2+2=4

It's time to put 2010 behind me.

To be perfectly frank, it was one of the worst years I've ever had. As a couple, Hubby and I both agree that not much can get worse. (There was a lot to celebrate too.) We weathered long and frequent separations, there was the fall while skiing and the recovery that still continues, there were major life changes and serious adjustments for all, there were home renos that went no where, there was Hubby's painful battle with his own injuries, there were changes all around. And there was more.

This quilt came out of the more. In the last 6 months of the year I experienced two miscarriages. One was quite shocking and ended up with me in the hospital on our way home from a funeral. The other was more typical and certainly less traumatic, but hard to deal with because it happened while Hubby was out of town. I'd had a miscarriage before, in the months before The Monster was conceived. But after everything this year I found these two particularly rough to recover from - physically and emotionally.

This quilt was started this summer, shortly after my hospital experience. The image of the crayons in my hand was always in the back of my head, percolating with options and happiness over how they came to be. At that point I also started thinking about the questions nurses and midwives ask when you become pregnant. How many children do you have? How many pregnancies? 2+2=4

Some doodling, some planning on the computer, and I just started sewing. As December progressed there was no option but to finish this quilt. I needed to put it, and everything else behind me. It was a just because quilt, but it was also more. But I don't want to put a lot of meaning to it. Finishing it, however, is symbolic of putting the past behind me.

I tend to hold on to things, even when they are pulling me under the water. Some sort of sick self pity keeps me grasping to hang on when the surface is right there. If I just let go I can get to shore and walk ahead, drying off as I go, ready for the next adventure. Hubby always said that if we let everything that happens get to us we would never get out of bed in the morning. Well, I spent a lot of time trying not to get out of bed over the last 6 months. It's time to stop doing that, it's time to let go and swim for shore.

The quilt is done. It isn't a particularly pretty quilt, nor is it one of my best efforts. I was so anxious to finish that I didn't square it up and the edges are very wavy. The quilting is uneven. My points could have matched a bit better in spots. But its done. With the last stitches of the binding, finished with my girls helping me on New Year's Eve, I actually do feel ready for the next adventure.

Bring on 2011!

Just Because

There are presents to wrap, a tiny bit more shopping to do, some making to happen, and some renewal of the family with Hubby now home. Instead, I'm working on a "Just Because" quilt.

I actually get quite annoyed when I'm asked what a quilt is for. I understand that people are being curious and I shouldn't get annoyed. The question, however, implies that all quilts have to serve a purpose or have a recipient in mind. It's a narrow view for those of us who feel a compulsion to create. I always answer, "It's just a quilt."

But it isn't just a quilt. There is always a reason to make. Sometimes it is simply to act in the process of making. Sometimes it is because you have an idea stuck in your head on repeat like 'All I Want for Christmas is My Two Front Teeth' (my apologies now). Sometimes there is a more guttural reason but you don't want to share it just yet.

So, even with all this stuff do to in anticipation of Christmas celebrations I'm plugging away on this particular Just Because quilt. I need to work on it and I need to have it done. Just Because.

(Go here to see the entire top and the inspiration.)

Valuable Finish

Values Quilt

66'' Square

Finally, a finish. Well, almost. I haven't come up with a name for this one yet.

This one is a long time coming. It feels like it, at least. I started this one back in April. I'm usually much faster than this. Oh well. I fully claim life as getting in the way. It happens. And I'm okay with that. Lately, however, I've been craving finishes. I've got a few more going on, I'll keep you posted on those.

Once I got it basted it only took me a week to finish it. Really it took only one full day to quilt it. The one day Hubby gave me and I took it. Another evening and I had the binding on it. We went away for the weekend two weeks ago and I stitched away happily in the evenings at my MIL's.

The quilting is pretty darn simple. I can see why so many stick with simple straight lines. It's mindless, sure, but it gets things done quickly. For the one square section I went with these freehand and rather primitive hearts. The Monster is very big into drawing hearts these days, so that's where these came from.

The binding is this blue green. I found the quilt to be quite pink/red. Lots of warm tones. So I bound it in blue. The quilting is actually in two different blues as well. I think it balances things out a little bit better. What do you think?

Someone else has already taken to it quite quickly.

Personality

Let's talk books.

I've reviewed a few books here and plan to review a lot more in the coming months. Before I go any further I wanted to bring up a conversation here.

There was a comment on last week's post by Weeks Ringle, one of the authors of The Modern Quilt Workshop, among others. Her comment led to a series of emails between she and I about the writing in quilt books.

I'm a fan of good writing. Just like I'm a fan of a cup of strong tea, colour, and the Edmonton Oilers. I also enjoy entertaining writing, or a piece that challenges or motivates me. While I've only read a couple dozen or so quilt books in my time I can say that it isn't always the writing that attracts me to the book.

Too often, a quilt book is a section outlining the concepts of the book - what makes this book different from all the rest of the books out there - followed by a basics quilting section. After that it is a bunch of patterns. The vast majority of books are glorified packages of patterns.

To be clear, I don't actually see anything wrong with that. I don't own many of this type of book, but they serve a purpose and can be quite motivating. What makes a book buyable and frequently browsed - to me - will be the good writing.

If I flip through a book and the patterns are interesting or exciting to me the first thing I do is read the Introduction. Bad or boring writing usually causes me to set the book down. I'll probably take a mental note of what I liked from the patterns and file it away for later inspiration. If the writing is engaging or grabs me with a challenging concept I am far more likely to take the book.

Of course, I'm also a sucker for pretty and clean layouts.

This leads me to what Weeks Ringle and I were chatting about - what is the appropriate level of personality in a book? The visuals, aside from the quilts themselves, are a strong part of the personality of the author. Compare Simplify with Camille Roskelly with The Practical Guide to Patchwork by Elizabeth Hartman, for example. Same publisher, same book format. But visually they are very different.

The writing is also part of the personality. And making the writing personal is about more than adding a whole pile of exclamation points or silly jokes. Being able to write in a voice that sounds like you when you are talking doesn't come to everyone. More importantly, being able to do so well and still be engaging is a big challenge. Even if you can do it well, it is hard to be great at it all the time.

In a book that is outlining specific concepts or technical design information, is there a place for personality? That was the question Weeks and I were debating. Or it is better to be succinct and specific?

This, of course also leads to the inherent links between blogging and books. Are they separate? Should they be? If you blog and write a book, how much of one should make it to the other - marketing aside?

I'm going to turn it back to you now. You've read the questions above. You've probably read a million books on your own. What are your thoughts? Oh, one more question. What is your experience as a quilter and what type of books do you like to read?