Rediscovery Brings Joy: An Old Quilt Block Becomes a New Quilt

Periodically I will clean out the stash, the started projects, even the scraps. Like Marie Kondo, sometimes you have to let go of the things that are no longer bringing you joy. But then you have to actually move them out of the house, not just the laundry room. The laundry room where they sit, untouched, only to fall off the shelf when the Covid chaos spills into the space. Then, when you bend down to clean up the mess you realize that this block looks quite cool and very cheery and it might be exactly what you need to work on RIGHT NOW. So you pick through the scraps bins and hunt through the stash, you play around with sketches and do some math, you hunt down the right kind of freezer paper, and then boom! A new full size quilt starts taking shape.

Generally when I make a quilt I get an idea and start sewing. I make a pile of blocks or components, play around with options, then decide what else I might need to make or start layout at the design wall. This project is a bit different. To match the seeming randomness and play with contrast of the original block I felt the need to lay it out, to design it in advance. It doesn’t mean it won’t change, but I felt I needed the guide. The circles aren’t on each half square triangle so sketching it out to get the right balance in layout gave me the math for cutting and piecing.

This cutting everything at once is a very different way to work than my norm. I can see why people do it though, because then you get to just sew, sew, sew! In my improv work I often tell students to front load as much of the decision making as possible so they can embrace the process of sewing, this is the same idea.

So here I am: everything got cut, all my half square triangles are sewn, and I am about half way though the circle prep and appliqué. My sewing opportunities come in fits and starts over the week, usually in the evenings when everyone has retreated to their corners of the house. I have a few projects I am actively working on at the moment, this is one of them. The colour combination is full of energy and that springtime glow. The sewing is not hard but it has great impact. This project is giving me such joy.

A student recently described her own Quilts Under Construction as Somedays and I just loved that sentiment. I’m glad that this particular Someday returned to me, just when I needed her.

Snowballs Playdate

Announcing the next Playdate on your Quilters’ Playcation!

SNOWBALLS!

Winter isn’t quite over yet here. After a bought of fake spring we had a few inches of snow the other night. As a winter lover I am not quite ready to let go. Needless to say, these blocks are the perfect inspiration!

Quilters’ Playcation Playdates are live Zoom events where I demo an improv technique then we hang out. Bring your beverage of choice, an open heart, and get ready to laugh. You can even bring your fabric and sew along with me. Each event lasts 60-90 minutes. And now, thanks to a number of polite requests, I am happy to offer a Friday night and Saturday morning option. This will allow friends to join one or the other event (or both) from around the world.

On our first Playdate we had a friend join us from Saudi Arabia where it was 3 am!

For my sample blocks I dug into my overflowing solids scrap bins to make the corners and my endless low volume stash. Together they make some magic! Kind of like the energy of a snowball fight. Generally, as a quilt teacher I end up with a lot of class samples that never make it to a finished quilt. These blocks definitely will, I am so in love with the combo and I have a few more ideas for playing with them. That’s just how play works: you get an idea, try it out, and sometimes it works (and sometimes it doesn’t). No matter what it was time well spent because you were playing!

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Snowballs Playdates

April 9 at 5 PM MDT

OR

April 10 at 10 AM MDT

Color of Connection Quilt

Color of Connection

58” x 64”

The premise behind the Color of Connection quilt along was to sew together, yes, but to also inspire discussion and efforts around diversity and inclusion in the quilt community.

Diversity and inclusion in the quilt community? I believe that while quilters come in all stripes and colours, the spaces are dominated by white women. So yes, quilters are a diverse bunch, but it is still a far from inclusive community. This #colorofconnectionqal is highlighting that. I've met a number of new quilters and new to me quilters, quite a few with stories about bad experiences with quilt guilds and communities. It is painful, but not surprising that this is still happening. Quilting community is going to be a reflection of the larger world. Just because we are quilters we aren't all magically kind and wonderful, despite the grandma stereotype. If we want the change here and everywhere we have to make the change.

This was my first quilt along, at least the first I can remember participating in. I felt it was important to both join the discussions and lead by example. It really wasn’t about the quilt. (But I will still talk about the quilt in a moment.) It was about a bit of a reckoning for our quilt community. It was also about building community for ALL quilters, for acknowledging that the spaces we are creating may not be welcoming, and for having this Color of Connection community be a truly inclusive space.

Kudos to the organizers Porfiria Gomez, Keyana Richardson, and Michelle Collins.

Now, to the quilt.

It’s me, so you know I have a hard time following a pattern. I followed the quilt along and the discussion prompts, but played with the pattern a bit. The original quilt called for large solids or at least large cuts of prints. As my scrap bins were overflowing I decided I would make slabs and cut my pattern pieces from them. I started with black solely because I was thinking about Black Lives Matter. This particular quilt seemed like a good one to get symbolic. After that I chose warm colours to share joy and warmth of people. And because they looked good.

As usual, The Monster helped me baste the quilt and she suggested the red thread. I used a Wonderfil option from my thread stash. In fact, I bought nothing to make this quilt. The backing was a combination of two fabrics from my Tag collection. I loved the mix of the names prints - showcasing the diverse community of our local elementary school where all the signatures came from - and the texting print of all thumbprints. My batting was put together from leftovers. Nothing like Frankenbatting to truly embrace a make-do approach!

The binding was a fun choice. We know I like a contrasting binding. It actually wasn’t my intention here, but nothing I chose in black, red, pink, or otherwise looked good. On a whim I pulled out my blue and green bins. This royal blue Pearl Bracelet was exactly the right colour and I had just enough to make this work.

The quilting itself, with the aforementioned red thread, was a fun grid. Vertical lines first, every 2”. Then I did a diagonal line with the same spacing, following the lines of the large HSTs in the pattern. It isn’t fancy, but it is effective. And quick.

Obviously, a quilt along is not going to solve systemic racism. What it does achieve, however, is a continued conversation and visibility for the topic. Both are important in our community. With the quilt along finished it is now up to the rest of us to continue that conversation.

As a quilt teacher one of the places I do this is in my classroom, virtual or in person. My goal is to create a space where everyone and anyone is welcome. I promise you I will shut down the commentary, judgement, and racism/homophobia should it come out in the classroom. And if people don't think I should do this then they shouldn't hire me. As a quilter, I will do this by continuing to read, to listen, to encourage the conversation, to use the materials I have on hand, and to use my platform for all of this. I know loads of people want to keep politics out of quilting, but you just can’t. And I won’t.

If you are interested in the Color of Connection pattern or the goals of the project you can find out more here.

Morning Make February 2021

Phew!

That was a bit of a doozy. In a good way, of course, but still an incredible amount of stitching. That right there is one crumb block for each day in February.

What is a crumb block? That is a block sewn together with little scraps, the crumbs of your previous quilting. I think of them as mini slab blocks, the often used technique from my book Sunday Morning Quilts. What counts as a crumb is a personal definition.

In my case, crumbs are as small as 3/4” and as big as 2”. They might be skinny and long or so small you wonder why I bother. All of it is precious and valuable. This really is sewing with every last bit.

The month started with a basket of scraps that had accumulated over time. I sorted them one evening, pulling out the bigger bits and setting them aside. A few days in I remembered a half full IKEA bag of various scraps. Sigh. That’s a lot of scraps. But a zoom call with girlfriends in another city got me through most of those. Sorting scraps can be daunting but I find it is easier to do when I am multitasking with conversation or viewing something. It was those two sources that fed the crumbs. Yes, there are still some left.

That’s alright, because I am not done making these blocks!

I actually had a handful from previous sew days already. And with my upcoming Crumb Blocks Playdate on the Quilters’ Playcation I have more sewing on the agenda.

I have no idea how I am going to put these all together. You may be shocked to hear this, but I am debating using sashing! All the blocks are different sizes - they finish when I feel like stopping sewing. It would be very enjoyable to puzzle it all together, filling in the gaps with more crumbs. Indeed, that is my favourite part of making a quilt. However, I already have one large quilt made in a similar fashion. Slightly bigger crumbs and the addition of a word, but still very similar. I think I will challenge myself to do something different, I’m just not sure what that will be. In the meantime, there will always be more crumbs.