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My Quilting Beginnings Continued

noreply@blogger.com (Sara Elliott) — Tue, 24 Jun 2008 00:42:00 +0000

Well . . .my husband bought me the serger, and that's what started my quilting odyssey. If the dang thing hadn't been so hard to thread, everything would have stopped with me making a few minor projects. But as it turned out, I needed help learning how to use it.

This resulted in two very enlightening things happening: I went to the fabric store looking for a serger instruction book, and I started watching sewing programs on television trying to get a better idea of how to make curtains and a round tablecloth.

I fell in love. It took a while, but that's what happened. It was the fabric, sure. It was also the history of all those women making quilts out of scrap fabric. It was looking at the quilting shows while kind, funny women tried to make the idea of constantly measuring, cutting, and matching fabric look like fun.

As it turned out, it was fun. It was so much fun that, after I stitched my first nine patch, I was hooked. I didn't know it for a month or two, but I was hooked. The funny thing is . . . I think I was always a quilter; I just didn't know it.

You know that saying about sculpture being the task of freeing the image from the block of marble? Well that was me. I was a hardworking woman that needed to be freed from thinking that crafts were minor distractions, that they were less worthy of consideration than other tasks, that they were old-fashioned.

Once that happened, I discovered that there was more in and of the world than I ever expected. I saw color and texture in a new way. I started evaluating shadow, looking at anything made of fabric for its feel and craftsmanship.

I became a more visual person and a more observant person. I began to see what the idea of art was all about. I started to long for the skill to create something, not just buy it, not just own it, but create it myself. I became, over the course of a year, an artist in training. I'd entered that wonderful world.

I believe passionately that I would be less fulfilled, less robust and whole if I hadn't found quilting. I won't be surprised if you come to feel that way too.

My Quilting Beginnings

noreply@blogger.com (Sara Elliott) — Fri, 20 Jun 2008 16:18:00 +0000

My first introduction to quilting was with a small child's quilt my grandmother made from my play clothes. After she'd finished it, I could pick out small squares that were what was left of some of my favorite tops and shorts. At the time, I thought the process was magical. In a way, I still do.

For over thirty years, I thought that quilts were something other people made, that quilting was the province of talented folk who understood fabric, needle and thread, and most of all, sewing machines. This all changed for me about five years ago.

I've started this blog because I want to tell you my quilting story. I have another site, a quilting almanac, in which I plan on discussing the specifics of some of my projects, but this blog is for my recollections. I think it's important, for me anyway, because quilting turned out to be something completely different from what I'd expected. It is one occasion in my life when I stumbled upon just the thing I needed – in a most unlikely place.

Imagine a middle-aged woman watching one of the shopping networks on television late at night. It's late because hot flashes are keeping her awake. Christmas is coming in a couple of months, so it doesn't feel like time wasted. The programming has changed, as these programs do, mimicking network fare even though all their segments are sales related. The new segment is about sergers.

This turns out to be fortuitous. The guest is perky and easy to understand, and she starts the program with an amazing claim: a serger can do 90% of what you need a sewing machine for, as well as cut the fabric. More than that, a serger can make home décor projects in a snap, and is easy and fun to use.

I have to backtrack here for a moment. My mother was great at home décor projects. She made curtains, tablecloths, covered furniture, knitted Afghans. Even though she's gone now, I remember her as being very creative and game to try anything. Intrepid, that was my mom. I'm sure you can see what's coming.

More next time. Stay tuned.

TV Is a Good Resource, But Nothing Beats a Needle and Thread

noreply@blogger.com (Sara Elliott) — Wed, 13 Feb 2008 19:14:00 +0000

I watched quilting and sewing programs for months before I tried any of the projects myself. I was intimidated by the craft, but also by the crafters. Artists can do the most amazing things with fabric; and I'm convinced that artistry is an innate quality - one I don't possess in abundance. Still, I'm so glad that I finally got over my feelings of inadequacy. In the following posts, I'll explain why.

Why I Quilt

noreply@blogger.com (Sara Elliott) — Tue, 12 Feb 2008 13:56:00 +0000

Ah, that's an interesting and complicated thing to explain. I have been pondering it for ever so long - at night when things are too quiet and dark for any type of sewing related activity that exists outside of the imagination. I've set up this blog so that I can explain it to myself - and to you. Indulge me for a little while, and I'll clarify my thinking on the subject.