Monday, December 19, 2011
Friday, December 16, 2011
Wednesday, December 14, 2011
Don't Worry, It Isn't Contagious
It finally happened -- after 2 years of non-stop quilting, I lost my mojo. For the past few weeks I haven't looked at any fabrics, or window/internet shopped, or turned on my machine, or ANYTHING.
Quilting doldrums.
Why? I am not sure - I know part of it was frustration over being unable to connect to my QATW chat. I would log in to talk to my girls and find out what was happening in the world and *KICK* I would be tossed out of the chat room for no reason. Talking 30 seconds at a time turned out to be beyond my skills. And quilting really is all about sharing to me.
I also know it had to do with the "Basting Blues". That is the point when all of the projects you want to progress with need to be basted. Lucky lucky me, I had 4 or more quilts all needing ironing (ick) and basting (double ick). I have to do all of my ironing in a 2x2 space because I have no ironing board, and I really am short on space to baste things properly in our tiny townhouse.
The other thing keeping me down was - yeah you guessed it - feeling inadequate as a quilter. Yes, I do pretty well on a domestic and I've made some nice quilts --- but they are never as polished or look like I wished they did in my head.
And then I realized that is a dumb way to think about quilting. Somehow, in looking at picture after picture of show quilts from Houston and Paducah and all over the world I tricked myself into thinking every quilt had to be 'show quality.'
My quilts aren't "polished" because I'm not running a stitch regulated long arm with a price tag equal to a year's rent, and I don't have pantographs to follow. They are made with points that don't match because I like to have FUN making a quilt, not obsessing over pinning every little piece. They are covered in cat hair cause I love my cat, and let him sit behind my machine. I like to have a glass of wine (or three) while I piece and baste and quilt, and that has produced some funny stories. None of my motifs match the others exactly because I hate marking.
The bottom line is - I quilt because it makes me happy, and I'm happiest doing it my way. It is a different matter with customer quilts, but as far as my own quilt making goes: There will be cat hair, mismatched points, a few tension wobbles, and whatever else I feel like!
And on that note, guess what I basted last night?
Quilting doldrums.
Why? I am not sure - I know part of it was frustration over being unable to connect to my QATW chat. I would log in to talk to my girls and find out what was happening in the world and *KICK* I would be tossed out of the chat room for no reason. Talking 30 seconds at a time turned out to be beyond my skills. And quilting really is all about sharing to me.
I also know it had to do with the "Basting Blues". That is the point when all of the projects you want to progress with need to be basted. Lucky lucky me, I had 4 or more quilts all needing ironing (ick) and basting (double ick). I have to do all of my ironing in a 2x2 space because I have no ironing board, and I really am short on space to baste things properly in our tiny townhouse.
The other thing keeping me down was - yeah you guessed it - feeling inadequate as a quilter. Yes, I do pretty well on a domestic and I've made some nice quilts --- but they are never as polished or look like I wished they did in my head.
And then I realized that is a dumb way to think about quilting. Somehow, in looking at picture after picture of show quilts from Houston and Paducah and all over the world I tricked myself into thinking every quilt had to be 'show quality.'
My quilts aren't "polished" because I'm not running a stitch regulated long arm with a price tag equal to a year's rent, and I don't have pantographs to follow. They are made with points that don't match because I like to have FUN making a quilt, not obsessing over pinning every little piece. They are covered in cat hair cause I love my cat, and let him sit behind my machine. I like to have a glass of wine (or three) while I piece and baste and quilt, and that has produced some funny stories. None of my motifs match the others exactly because I hate marking.
The bottom line is - I quilt because it makes me happy, and I'm happiest doing it my way. It is a different matter with customer quilts, but as far as my own quilt making goes: There will be cat hair, mismatched points, a few tension wobbles, and whatever else I feel like!
And on that note, guess what I basted last night?
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