.

Unexpected Gifts for Quilters

Okay… send this post to you partner, your spouse, your boyfriend, your grandkid, your mom, your girlfriend, or even your best quilting buddy. Sure, they can all give you a fat quarter bundle, another ruler, or a gift certificate to your favourite shop, but that is so cliche! (Albeit, always welcome!) Instead of the usual stuff, now is the time to drop some hints for the unexpected, but greatly appreciated. These are the gifts that will fuel your creative fire. Not to mention, get you using the fabric they bought you last year.

1. Art Gallery/Museum Membership

Most major cities have an art gallery, or two, that host both regular and touring exhibitions. Stepping out of your usual textile world is a great way to soak up inspiration. Special exhibits on top of the regular showings introduce you to a load of new concepts and ideas. You may think that you would rather spend the time sewing than an afternoon out, but it is well worth it. Bonus, if you have a partner or children it makes an excellent date!

Here in Calgary I am a fan of The Glenbow, the Esker Foundation, and Contemporary Calgary.

2. Subscription to an Audio Streaming Service

Avoid the ads, for one. But this is great food for the brain while you sew. I know a lot of people who will ‘watch’ shows while they sew. Something familiar that they listen to but don’t actually watch. Skip the pretense and listen to your favourite tunes or get engrossed in other people’s stories. True Crime, Humour, Books, even sewing all have podcasts delivered regularly across platforms. It could be Apple Music, Stitcher Premium, or Spotify, among others. Check their preferences.

3. Really Nice Markers, Pencil Crayons, and/or Pens. Plus a Bullet Journal.

Sure, we’ve all sketched something on a scrap of paper with what ever nub of a pencil we found or meticulously planned a quilt on a standard pad of graph paper. Okay, some of use computer programs, but you folks are in the minority and skilled in a totally different way. Getting to play and draw out our ideas with real colour in things that flow on nice paper is a true privilege for most quilters. It is not another pack of Crayolas for the kids to steal. These are our things that will be protected at the same level as our fabric scissors.

While I, personally, am not someone who does the Bullet Journal thing, I do like the dotted paper that most journals have. It allows you to make and use grid lines without having the lines be so prominent like they are on graph paper.

4. Long Arm Classes

A long arm sewing machine is not in the budget of most quilters. (Remind me to tell you of the time my husband discovered the prices). However, there are stores and long arm quilters across the country who will rent out time on their long arm machines. You just have to be certified first. Give the gift of the class.

If an in person class is not an option, splurge on a long arm gift certificate. Your favourite quilter can get their big quilt finished without intimidation.

5. Time

Give them time. A weekly or daily time where they are free to sew - GUILT FREE - while you take care of the rest of the stuff of life. It might be a sew date with a friend (who needs book club when you can sew?), mornings while you get the kids out the door, or at night when it makes zero difference to you anyway (but you can fold the laundry while they sew, right?) To many of us would love to do more but the grind of daily life means that time is at a premium. The gift of time means so much.

Remember, none of these gifts are about getting more quilts done. Don’t ever make that the goal. That will probably go over as well as buying someone a gym membership if they casually mention they wish they could lose five pounds. Bad, bad idea. No, your goal with these gifts is to encourage their creative exploration. You are promoting their natural curiosity, enhancing their skills, and showing your unconditional support for something that brings them joy.