Around the World Blog Hop

Julie, aka Quiltdivajulie, tagged me to participate in the Around the World blog hop. The example she set in her post (which you can see here) was a bit intimidating but I took a deep breath and accepted.

First of all I'm going to take this opportunity to finally introduce myself visually. I've been keeping this blog since 2007 and to the best of my recollection I've never shared a picture of myself. This one's for you Julie!

 The blog hop invitation poses these four questions:

1. What am I working on?
2. How does my work differ from others of its genre?
3. Why do I write/create what I do?
4. How does my writing/creating process work?

Currently I'm working at clearing enough space around my cutting mat to enable me to prune two large-ish quilts. They're large for me and my space even though one is barely twin size and the other will only fit a double bed. These two quilts were just quilted by my younger (adult) son who has become a professional long arm quilter during the past year or so. Now I have to cut away the excess batting and backing and make and apply bindings to them. Not my favorite steps in the quilt making process but necessary.

My work may differ from that of other quilt makers in that, lately at least, I work primarily from the scraps created when previous quilts were made. I have always enjoyed scrap or multi-fabric quilts more than the controlled, organized versions that seem to have been popular (and more socially acceptable) back in the day. For example, I could never make this:

I have the skills, I would just get bored after the first block! Plus, technical complexity doesn't do it for me. What I like is ingenuity, figuring out how to make something aesthetically pleasing out of a pile of apparently unrelated prints and colors. To which end I design my own quilts. I'm not sure I'm capable of actually following a pattern anymore. I will inevitably find something about it that doesn't suit me and make changes.

I also prefer to work intuitively. That means I will start out with a goal in mind but not much more than that. Most often there is a person for whom I want to make a quilt or who is in need of a quilt for warmth or comfort (generally both). That will help to determine the size the finished quilt will need to be and sometimes I can get color cues if I know the person's taste. For example, I just finished and shared this quilt for my father-in-law:

I did my best to incorporate his interests and color preferences. This one was not made from scraps but from a wide variety of prints. The quilts I make from scraps tend to look more like this:

In the beginning (around 1985) my motivation for making quilts was, I assume, much the same as many other quilters. I admired the traditional quilts of yesteryear and the make-do spirit in which many of them were created. Not that I had much personal experience with quilts growing up. All we ever had were store bought blankets until my folks purchased a lakefront cottage that came furnished. There were a couple of comforters in the bedrooms. Tied, not quilted, and made out of whole cloth instead of being pieced or appliqued. It was years later that I learned I had great grandmothers who pieced and quilted and that there were specimens of their work in the family. I have since become the curator of those heirlooms. :- )

One of the first big influences in my quilt making were sisters Roberta Horton and Mary Mashuta. Off the top of my head I don't remember which sister specialized in which type of work but one focused on the utility quilts of the past and the "imperfections" that made them so charming. The other promoted the idea of quilts as vehicles for art and expression. I've made my share of art quilts but at the moment I seem to be stuck on making utility quilts rather than show quilts. I believe I have Gwen Marston to thank for that. She has managed to show us quilt makers how to cross the line between art and function. Or better yet, how to combine art and function. I think that's what ultimately drives me, the desire to combine artistic impulses and function.

And so lately I've been cutting patches and strips from the leftovers of a quilt I just made and then piece simple traditional blocks from those scrap patches and use those blocks to create a quilt top that I will beg or pay someone else to quilt for me. Right now that's my process. This blog has always been the place where I share my textile processes, whatever form they may take. I do dabble in other forms of the needle arts, just not to the extent that I piece for quilts.

I have reached out to two creators whose work is very different from mine to carry on this blog hop. They are Maya of A Million Little Stitches, primarily an embroiderer who lives and stitches in India, and Cyra who lives a free form life and creates all sorts of textile art in New Zealand. Look for their blog posts next Monday, 22 September. Or go visit them now and see what they're up to! You won't regret it. :- )