I've been thinking a lot about creativity and imagination over the last few days, particularly since a reader asked me where did one learn imagination? It was almost the most heartbreaking thing anybody ever asked me. Not because I don't know (for me the answer is everywhere), but because some folks obviously think they haven't got one. 

Anyway, here's writer Neil Gaiman addressing the University of the Arts Class of 2012.




If you can't see the whole thing, go here: http://vimeo.com/42372767

Blogger's Quilt Festival 2012

Here is my quilt for the Blogger's Quilt Festival 2012 

It's my free pieced Four Seasons quilt. I wanted a quilt that showed the four seasons as I see them throughout the year.

Timeline

I haven't been sitting on my butt doing nothing, I've been working on a couple of projects that won't come to fruition for many months. Part of the project is how I got from A to B with my quilts, and I know  don't*  mean making letters.  I've been actually doing my "Quilt History" with dates and pictures of each quilt.  It's something I really should have been doing all along.

It's fun to look back though, and see the whole progression.

I started here...

and now I'm here...

Interesting, huh?


* I should know better than to attempt a post past my normal bedtime.

PS, I hate the new blogger too.

A Guest Artist

I asked Michele if we could do a swap.  She said yes.  I received this lovely in the mail late last week. It's called Ethereal, which I think is just perfect.

Michele is active in the Alzheimer's Art Quilt Initiative, and asked that I help draw attention to that noble cause.

I -LOVE- this quilt. Thanks Michele!

Flipped

Sometimes you get a great idea, and when you execute it, it doesn't look the way you envisioned it.  Such it is with this green butterfly. I really did want it to look like eyes, but this shape is all wrong.

So I tried again.  The upper part of the butterfly fabric is now a slightly different fabric, and the eyes are at the bottom.  Actually, I'm not quite happy with this one either. It looks really stiff.

This one looks better in an odd sort of way.  Look familiar? This is the first butterfly, turned upside down.

Stuff like this happens sometimes, and you have to be willing to go with it. Or at least be willing to set it aside for a while and move to something different.

Happy Mother's Day

Happy Mother's Day!

This butterfly is part of the Steal Like an Artist quilt. 

Steal Like an Artist

Hi Julie! How do you like these fabrics? 

Your quilt is in here somewhere. 

 I won't use ALL of these.

 But I might!

I'll definitely use a lot of them.

 I hope bugs don't freak you out.

 And did you see the little fox?  You might see him in there...

Of course, there will always be the usual hidden surprises....

Steal (part two)

 I sewed up the letters for STEAL.  I'm rather pleased with them. 

Steal

My pal Julie has a bit of empty wall space in her sewing studio and asked me if I'd like to fill it.

Hell yeah!

I wanted something that would be positive, but would also encourage creativity.  Since we both love Austin Kleon's phrase (and book) Steal Like an Artist, I knew that phrase would be perfect.

The wall space is about 31" x 43" and that's the size of the rectangle formed by the blue tape above.  I'll place the word STEAL pretty much as shown, and as for the rest...

Well you'll just have to wait and see.

WING IT

Do you know what I found most amazing at my class on Saturday?

That the staff at Quilted Threads have been asked repeatedly if there is a pattern for the Four Seasons quilt.

"There is no pattern," the staff would say to the customer, "but she's giving a class, she'll teach you how to do it yourself!"

Nope, they wanted a pattern.

Which is too bad. Thirteen ladies had a great time learning how to make their own houses, and I have no doubts they will make their own house quilts, and they'll be much happier with their own versions.

Which reminds me of something else I kept hearing the students say to each other on Saturday, when they needed a bit of help or encouragement.  "There aren't any rules," they'd say gleefully.

"Wing it!"

Houses and Trees, Oh My!

The class at Quilted Threads was a big success.

 There were 13 students, and they did awesome!

They made great houses, and then made wonky trees, and several even made overlapping trees.

All the ladies had name tags, but most were covered by their houses when I took their photos. Sorry I can't tell you all their names.

 Some gals made really wonky houses.

Some made more traditional houses.

 Some made really, really wonky houses!

They had great fun, can you tell?

Heidi's house has bats coming out of the chimney!  Isn't this house great?

Kathy made two houses. This is her second.

Can you see the bluebirds on the top of this chimney?

This house has a dog playing ball as well as a windowbox full of flowers AND a pair of overlapping trees.

Lynn set her house in Hawaii.

All the students made terrific houses. Most found NOT measuring hard at first.  I had lots of "Can I do ...." questions, and my answer was, "It's YOUR house, you can do anything you want.  There aren't any rules." 

 By the end of the day, Juanica said, "I can't believe it. I'm not measuring, I'm not using a template, and I'm not worrying about a perfect 1/4" seam.  This is fun."

Great job ladies!

It's in the Bag!

 About a year and a half ago I was showing off a quilt I had made to a fellow quilter. I had put the quilt in a tote bag I had made over 20 years ago. It was made in brown calicos and was a traditional block. My friend said, "Lynne, you need a new bag. This one does not represent you."  You can read about that exchange here.

So I went home and did a lot of thinking. My new bag had to have letters, and it had to have something bright and fun. What I would make was easy. Figuring out how to make my letters fit into a very small space was much trickier.

 This crazy party house (the Red-Eye) did not make it into a quilt I was working on at the time. I loved it's wildness, it's wackiness and it's complete disregard for the rules.  It HAD to be on the bag.

Since a bag has two sides, it was obvious to me the other side had to be a "daytime" house. And of course, Millie had to be included.

Here are photos of both sides of the finished bag. It draws comments wherever it goes.

Ready

I'm ready for the big day tomorrow, my class on Houses and Trees at Quilted Threads in Henniker NH.

All that's missing in this picture is my lunch, my purse (with the camera) and the laptop (which will be in the laptop bag.)

I've got sample quilts, and sample houses in various stages of construction to show my students. I've got my handouts ready, and I've made a PowerPoint presentation on making free pieced houses to show them.

I'm pretty excited. I'll take as many pictures as I can.

Itsy Bitsy

I saw some itsy bitsy little houses over at Nichi's and was inspired.

How itsy bitsy?

I think I have to make some more of these.