Quiltivate

Traveling Quilters

This sounds fun! Do you take your sewing machine when you go on a 9-day tour of Ireland? I wonder if you can carry it on.

I've heard of knitting events that sound really fun like Stitch & Pitch, but quilting is not usually as portable, so I guess we have quilting events that don't actually involve quilting. I love it!

Fabric Schmabric? Or Fabric Is Key?

In quilting, how important is your fabric choice? I think it makes all the difference in the feel of your quilt. I'm a fan of minimalism and modernism, although I think maybe only two of my quilts so far have reflected that taste. My eyes were opened to all kinds of possibilities when I discovered Denyse Schmidt Quilts. I have done a few projects in that books so far, but my favorite was the Ice Pops quilt I made for my sister-in-law when she got married last June.

This is where I learned that you can use funky fabrics and, when combined with the right neutralizers, still have an outcome of a modern, minimalist quilt.

No offense to my local JoAnn, but I don't find fabrics I really love there. There are a couple of websites I know of that offer fabrics from some of today's top designers. Two of my favorites are Purl Soho and Free Spirit Fabric.

Yea or Nay

As I mentioned in my bio, I've always been fascinated by craftiness, but not ever really participated in craftiness until I started quilting a few years ago. I don't exactly know why this is because I've always considered myself to be somewhat of a creative thinker. Maybe I subconsciously thought crafty and homemade things could only be the level of quality I found in the goods for sale at my hometown Farmer's Market (not impressive when I was a kid, at least). Or maybe it has something to do with my recent realization that I enjoy building things more than I enjoy creating things. Quilting is my main crafty avenue right now, but how do I decide what other projects to pursue?

Grumperina is one of many bloggers who has recently explored where she should spend her creative efforts in an exercise she calls The Limits of Creativity. This is a tricky exercise for me because I don't tend to waste a load of time doing things I don't love, so most things I've tried fall into the "Love it" or else the "Not my thing" categories. Here's my adapted version of the Creativity list:

Love it! This is my thing!
- Quilting, especially hand-stitching
- Creating other useful things (usually household goods) from fabric for myself or friends
- Using technology to make any of these things more fun or more well-planned
- Baking

Things I've Tried and Want to Try Again More:
- Pottery
- Refinishing wooden furniture Shaker-style

Things I've Tried and Don't Want to Try Again:
- Scrapping
- Card-making
- Stamping
- Calligraphy
- Felting
- Knitting/Crocheting
- Photography
- Flower arranging

I know there are loads of crafty things I have yet to try and I look forward to checking out new projects when I can. But, with my current schedule and the busy-ness of life right now, I am enjoying spending my "free" time on the projects I truly love and know I love.

What's your cup o' tea when it comes to crafting?