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Mistakes happen.  They do.  They happen to me.  They happen to you.  They happen to the best of quilters, including those who have YouTube programs with thousands and thousands of followers.  All quilters have their strengths, and all quilters have their weaknesses.  My question this week is this: When do we let mistakes guide the completion of the quilt?  Is it good to stop the process and correct every little wrong thing or is it better to just keep pushing through the process until we get to the end?  Is finished really better than perfect?

Okay, I’ll be the first to admit, there are quilts, and then there are quilts.  There are quilts meant to grace our beds and quilts meant to be thrown on the ground and picnicked off of.  Then other quilts exist to dazzle judges and hopefully bring home ribbons.  Obviously the latter requires more attention to detail than the former, but how much should you let mistakes hold you back from completing a picnic or play quilt?  Let’s take a hard look at the whole “Finished is better than perfect” mantra and see just how it fits into our quilting. 

I’m starting with a question:  How many projects do you have both in progress and patiently waiting in the wings?  Zone of Truth

I have so many it’s embarrassing to mention.  It wasn’t until I realized my project accumulation was exceeding my life expectancy that I slowed down accumulating them.  I love pretty fabrics and fabulous projects.  Both keep my creative juices bubbling.  However, I came to some pretty hard, cold facts about myself.  First, I’m a slow sewer.  For someone who has sewn nearly every day since she was 24, I’m not a pedal-to-the-metal speed demon quilter – primarily because I want to keep the relationship I have with my seam ripper virtually nonexistent.  If I wanted to finish all these projects, I would have to pick up the pace, and a faster pace meant I would make some mistakes and if the mistakes were bad enough, I would have to develop a much  better working relationship with Jack (the seam ripper).  Second, I declared a moratorium on any additional projects.  I must finish these UFO things.  With that in mind, I know if I don’t embrace the “Finished is better than perfect” point of view, I will drown myself in a sea of unfinished projects, fabrics, and patterns.

And you will, too.  The Zone of Truth here comes with a couple of hard facts:

• You can’t finish if you don’t start.
• You can’t finish if you fuss and obsess over every little mistake. 
• You can’t become paralyzed by perfectionism.

Let’s stop for a moment or two and discuss perfectionism and quilting. Overall, perfectionism can be a difficult task master.  While the goal of perfection is pretty lofty, the execution of it can make your life miserable because none of us are capable of being perfect or producing perfect quilts.  We can do good work and make wonderful quilts, but in order to keep the project moving ahead, you have to let go of perfectionism.  This doesn’t mean you aren’t careful with your technique or that your work is inordinately sloppy.  It means you’ve decided what to accept and what to let go in your quilting journey.

I also think the whole “Finished is better than perfect” mantra actually helps you in some areas (besides the whole getting over perfection if you have that problem). 

First, I think it gives you the confidence to redesign blocks, patterns, and applique.  Think about it.  If you’ve made a mistake in a pattern, exactly how many people will know you’ve made a mistake if you don’t tell them?  Go ahead.  Think about it.

No one.  Unless someone else who views your quilt has made that exact same quilt, no one will know if you’ve made a mistake.  You can take that little goof and make it a design change, a pattern re-draft, or any number of things.  Personally, I think some of the best quilts I’ve made came about through a mistake or two.  I was forced to put down the pattern and come up with my own ideas.  For instance, after I discovered  I was to be a Mimi for the first time, I naturally wanted to make my future granddarling a crib quilt.  I consulted with my daughter who had decided to use owls in the nursery.  I found a cute pattern with appliqued owls on them and set to work, only to discover I made a huge mistake when I began to assemble the quilt.  The owls in the pattern were set on-point. I appliqued them like a standard, horizontal block. 

But they were finished, and since finished is better than perfect, I had to develop my own layout design.  This little fiasco forced me to learn to set aside the pattern, trust my own creative abilities, and make that sweet quilt.  I survived the process and came away with the confidence to realize something I’ve told you for years:  The pattern is merely a suggestion.  The quilt is your quilt, and you can make it the way you want to.

Second, finishing a project will give you the courage to keep pushing forward.  If you’re like me and you’re a recovering perfectionist, it’s so easy to feel that every little mistake is this giant hurdle you can’t get over.  Unless that mistake truly alters the entire construction of a quilt, you may just want to keep pushing forward.  That tiny tuck in a seam will probably not be noticeable at all once the quilt is quilted.  The one tip you accidentally cut off your flying geese will not be seen.  Just remember all progress is some progress and the more stitches stitched gets you closer to the last stitch in the quilt. 

Third, the more projects you finish, the more you will find yourself as a quilter.  As you keep stitching, you will realize your own strengths and weaknesses.  You can play to your strengths and work on your weakness, minimizing them until you feel like you’ve mastered them.  For instance, let’s pretend you want to make a pieced and applique quilt.  Your piecing skills may be stellar, but applique may still be a technique that you need to work on.  Don’t start with a quilt such as this:

With every other block having a bit of applique in it.  Choose one which may have a bit of applique in the center (which also means the applique pieces will probably be larger and easier to work with).  If this is successful, then the next time pick a pattern with more applique.  However, unless you push yourself to finish a project, you’ll never master the techniques you admire in other quilts. 

Finally, finishing something gives you confidence as a quilter.  And confidence breeds more confidence.  With each finish you feel a bit more like patting yourself on the back (which you should) and feel as if you can do it again – this time with something a little more challenging (which you can do).  Finishing a quilt – even if it’s not perfect – excites you as a quilter.  You want to feel that feeling again.  So you push to finish another project.  And then another.  And another.  Trust me, that excitement of finishing never dulls.  It never goes away.  It’s a hit of dopamine and serotonin you want to feel again and again.

A couple of additional thoughts before we close this blog on finishing. 

1. Once that top is complete, quilt the quilt.  Sandwich it up and put it under your needle (either hand quilting or by machine) or find someone to quilt it for you.  Don’t let the top languish in a pile of unquilted tops.  You’ve come too far for that.  Quilt it, bind it, put a label on it and display it.  Trust me, chances are other folks won’t see any mistakes you’ve made.  They’ll admire your handiwork and wish they could make something as marvelous as your quilt. 
2. The whole mantra “Finished is better than perfect” is not an excuse for sloppy work.  Some mistakes need to be corrected in order for the quilt to square up and quilt well or they’re so visible they’re obvious.  A tiny tuck in a seam is one thing, blocks which are out of line by a half inch or more is another.
3. You are the boss of your quilt.  The quilt is not the boss of you.  In the end, it’s fabric. Just fabric.  Don’t let it get the best of you.

If you are a perfectionist in recovery or you simply feel your quilt has too many mistakes, there are three options available to you.  You can fix it.   You can complete the quilt, mistakes and all.   Or you can abandon the project.  The choice is yours.  If I have made a mistake and I really am struggling with it, I set the quilt aside for at least 24-hours.  When I return to it, if the mistakes still rattle me, I fix it.  If they no longer bother me, I pick up where I left off and keep moving.

Have I ever abandoned a project I have so many mistakes in?  You bet.  And most of the time this was the right decision for that project. 

The decisions are yours to make.

Until next week, from My Studio to Yours,

Love and Stitches,

Sherri and Felix

In this blog – and maybe the next one, too – I’d like to discuss applique patterns, effective fabric pulls, and layout boards.  I love applique.  I love the look of applique quilts and the process of making them.  I’m equally enamored with both machine and hand applique.  To me, applique is more forgiving than piecing and allows for greater interpretation of a design. 

First, let’s look at what makes a good applique pattern.  I realize opinions may differ, but I think the list below is a pretty solid place to start. 

1.  The design elements are clear.  This means the lines which define the flowers or birds or whatever it is you want to applique are clear and dark-ish.  If parts of the pattern overlap (such as a leaf over a stem), both the leaf and the stem can be clearly seen.  This is important because you want to see what parts of a design you can eliminate in order to reduce bulk.  The design also should be dark enough you can see it through fabric or fusible webbing when it’s on a light box.  If it’s not, you can use a fine or extra-fine tipped Sharpie to carefully trace over the design to enable you to see it better. 

• It’s marked and numbered for layout.  I’ll be honest, I’ve appliqued for almost forty years and this one is kind of hit and miss, depending on the designer.  Yes, a pattern doesn’t have to have to have either, but it does make your life easier, especially if your new to the process.  It’s helpful to have the center of the pattern marked, or at least have the measurements so you can find the center. 

It’s also extremely advantageous to have the pattern numbered – have numbers on the pattern elements so you know in what order to sew the pieces to the background.  Simple patterns, such as Sunbonnet Sue, may number the entire pattern. 

More complicated patterns may number in “clusters.” For instance, if you have roses, tulips, and daisies in a pattern, the designer may number the rose pattern pieces separate from the tulips and daises. 

•  It gives a difficulty level.  Honestly, this is something I wish all patterns did – tell us if it’s a beginner, intermediate, or advanced.  It’s really super helpful to know.  While a quilter with several years of experience behind them can easily tackle a beginner or intermediate pattern, a beginner appliquer may have some problems with any advanced levels.  However, if the pattern isn’t labeled, how do any of us know what proficiency levels are needed?  I can give you a rule of thumb – if you find a pattern you like, see if you can look at the layout sheet or zoom in closely on the picture of the pattern.  If there are a lot of pieces and a good deal of them are seriously small, chances are it’s an advanced pattern. 

•  The pattern states if the pieces are reversed or not.  Needle turn, back basting, traditional freezer paper, Apliquick, and machine applique using fusible web all need the pattern pieces reversed (mirror imaged).  If you’re employing the freezer paper on top method, the images don’t need to be reversed. 

Now let’s think about something a little different concerning applique patterns.  Let’s say the occasion has arisen where you can’t find an applique pattern you like for a quilt.  Or perhaps you’ve made a quilt and would like to use some applique in the borders or in some of the larger, pieced blocks to help pull the quilt together.  But the pattern didn’t come with applique options.  What do you do?

You can make your own applique pattern.  It’s no harder than designing a pieced block.  In past blogs I’ve talked about creating your own pieced block.  All you need is some graph paper or a quilting design software program and some simple math.  Designing an applique block doesn’t exactly require a lot of math, but you do need an eye for spacing and proportion.  And there are a few things to keep in mind.

•  Don’t crowd your design.  Allow some background fabric to show through.  You want it to breathe. And remember to keep the applique pieces at least 1/4-inch away from the edge of the block so it won’t get caught in the seam allowance.

•  It’s a lot easier to design an applique pattern if it’s symmetrical.   This means you could draw a line down the center of your pattern and the sides mirror each other. While certainly not all applique patterns are symmetrical, this is an easier design than an asymmetrical one.  You simply come up with half the design, then flip it to form the other half.

•  Can’t draw?  No worries.  While I do think working with applique does help you to draw better, if you have serious doubts about your artistic ability, don’t sweat it.  Google has some great black and white line drawings as well as coloring pages for the kiddos.  If you need something simple, coloring books or pages are a great place to start.  They have simple designs, few pieces, and the pieces tend to lean towards the large-ish end of the spectrum, making them easier to manipulate under a needle.  If you have Electric Quilt 8 (EQ8), it has lots of applique pieces to choose from. 

As long as you’re making the quilt for yourself or giving it away or there are no plans to raffle it off or sell it, you’re good to go using coloring book pages.  Otherwise, be sure to check the copyright on the coloring book or Google image. 

•  You may find a card, picture, or illustration you would like to reproduce in applique.  This can happen, especially if you have young kiddos in your life who gift you with awesome works of art that deserve so much more than just a place on your refrigerator.  My brother gifted me with a super nice Mother’s Day card this year.  It was an e-card, which meant I could enlarge the beautiful picture before I sent it to the printer. 

There are several ways to go about transferring an image into an applique pattern.  There’s software and phone apps and lots of other tools.  I want to give you the simple, low-tech, low-cost version.  If you find you enjoy this and want to up your game to more complicated pictures, you may want to think about some software programs, especially if you want to applique portraits of pets or people.

I make a few copies of whatever it is I want to applique (just in case I really mess up and need a fresh copy). 

Then, with a pencil I outline the basic shapes.  I don’t outline tiny details (such as flower stamins or veins in the leaves or petals), as they can be added with embroidery, ink, or paint.  I do this by pencil first, so if I change my mind about something, I can erase it. 

After I’m happy with my decisions, I trace over the pencil marks with a fine-tipped Sharpie.  Then I place another sheet of white paper on top of the copy and trace the Sharpie lines.  A light box comes in handy with this step.

After this step is complete, I take the Sharpie copy and put it on the light box.  Then I trace each individual piece of applique.  I can cut this copy apart and use it as templates or leave it as is and trace the pieces from the front (if no mirror image is needed) or from the back (if mirrored images are needed) onto freezer paper or Appliquik interfacing. 

•  If you find yourself using lots of “spontaneous” applique, you may want to develop some “stock” applique pieces.  Applique is a great way to pull your quilt together and up your borders game.  Leftover fabric can be used for flowers, fruit – almost anything – and these pieces can be appliqued on a border along with a vine and some leaves or as individual pieces.  If you find yourself trending towards this design decision, you may want to zero in on some favorite images and keep those set aside as templates.  If you find yourself using the same applique motifs a lot, you may want to make the templates out of Mylar or something equally as long lasting, so you won’t have to redraw them every time you want to use them.

How to Effectively Choose Fabric for Your Applique Design

I’ll be the first to admit there are literally libraries of books about color theory.  Seriously.  There are even entire semester-long classes based on color theory.  There are YouTube videos and lectures and well, you name it, Color Theory probably has it.  With all this information, you may be thinking, “Is choosing the right colors for my applique design really that difficult?”

No.  Not at all.  As a matter of fact, set aside any fears you may have and go take a look out the window.  Do you think Mother Nature had any qualms at all when she mixed shades of green, brown, purple, blue, yellow, and black together and threw it in the great outdoors? 

No, she did not.  She riotously picked whatever appealed to her, used it, and then gave us the sense to love it.  That’s why none of us squint when we see a yellow and black bumblebee buzzing a red rose next to a brown fence.  It all works together. 

Applique quilts have the freedom to work a bit differently than pieced quilts.  With pieced quilts there is a need to have a neutral, lights, at least one dark, a focus fabric, and some mediums to balance the quilt.  Applique is less restricted. A background fabric is necessary, and it is good to have a dark involved somewhere.  But other than those two, the applique fabric can run the gamut.  It can carry all the colors of a flower garden or limit itself to the yellow and white of a Gerber daisy.  And you don’t necessarily have to limit yourself to quilting cottons.  I’ve used gold lame’ for angel haloes and tulle/netting for fairy wings.  Specialty fabrics have to be handled a bit differently than cotton fabric, but their effect really adds some zing to a quilt. 

With all this in mind, where do you start?  If you’re new to applique, I suggest a pre-cut bundle of fabric in colors you like.  A fat-quarter bundle is a good place to begin.  Find a bundle you like and then open it up.  You may decide to add additional fabric to use with the fat quarters.  This can come from your stash or the location where you purchased the fat-quarter bundle.  A pre-cut bundle is usually part of a fabric “family” and you can find additional “fabric family members” which will work with the bundle either on line or in your local quilt store. 

Batiks are also good starting places.  The colors undulate across the batiks, which will give your applique pieces depth.  This is especially good for leaves and stems, as they’re not the same shade of green throughout.  Batiks are usually always my “go-to” fabrics for machine raw-edge applique because they have a firm weave and don’t fray easily.  They can also be used for hand applique, but I wash them in hot water first.  This process removes some of the finishes which make them difficult to needle. 

Ombres are awesome fabrics to use, too.  The colors can vary across the 45-inch width of fabric, giving you lots of variety for flower petals, fruit, vines, leaves, boats, and feathers. 

If your stash or fabric favorites tend to lean towards print fabric, don’t worry.  Applique quilts such as this:

Were made from small, printed calicoes.

And while solid fabrics aren’t my personal choice for applique, don’t rule them out.  Marie Webster rocked the applique world with pastel solids.

In short, the sky is the limit as far as applique fabric goes. Don’t worry about color theory.  Honestly, in my humble opinion, a great deal of color theory comes naturally to us.   However, do keep the following in mind as you pick your fabric.

•  If you’re mixing applique with a pieced quilt, such as this one:

You may want to pick your applique colors from the focus fabric.  It will make your quilt looked “pulled together.” Additional hint — piece the blocks prior to adding the applique. It’s just easier to center it.

•  Loosely woven fabrics can be used, but they can be a pain in the neck.  Generally stretchy or easy-to-fray fabrics need to be treated with an iron-on stabilizer.  If you’re hand appliqueing, cut the stabilizer pieces about ¼-inch (or less) smaller than the applique piece and press it on to the wrong side of the fabric, then stitch as normal.  If the stabilizer is super light, such as Pellon Soft and Stay, you may be able to cut the stabilizer piece the same size as the applique and still turn the edges under with relative ease.  For raw-edge machine applique, you can stabilize the entire piece. 

•  If using batiks and you know the quilt will be washed, make sure the batiks won’t run.  For more information on that, go here: https://sherriquiltsalot.com/2017/09/01/to-prewash-or-not-to-prewash-thats-the-question/

Overall, be fearless in your color selection.  Once you’ve chosen your fabrics, you may want to leave them out for a day or so and then return to them.  If you’re still happy with your choices, dive in and start appliqueing.

Once I’ve chosen my fabrics, I have to remind myself of a cold, hard fact:  I am now in my sixties.  I have very clear intentions of remembering what color goes to each applique piece.  I honestly think I can recall every detail, but in reality, I can (and probably will) forget, especially if I must set aside my project for a while.  This is why I make a color chart like this:

I cut a swatch of fabric out, glue it to a piece of paper or cardboard (if I have a lot of swatches, a file folder is perfect), and give it a number.  Then I add the placement of the fabric beneath the swatch (leaves, red rose, etc.).  Once this is complete, I take the applique pattern layout sheet and add the fabric number to each applique piece.  If the pattern is numbered for placement, I make sure to use a different colored pen or pencil for the fabric numbers, so I don’t get the two confused. 

I know not every quilter likes applique although I don’t understand why but I do hope this blog gives you a few ideas to at least try it.  And if you do enjoy applique, I hope this helps you branch out and try your own patterns. 

Until next week, From My Studio to Yours,

Sherri and Felix

This week I’d like to continue our discussion about quilt settings.  The next setting we’ll pick up is the Medallion Setting.

Medallion Quilt Setting

A Medallion Quilt features a central motif surrounded by at least one border. They can feature pieced work, applique, a combination, or even be whole cloth quilts with the central motif and border achieved through quilted patterns.  This type of quilt was popular in Europe before it hitched a ride to American in the early 1800s and became just as popular here.  Broderie Perse quilts often used a medallion layout to highlight the best parts of the chintz fabric as well as conserve the scraps for additional quilts.  The imported chintz was expensive, and quilters sought to use every scrap of the fabric.  A medallion layout was a great choice because it did that very thing. 

The use of a Medallion Quit is also a great way to feature part of a quilt you want to make without committing to the entire pattern.  For instance, if you find a great applique quilt pattern but you’re not sure you want to make all the blocks, find one block which especially speaks to you and feature it as the center of the medallion.  Let’s say you think you want to make a Baltimore Album Quilt, which is a serious quilting commitment.  You must really like applique and have the ability to somewhat stay on a schedule so you can complete it.  The blocks contain lots of detailed applique (many, many small pieces) and numerous Baltimore Album patterns also have embroidery, inking, and silk ribbon work.  You would really like to try it, but may be cautious about the investment of both time and money.

A Medallion Quilt would be a great way to “test drive” a Baltimore without a great deal of either investment.  Choose a block you like (make sure it’s fairly representative of the kind in your Baltimore pattern).  You may need to enlarge it, so it won’t get lost in the center of the quilt.  Generally, I always make sure the finished center of my Medallion Quilt is divisible by two, three, four, or five (we’ll talk about why in a bit).  After it’s completed, add borders around it.  Since the first borders will need to be smaller so as not to overwhelm the center, this will be easier to do if the center length and width is divisible by two or three.  This border can be pieced or a solid strip of fabric.  Keep adding borders around the center medallion until it’s the size you want. You may even decide to add a few more Baltimore Album blocks to the medallion in the borders. 

Medallion Quilts are a great way to feature those blocks you’ve made in a quilt class that you don’t know quite what to do with. It also comes in handy for those odd quilt panels you’ve picked up here and there because you thought they were cute, but you didn’t know how to set them. 

But what happens if your center isn’t divisible by two, three, four, or five?  Don’t sweat it.  Simply add a strip of fabric around it to bring it to the desired size.  For instance, let’s say your center finishes at 13.   Thirteen is a prime number and only divisible by itself and one.  However, if the center block was 14-inches, it would be divisible by two.  Simply add a narrow 1-inch finished strip of fabric to the 13-inch center block to make it 14-inches square.  This would make the sides of the medallion divisible by two. These narrow strips of fabric used to bring a quilt square to the size needed are called floaters.  The same process can be followed even if your center medallion is a rectangle.  Let’s say the center is 13-inches x 11-inches.  Both 13 and 11 are prime.  However, if we add a one-inch floater to both the length sides and width sides, it will bring the rectangle to 14-inches x 12-inches.  Both of these are divisible by two and it would be easy to add a border of pieced 2-inch squares to the rectangle center. If you reference the picture of my Halo Medallion quilt (pictured above), you’ll notice I made use of several floaters.

On-Point Quilt Setting

It’s no secret this is my very favorite quilt setting.  I think this setting adds grace and movement to a quilt, as well as has the ability to showcase some stellar piecing and quilting.  This setting simply means that instead of setting your blocks in horizontal or vertical rows, you turn the blocks sideways, so they look like this:

This type of setting has some wonderful advantages.  First, yes it can showcase some gorgeous pieced or applique blocks.  Second, if you have a limited number of blocks, the on-point setting can help you make the quilt a bit bigger.  Third, if you have a wonderful fabric you want to show off, this is a great setting to use.  Fourth, if you use setting squares in the layout, you can really display your quilting talents. Fifth, this reason is personal – I think on-point layouts are just prettier than the others.  The disadvantages?  Well, there’s the issue of bias – you’ll have to deal with it more in this setting.  It does take a bit more fabric, so you’ll need to decide early on if this is how you want to alter the pattern.  And there are quite a few other decisions you need to make early on, too – sashing or no sashing, setting squares or no setting squares. 

Finally there is the matter of math.  If you are altering a horizontal or vertical set quilt pattern to an on-point one, there’s some mathing involved.  However, it’s not difficult math and if you can remember the Quilter’s Cake, well…then you’re good to go (and if you don’t, we’ll review).

The very first decision to make concerns the blocks.  Make sure they will look okay if they are rotated and put on point.  Blocks such as these:

 Are fine.  Yes, they look a little different when they’re put on point rather than a straight line setting, but this “off-kilteredness” gives the block an entirely different vibe.  However,  blocks such as these:

When there is a distinct bottom and top will need to be re-drawn in order to be correctly oriented in an on-point setting. 

If you’re happy with the blocks on point, now decisions will need to be made concerning the layout.  You can certainly sew the blocks together without sashing or setting blocks:

You will need four corner triangles and some side-setting triangles.  For this particular quilt, we’ll need 12 side setting triangles.  Making these triangles is not difficult.  First, let’s review what Quilter’s Cake is – it’s simply the formula 1.414.  Hold that formula in mind, because it’s used a lot in converting a straight set quilt into one that’s on point. First let’s work with the four corner triangles before moving onto the side-setting triangles.

For the Four Corner Triangles:

Step One – Take the size of the finished squares you wish to set on point.  For the sake of this quilt, let’s say our finished blocks are 10-inches finished. 

Step Two – Divide the size of the finished square by 1.414.  In our case 10-inches divided by 1.414 = 7.0721358

Step Three – Take that answer and multiply it by 2.   So 7.0721358 x 2 = 14.1442716, which we will round to 14 ¼-inches.

Step Four – Add 7/8-inch to 14 ¼-inch – 7/8 + 14 ¼ = 15 1/8-inches. 

So for the four corner triangles, cut two squares, each 15 1/8-inches and cut them both once across the diagonal so you have four triangles.  The long side of these triangles are cut on the bias, so be careful not to stretch them.    It would be a good idea to carefully press some starch into them and set them aside until you’re ready to sew them on.

For the Side-Setting Triangles (Also Called Quarter-Square Triangles)

Step One – Take the size of the finished square and multiply it by 1.414.  Staying with our 10-inch blocks, this is how we would begin calculating the setting triangles. 10-inches x 1.414 = 14.14

Step Two – Add 1 ¼-inches for seams.  14.14 + 1 ¼-inches = 15.38, which we can round to 15.  However, I may give it a little extra “skootch” room and cut my square at 15 ¼-inches.  You can always trim the triangles a bit after they’ve been sewn into the quilt center.

Unlike the corner square triangles, you’ll cut the 15 ¼-inch squares twice across the diagonal, so we have four triangles per block.  Since we need 12 side-setting triangles, and we get four per each 15 ¼-inch square, we need to cut three 15 ¼-inch squares.

With these triangles, the bias is on the two short sides of the triangles.  Those need to be treated carefully so the bias doesn’t stretch.  Press starch into the triangles and set aside until needed.

You can also add setting blocks to the on-point quilt. 

If you have a great focus fabric, this is a wonderful way to incorporate it with an on-point setting.  With this case, the method of calculating the corner triangles and setting triangles remain the same. 

Sashing and cornerstones can also be used in an on-point setting:

The math isn’t any more difficult than it was before. 

For the Side-Setting Triangles

Step One — Add the width of the finished sashing to the finished block.  In this case, we will keep our finished block size 10-inches and add 2-inch sashing.  10-inches + 2-inches = 12-inches

Step Two – Multiply 12-inches by 1.414 = 16.968, which we will round up to 17-inches

Step Three – Add the 1 ¼-inch seam allowance:  17-inches to 1 ¼-inches = 18 ¼-inches.

You will need three 18 ¼-inch squares for this quilt, then cut the squares on the diagonal twice. 

For the Four Corner Triangles

Step One – Add the width of the finished sashing to the size of the finished block.  Again, we’ll keep working with our 10-inch finished block and our 2-inch finished sashing.  10-inches + 2-inches = 12-inches.

Step Two – Divide the new width by 1.414.  12-inches/1.414 = 8.486, which we will round up to 8 ½-inches.

Step Three – Add ¾-inch for the seam allowance. 8 ½-inches + ¾-inches = 9 ¼-inches.

Cut two 9 ¼-inch squares and then cut them once across the diagonal.

At this point, I know what some of you are thinking:  That’s a lot of math.  It is quite a bit of math, but it’s not that difficult and at least you don’t have to memorize formulas like you did in high school.  You can keep them written down in a notebook or stored in the note section of your phone.  But what if you’re really digging the on-point look but don’t want to go through all the trouble of setting the quilt that way?  There is an alternative.  While it doesn’t look exactly like an on-point quilt, it can showcase your blocks and you don’t have to work with as much bias as you do with the traditional on-point setting.  It all has to deal with this block:

This is called a square-in-a-square or the economy block.  The block you want to put on point is placed in the middle and is surrounded by four triangles, which allows you to set the block in horizontal rows or vertical columns. 

There is a bit of math involved with this.  Take the size of the square in the middle and divide it by 2.  Let’s continue to stick with our 10-inch square. 

10/2 = 5

Now add a ½-inch for seam allowances – 5 + ½ = 5 ½-inches. 

This time we will use the stitch-and-flip method for attaching the side triangles.  This means you will need to cut four  5 ½-inch squares for your 10-inch center square. 

On the wrong side of the fabric of the four 5 ½-inch squares, draw a diagonal line from one corner to another. 

This is a bit like making flying geese, so hang in there.  Position one of the 5 ½-inch squares in the top left-hand corner, with the right sides of the fabric together.   Sew along the diagonal line you drew on the square.

Then repeat this process in the bottom right corner.

Press the squares outward to form triangles and trim the fabric beneath away.

Repeat the same process for the top right corner and then the bottom left corner.

Of course this doesn’t look exactly like an on-point quilt, but it’s close.  There’s less bias to deal with and sashing/sashing with cornerstones can always be added if desired. And this setting will add width and length to the quilt top, so be sure to adjust the border measurements accordingly.

I hope these two blogs on quilt settings will open up your imagination and creativity.  There are no hard and fast rules in quilting.  You can alter a pattern nearly any way to suit you.  Often this does mean planning ahead, especially before you purchase fabric or cut anything out.  So the next time you start a new quilt project, pause before you begin to pull fabric from your stash or purchase it online or from your LQS.  Think about the layout and if you want to make your quilt that way or change the layout.  It really is all up to you and what you like.

Until Next Week, From My Studio to Yours,

Love and Stitches,

Sherri and Felix

There are no rules in quilting.

None.

Nada.

Nope.

And there are no quilt police.

The closest we get to any absolute in quilting is the ¼-inch seam.  Most of the time that suggestion applies, but not always which is why you should always make a test block.  Pattern directions are good to follow, and you should definitely read them through a couple of times before beginning your project, but always  remember they are merely suggestions.  No one will show up at your door and arrest you if at some point you choose to toss them.  Nothing bad will happen if you opt to swap out blocks or borders for something better.

And nothing – absolutely nothing – will go majorly wrong if you decide to set your quilt differently than the pattern suggests.  This is what I want to discuss in this blog (and maybe the next):  Quilt settings.

A quilt setting is defined as simply the way you assemble your quilt. 

Horizontal rows, vertical columns, medallion, on-point, and it-looks-as-if-it’s-on-point-but-its-not are the most common quilt settings. In this blog, we’ll discuss each setting, how to use them, how effective each is, as well as the pros and cons to using them.  These are all things to consider before you actually start construction.  And the decision usually must be considered even before you purchase fabric or pull it from your stash, as some settings take more fabric than the requirements listed on the pattern.  We’ll begin with the most basic of settings, the horizontal set quilt. 

Horizontal Quilt Settings

This is also known as straight line quilt setting.  Horizontal quilt settings are one of the first type of quilt settings taught.  These are easy and quilt blocks can be rotated, sashed, or alternate blocks added without a great deal of math.  However, don’t let the ease fool you.  When used creatively, horizontal quilt settings can pack a punch, enhance the beauty of a quilt, and take a basic idea and completely turn it into a “Cinderella” quilt.  A basic, horizontally set quilt, with no sashing, cornerstones, or alternative blocks looks something like this: 

This is a great quilt.  There is absolutely nothing wrong with it and if I were teaching a group of true beginner quilters who had no experience with sewing or quilt math, this would be the setting I would lean towards.  I still use this setting a great deal with cuddle quilts and table toppers.  These quilts don’t need to be super big and are generally used up.  With great quilt blocks and great fabric, a basic horizontal set renders a beautiful quilt. 

But…there comes a time when basic can become boring.  You may want to spice the quilt top up a bit.  Sashing is one way to do this.  As a matter of fact, if you’re a true beginner quilter, you may want sashing to be the next step in your quilting journey.  Sashing is defined as strips of fabric surrounding the quilt block – on the vertical and horizontal.  Typically, I like to add my sashing to my blocks as I make them because it helps me make sure my blocks are all the correct size.  For instance, if I am making a quilt which has 12 ½-inch blocks, I’ll cut my 12 ½-inch sashing strips out with the rest of my quilt.  After I finish a 12 ½-inch block, I sew a 12 ½-inch strip of sashing to the right side of my block.  If the block and sashing strip don’t match in size, I can stop then and see if the block is too big or small or if I cut my sashing strip incorrectly.  After I complete another block, I sew this to the sashing of the first block and add a strip of sashing to the right side of the second block.  I continue this way until I’ve added all the blocks in one row, but I do not add a sashing strip to the right side of the last block.  If I want the appearance of vertical sashing on the left side of the first block in a row and the right side of the last block in a row, I can add a border around the sides, top, and bottom of the quilt center (see quilt below).

The horizontal sashing is handled a bit differently, depending on the look you want.  If the horizontal sashing is made from all the same fabric, cut  a strip of fabric the length of the row, and sew it on to the bottom of the row (before starting the horizontal sashing, measure all the rows to make sure they’re the same size).  Do this to all the rows except the last row.  The top and bottom horizontal sashing will be taken care of by the first border.

And by the way, if you don’t want to add that first border, you don’t have to.  Your quilt will look just fine without it. 

Once you conquer basic sashing, you may want to try cornerstones in your sashing.  Cornerstones are squares of fabric positioned at the top and bottom of vertical sashing. 

The basic construction remains the same, except with your horizontal sashing.  This time instead of the horizontal sashing remaining one continual strip of fabric, it will be pieced.  One strip of the horizontal sashing will be the width of the block but then a square of fabric will be joined which is the width of the sashing.  Once you’ve assembled a row of horizontal sashing the length of the row of blocks, you sew it own, matching the seams so the cornerstones line up with the vertical sashing. 

This small cornerstone has infinite possibilities.  It can be a square of contrasting fabric.

It can be made from the leftover scraps of the remaining fabric (which is a great way to harmonize a quilt and use up scraps).

It can be simply pieced.

Or it can be intricately pieced. 

Let me also add your vertical and horizontal sashing can be pieced.  This can alter the look of your quilt immensely, as well as showcase your piecing skills. 

So…while basic horizontally set quilts can be considered predictable, easy, or boring…the fact is they can be anything but easy or boring or predictable.  Sashing can make a quilt Met Gala Gorgeous.  You’re only limited by your imagination. 

And if you decide to forego sashing, don’t worry about your quilt receiving yawns of boring acceptance.  Those pieced blocks can be rotated to make all kinds of designs.  Log cabin quilts are the most wonderful examples of this. 

Or pieced half-square triangles.

What really is kind of mind blowing is using an alternate block between your primary blocks to make a secondary pattern. 

Or using the same block but using a second colorway on half the blocks to make a secondary pattern. 

Honestly…who can think horizontally pieced quilts are boring?

Vertical Quilt Settings

When you decide to set your quilt in columns instead of rows, you have vertical quilt settings.  The most common example of this is the Chinese Coins quilt.

If you have a lot of scraps you need to use up, this may be a quilt setting to consider.  These are quick and easy and show off a vertical setting at its best.  Vertical settings are also a handy-dandy tool to employ if you have blocks of different heights, but the same width.  They also work well if you have a lot of different sized blocks.  You simply frame them with horizontal sashing to make them the same width and sew them vertical columns. 

If you have quilt blocks all the same size, but would like to have an uneven placement instead of horizontal rows, a vertical setting will work.  You simply vary the sashing width and placement between the blocks.   I used this type of setting in my 2023 temperature quilt.  I think vertical quilt settings help pull the eye across the quilt in a different manner.   Typically we “read” a quilt like a book – left to right.  A vertical setting makes you look at a quilt in an entirely different manner. 

Vertical settings are used in bargello quilts, braid quilts, Grandmother’s Flower Gardens, Double Wedding Rings,  and in some landscape quilts.   And I have been known to use them as a background for my applique quilts. 

If I need a particular colored background (in this case blue), I pull my blue scraps and make a  Chinese Coin background.  This way I get whatever background color I need, but I can vary the hues and make it more interesting, but yet it won’t compete with the applique. 

Another thing I really like about vertical settings is the vertical sashing. You can make them super-wide to show off a focus fabric or your quilting skills.  If you want to particularly highlight one color in the quilt to use, you can make the sashing out of that color. 

Admittedly, vertical settings aren’t the first quilt setting you think about as you peruse a new pattern.  But they can be a real quilt life saver.  Picture this scenario.  You find a quilt pattern or even just a quilt block you think you like.  Construction is begun, but after the sixth block or so, you just aren’t feeling this quilt pattern/block anymore.  It’s not that you don’t like it, it’s just that you can’t picture yourself making 30-something blocks for a quilt.  However, you have the fabric which makes you feel committed to the project.  Besides, what would you do with only six blocks?  I mean, you could make a table runner, but you have all this fabric to make a bed quilt.  The answer to assuage your confused thoughts and use up that fabric is a vertical setting.  It’s not hard to do.

First, figure out the dimensions for your quilt.  In the case of the quilt below, it’s a square queen-size quilt, 98-inches x 98-inches. 

Next, taking into consideration the size of the finished quilt blocks, begin to plan your placements.  How many blocks do you need for the vertical columns?  With this quilt, the blocks are kind of large, so we’re using three blocks for the vertical columns.  To get the additional length for the column, we’ll add some sashing to the bottom of the columns.   Since we only have five vertical columns, with three blocks in each, we only need 15 blocks.  That’s half of what we would need if we stuck to the original pattern.

Just like with horizontal settings, the sashing can be solid pieces of fabric:

Or you can piece the sashing so the quilt can take on a secondary design.

Vertical settings also work great for quilts you need to make on the fly.  It’s quick and easy to make a nice-sized lap quilt with a few blocks and some vertical sashing.  This setting also works great for charity quilts for the same reason.  Personally, I love the vertical setting for applique quilts.  It’s unexpected and really showcases the applique. 

The only disadvantage to this quilt setting is the same one as for horizontal settings:  You have to plan in advance if you want to change from another setting to the vertical setting option.  If there’s a particular fabric you want to showcase in the sashing, you may need to purchase more of one fabric than is listed on the pattern. 

Okay, enough about settings this week.  Next week we’ll take up medallion quilt settings, on-point settings (which happen to be my favorite), and the how-to-make-your-quilt-look-as-if-it’s-on-point-but-it’s-really-not setting.

Until Next Week, From My Studio to Yours,

Love and Stitches,

Sherri and Felix

Quilt Retreats. 

Those folks who know me well will tell you I love quilt retreats.  I will drop whatever it is I’m doing and go to one in a hot second.  I love being with wonderful quilters making wonderful quilty things.  I love the laughter, the fun, the fellowship, and the food.  I’m fortunate enough to live in North Carolina, a state which has lots of retreat locations.  I’ve attended enough retreats to know what to bring and what to leave at home.  I also quilt with a group of ladies who attend as many retreats as I do, and some of them even more.  And we’re not above corralling a few quilters together and sequestering ourselves in a hotel for a long weekend and have our own retreat. 

Many of these quilters belong to the same on-line quilt bee I do.  As we were chatting the other night about quilt retreats and notions, they began throwing out suggestions I had not thought about.  While most quilters anticipate the “normal” quilting supplies needed for a retreat– thread, scissors, rotary cutter, mat, sewing machine, etc., – these women were giving me ideas I had never even considered.  And since these ideas were super-stellar, I wanted to share them with you.

• A suitcase with wheels.  Don’t take it for granted you will be able to park near the retreat center or near the sleeping quarters.  The parking lot may be a bit away from either.  Suitcases with wheels – one for your clothing and one with your quilting notions – will go a long way in saving your back and knees from anguish.

•  Project boxes.  Yes, you can carry your quilting projects in bags, but boxes make it much easier to organize the needed supplies and fabric and then keep it all together so you can see it.  Clear, plastic boxes are my favorite.  I use an index card to make a label for the box.  On the label I have the name of the project, give it a priority number (1 is the most important, 2 is next, etc,), list the notions in the box (in case I have to “borrow” something for another project), and give it a classification such as easy, intermediate, or challenging.  I do this because depending on the time of day, the level of classification may take precedence over the priority.  If number 1 is a challenging quilt, but number 5 is an easy quilt, I may opt to take on number 5 after dinner.  By then it’s been a long day, I’ve probably already put in several hours on a challenging quilt, and my brain needs to rest.  I reach for the next priority project which is easy. 

• Don’t use your sewing machine bag/trolley for your sewing machine.  I realize this sounds contradictory. You’re probably wondering “Then why did I spend money on a sewing machine bag/trolley when I’m not using it to haul my machine around?”  Good question.  Most sewing machines come with handles and covers.  Use the sewing machine cover to protect your machine and carry it by the handle.  Use the machine bag/trolly for your standard supplies.  Most of these have wheels and are pretty roomy.  You can pack a lot in one of them.

“But I can’t carry my sewing machine!  It’s heavy!  What if it’s a long distance from my car to the sewing area?”  Glad you asked.  This is why you need number 4…

•  A collapsable wagon.  These little jewels are priceless for retreats of any kind.  You can load lots of stuff in these wagons and haul it to your room or the sewing area.  Use them to store your project boxes in them.  They are roomy enough to hold a lot of “stuff” you need, but small enough to tuck neatly against a wall, out of everyone’s way.  Once retreat is over, they also collapse into a small bundle which can easily be stored in a closet.  Lots of quilters now use these, so one word of caution:  Be sure to put your name somewhere on your wagon so no one confuses your wagon with theirs.

•  A dog ramp.  Yes, you read that right – a dog ramp.  While you may not take beloved Fido or Fifi to quilt retreat with you – or you may not even own a dog — you still might want to invest in a dog ramp. These ramps are made to angle next to a van/car/truck door to assist with the pup getting in and out of the vehicle so they don’t injure themselves.  These inclines also make it easier for you to get your sewing machine bag/trolly and suitcases with wheels in and out of your car/truck/van.  Instead of possibly hurting your back or knees by lifting those, you simply maneuver them to the ramp and roll them either down or up. 

• Extra fabric to try new things.  While you’re busy packing the fabric you need for your projects, you may want to throw in a few extra fat quarters to try out new ideas.  For me, this scenario invariably plays out year after year:  I go to retreat and work on my projects for several hours.  Then I simply must stand up and walk.  As I stroll around our sewing area, I always find a project someone else is making that I really want to try.  In the past I took a lot of notes, asked a lot of questions, and took a lot of pictures with my phone.  However, if I have a few spare fat quarters or half-yard cuts, I have the option of making that project right then and there (or at least starting it) before I get home and forget.  Since we have a few ladies in our group who are the Queens of Bag Making, I also throw in a few bag making supplies, too. 

• Bring more projects than you think you need.  There are a couple of solid reasons for this.  First, there is a chance you may finish everything brought to work on.   This scenario could leave you sitting for a while with nothing to do.  And nothing is more miserable than being at a quilt retreat with nothing to sew.  Second, you may honestly just get sick and tired of working on what your brought, especially if several of the projects are ones you started at home and are struggling to finish at retreat.  Something new and shiny may be just the thing you need to get you back in the mood to sew just a bit longer and give you the motive you need to return to the previous project. 

• Looooonnnnnnggggg extension cords.  One of somewhat troublesome logistics of a retreat is the sewing room.  Unlike your quilt studio at home, you have no idea about how good (or how bad) the lighting is, how big the tables are, or where the electrical outlets are (or how many).  A long extension cord is a great thing to pack.  I like the type of extension cord above.

Depending on the type of extension cord reel you buy, they can house from 30 to 150 feet plus of extension cord.  They also have outlets built into the hub.  That much extension cord should take care of any electrical outlet issues you may have.  Word of caution – plugging an electrical strip into an extension cord is a fire hazard, so don’t do that. Also be sure to pull all the cord out of the reel to prevent it from overheating and be sure to tape down the extension cord if it is across an area where there’s foot traffic.  We don’t need anyone to trip and hurt themselves at quilt retreat. 

•  Don’t forget your phone charger and your iPad.  Most of us are pretty phone savvy by this point.  We keep a charger in our car or bag all the time.  However, I think packing for a quilt retreat is more challenging than packing for vacation simply because there’s so much to remember.  Add a phone charger to your “Do Not Forget” check off list just to be sure you remember it. 

An iPad is handy to have for lots of reasons.  Instructional YouTube quilting videos.  A chance to catch a movie or a TV show if you need a break from sewing.  But most of all, it’s a lot easier to see an iPad screen than a phone screen if you need to do a bit of quilty shopping while at retreat. At retreat you’ll invariably see notions you’ve never used before and decide that you need them in your life.  You may run low on supplies and have to place an order.  And goodness knows you’ll be exposed to some gorgeous fabric you may find you need a yard or three of.  Having that iPad available makes seeing what you’re purchasing so much easier than squinting at that tiny screen on your phone. 

On a side note while we are on the topic of phone chargers and iPads (and don’t forget your iPad charger either if it needs a different cord than the one your iPhone uses).  I have noticed that many of the newer sewing lights contain USB ports so you can charge phones or pads at your sewing station. This may be a feature you want to look for when it’s time to replace your light.  And speaking of lights….

•  Think about bringing your own sewing light and sewing chair.  If you’ve never been to the retreat location before, you may want to bring a sewing light with you just in case the one on your sewing machine isn’t enough and the overhead lighting is inadequate.  This little extra from home can go a long way in preventing eye strain and headaches.  It’s also important to keep in mind the lighting in the room can go from adequate to inadequate as the sun sets.  For instance, the room where my guild’s retreat is held has wonderful daytime lighting.  The overhead lights are great, and one wall is floor-to-ceiling windows.  But once the sun sets, things can get a little dim.  The extra sewing light really comes in handy. 

I realize your own sewing chair may take up a bit of room in your car, but you may want to seriously consider making space for it if you have back issues and your chair is the kind tailored to support your back and neck.  You may be sitting for longer periods of time at retreat than you do in your studio.  Packing up the chair may be worth the trouble.  You may also want to bring your chair if you don’t like the chairs available at the retreat site.  I’m thinking primarily about chairs with armrests.  Many quilters don’t like the armrests and tend to get their quilting and themselves tangled around them.  If you think this might be an issue, a quick email or phone call to the retreat site to find out if their chairs have arms would be worth it. 

If carrying your chair is simply impossible or arm rests don’t bother you, I would add you may want to consider bringing a cushion or pillow for your tushie.  Again, remember you will more than likely be sitting for longer periods of time behind your machine at retreat than you do at home.  Make yourself as comfortable as possible. 

•  Read each pattern through thoroughly before packing.  Maybe even read it twice. Even the patterns you’ve used before.   Make sure you have everything you need packed for the pattern – the correct amount of fabric, notions, any specialty rulers, interfacings, or threads.  Check them off as they’re packed.  Nothing is more discouraging than arriving at a retreat, believing you have lots of time to make a brand-new project, and then find you left several critical items back home in your quilt room.  It’s really a bummer. 

I hope this list of eclectic retreat items helps you as you pack and plan for any retreats in your future.  Several of these – such as the dog ramp – I’ve never thought about before, but I can see how they would certainly come in handy.  My back would definitely appreciate it.  Please let me know if you take any “not-so-normal-quilting supplies” on retreat and what they are.  I’d love to add them to this list!

Until next week, from my studio to yours,

Love and Stitches,

Sherri and Felix

Let’s play a little game this week.  What comes to mind when you hear this song?

Now how about this song?

Annnd finally this one?

I know I’m seriously dating my aging self.  But in my humble opinion, after 1995 there really was very little good music made.  However, I know many of my readers live in the same age brackets I do and will recognize the above music videos.  And I also realize that along with knowing these videos well (because they were played ad nauseum on the radio, MTV, and VH1), there are literally thousands of memories associated with the songs.  What came to mind as you listened to each of them?  If you’re like me, hundreds of memories come to mind.  People, places, events – they all come flooding back.

Let’s switch gears for just a hot second.  How many of you have pictures like this in your albums or tucked away in family Bibles?  How many of you inherited photos such as these – sometimes found in the pages of old books or stuffed in drawers or boxes?  Do you know these people?  Can you recall their names or where these pictures were taken?

There is a chance, if you have inherited a box or album of such photos, you may not know many of the people in them.  If you’re one of my younger readers, there’s an even better chance you don’t recognize any of the people in the pictures.* 

Now let me ask you a couple of questions.  First, if you recognize the above music videos, good for you.  But does not having all the cassette tapes or CDs or (gasp) vinyl records make the music any less meaningful to you?  If I had only played a snippet or two of the music, could you still recall how you felt when you heard the songs or how much the music moved you?  If I cut any of the above music videos down to one or two minutes would it have made it any less meaningful to you? 

Second, how attached can you be to photos of people you never met?  I am a long-time user of Ancestry.com.  I’ve been chasing my genetic roots for about seven years.  Through this process, I’ve met some DNA-linked distant cousins who have gifted me copies of photos of long-dead, equally distant aunts, uncles, and fourth great-grandparents I’ve never met.  I treasure each and every one of them.  But if pressed for space and I had to choose between these pictures and precious photos of my grand darlings?  Evangeline and Elli would win every time – hands down.  There would be no competition.  I’ve never met those far-off, long-dead relations.  I held both my granddaughters when they were just a few hours old. 

A very wise Snowman said this:

If you’ve been semi-observant so far, you’ve realized I am dealing with memory in this blog.  And while the jury is still kind of out about if water really does have memory, I am certain about this:  Fabric has memory.  It does.  I’m not referring to how sometimes we can treat fabric so it “remembers” to fold back on itself or press it so the seams “recollect” how to nest.  I’m not dealing with that kind of “memory.”  This blog deals with our memories and how they get tangled up with our stash and why this makes it difficult to sometimes purge like we need to.  And all of this has to do with the place where I am in my own life and in my own studio.  Bill and I are at the point in our home where we need to decide whether to “love it or list it” concerning our present house.  However, with either decision, our home needed some improvements (thus the new paint, new floors, and new cabinets) and we needed to clean out. 

Including my quilt studio.

I can be a minimalist in so many ways, but fabric has never been one of those areas.  When I began quilting in the early Eighties, a large stash – one which didn’t overrun your space but had a good variety – was a point of pride.  Since I already sewed my daughter’s clothes, I had scraps.  I added to this regularly.  And I found myself purchasing fabric because I needed it for a quilting class.  Then my friends went on a Shop Hop and invited me.  And there were trips to Lancaster, Pennsylvania and Paducah, Kentucky.  Add to that all the trips we’ve made between North Carolina and Florida and the local buying sprees with my quilting BFFs and I not only have a large stash, I have a large stash with memories.  Most of the time I can tell you where I purchased the fabric, what was the occasion, and who I was with. 

Fabric is my touchstone.  My scrapbook.  My time capsule.  My family album. 

However, the problem with this fabric is the same issue you have with old photographs with faces in them you don’t recognize: The memories surrounding the fabric die when I do.  Those lovely pieces of Liberty of London I’ve tucked back won’t mean a thing to whoever gets the job of cleaning out my quilt studio.  It’s far better if I can reduce it now rather than heave that burden on my kids.  So I’ve begun the process of not only downsizing my home, but also downsizing my stash. **

I’d be lying to you if I said it is easy.  But I’ve developed a system and I’d like to share some of what I’ve learned with you.  I left my bolts of fabric alone (except my Frozen fabric – the grand girls have outgrown this Disney movie, so I gave both bolts to a Disney fanatic in my guild).  I have  a half a dozen bolts left and they’re all basics – blacks, neutrals, background fabrics for applique.  I’m working my way through the yardage and purging pretty steadily.  If I can’t remember why I purchased it – for what project – it lands on the free table at my local guild.  We have several young, new-to-quilting members who appreciate it and will use it.  However, what has left me befuddled are my scraps. 

As sure as I know fabric has memory, I can also tell you applique quilters have scraps.  Lots of them.  All colors and sizes and shapes because most applique patterns don’t require a lot of yardage for the applique pieces.  I can get several good-sized leaves from a 6-inch square piece of green fabric.  Maybe even a small stem or three, too.  I gave myself a cardinal rule several years ago that any piece of fabric smaller than 8-inches square would be tossed.  You have to begin to cull somewhere at this was my starting point.   All my scraps are sorted according to color and kept in bins.  When the bin is full, I resort and purge.  However, in all honesty, the purge part of this process is kind of hit and miss, and now I find myself bewildered at my scrappage and what can I do with it besides applique. 

Maybe you’re at this point.  If you can’t bring yourself to throw out your large scraps, what can we do with them – especially if we have memories involved?  Of course, there’s always applique, but I also realize not all quilters don’t like applique although I’m still trying to figure out why.  Small quilts are always a great option and currently there are some really cute patterns available for bench pillows, door quilts, mug rugs, placemats, table toppers, etc.  Miniature quilts are another option (remember the difference between miniature quilts and small quilts is this: miniature quilts are scaled down versions of large quilts). 

If you get to the point where you find it’s difficult to throw fabric scraps away because you either associate them with good memories or you simply can’t allow yourself to toss them in the garbage, I do think it’s a good idea to set some boundaries about what you’ll keep.  With me, it’s a size (nothing smaller than 8-inches square).  For you it could be something entirely different.  If you use one particular color in most of your quilts, you may only want to save those color scraps.  If you construct a lot of Christmas quilts, you may opt to keep only holiday fabrics.  Some of the material you may not be able to let go because, well, you have some emotional ties to that fabric.  The boundaries are up to you and how scraps fit (if they fit at all) into your quilting lifestyle. 

Fabric and what it means to us – what quilt we used it in, who the quilt was for, and how we got it – will always affect the way we handle our stash.  For someone at the same life’s crossroad as I am (do we downsize and move or make some alterations and hang onto the family home?), we find out that as we simplify our life, we may have to simplify our stash.  And it’s sometimes difficult to let go of those last few pieces of pink fabric I sewed into Elli’s baby quilt or the Mickey Mouse fabric I used in Evan’s cuddle quilt because good memories are so intertwined with the fabric.  You’re constantly wondering what to keep and what to purge, and if you purge it, what do you do with it?  There are some options:

1. Give it away.  If you belong to a quilt guild, you may know some fellow members who like the same type of fabric you do.  You can always ask them if they would like a few more yards!  I recently made a few Halloween quilts – something I haven’t done before – and have several large pieces left over.  I don’t foresee any additional spooky quilts in my future, but I do have two fellow guild members who love Halloween, and those folks will get my leftovers.  The fabric will go to a good home and be used and that makes me happy.

If you don’t belong to a guild, check Facebook and Google for guilds in your area and contact them.  Sometimes they will have a use for your yardage – such as their charity quilt program.

•  Donate it to other groups.  Sometimes scout troops may need it.  Occasionally some thrift stores have a craft section and would love to have it. This takes a little research, but those groups are out there how would love to have your fabric.

•  Scrappage control.  If you want to leave your good scraps on the free table at guild, it’s a good idea to sort them by color and then put them in clear, plastic bags so they can be seen. And be generous with the sizes.  Avoid putting small scraps in the bag – those probably won’t be appreciated.  If I’m giving away scraps, I ask myself if a piece of fabric could be used for English Paper Piecing (which for some reason is still a hot commodity in the quilting world).  If the scrap can be used to cover a medium-sized hexie, it gets put in the bag.  If it doesn’t, it gets tossed. 

• What to do with scraps/fabric you can’t seem to give to anyone or any organization?  Call or email your local Goodwill store and ask if they recycle textiles.  I recently learned many Goodwill stores have an agreement with local fabric/textile recyclers who will come by the store and pick up those donations. 

I have discovered if I have a plan, it makes purging my stash just a bit easier.  However, I’ve given myself permission to hang on to some material if it is just wrapped up in too many memories.  I have inherited the stash of three quilting friends who have passed.  I can’t keep everything, but I allow myself to pick out one or two favorite pieces and hang onto them.  And if those pieces happen to be several yards, I measure off what I could comfortably use and store and keep only that amount.  This way I keep the memories, honor the quilter, but am acting responsibly with my space and resources. 

I hope this blog has accomplished two things.  First, if you’re at the same crossroads in your life that I am in mine, I want you to know you’re not alone.  We must downsize our stash, but that doesn’t mean letting go of everything that’s meaningful.  It’s okay to keep the pieces which are important and stir up warm memories.  We all want those quilts we can look at and remember special things about the fabric – why we purchased it and who we were with.  Second, when you do purge, there are viable options for the fabric to keep it out of landfills. 

Keep what speaks to you.  Let go of the rest.  And cherish the memories your fabric holds.

Until next week, from my studio to yours,

Love and Stitches,

Sherri and Felix

*If you are in the possession of old photographs and you do know who is on them (especially if they’re family photographs), be sure to write the names of the folks in order on the back of the photograph in either pencil or archival ink.  You may know these relatives and there’s a slim chance your kids may remember them.  However, chances are even slimmer your grandchildren and great-grandchildren will know who these remarkable people are.  They’re part of your family DNA which makes you uniquely you.  And as someone who has spent hours online searching for family names, burial sites, and photos, this information is priceless. 

**I do think quilters and crafters need a “back up troop.”  These are folks who your family can call on if you’re ever in a position where you can no longer quilt (or craft).  Ideally, these should be close friends who know you, your stash, your machines, what you value, and how you would want your items dispersed, sold, donated, or handled.  Keep a list of names with contact information and let your family know where this information is at.  If I’m ever no longer able to quilt, my family would honestly have no idea where to start or where to go or what to do.  But my quilting BFFs would. 

You should name your quilts.

You should.  They deserve a name.  I mean, you name your children, and they mean the world to you.  You name your pets.  Some of us name our cars (I have a white Tahoe affectionately known as Betty White).  A quilt, something we spend an immense amount of time on and just as much money, is equally deserving of a name.

Also, let me clarify, I am talking about a quilt name, not a quilt label.  Although the name of the quilt should go on the label, a quilt name and a quilt label are not the same things.  Let me also throw in you need to label your quilts.  For that blog, go here: https://sherriquiltsalot.com/2019/03/13/put-a-label-on-that-quilt/

A quilt can take on a lot of names during the construction process – some of them not very nice.  Anytime I refer to a quilt as “That Quilt”, let me assure you it’s not a compliment.  Then there was one called “The Flying Geese from Hades.”  And I can’t forget “This Quilt Has a Gazillion Pieces and I’m not Even Halfway Done.”

Good times….

For me, sometimes naming a quilt comes easily.  There’s something going on in my life and I work through the issues with my quilt.  Or I’m making a quilt for someone specific or an occasion.  These names come easier than others.  However, occasionally I have to get creative.  But I don’t feel I can go around calling a quilt something like “That one with all those triangles,” or “The one I finished before vacation.”  If I had so haphazardly named my children this way, my daughter would be known as “The one I had in the middle of The Cosby Show.”

Naming your quilts may take some time and a bit of creative effort, but they do deserve a name.  I’d like to share a few things I take into consideration as I plan to christen my quilt.

• Choose an element of the quilt you like:  This could be a line of fabric, a block, a quilting design, or the recipient of the quilt.  I do know some quilters use the name of the pattern as the name of the quilt.  And while this is certainly doable (and no quilt police will come around to arrest you), admittedly, this is not my favorite way to name a quilt.  If everyone did this, we would have hundreds of quilts named Dear Jane or Caswell.  It could get super confusing.  I have, however, used part of the pattern’s name in the quilt’s name.  I have two Dear Janes.  The first one was made from Feed Sack reproduction fabric, and she’s called “Depressed Jane” since Feed Sacks were used for quilts and clothing during the Great Depression.  My other Jane is under construction, and she’s made from blue Civil War reproduction fabric.  She’s tentatively called “Jane Sings the Blues.”

However, in the spirit of honesty, there is one future quilt I will (hopefully) make and it will take the title of the pattern as it’s name.  Bonnie Hunter has a wonderful quilt pattern called “Jarod Takes a Wife.”  I have a nephew named Jarod.  When the big day finally comes, I simply can’t think of a better pattern or a better name to use. 

And while we’re talking about quilt names verses pattern names, I do think it’s a good idea to put the name of the pattern and designer on the label.  I add this as a result of my own sheer frustration in quilt research.  I love Sunbonnet Sue quilts and have a half a dozen or so in my possession.  A few of these are made from printed Feed Sacks which place them clearly between the late 1920’s through the early to mid-1940’s.  All of these look exactly alike, down to the blue fabrics used in the borders and sashing.  Since none of these sweet quilts have a label, the best I can do is speculate.  I think the quilters followed the instructions and the sample quilt layout in a newspaper.  That’s really  all I can do. I would love to know more, but no labels mean no more info.  Adding the pattern’s name to your label is important – even if you just used a pattern as a jumping off place, it’s good to have something like “Inspired by” and add the pattern name and designer to your label.

• Choose a name relative to the design and makes the pattern stand out: 

I just finished this little Halloween quilt

All I needed to make it was a yard of background fabric and a charm pack of Halloween-inspired 5-inch squares. The charm pack had spiders and spider webs, Jack o’ Lanterns, bats, and all the orange, black, and white fabrics you could want.  I puzzled over the name for a while, until I zeroed in on the fact I used a charm pack in the quilt’s construction.  Therefore, this Halloween quilt is called…

This Halloween is a Charm.

I quilted part of the quilt with glow in the dark thread.  That little feat deserves its own blog.  It was challenging.

If you’re struggling with a name, focus on the quilting motif, or a block that is used frequently.  Let’s say you’re making a heavily appliqued quilt which looks kind of like a Baltimore Album, but strictly isn’t a Baltimore.  “Almost a Baltimore”  or “Not too Far From Baltimore” might be good names.  Or if you use the Monkey Wrench block in your quilt and quilt it with the Baptist Fan motif, you may want to call it “The Baptist Monkey.” 

1. Consider the color:  A purple quilt could easily be called “Purple Rain” or “Purple Haze.”  A red and white one could play up a peppermint theme.  If I have made a quilt and it is primarily constructed from one color, I find out two things.  First, I google the color to find out what it represents and see if I can play that into the name.  If that doesn’t work, I look up the Latin name for the color and use this as the name – which makes the quilt sound intelligent and intense. 

• Those quilts which hang out around the house:  Zone of Truth – the quilts I make which are destined for the back of a couch, the kind you pull out and wrap up in to read or watch TV, sometimes don’t have a name.  If I can’t come up with a name fairly quickly, I may forego a name (since these quilts will eventually be “used up” anyway), but I do always put a label on them. 

• Quilts bound for competition always need a name:  Quilts which are bound for a national, international, or state shows will need a name.  The registration forms will ask for the name of the quilt as well as some additional information.  Most small guild or local shows will also ask for the quilt’s name.  The name of the quilt goes on the placard placed either on the quilt or beside it to let the viewers know what you call your fabulous creation.  If the quilt is in an exhibition, chances are the organizers will also want to know the quilt’s name.  So if you’re tinkering with the idea of entering your quilt in a competition, consider names while you’re making your spectacular design.

• If none of the above spark any name-making, consider the following prompts:
•  Does the quilt remind you of a favorite food?  I made a pink and yellow lap quilt and called it Strawberry Lemonade. 
• Does the quilt remind you of a place?  As quilters, we tend to try to schedule stops at quilt stores wherever we are.  If you purchase fabric on a vacation, think about working the name of the location into to the name of your quilt.
• If you really love making quilts by a particular designer, can you work the designer’s name into the name of the quilt? 

Most quilts deserve the dignity of a name.  Think of it as the title for your work of art.  The quilt’s name will help you carry the legacy of your quilt forward into the next generation and will help future quilt historians correctly trace you and your quilt’s legacy.

Note from My Studio … About that Glow in the Dark Thread

While I have known that glow in the dark thread existed, I never had the opportunity to use it until I made This Halloween is a Charm and the quilt below:

Black Hat Society Call to Order

Both of these are small-ish quilts I’ll probably put out for Halloween (or more than likely hand them off to the grand darlings if they want them).  I’ve never been much of a Halloween person, but in for a penny, in for a pound – I wanted the quilts to be special.  Glow in the Dark thread seemed like an easy way to add a little pizazz without a lot of sweat and tears.

Since I didn’t have any of this thread in my thread stash, I needed to purchase a spool or two.  And since I had never bought this thread, and since it was a specialty thread, I decided to do a bit of research before placing an order.  I found out Glow in the Dark thread comes in types which will work in an embroidery machine, the kind you can use as quilting thread, and the varieties which can be worked into upholstery.  Like most threads, there are high quality Glow in the Darks, and low-quality glow in the darks.  High quality glow in the dark thread is made from a synthetic polymer, such as polyester.  Low-quality Glow in the Darks are solely made from polypropylene. Polypropylene will make the thread weak and will cause it to break and untwist easily.

With this knowledge I ordered my thread with the initial goal of quilting both quilts entirely in the glow in the dark thread. When the thread arrived, I unspooled about a foot of it and examined it. 

It was 40-weight, so it was definitely a heavier thread, but it also felt different – kind of like waxed quilting thread (I assume this heavy feeling was due to the chemicals applied to the thread to make it glow in the dark).   Since I had never quilted with glow in the dark before, I made a quilt sandwich and gave it a go.  And quickly found out this thread required a few special considerations which I didn’t normally have to give my regular 40-weight quilting thread.

First, my glow in the dark thread was wound horizontally.  My Janome M7 doesn’t particularly like horizontally wound thread, and this was no exception.  I tried a vertical spool pin and a horizontal one.  Neither passed muster.  I finally ended up placing the thread in a large coffee cup and setting it a few feet away from my sewing machine.  This helped a bit.

Second, since the thread was thicker (not only because it was 40-weight, but also because of the glow in the dark coating), I needed a needle with a large eye.  I tried my blue-tipped Janome needles and my top-stitching needles.  The thread continued to shred.  I could quilt for about 6-inches and the thread would shred and break.  I finally used a denim needle   16/100 and it worked pretty well.  The thread still shredded, but not nearly as often.  And yes, I tinkered with the top tension, but that didn’t help at all.

Third, I did not use the last thread guide near my needle – the last one you put your thread through before getting the thread through the eye of the needle.  This also helped stop the shredding.

Fourth, I discovered the thread worked much better if you are quilting up and down in a vertical motion than with a back-and-forth horizontal motion.  Again, it slowed down the shred.

Fifth, if you really want the glow in the dark thread to show up when the lights are out, you need to either use it to densely fill the area or go back over your quilting stitches a few times.

Bottom line – would I use glow in the dark thread again?  Absolutely.  It adds a lot to a spooky quilt.  Would I quilt an entire quilt with it?  No.  It seemed no matter what I did, the thread would shred and dealing with the shred takes a lot of time away from the quilting process.  And remember these quilts were quilted on a domestic sewing machine, not a long arm.  Any long armers out there who have quilted with glow in the dark thread?  I’d love to know how it worked with you.

Until Next Week, From My Studio to Yours,

Love and Stitches,

Sherri and Felix

I’m back home after a few days away at my mom’s in Graham.

For those of you who are long-time readers of my blogs, you may remember Mom suffers a bit from low hemoglobin and iron.  She’s anemic.  She was diagnosed after a week-long stay at Camp Wesley Long Hospital in 2015.  Now, at 84 years-young and almost ten years since her initial diagnosis, she is frustrated.  My brother and I are equally frustrated.  All we’ve been told from her local doctors is “We’ll give her iron infusions and hopefully that will make things better.” 

And they do.  All for the space of about a week after the fifth (and final) infusion.  Then she begins to feel tired and weak again.   My brother conferred with his wonderful doctors at Chapel Hill about Mom’s condition and was given the name of a doctor in the UNC system in East Towne. An appointment was made – which was part of the reason I was in Graham last week.  We had an 8 a.m. appointment with the doctor, who was 30 minutes away from Graham.  It meant getting up way earlier than Mom or I wanted to, but by 7:15 a.m. we were barreling down 15/501. Eric was driving and Mom was riding shotgun.

I was in the back praying.  There was a lot of traffic and high rates of speed involved.  I figured we needed all the help the Almighty could send our way.

We checked in at 7:45 and by 8 a.m., Mom was holding court with the nurses and the doctor’s assistant.  There were lots of questions and lots of answers, but by 9 a.m., the doctor put a lot of options on the table we didn’t have the day before.  Different iron infusions.  A possible oral medication.  No more endoscopies and colonoscopies.  Blood checks every two months.  We found out if the hemoglobin starts going down, the iron levels follow about a week later. Now we will watch the hemoglobin and get out ahead of the iron levels dropping.  Once the hemoglobin levels drop, she’ll be scheduled for an infusion. 

And those infusions will change, too.  Instead of five small infusions, she’ll be given one large infusion (which will take four-to-five hours to get through) and a different kind.  This type should last longer and start to make her feel better quicker. I am so optimistic.  Mom has always been super-active and taught stained glass art until she was 80.  To see her sit inside her condo, not feeling well enough to go anywhere has been hard on Eric and me and even more difficult for her.  Please send thoughts/prayers/good vibes/positive thoughts etc., as we plunge ahead with this new doctor and a better treatment plan.

_________________________________________________________

This week I’d like to start discussing a type of quilt I love – the Baltimore Album.  To me, as an avid appliquer, Baltimore Albums are the pinnacle of applique.  Those quilts are gorgeous, employ so many small pattern pieces, and their color palettes are stunning.  I’ve made only one Baltimore Album block, but I did fall in love with the process.  I asked for Sue Garman’s Friends of Baltimore quilt pattern for Christmas and have begun the fabric collection process.  In all honesty, more than likely I have plenty of fabric for the applique, but will need some background fabric.

Baltimore Album quilts are indeed “showy” quilts.  The large blocks, filled with appliqued flowers, buds, stems, leaves, fruit, baskets, and nearly anything else imaginable, actually had a pretty short shelf life.  First, let’s look at what an album quilt is, and then let’s discuss what makes a Baltimore Album quilt different.

Album Quilts Vs. Baltimore Album Quilts

Album quilts hit their stride during the 1840’s.  The term comes from autograph albums, which were also popular during this time.  In these books, young ladies would collect signatures and mementoes from friends and family.  An album quilt was similar.  It was a collection of many designs sewn by different women and then joined to form one large quilt.  Some of the block designers even signed their names on their block.  Creating album quilts gave women a chance to socialize and to demonstrate their artistry.  Sometimes album quilts were made as gifts and presented to important people in the community, such as a minister or soldier.  Many times they were also given to mark a special occasion, like a wedding, or as a remembrance when someone was moving away from the community. 

Baltimore Album Quilts were similar – yet different all at the same time.  This distinctive style of applique quilts was first made in the Baltimore, Maryland area of the United States and eventually could be found from New Jersey to South Carolina and as far west as the Mississippi.  They differed a bit from album quilts because their “lifespan” was shorter.  Quilters continued to make album quilts from around 1840 until the dawn of the twentieth century.  Baltimore Album Quilts generally span from 1840 – 1860.  Some quilt historians cut their lifespan even shorter – 1846-1852.  An album quilt’s blocks were generally not as intricate as a Baltimore’s and sometimes only one quilter made a Baltimore Album Quilt.  Many quilters contributed blocks for a regular album quilt, and those blocks could be pieced or pieced and appliqued.  Baltimore’s were all lush applique. 

Baltimore Album Quilts typically feature different blocks in a sampler-style design, or a large center block surrounded by smaller blocks with elaborate applique borders (something which could have been “borrowed” from album quilts).  The block patterns are applique and feature a wide variety of botanicals, patriotic themes, ships, and other common fraternal symbols of the day.  Sometimes the makers would sign their blocks and sometimes more than one woman would create the quilt.  The blocks also were usually heavily embellished with embroidery, silk ribbon, and inking (go here https://sherriquiltsalot.com/2021/09/29/how-the-printing-press-liberated-american-quilters/ for more information on inking).  Baltimore Albums were thought to be the maker’s finest “fancy work.” 

After 1860, interest in the Baltimore Album waned (we’ll discuss why a bit later).  However, in 1983 a quilter named Elly Sienkiewicz published Spoken Without a Word.  The book contained patterns and information about the symbolism and history in these quilts.  She has since published 23 books on Baltimore Album Quilts.  Besides the wealth of her research on these quilts, many of these books also contain CDs with patterns and instructions on how to make the blocks.  Elly Sienkiewicz is the Grande Dame of today’s Baltimore Album Quilts and should receive most (if not all) of the credit for reviving today’s interest in Baltimore Album Quilts. 

Styles of Baltimore Album Quilt

Many quilt historians break Baltimore Album Quilts into three different styles, but before we begin to discuss those, I’d like to back track a little to a type of applique I wrote about in this blog:https://sherriquiltsalot.com/2023/01/18/broderie-perse-the-applique-of-wealth-loop-holes-and-subterfuge/ Broiderie Perse.  Before the birth of Baltimore Album Quilts, America began to import waxed-glazed cottons called chintzes.  These fabrics had deeply saturated colors and precisely printed images of flowers, birds, vines, etc.  This fabric was a bit on the expensive side, but American quilters knew the value of a yard or two of this fabric.  They cut apart the images and then carefully appliqued them to the background of another piece of fabric. This type of applique is called Broiderie Perse (Persian Embroidery). Early makers of Baltimore Album Quilts sometimes employed this technique. 

As quilters, we love to examine the techniques used to make these wonderful quilts, but what really captures our quilty hearts and souls are the blocks themselves.  It is thought the Baltimore Album blocks were inspired by pietra dura works from Europe. 

The pietra duras weren’t necessarily realistic looking, but were delightful to look at.  Baltimore Album Quilt blocks are similar.  They aren’t true-to-life, but they are based on real-life items.  There may be peacocks or eagles with flags in the blocks, but there are no phoenixes or flying dragons.  Human beings may appear, sometimes appliqued and sometimes as inked drawings (indelible brownish-black ink was newly available at this time).  The quilters sometimes used this ink to draw in details or to write sayings, names, dates, or Bible verses.  One Baltimore Album quilt discovered in 2006 included an inked boffo portrait of John Wesley. 

Virtually all original Baltimore Album quilts included two colors:  Turkey Red and “Poison” Green.  These were rich and durable colors which held up to the test of time.  “Turkey” in Turkey Red alludes to the country, not the bird, and “Poison” Green was literally poison.  This particular green contained arsenic in its dye production. To give dimensions to sails, ocean waves, fruit, and birds, quilters could use new fabrics dyed into gradations of dark and light colors then called fondues (we now call them ombres). 

Quilt historians/appraisers/Baltimore Album enthusiasts have divided the quilts into three separate styles.

Style 1 – This is the classic style of Baltimore Album Quilt – more than likely these quilts are the ones which come to mind when Baltimore Album quilts are mentioned.  These quilts are full of ships, eagles, vases of flowers, butterflies, floral wreaths, and fruits.  The fanciest vases are called epergnes (ep-PURNz).  There are also cornucopias, government buildings, flags, soldiers, etc.  These blocks consist of 100 to 175 individual appliqued pieces.

Style 2 – These grew from the German folk tradition of fancy paper cutting.  The blocks are usually symmetrical, often nonpictorial, and sometimes quite difficult to make.  These block typically contain between 10 and 30 pieces.

Style 3 – These are said to be the work of Jewish immigrants from central Europe.  They are in some respects different from other Baltimore Album quilts:

• Entire quilts were made by individuals, not groups.
• They included fabrics like tweed and velvet and colors such as orchid and salmon which appear relatively rarely (if ever) in other Baltimore Album styles. 
• There are more animals.
• They have religious symbols.
• Birds’ nests were one of the most frequently used appliques.  Roses and fruit trees were also used a lot.
• Many were heavily stuffed and embroidered.
• Many reference the Mexican War.

These German-Jewish immigrant women of Baltimore in the 1840’s lived during a time of great change.  First, they had emigrated from a country where they faced an enormous amount of persecution and restrictions which made life for them intolerable.  They landed in many areas of the United States and Baltimore was one of those places.  As Jewish communities spread out, they toed the line between maintaining the “old” ways of religion and life, while also assimilating into a new country with new ideas, new laws, and new traditions.  Jewish women (though largely “cloistered” at this time by Jewish tradition) did want acceptance by the other women of Baltimore.  As a result of this, they formed the Hebrew Ladies Sewing Society in 1855, founded by many women who made the Style 3 Baltimore album quilts.  The society opened the door by which Jewish women entered American society and gave them a respected, and many times admired, position within the Baltimore community. 

With this information in hand, you may wonder if it makes Style 3 Baltimore Albums are overtly religious?  The answer, in my opinion is, it makes Style 3 no more religious than Style 1, because Style 1 is Methodist influenced.  When Baltimore Album Quilts began to reach a popular status, it was primarily because of the Methodist women.  These album quilts were often given as a token of love and remembrance to people who were moving away.  Per Methodist denomination rules, the ministers of Methodist churches generally took a pastorship for only two years before moving on to the next congregation.  Many of the Methodist women would work together to make a Baltimore Album for the departing pastor.  They did this so frequently and became so skilled at the workmanship, that these quilts are still searched for with fervency.  In short, these Methodist Baltimore Album Quilts are considered the best of the best.

It is also interesting to note that some quilt historians/analysts completely dismiss the Jewish element of Style 3 and simply give a description.  This Style 3 is described as “blocks which consist of mostly solid fabrics with 35 to 60 appliqued pieces and are known for their ‘Hot Dog Rose’.” 

It is equally noteworthy to understand that not all Baltimore Album Quilts are truly album quilts.  By definition, an album quilt is comprised of blocks made by more than one person.  So, if a Baltimore has more than one seamstress, it’s a Baltimore Album.  If it was made by only one person, technically  it’s a Presentation Quilt, although we would still call it a Baltimore since it would incorporate one or more of Styles 1-3 (no matter how you defined Style 3). 

A Little More Baltimore Album History

If you begin to really dig up the history of Baltimore Album Quilts, eventually you’ll run into three people:  Mary Evans, Mary Simon, and Dr. William Rush Dunton, Jr.  Parts of their efforts with Baltimore Album Quilts are a bit hazy.  But Dr. Dunton’s is clear as crystal.

Dr. William Rush Dunton, Jr., per the book Old Quilts, was the first person to study and publish about the Baltimore Album Quilts.  A man named Arthur Evans Bramble brought seven quilt blocks to Dunton for him to study.  Bramble claimed the blocks were the work of his late great-aunt, Mary Evans.  Dunton used these to study both Baltimore Quilts and the style of Mary Evans.  Evans used baskets, inked details, triple bow knots (these were kind of her “signature applique”), white roses, rainbow fabrics, etc., — nothing really different from a great deal of Baltimore Album blocks.  However, since Mary Evan’s name wasn’t found on any of the blocks, it was difficult to tag her as the maker with 100% accuracy.  Later, when analyzing Mary Evan’s actual handwritten signature on an application to an Aged Women’s Home against some of the inking done on quilts, it was determined that Mary Evans had worked on about 50% of them. (Lori Triplett/Dana Katzenberg, Curator of the Baltimore Museum of Art).

But….because the stitching varied so much between block, there still was a bit of doubt about Evans being the creator of even 50% of the blocks.  There were obviously other stitchers involved.  This, coupled with the fact Evans had never worked as a seamstress and the discovery of a diary by a contemporary woman named Hannah Trimble, began to cast even move doubt over any claim Evans could have on the blocks.  Trimble’s diary was a written record of the time, and she wrote about going to “Mrs. Simon’s on Chestnut Street, the lady who cut and basted these handsome quilts, saw some pretty squares.”  These findings then threw the onus on a Mary Simon for a great deal of the blocks.  It seemed as if Simon had a good thing going – apparently she was designing, cutting the applique shapes out, and  basting them down on a background fabric.  She then sold them to the ladies of Baltimore to needle turn.

Ah….an early quilt kit enterprise!  Good for her! Way to be one of the first!  You go girl! Right?

Hm.

Not until you read a bit deeper into Trimble’s Diary and she also mentions a Mrs. Silver/Sliver doing the same thing, because a Baltimore Album Quilt was also seen at her establishment.  According to Lori Lee Triplett’s research (Lori Lee Triplett (/blog/authors/lori-triplett), the 1890 Wood’s Baltimore City Directory shows a Mary Evans dressmaker at 144 Hanover Street.  At that same address, Sarah Silver, a dressmaker, and Jane Harrison, also a dressmaker, resided.  Three dressmakers at the same address would account for the differences in stitching.  It also would take into account the ability to take commissions and make more of these quilts than one person ever could.  The completed blocks could have been passed to Mary Simon for trimming, sandwiching, and basting.  Hannah wrote of seeing Mary Simon on Chestnut Street, so it appears Mary worked out of her husband Phillip’s carpet weaving location at 220 Chestnut. 

Add into this once one business owner establishes a popular and well-run business, others will “copycat” it.  There definitely could have been more than one group of seamstresses offering either ready-made Baltimore Album Quilts or supplying the “quilt kits” for women to make their own. 

Now let’s circle back to Dr. William Rush Dunton, Jr.  If you’re in the medical field, this man’s name already be familiar to you.  Dr. Dunton is the father of occupational therapy.  He was also among the first inductees of the Quilters Hall of Fame in 1979.  His dedication to helping those with anxiety, depression, and other mental health issues was matched, if not surpassed, by his passion for textile crafts, and especially for Baltimore Album Quilts.

In fact, while occupational therapists today may be familiar with Dunton’s medical journals, he produced another very valuable work – Old Quilts.  This book was self-published by Dunton in 1946-1947 (and sadly out of print – I couldn’t find it anywhere).  The book details many Baltimore Album Quilts and their associated social histories.  It is one of the oldest histories of this niche quilt style.

It may sound odd that Baltimore Album quilts have anything to do with occupational therapy.  But if you examine what occupational therapy is, it does fit in nicely.  Generally “occupation” can be any everyday task.  For Dunton, occupations were particularly therapeutic because they required some level of concentration that distracted a person from their mental distress.  During his time at Sheppard and Enoch Pratt Hospital, Dunton implemented a large variety of occupations, such as gardening, woodworking, weaving, and quilting.  He observed that the repetitive nature of quilting, the establishment of community as women came together to complete one quilt, and the encouragement of self-expression and creativity all provided unparalleled benefits. 

With all the positivity surrounding Baltimore Album quilts, you have to ask yourself why did they fade into obscurity until 1983 when Elly Sienkiewicz resurrected the genre?  In a word – life.  Events happen…people move.  According to some quilt histories, there was a core group of Methodist women in Baltimore who were primarily responsible for the Baltimore’s popularity. These were young women.  The theory is as time passed and they began families, either they didn’t have time to make these detail-oriented quilts, or they moved away from Baltimore and no longer had access to the “kits” provided by various enterprising business women.

Or…

The market may have become too saturated with “kits” and (like most fads) people grew tired of making the labor-intensive blocks.  As demand waned, the kits gradually stopped being made and the Baltimore’s faded into obscurity until Elly Sienkiewicz.

Or…

It could be a bit of both.  However, what we do know is that by 1860 at the latest, the quilt’s popularity had bottomed out.

So You Want to Make A Baltimore Album Quilt?

I have made one block.  I am no expert, so I’m not even going to pretend to give any advice from me.  However, I did read quite a bit before writing this blog and talked to a few folks who have made Baltimore Albums.  What I will do is offer their suggestions and a warning.

• If you like applique, these blocks can be addictive.  Be prepared to enjoy yourself and want to spend as much time as you can spare on them.
• Choose high quality cotton for applique, quality silk ribbon, elaborate cotton prints for fussy cutting, and 1800’s reproduction fabric. 
• Cotton Sateen is often used for the background.
• The applique can be accomplished using a wide variety of techniques.  Choose the technique which works best for you to get the desired results.
• If this is your first Baltimore, a good pattern or book with detailed instructions for the blocks and borders will be your BFF.
• Pick threads which are fine, such as silk or thin cotton.   The thread can be matched or use a neutral.  The choice depends on the applique technique used.
• Embellishments can include silk ribbon, heavy decorative thread, beads, inks, and textile paints.
• Small, micro-serrated scissors are a must. 

Now for a warning.  I mentioned fondue fabrics in the first part of this blog.  This was a fabric with gradations from light to dark, very much like our ombre fabrics.  However, there is a big difference between the fondues and the ombres and it has to do with the width of the repeat.  Ombres are like typical cotton fabrics with a 44-45-inch width.  The color generally changes once or twice over that width.  A typical Baltimore Album style block is 12-to-20-inches square.  To put shading into some images, such as sails, you will need a fabric that goes from very light to dark in about six inches.  Today’s quilters sometimes mimic fondues with fabric paint to get the small scale of a single block. 

Well.  Bummer.  However, we do have freezer paper and light boxes and glue basting and precision cutting machines and lots of other quilting gadgets which should make our Baltimore Albums a bit easier to construct than those made in the 1840’s.

They should.

Maybe.  I’d say no.

I hope you enjoyed my take on the Baltimore Album quilts.  They are lovely and I would like to make one – even a wall hanging.  Much credit for references for this blog should go to all of Elly Sienkiewicz publications and Lori Lee Triplett’s blog:  https://www.quiltandtextilecollections.com/blog/authors/lori-triplett

Until Next Week, From My Studio to Yours,

Love and Stitches,

Sherri and Felix

It’s a tale as old as time …

It’s the chicken and egg dilemma of quilting.

How do you decide what quilt to make next?  Which comes first, the fabric or the pattern?  Does the fabric prompt you to make a quilt or does a pattern nudge you towards your cutting table? 

In all probability, it’s most likely a mix of the two.  There may be times when a particular fabric grabs your attention and the next thing you know, you’ve swiped your card and left the fabric shop with five yards of your newest, most favorite material.  Then there are the times when a pattern called out to you, and you knew you just had to make that quilt.  Right now.  No matter what other project you were in the middle of making.  For me, it’s always been more about the fabric than the pattern.  When I come across a pattern I just have to make, usually it’s one which will challenge my skill set and I come away from that project a much better quilter.

However with fabric, it’s not that situation.  Fabric is all about color – what appeals to the eyes, what emotion it evokes, and how it sings to the soul.  Since most people are visual learners (learn best by watching someone perform a task), I would cautiously venture to say most quilters are visual quilters.  The colors and patterns they see with their eyes prompt them to purchase certain fabrics.  At times, yards of certain fabrics. But once we have this prized material in our possession, what do we do with it?  How do we go about choosing a pattern which showcases this wonderful fabric?  With this blog, I will walk you through my process of choosing a pattern for my fabric, and fabric for a pattern. 

Large Prints – By large prints, I’m talking about anything over two to three-inches wide. Kind of like this:

These are prints which will lose their integrity if cut into small pieces (you won’t be able to determine the print) and usually have several colors involved in the printing process. These fabrics make excellent focus fabrics.  The colors can help you determine the rest of the material you need to pick out for the remainder of the quilt.  Borders and sashing are great places to showcase large prints, as well as setting blocks or triangles. 

If none of these options work, try finding a pattern which uses large block units.  A large print may work perfectly well for the center of some star blocks or large flying geese. 

The important concept to keep in mind for large prints is you need a large space to showcase them properly.  If they’re cut into small block units, it’s going to be difficult for anyone to see how truly wonderful this fabric is.  Give it room to impress.

“Blingy” Fabric – We see a lot of this at Christmas, and occasionally it creeps into other fabric too – the fabric which has been shot through with sparkly threads or dyes. 

Depending on the designer, this can be super cute or super not cute.  I rarely bring this type of fabric home unless it is Christmas fabric for Christmas quilts, but when I do I tend to approach this fabric in the same manner I do large prints – borders, sashing, large block units, setting blocks, and triangles.  However, if the blingy print is something like this:

Where the metallic highlights are on a smaller scale, they do work well in smaller block units, which, when scattered across the quilt top, makes the quilt top sparkly.  And in applique I’ve found this type of fabric works well to mimic snow and ice.

Reproduction Fabric – I realize this fabric can be used in any quilt, but personally when I decide to purchase 1930’s or Civil Ware reproduction fabrics, I automatically think of quilts appropriate for the time period.  I just can’t get myself out of that box.  Thirties reproduction fabric works beautifully in Dresden Plates and Sunbonnet Sues.  Civil War fabrics look equally as beautiful in Star blocks. 

Background/Neutrals – This is one type of fabric I generally don’t purchase until I need it.  These are the backbones of both pieced and appliqued quilts.  Their job is to play “supporting actor” to the rest of the fabric.  Generally we tend to think of these as low-volume, tone-on-tone, or solid fabrics in whites, beiges, ecru, gray, and black.  However, now almost any color of material can be up for consideration as a neutral or background.  If I do see some fabric I simply must have and know it will be used as a background, I mentally rehearse what type of materials I will need for the applique.  If it’s a lighter background, almost any color of fabric will work for the applique.  If it’s black, I know I’ll need material which can stand up next to the inky darkness.  Bright batiks or quilters cottons will generally be used on blacks.  Knowing what kinds of colors I’ll need for the applique allows me to mentally go through what I have on hand, so I know what (if anything) I’ll need to purchase in the future.

If the neutral is part of the pieced quilt, I have to keep in mind that it will be scattered pretty equally over the quilt top. It will need to play nicely with the other fabrics and not overwhelm them.  Neutrals in pieced quilts are there to balance the quilt blocks and give the eyes a place to rest before moving over the rest of the quilt top. 

“Wow” Fabrics – These are also called sparkles, sizzlers, and a host of other names.  These are the fabrics that you simply love and must buy because …well… because you love them.  There may not be any rhyme or reason why you love them, you just do.  They touch your sense of sight and sing to your soul, and you must have at least a yard of it.  Maybe two.  Perhaps even the entire bolt not that I would know anything about that.  If these are large print “Wow” fabrics, you may want to opt to handle them the same way you do large prints in blocks. However, I generally don’t use my “Wows” as borders or sashing because that is too much of a good thing.  My favorite way to utilize these fabrics is to sprinkle them across the quilt top sparingly – as part of block units or as cornerstones in the sashing.  This way they draw the eye across the quilt top.

Nine times out of ten, I find the fabric and then pick a pattern.  However, there are times I work the opposite way.  And the longer I quilt, the more I’ve discovered that applique patterns determine the fabric for me.  There are a few other scenarios which dictate the pattern first, then the fabric and these are listed below.

The Date of the Pattern – I do realize there are no hard and fast quilting rules and there are no quilt police.  As a result, there are also no hard and fast rules that an older pattern can’t be set ablaze with brilliant batiks or the latest line from Riley Blake.  And there still are current patterns which still use the old blocks – such as Log Cabins, Ohio Stars, and Drunkard’s Path.  However, I do think there are certain quilts, because of their quilty genealogy and DNA, that deserve pause and special fabric choices.  Quilts such as Dear Jane, which falls squarely in the Civil War era, may need the fabric/fabric reproductions from that era to be effective. 

I realize that may be just a tad controversial and I welcome this debate.  I’ve seen really pretty Dear Janes made from batiks.  But the way I look at the quilt, and knowing the history behind the quilt, makes me squint just a little when it’s not made from Civil War reproduction fabrics.  And I do say this from personal experience.  The first Dear Jane I made was from 1930’s reproduction fabric.  My reasoning:  I had a tub full of Aunt Grace Feed Sack reprodution fabrics.  I needed to use them.  This Jane is finished, but not quilted.  It’s lovely and wonderful (and did I mention finished?), but somehow it doesn’t look quite right.  Because of this, I now am collecting Civil War blue fabrics and will make another one.  I figure once I’ve perhaps righted this mental wrong I can be at peace with my 1930’s Jane. 

I will also acknowledge this could just be a “Sherri” thing and I may be the only quilter who thinks this way.

The Type of Quilt – Specific quilts just prompt certain fabric selections. Certain quilts, such as some Amish ones, generally require specific colors in order to look authentic.  The same goes for Civil War reproduction quilts that you want to look as if they came from that period.  

Some applique quilts can fall under this category, too.  I’m thinking of such splendid applique quilts as Love Entwined and the Caswell Quilt.  While, yes, both of those quilts can be made with any color scheme (and they would look lovely), Love Entwined is a Georgian Era quilt, which according to quilt historians “has no peer” (in other words, it’s truly one of a kind).  It stands as a testament to British and Quilting History during that time period.    I’ve seen this quilt made in bright colors, batiks, and other quilting cottons, but it’s something about that Georgian palette…

That shows this quilt in it’s pinnacle of glory. 

To a degree, I think the Caswell Quilt also falls in this category. 

This quilt was inspired by the Caswell Carpet in the Metropolitan  Museum of Art in New York and it’s Circa 1835 –so it’s pre-Civil War and the color palette is just bit lighter than the true Civil War hues.  I admire the applique skills it takes to pull this quilt off.  And while I have seen this quilt done in other color palettes, I have the same reaction to it as I do when I see Love Entwined reproduced in other palettes – I feel jarred. 

I also realize these reactions could be solely mine and other quilters have no problems with changing out older palettes with newer, brighter hues. 

Finally, I’d like to walk you through some questions to ask if you’re muddling through the dilemma of “Should I let the fabric dictate the quilt, or the quilt dictate the fabric?”

• If you’ve pulled a piece of fabric you absolutely love, what do you love about the fabric and how do you see it used most effectively?  Borders and sashing?  Used liberally in quilt blocks?  Will the design in the fabric lose it’s shape and integrity if the material is cut into smaller pieces?

• What do you think when you look at a quilt pattern?  Can you picture it in color ways other than the one it’s pictured in?  If it’s a period specific quilt, can you see it constructed in only period specific reproductions or in another, more recent color way?

• What feeling, thought, idea, etc., do you want the quilt to convey?  Quite often it’s this question which will help you chose your colors.  Want a quilt which conveys peace?  Blues, greens, and neutrals.  Want one to warm up a room?  Reds, oranges, and yellows.  Do you want the quilt to bring in Spring long before the calendar flips to March?  Quilt a flower garden – pastels, brights, and every color in between.  Is the quilt for the Holiday Season?  Bring on the bling.

• What is your long-term plan for the quilt?  Yes. You really need to answer this question before you take the first stitch.  Is the quilt show-bound?  If you’re constructing a quilt you want to enter in an international or national show,  you need to know that before the first cut of fabric is made, because show quilts definitely need more consideration – from fabric to technique.  Is this just a quilt for personal enjoyment or a gift?  Is it an heirloom?  Do you want it to have historical context?  All of these questions will help you decide if any attractive color palette will do or you should be more selective in your fabrics.

• What quilting motif will you use?  This one sounds a bit trivial, but hear me out.  If you’ve made a quilt from a particular time period using that time period’s colors (such as Dear Jane), you may want your quilting motif to be in sync with era in which the original was produced.  An edge-to-edge may not be the best quilting motif to choose.  However, I do think the older quilting motifs (such as Baptist Fan) looks well on almost all quilts regardless of color palette or design.

I hope in the “chicken or egg” dilemma of quilting, no matter if the fabric dictates your quilt pattern or the quilt pattern dictates your fabric, this blog offers a little insight and helps you.  Most of the views in this blog are mine – they come solely from my experience as a quilter – and can and should be debated.  Like I said earlier, there are no quilting rules and there are no quilt police.  Let me know how you handle this situation. 

Until Next Week, From My Studio to Yours,

Love and Stitches,

Sherri and Felix

I’m at that awkward age.

You know…you may be there, too.  It’s that point in time when the doctor says, “You’re in good shape for a woman your age,” (what does this even mean?)  and my kids still think it’s too early to look for a long-term care home. Yup.  That’s where I’m at – right between too young for most senior citizen discounts and too old for Clinque makeovers.  Old enough to know better, but still too young to care.

As we get older, we pay attention to a lot of things we didn’t when we were younger.  The way our knees creak when we stand up.  The way it takes us a little longer to roll out of bed in the morning.  We ponder the great remaining mysteries of life, such as “Why did I come into this room?  What was I looking for?”  And we tell ourselves epic lies, like “I’m gonna put this in a safe place so I’ll remember where it’s at.”  It is true  getting older isn’t for sissies, but I’m about to drop a great truth bomb on you backed up by science…

Quilting can help you stay young.

Yup.  It’s true.  And I have the science to prove it. 

• Doing activities you love (such as quilting) increases the levels of serotonin in your brain.  What is serotonin?  Chemically, serotonin is known as 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT) and is a monoamine neurotransmitter. It also acts as a hormone. As a neurotransmitter, serotonin carries messages between nerve cells in your brain (your central nervous system) and throughout your body (your peripheral nervous system). In our brains, serotonin acts similarly to dopamine – it’s a happiness hormone.  The higher the levels of serotonin we have, the less prone to depression we are.  Activities such as exercise help our bodies produce more serotonin, as well as some things we eat.  Foods which are high in tryptophan and fiber can increase the serotonin production in our bodies.  However, so can participating in activities we love, such as hobbies…such as quilting.  I think this is why after a particularly difficult day, even if I’m exhausted, if I can spend a few minutes in my quilt studio at one of my machines, or in front of the TV with handwork, I immediately feel better.    My serotonin levels have been raised and I can go on with the rest of my evening with a much better attitude and outlook.
• Quilting can also lower the levels of cortisol in your system.  You may have heard a doctor bandy the term cortisol around.  And if serotonin is the happiness hormone, cortisol is its exact opposite.  Cortisol is the stress hormone and it’s produced by two adrenal glands. These glands sit on top of your kidneys and react to stress.  When you’re under a lot of anxiety, the glands can produce too much cortisol, causing your body to go haywire.  You may experience fatigue, irritability, headaches, intestinal issues, anxiety, depression, weight gain, and increased blood pressure when your body has too much cortisol running around its systems.  Cortisol can be aggravated by some foods – such as processed meats, alcohol, high sugar food, and food with a lot of caffeine.  And while some cortisol is good for your body to have (it helps you manage stress), too much of it can make it difficult to get a good night’s sleep or lose weight.  To maintain good cortisol levels, include fermented foods, dark chocolate, spinach, and avocados in your diet.  The correct levels can also be maintained by engaging in activities and being with people who bring your joy and reduce your stress levels.  So if quilting brings you joy, it will help keep your cortisone levels at a good balance.  If you quilt with friends, you’ll get a good, double whammy of cortisol maintenance. 

• Quilting can help lower your blood pressure.  Stress can raise your blood pressure.  Prolonged periods of stress can raise it and keep it there.  Taking part in creative and calming activities can help lower stress and decrease your blood pressure. Dr. Randy Cupps from South Denver Cardiology explains that when you spend time on a hobby or something you enjoy that isn’t about work, you give your mind a break. This shift to something fun and enjoyable is good for your well-being, “As a result, your blood pressure and hypertension lower.”  So, if you have a demanding job, or are in a stressful situation, a great way to disengage from that is to quilt.  It’s something you enjoy and can shift your brain out of the anxiety-lane into a more peaceful mindset. 

• Participating in an enjoyable hobby like quilting can release physical tension.  We all know when we’re under stress, we not only carry that tension in our minds, but also in our bodies – primarily between our shoulders and in our back.  When I taught school, my son always knew when I had a particularly stressful day.  I would be carrying my shoulders so tight they were almost even with my ears.  However, once I stepped into my studio, the tension would immediately ease out of my body.  Putting together a quilt can be exceedingly relaxing, almost like being in a trance.  Psychologists call this phenomenon “Flow.”  You forget your worries.  The hands-on work of quilting calms your nerves and helps your body relax.

• Quilting is a healthy addiction.  We quilters (and sometimes our significant others) joke about our fabric addiction and how we will drop a project like a hot potato to begin a brand-new, shiny one.  But it’s truly like I tell my friends, family, and dear husband, “There are worse things I could do with my life.”  And it’s true.  Having a fun activity that takes our minds off of stress and worry helps keep us mentally healthy and sane.  The goal is to find a positive distraction which helps you grow and feel fulfilled.  Quilting does all of that.  Plus, when you think about it, there are far worse addictions than quilting – fancy cars, boats, buying lots of lotto tickets….
• Quilting helps you maintain hand-to-eye coordination.  Making a quilt requires the ability to do small, exact movements repeatedly. The more quilts you make, the easier it gets. If you continue, it can help you keep your fine motor skills sharp as you get older.

• It also helps you maintain foot-to-eye coordination.  If you use the foot control which came with your sewing machine, you know your eyes have to tell your brain when to stop, and the brain has to pass that information along very quickly to your foot.  So there is proof that quilting could help you keep driving longer, as you’re constantly engaging the foot-to-eye coordination.

• Quilting can give you a sense of purpose.  As we grow older, this becomes more important than ever.   When we’re younger, we’re driven by starting and expanding our careers, building our families, pursuing educational goals, and participating in our community.  As we age, these things change.  Career goals have been met (for the most part) and many of us settle into retirement.  Children grow up and build their own families and your role as a parent changes. It can be easy to wonder what our next step is.  Quilting can help steer us in a direction.  There’s always something new to learn and mastering new skills can boost one’s self-esteem.  And at the end of a completed project, you have a tangible item you can enjoy or give away.  You may find giving away your quilts at this period in your life is even more enjoyable than it was earlier in your quilting journey.  Giving to others not only brings them happiness, it also brings the giver a sense of joy and purpose.

• Giving your quilts to others can reduce your feelings of hopelessness.  I think one of the worst things which came out of Covid and the lockdowns was the sense of isolation.  And this is a feeling which still seems to persist in many areas – such as those of us who are still working from home.  I’ve always thought isolation and loneliness were two of the biggest battles older folks have to fight.  Tied together, isolation and loneliness can lead to feelings of hopelessness – I don’t know what to do, I don’t know who needs me, I have no control over my situation.  Quilting, or more precisely quilting for others, shines the light on the dark shadows of hopelessness.  There are organizations which would love to receive your quilts, it just takes a bit of research on the internet or a phone call or two in order to find out the organizations regulations.  As a former US President told us, “The best way to not feel hopeless is to get up and do something. Don’t wait for good things to happen to you. If you go out and make some good things happen, you will fill the world with hope, and you will fill yourself with hope.” Quilting is more than a hobby.  It’s a valuable way to spend your time.

• Quilting builds self-confidence.  With each completed quilt, with each new skill mastered, with each finished project, your self-confidence grows.  Personally, I’ve found it helpful to break projects into a series of small, reachable goals and set due dates with those goals.  With every goal met (big or small) your self-confidence not only grows, but you also have this huge feeling of accomplishment.  Positive Psychology reports, “Making progress towards personally meaningful goals is the scaffolding upon which healthy self-confidence is built.” 

• Quilting gives us a community.  I cannot stress how important it is for women to have a community.  This is more than family.  These are the people we choose to make part of our extended family.  In some instances, these folks are closer than family.  Quilters (like other crafters) have always had opportunities to build these friendships.  Our grandmothers and great-grandmothers may have had quilting bees.  We have guilds, quilt shows, and on-line groups.  The internet has opened doors to international friendships and instruction.  These things not only give us a sense of belonging, but they also offer support for each other and our craft.  One of the groups I quilt with has met since the early 2000’s.  We’ve seen each other through divorces, deaths, sickness, victories, promotions, gains, and losses.  These women are as close as any of my family.  These are the women who brought meals to my daughter when she was recovering from cancer surgery, who prayed for my brother while he was undergoing his stem cell transplant and surrounded me with love when I lost a cousin to Covid pneumonia.  The older we get, the more important this community becomes.  I think that as we age, we have gaps in our lives.  We lose spouses or significant others.  Our children need our presence less.  We retire from jobs we may or may not have loved.  These events leave gaping holes in our lives and the community we build with other quilters helps to fill this.  This also staves off feelings of hopelessness and loneliness. 

• Quilting can connect us with the outside world.  This is a bit more than building our own quilting community or even giving our quilts away.  Quilters can often find opportunities to share their love of their craft with groups and wider communities.  Scout troops frequently need quilters to help with projects so badges can be earned.  Museums and historical sites may need volunteers who know a bit about textiles to help out.  Use quilting as your springboard into a wider variety of friends and spread your quilting knowledge to the next generation. 

• Quilting can keep your mind young.  Learning new skills or working on a new quilt keeps your brain active.  Designing a pattern, or teaching the art helps keep the mind – all the mind – working.  Neuroscientists are now realizing the similarities between cognitive activities such as sudoku or crossword puzzles and designing or completing complex quilt patterns.  Even if you’ve been quilting for several years, there is always something new to explore if you want.  Sometimes it’s an easier way to sew curves or flying geese, or a totally new challenge like foundation paper piecing.  With all the virtual classes and on-demand courses, it’s easier than ever to learn something new, but attending an in-person class can be a great way to absorb those happy chemicals from sewing enthusiasts.  Psychologists believe that quilting utilizes the entire brain as it involves creativity, logic, spatial awareness, color analysis, fine motor skill activation, and math.  Intense concentration and focusing on your craft keep your brain active while distracting you from everyday pressures, thus reducing stress. 

Researchers also measured stress indicators in subjects while they performed stress-reducing activities, including reading, painting, playing cards, playing video games, and sewing.  Their results found the most relaxing activity to be sewing.  According to Robert Reiner, PhD, the study’s author, “The act of performing a craft is incompatible with worry, anger, obsession, and anxiety.”

Prescription for better health?  Quilting, of course.  Please do see your doctor along with making lots of wonderful quilts and take prescribed medications as directed.  Exercise and eat right.  But don’t forget to quilt…by yourself and with others.  It’s good for you!  Science says so.

Until Next Week, From My Studio to Yours,

Love and Stitches,

Sherri and Felix