Quilts, Quips, and other Nearsighted Adventures

The air stunk.

The scent from the wood pulp at Domtar Paper Company clung to the humidity, and obviously had no intention of leaving.  Despite the fact Plymouth, North Carolina was on the “inner parts” of the Outer Banks, there was no breeze – ocean or otherwise – to send the odor wafting on its way.  A woman in an old 1978 Impala paused at the intersection of Main and Adams streets to consult a black and white Quilt Intake Day flyer in the seat beside her.  The building she was seeking was up the street about a block, the parking was in the rear.  Hesitating for just a second, she finally pressed the gas pedal, and the car took off.  Her purse gently rocked back and forth in the seat beside her as Whitney Houston’s Saving All My Love for You wafted from the speakers.  But in the back — in the backseat the quilts she had dug out of her closets and her momma’s closets remained folded in a neat stack. 

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Winston-Salem was a tangle of intersections, highways, and streets known only as a number.  In 1985, the city was already bursting at the seams and spreading out even further than the city limit signs.  Two major hospitals.  A women’s college.  Old Salem.  And Wake Forest University.  It boasted a large mall and was the fifth largest city in North Carolina.  But tucked back off of Country Club Road, South Fork Community Center had its doors open and the parking lot was full, despite the early hour.  Three women, one middle-aged, one in her twenties, and an older one trudged up the sidewalk, their arms full of family heirlooms – quilts – and paused at the doors of the center.

“Here, let me help you,” said a woman, standing up from a table just inside the entrance and she reached for the quilts.  On the table was a sign: “Quilt Intake Today!”  The woman wore a name tag which said Forsyth Piecers and Quilters.  The three women handed off their burden and the middle aged and younger woman reached for the paperwork as the older one settled in a nearby chair.  It was hot.  And despite the fact she was already tired and sweaty, the woman was resolute.  Her quilts needed to be documented before the family forgot how important they were – how each quilt was as much a part of the quilt maker as the air they breathed.

 “Momma, we need to make sure we have the stories right,” declared the middle aged one, who along with the young one, filled out the forms, often consulting with seated woman in the process.  The oldest woman sighed as she answered questions and gave out dates.  She knew those old quilts backwards and forwards – every stitch.  She and her momma and her grandma and her aunts had pieced and quilted every one of them.

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Scenes such as this twined their way across the United States in the mid-to-late eighties.  Supported by history and art museums, quilt bees and quilt guilds, states began a concerted effort to document their quilts.  Coming off the “high” from the Bicentennial, a point in time where home crafts and old skills were highlighted and introduced to a new generation, quilters decided their states needed to document their quilts before the textiles fell apart or were ill-used by heirs who didn’t know their worth.  The idea spread first from Kentucky to eventually thirty-four of the fifty states during the 1980’s.  In the end, approximately 177,000 quilts were photographed, their history taken, and their maker named. 

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I have wanted to write this blog for a long time – a couple of years actually.  However, there is precious little written about the quilt documentation – called the Quilt Projects.  It took chasing down some folks for interviews and relying on what little was available on the internet to get the information needed.  And since these events took place over 20 years ago, some of the project leaders have since passed away.  However, this subject is close to my heart.  In 1985, the year North Carolina began its Quilt Project, I was pregnant with my first child.  I had just started to sew and had simple blocks cut out for a baby quilt.  I remember there was a flyer about the local quilt intake day at Piece Goods.  As I read it, I must have wondered how many quilts and what kind of quilts would be documented.  By the time I was fully vested in quilting, a friend gave me this book:

Which is the direct result of the North Carolina Quilt Project.  Being the nerd I am, I read it cover-to-cover and poured over the pictures.  Later, I wondered how this project got started, who started it, and would there be another. 

Which brings us to this blog.  I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I loved writing it.

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In order to understand where the Quilt Projects are historically, you need to put quilts and quilting in a general historical timeline.  It’s easy to recognize the important place quilts played in our early ancestors’ lives.  They were made for warmth and as a creative outlet.  They were primarily bedcovers.  Most women sewed then, so quilting was a staple in most families.  Quilts could be made to proport a political statement, help raise money for charities, rolled into a bedroll on the back of a soldier, or used simply keep you warm at night.  They were given as wedding and going away gifts.

Quilts and quilting received a popularity boost in the 1930’s with the introduction of specialty printed feed sacks and the Chicago World’s Fair, when Sears hosted the Mother of All Quilt Shows.  However, World War II curtailed the hobby as more women entered the workforce to cover for the men who were away fighting.  Quilting’s popularity waned until the mid-to-late 1960’s (quilt historians don’t all agree on an exact year), when the “Back to Earth” movement began.  Young people sought a slower lifestyle, one which lived more in harmony with nature, and cherished handmade items.  Quilting once again became popular.  As the 1970’s and our national bicentennial loomed, early American folk art gained a huge following, which pushed quilting back into the limelight.  By the end of the seventies, the new quilters realized something vitally important:  In order to keep the art flourishing, they needed to introduce more folks to quilting as well as develop a supportive network where quilters of all levels could develop their skills, have quilty fellowship, as well as have fun.  Thus quilt guilds were born. These guilds were so important.  In the 34 states who undertook the Quilt Projects, quilt guilds either spearheaded the effort or provided support to the quilt historians. 

As stated earlier, Kentucky was the first state who documented their quilts.  Their Quilt Project began in 1981.  Word spread not only to other states, but also to Britain, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand, who also developed their own Quilt Projects.  All this effort developed into the perfect storm for quilt documentation – but in a good way.  Women’s studies began to gain a foothold not only on college and university campuses, but also in the general public’s awareness.  Couple this with a country-wide interest in local history (somewhat leftover from the Bicentennial), and the media (which at this point consisted of some magazines and your local and national news) felt these Quilt Projects were worthy of coverage.  Quilts were a tangible part of women’s history, it was still a vital part of the arts and crafts world, and there were local quilt guilds. The Quilt Projects were perfect for an above-the-fold newspaper article or as a story on the nightly local newscast. 

In this blog, I want to review the five states – Kentucky, Texas, North Carolina, Kansas, and Nebraska — which had the most successful quilt projects.  I want to discuss what made these Quilt Projects so successful and why these states agreed to take on the documentation.  We’ll start with the first state to undertake this momentous task:  Kentucky.

Kentucky Quilt Project, Inc.

In early 1980, Kentuckian Bruce Mann, a quilt dealer, became alarmed at the number of Kentucky quilts which were being sold to out-of-state quilt enthusiasts.  While he had no particular qualms about these quilts going to good homes where they would be well-taken care of, he was afraid his state was losing a tangible, real part of its history.  Since Jonathan Holstein and Gail van der Hoof had their quilt exhibition at the Whitney Museum of Art in New York City, the demand for quilts as artwork, not bed covers, had increased.  And while Mann was making good money dealing in quilts, he was concerned that Kentucky history was becoming lost with each quilt sold to out-of-state buyers.  He began the initial program but died before he could see it implemented.  However, Shelly Zegart, Eleanor Bingham Miller, and Eunice Ray, along with consultant Kathy Christopherson took over and formed the Kentucky Quilt Project, Inc. These women created a plan to document quilts owned by Kentucky families.  They planned 12 documentation days between July 1981 and March 1982.  A total of 1,200 quilts were documented and the organizers published a catalog of a select group of quilts and organized an exhibition for the Louisville Museum of Natural History and Science.  The exhibition was popular enough that the Smithsonian Institution of Traveling Exhibit Services picked it up and made it one of theirs.  The quilts traveled across the United States and internationally. This traveling exhibit of Kentucky quilts is why the Kentucky Quilt Project is so important.  It pushed American quilts and American quilters into the forefront of our country’s and the rest of the world’s consciousness, spurring 33 other states to document their own quilts. 

Texas Sesquicentennial Quilt Association

Around the same time Kentucky began organizing its Quilt Project, Texas began planning theirs.  This organization was a bit different from the Kentucky project as it was launched as part of Texas’s Sesquicentennial.  The primary goal was to document Texas quilts and quilters.  An exhibition of the best quilts would be held as part of the Sesquicentennial celebration.  Documentation began in February 1983 and ended in March 1985, resulting in two published catalogues and the exhibition hung in the capital’s rotunda for a week.  Despite the fact organizers were warned this quilt project had the distinct possibility of being a bust – Texas was a pioneer state and most of the folks settling the area had left their best textiles back on the East Coast, the TSQA was able to document about 3,500 quilts over 27 documentation days.

North Carolina Quilt Project

This is a quilt project which began with a quilt guild.  The Forsyth Piecers and Quilters (one of those guilds which formed from the 1970’s quilt revival), began the NCQP in 1983, and incorporated it in 1985.  By the end of 1986, the board of directors had organized and overseen more than 73 quilt documentation days (originally they had only planned for 70, but the documentation days were wildly popular), often with several documentation events occurring the same day at different locations.  Numerically, this established the NCQP as one of the most successful quilt projects.  Additional help was provided by the North Carolina Museum of History, which eventually became a co-sponsor of the NCQP, as well as a repository for all the information gleaned from documentation days.  This support, as well as a generous grant from the Z. Smith Reynolds Foundation, served to “illuminate the ways in which quilts and quilt making have been a part of life in North Carolina.”  The NCQP only documented quilts made prior to the 1976 Bicentennial.   The final result was permanent archive of more than 10,000 quilts, an exhibition, and the publication of North Carolina Quilts.

Nebraska Quilt Project

This was another Quilt Project which began with a guild.  The Lincoln Quilters formed the Nebraska Quilt Project (NQP) committee in 1985 and developed a quilt project unlike any other.  Twenty-one members of the guild served as the NQP organizing committee and as the trained documenters.  The organizers, along with consultants from local museums and universities, studied Nebraska history, immigration, and demography to create a strategy which would target the rich immigrant history of the state’s settlement prior to 1920.  Through this study, they were able to identify 13 areas to host the documentation days which would represent the different immigrant groups. 

Held in two phases, the Quilt History Documentation Days followed a pilot documentation held in Lincoln in March 1987.  The first phase ran from April through September 1987.  This phase included thirteen different locations in rural Nebraska.  The second phase ran from March 1988 to May 1989 in the most populated areas of the state.  In total, about 5,000 quilts were documented across the span of 28 quilt intake days.  The 1991 publication of the project’s book, Nebraska Quilts and Quiltmakers, concluded the project and received the 1993 Smithsonian’s Frost Prize for Distinguished Scholarship in American Crafts.

Kansas Quilt Project

In 1986, Nancy Hornback and Eleanor Malone spearheaded the Kansas Quilt Project:  Documenting Quilts and Quilt Makers (KsQP).  Their board of directors was a diverse group which included not only quilters, but also a nationally known quilt historian, an authority on Kansas folklife and folklore, historians, a woman’s studies professor, and museum professionals.  This project originally had a five-year plan, but it actually took closer to eight years to complete.  Seventy-two quilt documentation days were held over a 16-month period, beginning in 1986.  An astounding 13,107 quilts were documented by April 16, 1988.  The KsQP records show a well-planned, organized, and executed project.  Like the NCQP, there often were several quilt documentation events held the same day.  When the documentation was over, the board of directors then chose to conduct a period of extended research. After all the quilt intake was complete,  they followed up with oral history interviews and in-depth research on selected quilts and quiltmaker topics.  They published their book, Kansas Quilts and Quilters, in 1993.

The idea which may really be difficult for some of my younger readers to wrap their minds around is this:  They did all of this – quite successfully – before the internet and before social media. So, how did all these states pull off such wildly effective Quilt Projects?

1.  They used little to no paid advertising.  Unlike the NCQP, who received grant money, most Quilt Projects started with what little funds they had.  For most, paid advertising was expensive and out of the question.
2. They did issue press releases to local news stations, local newspapers, and local magazine-type publications.  Nowadays, it’s difficult to believe a press release could generate much interest.  We’re used to getting news via social media, news apps, and short snips on YouTube.  So much of our news consumption has left the local realm and is trending only on national and international levels.  But the eighties were a different time, and the Quilt Projects were riding the crest of a quilt revival.  Bonnie Leman began publishing Quilters Newsletter.  Jean Ray Laury published her first books.  Guilds were quickly growing and flourishing.  In North Carolina, quilting and guilds had gained such popularity that Ruth Janesick established the North Carolina Quilt Symposium – which also helped with the NCQP and served as an umbrella organization for North Carolina Quilt Guilds.  So when a local or state or even national, news outlet received a press release about quilts, it definitely caught their attention.
3. The Quilt Projects followed up the press releases with additional information about how well the documentation days went.  In turn, a great deal of the press did follow up articles, which kept the Quilt Projects in the public’s consciousness. 
4. All of the Projects had human connections which reached far, far beyond the conclusion of the Quilt Projects and any resulting publications.  In Kentucky, Bruce Mann kicked off the KQP, Inc.  Although he passed away before he could see how his idea bore serious quilty fruit, he did stem the flood of Kentucky-made quilts leaving their home state.  Suddenly Kentuckians realized the value of these textiles and their makers.  And beyond these folks, the Smithsonian realized it, too, and with their traveling exhibit, the rest of the United States and parts of the world realized it, also. 

In Texas, quilting was touted in articles and newscasts.  They promoted quilting as a family tradition which was close to becoming extinct but was now experiencing a revival thanks to the increasing number of quilt shops and guilds springing up across the state.  With the ground fertile for both, a woman named Karey Bresenham opened a quilt shop called Great Expectations in Houston.  Through the support of her guild and her customers, she co-founded the Quilt Festival,  now known as the International Quilt Festival.  Then in conjunction with the South/Southwest Quilt Association she and Nancy O’Bryant Puentes formed the International Quilt Association. 

•  The Quilt Project leaders knew how to work their resources and their sources.  There is no greater example of this than the North Carolina Quilt Project.  From the initial idea generated by the Forsyth Piecers and Quilters, the women quickly put into play an organizational map which was amazing – even by today’s standards.  The women formed a board of directors, who divided the state into regions and then named regional coordinators.  These regional coordinators contacted local guilds and quilt shops to begin organizing in their regions. 

Not content with just contacting the local media, they wrote Southern Living Magazine and Ladies Circle Patchwork Quilts.  Both of these magazines carried articles about the Quilt Projects – particularly North Carolina’s.  Word of the NCQP even reached Germany, and it was highlighted in the German magazine, Deutsches Textiforum.  NBC Nightly News was contacted, and they interviewed the directors and had a feature report on their prime-time newscast.  Likewise the Voice of America received a press release and featured the NCQP on a broadcast. 

Then they pulled in the big gun – Georgia Bonesteel, who as well as having a well-watched PBS quilting show, was a North Carolina Quilter.  She featured the project on her show.

All of these sources and resources knew quilting was popular among their readers and viewers during this time period.  It didn’t take a lot of “arm twisting” to get coverage.  The NCQP simply didn’t stop at the local market.  They assumed (rightly so, as it turned out) there would be some interest nationwide. 

At this point, you may be asking why I wrote this blog.  Yes, quilt documentation, preservation, and history are important.  And we can certainly appreciate the books which came out of the Quilt Projects.  But is any of this information relevant today?  Why would we possibly need additional Quilt Projects during a time when it’s so easy to snap a picture and upload it and its history to social media or some other website for posterity?  There certainly are lessons we can take away from the Quilt Projects – lessons which I think do support the need for additional quilt intake and documentation.

Lesson One:  States learned the importance of their own quilts.

One of the main objectives of Kentucky’s Quilt Project was to stave off Kentuckians from selling their family heirlooms to out-of-state quilt dealers or enthusiasts.  Their Quilt Project brought attention to how closely quilts and Kentucky’s history are linked.  When the Smithsonian added the quilts to their traveling exhibit, this only intensified value of Kentucky quilts.  This school of thought bled over into the other state’s projects – remember most, if not all of the other Quilt Projects, looked to Kentucky’s as an example. 

The Kentucky Quilt Project also had an agreement with the press not to publish the names and whereabouts of the quilts.  This prevented quilt owners from being inundated with potential buyers.  Every other quilt project also followed suite. 

Lesson Two:  The Quilt Projects taught people how to take care of their quilts.

Once word was circulated about Quilt Documentation Days, people were pulling their family quilts out of closets, drawers, attics, and basements.  Until this point, most quilt owners (unless perhaps they themselves were quilters) didn’t pay any particular attention to how the quilts were stored.  The Quilt Projects encouraged families to take care of the quilts.  They handed out flyers with information on the proper way to store and clean quilts.  In addition, the NCQP, the TSQA, the KSQP, and the NQP also handed out special quilt labels to go on the quilts, if the owner so desired.  These labels had the project’s documentation information and location of the archives.

Lesson Three:  The Quilt Projects supported the development of the “new” grassroots studies.

The grassroots studies concentrated on the middle- and working-class people, non-whites and minorities, and women as well as men.  These studies often used material items and dealt with the relationship of these items to attitudes.  Quilts were studied for symbolism, representations, and texts within the world they were made.  The grassroots studies pushed for the items to be preserved as they served as documentation of a state’s history and the role women played in this history.  Marsha McDowell, head of the Michigan Quilt Study Project, wrote, “A quilt is a textbook of information…Personal or family history, art, community life, religious beliefs and practices, business and political history…this and more can be gleaned from these textiles, their makers, and their owners.”  It is interesting to note that for many students with an interest in women’s studies, quilts provide nearly the only record left by pre-suffrage housewives and pioneers.

Lesson Four:   Not only were the quilts documented, but many times the Quilt Project served as a permanent home for genealogical records that participants brought with them. 

Many of the quilt projects, but especially the NCQP, encouraged participants to bring written or photographic records which documented the quilts, their makers, and the quilt making.  Kay Bryant, one of the regional coordinators for the NCQP said, “the older ladies were just dying to tell these old stories.”  In many, many ways the NCQP archived not only the women’s creations, but also their voices. 

As quilters, we know what goes into making a quilt – the choices, the decisions, the technique, the hours spent behind a needle or with a needle in hand.  As quilters, we honor each other by complementing each other’s quilts and encircling our quilting families with love and concern.  We value the quilts and the quilters because we know much about each.  But for the nonquilter, this is lost.  It takes something like the Quilt Projects to show how we worked through the social and cultural upheavals in the sixties and seventies…how we dealt with tragedies like the Challenger Explosion and 9/11…how we took up the challenge of Covid.  Quilting, as much as any other art, shows the public how we deal with all life hands us.  It shows them who we are, where we came from, and what we do.

And maybe…just maybe quilting shows people what they could be, if they’d join us, listen to our stories, and realize the power behind holding that needle and thread. 

Until Next Week, Make Your Quilt Yours!

Love and Stitches,

Sherri

This blog is a “Zone of Truth Without Judgement” blog… because today I will be completely honest about some facets of quilting I am not crazy about.  You may like these aspects of quilting better than I do.  However, consider this blog part confessional, part how-to-fix-what-I-don’t-like information.  I hope you use the changes I made as inspiration to alter quilts to suit your taste and your piecing preferences.

Inspiration for this column began with the High Point Quilt Guild’s 2021 Mystery Quilt. 

Confession #1 – I hate mystery quilts.

I realize several of my fellow guild members are regular readers of my blog.  I am not throwing shade, but after I got really “burned” by a few mystery quilts in my quilting career, I made a promise to myself that A) I wouldn’t begin working on one until all the blocks had been released and I had a chance to read through all the directions or B) if this wasn’t an option, I wouldn’t participate at all.  Since the guild wasn’t making us show our completed blocks or block units before receiving the next set of directions, option A was clearly in my path.

Month by month the guild member in charge of this activity faithfully released the block unit directions.  I read each set of instructions carefully and after, oh…around month two, I realized something:  These blocks were heavily pieced.

Confession #2 – I hate heavily pieced blocks.

Please don’t gasp so loudly.  I can hear you all the way in Jamestown, NC.  Let me preference this startling statement with a couple of caveats.  First, yes, I can piece with the best of them – small blocks, medium-sized blocks, and large blocks.  I’ve constructed 6-inch square blocks which contained 48-pieces.  So, it’s not that I can’t piece – it’s that I don’t necessarily like to.  At least not blocks with lots of parts.  My favorite pieced blocks are fairly simple ones, such as Monkey Wrench.  If there’s a large number of pieces in a block, I’d much rather use a little extra fabric and paper piece them – which was not an option with this quilt. 

Unit after unit was revealed and around the third month, I seriously considered putting the brakes on the entire quilt because….flying geese were involved.

Confession #3 – I hate making flying geese.

There.  I said it.  I absolutely can’t stand constructing flying geese.  And I blame the flying-geese-distain on this quilt:

Yes, this is a beautiful quilt, and is absolutely one of my most favorites.  If you can’t tell by looking at it, this is a Judy Neimyer quilt.  It’s called Glacier Star, and I had a blast making it.  The fabric was such fun and such a departure from any color palate I normally undertake.  I loved constructing the center so much I ordered the extensions to make sure the quilt would fit on a bed. 

It never occurred to me that between the quilt center and the extensions, I would make fifty-hundred-eleventy-million flying geese.  And while these geese turned out perfect because they were paper pieced, once the quilt was completed I knew something with complete certainty:  I never, ever wanted to make another flying goose/geese again.

I know, I know.  I know all of you are thinking this is impossible because so many quilt blocks contain flying geese.  I realize that, too.  So I set up a few rules for my flying geese dilemma.  First, I would paper piece the geese as much as possible.   If you haven’t thought about it before, consider this now:  There’s a lot of bias in flying geese.  Either you’re cutting a square to expose bias or you’re working with triangles which have exposed bias.  This mystery quilt had 60 flying geese and it used the no-waste flying geese method, which was fine except for this fact:  No final unit measurements were given.  Which brings us to confession number 4.

Confession #4 – I hate quilt patterns which do not give unfinished unit measurements at each step.

This sounds kind of picky, but if I have to make 60 block units of anything – especially flying geese – I need to know what the unit’s unfinished measurements are.  If the units are too large, I need to trim them down.  If they’re too small, I need to adjust my seam allowances.  And since flying geese have all that bias and tend to turn out a little wonky anyway, I would really like to have the option to make them larger and trim them down. 

This particular pattern didn’t have this information.  Any thoughts of beginning this quilt were quickly looking dubious.

Directions were released each month.  I made a list of the units I enjoyed making: 

Two patches

Four patches

Nine patches

Square-in-a-Square

Quick-corner patches

Corner posts

Somewhere in those units, I knew I could make a quilt – just not the 2021 Mystery Quilt.  I made up my mind I would only use the block units given in the directions and only make as many as required.    I ended up with:

15 nine-patches which were constructed into 15 square-in-a-square blocks

120 four-patches

60 two-patches

60 quick-corner patches

60 corner post patches

Once the units were made, I did something very uncharacteristic of me:  I didn’t make a plan.  I didn’t graph out the quilt.  I didn’t throw everything into EQ 8 to see how it would pan out.  I joined the square-in-a-square blocks to sashing I constructed from opposing quick-corner blocks.   

For the horizontal sashing, I used 3 ½-inch strips and added the four-patches for cornerstones. 

Which left me with a very small-ish rectangular quilt.

To “calm down” all the piecing and to give the eyes a break, I decided to add a 1 ½-inch finished floater out of the ecru fabric.

Then I added a pieced border. 

This pieced border actually used part of one of the blocks in the original quilt (which will be shown later).  Between these and some left-over block units, I was pretty satisfied with the look of the quilt.  Since this border had a lot of pieced units, I decided to add a four-inch border of solid fabric to round the quilt out.  I don’t like sewing on binding to heavily pieced borders (which is what this border is).  All those seams add extra bulk and it’s difficult to achieve a smooth binding.  Plus, the additional border added some height and width to the quilt.

Here is the finished quilt.  It’s a great lap-sized quilt.  I will probably tuck this one away and use it as a gift.  But I still had tons of leftover units.  I had to plan another quilt.   I took some leftover four-inch squares and cut those into triangles.  I joined the triangles to some leftover four-patches to form square-in-a-square block.  Then sewed those together to form a square, and I added a 3-inch border.

At this point, I had a lot of leftover two-patch units.  I joined all these together to make additional four-patches and framed the square-in-a-square block with these and added four red cornerstones. 

Now the center was taking shape, but it was definitely square.  I wanted this quilt to be more rectangular.  I knew in order for this to happen I needed to add border to only the top and bottom of the quilt to lengthen the square into a rectangle.  I took the corner posts and added them to form a top and bottom piano key boarder.

I looked at my pile of leftover block units and saw I still had a lot to sew.  I had 120 2-inch x 3-inch rectangles in my neutral.  I sewed these to my four-patch blocks and made enough to border the right and left sides of the center. 

However, I was still drowning in four-patch units.  After mathing it out, I discovered I had just enough to add one final pieced border to the quilt, and still had four-patches left over. 

To cut down on the bulk of a pieced border, I added a 3 ½-inch solid fabric border in the neutral.  This assured me the binding would go on easy and it made the smaller quilt match the larger one (as for as the final borders go).

Yet, after all of this I still had a handful of four-patches and small neutral rectangles left.  I sewed the rectangles in pairs, which made them the same size as the four-patches.  I alternately sewed the blocks together into a quilt square, which I will use as part of the backing for the smaller quilt.

At this point, these were the only units I had left over — a dozen neutral squares made from the rectangles, four corner posts, and two triangles. 

I couldn’t think of anything to make out of these, and honestly I was done by then.  I tossed these into my circular file. 

So now, I have two quilts and one large quilt block.

If I had followed directions, this is the quilt I would have:

And there’s absolutely nothing wrong with this quilt.  It’s really pretty.  I just wasn’t into piecing all those large blocks.

After 1,500 words, I’m sure you wonder if this blog has a point, other than I have a few areas of quilting I’m not crazy about and decided to take a creative by-pass with this Mystery Quilt Adventure and took you all along for the ride.  Well…yes…I do have a point.  Remember the quilt pattern is just your jumping off point.  If you make all the block units, they will go together in lots of different ways.  I didn’t have to alter any of the original block units in this creative process.  I just played with them until I came up with something I liked, then I sewed it all together. 

Don’t be afraid to toss the pattern.

Don’t be afraid to change things up.

Don’t be afraid to go with your quilting gut.

There are no quilt police.  Just have a good time making your quilts.

Until next week, Make Your Quilt Yours!

Love and Stitches,

Sherri

Now that we’ve talked about the primary types of pins quilters need, let’s look at when to use them.

1. We pin the patches together before we sew them into block units.

For this type of pinning, the glass head, silk pins, straight pins, dress maker pins – almost any straight pin will work except applique and fork pins.  The pin shaft must be long enough so it can be inserted into the fabric like this:

Or this:

And the pin won’t shift.  To be honest, unless my patches are large-ish, I don’t pin at this point.

• We pin block units together before we sew them in to blocks.

Once the block units are constructed, then we begin to sew them into blocks and here’s where your pinning options open up.  Typically – or at least as often as we can – we press our seam allowances in opposite directions so the seams will “nest.”

This process allows the seams to fit snugly against each other, lining up perfectly.  However, as the fabric travels over the feed dogs and under the needle, it can shift a bit, causing the seams to get a bit out of sync.  I will share with you the way I pin my units together.

I start where the seams nest and I pin here.  Even if the unit’s top and bottom look a bit off, this can be “fixed.”  It’s more important the seams meet correctly.  There are three ways this can be pinned at this point.

You can insert one pin in the seam.  This is fairly effective.

You can insert one pin in the seam and two on either side of the seam allowance to make sure the seam doesn’t shift, and then remove the pin in the middle.  The seam won’t budge, trust me.

You can use U-pin.  The seam won’t shift any with this pin.

From the middle, I pin out one way and then the other.

If the top and the bottom of the unit doesn’t exactly come out even, don’t sweat it.  If the amount is small enough you can “fudge it” in your seam allowance, do so.  If it’s too much of a difference, something went wrong in your seam allowance or cutting.  You may want to remake it.  Totally up to you.

The situation changes when you must join multiple seams together.  Stars, compasses, Stack-and-Whacks, and pinwheels all have lots of seams which come together at one point.  It’s easy to have lots of bulk there, making the center impossible to lay flat.  For sake of example, let’s use a pinwheel block.  Despite all the bulk, this is one of my favorite blocks – they’re just happy!  And the first thing to consider with multiple seams isn’t the pinning, it’s the pressing.  It’s super important all the seams are pressed in the same direction – towards the darker fabric if at all possible.  This will help them “nest” and make the process much easier.

Now start with the sub-units.  Join two blocks together.  The way the blocks were pressed should make the seams nest together easily. 

Pin these together the same way you would any nesting seams (pick one of the three methods mentioned in last week’s blog…decide which is your favorite and go with it).  Sew the two blocks together with a ¼-inch seam.  Your intersection should look like the picture below. 

The stitching lines will cross over each other ¼-inch away from the two raw edges of the unit.  Press the seams to one side (towards the darker fabric if possible).  The intersection should match up and look nice and neat

Repeat with the other two blocks, again pressing towards the darker fabric. 

Now comes the tricky part, but if you’ve pressed and pinned correctly, the intersection matches up pretty close to perfect.  Align the two sections together. On the first unit, insert a pin right where the two stitching lines intersect.

Now align the other unit behind the first and insert the tip of the pin right in the intersection for the second unit as shown.  Push the two units together on the pin, but do NOT twist the pin around and try to put the tip back into the unit.

Let the pin stick straight up like a flagpole as shown below.

Now insert a pin just to the left and the right of your “flagpole” pin. If your flagpole pin leans one way or another as you insert the side pins, it means your intersection is shifting. Reposition the side pins to keep the center pin straight.

Once you have the left and right pins in place, you can remove the flagpole pin. Continue pinning the remaining seam allowances together.

Now sew the two units together. As your needle approaches the center intersection, the stitches should cross over the previous stitching lines as shown below. If necessary, use a stylus or sewing stiletto to guide the seam allowance and prevent it from flipping over.

At this point, the center should look great, but there’s still a lot of bulk in the middle to deal with.  There are a couple of ways to handle this mass of seams coming together.  First, you could press the seam open.

This would help distribute the bulk a bit better.   In all honesty, this is my least favorite way to deal with it.  As someone who quilts my own quilts, I have a preference that seams aren’t pressed open, as the quilting action can weaken open seams.  I prefer (as much as possible) to have the seams pressed to one side.  So, here’s how I handle it — carefully remove the stitches from the first two-unit assembly steps, leaving only the last seam that joined the two block halves together.  This will let us “spin” those seam allowances into a mini star on the back side as well, distributing all the extra bulk evenly.

You’ll now be able to press half of the long joining seam in one direction, and the second half in the other, and the center will lay flat! A perfect center, no lump to quilt over, and the seams stay pressed to one side.

Dresden Plates, Compasses, and some Star blocks can be handled in similar fashion.  The trick is to assemble half the block at a time, press the seams in one direction, and pin and sew together.  Release the stitches to relax the center and press.  This works most of the time.  However, with some blocks – especially those with lots of seams coming together like this:

It’s simply better to press the adjoining seam open and deal with any quilting consequences later.  If I was in this situation as a long armer, I’d avoid quilting the center of the block. 

The option of last resort – If you can’t successfully reduce the bulk in the middle and it poufs out –  cut it away.  I have used this technique before in times of sheer desperation.  Let’s take this block for example:

There are a lot of seams coming together in the middle.  Even if you carefully press the seams in one direction and release the stitches where you can, the bulk may be difficult to deal with.  When I’m faced with this situation, circles are my saving grace.  Determine what sized circle would cover the middle and be in proportion to your quilt block.  Construct the circle and sew it over the middle either by hand or machine (if you choose to applique by machine, pin the circle in place or use glue or fusible webbing only on the edges of the circle).  The very carefully, from the wrong side of the block, cut away the bulky middle.  Your block should now lay nice and flat.

• We pin blocks together to make rows (with or without sashing).

Zone of truth right here – if you have vertical sashing between your quilt blocks, sewing the rows together becomes infinitely easier.  There are no seams to match.  You pin the sashing to the right side of a block, sew it on, then sew the next block to the sashing. 

If there is no sashing between the blocks, and seams must match up so the quilt top looks put together correctly, the same rules apply as before.  Press the blocks (as much as you are able) so the seams will nest.  Then use your preferred pinning method for nesting seams and sew the blocks together.

• We pin the rows together to make the quilt center (with or without sashing).

Sewing the rows together to make the quilt center is in many ways similar to sewing the blocks together to make rows.  If the horizontal sashing has no corner stones, cut the sashing to fit, pin in place, and sew it together.  However, because of the length of the sashing in this case, I tend to use fork-pins or Wonder Clips.  Regular pins – such as patchwork – can fall out while sewing on the horizontal sashing.  The Wonder Clips or fork pins tend to stay put.

If the horizontal sashing has cornerstones, press the sashing and cornerstones so the seams will nest with the row of blocks and pin.  In my opinion (and experience), fork pins work best to sew this type of sashing to the rows.  The fork pins will keep the seams nested together, and the pins are better able to support the weight of the rows and sashing without falling out, like patchwork pins would. 

• We pin borders onto the quilt center.  Sometimes there are multiple borders, so we may pin borders to border.

I won’t go into the particulars of how to make sure your borders are the correct size before you cut them out and pin them on to the quilt center.  I do have an upcoming blog on this topic, but if you absolutely need to know now, go here: https://sherriquiltsalot.com/2018/08/15/1959/

Regardless of whether your borders are pieced, solid pieces of fabric, or appliqued, it’s important to follow this process:

1.  Find the center of the quilt top.  Put a pin there.
2. Find the center of the border. Put a pin there.
3. Place the border and the quilt center right sides together, lining up the center pins and pin them together.  Then from this center point, pin the borders on.  I find the fork pins hold the bulk and weight of the quilt center and border the best. 
4. If there are multiple borders, repeat the same process, but find the centers of the borders, pin those right sides together, then pin out from the center.

I hope this blog answers questions about pins and how to use them.  Truthfully, pins are almost an afterthought with a lot of quilters – as long as they have some kind within arm’s reach, everything is fine.  However, having the right pin for the job can make all the difference in the world.  It just makes the task at hand easier. 

If you have a topic you would like for me to explore, please leave a note in the comments.  It may take me a week or two to have a blog about it, but I really do like to write about quilty subjects folks are interested in.

Until next week, Make Your Quilt Yours!

Love and Stitches,

Sherri

I appreciate everyone who reads my blog.  I really do.  WordPress let me know how many people read my blog every day and what country these folks are from.  For those of you who read regularly, I am super-appreciative.  For those of you who read once in a while or find me when you’re researching some quilt issue, I also appreciate you.  Last week I had a reader who requested a blog on pins and pinning.  I love this.  I love when readers ask me to write on certain quilty topics.  If there’s some topic you’d like me to blog on, leave a comment and I promise I’ll get to it.  Keep in mind I usually have three to four blogs ready to publish ahead of what you want.  Your blog topic will come up, but it may be a few weeks. 

I wrote about pins way back in 2017.  In some respects, pins have changed.  I’ve always said one of the best things about quilting is it’s not static.  It doesn’t remain the same.  The field changes.  We get new quilters, new designers, and new tools.  And often, old notions are re-worked into something better.  Pins are one of the tools which has somewhat changed.  However, my theory about non-pinners has not changed.

Let’s begin with a brief history.  Pins were first used (as far as archeologists can tell) in the Paleolithic Era.  They were made from bone and wood.  Lots of these early pins were curved.  Bone and wood gave way to brass and steel, then nickel-plated steel.  The French made the best and finest pins, even though London, England established the first Pinners Guild in 1356.  John Ireland Howe of Connecticut invented the first pin making machine in 1831 and improved it in 1842 to the point three of the machines could spit out 72,000 pins a day. Today we have beading pins, T-pins, U-pins (also called Fork Pins), dressmaker pins, pleating pins, applique pins, lace or bridal pins, patchwork pins, quilting pins, silk pins, pearlized pins, sequin pins, and tidy pins (used to hold things like slipcovers in place).  There are other types of pins, but these are the ones folks who sew know well.  In this blog, since I write about quilting, we will look at applique pins, patchwork pins, quilting pins, dressmaker pins, silk pins, glass head pins, U-pins. and safety pins.  I chose these because they are the ones most used by quilters.    

Before we jump into the pointy world of pins, let me offer a couple of pieces of advice.  First, pins are not expensive.  A quick review of the pin selection on Amazon offers a wide selection, all under $10, and sometimes you get multiple containers of pins for one price.  For this reason, don’t purchase cheap pins – you know, the ones which are fifty cents a pack.  Pins are an inexpensive quilting notion.  You can afford to purchase the “top shelf” brands.  Pins are coated with nickel to prevent rusting, and even though the nickel will eventually flake off, since pinning isn’t permanent, this isn’t too much of a concern.  However, the cheaper pins may have a thinner nickel coating.  They may also not have a sharp point (which is needed for quilting cottons and batiks), and they may be so thick they feel like small nails – which could lead to larger-than-desired pin holes in your quilt. 

Second, you will need more than one pin type in your quilting studio.  I have one type I use more than others, but you do use different types of pins for different applications.  I’ve found giving each type of pin their own pin cushion is a great organizational tool.  This way I know what kind of pin I’m reaching for with a quick glance.

Third, pins do need to be replaced.  We are pretty conscious our sewing machine needles and rotary blades need to be swapped out regularly.  Pins (and hand sewing needles, too) do get dull with use.  Every year or so, treat yourself to some new pins.  Yes, using that emery strawberry on the side of your tomato pin cushion does help sharpen the point a bit as well as remove rust, but pins still should be replaced.  And when you dispose of them, be sure to put them in some kind of container, such as an empty pill bottle.  Don’t throw them in the trash loose.  Someone could get hurt when they dispose of them.  My go-to for this is an empty, clean Parmesan cheese container.  I drop old pins, needles, and dull rotary blades in it. When it’s full, I use packing tape around the top of the container to make sure it won’t come off after I toss it in the garbage.  Another helpful hint:  Keep this container close at hand.  As you pull bent pins out of your pin cushion or other pin catcher, go ahead and toss those in the container. Nothing is more aggravating than trying to work with a bent pin. 

Fourth, don’t sew over your pins.  Most quilting pins are small in diameter, so it’s easy to think they can’t hurt your machine or your needle, but that’s not true.  Sewing over pins can bend or break your needle or make a burr.  I have seen pins jammed into the feed dogs, caused by a combination of speed and the needle hitting the pin at just the right angle.  It’s best to just slow down your sewing, take the pin out, and then continue.  All of that said, now let’s take a look at the different pins used in quilting and how to use them.

Applique Pins

For those of us who applique, these little pins are a Godsend.  While I do use basting glue with some of my applique, there two techniques which are not necessarily basting glue friendly:  needle turn and back basting.  These little pins are perfect for using with those two methods.

Applique pins are smaller both in length and diameter than other types of pins.  In my previous pin blog, I mentioned these pins were generally no longer than ½-inch in length.  This has changed.  There are now longer applique pins – as long as an inch.  Over the course of applique and time, quilters discovered that while the ½-inch pins are great for small-to-medium sized applique pieces, longer pins were needed for larger pieces.  The diameter of these pins has not changed.  It’s still smaller than other pins. 

There’s another characteristic which sets applique pins apart from other pins – their heads.  Applique pin heads are tapered, so your thread won’t get caught around them as you’re sewing.  And don’t let the size of shank fool you.  Despite the fact that these pins look more delicate than standard pins, they can easily go through multiple layers of fabric, making them perfect for multi-layered applications. 

One word of warning – don’t mistake sequin pins for applique pins.  Sequin pins look a great deal like the smaller applique pins, but they’re not the same.  Sequin pins are used for attaching beads and sequins to Styrofoam forms when you’re make Christmas decorations, etc.  The shafts are thicker, and the heads are larger – not a good fit for quilting.

Patchwork Pins

There are a couple of different patchwork pins.  There’s this kind:

And this kind.

Both are patchwork pins, and both are used for the same purposes – holding fabric in place.  These pins are the workhorse of quilters.  When in doubt which pin to use, this is your “little black dress” of quilting:  It will work for almost anything.  Which kind you use is a personal preference issue.  Both have long shafts and a relatively small diameter.  I use the first kind in small blocks.  They’re not quite as long as the other and tend to be easier for me to handle in 6-inch or less blocks. 

The second kind – often referred to as “Flat Head Pins” are a little longer than the first kind, although the diameter is equally small.  Most of the time the flat, plastic disk is round, but I’ve seen them shaped like cats, puppies, butterflies, and flowers.  These pins can serve a couple of other purposes other than holding larger block units or quilt blocks together.  Because the shaft is longer (about 1 ¾-inches), you can easily pin all three layers of the quilt together.  This is helpful if you need to anchor binding or want to pin the quilt sandwich together before quilting.  But this round plastic disk…

Is large enough to write on.  I have a set of these pins that I use to pin my quilt top together.  I used a fine-tip Sharpie to write the row and block positions on – such as 1-3 – which means row one, block three. 

One issue to be careful about when using these pins is heat.  Since the disks are plastic, they can melt and make a mess on your block and your iron.  However, in researching this blog I did find out some pin manufacturers are now making the plastic heat resistant.  Such good news!

Quilting Pins

In all honestly, there isn’t a great deal of difference between Patchwork Pins and Quilting Pins.  Like Patchwork Pins, they have a long shaft, but the diameter is larger, so the pin can handle the bulk of a quilt sandwich without bending.  This larger diameter is the chief difference between the two types of pins.  Quilting Pins are my go-to pin for my Long Arm.  They can handle the bulk of my zippers, the leader, and the quilt back (I float my top) without bending.  I always keep them in a magnetic bowl near my long arm.

Dress Maker Pins

Again with the honesty issue – I don’t use these much, but I’m throwing them in because they’re so easy to find.  Go out of town and forget your pins?  You can find these pins in drugstores, grocery stores, big box stores, and dollar stores.  Sometimes even convenience stores.  They generally are found on the aisle with the laundry detergent or in the basic sewing sections.  They are used to hold light-to-medium weight fabrics together, and they will work fine for quilting if they’re the only pins available.  They tend to be shorter in length than Quilting or Patchwork pins, and the diameter is small – meaning if you’re trying to pin through the quilt sandwich, they are prone to bend.  Do be aware the quality of this pin can vary.  I’ve seen some which could pass for small nails and others whose point wasn’t sharp at all. 

Silk Pins

Silk Pins and Dress Maker Pins are often lumped in the same category, with the names used interchangeably.  The big difference between the two is the shaft’s diameter.  Silk Pins have a bit smaller diameter than Dress Maker Pins.  Otherwise the length is about the same. 

Glass Head Pins

If I was pressed to name a favorite pin, Glass Head Pins would be it.  I was introduced to this pin back in the mid-eighties when I did a lot of lace-shaping for my daughter’s French Heirloom dresses.  These pins are long and small in diameter, but the head is made of glass.  This means the head won’t melt under a hot iron.  So, if you’re pre-shaping your stems or other applique shapes before stitching them down, this is the pin to reach for.  Compared to the other pins, these are a bit more expensive, but worth every extra penny. 

U-Pins or Fork Pins

This pin is one which some quilters always use and must have in their studio. Other quilters could happily avoid for them the rest of their quilting career. The U-pin is like having two pins with one head.  It doubles the pinning security because once you pin anything with one a U-pin, it’s not going to move.

 U-pins are used in many crafting areas, so as a quilter you must be careful to have the right type – otherwise the pin could leave visible holes or not be sharp enough to go through multiple layers of fabric.  I have found these pins handy in two areas.  The first is when you pin your quilt rows together.  No matter whether you’ve sashed or not, no matter how large or small your quilt blocks are, when it comes time to pin the rows together, you’re dealing with bulk and lots of seams.  These pins hold the rows securely together, so there’s virtually no chance of the pins slipping out no matter how long those rows are. 

Pinning nested seams are the second reason these pins are pretty handy.  The whole premise of nesting seams is to make sure the seams of two units or blocks line up and don’t shift.  Placing U-pin so both prongs are on either side of the seam means there will be no fabric shifting at all.  Those seams will look perfect every time.

These pins also are great if you have to pin something together on a flat surface – so if you have to match up stripes, plaids, or checks, this is a great little tool to have in your studio. 

Safety Pins

If you hand quilt or quilt on your domestic machine, you know how handy these pins are.  These are used to hold the quilt sandwich (quilt top, batting and backing) together while you quilt.  If the three layers aren’t somehow held together, they will shift and this makes the quilting process very difficult, if not impossible.  The type of safety pin used doesn’t matter.  The size does.  It has to be large enough to hold all three layers of the quilt sandwich.  So the standard safety pin works fine – usually in size 3.

However, there’s also the quilter’s safety pin.

This has a slightly bent pin which makes it easier to close.

There are also these:

Which I have not tried, but I understand this is a small pin with a thin shaft, but it can hold three layers together well.  The unique characteristic of this pin is you can insert and close it with one hand. The Wonder Pins have great reviews on Amazon and several users stated if you have arthritic hands, this is the pin you need. 

Typically, I don’t use safety pins for quilting since I have a long arm.  Even if I throw a quilt sandwich on my M7 Continental, I generally use basting spray to hold everything together.  However, I recently took a class in reverse applique, and I used safety pins to hold two 36-inch squares of fabric together while I basted them.  I was exceedingly grateful I still had my old safety pins.  The procedure would have been a nightmare if I had to use straight pins – the thread would have caught on the points or pin heads with every stitch.  So, even if you don’t use these pins in the quilting process, hang on to them if you still have them.  They may just come in handy.

Okay, enough on pins and pinning this week. I realize we’ve hit almost 3,000 words and I haven’t mentioned how to pin anything. We’ll pick that up next week.

So until then, Make Your Quilt Yours,

Sherri

Why do you quilt?

Valid question with so many answers.  I quilt because I love the creative process, it puts me in contact with other creative people, and it’s a huge stress reliever.  There’s just something about needle, thread, beautiful fabric, and endless possibilities which excites me.  There are probably as many answers to this question as there are quilters.  Now let me ask you another question:  Could you – or would you – consider making money from your art? 

Now there’s a loaded question that could give some explosive answers.  Obviously, some quilters (as well as other fiber artists) make this transition or else we wouldn’t have the myriads of beautiful fabrics, wonderful patterns, and great magazines, web pages, and books.  Afterall, quilting is a multi-million-dollar industry.  There are quilters who are constantly engaged with manufacturers to produce all the quilty things we love.  And if this process wasn’t successful, all those wonderful quilt shows we adore so much wouldn’t be happening.  So, it’s obvious some quilters do bridge the gap between quilter and quilt entrepreneur quite successfully.   Same thing with long arm artists.  Once they feel proficient in their craft, often they will agree to quilt for others. 

And there’s absolutely nothing wrong with that.

When I began sewing in the early eighties, I wasn’t a proficient quilter.  Yes, I made a quilt or two, but I primarily made garments.  More specifically, children’s garments and (believe it or not) equestrian wear, sorority sweatshirts, and square dance costumes (it’s a long story).  I became fluent in children’s garments because I had two kids, although the journey specifically began with my oldest child, my daughter.  I couldn’t afford to dress her like I wanted to, so I learned to sew.  During the eighties, it was still less expensive to make clothing than purchase it (Target didn’t appear in Greensboro until much later).  I learned to smock and make the heirloom children’s dresses.  Word spread.  Soon I had orders from other mothers and (most often) grandmothers.  Then I was asked to teach smocking and heirloom sewing.  Somewhere in this chaos, the wife of one of my husband’s friends asked if I could hem the pants she wore in horse shows.  From there I made her a jacket.  Then the word spread I could make horse show attire – something I had no idea there was even a market for.  In between English Riding clothes and christening gowns, someone else asked me to make them a square dance skirt and word spread again.   Same thing happened with a local university’s sororities and their sweatshirts. 

Soon my sewing was nearly a second full-time job – which in hindsight was a good thing, because my next child, Matt, was born with severe meconium aspiration.  I won’t go into what a wild rollercoaster ride this was, but one of the end results was I could not put him in any type of childcare until he was two.  Colds, respiratory infections, and the like had to be avoided at all costs. 

Suddenly I was home.  I wasn’t working. But my sewing supplied a stable income with flexible hours.  One day I was working on some super cute overalls, but the pattern’s directions were horrible.  By this time, I had five solid years of garment construction under my needle, but the instructions were still confusing me.  So I did what people did in the days before you could Google a pattern:  I picked up the phone and called the pattern company. I asked for clarification.  Somewhere in the process of being transferred for the umpteenth time, I muttered “I could write these directions so much better.”

To which the final customer-service-representative-with-an-attitude told me (quite snippily), “We have professionals who write our pattern instructions.”

“Well, you need to get other, better professionals,” was my reply.  In my defense, I was tired, had two fussy kids, and was behind the eight-ball with this project.  Needless to say, the call ended.  I still had no better clarification, but customer service no longer seemed to be interested nor did they care. 

Long story short, I went to bed that night angry.  The next day, I got up, caffeinated, and made the overalls. 

Then I re-wrote the directions….

And I sent them to pattern company’s head of customer service, along with a long letter about how their customer service was pretty lousy and so were their directions.

Two weeks later, I get a call from the company.  They want me to re-write some pattern instructions.  They would send me some patterns and a check for fabric.  I could make the garments and then re-write the directions.  Afterwards, I could keep the patterns and the garments.  The company would retain the copyright on the directions, but they would pay me for my time and use of my “sewing studio” (which was a corner of my kitchen).  Nothing to lose, I agreed.  A week later, two boxes of patterns show up at my doorstep. 

I wrote all of this to say one thing:  It’s fine to monetize your quilting if given the chance and you want to.  In my situation, I really didn’t have an option but to sew for money because my family needed my income.  Would I have done the same thing if I didn’t have to?  In all honesty, probably not to the extent I did.  I loved making the christening gowns and seeing the delighted faces when I showed my customers the final product.  I reveled in the fact I made a family heirloom.  However, the deadlines were sometimes difficult to deal with and there always was that one customer, who no matter what you did, you couldn’t make happy. 

Would I monetize my quilting?

No.

I know some of you have taken classes with me, and you know I do get paid for teaching, but I consider teaching quilting a joy and lots of fun.  So, yes, this part of my quilting life is monetized.  However, it’s only a small, small part of what occurs in my quilting life.  So why would I decide to make money on my garment sewing, but not my quilting? 

The first obvious reason, of course, is my financial situation at the time.  We had to be super-careful with Matt the first couple years of his life.  I needed to bring in some kind of income, and God, happenstance, Karma – call it whatever you will – worked out a plan for me to do this.  However, I began seriously and exclusively quilting at a later time in my life – around 1998.  Matt had long been declared perfectly healthy and I was working full-time again.  I didn’t need any additional income quilting could contribute to our household budget. 

The second reason is a little more complex.  I didn’t like what all the pressure and deadlines did to my creativity.  When I made garments for my kids, I could choose my own fabric, my own embroidery or smocking plates, and my own pattern.  The only person I had to please was myself (and the kids, once they were old enough to articulate their preferences).  There was freedom in this – I could stretch my creativity as far as I wanted it to go.  However, after a couple of years of sewing for other people, I felt really stifled.  I was making what everyone else wanted, and even if the product was lovely, it wasn’t what I wanted.

I soon lost my joy of sewing and creating.  I dreaded sewing.  I didn’t want to look at my sewing machine.  I had no desire to stitch a stitch.  And this feeling lingered until the time I went back to work on a full-time basis and told my customers I had constructed their last garment.  My sewing machine basically gathered dust as I came to the realization my children were growing faster than I could sew and clothing purchased at Target had less price points than the ones I made.  I was at a crossroads.  There was a fifty-fifty chance I would sell my machine and all but my very basic sewing supplies or find another sewing project easier to manipulate than garments. 

This is when I began quilting in earnest. People won’t outgrow quilts.  I can take as long as I want to make one.  I determine the colors, the fabric, the pattern, any embellishments, the quilting design, and the recipient (if any).  As the freedom of choice returned to me, so did my creativity.

I learned that, at least for me, monetizing my sewing dumbed myself down.  I was so focused on the sole intent of making money with my craft, I was losing a bit of my magic…my sewing mojo…my precious hobby which kept me sane. So, am I telling you I believe no one should make money from quilting?

Absolutely not.  If no one tried their hand a quilting entrepreneurship, we would be at a loss.  No beautiful quilting fabrics.  No wonderful patterns.  No marvelous quilting teachers with awesome workshops. No nifty quilting notions.  What I am saying is this – there must be balance and sometimes finding that balance is tricky.

If you’re the type of quilter who is perfectly fine trading all your creativity off for cash-in-hand, a full-time quilting business will work wonderfully for you.   But if you’re like me and you need at least twenty minutes a day to turn off your “work” brain and engage your “creative” brain in order to feel your best, having all the creative time sucked out of your life could possibly be emotionally crippling.  This is why “professional” quilters/quilt personalities still find time for their own quilting.  They need this creative space in order to be their best. 

Finding this balance boils down to two motivations described by psychologists – extrinsic motivation and intrinsic motivation.  Extrinsic motivation is the drive to make money and gain achievements.  In other words, an extrinsic quilter would make quilts only for financial gain or to compete and win big prizes in quilt shows.  Intrinsic motivation is the drive to do what you love – not for money, fame, the end result, the finished quilt, or the used-up stash.  Intrinsic is internal.  You’re quilting for the love and joy of the process.  Nothing more.  Nothing less.

Every quilter who becomes proficient in the art usually knows what type of quilter they are – extrinsic or intrinsic.  And there may come a time in your quilt journey when you have to cross from one type to the other because things change, and life has plot twists. Sometimes opportunities present themselves to you which are too good to pass up and you find yourself tiptoeing from one camp to the other.  And I’ll be the first person to tell you, switching camps can really make you grow as an artist.  Don’t shy away from the opportunity. 

Now, after nearly 2,000 words of quilty psychology, let’s get down to brass tacks and talk dollars and cents.  Even the most intrinsic of quilters will probably be asked at some point, “How much would you charge to make me a quilt?”

I will tell you what my standard answer is:  My starting (and I put emphasis on the word “starting”) price is $1,000.00.  I have a good reason for flipping this amount out – I figure if the person wanting the quilt doesn’t run for the hills with a $1,000.00 starting price, we could possibly have a serious talk about me constructing the quilt of their dreams. 

This starting price – and your starting price – should be only for your labor and only for a definite amount of time.  Let’s say your hourly rate is $20 an hour (do not sell your quilt know-how short – don’t go for minimum wage).  When we divide $1000 by $20, the result is 50.  A thousand dollars only covers a 40-hour work week, one additional eight-hour day, and two hours of another day.  Knowing what we know about how long making a quilt can actually take, $1000 doesn’t seem too much to charge, does it? 

The customer should also be part of the price equation.  If you’re lucky, the customer will give you a color palate and you can purchase the fabric, backing, and thread.  Should this occasion arise, be sure to mark up what you spend on these as well as other items purchased for use on the quilt (such as specialty rulers you will probably never use again) by 10%.  Just incase you may feel like balking at this, let me reassure you this is broad industry standards.  My husband and I own an environmental company.  If we are undertaking a time and materials project, all materials we purchased are marked up 10%.  The 10% covers your time and fuel.  I would advise, if the customer wants to choose the fabric themselves, ask if you can go with them.  Many non-quilters have no idea about the type or quality of fabric needed to construct a great looking quilt.

The two last items which need to be considered are deadlines and the complexity of the quilt.    In their defense, most non-quilters have no idea how long it takes to make a quilt.  If the needed-by-date is unrealistic, don’t hesitate to turn the project down.  Explain the process of quilt construction, with a rough working timetable for each, as well as how this wouldn’t fit in your schedule.   The complexity of the quilt also needs to be considered.  Some quilts, such as a double wedding ring, can take weeks to construct, even if all the parts go together well.  And if the quilt pattern is beyond what you’re comfortable with in your skill set, don’t be afraid to say no. 

If you do want to sell quilts, it may be a good idea to have some “stock” quilt patterns – those patterns you know exactly how much time and material they take.  Perhaps have a few choices for baby quilts, wedding quilts, and queen-sized quilts (these are the most used sizes).  If you’ve used the pattern several times, you are aware of how much time it takes to make the quilt.  These would be fairly easy to price. If a customer really wants a different quilt, you can either tell them only those choices are available, or the quilt they want would cost more than your “stock” quilts. 

Be clear about the actual “quilting” part of the process.  If you long arm, use a sit-down machine, or your domestic machine, will that be an additional up-charge?  And if you don’t plan on undertaking any of the quilting, be transparent to your customers about it.  Tell them you don’t quilt the quilt – just construct the top – and they will need to find a long armer.  If you have friends who long arm for profit, you may want to recommend them, or have a list of long armers in your area who they can call. 

Above all else, don’t let anyone “guilt” you into making their quilt.  I’ve had friends and family who have attempted this with me.  They believe because quilting is my hobby and passion, I will jump at the chance to make another quilt at no charge if they supply the fabric and other materials.  I have too many quilts I want to make for me to even let theirs be a blip on my radar.  I know that may sound harsh, but it’s a difficult lesson I learned a long time ago when I made heirloom children’s clothing – they won’t stop with just one.  And if you don’t say no the first time, it’s even harder to say no the second. 

Considering how making garments for others almost completely tapped out my creativity, I don’t think I could ever monetize my quilts.  I won’t even long arm for anyone but myself and I have no plans to  monetize my blog.  However, this may be a good option for you.  Just don’t sell yourself or your talent short.  Both are valuable and precious.

Until Next Week, Make Your Quilt Yours!

Sherri

Heads up about this blog, folks…it’s a Zone of Truth today.  I’ve mentioned Zoom in several previous posts.  I’ve explained about how my local guild operates with Zoom, how I’m able to attend guild meetings with a New York guild, how my beloved Applique Society uses Zoom to bring together appliquers from all over the world, and how I meet with quilters for local and international Sit and Sews via Zoom. Through this modern technology, I now have the wonderful opportunity to join other guilds from all the United States as long as I have the app on my computer, a router, modem, and internet. 

Zoom was the modern miracle which kept us all together when the world was falling apart from Covid. 

I guess what I’m surprised at – where this Zone of Truth is – I don’t understand why more quilters don’t take advantage of quilt workshops and classes offered through Zoom.  I’m not talking about monthly guild meetings, but actual, honest-to-goodness quilt classes — the type which once were only taught at quilt shows, large retreats, or in the instructor’s studio.  Trust me, if you’re not taking advantage of all Zoom has to offer concerning quilt workshops and classes, you are seriously shorting yourself.  These have the best of both worlds to offer, and the fees are not outrageous.  The most I have spent in quilt classes was for on-line long arm classes.  The price for these cost me some serious coinage, but the cost included the kit (which contained silks), thread, and two classes a month for six months, and  the class was videotaped.  These tapes are on a teaching platform I can access for the rest of my life.  So the price I paid verses what I received in return was more than a win-win ratio for me.

In many ways (at least in my opinion),  Zoom classes are better than in-person instruction.  First, Zoom has brought quilting teachers from all over the world right to your device.  I’ve taken classes with English, Canadian, Spanish, French, Australian, and New Zealand instructors.  Without Zoom, I would have never been able to do this.  The expenses of travel, lodging, and instruction to six countries would be prohibitive.  But thanks to the internet and PayPal, I can point, click, and then have a front row seat with some of the best quilting teachers in the world.  Which brings me to the second way Zoom classes are awesome…

You literally have a front row seat.  Seriously.  These quilting teachers have pretty much perfected their on-line instruction.  Quite often they work from three or four cameras, switching between them so you’re able to see what they’re doing up close – no crowding around the instructor and her sewing machine, hoping you can get a good view of what’s going on. 

The third reason on-line classes are great is you don’t have to pack up to attend the class or leave it.  I don’t care how careful I am, it seems I always forget something when I have to go to a class.  And it’s just as easy to leave something behind when you pack up to leave.  There’s none of that worry with a Zoom class.  I can’t begin to tell you how wonderful it is to simply walk across my studio and retrieve a tool or a piece of fabric I need.  And once the class is over, I simply put everything away.  There’s no unpacking. 

So how do you find these wonderful on-line instructors?  Most  of the well-known quilting writers/designers/instructors offer Zoom or Zoom-type classes.  Find their website and quite often you’ll come across what they offer and when it’s offered.  Many quilt organizations, such The Applique Society, offer workshops through their organization with well-known and talented instructors.  The Quilt Show offers classes, too.  It may take a bit of searching and some Googling, but there are classes out there for almost every aspect of quilting. 

With all of that said, in some ways an on-line class is no different than an in-person one.  You can’t just show up, turn on your computer, and log-in.  There’s a bit more to it than that.  After you pay your class fee, you are usually given a supply list.  Sometimes this is emailed to you, sometimes it’s on the website where you signed up.  It’s important you have this.  Read through the list and note if there are items on it you don’t have in your studio.  If there are supplies you need, don’t wait until the day before class to get them.  With our supply chain still under stress, it’s not as easy as it was a few years ago to waltz in your LQS or big box store and find everything you need.  Some supplies may have to be ordered, so be sure to allow time for shipping. 

Personally, I always prep for any class a week out  — whether the class is in-person or on-line.  Read through the class instructions.  Some teachers want the fabrics prewashed.  Others may not.  If any prewashing, starching, cutting, or marking needs to be done, do it then.  This allows you to read the directions thoroughly and make sure all the correct steps are taken.  You’ll also find out if there are items you need you didn’t anticipate, such as new rotary blades or thread conditioner.  In addition to this, I make sure I complete a few extra steps normally not listed in class directions.

1.  If the class involves machine piecing or my long arm, I always wind extra bobbins before the class starts.  Classes don’t move so fast you couldn’t possibly stop and wind a bobbin, but it’s just easier to grab a wound bobbin, drop it in your bobbin case, and keep moving.  Then you don’t feel rushed to try to make up for the time spent winding the bobbin.
2. Thread your hand sewing needles.  Under normal circumstances, I have no issue getting the thread through the eye of a needle.  But throw the fact I’m in class with this action, and I can’t do it to save my life.  I feel too rushed, the eye of the needle is too small, or I can’t find the needle.  It saves time if you can have your hand sewing needles threaded and ready to go.
3. Arrange the sewing area into a U-shape, if possible.  Ideally, I like to watch my classes on an iPad.  This is the best way, I think, because there are stands such as this: 

For an iPad.  This can be set directly in front of your sewing machine, at eye level, so you can watch the Zoom class while you sew.  If I can do this for any class I take involving my sewing machine, it keeps me from turning to my left or right to view a laptop.  Then on the left-hand side of my machine, I have my pressing station, and on the right-hand side I have my cutting area.  I don’t have to get up and move to any other part of my studio while the teacher is instructing us.  I set up the same way if I’m taking a hand piecing or a hand applique class. 

•  Make sure all the standard sewing tools and any specialty tools needed for class are nearby.  Keeping all of those together cuts down on frustration when you can’t find something.
• If there is a pattern or a book involved with the class, be sure to read through it before the date of the workshop.  If the teacher has written a book on the same topic as your workshop, usually the book is a great investment, even if it’s not required.  The book gives you two advantages:  First, it’s a wonderful way to get to know the instructor.  It gives you an idea about how he or she may pace the class, what will be emphasized, what kind of sense of humor the teacher employs, and what parts he or she is a real stickler about.  Second, it lets you know if any additional tools may be good to have on hand, even if they’re not listed on the supply sheet. 

If a pattern is required for the class, reading through the pattern does the same thing, with one additional caveat:  it allows you to know ahead of time if you want to construct every part of the pattern the same way class calls for it to be made.  If you quilt for a while and try out different techniques for basic block units, I guarantee you this will happen – you’ll discover a construction method you will not compromise on for any class with any instructor.  For me, you cannot beat making four patches via the strip-pieced method.  I’m good at it, I’m fast at it, and I’m extremely accurate with it.  If a pattern calls for four-patches, this is the way I will make them unless there’s a very good reason for me not to.  I have similarly strong feelings about flying geese and half-square triangles. 

•  Check your rotary blades and your sewing machine needle.  If either or both are dull, change them.  And if the class calls for a particular type of thread which needs a particular type of needle, make sure that sized needle is already in your machine before class starts. 
• A small design wall comes in handy.  I make sure mine is close by in case I need it for class. 
• Make sure you have food and drink nearby.  If you’re taking a class which is several hours long, lunch can be a toss up.  Some teachers I’ve had incorporate a designated lunch break for students (around 30 minutes).  Others don’t.  If you don’t see it indicated somewhere in the class information, assume there isn’t a lunch break.  If the class is a morning one, and you need a warm caffeinated beverage to assist you with your alertness, you may want to pour that pot of coffee or tea in a thermos or carafe and have it in your studio.  I make sure I have several bottles of water nearby (stay hydrated!) and some high-protein snacks as well.  If there is a designated lunch, I make a sandwich or fix a salad before class starts and have it ready to go.  I have learned if there is a lunch period, many of the students hang out on the Zoom class and eat together.  It’s a great way to make new friends. 
• Make SURE your viewing device is fully charged.  Most of the time, a fully charged device is good for a class which is a few hours.  However, as a backup, it’s a good idea to have your chargers nearby and be able to plug them in without disrupting your classroom experience. 
• Remember to stand and stretch.  Sitting for hours at a time is hard on your body.  If you find your once-comfy sewing chair becoming uncomfortable, a cushion can be helpful, also. 

By now, most of us have used Zoom or at least have more than a passing knowledge about it.  If you need a refresher before your class there are lots of YouTube videos which explain the process.  However, just like at an in-person class, there are some etiquette guidelines to follow – and the first one is how the teacher wants questions asked.  Some teachers are fine with you speaking up and asking while the class is conducted.  Others want you to put your questions in the chat module.  If this isn’t indicated in the class information, ask this question before the teacher begins instruction.  Second, mute yourself (if the instructor doesn’t) when class starts.  No matter how much and how often you’ll tell the people you live with you have class, you’ll get interrupted, and the other folks don’t need to hear those conversations.  Likewise, your cell phone may ring.  And here’s a helpful hint:  if your bandwidth is giving you issues, muting your mic and turning off your camera can sometimes give it a little bit more room and help your viewing situation to run smoothly. 

Fourth – and this one is really important – Don’t try to video tape the class via the Zoom option or with your cell phone.  Doing this had never even filtered through my mind, because I know these workshops and classes are one of the ways our quilt instructors/teachers put food on their tables and pay their bills.  However, not-so-long ago, I took a class from an internationally known long arm artist and she requested we leave our video on at all times.  Being curious, I asked her why.  She told me previously she had allowed students to keep their cameras off if they wanted, but then she found out one of her students turned their laptop camera off, but video taped the entire class on their cell phone and then loaded it all up on YouTube!   Having the students keep their cameras on during class prevented this from happening again.  Unless the instructor has given you express permission, don’t video any of the workshop.

Finally, be forgiving.  In many ways, Zoom classes are no different from in-person classes.  Accidents happen. There are delays.  With Zoom or any internet classes, connections can be faulty, equipment can balk at the worst times, and cameras can fall off their stands.  Most teachers are prepared for this and can quickly get class back on track.  However, none of them have control over the internet providers.  Sometimes connections can get sketchy.  I’ve had classes completely rescheduled because of this.  Just keep in mind all of us are human and there’s only so much we can do.  But I will add this – in my experience, disruptions such as bad internet connections rarely happen.  Overall, I would give all of my Zoom/internet class experience a solid 98.

That’s it.  This is my Zone of Truth for today.  Take a Zoom class or find an internet class which interests you.  Maybe start with a one-day class which only lasts a couple of hours, then take a longer one. If you don’t try one of these wonderful quilting options, you’re missing out on some awesome learning experiences – trust me on this one.

Until Next Week, Make Your Quilt Yours!

Love and Stitches,

Sherri

I’ve written a blog for a good while now.  I looked at my older blogs (quilteratheart.blogspot.com) and those go back to January 2011.  In short, I’ve blogged about quilts, quilters, and quilting for nearly 12 years. That’s a lot of words, a lot of stitches, and a whole lot of fun.  I’m not about to quit now, but at this point after so many years, I’m bound to repeat myself. And this is one of those blogs. 

In a way, I think this is natural.  Quilting isn’t static.  New tools, new fabrics, and new technologies are always in play in our art form.  Couple those with the fact quilters as a whole are highly innovative and are constantly developing new techniques and you’ve got continuously changing craft.  Which brings me to this week’s topic:  Curves.

I promised a blog on this a few weeks ago and after the marathon two-parter on guilds, I knew I needed to get back to a “how to” blog, as these tend to interest the majority of my faithful readers (of which I am incredibly thankful for).  However, as I was putting in my rough outline, there was this niggling feeling in the back of my mind: Hadn’t I already written a blog on this?  And wasn’t it fairly recent?  Or did I just think I wrote a blog on curves because I felt I needed to write a blog on curves and my subconscious was throwing me a curveball about the whole curvy blog situation?  This was what was running through my over-active brain about 3 a.m.

Seriously.

So, after pouring myself a cup of coffee this morning and grabbing a half of a bagel, I did a Google search on my blog sherriquiltsalot.com and curves.  Sure enough, there it was:  November 25, 2020 – How to Handle Your Curves (https://sherriquiltsalot.com/2020/11/25/how-to-handle-your-curves/).  It’s almost two years old, and everything that I wrote then applies now.  However, I have learned a few more tricks I want to share with you.  I suggest if you haven’t read that blog (or can’t remember it), go and give it a quick read.  It reviews the way I handle curves and my techniques haven’t changed that much.  What I would like to do with this week’s blog is expound on some of those methods and make them easier for you. 

I love quilts with curves.

For me there’s something very soothing in gentle curves.  It allows the eye to freely travel over the quilt top, viewing each block.  Gentle curves are my favorite, not only because they’re easy to piece, but also because I think they’re more attractive. 

The smaller, tighter curves almost demand the eye follow them across the quilt.  They make your line of vision move fairly quickly.  I also think the tighter curves have endless possibilities as far as quilt blocks go.  I’ve used the tighter curves to make birds, entire circles, and all sorts of “joiner” blocks or block units.  In general, I’m talking about this little block:

This block is known as Drunkard’s Path, and my November 2020 blog goes into the history of this little square.  It can be used by itself or as a block unit in a larger block.

Before we jump into what I’ve learned since 2020, let’s review a few of the basic guidelines concerning curves.

1.  Starch or Best Press #2 is your quilting BFF for this block.  Because both pieces of Drunkard’s Path employ curves, you’re constantly dealing with bias.  To keep the bias stable so it doesn’t stretch hopelessly out of shape, liberally spray your fabric with either starch or Best Press #2 before cutting, no matter if you prewash or not.  I’ve found several applications of either work best.  Lightly spray the fabric, then press in with a hot, dry iron.  Do this several times until the fabric almost feels like paper.  Don’t try to perform this step with one heavy application of starch or Best Press #2.  Soaking the fabric with either and then trying to press it dry only results with lots of flaking. 
2. You will work with templates.  If you want to trace around your templates and then cut them out with scissors, make sure your marking tool doesn’t drag across the fabric and your scissors are sharp.  If you’re using acrylic templates and a rotary cutter, a smaller cutter (such as a 28 mm) works better than a larger one.  Make sure your blade is sharp and doesn’t drag across the bias.
3. If traditional piecing is the technique you want to use, be sure to pin, pin, pin.  Judiciously.  Please read my November 2020 blog for more information on this.
4. When it comes to sewing the two pieces of fabric together, remember two things:  First, speed is not your friend.  Sew slowly.  Sometimes a walking foot works better for Drunkard’s Path than a traditional quarter-inch piecing foot, as it feeds both pieces of fabric evenly over the feed dogs and under the needle. Second, you may find a scant ¼-inch seam allowance is easer to control than the full quarter inch.

With the basics covered, let’s move onto what I’ve learned since the first blog. 

Glue is a viable option for pins.  That’s right.  Basting glue can be substituted for pins.  If you hate stopping and starting during the sewing process (because you shouldn’t sew over pins), you may want to try glue basting the two pieces of the Drunkard’s Path together instead of pinning.  It takes a bit of patience and some good basting glue (such as Roxanne’s Glue Stick), but this works well for curves, especially the gentle ones.  I have used it for tighter, smaller curves, but honestly, it sometimes takes longer to glue baste these tiny curves than it does to pin them.  You have to decide which you detest more – sewing over pins or spending more time on glue basting.

Correct pressing is incredibly important.  Remember in my 2020 blog, I named the two pieces of the Drunkard’s Path.  This is “pie”:

And this is a la Mode:

In nearly every Drunkard’s Path block, you press towards the “a la mode” piece, even if this piece is a lighter colored fabric than the “pie.”  If the curve is super-tight, you may find snipping the curve helps the pressed seam lie flat.  However, there’s also this pressing tool:

This is called a tailor clapper.  If you may remember this semi-obscure sewing tool if you took tailoring or home ec.  Your mother or grandmother may have had one in their sewing or ironing space.  And if you’re thinking, “Hey, that’s just a big block of wood!”  you would be absolutely correct.  A clapper works by quickly dissipating the heat from a freshly pressed seam.  Once the seam is pressed, run the clapper over top of it.  Because the wood rapidly dispels the heat, the seam lies flatter than if you allowed it to cool on its own.    I’ve found using a clapper on a Drunkard’s Path seam results in a smoother, flatter seam without snipping any fabric.

There are options other than templates.

If you have a computerized fabric cutter, such as a Brother Scan and Cut, downloadable templates are available for Drunkard’s Path.  This method requires some additional fabric prep, and you can only cut so many at a time, but the trade-off is both block unit pieces are extremely accurate.  Plus there’s no tracing and cutting on your part or dealing with pushing a rotary cutter around curvy acrylic templates.  Likewise if you have an Accuquilt cutter – it has Drunkard Path dies.

Remember applique – by either hand or machine – is always an alternative.

The Drunkard’s Path block is only two units, but those units are curved.  If you machine piece them, you’re placing a concave curve to a convex curve, pinning or glue basting like crazy, and then sewing them together. This takes time and patience.  And while gently sloping curves aren’t too difficult and neither are large Drunkard’s Path blocks, I find myself using a different technique if the blocks are smaller than 6-inches and/or has a tight curve – applique by machine or by hand.    Truthfully, hand appliqueing the curves takes no longer than machine piecing. I think raw-edge applique may be the quickest way to make Drunkard’s Path blocks and gives the least headaches! 

I hope this additional information for managing your curves is helpful.  The longer you quilt and the more you’re exposed to different technique and tools, the more you find yourself changing up the way you make your blocks and quilts.  I think I may comb through some of my older blogs and give a few updates on them.  There are some older techniques I seldom use any longer.  The quilting field is always changing and evolving.  It always has and always will.  Embrace the change.

I do realize other quilts have curves – such as the Double Wedding Ring.  Even though those curves are a bit different from the curves of Drunkard’s Path, quilters must remember this:  A curve is a curve, regardless of the block.  All curves can be handled the same way (although I don’t think I would applique the rings of the Double Wedding Ring Quilt – that would look a bit odd to me).

For those of you who have sent messages and emails concerning my COVID diagnosis, I do have an update.  The doctor did give me a prescription cough medicine and orders to rest as needed and not push myself.  He also told me to return to his office in two weeks if I was not better.  Thankfully, the cough medicine was a miracle worker and did the trick.  The fatigue is almost all gone, so I think I can safely say I don’t have the Long Haul Covid.  However, this new strain going around is something.  If I did not know I had been exposed, I honestly would have thought for the first couple of days I just had a bad head cold. Ya’ll take care of yourselves!

Love and Stitches,

Sherri

Last week I discussed what quilt guilds were and what they weren’t   We talked a little bit about how they operate and how guilds differ from other quilting groups.  This week, I still want to highlight quilt guilds, but this time I want to tell you how you can benefit from joining a guild.  After all when you join a guild, dues are paid.  It’s important to know what you’ll get out of those dues.  And in the spirit of transparency, these points are subjective – they’re certainly things I’ve received from the guilds I belong to, and I have no reason to doubt other guilds aren’t at least similar.

You establish friendships with people who have the same passion as you do. 

If you join a quilt guild, you will not only be amongst folks who love quilting as much as you do, you will also find quilters at all different levels – beginning, intermediate, advanced, and a special group I call “The Grand Dames of Quilting” – those quilters who have quilted long enough they can look at a quilt and not only tell you how to make it, but also have expert skill in every area needed to make the quilt. 

Also in complete transparency, I can tell you my fellow guild members are some of my closest friends.   As you talk about your shared passion of quilts and quilting, you get to know each other on other levels, too.  And these friendships – across all levels and types of quilters – are priceless.

Belonging to a guild makes you a better quilter.

Remember how I discussed in my first blog that the show and tells are phenomenal?  Yes, they are inspiring and breath taking and encouraging (I’ve never heard a quilter criticize another quilter’s quilt at show and tell — it’s all remarkably supporting), but viewing those quilts somehow makes you want to become a better quilter. 

Likewise the educational programs push you in directions you may have never thought about undertaking as a quilter.  Not once did I ever think I would make an art quilt, but after a couple of guild programs on that genre, I tried one.  I found out I not only love looking at art quilts, but I have a great time making them.  They are so creative, and you can use just about any technique.  If my guild had not offered educational programs on art quilts, I may not ever had attempted one. 

There’s access to swaps, raffles, and free tables.

In my opinion, one of the best things about guild meetings is the free table.  Each month, members can bring sewing related items they no longer use, want, or need: fabric, patterns, thread, books, magazines, etc.  These are put on the free table and guild members (and their guests) can shop the table and take anything they want for free.  Those items left over at the end of the meeting are donated to Good Will or another charity. 

This is great!  It keeps items out of the landfill and allows folks to clean out unwanted items.  And what you may no longer need may be the exact item someone else does!

Swaps are a little different and generally involve fat quarters, fabric squares, blocks, or 2 ½-inch strips.  The best way I can define this for you is to give an example.  Let’s say the guild announces it will have a fat quarter swap.  Those members who want to participate sign up.  For the sake of example, let’s say 10 guild members sign up, including you.  At the next guild meeting you bring 10 identical fat quarters. Every other member also brings 10 fat quarters. These can be pulled from your stash or purchased.  Each of the other nine participates receive one of your fat quarters and you keep one for yourself.  At the end of the meeting, you leave with nine fat quarters (one from each of the other folks), as well as the one of your own you kept for yourself.  My favorite swaps are quilt block swaps.  A quilt block (such as a nine-patch) in a designated size would be announced.  Each member would make enough blocks for their swap.  It’s amazing the variations you can get, and it’s so much fun figuring out how to use them.

Raffles are a great way to have a chance at winning some quilt related items at a very low cost.  Someone in the guild will put together a basket with quilting supplies, or perhaps offer a nice gift certificate to a local quilt shop.  You can purchase tickets (usually at $1 per ticket) for a chance to win the item.  If you’re ticket’s drawn, it’s yours!  If not, you’re out very little cash.  Usually all monetary proceeds from the raffle go into the guild’s general fund to support programs. 

You have opportunities to participate in challenges and contests.

Once in a while, the guild president or executive board will issue a challenge.  Sometimes this challenge can be as simple as incorporating the guild logo into a quilt.  Other times, it’s a bit more difficult.  For example, the High Point Quilt Guild just had an ugly fabric challenge.  A fabric store gave our guild several yards of…well…not-so-attractive fabric.  Unsure of what exactly to do with this…gift… the executive board issued an Ugly Fabric Challenge.  The yardage was divided into fat quarters and given to those members who wanted to participate.  The fabric had to be incorporated into a quilt or quilted item.  However, to make this challenge more challenging, there were rules:

1. It must be a “traditional” quilt – it should have a top, middle and back.
2. At least 30 percent of the quilt must use the fabric given out for the challenge. 
3. The challenge fabric cannot be used as the binding or backing.
4. The quilt can be no larger than 42-inches by 42-inches and no smaller than 24-inches x 24-inches. The measurements can fall anywhere in these parameters (in other words, it could measure something like 30-inches x 24-inches). 

Challenges are great and they force you out of your quilting comfort zone.  They are fun and make you a better quilter.  And this was the winning quilt constructed by my good friend, Karen. The ugly fabric was the material used to make the purple flowers (imagine yards of this…Oy-vey).

Sometimes guild will hold contests.  These work like challenges.  The president or board gives a theme for quilts and a deadline.  Quilts are turned in, judged (usually by the guild members casting votes) and prizes are given.

There’s lots of inspiration and quilt education.

I’ve mentioned before the show and tells at guild meetings are so inspirational.  This really helps keep your creative juices flowing.  Guild meetings are also educational.  Sometimes there are speakers who will discuss their area of expertise – color theory, accurate piecing, applique – the list of topics is endless, and with Zoom now firmly in place with most guilds and teachers, guilds can book speakers from literally all over the world. 

A guild membership may also net you a percentage off at your local LQS.

Many LQS’s offer a percentage off to shoppers who show a valid guild membership card.  Usually this is 10 percent.  Local quilt shops do this to build good will with local guilds.

If there’s a quilt retreat involved, it’s worth the membership.

In my previous blog about guilds, I mentioned how wonderful these events are.  Seriously.  Trust me.  If you find a local guild who offers a yearly quilt retreat, take advantage of it.  You won’t be disappointed.

Realize guild meetings have changed.

Zoom has changed the way guilds meet.  Some guilds have gone to Zoom only meetings, and then break out into smaller groups to meet in person for sit and sews.  Some guilds have their major monthly meeting on Zoom and then hold their business meeting in person.  Some guilds have a hybrid meeting – you can meet in person, but it’s also broadcast via Zoom.  And some guilds are like my local guild – during daylight savings time we meet in person, but when the time changes we revert to Zoom.  This is helpful to our older members who don’t like to drive at night.

And while Zoom is great for guild meetings, it’s also great for quilters who would like to join a guild but either don’t have a local one or the guild they would like to join is too far away to drive to.  Now instead of guild membership being comprised of only locals, folks from all over the world have the potential to join your guild. 

No spouses, no kids.

I do realize there are exceptions to this.  My High Point Guild has a lovely couple who quilt together.  But for the most part, a guild meeting is a couple of hours where you’re with people who share your passion, and the spouse and kids are at home.  This option, for a lot of people, is a great reason to join a guild

So, you ponder what I have written and decide to join a guild.  You’ve paid your dues, and you’ve received your membership card.  Now what?  As a founding president and past president of a guild, I can tell you membership has its rewards, but it also has some responsibilities:

• Remember dues are paid annually. 
• Be there for guild meetings – either online or in person.  Don’t just attend when the speaker is interesting.  There is a lot of work on the part of the executive board to produce interesting meetings which are also a lot of fun.  Support your guild and your executive board by showing up.
• Volunteer to serve on committees.  This is a great way to show support for the entire guild and a great way for you to learn how things operate –which you should.  You’ve paid dues to join, it’s only prudent you understand how and why the guild operates the way it does.  Believe me when I tell you the guild officers are always looking for folks to serve on committees.  They will welcome you with open arms.
• Hold an office.  Not right away, of course, but plan at some point in the future to hold an office.  One of the biggest gripes I heard when I was president of the High Point Guild was this: “The same group of people are always in charge!”  Know what?  It was the same group of people who always volunteered.  After you attended meetings for a while and worked on a committee, run for office.  It doesn’t have to be the presidency.  There are other elected offices.   
• Plan to participate.  I realize folks can’t be at every guild event.  Life happens.  Sometimes there are vacations and sickness and other events beyond your control.  However, as much as you are able, plug into workshops, charity sews, retreats, etc.  You’ll learn a lot about guild members you don’t know, as well as show your support.
• If you’re in a position of leadership, plug new people in.  The longer new guild members just sit in a chair at a meeting, the harder it will be to get them active.  Ask them to serve on a committee or help with some event.  This will make them feel wanted (as they should be, because they are) and this encourages them to keep coming back to meetings and participating.
• BE FRIENDLY.  I cannot emphasize this enough. It’s easy to “group off” at guild meetings.  You see your friends and you want to get caught up.  This is natural and it should happen.  But greet other members and especially speak to new people.  This is so important.  I can personally relate to this.  Back in the early nineties I was a new quilter.  The school secretary where my kids attended found out.  It happened this woman was an avid quilter and belonged to (at that time) the only guild in Guilford County.  She invited me to attend.  I did so eagerly, thinking I would have a chance to meet other quilters and learn new things.  Know what happened?  No one – not one person – at that meeting spoke to me.

I never went back.  It left such a bad taste in my mouth that I rarely even attend this guild’s quilt shows. 

• Be encouraging.  When show and tell is presented, compliment the quilter.  Thank the speaker.  Support the executive board and president.
• If you have an idea, have a follow through.  It’s great to have ideas, and believe me, your guild’s board wants to hear them.  However, what will make your idea become reality is to have a rough plan on how to make it work.  It will help the other guild members “see” what your plan is and how it will be successful.  The guild certainly won’t expect you to handle everything yourself, but it will help them see the resources the guild will need to make it happen.  Plus, it will get members excited about your idea.

Okay, so what if there’s no local quilt guild near you and you would really like to have one?

Form one!

It’s not too difficult and you don’t need a large group of quilters to start.  I had a hand in starting the High Point Quilt Guild, so I would like to walk you through the steps we took to form our guild.

Our guild began from a group of quilters who met at a Tuesday night sit and sew.  We had enough interest to form a guild within this group, but before we called our first organizational meeting, this group did some leg work.

We started by contacting some existing guilds and asked them for a copy of their bylaws, amendments, and newsletters.  Once they understood what we were undertaking, the older guilds were happy to share their knowledge and experience.  Most guilds have a webpage, and often these items are on it.  We also talked to other guild members about how much they charged for dues, how they handled their finances, what kind of charity work they undertook, and how they found speakers. 

While some of us were taking care of this, another group was looking for a meeting place and placing notices in local quilt shops, fabric stores, community centers, hobby shops, and churches.  We also established a social media presence.  Once we had most of this nailed down, we called a community meeting to establish the guild.  I was hopeful we would have a dozen or so folks attend.

The room was packed.

Because the initial group was well-prepared by this point, we adopted bylaws and elected officers that same night.  From there, we began meeting monthly.  After the first few months, we established our charity program and before long we had our first quilt show.  This was over ten years ago.  Our guild has changed – our current membership doesn’t look much like the initial membership – but our commitment to our charity quilt program and educational outreach remains strong.  We learned to bend with circumstances (like introducing Zoom when Covid hit).  We’re committed to each other and work hard to make our guild a success. 

So if you’re thinking about forming a guild, this may be the plan you want to follow.  However, there are also some additional questions and ideas your group will need to ponder.

1.  Will guild file to be a 510C3?
2. Will the guild be opened to everyone, or will we limit membership? 
3. Will the guild operate under a primary purpose (such as charity quilts) or will it have several areas of purpose?
4. Where will your meetings be held?  It works best if you can find a central location
5. How many times a month will you meet?  Once a month and have the business meeting part of the guild incorporated into the regular meeting or have the business meeting separately?  Will you hold one meeting during the day and another at night? 
6. What time will meetings be held?
7. What types of programs will interest members?  It’s a good idea to know if your members are primarily beginners or intermediate at this point.  Block-of-the-month, secret sister, challenge blocks, row-by-rows, round robins are all programs most skill levels enjoy. 
8. It’s a good idea to have some outside speakers come in, but also know and utilize the talent in your group.
9. Plan to adapt the bylaws and amendments in a speedy manner, as well as elect officers early on.  If the membership votes to become a 510C3, begin the filing process.  You must register with the state you form in first before you can begin filing with the IRS.  Once you’ve registered with your state, you have over a year to file with the IRS (which gives you time to fund raise for the fee the government charges). 
10. Decide on what the annual dues will be and what they will cover.  Will dues cover speakers and administrative only, or will the charity quilt program also have a line item in the budget?  Will workshops and retreats be paid for by additional fees charged to members or will the guild absorb some of this expense? 
11. There are other guild officers besides the president, vice-president, secretary, and treasurer.  Other positions which should be considered are program director, librarian, newsletter editor, historian, charity quilt coordinator, community education outreach director, and membership.  Not all of these have to be elected positions.  Your guild may decide to set some of these positions up as committees and the elected board can ask people to serve on them.  I do like the way our guild has set up the president/vice president offices.  The vice president automatically succeeds the president, which gives our guild some continuity. 
12. Always remember Zoom has opened up a lot of doors for guilds.  Make it work for you, too.

If you’re not a member of a guild, I hope these two blogs have given you some ideas about how guilds operate and why they’re really good organizations to belong to.  Quilt guilds work hard to be a bright spot in their community and in the lives of area quilters.  If there’s a guild near you, I encourage you to check them out and join.  And once you join, plan to contribute.  And if there’s no guild near you, but you want to form one, I hope I’ve given you enough direction to begin the process. 

Until next week, Make Your Quilt Yours!

Love and Stitches,

Sherri

Today I want to go back and explore a sub-topic introduced in my blog on 1970 quilts (https://sherriquiltsalot.com/2022/06/18/those-groovy-1970-quilts/).  Towards the end of it, I mentioned the folks who became quilters during this decade formed our quilt guilds.  It’s this group – the guilds – I want to focus on this week:  What is a quilt guild, what’s not a quilt guild, and why these guilds are beneficial to quilters. 

Let’s start by taking a look at the history of quilt guilds.  Historically, guilds have been around for hundreds of years.  Guilds were groups of craftsmen and artisans who met together for the purpose of safeguarding their craft or trade.  Each group had certain standards for their members and if you hired one of these craftsmen to do a job, the project was completed thoroughly and accurately.  A craft guild guaranteed a certain quality of work.  Sometimes these guilds even had uniforms or “dress codes” for their members, which meant you knew who belonged to what guild on sight. 

 Each occupation had its own guilds.  There were guilds for masons, brick layers, stone cutters, butchers, etc.  These groups weren’t like our modern labor unions, but they did protect their craft and their membership.  Quilt guilds – or at least quilt guilds as we know them – really didn’t form until the late 1970’s.  You must understand where these seventies quilters were historically.  Quilting took a hit in popularity from 1940-ish until the mid to late sixties.  As more and more women entered the workplace, they had less and less time for quilting.  The 1970’s ushered in a renewed interest in all handcrafts and the Bicentennial’s emphasis on early American arts such as quilting, pushed our craft back into America’s consciousness.  An entirely new group of people became interested in quilting, and by the end of the decade they had become extremely proficient in the art.  As a result, the seventies transformed quilting almost as much as the 1930’s.  New tools, new fabrics, and new quilting standards were embraced.   As the eighties dawned, these now-proficient quilters realized two things.  First, they had to teach the next generation of quilters, and second, these beginning quilters needed time to meet with the advanced quilters to learn the art, be supported, and have the same type of fellowship the 1970’s quilters had.  As a matter of fact, two of the larger quilt guilds in my area were formed in 1981 and 1982, directly as a result of the 1970’s quilt revival. 

The outcome of the 1970’s quilt revival was two different types of quilt groups.  There were bees and sit and sews, and then there were quilt guilds. Both types of these groups are beneficial to quilters in many ways, but quilt guilds are different from sit and sews and quilt bees in at least seven different areas.

Guilds have a democratic system of teaching, sharing, and community service, although most of the teaching is very informal.

Everyone is welcome to share information, offer tips and tricks, and become involved in the guild’s community service projects.  This usually also occurs in other non-guild quilt groups to varying degrees.

There are by laws, elected officers, and dues are collected.

A guild is not guided by an individual’s or group’s preferences.  When a guild forms, they write their own “rules” called by laws.  If changes to the by laws need to be made, amendments can be issued by the elected officers and voted on by the guild.  The guild also charges dues to become a member.  The funds collected from the dues are used for speakers and other fun stuff the guild wants to do.  The amount charged for dues is suggested by elected officers and voted on by the members.  These are usually only paid once a year.

There’s less of a social aspect in a guild than in a sewing group. 

Here me out, because I know a lot of you guild members are thinking, “No…I have a great time with my friends at guild meeting!”  I hear you…I feel the same.  However, think about this:  At a sit and sew or bee you can chat with your friends, conversation trends from one topic to another, there is no agenda, no goals, no real schedule other than you have to leave by a certain time.  With a guild, there’s generally an agenda.   You have a social time, a speaker or program, a business meeting, show and tell, and announcements.  There’s limited time for chit chat. While a great time is had by all, a guild meeting is different than a sewing group.

Guilds have an active charity program.

Bees and other quilt groups may decide, from time to time, to undertake charity sewing.  The biggest example of this is the recent COVID pandemic.  When the virus first reared its ugly head and there was a shortage of masks, it seemed everyone jumped in and sewed masks.  Masks were made by the thousands by individuals, quilt groups, and quilt guilds.  When supply met up with demand, sewers backed off on the mask making.  Some quilt groups will make quilts or other needed items as asked or when they see a need they can meet, but it may not be an organized, consistent effort. 

Quilt guilds are a little different.  Within the mission statement or in the by laws, generally you’ll find a statement about their charity program.  The guild is plugged into one or more organizations they supply quilts or quilted items.  The charity quilt program has its own committee, its own chair, and (at least in my local guild) has its own line item in our budget.  It’s an on-going guild project which never stops and starts.

Guilds promote quilting, pass on the tradition, and embrace and encourage the new.

Personally, I think no other group of folks promote the art of quilting more than guilds.  If presented with an opportunity to educate anyone about what quilts are, their place in history, and how to make quilts, a guild will jump on it.  Like most crafters, we are acutely aware we’re one generation from losing the art to history.  We love seeing our guild numbers grow because the increase in membership means we’ve gotten more people excited about quilts and quilters. 

Not only that, but as the field of quilting changes, quilters tend to embrace that change.  An example which comes to mind is Modern Quilting.  For years pieced and appliqued quilts were very traditional, even if new fabric lines were used.  Along came Modern Quilting and gave traditional quilting a shot in the arm.  Blocks were deconstructed, negative space was celebrated, brash solid colors like orange dominated the palate, and straight-line quilting was the star of the show.  I remember reading the quilt magazines at the time.  They would explain the movement and how it was changing quilting.  The art world, at least for a while, didn’t know what to make of it.

You know what group did embrace it?  The guilds.  They listened to the quilters tell their story about the quilt – why they made it, what appealed to them about the quilt.  They examined the quilts..  Ohh’ed and ahhh’d over them.  Encouraged these quilters and welcomed them to the wonderful world of quilting. 

For us, it wasn’t a lot to understand.  It was a group of folks who loved making quilts.  They may make them differently than we did, but they were quilters.  That’s all that mattered. 

Show and Tells are PHENOMINAL.

Usually with every guild program, there’s a “Show and Tell” segment.  During this time quilters bring finished quilts, quilts in the middle of construction, or simply some blocks.  They stand up in front of the guild (it’s not as scary as it sounds), and briefly talk about their project. 

This is wonderful for two reasons.  If you’re the person showing your project, and you need some suggestions on anything (such as how to quilt it, does this color work with the palate, etc.,) you will get honest answers with a great deal of quilty wisdom behind them.  Second, these show and tells are incredibly inspiring.  It’s really so motivating to see other quilters’ quilts.  I know we can go online and look at some beautiful quilts, but to see gorgeous quilts up close and personal, made by folks we know just ramps up the inspiration.

Guilds offer libraries, workshops, retreats, and quilt shows.

Some guilds have lending library.  In this library are books, magazines, quilting tools, stamps, patterns, and other items you can check out just like at a “regular” library and return at the next monthly meeting.  This is a wonderful system and is helpful to quilters at all quilting levels. 

From time to time, guilds will offer workshops.  These are usually day-long or half-day classes with a quilting teacher.  Sometimes a pattern or quilt is taught, sometimes techniques are.  Usually the guild charges a separate fee for the workshops, as this fee must cover the teacher’s mileage, meals, and hotel (if needed).  One of the good byproducts of COVID is Zoom classes and workshops.  When the virus shut us all down, quilting teachers were still booked for classes.  With a little ingenuity and practice, most of those instructors moved their workshops to the Zoom platform, meaning guild members could take the workshop from the comfort of their own studio and the quilt teacher didn’t have to pack everything in her studio up and spend the weekend out of town.  Guilds didn’t have to pay for mileage, meals, or hotels, so the workshop fees remained at a reasonable rate.

Guilds also may offer quilting retreats.  I will be completely transparent at this point:  A quilt retreat is good enough reason to join a guild.  Seriously.  My local guild has two a year.  The one in the spring is a day retreat.  We meet somewhere locally, sew all day long, go back home and sleep, get up the next day and do it all over again.  This goes on for three or four days.  In the fall we have an overnight quilt retreat at Haw River State Park in Brown Summit, NC.  I’m throwing out the park’s name because they are used to quilters and will set up the rooms especially for them.  For four days, we sew.  Meals are provided at this retreat, so we literally don’t have to lift a finger.  We sew, eat breakfast.  Then we sew and eat lunch.  Then we sew and eat dinner.  Then we sew until we’re too tired to stitch another stitch and go to our rooms there at the park and sleep until the next morning so we can get up and do it all again.  The park fees are extremely affordable. 

I get so much accomplished at these retreats.  And what’s even better, we have such good, quilting fellowship.  We teach each other and encourage one another.  I come away refreshed and renewed. 

Quilt shows are another event guilds participate in.  Sometimes a guild is large enough to hold their own quilt show, and if your guild does, plan to participate.  For most guilds, their quilt show is the major fund-raising event for two years.  Attending other guilds’ shows is something nearly all guilds do. If there’s a guild quilt show that’s fairly local, it’s nothing for members to load up and all attend the show.  They’ll shop the vendor mall, gaze at the quilts, and then generally a meal is involved.

The same goes with shop hops.  This may be an organized effort between quilt shops which are located within an hour or less of each other or it may be an “unorganized” effort between guild members who want to visit several LQS’s together.  Either way, a lot of fun is had (and a lot of fabric is purchased).  Again, there’s usually at least one meal involved. 

In other words, a guild will offer lots of opportunities for fun and quilty fellowship for their members, as well as educational opportunities.  You don’t always get that in a quilt bee.

The guild is conducted like a business.

Besides the facts there are by laws and elected officers, guilds do operate like a business, because in many aspects they are – or more specifically, a nonprofit.  Dues are collected.  Additional fees may be charged.  Fund raising is performed.  What matters is each and every member of the guild has “skin in the game” – their dollars and their work.  For this reason, the guild treasurer should present financials to the guild on a monthly basis and to the executive board as needed. These financials should detail income and payables, and let members know what is in the bank account at the beginning of each month. 

The executive board puts forth a budget which the membership will vote on for the beginning of each fiscal year.  Ideally, the treasurer should supply a budget v. actual worksheet for the membership on at least a quarterly basis.  If special fund-raising events occur (such as a quilt show or raffle quilt) the membership may request additional profit and loss statements on those. 

The guild secretary takes minutes at each meeting and those minutes are made available to the membership either through email, the guild’s website, or they’re published in the newsletter.  Everything is all very business-like and probably differs a lot from most bees and other sewing groups. 

There is one point where quilt guilds may specifically differ from quilt bees and even other guilds, and this is their nonprofit status (501C3).  Truthfully there is some disagreement whether a guild needs to obtain this status.  To become a nonprofit, there’s quite a bit of hurdle-jumping and a whole lot of paperwork and a substantial fee must be paid to the Internal Revenue Service.  This is a decision each individual guild must decide and vote on for itself. I will offer two pieces of advice at this point (since I filled out the papers and did the filing for the High Point Quilt Guild).  First, if your guild wants to ask for donations – either monetary or goods-in-kind (such as batting for charity quilts), having a legal 501C3 status allows the donations to be tax deductible, which may help generate donations.  Second, it’s much, much easier to get the nonprofit status when your guild is just starting out.  There are more hurdles to jump over when the guild’s been established for a number of years. 

One more thing about the 501C3 status – you don’t need a lawyer or accountant to do this for the guild if the guild is new and establishing itself.  Yes, it takes time and a good bit of patience.  Yes, the IRS will ask you for clarification and additional information.  However, if I could successfully undertake this task for my guild, I think most people could, too.  I was happy to save my guild the money an attorney or accountant would charge – especially since we filed for nonprofit status the first year we began meeting and funds were low. 

All of the above details what a guild is.  And from these, it’s easy to see how a quilt guild is different from a quilt group.  However, there is one bit misconception about guilds, and I’ve seen folks confused about this misunderstanding.  Unlike a quilt bee, where quilters bring their work to sew on, you don’t actually quilt or learn to quilt at guild meetings.  I’ve seen this misunderstanding work against guilds in a couple of ways.  Trying to find a meeting place can be difficult for a guild unless you specifically tell your landlord there will be no sewing machines or irons or any sewing at all during meetings.  The folks who own a building or church may worry they don’t have enough electrical outlets or room for machines or the floor will be left covered in fabric scraps and thread.  Let them know pretty quickly in the initial conversations, the group only needs a place to meet and listen to speakers.

Second, people who want to learn to quilt are often disappointed no actual quilting takes place during meetings.  Guild meetings consist of speakers or demonstrations about quilts, tools, etc.  Guild meetings cover that type of education.  However, I also want to add I think it’s super important guilds have meetings for these beginner quilters.  The membership of guilds has changed drastically since Covid.  Let me use my own local guild as an example.  When we had our last meeting before the virus shut us down, the majority of our members were past the beginning quilter stage.  Enter Covid, which closed our doors until November 2020.  During this time stores sold out of sewing machines as folks either wanted to return to sewing so they could have something to do or make masks.  When we re-grouped as a guild, about a third of our members (primarily our new ones) identified as beginners and were requesting beginning quilting classes on our annual survey. 

This is way too many folks to leave floundering in the waters of “How do I do this?”  If a guild has members who want to learn the basics, it’s a great idea to teach them.  Workshops can be offered, perhaps taught by older members who have been around the quilt block more than a few times.  If the guild breaks out into bees, a beginners quilting bee could be formed.  If those two options don’t work, try starting a mentor program, pairing up a newbie quilter with a seasoned veteran.  Bottom line:  Don’t let the beginners walk away in frustration.  Find a way to teach them.

We’ve spent a good amount of time and a lot of words explaining what a quilt guild is and how they’re different from bees and sit and sews.  I’ve explained how guilds operate, what they are, and what they aren’t.  Next week I want to give you all the reasons you should join a guild.  And if there isn’t a guild near you, I’ll give you some ideas about starting one. 

Until next week, Make Your Quilt Yours!

Love and Stitches,

Sherri

I don’t talk a great deal about the quilts I create in my studio.  I do this for a couple of reasons.  First of all, I’m a teacher. I enjoy writing blogs about techniques and quilting tips which help my readers.  If I can show you something to help you make the quilt you want to make or make your quilting life a bit easier, this makes my day.  Copywrite issues are the second reason I don’t show a lot of what I make. Some of what I work on is based on quilt patterns by other designers and some of the creations are solely mine.  In the past 10 or so years, quilt designers have dealt with the horrible issue of their ideas, tools, and patterns getting “ripped off” by quilting ne’erdowells.  We weren’t given the credit we deserved, or someone took a tool, pattern, or technique which duly went through the copywrite process and claimed it as their own.  And social media has exacerbated the situation more than I can tell you.

However, today I’d like to show you what I’ve accomplished so far this year.  And let me start off with this disclaimer: 2022 has been a weird year.   This should explain a lot considering we’re still dealing with the aftermath of 2020.  I have not finished or started anything I planned to this year.  As far as my “lifers” are concerned, A Day in Grandmother’s Flower Garden and Language of Flowers haven’t been touched.  Horn of Plenty for a New Generation is a different story.  I only have two more blocks to applique before I make a firm decision on how to construct and piece the quilt top. 

Usually I have completed more of the projects on my yearly quilting goals list, but not this year.  It’s not that I’m necessarily in a quilting “funk,” but I’ve had a couple of quilting challenges thrown in my path.  Allow me to explain. 

During the Covid lockdowns, many quilt guilds began to have virtual meetings.  The Warwick Valley Quilt Guild was one of them.  One of my good quilting buddies, Eileen, is a member of this New York Guild.  She encouraged me to check her guild out, and I did.  The speakers were fabulous, the women were awesome, so I joined. 

Now let me explain a little bit about how I view quilt guilds – or any other group I join.  Yes, I pay a yearly fee which allows me to enjoy meetings and fellowship with others who share the same passions I do.  However, there is a price to this membership and most of the time, the annual fee does not (by a long shot) cover all the group’s expenses.  This is why it’s important to help out in fund raising opportunities.  And this gets a little tricky because from where I live in Jamestown, North Carolina and to Warwick, New York is 583.2 miles.

So it’s not like I can show up to help with a quilt show or anything…

However, there will be a mini-quilt auction at their quilt show in the fall, so I made two quilts for the sale:

I used this quilt in this blog: https://sherriquiltsalot.com/2022/07/06/half-square-triangles-the-work-horse-of-quilt-blocks/

It’s a great example of how versatile half-square triangles are.  This is a sweet, little Christmas wreath which can be used as a table topper or a wall hanging.  It went together quickly and easily, and I had enough HSTs left over to make an “after quilt” (quilt back).  If push comes to shove, the back of the Christmas quilt could be used for St. Patrick’s Day.  It’s a two-fer as far as I’m concerned.

This is the second quilt I made:

This quilt was a ton of fun from beginning to end.  I used some fabric from an old Judy Rothermel quilt kit.  I machine appliqued it and then quilted it on Dolly, my New Horizon M7.  I used the walking foot for the straight-line quilting; however, you may remember one of the reasons I upgraded from Big Red to Dolly was the M7’s quilting ability.  Despite having my new machine for over a year (it was a year in April 2022), I had not had a chance to drop the feed dogs and try her out.

Well, let me tell you I am more than impressed with this machine.  To begin with, dropping the feed dogs is a breeze.  One touch of a button and they’re dropped.  Now, look at this tight, mini-meander and loopy quilting:

I had sooooooo much fun!  The machine handled free-style quilting as good if not better than my long arm. No buyer’s regrets on this machine.  So much fun!  I looked forward to working on this quilt every night. 

Despite the fact these were small quilts, they did eat into my quilting schedule.  Well, those two quilts along with the fact I was asked to design the High Point Quilt Guild’s 2023 Raffle Quilt, I lost some serious “Me” quilting time.  Fortunately, my BFF Janet working on the majority of the applique has helped out tremendously.  I farmed out the block units and have sewn the pieced blocks together.  I’ve simply resigned myself to the fact 2022 was the year of “Quilt Happenstance.”  There’s always 2023.

The one quilt on my list of goals which has received a great deal of love and attention is the Horn of Plenty for a New Generation.  I love this fruity applique quilt, and I’m happy to say I only have two remaining blocks to applique and then I can begin piecing it together.  Here are the blocks I’ve completed since the last time I posted about it.

Lastly, it’s confession time.  I feel as if the last several blogs I’ve posted haven’t been as good as I normally like them to be.  I contacted Covid last month and have really had a difficult time getting over it.  Despite the fact I am double vaccinated and boosted, I have struggled in my recovery and am still not well.  There is a possibility I may have what’s called “Long Haul Covid” – I’m negative but will feel the symptoms for a long time.   I still cough a great deal, especially at night and the fatigue is devastating.  Everyday about 2 p.m., I’m faced with the choice of making another pot of coffee and powering through the rest of my day or giving up and taking a nap.  The days I can nap work better than the days I caffeinate and keep going, but my schedule does not always allow for a nap.  I see the doctor next week (which in real time is the end of July) to see what he thinks.

My blog will continue because it’s one of the highlights of my life, but there may be times when it’s shorter than normal.  Keep me in your thoughts and prayers!

Love and Stitches,

Sherri