Month: August 2024

In my mind, there are three groups of quilters.  There are those who make a quilt occasionally.  These quilters may churn out a quilt or two and then be perfectly fine not touching their machines or fabric for months at a time.  The second group are those who are more serious quilters.  They quilt regularly, often having several projects in the process.  They may belong to a guild and take their craft seriously. These quilters push themselves to become better, trying harder patterns and more complex techniques. 

Then there is the third group.  These are the quilters – quite often the folks we call “professional” quilters – who are well-known.  They are easy to spot.  We have become so familiar with their quilting style we never have to ask if they made a certain quilt or not.  We can tell by looking at the quilt.  Don’t believe me?  Okay, let’s play a game.  Here’s a picture of a quilt.

Can you tell me who designed this quilt without Googling the image?

If you guessed Judy Niemeyer, you’d be correct.  Judy has her own style which has evolved through the years but is still easily recognizable.

What about this one?

If you speculated Janet Stone, you’re right.  We are accustomed to her beautiful alphabet quilts with sheep on them.

Finally, what about this quilt?

If you guessed McKenna Ryan, you’re correct again.  We’ve grown to love her whimsical applique, highlighting critters of all types.

Why do we know who designed these quilt with just a mere glance?  Is it because they produce so many patterns the quilt market is inundated with them, and we see them all the time?  Not really.  I would venture to say Judy Niemeyer probably produces the most patterns, maybe followed by McKenna Ryan.  I could only find one block-of-the-month pattern Janet Stone designed.  So, no, it’s not because of the patterns.  I honestly don’t believe it has anything to do with the number of patterns designed, the number of workshops taught, or the number of ribbons won.  What I do think these “professional” quilters have that most of us struggle with a bit is creative voice.  They have found theirs and we may still be in the process of finding ours.  So let’s talk about creative voice – what it is, how we find it, and how we keep it crystal clear.

Creative voice is loosely defined as a unique way of communicating with the world that which reflects your perspective, experiences, and emotions. It’s about finding your own way to say something, rather than simply repeating what others say. Creative voice can emerge as you explore your life and work, and it can be developed over time.  For quilters, that voice is a unique and recognizable artistic style which is distinctly your own; your inspiration, your materials, techniques, themes, and color palette all working together in a way that looks like it comes from you and no one else. 

Is it absolutely vital every quilter find their creative voice?  Frankly, no.  It’s not.  However, if you want to teach, publish, sell, or have your work in exhibitions – especially invitational exhibitions – you need to be known for something.  Something which sets you apart from what everyone else is doing.  Finding your creative voice allows you to explore your “something” and make it uniquely your own.  And the first part of this journey begins with the realization you already have a voice.  It’s been there since the beginning.  You just need to listen to it and follow it.  It’s for this reason many quilt coaches talk about finding your voice, not developing your voice.  The voice is there.  You just must train your heart and mind to hear it above everything else. 

As quilters (at least those in the second group) I think we tend to be inundated with quilting information.  We belong to groups and guilds.  We read books, magazines, and blogs (like mine – and thanks for reading!).  We take classes and workshops.  We watch videos.    None of this is inherently bad or wrong.  We are pursuing excellence with our chosen hobby.  I’m right there in the middle of all of these. I love learning new things about my art.  However, we need to develop a discerning inner ear.  Don’t let the inundation of new information encroach on what you desire in your quilts.  We must incorporate it into what we want, not let it take the place of what our heart desires to make.  Edit out the distractions and focus on how what you learn can make your quilting uniquely yours.

Creative voice is one of those terms which is kind of like nailing Jello to a wall.  It’s slippery and while it’s not hard to define, finding your own isn’t exactly a straight path.  Some artists gain it quicker than others.  Still others look for it their entire lives.  What I would like to share with you are nine ways to help you find and keep your own creative voice.  You may find you need to work through all nine.  You may find you don’t need but a couple. 

First, be aware you already have a creative voice.  It is beautiful and uniquely yours.  There is no need to try to create the voice.  Your own distinctive creativity is there, even if you don’t feel it.  It’s bubbling just under the surface, already making itself known.  The key is quieting everything else down so you can listen to it. 

Second, dedicate a notebook or note on your phone, laptop, or iPad to your creative thoughts and ideas – no matter how small or seemingly silly.  Make note of the colors which appeal to you, shapes you like, tones, books, conversations or things that you’ve read which appeal to you.  Look around your home.  What items in there bring you joy?  As you’re becoming keenly aware of what you’re observing and how it affects you, you’ll become even more alert to how lighting, color, and things make you pause.  For me it’s flowers.  I love how nature throws together the most random colors and it all works to make something beautiful.  The sight of a bumblebee’s behind peeking out from the center of a rose is just one of the most awesome things and makes me grin.  My BFF Janet sent me this picture awhile back:

It made me smile all day. 

Third, get comfortable with you.  What you like, what you dislike.  What brings you joy and a smile to your face, as well as what you don’t enjoy and dread doing (I’m talking quilts, not housework). 

All of these go hand in hand in finding your voice as a quilter.  Your favorite quilt colors.  The techniques you’re good at and love doing. And be honest with yourself.  If you’re a piecer and the very thought of applique – either by hand or machine – brings tears to your eyes, be at peace with the fact your quilts will primarily be pieced ones.  If you adore making small quilts and the thought of making large bed quilts all the time sets your teeth on edge, then go with it.  There are no wrong choices in this third aspect.  The only erroneous answers are the ones you may give because you think they are the right ones when your inner voice is telling you no.  For me, I made a list of all the quilts I loved making and would drop everything to make again.  It wasn’t long until I found two distinct aspects about my creative voice:  I like small, pieced blocks, and I love applique. 

Four, be inspired, but don’t imitate.  One of my favorite things about guild meetings is the show and tell.  At quilt shows, I’m the one spending lots of time looking at the quilts and not in the vendor mall.  I love looking at quilts and talking to quilters about their quilts.  However, it’s important to remember while it’s okay to be inspired by those quilts and quilters, you don’t want to make the exact, same quilt as theirs.  Just because you love a certain designer doesn’t mean you need to become their shadow.  Think about why you like their quilts.  I love the whimsy McKenna Ryan puts in her applique quilts.   I love the detail in Janet Stone’s.  But it’s important for me to make my quilts the way I want them, not a mirror image of anyone else.  I can add touches of whimsy and details without my quilts looking like a carbon copy of McKenna’s or Janet’s. 

Your creative voice sets you apart, and ultimately makes your work interesting, distinctive, worthy of discourse, and desired by others (Lisa Congdon).  Decide what you like about someone else’s quilt.  Look at it closely and embrace all the details.  Explore the elements.  Then ask yourself, what is it about a quilt which makes you stop and linger?  For me, nine times out of them, it’s color.  If I retain a picture of someone else’s quilt, it’s not because I necessarily want to make that quilt.  It’s because I love the colors they used and how they used them. 

So as you look at other quilts and other designers, ask yourself what made you stop and linger?  We are drawn to the work of others for a reason.  A whisper of our own creative voices is there.

Five, make sure you know the basics.  Before you can truly allow your creativity to run freely, it’s important to be able to implement the basics in your work – just as it is with any other art.  Can you keep a quarter-inch seam without thinking about it too much (or at least have the tools in place so it doesn’t require so much thought).  Can you cut accurately?  Do you understand the basics of threads, needles, fusibles, and pressing?  If you can’t execute these without thinking a great deal about them, you will struggle to find your voice to express yourself.  You’ll become frustrated and creatively suffocated in the due diligence of trying to create without mastering the basics.  When you have mastered the fundamentals, you have the freedom to express your creative voice.

Sixth, find other quilters and join a challenge.  It could be a 365 project or a block of the month, or any combination of things (technique of the month, color of the week, etc).  Join a challenge which helps you find your creative voice.  My favorite ones are the kind which give you pretty much free reign.  I think the one I had the most fun with was one a few years ago when the Vice President of our guild issued a small quilt challenge.  Each month we had to make a small quilt which would indicate what we thought the month meant (such as February could be Valentines or Presidents’ Day) and incorporate a technique he would initiate – such as it must contain some applique or a technique new to you.  I had the most fun coming up with my own designs, my own quilting motifs, and my own color palettes.  This type of challenge lets you explore your creative voice to the fullest.  You will take the challenge and interpret it differently than anyone else.  You will bring in your colors, imagery, and subjects that no one else will.  You will come at it from your own angle and pursue the challenge in ways that differ from anyone else. 

Seventh, embrace your mistakes.  This one is kind of hard, because our society as a whole is not set up to celebrate mistakes – only successes.  But failures and mistakes are opportunities to learn.  They are the process of experimentation and intentional choices which lead you to find your creative voice. 

Don’t give up when you mess up.  The journey to discovery is never smooth. It’s often twisty and takes many turns.  Each “mistake” made simply brings you closer to your creative voice.  Become comfortable with feeling messy, frustrated, and like you’re falling apart.  Work with those feelings.

Eight, be consistent.  Play around with all types of colors, lines, palettes, equipment, ideas, and mediums.  Blend things together.  Mix it up.  Try new fabrics, hues, and textures you may have never tried before.  I realize this doesn’t sound anything like consistency, since the very term means “steadfast adherence to the same principles, course, form, etc.”  Trying out all these things is the very opposite of consistent.  However, as you’re working your way through all of these, you stumble across what you love and what you’re not so crazy about.  Recognize what you love and begin to consistently work these into your quilts.  The more you bring in the same colors, textures, types, and styles, the more your creative voice is strengthened and seen.  You don’t necessarily need one style of creating, but your voice does have its own elements.  And those elements should be consistent with what you create.

Nine, create an inspiration board of your own work.  I’m not talking about Pinterest Board with quilts made by other artists you like.  No, you need a board with your work.  It can be a photo album – either a physical book or one online.  It’s important to be able to see, feel, and embrace your work.  By having the chance to thumb back through what you’ve made, you can begin to tell the colors, the fabric lines, the blocks, the applique, the type of patterns you’re drawn to.  You can tell what you truly enjoyed and what sparked joy.  You’ll discover the quilts that said “Yes!” inside your soul and the pieces you really like.

When you come across quilts or parts of quilts you don’t love, be introspective towards them.  Note the quilts you struggled through and were disappointed in.  Make note of the colors you wish you could go back and change as well as anything (such as quilting tools and notions) that would have made your work easier and more accurate.  As you study your own work, you’ll see your creative voice emerging.  You’ll hear it clearer than before. 

As quilters, it’s easy to be overwhelmed with the number of patterns, fabric lines, workshops, classes, and videos available to help us.  And all of those are vital and important.   And I think quilers should take as many classes and workshops as possible, try as many different patterns as they want, and revel with the quality and quantity of fabric available.  However, don’t let all this information drown out your own creative voice.  Use what is out there and available to you to enhance your voice, not drown it out.

Your creative voice is there…it’s been there all along.  You just have to learn to tune into what it’s saying.  Trust it and your heart to lead you.

Until Next Week, From My Studio to Yours,

Love and Stitches,

Sherri and Felix

On July 17, I published a blog concerning Artificial Intelligence and Quilting.  I received quite a bit of response about that blog – which I hoped would happen.  I also promised to return to the AI program I used to create the images in a month.  Since AI continues to scour the internet long after a request is given, constantly searching for ways to redefine the images and information – hone and make it more accurate – I thought it would be interesting to revisit DALL.E, the AI image program I used in the first blog, and see what it would do with the exact, same image requests.

The first image I asked for in the July blog was a quilt made from 150 half-square triangles.  This is what a half-square triangle quilt can look like. It’s a pretty basic design.  I did this on purpose because I wasn’t sure what DALL.E would return.  The July 17 DALL.E rendition of a half-square triangle quilt was this:

A month later, DALL.E returned  two graphics of a HST quilt.

In the first quilt, you can kind of see where the AI program was still pulling information together.  While not quite as “off” as the July quilt, it still appears the program is throwing halved squares and triangles together in an attempt to come up with a quilt made from 150 HSTs.  It’s kind of right, but not what a quilter would expect.

The second HST quilt is a bit more cohesive.  This quilt has the half-square triangles (although not the requested 150) and has used those to create flying geese – something which kind of surprised me.  It also employs some complex piecing.  Don’t believe me?  Take a good look at the center medallion. It has a square-in-a-square, as well as some inset seams. 

And have you noticed in both of these quilts, DALL.E provided quilting stitches – something it didn’t in all of the July blog pictures. 

The second quilt I requested in July was a New York Beauty, as shown below.

DALL.E returned this quilt, which is hilarious.  Boats and taxis on the same street.  Nothing at all resembles a New York Beauty.

However…this time DALL.E did its homework. The first quilt it returned in was this:

At least the taxis were on the street.  I’d have to mark it down for workmanship.  The corners are chopped off squares.

The second New York Beauty returned was this:

It’s easy to scratch your head over this one and wonder why AI would think this quilt would ever resemble a New York Beauty.  However, I do see a resemblance of spikes coming from a center circle.  I actually think this is a lot closer to a New York Beauty than the other two.  With this quilt, you can tell AI is scanning the information available, working through it, and coming up with something.  I think this is the quilt I would be interested in coming back to in a year to see what DALL.E would return then.

I also asked DALL.E to create a Marie Webster quilt.  Here are a couple of examples of her quilts.

I love Marie Webster quilts!  The applique is just brilliant and there’s plenty of room for wonderful quilting to up the texture game.  When I asked DALL.E to render a Marie Webster quilt in July, this is what it gave me.

When I asked it again for two Marie Webster quilts, this is what it returned.

While there is some applique on the above two quilts, it’s really nothing like the delicate, floral designs which Marie Webster produced.  And she was famous for her use of soft pastels.  There are no pastels in the newly rendered AI quilts.  Which led me to ask the question:  Why, with the other quilts becoming so close to what they really need to look like, did Marie Websters end up so horribly wrong?  I think I have that answer, just hang on to the end of my blog.

Finally, I asked DALL.E to produce two quilts made by Sherriquiltsalot.com.  These are a few of my quilts. 

I really don’t have a distinct “style” like some quilters do – the closest I come is I tend to have quite a bit of orange and yellow in my quilts and I do use a lot of applique (it’s my favorite technique). 

This is the quilt DALL.E returned in July.

To be sure, these are definitely my colors, and there is a floater in one of the quilts.  However, it’s hopelessly chaotic and it doesn’t have any applique.  This time DALL.E was a bit better.

This quilt does look like something I would make.  The pinks are one of my colors of choice and it’s not as chaotic as the first quilt.  Quite possibly this would be my choice for a quick crib quilt for a baby shower. 

It’s the second quilt I’m most dubious about.  To be sure, there are some tiny squares, and I do enjoy those, but there is very little piecing.  For a woman who once sewed 45 pieces into a 5 ½-inch unfinished quilt square, the fact that there is little piecing is a bit insulting. 

Finally, the last quilt I asked DALL.E to create in the July blog was an applique quilt with a black and white cat with tulips and daisies.  I’d like to make a small quilt with a cat which resembles Felix.  I was quite pleased with the two that AI came up with:

When I asked DALL.E this time for the same type of quilt, this is what it gave me:

I like these equally as much as the first two, although the new renderings are a bit more stylized than the first quilts.  I could be happy making any of these cat quilts.

In my opinion the cat quilts are the best AI quilts.  And this got me to thinking.  In the other quilts, I gave some really specific parameters – names of quilts and a designer.  With the cat quilts, I gave general directives:  black and white cats, tulips, and daisies.  The cats had to be black and white, but the tulips and daisies could be any color.  Keeping general directives in mind, I returned to DALL.E and asked it to create a quilt with four-patches and birds

While I don’t particularly think this quilt is attractive in this color way, the four-patches are there and so are the birds.

In this second quilt, there are no four-patches, but the birds are really cute.

Maybe DALL.E doesn’t like creating pieced quilts?  It certainly seems to have no problems creating applique quilts. 

All of this experimentation has been a lot of fun.  But it still makes Artificial Intelligence no less of a threat if used incorrectly.  My fear, like a lot of creators, is that AI could hijack the work of a quilt designer.  There is the possibility AI could design quilts similar to those of our wonderful quilt designers and cut into the income of these folks.  Which also led me to wonder if AI could design fabric the same way?  Could AI possibly come up with similar designs to Buttermilk Basin, Henry Glass (both of which are fabric house with lots of designers), or Kaffe Fassett? 

So I tried.  I asked DALL.E for  two designs of each.

This is it’s rendering of Buttermilk Basin designs.

This is a swatch of the actual product.

Here is DALL.E’s idea of Henry Glass Fabrics

Here is a swatch of actual Henry Glass Fabric.

And finally, here’s AI’s idea of Kaffe Fassett’s fabric

Here are some swatches of real Kaffe Fassett fabric – DALL.E wasn’t too far off, was it?

After all these trials, I decided one sure thing about DALL.E.  It works best with fewer parameters.  I put in two very simple requests for two different types of applique quilts.  First, I asked for an applique quilt with fruit on it.  These are the two pictures it gave me:

Not bad at all, and both are definitely quilts I could make.

Then –being the floral applique enthusiast that I am (because if you can’t grow flowers, at least you can stitch them) – it gave me these two renderings.

I really like both of those, and that basket of flowers may be in my future.

At the end of all this experimentation, I still believe A-I is like any other technology – it’s neither inherently good nor inherently evil.  It’s what’s done with it that matters.  It does bother me exactly how close it can get to the real thing.  One of my readers who is both a quilter and a tech person, and my daughter and son-in-law (both of whom are also tech-savy) relieved my fears a bit.  All of them told me most designers are putting some sort of imbedded code into their pictures on the internet.  For instance, a picture of a quilt pattern couldn’t be downloaded unless you paid for it.  Payment would override the code and allow you to use it.  I don’t think anyone programming AI would want to spend thousands of dollars just to peruse a lot of quilt patterns.

However, this also begs the question, what if those pictures were available on other websites?  For instance, a quilting magazine may feature the pattern.  Would it still have a code?  Could it still be “downloaded” into AI?  And what about folks like me who don’t sell patterns, but freely show pictures of their own quilts on blogs and other social media?  How protected are we from AI gobbling up our hard work?

I think, like most troubling fields in our society, the final decision will come down to the courts.  I believe there are workarounds with codes.  Remember when all our credit and debit cards were replaced with those with “chips” to prevent hackers from wreaking havoc on our accounts?  I honestly think those hackers said, “Challenge accepted.”  Two weeks after I received my first “chipped” card, my Visa card was hacked. I think the embedded codes will amount to the same thing. However, a lawsuit or threat of a lawsuit, is something everyone understands.  They take both time and money – mainly money. 

While I don’t believe AI is a huge threat to our quilting world yet, I do think it could be trouble in the future.  I’m interested to see how the courts rule on Andersen v. Stability AI et al and what it could mean to all artists.

Until Next Week, From My Studio to Yours,

Love and Stitches,

Sherri and Felix

Here’s the scenario:

You’ve found a quilt pattern you really want to make.

You pull as much of the fabric required from your stash as you can and purchase the rest.

Everything is cut out precisely, labeled, bagged, and tagged.

Your machine is cleaned, oiled, a new needle inserted, and you’re set to sew.

A month later (give or take, depending on your sewing schedule and the complexities of the pattern) the top is finished.

You spread it out to look at your entire quilt top and then your stomach tightens and your head buzzes, because you realize at that moment – you hate it.

Quilt-hate happens, whether we want to admit it or not.  I’ve experienced it, too.  And the reasons behind it could be a myriad of things.  We may discover the colors are “off” – too many muted colors with too many brights.  We may see we’ve cut off far too many points on our stars or flying geese.  There may be some not-so-pleasant memories tied up with the quilt. Or it may simply be the quilt looked better on the pattern than it does in reality. 

The reasons are varied and many.  But one fact remains.  We’ve now made a quilt we don’t like.   And to be completely honest with you, I’ve experienced quilt-hate with more than one quilt.  What I would like to share – from my studio to yours – is how I dealt with my intense dislike of a quilt and made the situation work for me.

I think the first thing you must do once you realize you hate the quilt top is to articulate what it is exactly you don’t like about the quilt.  Don’t be vague. Something like “The colors just aren’t working for me,” isn’t specific enough.  What is it about the colors you dislike?  Is there too much of a color you particularly dislike?  Is there a color which seems to dominate the quilt top?  Are there blocks you struggled with in their construction?  The reason it’s important to be specific is this:  In order to “fix” your quilt you need to know exactly what needs to be corrected to make you happy. 

Now take another good look at your quilt top and decide what you like about your quilt.  Again, be specific.  Hopefully there are several things you enjoy about your quilt.  Are the corners nice and sharp?  Are the half-square triangles perfect?  Do your flying geese chase each other gleefully around the top?  Is the applique just too cute for anything?  Articulate these things.  What you may find is the good qualities far outweigh the bad and in all reality, your quilt top is just fine.  What I’ve learned about myself is I focus way too much on what I think is wrong about my quilt, because either I struggled with that part or because I know exactly what I messed up on and that’s where my eye lingers – it’s the first thing I see when I look at my quilt.  If the quilt’s good points outweigh its bad points, I caution waiting it out to make a final judgement call.  Fold the top and set it aside for several days (I wait at least a week).  Then spread the top out again.  If you still hate the quilt top as much as you did, it’s time to look at other options. 

Option One:  Take a picture of your quilt with your cell phone. 

It’s good to do this with a neutral background and in good lighting (outdoors with natural sunlight is best, if you can do this).  This picture will enable you to look at the quilt more objectively.  Since you will have to distance yourself (physically) from the quilt to take the picture, you’ll get a different perspective of it.  As quilters, so much of what we do is so up close and personal, it’s difficult to get the “distance perspective.”  A quilt looks entirely different five feet away than it does five inches from your eyes.  You may find you actually like the quilt more than you thought you did. 

In your photo editing section on your phone, change the quilt picture from color to black and white.  If there is something about your quilt you don’t like, but you can’t exactly put your finger on it, the black and white photo may point it out.  It could be lack of contrast, it could be too much contrast, it could be too many light colors coming together at the same spot, so it looks as if your quilt has “holes” in it.  I’ve found it works even better if you can upload your cell phone pictures to a laptop or desktop and look at them on a bigger screen. 

Regardless, this photo exercise is a good first step in determining why you are suffering from quilt-hate. The information gleaned from the pictures will help you make some decisions – perhaps you can change the outer border a little to make the quilt more appealing to you, or maybe you need to remove a border.   What I wouldn’t do is take the quilt entirely apart.  Just…no.  That’s too much work and there’s still some options.

Option Two:  Do a little quilt comparison.

Normally I discourage quilters from comparing their quilts with those made by another quilter.  Every quilter has their own style, their own favorite techniques, and their own unique talents.  However, in the case where quilt-hate is involved, I think it’s time to do a bit of comparative research.  First, take that picture you took of your quilt on your phone and carefully compare it to the picture of the quilt in your pattern.  Is there something off?  Does something look not quite right?  I’m not trying to cast stones, but pictures can be altered, and there is the possibility the picture of the quilt in your pattern may have been digitally altered – in other words, the picture in the pattern may never match the directions in the pattern.  In short, the quilt you just made that you’re suffering through quilt-hate with?  It may never be as good as the pattern picture because the directions won’t produce that quilt.  In this case, the directions are the norm.  The picture is the abnormality.  If this is indeed the scenario, you’ll need to decide whether to keep the quilt the way it is or alter what you can.  This also may release some of the pressure for you.  If you followed the directions and the picture of the quilt in the pattern isn’t exactly the same quilt the directions were supposed to produce, it’s not your fault.  At that point you may be perfectly okay with keeping it as is.

If, after comparing the photo of your quilt against the picture of the quilt in the pattern, you conclude you did construct the quilt correctly, Google the quilt.  When the results come up, click on the “Images” tab.  This will give you pictures of the quilt made by other quilters.  Use these to compare and contrast the picture of your own quilt.  You may find the pattern worked better with a different color way.  You may discover other quilters changed some things up to make the quilt work better for them.  You may discover options you never thought about before and opt to use one of them to make peace with your quilt. 

Option Three:  Give it a vacation.

Notice I said “vacation” and not “abandon it.” 

Fold your top and store it out of sight for a while, but be sure to define exactly how long it’ll be on vacation – two weeks, a month, two months – whatever.  Give yourself enough time for your quilt hate to subside a bit so you’ll be able to look at the top with a calmer spirit and clearer eyes.  However, be sure to go back to the top when vacation is over.  I write the “return” date on my calendar, so I don’t forget, and post it on the outside of whatever I’ve stored the top in.  When the return date comes up, I spread the top out again and take a hard look at it.  Many times – most of the time, if I’m honest – I find my quilt-hate isn’t as bad as it was, and I can finish it up.

Option Four:  Ask others what they would do with this quilt.

This is a situation where it really pays to have good, knowledgeable, quilting buddies.  Show them your quilt.  Tell them specifically what you don’t like about it.  Ask them their opinions.  I have a close circle of quilting friends, and I value their opinions.  They’ve quilted for almost as long as I have or longer.  They will tell me if my problem is “All in your head, Fields.  I’m not seeing anything wrong with the quilt.  Get over yourself.”  Or they will be equally honest and tell me what they would change and how they would change it.

With this option, let me caution about on-line groups or Facebook groups.  Most of the time the quilters in these groups are just awesome.  However, there’s always that one troll who wants to be ugly and negative.  If your only quilting groups are cyber ones, be careful about posting a picture of your quilt and asking opinions.  Again, most quilters are wonderful folks and will help you anyway they can.  But there’s always that one person….

If you decide to post online and ask opinions, just be aware some folks may be ugly and prepare yourself.  As a matter of fact, you may just want to direct message a few of the group’s members so you can discuss your quilt privately.

Option Five:  Examine your feelings.

Upfront fact:  A quilt is an inanimate object.

Also fact:  We sew our emotions into our quilts.

We do.  Or at least most of us do.  Quilting is primarily a solitary hobby.  You may meet with groups and guilds a couple of times a month, but for the most part, quilting is a solitary act.  As you piece or quilt, it’s so easy to think about things troubling your soul, pray prayers for those folks who are in need, or just to reflect on the good times.  When I look at my quilts, most of the time I can tell you events happening in my life, where the fabric came from, and any emotional upheaval (good or bad) I was experiencing. 

If you’re like me, examine yourself and the quilt carefully.  Are there events or emotions happening in your life and are you projecting those into the quilt?  Are you consistently thinking of these events while piecing and quilting?  If the events or thoughts are really negative, you may hate your quilt because it reminds you of life’s rough patches. 

I know this well on a personal level.  I have one quilt I’ve been unable to finish.  I began working on it while my dad was in Hospice care for pancreatic cancer.  After he passed, I brought it home, stuffed it into the back of a closet and have not been able to touch it since 2005.  That’s almost 20 years ago.  I don’t know if I’ll ever finish it, but I can’t bear to toss it either. I have another quilt I started almost 14 years ago in a class.  Most of the blocks are completed.  However the instructor walked out in the middle of everything, under such dire circumstances that I haven’t felt like picking up where I left off.  I will one day – it’s applique and I love that technique.  I just need to dig it out.

Option Six:  Fight it out.

Finish the quilt.  Grit your teeth, hold your nose, do whatever you have to, but finish it.  Personally, I designate two specific hours a week to work on a project I don’t like.  I set a timer and when it goes off, the project goes back in its box.  I also make sure I have a project which I love to work on during the rest of the week.  This keeps me focused and it helps to know I have a “fun” project waiting on me.

Once the quilt you hate is pieced, immediately quilt it or have it quilted.  There’s something about the quilting which can completely change the character of a quilt.  The quilting can soften edges and simply make the quilt look different.  You may find your quilt-hate dissolving away as texture is added to the quilt top. 

But what if none of the options work?  What if I still hate my quilt?

If your quilt is quilted, give it away.  If you belong to a guild, see if the quilt would work for its charity program.  Then there’s always Project Linus.  If neither of these suggestions work, think about a friend or relative who would appreciate a quilt from you – especially if they’re going through a tough time.  A quilt would be like a tangible hug from you. 

If you realize that no matter what you do, you’re gonna hate that quilt for the rest of your life – so much so you don’t want to put the effort into quilting it or pay to have it quilted.  You could put the top on the free table at your guild.  You could post it on the online quilt groups you belong to and see if someone else would want it.  You could donate to Goodwill, Salvation Army, or a thrift store.  Funny story – I have a good friend who was four blocks into a yearlong block-of-the-month experience when she realized she hated it.  She hated the colorway, she despised the blocks, and she resented the way the BOM cut into her limited sewing time. Since she had a trip planned, she tossed the unwanted blocks in her car.  Not wanting to leave the blocks completely abandoned on her trip, she planned a stop at a quilt store.  She took the blocks in, shopped for a few minutes, took her items to the counter to be checked out, but craftily left the unwanted blocks with the store’s yardage.  Her thought was even if she didn’t want the poor, ugly blocks, they may be just what another quilter needed.   

There are options available to help you deal with quilt-hate.  And in the end, you may decide you don’t hate the quilt as much as you thought you did.  But if you do, and you’ve tried several options and they don’t work for you, don’t be afraid to banish that quilt from your sewing room.  Life is too short to drink bad coffee, wear uncomfortable shoes, or work on a quilt you hate.

From My Studio to Yours,

Love and Stitches,

Sherri and Felix 

Let’s take a deep dive into one of the oldest quilt patterns:  The Mariner’s Compass. 

The Mariner’s Compass is not only one of the oldest quilt patterns around, it also was one of the first ones who claimed a consistent name.  It hit its height of popularity between 1840 and 1850 and was especially prevalent along the Eastern Seaboard.  The pattern – a circle with radiating points – resembles the “Wind Rose” and “Compass Rose” found on many maps, sea charts, and magnetic compasses. 

Like a lot of Eastern Seaboard immigrants, the block has its quilty DNA in England.  Quilts with this compass on them popped up there around 1726.  In the United States, the earliest surviving Mariner’s Compass quilt dates back to 1834, but the name Mariner’s Compass (used referring to a quilt) was used in American letters and printed documents as early as 1798.  However, like most quilt blocks, the name and the pattern itself went through several transformations before it came to be recognized as we know it today.  Carrie Hall and Rose Kretsinger called it Chips and Whetstones.  Ruth Finley first named it Country Gentleman and then re-named it Mariner’s Compass.   It’s also been dubbed The Explosion and Sunburst.  However, by the 1960’s it was consistently called Mariner’s Compass and was recognized by that name.

The thought behind the block mimics a magnetic compass.  There are four longer spikes designating north, south, east, and west, with the northern spike pointing straight up.  All four of these are usually the same color or in the same color family.  Most of the time the Mariner’s Compass serves as a medallion in a quilt:

And is surrounded by smaller compasses or a New York Beauty block.

Sometimes smaller Mariner’s Compasses are made, and these are set horizontally. 

This particular type of setting is generally found in the older quilts, dating from the 1830’s to the 1850’s.  It’s tempting to think that since an actual compass shows true north and gives direction even if the sky is foggy or it’s nighttime, the Mariner’s Compass quilt was made and given to folks who were facing a new direction in life – a graduation, a marriage, or who were moving away.  I wish I could say “Yes, that’s true,” but I’d be lying.  The actual history of this block is slim and if there were any actual meanings or superstitions behind this quilt, they have long been forgotten.  

What we do know is this:  The Mariner’s Compass technically falls under the “Star Blocks” category.  It’s a star based on a circular design

Instead of the typical star block, which is generally based on a square.

For a quilter, the Mariner’s Compass is one of those blocks you look at, admire, and then ask yourself, “How in the world do you construct one?”  It’s one of those blocks which take a bit of pre-planning because color placement is important.  The dominate points (north, south, east, and west) need to stand out and the triangles behind those points should both harmonize and contrast.   

The next consideration is accuracy.  There are a few quilt blocks you can kind of “fudge” on your cutting.  If it’s a little wonky, you can usually “correct” this in your piecing (such as a four- or nine-patch).  The Mariner’s Compass is not one of those blocks.  In addition, your seam allowances should be steadfastly consistent.  Plus, you’re working with elongated triangles, and you know what that means … bias.  Lots of bias.  Be prepared to spray starch that fabric until it feels like paper.  Then let’s throw in circles.  You’re constructing a circular star which is sewn to a rectangle.

There is seriously a lot going on in this block. 

Let’s break it down so it doesn’t seem so overwhelming. 

1.  Cutting Accuracy.  Yes, you can quite possibly do the math and come up with the size fabric strip needed and the angle you need to cut it to make your points. 

You also have better things to do with your time.  Even if you’re a math superstar, now is not the time to show off.  Not when there are Mariner’s Star templates.  Marti Mitchell has a set of acrylic templates.  Electric Quilt 8 has templates.  Amazon has a host of templates for this block.  Trace around the templates and cut the pieces out with your scissors or trim around them with a rotary cutter.  There are several sites which offer free paper templates for the Mariner’s Compass, too. 

If you have an AccuQuilt, this company produces a couple of different dies for the Mariner’s Compass, complete with notches to match together and pin before you sew, so everything goes together easy-peasy.  These dies make 12-inch blocks, but truthfully, this is one block I wouldn’t want to try to make any smaller. 

However, in my opinion, for complete accuracy without a lot of fuss, I would paper piece it.  There are free paper piecing Mariner’s Compass patterns on several web sites, as well as those you can purchase. 

•  Color/Fabric Choice.  No matter if I were traditionally piecing the pattern or paper piecing it, I would decide my color scheme, color a picture of the compass I’m making, and then do my fabric pull.  If you use EQ8, this can easily be done.  For me, this is not one of those blocks I can “free style it” and decide what I want to use as I go along.  There definitely must be some dominate colors and some supporting ones.  I think it’s easier to make those decisions before block construction begins. 

•  Consistent Seam Allowances.  If you decide to paper piece this block, you don’t have to worry about consistent seam allowances.  You simply sew on the line (another reason I would rather paper piece this block).  However, I do realize not all my readers enjoy paper piecing.  So, if you plan on traditionally piecing this block, a quilter’s ¼-inch foot would be your BFF throughout this process. 

But speed would not.  Sew slowly (or at least slower than you normally do).  Slower sewing allows you to control your fabric and keep a consistent ¼-inch seam allowance. 

•  Bias.  Anytime fabric is cut at an angle, you encounter bias. 

Anything cut on the bias will stretch more than fabric cut on the crosswise grain (second most stretchy cut) or the length wise grain (least stretchy cut).  Bias isn’t anything to be scared of, but there are a couple of actions you want to put into play as you deal with bias.  The first is to spray starch the fabric until it almost feels like paper.  And in order to do this, you need real spray starch, not a starch substitute.  Starch substitutes are great for some applications, but this isn’t one of them.  Starch the fabric on the wrong side, lightly spraying a fine mist of starch, and then pressing it into the fabric with a hot iron.  Repeat the process – because it will take several starch applications – until the fabric feels like paper.  Then cut your Mariner’s Compass points out. 

The second action is simply don’t handle the pieces with bias anymore than you must.  Overhanding the block units is a sure-fire way to stretch the bias.  Cut the pieces out and set them aside until you need them. 

•  Joining the circular compass to the square piece of fabric.  Sometimes the Mariner’s Compass pattern can be divided into quarter sections. If this is the case with your pattern, the background fabric can be attached to each quarter by machine – the curve is gentle and if you sew slowly you should be able to control the fabric and keep a consistent ¼-inch seam.  I would treat these blocks the same way I would a Drunkard’s Path block – I’d make the outside block piece a bit bigger, sew it on, and then trim it to fit.

Then there are Mariner’s Compass blocks like this:

In this type of compass block, it seems as if the circular compass is floating on top of the block.  Being an applique quilter, I’d use the reverse applique technique.  For me, this would be the simplest and most accurate method of getting the compass centered and inserted into the block – not to mention, this method would minimize bulk. 

The first Mariner’s Compass – a real one, not a quilted one – was invented by the Chinese Han Dynesty around 206 BC using a lodestone and a piece of iron.  The magnetized lodestone would always push the piece of iron to point north, giving the early sailors and explorers direction in unfamiliar lands and waters.  Through the years, the Mariner’s Compass evolved into the quilt block we know.  It’s a block which does require some skill (definitely not a beginner project) and patience.  Some quilters I know would rather hand piece this block and others don’t mind throwing it under their machine needle.  Either way, it’s one of those blocks when carefully thought out and accurately constructed, throws a “Wow” factor into any quilt.

Have I made one?  Yes.  One block.

Will I make more?  While my son admires my quilting, he’s the child who rarely comes out and says “This is what I’d really like to have” as far as my quilts go.  However, he has mentioned in the past he really likes this block.  So yes.  When I finish up a few other projects I have under my needle now, I will.  A large one.  A medallion Mariner’s Compass.  For my ocean-loving, Florida-dwelling kid.

Until Next Week, From My Studio to Yours!

Love and Stitches,

Sherri and Felix.