If I had known old ladies had so much fun, I would have aged faster.
Today was session two with Paula Reid. We stitched ribbons and beads and baubles. We used dental floss implements, funky charms, and fancy stitches with specialty threads. We made new friends and laughed a lot!
I even won a cone of wine thread. Yes, you read that right, wine. I told you old ladies had fun!
Not only did we disengage our feed dogs, we removed the presser foot! Sewing is not for wimps. But, man is it fun! I have a new tool in my arsenal. Now I know more ways to use those beads and baubles and fancy fibers I’ve collected.
Every member of the class was playing with ribbons and threads in a different way. Taking a class is so inspirational – not only do you have an experienced teacher who shares her knowledge, but other participants spin off in different directions. Take a class!
Simply Quilts was still on tv when I began quiltmaking in 2001. I was still working, so I recorded the show every day, then watched it when I got home. I learned most everything I know about quilting basics that way. When I heard Paula Reid was coming to town, I knew she quilted on a domestic machine as I do, using what she calls the “fluff and stuff” method. I also remembered her episode on beading and embellishments where she removed the presser foot. I felt like I knew her already, because I had watched those SQ episodes over and over.
Online quilting shows still keep me up-to-date with the latest artists breaking the mold, or perfecting the mold, but it’s not the same. I spend money to subscribe to some of the online shows (thequiltshow.com hosted by Ricky Tims and Alex Anderson is my primary resource). I watch some youtube videos, too.
I read quilting blogs. I listen to quilting podcasts. I follow links to other artists’ work from Facebook. I goggle names of people whose work I see in magazines and online.
But nothing takes the place of on-site, person-to-person contact with an expert. Thanks, Couture Sewing Center, for bringing Paula. And, thank you, Paula, for coming to GA, and sampling our grits. And, thank you, fellow classmates, for a fun two-day sewing experience!
There is a phrase buzzing around on Facebook these days when people describe their husbands, “not perfect, but perfect for me.” Well, that is certainly true of my husband, but I recently thought of the phrase with respect to houses. I was cleaning out some old file folders filled with inspirational ideas for decorating, sewing, and gardening. Along with those, I have kept a folder filled with house plans. For many years, I thought my dream house was in there somewhere.
Today at a community event where I was invited to share my quilting story, members of the group were invited to bring some of their family quilts as well. Several did just that. What fun to hear others’ quilt stories.
Now I’m itching to grab some hexagons and assemble them in the pattern these women used.
I’m upstairs now in my sewing haven cutting up some coveted fabric collections and sewing them back together. I boast in Fifty-Two Tuesdays that I’m all about using the good stuff. But sometimes I think I should experiment with less desirable fabric, “in case I mess it up.” How’s that for a negative self image?
My friend Marie, who did such an excellent job with the layout and editing of Fifty-two Tuesdays recently worked her magic again on one of my publishing attempts. When I asked her fee, she replied, “consider it part of the original fee you paid me.” I said, “oh, it’s lagniappe.”
When I first conceived “Fifty-Two Tuesdays” I proposed to make a mini quilt each week for a year. I planned a written journal to accompany it, thinking that at the end of the year I would have a finished quilt and a book. I shared this vision with my writing group at the outset. They embraced the idea and as the year progressed, they asked questions about the structure of “the book”. My creative focus was on the quilt itself and keeping a journal of the details; fabrics included, threads, batting, techniques.