Monday, August 9, 2010

We Interrupt This Garment Sewing Blog

… to bring you a quilting-crafty blog. Or so it seems, lately. ;-0



That's OK. That's one of the things I love about sewing — there are SO MANY different things to sew that it's hard even for someone with the attention span of a gnat (me!) to get bored.

So, I didn't get the quilt top finished, but it's nearly so. (Do you know how long it takes to arrange all the blocks so that there are no repeats of prints in the rows or columns and the color depth is evenly distributed? Hah!) I still need to machine appliqué the flowers and leaves and then I'm going to straight-line machine quilt this little wall hanging so the finish shouldn't be that far away. Hopefully, I'll get it done by the weekend since it's a slower work week. Fingers crossed.

If I do say so myself, I like it. It's very cheery and the unexpected pop of orange and yellow in the corner makes me smile. And makes it less matchy-matchy, I think. If I were a "real" quilter, I would have a stash of quilting fabrics and this wallhanging wouldn't have been made with every same fabric I've been using for the last few weeks. But I did manage to dig up a few that haven't been used in the room re-do yet.

Speaking of "real" quilters — it's no wonder quilting is so popular. The finished pieces I've been seeing on quilting blogs are so pleasant to look at, the fabrics are adorable with such a big choice, and the shops know how to do it right.

Case in point, Fat Quarter Shop (NAYY):



Each magazine was packaged in its own protective zippy bag, the charm packs in their own wrapper with cute FQS stickers for closures and decoration. Yes, I bought charm packs. Does this mean I'm starting a quilting stash? Hmmm. Even the pretty invoice (yes, pretty!) came inside a nice Thank You envelope. Contrast this with Fabric.com, Fabric Mart, and others who toss wadded-up fabric in a bag inside a box and throw in advertising. Hmmm. (OK, EOS has better packaging, but even that could be improved at those prices. Sorry, just my 2 cents.)

So, what's with the quilty magazines? Well, I've taken a liking to them and also crafty magazines for eye-candy and entertainment reads since Threads, et al. has been boring me for quite a while. Deep down, I still like the garment sewing magazines (what few there are!), but it seems like everything is a re-hash and there's not much new and fresh within the pages.

Which is completely different from the quilting and crafting magazines. On and in those, the colors are bright, the projects look fun and imaginative, the writing is entertaining, and the whole vibe is just more inviting. Even though I could do most of the crafty projects in my sleep. But I'm an experienced sewer/crafter and not the typical target audience, so I understand that most of the projects are not going to be for advanced skills. But how attractive these magazines and projects must be for new and/or young sewers. (Or … ahem! … "old" sewers like me with the gnat's attention span!) If you were a 20-something beginner sewer/crafter, would you pick up a magazine with a fuddy-duddy boucle Chanel jacket on the cover or would you pick up the one with Fun! Bright! Cheerful! projects with articles that are written the way you talk? I may be nearing mid-century but I'm far from ready to be a Lady Who Lunches. Pfffft. :-)

So where am I going with all of this? I don't really know. LOL! I just know that I like having choices. Vive la différence!

And do stick around. There will be garment sewing again eventually. That gnat thing, remember? ;-)

20 comments:

  1. That is a cute little wallhanging. Quilting clears the palate, you might say. I do that when I get frustrated. There's something soothing in chain piecing. If you like to browse the shops, my friend in town, Sarah has a site for her shop, Seams Like Home, it's: www.alittlefabricstore.com. Like all small-town businesses seem to be, it's hard getting started and she could use some patronage online, she also has a blog, on the site.

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  2. Cute! Indeed, the quilt shops know what they're doing, but I find the more I learn to sew, the more I'm drawn to making garments instead of the crafty stuff. That being said, I get my fix for the cutesy quilting fabrics when I sew baby clothes for friends. Oh, and they turn out to be pretty adorable gifts, too. ;)

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  3. I too quilt every now and then. Since it doesn't require quite as much attention (compared to, say, sewing a jacket) I can pop in a movie and do my piecing. Besides, who can pass up all of those bright cheerful fabrics? I even have a quilting stash - all batiks!

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  4. Being a dyed in the wool garment sewer (see what I did there :-) ), I too feel the siren call of the beautiful fabrics available for quilters, etc. So pretty, and it's calling...calling...calling...

    Someday, I will make great purses, accessories, gifts, etc. and try not to fill my stash with stuff that is inappropriate to clothe me. Sometimes, I find great stuff for casual shirts for DH, though.

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  5. Lovely wall hanging! The colors and cheery flowers are sure to make you smile each time you return to your sewing room.
    Some would call quilting crafty, but I would call quilting an art form – as some more complex quilts are more like works of art. Quilting has always been my safe haven so to speak. I always go back to piecing and quilting when my interests in apparel sewing wanes. I prefer quilting over clothing because of the memories I have from my Grandmother and all the quilts she made and shared. Nothing replaces the happiness I feel when I give a quilt to someone and their face lights up. Every time you use a hand made quilt it is like receiving a hug all over again.
    I also LOVE Fat Quarter Shop, great people and great fabrics!!

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  6. I do love your wall hanging, especially your flowers in the corner. My problem with quilting is that I can't ever figure out how to get all of my rows and lines even. So, if I don't do it, then I don't have to feel bad about how not-wonderful they are!

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  7. The best thing about quilting, is that I know that it will "fit" when I am done. I can't always say that about all my attempts at garment making!

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  8. Ha, I'm a 20-something not-at-all-beginner and I avoid like the plague anything that tries to tell me a Chanel jacket is stylish! It may be an interesting challenge, but if I made it, I'd feel compelled to wear it. No thanks.

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  9. I've got to quilt every now and then. Something easy. I've made bed covers for my kids, one day I'll make one for my bed. Why quilt? well, you just have to love quilting fabric and I usually have more clothes than I really need.

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  10. I think of quilting as sewing, not crafting. Have you seen Quilting Arts Magazine? I think quilts at that point cross over into art for sure.

    I do love the bright, cheerful colors that are so much easier to use in quilting than in clothing for me.

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  11. Just to clarify - I don't think of quilting as crafting. My crafting references were to my bins and spray-painty stuff I've been doing in the sewing room.

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  12. That is so pretty and so adorable!! I'd rather garment sew, but I have done baby quilts...oh yeah, I have a quilt that I "started" 10 years ago...lol..

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  13. Pretty quilt. It's very cheery. I wish as fashion sew-ers we more plain, pretty cottons to sew with like the quilters do. The quilters are so lucky. Such cottons did once exist but along with many fashion fabrics they seem to have become extinxt. Sigh! And I know what you mean about fuddy-duddy fashion sewing magazines. What's with that?!

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  14. P.S. As you can see I'm having a bad typing/spelling day. :)

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  15. I sew a lot of garments and accessories, but I have never tried quilting. It is on my list of things to do soon. I love the wallhanging.

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  16. Terrific quilt. Love the unexpected flowers in the corners. Nice job!

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  17. Gorgeous quilt block. I love the flowers on the left with the traditional triangles above.

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  18. What an adorable little quilt. I think quilts have a place in every garment makers life. Enjoy that smily orange. g

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  19. Girl, I don't care what you call it craft or art, what I do know is I call you very talented!!!

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Thank you for each and every comment. I appreciate them all, but I have to be honest and let you know that I'm usually bad about answering questions. I hope you understand that there just isn't enough time in the day to do everything I want to do.

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