“For if the artist love the medium enough to submit himself to its actual qualities, resisting exaggerated notions of what the medium can do at his beck and call, then the result will likely be something recognizable as a work of art, a transaction between the mind and the world that is played out in the material reality of the medium.”
How Poems Get Made
James Logenbach
Medium stipple or meander I use for quilting t-shirt quilts.
Hello, Everyone!
Where is July going? I feel like we just started the month, and now we are half-way through it. So many unknowns this month, too...will school start? What will it look like? Is it safe? What will be missed if students stay at home? I have a sophomore in college and a junior in high school, and all of the options look weak and unsatisfactory. We are still waiting for the county to make decisions about school, and the university still insists school will begin, but they have not offered any details about move-in or specifics about classes. I do not envy anyone having to make those decisions, either. If I am worried, then I am sure school/university staff are having sleepless nights!
Right now I do not control any of those decisions, so I am trying (unsuccessfully sometimes) to not worry about them. Today I cannot affect any changes regarding school...by the way my husband works at a university, too...so school questions abound in our house...so I will not let those concerns niggle my mind--at least not much. If I keep saying that will I begin to practice it? I hope so!
I do find a lot of solace in my work. Sewing has always been a balm, and I try not to take for granted the quiet hours I spend in my studio. Today’s quotation reminds me of how sewing really takes hold of me...I really do submit myself to my medium, and I love what arises from that willing submission.
Besides working on custom orders, finishing four quilts and delivering them, this week, I worked more on half square triangles...I hope to finish next week, so that we can begin laying out the quilt! I’m so excited to get to that part! How are your squares going? Please don’t hesitate to ask questions or send me pictures! Do we need a hashtag to follow on Instagram….hmmm…that sounds like a good idea!
As I worked piecing squares and dreaming about the top as a whole, the inevitable happened: I started thinking about how I want to quilt the Anniversary quilt. Do you think about quilting as you are piecing? I always do. For t-shirt quilts, I almost always use a medium sized stipple for quilting because it allows me to meander around heavy paint, buttons, placards, or other odds and ends one finds in quilts made from clothing. So as I am prepping shirts or pieces of the quilt, I think about how I will need to quilt around and within that block. I think that forethought helps when the top actually gets loaded for quilting.
For memory quilts, often also made from clothing, I sometimes quilt something special but it usually incorporates a meander, so that I can still have the freedom to avoid trouble spots. All of my quilting is hand-guided, too, so my patterns are limited to what I know how to do. Though I am always trying out new things!
Small stipple and meandering heart quilting samples. I should finish these even though they are small—-I have been using them for my mug rugs! The meandering heart has lush minky on the back of it. I love to cuddle it!
I’m wondering if I want to do some custom quilting on the Anniversary quilt or if it should reflect my most common quilting pattern? Do I want to custom quilt the larger half square triangles? Do I want to do one meandering pattern in the solid spaces and a different one in the scrappy spaces? Do I want to quilt a fancy border design...I mean it is a celebration quilt!?!
I have not made any decisions yet, but I am thoroughly enjoying thinking about the options! What kind of quilting do you like on a quilt...a dense pattern, lose pattern, all over or custom quilting? Do you quilt your own quilts or will you give your top over to the trusted and capable hands of a longarm quilter? Leave me a comment or send me a DM. I would love to hear your ideas and thoughts about quilting!
Have a great week! Be kind. Stay safe.
Sending Quilting Love,
Ginger
Coming Next Week: Finished Half Square triangles?
I am Reading: Elantris by Brandon Sanderson and Man in the Blue Scarf: On Sitting for a Portrait by Lucien Freud by Martin Gayford. (I am really enjoying this book---I read a little each night before bed, and I am fascinated by Freud’s mind and artistic thinking. I also love the view of the sitter!) The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas (unabridged) I am also reading various poetry. What are you reading? I would love to know!