Getting Back At It

I've neglected Pearl the Squirrel for so long that it's become kind of an ominous creature for me, lurking in the background, leaving me feeling bad. I decided it's time to revitalize this beast, but in a way that's much easier to cope with. I won't always have things I've made to share—it's been a long time since I've completed a quilt, for example—and so I've decided to share small things. They may be things I've sewn or knitted or they may simply be interesting textile tidbits. And that is what today's post is—I saw this in the November issue of House Beautiful and it combines two of my favorite things: textiles and words. Scroop. Who knew?

Podcast today!

Yes, it's been a long time since I've posted. It's not as though I haven't had anything to post, but somehow when I write all day for work, Pearl the Squirrel gets neglected. I'm planning to gear up again. I promise!

But for now, I hope you'll listen in this afternoon to Pat Sloan's podcast. I'll be on the other side of the interview chair, talking about Art Quilts of the Midwest. There's some exciting news that I'll be sharing on the podcast.

In addition, Pat will be speaking to quilter and designer Heather Jones and art quilter Sue Rasmussen. (A super-appropriate pairing, given that Heather's new book is Quilt Local and Sue creates art quilts from photos taken in her surroundings!)

Here's where you listen: http://www.allpeoplequilt.com/magazines-more/quilting-podcast. The show starts at 3 p.m. CT. Hope you can join us!

Art Quilts of the Midwest is Launched!

I really will post soon about something other than Art Quilts of the Midwest. But last night Codi held a book launch party at Home Ec Workshop and it was so much fun for me. There were lots of friends, old (as in 20+ years old) and new (people I've met while working at Home Ec) and in between. There were several folks that I was especially touched to see, including a group of my former colleagues from my days at the University of Iowa. Several of us had made quilts for one another for significant life events (here, and here, here).

Here Codi and I look oddly formal (considering that I must have hugged her 27 times over the evening). But she gave me this bouquet of daffodils tulips and I wanted to include it in the picture. She put so much effort into the evening, and I was so grateful.

This was the only shot I got of Erick, and we didn't get one of Astrid (the book's foreword author) at all. She and I each said a few words about our involvement in the book, and Erick showed a portion of the film he's made about his work that included the pieces he has in the book.

The funny part was that the crowd was so much larger than anticipated and we realized we wouldn't fit into the workroom. So Codi, Astrid, and I delivered our remarks from Home Ec's kitchen, and Erick showed his film in shifts in the workshop. Our friends listened patiently and there were so many great comments about Erick's film.

Emily, in the black and white jacket, was one of the book's jurors

It was an evening that reminded me how much the Midwest has given me. Though I rant and rave every year about my dislike of the cold and the snow, the community that is Iowa City makes me so very happy. As Astrid said in her remarks, it's a place filled with people who are hidden gems doing surprising things, and having this group of artists, professors, shop owners, scientists, realtors, poets, graphic designers, knitters extraordinaire, biologists, etc. come out to support the book meant so very much.

Art Quilts of the Midwest: The First Copy Has Arrived!

Last week, just before leaving for QuiltCon, I got an email from the University of Iowa Press saying that one copy of my book was available for me to pick up. It was a Monday and I'd been back for two days from Minnesota and was leaving in a day for Austin. I was harried, so I didn't respond right away. I was also afraid. There's this kind of magic time in between when you write a book and make your edits and hand it all over to the designer and the Press. You can say "I've got a book coming out," and everyone is very encouraging and excited and it's easy, because it's all out of your hands. Though I've definitely been doing some marketing work, it really just an idea of a book because the physical object didn't yet exist.

But apparently it now it did. When I talked to my husband and told him it was there he said "If you don't get it, I will!" That would have been a little embarrassing, so off I went. It was kind of a quiet visit—I guess I thought everyone might come out and cheer or something—but it was nevertheless wonderful. I gave Karen, the production manager, a hug because she did so much work to make it so lovely and because it was so amazing to hold it in my hands I just had to hug someone.

Then I took it home and put it in a plastic bag and ran around frantically packing and watering plants and doing last minute errands. I really didn't look at it until I was on the plane. There was a lovely, satisfying moment when I pulled it out (and secretly hoped that my seat mate would ask me about it—no such luck) and paged though it and felt the "book-ness" of it. And for the next four days I carried it around, whipping out my book-in-a-baggie and whenever appropriate (and sometimes even when it wasn't appropriate, just because I couldn't help myself).

I'll share more about the book itself, but for now know that it will be available in the next week or so at Prairie Lights, if you're local or through your local bookstore (you can ask them to order it), on Amazon, and through the Press. I hope you'll take a look!

More QuiltCon posts at UPPERCASE

Here are two more posts about QuiltCon. Sorry for the lack of photos here—some computer issue—but there are plenty on the UPPERCASE blog.

http://uppercasemagazine.com/blog/2015/2/22/quiltcon-3#.VOyiBkLr-AY=

http://uppercasemagazine.com/blog/2015/2/22/quiltcons-lasting-impressions#.VOyiJULr-AY=

QuiltCon 2015 Follow-up

It's been a wonderful few days in Austin, where I'm attending QuiltCon.

Admiring City Center by Angie Henderson at the QuiltCon 2015 exhibition hall

There's really nothing like being with folks who love what you do. On Thursday morning I started chatting with a young woman from Victoria, B.C., as we walked across the lobby floor. She said "I want to live here!" And I said "In Austin?" Her response was that the location didn't matter so much, but she wanted to be with people who loved what she did on a day-to-day basis. She'd tried to describe her passion to her work colleagues, but they didn't understand and were glad she was going where others did, because they'd heard enough. My guess is that she won't stop talking when she returns—she may be so pumped full of enthusiasm that she makes a few quilting converts.

I may or may not have purchased some of this fabric at Stitch Lab's booth in the vendor area

For coverage of QuiltCon, visit UPPERCASE's blog—though she was on of the three jurors for QuiltCon (along with Carolyn Friedlander and Stevii Graves) UPPERCASE editor Janine Vangool wasn't able to attend and asked me to to cover for her. You can find words and photos about QuiltCon 2015 here and here, with more to come. 

QuiltCon, Here I Come!

I'm back from the better part of a week in Minnesota with my aunt, and getting ready to head out again, this time for Texas. (And while I dearly love my aunt, at this time of the year I am definitely looking forward to going south, rather than north!)

UPPERCASE issue #24: Note in the right-hand column, 1x1-inch squares of actual feed sacks grace the covers

I'll be covering QuiltCon for UPPERCASE magazine, which I'm quite pleased to have been asked to do. I've written for UPPERCASE over the years and for issue #24 I got to write about feed sacks, one of my favorite topics.

The real thrill of writing this piece was getting to talk with people who remember wearing feed sack clothing—I found their names through the comments on the Etsy feed sack post I wrote in 2011. The interviews were delightful, and I loved that neither Joyce, who grew up on an Iowa farm, or Nancy, who lived in Ohio, ever felt deprived because their clothes were feed sacks. On the contrary, they loved them. When UPPERCASE #24 arrived at her home, Nancy even sent me the photo below of a feed sack quilt that included scraps of a sack she'd picked out for a dress. It had simple mathematical equations on it, and she remembered thinking when she chose it that it could come in handy when she was in school.

At any rate, if you'll be at QuiltCon, I hope you'll join me for what they're calling "a demonstration" on Friday at noon in Exhibit Hall B. In addition to giving away 10 copies of UPPERCASE #24, the one with actual feed sack squares affixed to the cover, I'll be talking about feed sacks. (Also, Janine is offering a special QuiltCon discount for an UPPERCASE subscription. http://uppercasemagazine.com/quiltcon)

Inspired by Amy Butler and Oaxaca

I'm inspired by Amy Butler—her fabrics, her ability to combine color and pattern, her fresh palettes. I have a special place in my heart for her because she was my very first profile subject for Quilts and More magazine, back in 2006, which was my first freelance piece for a quilting publication. The opportunity to write that piece, so graciously given to me by editor Elizabeth Tisinger Beese, really changed my career direction and consequently my life.

Last week I got the chance to interview Amy again and it turns out she loves Oaxaca, Mexico, as much as I do. We talked about the incredible colors, people, landscapes, and textiles. It reminded me to share a few photos from our Christmas in Oaxaca. Hope you enjoy them.

No Sewing Without Lipstick!

Thought you might enjoy this tidbit from our sewing past. As my friend who sent it to me said, it was obviously written by Mr. Singer....All this preparation for sewing would mean I'd never get to it! And the prep involves nothing creative, only making yourself look presentable should others stop in unexpectedly. By the time I'd made all the beds, washed the dishes, put on the clean dress that I undoubtedly had to first iron, fixed my hair and put on lipstick, I'd be ready for bed. I'm grateful the "rules" of sewing engagement have changed.

Sew Together Bag

Sometime this fall, I managed to make a Sew Together bag. The design is so clever and I've seen lots of them on Instagram, so when I stumbled upon the SewDemented booth at Quilt Market, I bought a pattern. I thought it might be a good class project, but truth be told, it's pretty darned labor-intensive.

I used fabrics I'd had in my stash for a long while—Echino prints and Cloud 9 Geocentric canvas—all on heavier substrates, which I thought would make for a nice, sturdy bag. And indeed it did, although I think it made the layers a little thicker and more challenging to sew through.

I didn't wind up having enough of the exterior Echino fabric and so pieced in some Cloud 9, and I'm pleased with the result and will definitely make the bag again, although doing some batch sewing (making several at once) would be more efficient.

I also highly recommend the Quilt Barn sew-along tutorial from last March. It broke steps down even further than the instructions and was super helpful.

It's a New Year! Looking Back and Looking Forward

It's been two full months since I last wrote. There are lots of reasons why, including the suspicion that blogging may be on the way out and time is best spent elsewhere. But much of it has been about a phase of my life, one that involves adult children and elderly relatives, career successes and considering what's next, all mixed with the usual anxiety, guilt, and pleasures that come day-to-day.

Stockings for a class I taught at Home Ec, and for the public library holiday bazaar

I last wrote about my surgery, and while the result has been great—most people don't seem to notice the scar or are at least kind enough to say they don't—it took me out of circulation for most of November. Then I had two sets of houseguests, work at Home Ec, and work deadlines. I had to decline some work and missed some deadlines on other jobs, which is not my style at all and still grates on me. But my houseguests were important people in my life and I wanted to be with them,

Now I'm looking forward, toward the publication of Art Quilts of the Midwest, and thinking about how to do some publicity. It's looking like marketing the book will be almost as time consuming as writing it. But I can't wait for the day (next month!) when I get to finally see the finished book.

I've done a bit of sewing (the stockings above and a few other small projects), but I've been knitting like a fiend. Below are some cowls I finished up in time for holiday giving.

And though this poor blog has been neglected, I do keep up with Instagram. I love seeing what folks are up to, catching a brief glimpse into their lives, giving them a thumbs-up or making a brief comment, and moving along. I'm not so good at Facebook or keeping up with this blog, but if you're interested in what I'm up to, Instagram is a good place to find out. Follow me at @seamswrite and let me know your IG name and I'll follow you, too!