Happy Flower Friday!
There are 15 days until Spring!
And in case you don't believe me, here's the first herald of spring:
Sam sent a photo of her dog Damien. He's not just a good companion, Damien models her quilts!!
There are a few reasons why I became interested in men who quilt. A number of years ago, a local auctioneer advertised that they had quilts made by a local man. When I attended the preview, the quilts weren't there. It was then explained to me that the quilts weren't in good enough condition for the high end auction but that they would contact me when they came up for auction. I never heard from them again.
Years later, we had a woman attend our Quilt Study group and she brought a quilt embroidered by a local man and quilted by her grandmother. We will talk about him next week in our last and final quilting post.
If you have found this series interesting to you, you might want to purchase Joe Cunningham's and Jean Burk's book, Man-Made Quilts: Civil War to the Present. I just found out about the book recently and it was published in conjunction with the Shelburne Museum's exhibit of man-made quilts. I bought the book on Amazon.
A number of features and answers today which is why it is This and That Tuesday!
Our celebration of our furry and feathered friends continues! Sue sent us two photos:
Today is Scout's birthday!!!
Our puppy is 4 years old today!
Some names of quilt blocks crack me up. Like this one:
Last week I talked to Jane, the president of our guild and one of the things she mentioned was that many of our members had lost their sewing mojo during the pandemic. Since then, I've talked to two members who mentioned they weren't sewing and then received an email from another friend from our guild who mentioned the same thing. So what do you do when your Sewjo (sewing mojo) is deflated?
Some of the articles had helpful tips, some I felt were not so helpful. Here's my first tip:
Congratulations!
1. You've made it through one year of the pandemic and are still here. THAT is something to celebrate and a reason to continue what you are doing to keep yourself safe.
2. Many bloggers suggest you clean out your sewing room.
Here's my perspective: Clean it out not so you can start sewing again. Whenever you do get the urge to thread your needle, you'll have a nice clean place to go.
You'll also have a nice place to escape when life is hectic and you need a getaway. Many of us are loving this time with our families but sometimes you just need a quiet place to read or even just "be."
3. Another suggestion has been to organize your stash. I think this is a great idea. I've even studied articles on how people organize their fabric. Some folks are cutting their scraps to specific sizes a la Bonnie Hunter. If that works for you, great!
4. Relax. Think about yourself: are you an introvert or an extrovert? My friend Chris (the therapist) has explained the difference to me. An introvert recharges their batteries by being alone. An extrovert finds energy in being social situations. Part of your sewing mojo challenge might be just that pandemic isolation has depleted your energy supplies.
But if you've found clever ways to spend your time or navigate through the pandemic, you've managed half the battle. Diane mentioned in her email that she has been trying new recipes. So she hasn't lost her creative mojo--she's just rechanneled it into different aspect of her life.
5. Play games with yourself. When I reorganized my stash, I realized that I had a lot of fabrics set aside for specific projects. The problem was that I just wasn't interested in that quilt anymore. OH THE GUILT!!! It was absolutely freeing to just say, "well that's never going to happen" and put the fabric back in to the general stash.
A couple years before the virus, I decided to not buy fabric unless I absolutely needed it. It wasn't for any specific reason, I just wanted to see how I would cope. I am still holding to that resolution and have only purchased black fabric, white fabric, and a batik set that is for a cousin's wedding shower quilt. Not buying fabric has forced me to be creative with what I have and I find that satisfying. I support my local fabric shop with orders for thread and other necessities.
6. Many blogs suggest forcing yourself to do an easy project. To be honest, maybe that was a great idea before the pandemic. But forcing yourself to do anything is not fun and sewing should be fun. If you don't have it in you, you just don't. Be kind to yourself. The sewing machine isn't going anywhere.
7. Pat yourself on the back. These snowy covid days are a perfect time to think about all that you have accomplished with your sewing. I look at photos or images I've saved on computers. I often find that I'd forgotten all about a number of quilts I completed.
I live in a VERY small house. I love to look at how people display their quilts because--well--I don't have much space to hang quilts. This is a great time to celebrate what you've sewn and the things you love and surround yourself with them.
Turn off the tv.
Turn on your favorite music.
Imagine what color combos you enjoy or what patterns you haven't made in a while. If you could sew right now, what would you make?
Well I have to go--hubby and I are doing our curbside grocery pick-up. If you have more suggestions, email me at allentownquilter@gmail.com!
Have a safe and happy day!
The "Men Who Quilt" series is beginning to wind down. In a few more weeks we'll be starting a new series.
At the beginning of this series, I told you that I had found that there were a surprising amount of men who quilted in our valley. We'll be finishing the series with some of these men.
Like many of the men we've studied, they have common themes. Harvey Gross was disabled:
