The Fiber Nation

New New Winner of Meadowlark

2014-12-20T20:47:00.000-06:00

Alright, three times the charm I hope! New-New winner is Havplenty who said "Okay, three times a charm right?? new-new winner is Haveplenty who said "I love the Cardinals and there is a pair that live nearby and comes to feed from the bird seed I throw out. I wonder do they know how beautiful they are."

Congrats to Havplenty!

New Winner for Meadowlark Giveaway!

2014-12-14T09:29:00.003-06:00

We have (a new) winner - CIndy who left the comment "We have a lot of sparrows in the back yard, so I guess it would have to be them. Once, however, a huge raptor bird of some sort landed in the tree outside my living room window - caught it out of the corner of my eye. He flew off before The Google and I could identify him. Might have been a hawk of some sort."

Congratulations Cindy! Please email me at thefibernation@gmail.com with your details!!

Meadowlark Giveaway Winner!

2014-12-08T15:00:00.000-06:00

First, thank you to everyone who left a comment for a chance to win this great fabric pack! I loved reading about your favorite local birds - just so you know my favorite is the cardinal tied with the chickadee!

Thank you again to Melanie Testa and Windham Fabrics for this great giveaway! Thank you again to McCall's Quilting Magazine as well!

And the winner is????

Deborah who left this comment:

Beautiful fabric, beautiful quilt! My favorite little visitor is the Chickadee - so tiny, quick and cute. Thanks for the chance to win!

Congratulations Deborah! You have until this Thursday to email me at thefibernation@gmail.com letting me know your name and address! If I don't hear from you by Thursday I will pick another random winner!

"Starling" McCalls Quilting Jan/Feb 2015 (aka Lark Star)

My quilt is the one on top of the stack of quilts there!

Why I'm Thankful: A Warning

2014-11-26T09:00:00.001-06:00

This Thanksgiving, I am thankful that I am here at all. I could have died last Friday. Not in the existential, we could all go at any moment kind of way. No, in the real, I was in the ER kind of way.

It was a pretty normal week really, I had spent it sewing in my studio. I had been sewing for three long days that week. Wednesday night while sleeping, I woke up several times in the night with pains in my calf and leg. It was the same leg that I had surgery on in April, so I've become pretty accustomed to pain on that side. Thursday, my calf hurt badly enough that I took the day off sewing and started taking Advil. I thought that because my calf muscles are still pretty weak from the surgery (they had to cut and lengthen my achilles tendon back there), and that I've not used my machine as much since the surgery, that was why my muscles felt so tight and aching.

Thursday night, I noticed that I was getting a little winded. I hadn't felt 100% all day, and thought perhaps I was coming down with something. While trying to fall asleep last night I had some pretty intense chest pains that hurt more with deep breaths. The kind of pains you get when you're in the midst of a panic attack (if you've had them, you know what I mean.) Finally though it passed and I fell asleep.

Friday. I just couldn't catch my breath. My heart kept racing. Stairs left me standing bent over, huffing and puffing for air. I was trying to put laundry away, and bent to pick up something, and could not catch my breath. I felt wrong, but could not really pin point or say what it was. I kept telling my hubby that I felt off. I asked him to stay home from work for the morning. I went down to my studio, I was supposed to do a FaceTime session with a friend - but that wouldn't happen.

It was then I remembered I had a blood pressure monitor, because I saw it across the room. (Thank God I asked for this thing for Christmas a couple years ago!) I have always had low blood pressure, but when I took my blood pressure Friday morning it was insanely high for me. Hubby thought perhaps since the batteries were low it was reading wrong, we changed them. He took his a couple times, and no, it was accurate. I looked at him and said, "We need to go." I went to my clinic, but they aren't set up for immediate ultrasounds and CTs, so we had to drive to the ER. (Where we waited in line a good thirty minutes.

I was admitted to the hospital after my ultrasound and CT scan, with a deep vein thrombosis in my right leg (surgery leg), and multiple pulmonary embolisms in both lungs and mid lobe. My blood pressure was spiking and my heart rate while resting was spiking into the 120s and higher at times. I was hooked up to an iv immediately at that point and started on heparin. They also wired me with an EKG monitor. I spent a sleepless night, sharing a room with a loud and morphine seeking neighbor. Amazingly, I was sent home the next evening, Saturday night, with some pills and an order to make an appointment with my regular physician. I will be on blood thinners for the next six months. I'm also thankful that they told me my heart looks REALLY healthy and strong.

I'm still dealing with the psychological mark this has left on me, as well as feelings of anxiety. I also still have pains in my DVT leg, that may persist for some time depending on how much damage the clot did to the veins there. Mostly, I am just thankful to still be alive. I am thankful I listened to my body and went in (despite trying to talk myself out of it at every turn.)

Why am I telling you all this? Because of the sewing. While obviously the surgery leg is likely the main cause of this situation, I strongly believe that it was directly linked to the three straight days of 8+ hours of sewing I did. I had set up my ironing station and cutting station right next to my machine so I didn't have to get up at all. I was "saving time". I didn't have to stand at all, just turn my chair and I could go from stitching to pressing to trimming and back again. I will be removing the ironing and trimming station from my sewing station. I will be setting it up so I have to walk a bit to each station, and get my circulation going again. I will be setting a timer to be sure I am not sitting at the machine for too long of periods without getting up and moving around a bit.

So my bequest to all of you dear readers is that you:

Take breaks and get up and move, sitting for long periods increases your chance of a DVT/PE occurrence
Know that just because you're perfectly healthy, you can still get a DVT and/or Pulmonary Embolism.
When you think something could be wrong, just go in, it's better to be over-reacting than dead.

Educate yourself on the SIGNS AND SYMPTOMS OF DVT AND PE

Take care all, and the most heartfelt Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours!

McCall's Quilting Magazine and a Meadowlark Giveaway!

2014-11-24T12:02:00.000-06:00

My quilt is the one on top of the stack of quilts there!

Ladies and gentleman, I am in McCall's Quilting Magazine! I still can't quite believe it!

This is the closest I've gotten to being a "Covergirl" so far! As many of you know, I was working on some quilts that I wasn't able to share (this was for Market this past spring!) Well, I was designing and making quilts using Melanie Testa's fabric from her Meadowlark line put out by Windham Fabrics. I've been sitting on this news since this past spring - and now I can finally share it with you!

This was an exciting process, as I was able to see Melly creating the line, and then her excitement when Windham picked it up. It's a special feeling to be one of the first people to ever cut into, and create with a designer's first fabrics!

The Meadowlark line is Melly's way of raising awareness about the plight of the 20 Common Birds in Decline listed by the Audobon Society. She has a post about it on her blog!

The original name of this quilt is "Lark Star" for the Eastern Meadowlark on the list. For publishing reasons, the piece goes by the name "Starling" in the magazine. They are offering a FREE alternate pattern of the quilt in king size! (You can also order a kit of the 60.5"60.5" from them, that has the fabrics I used!)

"Starling" McCalls Quilting Jan/Feb 2015 (aka Lark Star)

I wanted to really be able to showcase Melly's fabrics, so I approached the design process asking myself "How can I show these fabrics as they are, and still cut them up and piece them?" The answer was "THINK BIG!" and I did. At 60.5"x60.5", the blocks in this quilt are 15" blocks! I might be biased (that's not a pun, I swear!), but I am in love with this quilt!

I have an AWESOME prize opportunity for a lucky reader! Melly has graciously arranged for me to be able to give away a fat quarter of every fabric from her line Meadowlark! That's 26 fat quarters my friends! To be eligible all you need to do is leave a comment telling me what your favorite common bird in your backyard is! Deadline for leaving a comment is Sunday, December 7th at 11:59pm. Winner will be announced Monday the 8th!

I Spy a Chunky Wee Bag!

2014-11-19T18:17:00.001-06:00

A fantastic trio of fabrics - not to mention that snazzy key chain!

I'm pretty excited to have just finished my first project for the Spool Stitch Corps! When the opportunity came up to try out the Chunky Wee Bag pattern, I immediately went for it! I mean, can a girl EVER have too many bags? (Husbands need not chime in here, thank you very much!) And boy, when I saw the fabrics that Spool sent - I was NOT disappointed!

The cutting directions are pretty straight forward. One thing it doesn't mention on the back, is that you will need some foam core board or the like for the bottom of the bag. The bag went together pretty quickly. I did do a test bag first (with my own fabrics) and I have to say, by the time I did the second one it went like a breeze. That means you still have plenty of time to knock some of these bags for CHRISTMAS!

When it says to slow down for those thick seams - DO IT! I didn't heed the warning (as usual) and broke a needle! Besides, slowing down while sewing my second bag for the thick seams (this is only an issue really at the very end, i.e. last seam sewn), helped to make sure I was keeping that nice quarter inch seam allowance.

Ready to get started?

Shopping List:

Chunky Wee Bag Pattern
Mini Houndstooth Fabric
Fox and Houndtooth glasses on grey
Betty's Red by Moda
Fusible Fleece

*Elastic hair tie and button or 4" of velcro
*Optional .25 yd canvas for extra strength in pockets (I just used the fusible fleece)
*You might want some plastic template material for the two different templates, but not required

Labeling each piece as I cut them really (REALLY) helped the project move along much faster. And just look at that glasses frames fabric!

Racing stripe! As you can see, I went with the elastic hair tie fastener on this one, and I must say I do prefer it over the velcro option (personal choice!) You just need an elastic hair tie and a button of your choice.

I went ahead and put in the handy keychain ring tab as well. I will do the same when I make one of these for myself too, as I CONTINUALLY lose my keys to the dark recesses of the bottom of my purse.

Now isn't THAT a handsome bag? You can stop by Spool soon and see it!

There you have it! Now stop in Spool, or hop onto their online shop and get your materials for making the Chunky Wee Bag now!

Time keeps going...

2014-08-09T08:07:00.002-05:00

Time is still moving. To me, it feels like time is rushing by at break neck speeds. Which is a complete contrast to how Mom is feeling these days. Doing chemo and radiation week after week, time drags on for her. The one good thing, is that so far, on weekends we seem to be able to get her rallied and eating. Yesterday she had a craving for chipped beef and gravy with biscuits. I ran and got the ingredients, came back and whipped it up. Mom ate a few of them, and then a couple hours later ate a couple more. Any of my friends can tell you, I love feeding people. So when someone who hasn't really eaten much all week starts to rebound and nourish themselves here, I feel a weird sense of accomplishment.

But that's not my only feeling of accomplishment this week! I finished up the last of the quilts for Melanie Testa too! The labels were all sewed on by 6:00 pm last night and I was happy to see the stack of them out on the new porch!

New porch! That's right! We had our open deck area completely redone and converted part of it into a screened in porch. On top of that porch are six solar panels, to go with the eighteen panels on the front side roof! And this past Wednesday our sofa for out there arrived and I am in love! I have spent most of my days out there, hand stitching and listening to Audible books.

I'm not the only one enjoying the porch either! Our strictly indoor kitties Zoey and Penny are enamored with the area. They even slept out there last night into the dark hours with mood lighting surrounding us.

I leave for a little vacation for Arizona on Wednesday, but for now I hear some Peppered Cottons calling my name to be whole cloth pieces! Have a great weekend!

Working, Unexpected Journey and I'm a Bad Ass

2014-07-18T09:08:00.001-05:00

I Had Surgery

It’s been a long spring and summer. I had foot surgery on April 25th to replace my tibial tendon and correct my flat foot (yes, there’s still one more foot to fix!) The surgery was on my right foot, and needed (and still needs) a lot of elevation time to keep the swelling down. This has put a big crimp on how muchI was able to sew this spring and early summer.

Life Throws Curveballs Sometimes

While my foot is getting back to “normal”, life has thrown another curve ball at me in the midst of all this. Next week, I begin a journey with my mom, who will be going through radiation and chemo for cervical cancer over the next six weeks or so. Please keep her in your thoughts as she goes through this.

I Am Working

I’m extremely thankful to have lots of work on hand at the moment, making more projects for Melanie Testa. Working on Melly’s pieces, means I can’t really share what I have recently been working on, but have no fear! I’m sure I will soon have yummy photos of other projects to share with you here.

I Am A Bad Ass Quilter!

I have exciting news as well! I was notified that I was accepted to be part of the Bad Ass Quilter’s Society’s Spool Stitch Corps! I can’t even tell you how excited I am to finally have a “real” part in the Bad Ass family! It will also be nice to still have “work” to do during this time.

I'm In A Book!

My piece Sugar Skull is in Karen McTavish's book that just came out, Mastering the Art of McTavishing 2nd Edition!!

Get Your Lady Bits Checked Out

On a side note here, I just want to preach a little to make sure you go and get into your gyno’s on a regular basis for pap smears! No one likes doing it, but do it anyways! Please! It's a small thing to do, that can save your life. Make sure your daugherts, sisters, mothers, friends, cousins, EVERY woman you know is getting theirs done consistently!

The Lucky Winner Is....

2014-06-13T11:21:00.001-05:00

What a great blog hop this has been! Everyone seems to really like Melly's fabrics, as they should! I can't wait for the next opportunity to work with them myself! Thank you to Melly and to Windham Fabrics for sponsoring this great giveaway adventure!

And the winner is??

Anne-Marie B.!!!! Anne-Marie, please email me your name/address/phone number at thefibernation@gmail.com so we can get your prize to you!

Congratulation Anne-Marie, and thank you so much to everyone else for "playing"!

Be sure and check to see if you're a winner at one of the other bloghop stops as well!

Melly Testa - June 2
Vivien Zepf - June 2
Chrissie D - June 3
Sue Bleiweiss - June 4
Leslie Tucker Jenison - June 5
Jamie Fingal - June 6
Lyric Kinard - June 7
Jen Eskridge - June 8
Jacqui Holmes Calhoun - June 8 (guest post)
Stephanie Forsyth - June 9
Victoria Findlay Wolfe - June 10
Teri Lucas - June 11
Scott Hansen - June 12
Helen Eckard - June 12 (guest post)

Melly's Meadowlark Blog Hop Giveaway!

2014-06-08T09:29:00.002-05:00

I had the pleasure and good fortune to design and make three quilts for Melly's new fabric line, Meadowlark for Wyndham Fabrics, that were in her booth at Quilt Market. (Un)Fortunately I can't show you the whole quilts, because they are now magazine destined! (Woohoo!) But I can show you some in progress shots, which show how beautiful these fabrics are and how well they play with each other. Also, the tried and true test, which is cat attraction. *wink*

I was very lucky to be able to watch Melly as she went through HER design process in creating this fabric line. From hand drawings to the final fabric. I'm not ashamed to say when my heavy box of fabrics arrived to make her quilts with, I cried when I opened it and took them out. To see the transformation of them going from prints on a piece of paper that I would see via FaceTime with Melly, to holding and petting those fabrics in my hands was amazing! As an extra treat, Alex Veronelli of Aurifil was kind enough to send me a huge selection of the 12 wt variegated threads to quilt them with - their threads look A-MAZE-ING with Melly's fabrics!

Here are some random shots I took during the process:

DOTS!

If you know me, you know I must love Melly, cuz I actually used pins for her. *wink*

Miss Penny is a big fan of Melly's fabric!

Aurifil Mako 12 wt threads look amazing with Melly's line!

I swear these fabrics are in love with eachother!

And now my friends, YOU have a chance to get your little paws on some of this delicious fabric! Just leave a comment on THIS post, and you're in the running for a chance at winning a fat pack of the entire collection – that’s 26 10″ pieces! I’ll use a random number generator to pick a winner and announce it here on my blog on Friday, June 13th. If you want to be eligible to win, you HAVE to leave me a name (no anonymous) and check back here on the 13th! Good luck!

Also, keep hopping along the blog hop for more chances to win some of Melly's awesome fabrics!

Melly Testa - June 2
Vivien Zepf - June 2
Chrissie D - June 3
Sue Bleiweiss - June 4
Leslie Tucker Jenison - June 5
Jamie Fingal - June 6
Lyric Kinard - June 7
Jen Eskridge - June 8
Jacqui Holmes Calhoun - June 8 (guest post)
Stephanie Forsyth - June 9
Victoria Findlay Wolfe - June 10
Teri Lucas - June 11
Scott Hansen - June 12
Helen Eckard - June 12 (guest post)

Quilter's Unite! A Little Girl and Her Mom Need You!

2014-03-05T20:53:00.002-06:00

Hi people! Here's the deal, my friend and fellow quilter, Stephanie Adams is faced with asking for help for her daughter Savannah. She has started a GoFundMe campaign for her, and I will copy and paste her story here - she can say it better than I can anyways! Please consider donating something (every little bit counts people!)

We are the Adams Family and our daughter, Savannah, who is 13 y/o has epilepsy, cerebral palsy, autism and developmental delays. Savannah was born at 25 weeks and weighed only 1 lb. 4 oz. She has overcame many obsticles as well as made great strides but she has gotten to the point where it's hard for Wes & me to lift her into the minivan. Back in November we sent paperwork into insurance for a Bruno Valet seat. We decided the valet seat over a full handicap conversion because Savannah can walk with assistance, can sit by herself and has great head and trunk support. Savannah is currently in a manual wheelchair which can be carried to the rear of the minivan and that's another reason why we chose the Bruno valet seat over the full handicap conversion. Also, because Wes's work is self insured we wanted to save them money by going with the Bruno seat which saves them $17,300.00. Insurance states that they will cover a full handicap conversion every 3 years but they won't cover a Bruno seat which can be transferred to another vehicle that is the same make & model with the exception of paying for installation.
Today we received the denial letter stating that under exclusions and limitations that the Bruno seat is an item for comfort and convenience therefore is not a covered benefit. We have reached out to organizations and charities however we exceed the income guidelines.
Our goal is to raise $8,600.00 for Savannah to get a Bruno valet seat for the minivan. Any donation, no matter how small, would be of great help. Even if you can't contribute, please share and pass along the link to others.
Sincerely,
Wes, Stephanie & Savannah Adams

Seriously. Mind Your Own Damn Business!

2014-02-27T14:47:00.001-06:00

I have had some continuing thoughts on the minding your own business aspect of being an artist. I will admit something to you now. I have often times, found myself feeling my work was being “threatened” because another fiber artist was moving into a similar technique or medium. I tend to physical tense up, feel defensive and think “Great, now that so-and-so is doing it, why should I even bother?”

I experienced that feeling this morning, so I tried to pull immediately from things I’ve learned in Art&Fear. I came back yet again to minding my own damn business. So what if someone is using a similar technique, or even the SAME technique. It’s really none of my business. Even if we used the exact same project ingredients, our pieces will be completely different. (Keep in mind, I am not referring to instances of someone copying me here, that’s a whole other subject and not what I’m talking about.)

Took a picture of the kaleidoscope outside the Lowell Observatory back in January

What struck me today, was how ridiculous it would be if an oil painter saw another painter using oils and got upset and twitter pated. I mean, no one has the monopoly on oil paints, right? Or watercolors, or acrylics… So why would any of the mediums that can be used in conjunction with textiles be “owned” by anyone.

At the Lowell Observatory

If I spend my time worrying about what someone else is doing with the medium, then I’m not being very productive and perfecting my craft/skills am I?

So, here’s to another lesson in minding your own damn business!

Planning for Surgery

2014-02-25T20:10:00.000-06:00

Found out this afternoon that I will in fact be having surgery on April 25. It’s for a torn post-tibial tendon. They will repair the tendon, cut and move my heal bone to correct my flat foot, and will cut my calf muscle and lengthen it to fix that (apparently I was born with calf muscles that aren’t long enough for my frame, who knew?)

Bleach discharge piece - more images next time of full piece

I’m already starting to gather my thoughts for setting up my studio on the main floor so I can continue to work during the time that I’m not able to really use stairs well (if at all.) I’m already planning things I can do while I can’t easily sew - even sewing with my left foot, it would be difficult when the right still needs to be elevated.

I’ve never had a surgery before. While I am scared, I am also excited at the prospect of being able to walk pain free for the first time in I can’t recall how long. (Seriously, I really can’t remember a time I haven’t had foot pain!)

Bleach discharge piece - more images next time of full piece

I am thankful and proud that I am already planning ways to keep my artwork going. I know it will possibly be a long and difficult recovery, but I am excited at what’s at the end!

Mind Your Own Business!

2014-02-22T11:11:00.001-06:00

“To all viewers but yourself, what matters is the product: the finished artwork. To you, and you alone, what matters is the process: the experience of shaping that artwork. The viewers’ concerns are not your concerns (although it’s dangerously easy to adopt their attitudes.) Their job is whatever it is: to be moved by art, to be entertained by it, to make a killing off it, whatever. Your job is to learn to work on your work.”

This quote is from page five of Art & Fear: Observations On The Perils (and Rewards) of Artmaking by David Bayles and Ted Orland. Followed by, “Virtually all artists spend some of their time (and some artists spend virtually all of their time) producing work that no one else much cares about.”

Being Born Is Important - Gift I made for a friend

These might be the most profound and useful words I have come across about being an artist. They also could not have come to me at a better time. Oddly, I have started to read this book about a half dozen times or more, and never made it past these first few pages. Apparently I wasn’t ready yet. I was ready this time. I’m almost done with the book, and as I hit a certain part I found I wasn’t as “into it” anymore, and then I realized why. I’m not “there” yet. I’m not far enough along in my artistic story for those chapters to speak to me. I will read them anyways and file them away in my brain to seek out again later when I am ready.

I’ve always been pretty wound up about my work not selling. I was looking for validation outside the experience and I need to learn to move away from that. I need to learn to mind my own business and just focus on the making of the the art. (Even if I eventually need to rent storage space to hold my now close to three hundred pieces of fiber art!)

I have starting finding what speaks to my soul in creating art. It’s not creating for other people (by that I mean, trying to make things that I think people will like or want to buy.) In fact, I just had a piece sell that was a UFO I finished up and shared on my Facebook page. This piece was from a challenge in a small group of artist’s I am in. I thought nothing about what others would think (other than I figured I might be the only person that like the dizzying effect it has on your eyes!) It sold within a couple hours of being shared on Facebook. (Keep that in mind if you question if social media has any bearing or positive effect on artists, this was the second piece that I sold “without trying to” on Facebook.)

Close up of "Down the Rabbit Hole" that sold.

I will be focusing on my own work and I don’t mean the finished product. I mean the “getting shit done” part of getting my hands dirty (or linty as the case may be!) I will take time to enjoy the processes I go through, the habits and skills I have and continue to hone in my craft. I will give respect to the feelings inside when I create, the feelings of anticipation, excitement, satisfaction (or sometimes dissatisfaction.) It all eventually comes back to being “mindful” doesn’t it?

What about you? Are you minding your own business and focusing on your work? Maybe that school teacher phrase of “Keep your eyes on your own papers” is actually the best piece of advice they can give artistic types too?

Goodbyes, UFOs and Going Forward

2014-02-19T08:21:00.002-06:00

It’s been a long, long winter. Here in MN we have had far too many days of subzero temperatures to count, and our snowfall is already more than a normal year and we’re not done yet.

Then this January, while I was away on vacation with the hubby, my sweet little Molly Mittens became ill and we had to say goodbye to her. I was extremely thankful for iPhones and the wonder of technology, as hubby and I got to “be present” at the vet’s via Facetime. I will forever be thankful for that. That I was “with her” and she could hear me. Anyone who knows me, knows how close Molly and I were. It is still very painful and sad for me to talk about. I love and miss her. As you might remember, we lost our Mitzie just about a year and a half ago too. Mitzie was 17, and Molly was almost 19 years old.

Molly Mittens - My tiny soulmate. I miss you.

Molly on her pouffe and Mitzie on the couch. I miss my girls.

I am an at home studio artist and this house feels way too empty, quiet and sad without fur babies in it. We did not wait long after coming home to go and let a kitten “choose us”. Turns out, two kittens “chose us”. Sisters, Zoey and Penny Gwinn. They are now around six months old and settling in nicely. Zoey is like my shadow for most of the day, and Penny is quickly starting to warm up now.

Zoey in front, and Penny behind her. They are around 5 months old here.

All of this left me fairly uncreative feeling throughout the last few months. So, when I was getting the studio cleaned up for a recent part and craft get together, I stacked all of my UFOs together, in my sewing “L” area. Doing so, made me realize just how much I had in progress that needed finishing. Most of them just need bindings. I decided to devote my current time to finishing up the UFO pieces and getting them out of my workspace so I can move forward. I have something like 20-30 UFOs and I am about 1/5 or so through them now. I can’t wait to have that pile GONE, DONE AND OVER WITH!

Do you have a UFO pile? Is this the year that maybe you will decide to get them done and get those monkeys off your back? It feels soooo good with each one that I finish. In fact, one of them actually sold after just being posted to my Facebook page! Great start to a new chapter in my life.

Here are some of the UFO's I have completed so far.

Whole cloth, inks and paints

Whole cloth, inktense pencils. SOLD.

Batik and hand dyes, fabric paint.

Whole cloths, colored pencils on fabric.

Review: I Just Like To Make Things by Lilla Rogers

2013-12-30T09:55:00.000-06:00

I received a book for Christmas that I devoured, slowly and methodically. Seriously, this book had me from the cover design (be still my heart!) The book? “I Just Like To Make Things” by Lilla Rogers of Lilla Rogers Studio.

I am not sure I can accurately express how darn right attractive this book is. The design of it is clean but “arty” and the artworks chosen (from amongst the artists that Lilla Rogers represents as an agent) are eye candy and inspirational. It’s spiral bound making this book feel much more workbook-like and thus freeing me to actually write in at the areas that she left spaces to do so. So, if you’re judging a book by it’s cover, this book already has a win.

Even better though, is the meat of this book. It’s set up like a five course gourmet meal (literally, there are five chapters here people!) Here is the chapter rundown:

Chapter 1: People Buy Your Joy: It’s All about Having Fun with the Process

Chapter 2: The Secrets of Success: Getting Great at Your Art

Chapter 3: They Psychological Stuff: Real-Life Strategies for the Successful Artist

Chapter 4: Art and Craft That Attracts Success: Getting to Know the Marketplace for Your Work

Chapter 5: A Million Opportunities: What’s Next for You?

Mixed throughout the book in each chapter, are interviews with artists working and earning a living in the field. This might be one of the most valuable aspects of the book. As a fiber artist and quilter I have come to realize (yes, with this book) that I have pigeonholed myself into a niche market. It is educational and personally eyeopening to hear from artists in other market niches. They have invaluable advice for one thing, but just being exposed to other genres here made me realize that I need to diversify myself. (More blog posts to come from that eventually I'm sure!) Most (if not all) of the artists in the book, have their toes in several different marketplaces.

I am not going to go into each chapter in detail here, instead I will share some snippets of what I have learned from this book.

First, what I thought I wanted at the start of this book grew and morphed into something else, something BIGGER by the end of the book. I have a pretty good inkling others will find this happens to them as well. Lilla very skillfully guides you along and shows you just how big the art, design and print world really is and how interconnected it can be at the same time. It is practical as well as extremely encouraging for “new” artists and designers.

It is the first artist’s book that I have read that touches on jealousy, envy and competition. (Of course we don’t have ANY of that in the fiber/quilt arena, right? Right??) I’ll be the first to admit that I struggle with envy!

This book delves into the how and what to do for many markets, including quilting/fabric design, paper print, home decor, etc. It brings to your attention possibly lucrative venues that you might otherwise never have thought of that can work with the art and designs you are already creating. I feel ready to expand what I am doing and get back into surface design again on a more broad spectrum.

There is extremely helpful information and resources on licensing in this book. How it works, where to find opportunities, etc. (As well as pros and cons and what to look out for. It also covers trade shows and their pros and cons.)

One of my favorite quotes comes from one of the artists in the book, Doll Maker, Mimi Kirchner, “If money were the most important thing, I wouldn’t be doing what I’m doing.”

Now that I am done with the book, I am going to go back over it and take personal notes for myself again, on the aspects that I need to use and apply to my career. There are many guides and leading question sets to help you with goal setting - even if at the start you aren’t sure at all what your goals are.

I recommend this book to EVERY creative person out there, I’m not kidding. This book is already changing my life (I know that sounds corny!) and I think it could have an extremely positive impact on any one who reads it, no matter where they might be in their career already. It offers something for pretty much anyone.

The Choices We Make

2013-12-13T10:51:00.000-06:00

I'm sitting in my hotel room in Manhattan. My best friend is off with Melly to see the Statue of Liberty, but I'm here. There are two reasons why I'm still on the bed: 1. Yesterday we walked close to ten miles, and it created a blood blister on my big toe. 2. My tibial tendon has freaked out and I currently can not flatten my right foot out enough to walk on it. I've had this tendon issue for a couple years now, and if I do a lot of walking I have a flare up.

I take no responsibility for the blood blister - I walked 5 miles the day before with no blister, I had no idea this would happen. I need to take responsibility for the tibial tendon (most of the responsibility anyways.) I have absolutely no arches so this could be an issue no matter what, but it's definitely worsened a lot by my weight. I am much, much too overweight and clearly I need to lose the weight or I am going to run in to more and more of these situations as I get older.

I know this isn't a health and fitness blog, but I doubt I'm the only quilter with weight to lose. I love eating and I love quilting, which means I eat and sit. That clearly isn't a pathway to health and fitness. So I need to make changes. The majority of my movement will come from swimming (safer and easier on my tendons and knees!) But I think there are ways that I can work moving into my quilting and art life. I can start frequenting the museums in the Twin Cities, combining art with walking!

While I am saddened that I am going to miss out of some of the activities I had planned to go to here in NYC, I am going to try and be thankful and mindful for this (extremely painful) wake up call. I am hopeful that this time it will "click". Most of what I'm dealing with is the result of choices I have made, and I haven't been making good choices. (The old you've made your bed now lie in it thing.)

I'd appreciate any success stories any of you might have to share on this issue. I'll take all the encouragement I can get.

I'm not shopping on Thanksgiving, I hope you don't either

2013-11-25T07:50:00.001-06:00

I opened my email this morning and found a sale flyer email from Michael’s. They will be open from 4pm - 2am Thanksgiving Day. Really? Do people care so little about spending time with their families, and care so much more about save a few cents that enough of them will leave their festivities on Thursday to go shopping?

Sadly I realize that the answer to both is probably yes. It’s also related to the problem of why as artisans our work is so often undervalued (if valued at all.) The general public likes to forget the reasons why companies can offer insane sales on Black Friday Black Thanksgiving. They refuse to think about the underpaid manufacturer workers on the other side of the planet, that often never get to spend holidays with their families because they are working. That those workers make mere change compared to what most of us earn per hour/week/month here in the states. They don’t want to think about the tax breaks those big box stores get, resulting in the average American having to pay more taxes to make up for what Walmart, Michaels, Joann’s, etc. aren’t paying.

I’m begging you, please don’t go shopping on Thanksgiving day. Please, if you NEED to shop on Thanksgiving, why not do it responsibly and in good conscious and shop from places like Etsy online? You have the opportunity to support artisans while not taking them away from their family on this family holiday.

Still want to get out of the house? Why not bring a plate of goodies to an emergency room staff or to a 24 hour emergency vet clinic? These are services we need on holidays, and we’re lucky that there are people there for us. Show THEM some appreciation. Show them that you’re thankful for the life saving peace of mind their existence brings us. Let them know that you understand that they can’t be at home with their family for the holidays, because they’ve got the rest of us relying on them.

Doing these things has a much bigger impact on your soul (not to mention being an excellent learning moment for children) than saving a few bucks on some crappy mass produced items will ever have on any souls.

NYC: I Truly Heart You

2013-11-23T23:24:00.001-06:00

When I was a little girl, I often dreamed of being an artist/writer. I always imagined myself living in NYC. Many of the books I read, featured a heroine living in NYC, Brooklyn, Bronx, etc. I can’t recall the name of any of these books, but I can recall the images in my head of myself in NYC in a fancy apartment writing on a typewriter (yeah, now I’m dating myself) while taking long meaningful moments to stare out the window at all the lives going by.

In reality, at the time I lived in a tiny town in Wisconsin out in the country where when it was night, it was TRULY night and dark unless there was a full moon. I had no concept that to live in that apartment I imagined in NYC, I would have needed to marry someone with money like Trump.

I grew up. When I did, I moved to Minneapolis pretty much as soon as I graduated high school. In fact, the day after graduation I left for Minneapolis with my then boyfriend (now hubby) to search for our apartment. By July I was there, in a city. Trouble is, I was a geeky little girl who spent her spare time reading as a kid, and I was actually petrified of LIVING in the city.

Truthiness. I’m not a college graduate. I have a diploma from a “for profit” school in graphic design (I was a 4.0 Dean’s list student), and I never actually found a graphic design job. Which is probably for the better, as I don’t believe that atmosphere would have been healthy or even enjoyable at all for the introvert I am.

Something happened a year ago that changed me forever. When I moved to Minneapolis, I adopted two kitties within a few months of each other, Molly and Mitzie. Last November, I lost Mitzie to oral cancer. It was one of the hardest things I have ever gone through. My kitties are truly my babies. I wasn’t able to have human babies, and I’ve made peace with that and come to enjoy being child free. But I love my kitties more than anything in the world and losing her was heart breaking.

My hubby happened to end up with a trip to NYC for work, and he asked me if I’d like to go along with him. I needed something to break me out of the depression from losing my little Hoofer (Mitzie’s nickname). My life was changed.

This is my little Mitzie Lee Hoofenstein. I miss her so very much.

I met Melly in NYC and we have been friends ever since. We experienced kitty losses very close in time together, and we bonded over the loss of our babies. We now text most days and Skype often. I love her and I’m forever grateful I met her.

But NYC really changed me. It was the first trip where I moved about a city by myself (hubby had to work afterall). I fell madly in love with the subway system and the ease at which you can move around the city. My heart melted seeing the tree at Rockefeller. And the stores? Swoon! I found a confidence in myself in NYC, that I never knew I was capable of. I felt inspired and connected. It helped heal me.

So here it is, November again, and it just a couple weeks I will be heading back to NYC. I will see Melly again (and hopefully take advantage of her famous hugs). I will stand in front of the Rockefeller tree and fall in love all over again. Yes, I will shop. I will see The City Quilter again. I will do more things this time, as I will have more time. And I will make a connection again, with that little girl in me that always dreamed of growing up, moving to NYC and becoming a writer/artist brave woman.

Living a full life?

2013-11-21T08:47:00.002-06:00

Bronzey brown leaves keep fluttering by my bedroom window. I’m snuggled in my bed, under a comforter and wearing an oversized hooded knit sweater, cream colored. The sky is grey, so are the trees, and the light. The yards are still green, but the marsh grasses surrounding the neighborhood have all browned to a golden ochre.

Dreary gray day outside, where are you snow?

My normally very quiet neighborhood currently echoes with the sounds of garbage day, and roofers replacing the roofs that were damaged by hail back in August. (Ours gets replaced in the next couple week.)

I’m listening to Christmas music. I’m waiting for snowflakes.

Toasty socks for a blustery day.

While I love and adore being an artist and having my studio at home, there are times like today that I miss having a studio space in an arts building. I’ve been particularly lonely and anxious lately. I suspect the impending Minnesota winter (good bye sun) is a big contributing factor. But the bigger issue is the isolation.

I previously belong to a couple of guilds/artist groups. I have let one of those lapse, and the other just hasn’t worked out. I’ve had something else going on every time there was a meeting. (Same thing with a third group I was thinking of joining, bad timing!)

I am an introvert, but a sociable introvert. The trouble is, sometimes I get stuck in a loop where I don’t want to go out, don’t want to socialize, and cloister myself away in my studio or my bedroom (where I generally do my research and writing from my laptop.) It’s fine at first, but then I will suddenly find myself anxiety ridden, mildly depressed and lonely. This is the same time I realize I have stopped feeling creative, and have stopped…well, doing any thing creative.

Yesterday while I was at the gym, I was reading Artful Blogging. One of the bloggers was talking about living a full life. She was saying how currently her life is “full”, of creativity and inspiration. She listed all the things filling her life.

I rescued Bartholomew from Ikea. He's adjusting well to life with an artist.

That’s when it hit me, sitting on that stationary bike doing knee rehab time. My life isn’t full. I’m busy a lot yes, but it’s not full. I’m not entirely sure yet how I want to fill it. I’m pretty sure however, that the lack of “fullness” could very well be the explanation of my many prolonged creative dry spells. Now I just need to find how I want to fill my life.

Are you living a full life? How do you fill up your life?

Fall 2013: Quilting, Roofing, and an MRI!

2013-10-24T12:16:00.002-05:00

Fall has come to Minnesota in a big way it's cold, leaves are changing and we've had a flurry or two of snow already. The biggest indicator though, is my studio music has a lot of Christmas songs going and I watched "White Christmas" yesterday. I'm eagerly waiting the first "real" snow fall. (Shush.)

I'm in an extremely good mood at the moment. This August we had a pretty bad hail storm and our home suffered some pretty hefty roof, siding, paint and window frame damage. I just won a pretty big battle in getting the insurance company to agree to a full roof replacement in an appeals process. (Moral of the story is once again, never give up!)

I recently completed a quilt that is probably the one I am most proud of. It's slightly larger than a fat quarter, but has more than 30 hours of quilting in it. That's on top of the 10-15 hours of painting time. Bad news? I can't show it to you right now. Good news? I can't show it because it might be published. Fingers crossed people that all goes well with that!

This is the piece I did during my lesson with Karen McTavish - Completely finished!

I have been working on some quilting though. I am finishing up the tree whole cloth I started awhile back. I started it before having my lesson with Karen McTavish, so it was interesting to see the "before" and "after" parts as I went along.

Whole Cloth tree I started before lesson with Karen, and finished after the lesson.

I'm also falling in love with working with dupioni silks. (I may be asking for monetary donations to keep buying the stuff. Ha!)

A dupioni silk work in progress

I have some more "traditional" pieces I need to finish the piecing on so I can quilt them.
Of course, Christmas is a short sixty-two days away which means some of my time is also being devoted to making gifts!

I'm not sure what is going to be happening with quilting in the next couple of months anyways. I had an MRI this morning on my knee, and I'm waiting for the results on whether I will be having surgery for a meniscus tear. Unfortunately it's my right knee, which is my dominant. I'm already trying to learn to use my left foot for the machine pedal. We'll see how it goes.

Sage Words from a Mentor

2013-09-24T17:13:00.002-05:00

If you follow the blog on Facebook, you probably know I've been having some machine issues. (Again??) Today my machine took a total shit. That's right, I said it. I've been having tension issues since I got it, had some things "repaired", had the liquid crystal panel go to hell and need replaced (that ain't cheap by the way).

When I did my lesson with Karen, we muddled through an issue that has dogged me since I got the machine - skipped stitches. I don't mean one here and there. I mean constantly and if I don't watch it can go on for an inch or more where the top goes but doesn't pick up any bobbin stitches.

1+ inch skipped stitches.

So, this morning I started working on a piece with a fairly short deadline (no, I'm not procrastinating, it's just a something-fell-into-my-lap kind of thing.) Skip, skip, skip to my...damnit! I couldn't complete a single line or pebble without stitches missing. I kept threading and rethreading, changed needles, adjusted tensions, adjusted bobbin tension. Tension starts going to crap too on the stitches that are staying. I go to reset the bobbin into the machine - open the door to a retched sound - and the bobbin mechanism presents itself, get this - upside down.

I try closing the door, it tries to go in but can't, open door, it comes out, upside down and the internal bobbin holder promptly falls out and onto my sewing table. Shit. You. Not. This thing is only supposed to be removable by techs, but my machine spit the (offending?) part right now. Puked it up.

I'm in a panic and pull out my old Bernina, my 1260 (God bless that little gal!) and get to work.

I get a good portion done, snap a pic and send it and the message "Here we go!! Thank god for old machines man!" to Karen. Then they came, the most sage words I've ever heard uttered from a quilt mentor:

"Rock out with your cock out, Stephanie!!!

Not every quilter gets that quote from me but you're special."

I informed her that I was pretty sure the unofficial secret name of my piece would now be "Rock out with your cock out". I then screenshot the conversation, because let's be honest, that was a fucking cool moment. And yes, she gave me permission to blog about this, don't believe me? I took a screen shot of that too. ;)

So in the words of Karen McTavish, feel free to go to your machine and also "Rock out with your cock out!"

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My Day with Karen McTavish

2013-09-16T16:13:00.001-05:00

I will be the first to admit, that I'm not really much of a class taker. It's not that I haven't taken any, when I would go to the long arm shows (yes, I used to own one) I would take classes on feathers, and marking, and fillers, etc. I rarely took hands on classes however. A lot of this has to do with anxiety in larger groups of people I don't know.

Since early on in my life in quilting I have adored Karen McTavish's work, and her in general. In a sea of women that I often had nothing in common with, here was woman I could actually relate to that was a cool kick ass quilter!

I have tried many times to get the "Art of McTavishing" down, but my brain and hands couldn't seem to get on the same page. So, for my birthday I asked hubby if I could hire Karen for a private class in my studio. I'm a lucky lady, and he said yes!

So on Sunday, Karen came to my studio for a full day class. It was amazing, fun, relaxed and so helpful. First, let me say Karen is super friendly and sweet. Secondly, she knows her "shit" as it were. Thirdly, she might be one of the most encouraging and confidence building teachers I've ever met.

I wasn't sure what to expect at first - we didn't really discuss too much in advance exactly what it was I was wanting to accomplish. I wasn't sure I knew really what I wanted. Once we started talked, and she took a look at the work that I do, she was quickly able to guide our lesson in a direction that would be the most applicable to how *I* work and the art pieces I do.

I finished up the piece we started about an hour or so after she left. I woke up this morning and I've been quilting for the last eight hours and got the majority of a new piece done as well. It still need the center circles finished, as well as some additional filler in the bigger McTavishing lines on the outside. That will have to wait until tomorrow, my shoulders and back need a break for the night.

I highly recommend doing a private class with Karen. In fact, I recommend trying that approach with any quilters you might really admire. Especially if you're not really a group or class person. With Karen, although I was learning a lot, it also felt like hanging out with a quilting friend. It also allows you to ask questions right away as they come up and lets the conversation flow - in turn this actually helped me learn a lot more I think.

Either way, taking a class or a private lesson from Karen? I absolutely recommend it.

It doesn't hurt that she made me feel like I actually have some skills in the quilting department. ;) Thanks for an awesome day Karen!

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Ugh - Crappy Modern Quilting

2013-07-29T23:26:00.001-05:00

Ugh - Crappy Modern Quilts
Flipping through Modern Quilts Unlimited and am saddened by how many of the quilts featured are poorly quilted, in that there are large areas un-quilted amidst areas of dense quilting leaving horrible sagging areas. Again; you can make a modern quilt without it being poorly executed. Can we please go back to showing the best of the best in publications to give learner a something to strive for rather than teaching them crappy is okay?

I get it. It's modern. It's "simple". But that doesn't mean it has to be so shoddy.

Modern quilters want to make functional pieces. So why on earth would you leave such HUGE areas un-quilted, thus shortening the life of your functional quilt?

Publications, can we please get back to having higher standards for quilts for press?

Ugh.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Stress and Creativity

2013-07-26T07:46:00.000-05:00

Sunset from last night

I've not been posting much lately. I have some major distraction in my life lately, and not all of them are pleasant. I won't really get into it, other than to say that stress can affect your creativity very much. That's what I want to talk about, dealing with stress as a creative person.

Up until recently, whenever I was highly stressed I would generally shut down creatively. I wouldn't create or write. For the most part, when I make pieces I want them to convey happiness and positivity. So, I wouldn't create when I was upset because I didn't want that "in" my pieces.
I've started realizing that my art needs to be a rounded culmination of who I am, whether I am sad, mad, angry, happy, excited, or really really pissed off. The theme of the piece doesn't have to reflect the feelings I'm having, but those feelings will help make up the whole. Gestalt.

With this most recent set of stressors in my life, I have opted to do the opposite of avoidance and instead make myself be creative despite it all. Part of my being creative is journaling, but also READING! I'm not sure if everyone holds this belief, but I honestly think that reading a good book can be just as creative as writing a short story. When I read, I make up voices in my head for character. I also heavily visualize the scenes and people. I truly think this can inspire outward creativity as well.

So, I have been reading and working on a new process, that I can't share because I hope to start submitting it. (Doh!) I've also been playing with the iPad app Quiltography some more, and will probably come back to the designs I've been playing with some day in the future.
Summer is waning, and as fall approaches my schedule continues to fill and the personal stressors in my life are likely going to intensify and I must be prepared and fight to keep my creative self functioning - when she goes down the entire rest of my suffers. So I will read more, design more, stitch more, quilt more and plan to add painting back into the mix too. I need outlets, distractions, escapes. And what better way to escape, then into a creative realm that you yourself are creating.
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