So much to do.... so little time

Even though I knew there was only two weeks until Christmas... it hadn't sunk into my brain yet. Then Friday it dawned on me. Yikes! The amount of work I need to get done this week. Quilts to finish. Closet doors to paint and get re-installed. New floor to be installed in the bathroom. (It finally arrived at the installer.) Plastic window covers and window quilts to finish and get put up. Christmas gifts to wrap and hide. (But where?) Yup, it's gonna be a very busy week for me. My daughter has "Mom's busy, busy" radar. Somehow she knows exactly when I'm busiest and then needs a babysitter. She had to work Saturday so Ladybug got to stay with me all day.

Sandy, I promised to post about the learning curve of quilting but I have to put it off for few days..... OK?

Here is the next quilt finished. Folded in half it barely fit on the intake table. It hangs off the far end and off on one side. It's 110 X 130.

In the background of the blocks I did a wind meander.

On the outside border and the sashing strips I did holly leaves. On the inside border I did a curly design.

On the Stockings I did a plain meander with mono thread.

Here's a view of the back. The tiny holly leaves are the corner stone blocks of the sashing strips.

This shows the holly leaves around the outside border and the curly design of the inside border.

Ok, now its time for me to get off the computer and get some work finished. Sometimes I have to tell myself to get to work before my brain believes me. Yup, I do talk to myself. Who else knows me better than myself? Myself and I carry on some very interesting conversations when there's no one else around. We have a lot in common ya know. (hee, hee, hee)

Gift tags

I was thinking about gift tags yesterday. I knew I wanted something unusual for my grandkids so I did an internet search and came up with this idea.

I made one from a dollar bill just to get the folding right then I used magazine pages to make more. I could have used file cards to cut simple shirts (or dresses) and colored them with crayons but I like these better. Hmm... I probably could print something out on the computer too. Naw, I still like these better. The dollar bill ones will be for my grandkids and the paper ones will be for other people. I'll attach a piece of paper on the back with names.

Buying a machine?

Sandy asked me what advice I can give to someone looking to purchase a quilting machine. I have a Gammill Classic Plus.

I do love my machine but if I were in the market for a new one today, I'm not sure I would choose the same machine. Why? Well there are so many new ones out there now. So many new features since I bought my machine. I would have to check out all the new things before choosing.

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Choosing a quilting machine (in my opinion) is much like choosing a car or a house. It's a hugh investment that you will be living with for a long time. It shouldn't be a hasty decision. I know there are people who can make a decision in a few minutes but not me. I need time to make a decision I know I can live with.

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So how would you go about looking for a house or a car? For this post let's use a car purchase as an example. Would you look on line? Would you go to a dealer? One dealer or several? Would you have some type of car in mind before starting to look? Do you have an idea of special features you want? Good gas mileage? Luxury? How much money are you willing to spend? Finance or cash? New or used? What about maintenance? Can you work on it yourself or must you take it out of state for repairs? Or pay mileage for the dealer to come to you? Are you getting the idea?

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When I look for a car to purchase, it's not the initial cost of the car that concerns me most. I'm more concerned about how much repairs and parts will cost to maintain it. How often it breaks down is a concern too. A Corvette for $200 is no bargain if the cost of batteries, oil changes, or tires are more than I can afford and the repairman lives 300 miles away. Or if it will be down more often than running. Must I buy parts from a dealer or can I buy them at Auto Zone? I'd rather pay $3000 for an old clunker that I know the parts are affordable and the repairs can be done just about anywhere at affordable prices. You see what I'm getting at?

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If I were choosing a new machine today I would first decided how I plan to use the machine. Will it be used several hours a day to earn a living or would I just want to do my own every now and then? The answer to that question would then give me the next question. How reliable should the machine be? For the answer to that question I would get onto some online machine quilting groups and observe the complaints. If you see one or two machines with constant complaints then you know they are not the machine for you.

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Next I would look at the cost of parts for the machine I have in mind. Most machine dealers also sell parts and you can see the costs online. Check out prices on things like bobbins, felt disks, light bulbs, button switches, needles, etc. How close is the nearest repairman? How quick is the dealer's response to complaints or questions? Do the dealers have good instruction manuals for doing repairs yourself? What features do you want in a machine? Stitch regulator, computerized stitching, single stitch function, overhead lights, large table, etc.

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Going to a major quilt show (like Paducah or Machine Quilter's Expo) with lots of machine dealers is a good way to test drive several machines and ask lots of questions. Don't fall for hard sell tactics. If they are pushing too hard to sell you a machine then something is wrong. A confident dealer doesn't have to push, the machine will sell itself. A confident dealer should be willing to answer all your questions and let you walk away to think about it. He/she will know it's a big decision and you will be back if you decide to buy his/her machine.

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About the learning curve..... I'll write a post on that tomorrow. I have a quilt waiting on me and this post is already very long.

Paper bows

Everyone knows about using newspaper as a free alternative for gift wrap... right? Why spend money on something that has nothing whatsoever to do with the gift inside? The money saved by not purchasing

wrapping paper could pay for something else. Maybe a gallon of milk or an extra pound of ground beef? Wrapping paper in most homes only lasts as long as the gift is still wrapped then it gets thrown away.
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I'm going a step farther and making my own gift bows too. These are made from phone book and magazine pages. Who cares if the wrapping paper and bows come from free items? What's important is the gift inside.


Here is a good site with instructions for making bows. Simply change from ribbon to paper for your own bows.

Textile art or quilts?

Hmm.... two blog posts in one day. What's going on with me?

I went to the Museum of Art and Craft today with two of the Nice Ladies group. In case you don't remember who they are.... they are three quilting friends. I call them the Nice Ladies group because I rarely use personal names on my blog.

I had to see the pieces of art made from cardboard before moving on to the quilt section. Interesting technique but nothing like my cardboard furniture. I like this piece.




And this one.

Then it was up the stairs to see the quilts. All with the theme of "water" from the collection of John Walsh III. I goofed and didn't write down names of artists but this one I know. It's Ruth McDowell. It's what I think of when thinking of art quilts.

This one was interesting too and still what constitutes an art quilt in my opinion. It's pieced to create the curves of the design and then painted to create the shadows.

Here's another piece that I would call an art quilt. It's recognizable as a quilt.

On closer look I realize it's an art quilt that even Bonnie Hunter could appreciate. It's small crazy pieced squares and triangles sewn together to make the design. It's stretched over a frame.

Then there were pieces that were clearly "art" and not simple quilts. The use of textiles in unusual ways make them art. In traditional piecing we are taught: to always keep our seams straight, to make our points crisp, to clip all loose threads, don't let any raw edges show, make sure our binding is stuffed and miters sewn down, be sure our tension is correct and our stitches even, etc, etc, etc. In art quilts nothing is considered wrong. Anything goes.

For example this quilt. You will have to enlarge the picture to see what I'm talking about. See the trees or bushes or whatever they are in the center bottom of this quilt?

Now enlarge this picture and look at it up close. See the loose threads and the raw edges? That's what makes it textile art instead of what I think of as a traditional art quilt.

Now look at this one. See how the waves appear to move? Also look at the small orange color section in the bottom right corner.

Here's a close up of the waves. Enlarge the picture to see even better that the flat piece appears to have waves in it. Yes, it is a flat piece. I assure you it was flat against the wall. It's the creative use of raw edge applique and fabric color that gave the appearance of movement.

Here is a closer look at the orange section. I'm not sure but I believe it's supposed to be a fish under water or maybe it's a swimmer.

Ok, you need an even closer look to see the way the fabric is used. Just look at all those raw edges. Certainly NOT your average traditional art quilt.

Here is my favorite piece from the show. I like it because of it's whimsy. This one had many, many techniques and fabrics in it.

I also liked this one. I like the lights and shadows of it all.

So what did I learn from today's field trip? That traditional art quilts and textile art have only one thing in common..... fabric. The rules are entirely different.

I did learn a lot from going to the show and talking with my friends. At times it may appear I'm not listening to their advice but truly I am. It just takes awhile for it all to sink in and make sense. I learned I need to start thinking more outside the box. To stop listening to the traditional "No, No" attitude and simply create to make myself happy with my designs. I believe when I've become comfortable with my own work it will show itself to others.

Now if only.... if only.... I could focus my mind enough to figure out just exactly what do I want my future to hold? Do I want to create cardboard stuff? To create textile art? To do portrait quilts? To become a well known repurposer? (Is that a word?) To make rugs? I compare my cluttered mind to my cluttered studio. What do I mean? Well, when I pull out fabrics for a quilt..... not satisfied with the choices, I pull out more fabrics. Still not satisfied with the choices.... I pull out more fabrics, and even more fabrics until my studio is a very cluttered mess. Right now I have all these projects rolling around in my mind and I haven't quite found my path to move forward. My mind keeps pulling out more projects and possibilities.

Sometime before the beginning of the new year I will focus my mind in one direction and see what develops. I have so many choices but I also know I can't do everything. If I focus on one or two things then I can do a much better job of moving forward. If I want to add other things in the future then its ok.

I know the Nice Ladies read my blog so THANK YOU BOTH for a very nice field trip. I really enjoyed it.