Names for Snow

Names For Snow

47” x 58”

Okay, so I finished this quilt more than a year ago. Then it was on display and stayed living for a friend for a year. He was paranoid about it getting wrecked and so gave it back. I’ve just been waiting for a proper snowfall to get a picture of it.

Of course, I forgot that proper snowfalls actually make it difficult to take quilt pictures. There is the feets of snow, for one. And two, despite all that white, it is quite difficult to get accurate colour representation in snow. Good thing this quilt is inspired by snow! In a strange twist in quilt photography, shooting this quilt in the sun was the way to do it. Got my tween and her best friend to help out as I forced them away from the snow fort they are building.

The entire quilt started as a love letter to my favourite scissors. Kevin from Knife Wear goes on buying trips to Japan. I made a comment about scissors offhand and he came up with some pairs to try. Yes, I know we quilters are spoiled with a lot of scissor options. These ones are, by far, my favourite. So I set out to freehand cut half square triangles and sew them together. Everything was cut by hand - the initial squares, trimming, and squaring up. The only time I brought out a rotary cutter and ruler was to square up the finished quilt. What a liberating way to work!

Note to self: do this again.

Playing with all these neutrals resulted in another love letter through this quilt. To my favourite season: winter! It isn’t often that I have the name of a quilt early in the making but this one was set pretty quickly. Whites, creams, beiges, more whites, a little blue. No yellow.

I spent way too much time obsessing over the quilting. I was researching different languages and their names for snow, I was trying to figure out how to stitch in Inuktitut. I brainstorming loads of options. In the end, however, a deadline and my desire to never mark quilts won. I went with dense, wavy lines (snowdrift) with little asterisk/sparkles here and there. Texture, more than anything.

The white binding seemed like a no brainer.

When making improv quilts, whether free hand cut like this or now, one key thing to remember is that perfection does not live here. Points will be trimmed off, lines might be a bit wonky, you might cut more than expected to make things fit, and almost nothing lines up. This is precisely why I like this. It looks and feels handmade. I see my own movements in every line of stitching, every shape. It can be a hard switch from the pursuit of perfection in quilt making but it is a liberating switch for many.

Now that we are settled in for a Christmas at home I am glad for another quilt on the sofa to celebrate my truly favourite season. Winter is indeed for snow forts and skiing (hopefully) and skating. Winter is for curling up with quilts and cookies at the bookends of those activities.

Here’s to the season!

This is the third in my landscape series. See Mountain Meadows and Ripples.

Ripples - A Water Inspired Quilt

Ripples

52” x 68”

Next in the landscape series of quilts. (First there was Mountain Meadow, then Names for Snow).

Completely inspired by the deep blue landscape of Prince Rupert, British Columbia. Whether it was the morning sun reflecting off the calm ocean, or the hidden blues of the spruce trees in the rain, or even the rolling fog covering the community like a quilt, they all found a home in this quilt.

Simple improv curves, the repetition of blocks and colour an homage to all that I saw that long weekend on the coast. A way to capture the energy of the community and the creativity of all the people I met. This is absolutely Improv With Intent.

Quilted with concentric circles to emphasize the Ripples. Kind of like the ripples on the surface when you toss a handful of rocks into the water. Or the ripples when the seals poke their heads up to see what you see. Or when the fish bubble up, trying to hide from the seals and the herons. Or, as I see more often than not in our life on the Prairies, kids jumping in a pool!

The quilting was done on my Bernina 820 with an Aurifil 50W in teal. It blended with the front and the fabric on the back.

Backed with a gorgeous loon print from Mark Anthony Jacobson, an Ojibwe artist. Bound in grey, one of my own prints, to remind me of the fog, the logs, and the weathered wood of the docks.

To see more of the inspiration, check out the original post.

Unexpected Gifts for Quilters

Okay… send this post to you partner, your spouse, your boyfriend, your grandkid, your mom, your girlfriend, or even your best quilting buddy. Sure, they can all give you a fat quarter bundle, another ruler, or a gift certificate to your favourite shop, but that is so cliche! (Albeit, always welcome!) Instead of the usual stuff, now is the time to drop some hints for the unexpected, but greatly appreciated. These are the gifts that will fuel your creative fire. Not to mention, get you using the fabric they bought you last year.

1. Art Gallery/Museum Membership

Most major cities have an art gallery, or two, that host both regular and touring exhibitions. Stepping out of your usual textile world is a great way to soak up inspiration. Special exhibits on top of the regular showings introduce you to a load of new concepts and ideas. You may think that you would rather spend the time sewing than an afternoon out, but it is well worth it. Bonus, if you have a partner or children it makes an excellent date!

Here in Calgary I am a fan of The Glenbow, the Esker Foundation, and Contemporary Calgary.

2. Subscription to an Audio Streaming Service

Avoid the ads, for one. But this is great food for the brain while you sew. I know a lot of people who will ‘watch’ shows while they sew. Something familiar that they listen to but don’t actually watch. Skip the pretense and listen to your favourite tunes or get engrossed in other people’s stories. True Crime, Humour, Books, even sewing all have podcasts delivered regularly across platforms. It could be Apple Music, Stitcher Premium, or Spotify, among others. Check their preferences.

3. Really Nice Markers, Pencil Crayons, and/or Pens. Plus a Bullet Journal.

Sure, we’ve all sketched something on a scrap of paper with what ever nub of a pencil we found or meticulously planned a quilt on a standard pad of graph paper. Okay, some of use computer programs, but you folks are in the minority and skilled in a totally different way. Getting to play and draw out our ideas with real colour in things that flow on nice paper is a true privilege for most quilters. It is not another pack of Crayolas for the kids to steal. These are our things that will be protected at the same level as our fabric scissors.

While I, personally, am not someone who does the Bullet Journal thing, I do like the dotted paper that most journals have. It allows you to make and use grid lines without having the lines be so prominent like they are on graph paper.

4. Long Arm Classes

A long arm sewing machine is not in the budget of most quilters. (Remind me to tell you of the time my husband discovered the prices). However, there are stores and long arm quilters across the country who will rent out time on their long arm machines. You just have to be certified first. Give the gift of the class.

If an in person class is not an option, splurge on a long arm gift certificate. Your favourite quilter can get their big quilt finished without intimidation.

5. Time

Give them time. A weekly or daily time where they are free to sew - GUILT FREE - while you take care of the rest of the stuff of life. It might be a sew date with a friend (who needs book club when you can sew?), mornings while you get the kids out the door, or at night when it makes zero difference to you anyway (but you can fold the laundry while they sew, right?) To many of us would love to do more but the grind of daily life means that time is at a premium. The gift of time means so much.

Remember, none of these gifts are about getting more quilts done. Don’t ever make that the goal. That will probably go over as well as buying someone a gym membership if they casually mention they wish they could lose five pounds. Bad, bad idea. No, your goal with these gifts is to encourage their creative exploration. You are promoting their natural curiosity, enhancing their skills, and showing your unconditional support for something that brings them joy.

5 Ways to Find Your Sewjo

Have you lost your sewjo?

So many people I know are feeling little to no desire to sew, let alone create. Whether it is personal circumstances (kids, parents, sickness, bills!), politics, drama, or simply the heat, sewing machines are sitting idle this summer. It is all totally normal. Yet I find so many folks feel the need to apologize for it, or worse, give up on sewing all together!

Remember people, this is a hobby. (Unless, of course you are an industry professional.) We are completely free to create or not create on our own time. Despite what our mothers or partners or kids might say, it isn't wasted space or time or even money if we don't sew for a little while. This isn't a gym membership where money is going down the drain when we don't go. The money's already been spent, so there is that. 

Maybe you go in an pet fabric? Or you scroll through Instagram, liking pictures of pretty quilts? Or you don't think about quilts at all as you lick that summer ice cream cone and wet your feet in a lake? It's all good.

Seriously, it doesn't matter. Sew or don't sew. You have your reasons.

Now all that being said, the last thing I want is people to give up on their creativity. If you are missing your sewjo and want to cultivate it or at least try and locate it, here are some helpful tips.

1. Turn off the phone and the news

Whether it is the state of the world or the feeling of inadequacy from social media, all they are doing is making you feel bad. It's totally okay to walk away from it for a bit. The world will keep spinning, posts will be posted, and the news isn't likely to change. Give yourself a break to create.

2. Create in response

Channel your feelings (anger, despair, or whatever) into a creation. It's okay to make an angry quilt. Embrace the process of doing so even more than the final project. Make a statement with your work, whatever that statement might be. (Great ideas here.)

3. Make something different

Try a different kind of creating. Whether that is pottery, painting, brush lettering, woodworking, garment making, or anything. Learning something new will get your neurons firing and your hands moving. 

4. Clean your sewing space

Or, at the very least, sort your scraps. Sometimes our spaces and the clutter overwhelms us. Usually the thought of cleaning is overwhelming too. Sorting your scraps  - I recommend the tips in Sunday Morning Quilts - does wonders for freeing up mental space. It can be very inspiring. Whether that inspiration takes you to your sewing machine or helps you find it remains to be seen.

5. Establish a habit of creative action

You know me, I love my Morning Make. Frankly, if I didn't have this habit - one I still consciously make - I wouldn't be sewing at all. Most days it is 15-20 minutes, some days I can get a whole hour. For me it is about committing to the dedicated time before anyone else demands my attention, like the kids or our business. It might be before bed for you, or at lunch, or post dog walk. Whatever works. The key to it is that creativity begets creativity. The creative act invites creativity. So if you are struggling, just get your butt in the seat and sew. Pick up an old project or sew scraps together mindlessly. You may not be interested in running a marathon right now, but it will be a lot easier to get back into training if you at least walk every day.