Ideas and Multiple Discovery

Ideas are like rainbows. If the conditions are right and paying attention, you are rewarded.

I got an email from someone I don't know who I have decided is concerned for me (attitude is everything) even though she feels I have "stolen" an idea from someone. I have been teaching "my" quilt-as-you-go technique internationally for more than 20 years. I readily admit that I did not invent quilt-as-you-go and my version is also based on my love of strip and scrap quilts. I simply put it all together in my own way. About five years into teaching "Bending Quilt-As-You-Go," someone asked if I knew of Ann Bauer's work, which I had not. She said that while our work was similar in construction (quilt-as-you-go), she also noticed differences. From that point on, I avoided Ann's work (sorry Ann, just did not want to be influenced). I also suspect that this might be what the email is referring. Although I cannot be sure because the email does not share the "who."

Multiple discovery- a term used in the scientific community whenever two or more scientists in different parts of the work come up with the same idea at the same time- is something I think also occurs all the time in all fields. One example from the quilt world involves Kathy Schmidt and Rayna Gillman who were both working on books about "no rules" or "free-form" quilting at the same time. I believe that ideas are out there floating around looking for people who are open to them (see my quote). Ideas are limitless. We just have to be open and do the work.

My technique was born because I wanted people to keep making quilts. I kept hearing about too many UFOs, not being able to master machine quilts, but not having the funds to pay for quilting, etc. I can remember the day the idea came to me and how I could not sleep until I figured it out. I love those magical moments that don't happen often enough, but just enough to keep me working. My technique is now being used to create unique shoes in Georgia (country not state).  An artist in Almaty continues to make a living selling potholders using my technique. It makes me happy because creating is a good thing.  So what ideas have sprung up into your head?

1950 Challenge Fabric Reveal

It all began with this 1950s fabric and a group of wonderful people who joined in the fun. The rules were simple.

1. The challenge fabric must appear in your finished quilt. After all, that is the point.
2. You can do anything you want to the fabric (dye, stamp, etc.).
3. You must use Rayna Gillman's book, Create Your Own Free-Form Quilts: A Stress-Free Journey to Original Design, as your inspiration.
4. You must take photographs showing your process. I'd like to see at least three and especially photographs of any changes you make to the challenge fabric.
5. If you don't have a blog, send the photographs and thoughts to me and I'll post them here. If you have a blog, then please share it so we can watch and comment on your progress.

I asked that all the quilts be completed by March 1. However, I knew that not everyone would or could finish it. Irene Armock broke her arm and Marti Porterfield is having visions problems. Rayna Gillman has had lots of deadlines. We Should all be so lucky. Please understand that when I began this challenge,  I did not know Rayna nor did I knew that she would care about my challenge AND that she would take the time to join in and provide encouraging words to those who stepped up and put themselves out there to do the challenge. The world s a better place because of people like Rayna.  Others didn't even bother to acknowledge they got the fabric but life is too short to worry about them. More photos are coming so check back. Thanks to everyone for joining in the fun.

 Mine

  Rayna Gillman

Ode to Karen

Carol Esch

 

Louise Baldel

Denise Frank

Barbara Beadsley

Metamorphosis

  Vivian Helena Aumond-Capone

Bonnie J Smith

Janice Paine Dawes

Pink Rain and Chocolate Bunny

Sherrie Spangler

Martha Ginn 

 Kristin McNamara Freeman

Another Finished Quilt

I have hesitated sharing this quilt because I haven't come up with a title yet. It's 30" (w) by 19" (h). I like both the discharge block and the applique block in this quilt. Can't wait to share my indigo quilts and the one I worked on this weekend which has the working title "Pods." I cannot believe how much has evolved since beginning with the challenge fabric! Speaking of the challenge, I heard from Gail Pierce and she's began and having fun.Do check out her blog. Any suggestions for a title for this piece would be appreciated.

Windows Quilt

Here is my quilt made with the small saved discharge pieces. Boy am I happy I kept them. They always said "windows" to me but I could never quite figure out what to do until playing with Rayna Gillman's book, Create Your Own Free-Form Quilts. The quilt is 32" (w) by 19-1/2" (h).  It invokes strong feelings and memories of Georgia (country not state) for me. I am loving the quilts I am making!

Challenge Fabric Quilt Finished!

When I started this challenge/new adventure I didn't have any expectations in mind. It was simply an adventure in exploration and wanting to share this experience with others.. Personally, it started me on a path and boy am I enjoying it.  I promise to share more. Here is my quilt which was actually completed on January 29. It is 47"(w) by 25" (h). What I cannot believe is that I have completed five additional quilts since then and have three more in the works! I canot wait to see what others have done.

I never thought that having challenges would end up being something that I would host but so many people have asked and I actually found today so more fabric. This one is not vintage but I also think it could be fun. So I will be revealing the new challenge on March 1st when this challenge is suppose to be finished. Life is good! The day got away from me so tomorrow I promise to reveal my Bonuses for the Foto/Fiber American Cancer Society fundraiser.

Challenge Fabric Quilt- Top Done!

I actually finished this quilt earlier in the week and was letting rest to see if I felt it was done. I'm declaring it just that. I actually began quilting it last night and had to make myself quit at one this morning. I was on a roll but boy do my shoulders hurt.  Hope to finish it today! I used the challenge fabric eleven times! So I am pleased. My husband, Tom, doesn't usually like my work so I am happy to report that he loves the pieces I've made this month. I find that very interesting.

On a different and yet similar note, I have gotten emails from both participants in the challenge and others either apologizing for calling the fabric "ugly" or asking if I am upset because people are calling the challenge fabric "ugly." First, I don't find the challenge fabric ugly. It's simply a piece of vintage fabric and I have memories of curtains made with similar fabric hanging in my grandmother's house. Maybe that is why I held on to the fabric when I got rid of others. That said, I take no offense when someone calls it "ugly." Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.  I also know calling it ugly does not reflect on me. I am just happy that I figured out a fun way to use the fabric. I truly cannot wait to see what everyone does with it. So worry less, play more!

Challenge Fabric Quilt Conitnues

While I continue to play with the challenge fabric quilt, I decided I needed a break so I started quilting the beige and black quilt. I love how quilting brings a quilt alive!

I am also pleased to announce that Anna Mowicki from the UK is joining the challenge. Anna now completes the group. Anna has several blogs so I am not sure yet which one to link to so I'll keep you posted.


1. Rayna Gillman
2. Kristin McNamara Freeman
3. Janice Paine Dawes
4. Sherrie Spangler
5. Marti Porterfield
6. Denise Frank
7. Carol Esch
8. Mary Ann Mauney
9. Martha Ginn
10. Vivian Helena Aumond-Capone

11. Kathryn Schmidt

12. Irene Armock

13.  Del Thomas 

14. Gail Pierce

15. Louise Baldel

16. Bonnie Smith

17. Anna Mowicki

I am off to celebrate the Korean New Year! Happy New Year. Once I eat my rice soup, I'll be another year older and hopefully wiser. Make it a great and creative day!

Challenge Fabric- Day 4

When I dug around for dyes, I came across a package of Putnam dye which has to be at least 30 years old. This one was "forest green" so I thought I would give it a try and I am so glad that I did! This is the color I got! I'm continuing to play.

I am also pleased to share that Louise Baldel and Bonnie Smith are joining in on the challenge! I only have two more pieces of fabric available and tomorrow is the deadline for joining in on the fun so act now!

I know Janice and Marti have posted about the challenge. Here is a complete list of those what have accepted the challenge (never thought it would be this many!):

1. Rayna Gillman
2. Kristin McNamara Freeman
3. Janice Paine Dawes
4. Sherrie Spangler
5. Marti Porterfield
6. Denise Frank
7. Carol Esch
8. Mary Ann Mauney
9. Martha Ginn
10. Vivian Helena Aumond-Capone

11. Kathryn Schmidt

12. Irene Armock

13.  Del Thomas 

14. Gail Pierce

15. Louise Baldel

16. Bonnie Smith

Challenge Fabric Quilt-Day 3

Digging around looking for some other means to manipulate the challenge fabric, I came across some very old Putman brown dye. I wasn't even sure it would work since the package was pretty hard. When I first stirred it, it looked more purple than brown. However, nothing ventured, nothing gained. Success! I replaced the brown I was going to use with the dyed brown fabric.


After seeing Rayna's dye job, I feel I was definitely not adventuresome enough. Do check it out! I want some! Sherrie is tea dyeing. Marti got a great pink with Pebeo Setacolor transparent paint. I am certainly in with some great company!

I am also happy to report that Gail Pierce has joined the challenge. There are now 14 people participating! I may get rid of (oops share) all this fabric yet! It's off to the post office before the really nasty weather that is suppose to hit here happens and then make into the studio.

Challenge Fabric Quilt Day 2

Not much got done because we went into Chicago to see my youngest son's new place and eat Cuban food. The restaurant, 90 Miles Cuban Cafe, is quite funky (inside and out) with great food and wonderful murals outside. I thought it so appropriate that our table had an old Singer sewing machine on it. We sat on the patio where an old Cuban movie from the 1960s was playing. It reminded me so much of a movie I saw in Georgia that was made in the late 1950s. After lunch we headed over to Salvage One (60,000 square feet) which is always interesting and provides food for thought. Unfortunately, prices are too high to take anything home. Anyway, too tired to do much on the quilt.

I am pleased that Del Thomas will be joining the challenge!

Challenge Fabric Quilt- Day One

I will admit that when I began Rodney Atkin's song If You're Going Through Hell kept popping up in my head. His advice is sound,

"If you're going through hell,
Keep on going, don't slow down
If you're scared don't show it
You might get out
Before the devil even knows you're there."

I've been at this long enough to know that you just have too keep working. The challenge fabric has actually been used four times so far. I was also surprised at how many fabrics I had in my stash that worked. I fell in love with the piece once I added the turquoise. I love words and there are two pieces of fabric with writing on it which also made me happy. I'm itching to work on it so more. I also can't wait to see what everyone else does.

The people listed below have joined me (scroll over their names and you see who is linked to their blog if it isn't apparent on your screen) in this challenge. I have had some people who have asked questions. I just want to remind everyone that January 20 is the deadline to join. I just don't enjoy standing in line at the post office. Deadline to finish is March 1. The rest of the simple rules can be found in earlier posts.

Denise figured out that she does have a blog which she opened in 2008 but never did anything with it. Now she does! Her name is now linked to her blog.   She lives in Canada and mail takes longer so she hasn't gotten the fabric or the book yet. Carol spent yesterday playing with the fabric. Here is what she shared with me, "Well I  painted over some of the fabric--slight mess but interesting mono prints onto other fabric. Then I wanted to try decolorant on black so tried some of that after seeing yours and that was part of my day. Stayed in pjs until after 4.  I am not sure what will come of this.   A process.  It may have to sit for awhile. We will see." I know Marti was playing around with different teas. Martha blogged about her strip sets which are quite impressive. Sherrie is getting her feet wet and shared her beginning baby steps. The fun has begun!

1. Rayna Gillman
2. Kristin McNamara Freeman
3. Janice Paine Dawes
4. Sherrie Spangler
5. Marti Porterfield
6. Denise Frank
7. Carol Esch
8. Mary Ann Mauney
9. Martha Ginn
10. Vivian Helena Aumond-Capone

11. Kathryn Schmidt

12. Irene Armock

Struggle, Struggle, Slash

I just wasn't happy with this quilt until I decided to cut the blocks apart and sew them in a different arrangement. I love that this was so easy done! "Feel the fear and do it anyway!" Now I am happy. I'm sticking a fork in it and calling it done! Time to quilt it and move on to playing more with my indigo fabrics. The windows were pieces left over from demonstrating discharging in Georgia (country not state). It feels so good to be using these long kept treasures.

Many of you have asked how I created the discharged block in my other quilt. I dug around and found the cheap foam stamp that I used! These foam rubberstamps can be found at Michael's, JoAnn's, Hobby Lobby, etc. When I was purchasing them, they sold for $1.00.  I am sure they are more now but still inexpensive. I found that they are great for discharging with bleach. I honestly don't remember the brand of fabric I used.  From the feel and look of it, I would guess it is Kona black, but I always like to pick up black fabrics so I can see what colors are created when the fabric is discharged. That is part of the fun. I have some green fabric from Georgia that discharges to a very nice purple! I really wish I had bought more of it when I was there. I had no idea if I could create this block when I attempted it, I was thrilled with the results and surprised when none of my students in the workshop wanted to try creating designs with the stamps. I can only hope they played when they got home.

I am so excited that the challenge fabrics are making their way to their new homes. Today Irene Armock joined! I can't wait to see what is created!

Working, Working, Working

I'm not sure I like the bottom piece on the quilt so I may remove it today.  I also started playing with more indigo pieces. I love the piece of fabric with question marks on it.

The tan/grey piece has been an interesting journey. I am thinking about taking it apart and trying a different placement so that it is a square. I want it to be bigger too. My studio is an absolute mess and I'm suppose to be taking photos of it for Virginia Spiegel's Foto/Fiber 2012 fundraiser for the American Cancer Society. It never stays clean for long and especially when I am creating. I did manage to put away all the browns, reds, etc.

I am also pleased to announce that Kathryn Schmidt has joined the fabric challenge. I'm being good and waiting to start until people have their fabric.

More good news! Amazon now has my book Quilts in the Attic: Uncovering the Hidden Stories of the Quilts We Love in stock!  I love how quickly things can change.  I have a call with my marketing person today so I want to make the most of my studio time.

Continuing to Play

 I am still playing! I think I'm sticking a fork in this quilt and will begin quilting it today. Since beginning this wonderful journey, I have gotten some emails and decided to answer the questions/concerns expressed in them.

• I have never met Rayna Gillman. However, I know when I do, I will like her.
•  I am not receiving any money for the sale of her book nor am I working for her.
• I am not trying to recreate a Rayna Gillman quilt nor do I think my work would be mistaken for one of her pieces of art.  I think the quilts that I am creating look like my work. Hopefully Rayna will weigh in on this.
• Rayna knew nothing about my fabric challenge until I announced it. I offered this on my own because I thought it would be fun to see what others would do. I happen to like playing with and supporting other artists. People were free to join in (and I'm thankful that they did) or not. I felt it was my right to create my own rules.

This quilt is a real challenge and one that I am enjoying. It is far from done.  It also looks better in person than in this photo. So far, no purchases have been made. I wish I could say that my scrap bin is getting smaller.  I'm really messy when I work so my studio is once again a mess, but it's a happy mess.





And as you can see, I've started another indigo piece. The panel is a Dutch wax print cloth (Hollandaise) from West Africa which I purchased from one of my favorite vendors at International Quilt Festival in Houston when I lived there. It is approx. 12 by 16.5 inches so the size is presenting me with a new challenge.  I am so excited that I am having trouble sleeping and I work on these quilts in my dreams! I certainly hope you are having fun too.

Challenge Quilt Two And Challenge

I dug out these orphan blocks that I had made for a project long ago abandoned to begin the next quilt using Rayna Gillman's book. However, when I go to digging around in my scrap bin, I came across a Bold Over Batiks!  panel that I had bought nearly 15 years ago. As a sidebar, here's a little known fact, I was one the who suggested the exclamation mark for the business' name. Anyway, more digging turned up fabric that went well with the panel but the black and white log cabin squares just didn't seem to work. So I've simply set aside the blocks and I will get back to them later.  Here's what I've done so far. I am continuing to have fun.

Here is the list of people who have signed on to make a quilt using the challenge fabric posted on January 5. If I missed including you, please let me know.


1. Rayna Gillman
2. Kristin McNamara Freeman
3. Janice Paine Dawes
4. Sherrie Spangler
5. Marti Porterfield
6. Denise Frank
7. Carol Esch
8. Mary Ann Mauney
9. Martha Ginn
10. Vivian Helena Aumond-Capone


I plan to get the fabric in the mail to you on Monday. Thanks for wanting to play with me.

If you want to participate, just let me know. There's still plenty of time. I can't wait to see what everyone creates!

Challenge Quilt Next Steps

First, I want to thank Rayna Gillman for all her kind words and for posting my adventure on her blog. Next, I want to thank everyone else who has sent me words of encouragement and openly shared your opinions. I'm blown away! This is such a great way to start the New Year. Please consider joining in on the fun. I promise you won't be disappointed.

I am amazed at how different it looked once I squared it up. I agree with Rayna that a binding would take away from the design. I had never planned on putting a binding on it. However, I am considering a border. So what do you think?

New Year New Challenge

I love this time of year because people seem so full of hope. It's like we've been given a clean slate. I have been spending all of my time lately writing--mostly answering questions (marketing for my book Quilts in the Attic, Teacher of the Year  (17 questions and) and the Foto/Fiber 2012. I am also working on a website. I haven't had one in years and it's time. Anyway, while I do feel writing is being creative, I have missed being in my studio and playing with fabric. I decided to give myself a challenge so I dug out an old UFO. It was one given to me more than 15 years ago. I challenged a friend at one time to create something interesting with it but she passed so I'm doing it in her honor. The top is approx. 29 1/2 x 29 1/2 inches. I am taking my inspiration from Rayna Gillman's book Create Your Own Free-Form Quilts  which has been getting a lot of well deserved buzz. I am considering this play and have no expectation of creating a piece of art. I just want to see where I can take this top and hopefully honor the unknown maker. What challenges have you given yourself for 2012?