Quilts: My obsession, my therapy...
I come from a family of women who were always busy with their hands, cooking and cleaning, yes, but almost as often creating beauty from the simple, ordinary things around them. Although my mother began teaching me sewing basics before I started school, I am primarily self-taught.
Though I've taken many detours into other crafts, painting, ceramics, even woodworking, I'm always drawn back to my first love, sewing. Still I hope I'm never too old to make new discoveries or acquire new skills.
Sewing, especially quilting, is my obsession. I think about fabric and dream up designs daily. Ideas come to me faster than I can make them, often faster than I can write them down. Everywhere I see colors, patterns, textures, light and shadows, that spark designs: a rainy morning in my pine-clad backyard to a cat lazing among the geraniums on my neighbor's front porch, a colorful display of fruit at the supermarket, even the chocolate-smeared face of a child in the ice cream shop. While other ladies compliment each other on their new spring outfits, I find myself wondering how that vibrant floral print would look cut up into tiny pieces.
If quilting is my addiction, it is also my therapy. Designing quilts draws from a level of creativity that no other artistic pursuit ever has. I love the entire process, even the cutting and the ironing! I love the feel of fabric in my hands, its hundreds of textures from smooth, cool satin, to rough nubby wool and everything in between. I love the smell of freshly starched and ironed cloth. I love gazing at a stack of neatly folded fabrics as much as digging through the jumble of odd pieces in my scrap basket.
I love way the colors and lines interact as I play with the pieces. I love how the quilting stitches create a whole new layer of texture on the fabric surface. Mostly I love the way all those prints, the flowers, the dots, the checks and paisleys, work together in unexpected ways. And after the frenzy of designing, of turning an idea into a workable plan, there is a peace in the rhythm of cutting, pressing, sewing, even the hum of the machine and the flow of the fabric beneath my hands, that is relaxing, soothing, healing.
I sometimes begin my design process for a quilt at the computer, but more often with graph paper and colored pencils. I usually have some idea in my head that I'm working towards, but sometimes I just play with colors and values. But some of my favorite patchwork is born when I just start pulling fabrics from my stash and cut and sew them together at random. The resulting patchwork is always a fun surprise.
Still other times I have a very specific design in mind, such as my animal face baby bibs, and I will look at hundreds of photos, cartoons, even live subjects. Then I sketch out a design and make a prototype, which then gets reworked and reconstructed until it looks the way I want it to. And of course every design gets tweaked continuously. Even if I make a hundred of the same item, no two will ever be exactly alike.
Each of the items I offer in my shop is designed and created entirely by me in a smoke free studio. I piece the patchwork and I quilt every piece on my domestic sewing machine. Every quilt, pillow or table runner I stitch carries a little of me with it. Each one tells a little of my story. I take pride in my work and my attention to the little details borders on perfectionism.
I want my pieces to be useful as well as beautiful. The features I incorporate into my designs are the features I look for in a bag or purse, blanket or quilt. Like purses with flat bottoms so they won't fall over when set down, zippers with tabs that are easy to grab and that slide smoothly, linings that lie flat so they won't obstruct your view or get caught in a zipper, pockets and more pockets. Baby bibs should be comfy as well as cute, easy to take off and on. My quilts are made to be used and loved, not folded neatly in a closet to collect dust or stored away in a cedar chest. Treated with care, they will last through many washings and grow softer and more appealing with use. Whether you're wrapping up baby or draping the table for the holidays, I hope you enjoy using my quilted creations as much I love making them for you.
Learn more about me here
https://www.etsy.com/people/snippetsandstitches?ref=hdr_user_menu
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https://www.etsy.com/shop/MakeMinePatchwork/policy?ref=shopinfo_policies_leftnav
