Shopping in Wisconsin

It's so much fun to visit a new quilt shop. Yesterday, my friend Shirley introduced me to a wonderful new one I had been anxious to see. Ye Olde Schoolhouse  quilt shop is in historic Cedarburg, Wisconsin, just a little north of Milwaukee. The shop  is  now on my list of favorite shops. 

  

Earlier this year my husband and I stopped in Cedarburg on the way home from visiting my son at school. We had a great time strolling around the quaint town, checking out the antique shops and restaurants, but I was disappointed to find that this shop was closed on the day we were there. Darn! I thought maybe I'd just park myself outside and wait until they opened but that would have meant sitting outside on the front stoop in the cold for a day or two so I went home and made a mental note to visit again. When I returned yesterday, I was not disappointed. See for yourself -

Ye Olde Schoolhouse was a featured shop last year in the Fall/Winter 2010 Quilt Sampler magazine.

Lots of great books as well as so many patterns for adorable little quilts!

Ye Olde Schoolroom

These schoolroom chairs are just too cute!

Laurel and Jeanie, the owner, were so sweet - and friendly and helpful too. Be sure to stop by if you're ever in  Wisconsin. You won't be disappointed either.

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Oh, I almost forgot - here's a link to a great new App for your iPhone, smartphone or iPad - find a quilt shop. Perfect for when you're travelling around and need to pull over for a quick fabric fix. Have a good weekend!

Quilt Show

Every year the Chicago Botanic Garden near me hosts The Fine Art of Fiber, a quilt show put on through the cooperation of  Illinois Quilters, Inc., North Suburban NeedleArts Guild, and the Weavers Guild of the North Shore.  I attended the show yesterday and although most of the quilts in the exhibit were not exactly traditional quilts that are my favorite kind, all were stunning and creative. I thought you might enjoy a peek  -

It was a beautiful, clear day - the Botanic Garden itself is a work of art in the fall.

I did not know that Bonsai trees also changed color in the fall.

An art gallery setting

No room for all of the quilts so here are some of my favorites:

Bubbles by Mary Meyers

Spring Garden by Jeanette E. Gerber

Rising Sun 1837 by Palmer Blakely

Bed turning -  don't know who made this one but don't you love it??

Salsa with Lime by Joan Bratton 

Artsy Applique by Sabrina Cassidy

Abigail's Gowns by Martha Ross-Mockaitis

Adorable pincushions from the boutique!

Creativity and Stress

Being creative is stressful sometimes, isn't it? Fun, but definitely stressful when you really want to make something special and unique but it seems like something is holding you back.  Shopping and buying patterns and books and fabrics is one thing but actually starting a project can be daunting for some reason.

I started a challenge on my yahoo group to make a little four-patch quilt before December and I really want to participate and make one and yet . . .

I've had a bit of a hard time getting inspired this year because of so much non-quilting stuff going on in my life lately and I'm sure you've all had periods like this too. I'm better now and I've found that a little stress isn't necessarily all bad. Here's what I learned:

Try forcing yourself. I know, I know -  this sounds terrible but sometimes the only way to get over a creative slump is to push through it. Find a project that's challenging and then just keep moving forward with it. Working on my Dear Jane blocks helped me see this. I definitely think I got some of my inspiration back because I was challenged into making blocks I wasn't so sure I could make. Stretching ourselves to accomplish something will often lead to incredible results.

Create a deadline (or more than one) for yourself and maybe break it up into small portions. I do this when I'm working on a book and find that if I get past a certain part of the project by a certain time, the rest comes a little more easily and things fall into place.  By making my project in small steps and accomplishing my goals one at a time, I feel better and am more willing to go on with it. Working on my daughter's college quilt in segments this past summer taught me that. For me, that was definitely a feel-good accomplishment from all sides.

This reminded me of how good it feels to make something for someone else and to see the pleasure it gives others. If you've already made quilts for everyone you know, and I know some of you have, LOL, get involved in a charity group or a swap that takes you away from yourself, where you are making something that's not just for yourself. Or, get an early start on Christmas gifts.

Go easy on yourself.  If you make a mistake, that's all it is, not the end of the world. Not very many can reach the perfection of the  "Supermodel" type of quilt - and it's pretty stressful to let that keep you from trying at all. Consider every mistake a lesson.

Have you tried Music? Listening to music can be a motivator for me when I sew and a good path to  my creativity. Since my daughter has gone away to school and my son has moved out, there is less chaos in the house and more quiet time and I find myself listening to music more than I did before. Try something with a good, fast beat, and you might be surprised at how much it can motivate you. Sometimes it even motivates me to get out and exercise or take the dog for a walk so that's a bonus!

I also find that soothing music works at different times, like rainy days. Or, here's an idea, tailor the music to the project you’re working on. If you’re working on something that's colorful and bright, feeling energetic from music will point you in the right direction. If you’re doing something more subtle, put on some classical music or something slower paced. Your creativity will flow if your music fits whatever it is you're working on.

Play around with some fabric for a bit. Pretend to organize your scraps. I almost always end up making something when I do this.

Unclutter, clean up a little. There, it needed to be said. Maybe it's just me but when my house is a mess there doesn't seem to be any room for me to be creative. I'm not exactly talking about sewing messes. Sometimes those are good and mean you're in the middle of something creative. Today I noticed something was just WRONG every time I walked into the kitchen. It wasn't too bad, but something was definitely off.

I looked out the kitchen window over the sink and saw that across the street my neighbor was getting her windows cleaned. Then I looked at MY kitchen window and noticed all sorts of water spots and smudges. I sprayed it with Windex and wiped it down and it shined -  I could SEE better out the window and silly as that sounds, it made me FEEL better. Then I looked down at the sink and it was a little dull and sloppy (horrors!). Because I had been really busy every morning this week, it had been a long time since I really shined the sink till it sparkled. Every morning I just put the dishes in the dishwasher, swiped it and ran off. So I took out my ZUD, the best product I have found for cleaning my sinks, and spent 3 minutes to shine up that sink.  Now I feel really silly saying this, but that made me feel better too. The simple act of shining my sink lifted my spirits and cleared a little clutter in my head that freed me and made room for me to do something creative. Very strange, but what can I say - it worked for me.  I even felt like taking  another 10 minutes to clean the downstairs bathroom. THAT really made me feel good.

Glad I got that out of the way. I'm telling you, it works every time. Now I feel more like sewing. Some little scrappy four-patch blocks perhaps?

Maple Leaf Mania

I am finally finished with a little Maple Leaf  runner I started about 2 years ago. Can't imagine what took me so long.

Oooh, it's very busy, isn't it?? For some reason I went outside my box and decided against "tame." I really wanted to use that Civil War print in the setting triangles. Sure was fun using all those different prints, even if it is a bit wild. What the heck . . . Look, I have more where those came from and I can make a few more small quilts.

The other day I pulled out some blocks I received in a Maple Leaf swap we did last year in my yahoo group -

Looks like my back yard, with leaves all over the place.

Aren't they gorgeous? I'm going to play around with these and see what I can come up with. Fast, before fall's over and I move on to red and green quilts. Maybe the next quilt will be more tame and I won't go crazy wild with the prints.

I'm just barely getting started decorating for fall. Remember this? The Bear's Paw quilt from Prairie Children & Their Quilts. I think it makes a nice fall table mat.

Here's the pattern for my Maple Leaf block. I really like the scrappy ones and have more pieces cut out and triangles already sewn from last year.

"Even if something is left undone, everyone must take time to sit still and watch the leaves turn."

~ Elizabeth Lawrence

Jane on My Brain

I spent time plugging away on my Dear Jane blocks this past weekend and hope to get a few more finished this week (FIVE, think 5). I'm having a lot of fun. Honest. I'm up to 37 now! Yes, it is going slowly and it gets a little frustrating at times, but it's very rewarding to finish something you really didn't think you could finish, namely one 4 1/2" block with 8 curved pieces, LOL. In one day. And it doesn't look half bad, if I say so myself.

You all know that this is the 150th anniversary (sesquicentennial) of the beginning of the Civil War, right? Around the time that Jane Stickle made her quilt. What better time to begin the journey yourself or drag out your unfinished quilt and make a few more blocks to commemorate the event? Hint, hint. Misery loves company, you know.

Just kidding, no misery here - it's all fun and I'm very excited to get back to it again, at least for a little while, while the inspiration holds and I have the time. Or probably until I hit a difficult block and say "Arrrgh!! #*&! - I really can't do this anymore!" But really, this Jane quilt, it's not that hard, honest. It's a total learning experience.  I've always hated the thought of foundation paper piecing, but I'm learning how to do it, finally. Same with applique - I resisted that for a long time too because my applique was not great and now I'm actually getting better at it. These blocks do not have to be perfect. You see, Jane's quilt was not, and although many of the Dear Jane quilts or blocks we see  posted on the internet definitely look mighty perfect to me, mine will not be, that's for sure. And it will still be just beautiful in it's own way, like a true antique quilt. In the spirit of Jane Stickle.

Not all of my finished blocks are the easy ones - I've tried curved piecing and  reverse applique. I did that Rickshaw one too but  I'm not showing it to anyone LOL. I would not say I've mastered these techniques yet . . . but they're finished and Brenda wrote the book and she says finished is better than perfect! Good enough for me.

My notebook is chock full of tips to help me along.

I'm so not making this quilt as a competition with anyone, unless it's to compete with myself, to challenge myself to advance my skills a little, and practice my patience. I figure, so many quilters have finished this quilt. Why not me too?? Why NOT? I'm feeling optimistic today . . . help me out here.

  

Seeing Karan's finished quilt at a workshop last year (hand pieced, hand quilted) really inspired me to keep going . . . Of course, HERS is perfect but I won't let that stop me. 

Remember, quilters, this is the 150th anniversary of the beginning of the Civil War (How could you have possibly missed hearing that??) and quilters all over are celebrating the period and getting inspired to reproduce quilts from the era. Jane was working on her lovely quilt 150 years ago. Who knows how long it actually took her to make it? She may have finished her quilt in 1863, but it's hard to believe she started it that same year. Maybe it took her 10 years or more. Did she take breaks and work on other quilts while she was making it??

The war lasted 4 years. Hmmm, there's a goal for me - 2015, the 150th anniversary of the END of the war. No promises though. Dear Jane, you're sure helping me get my inspiration back . . .

(Photo from www.dearjane.com [Photograph by Ken Burris,Shelburne, VT, courtesy of the Bennington Museum and the Vermont Quilt Festival.] Dear Jane® is the registered trademark of Brenda Papadakis.)

Reviving Jane

I had a few days earlier this week with not so much on my schedule and so I decided to pull out my Dear Jane blocks and look at them on Monday. But that's all I did - that, and glance through the book. By Tuesday I had gotten inspired and made a few more blocks. On Wednesday, even though it took me almost the whole day, I ripped and resewed one of the blocks I had made earlier. It looks so much better now!

The little nine-patches finish at 1 1/2"

It takes me such a long time but there's nothing like finishing a few more blocks and adding them to the pile. I'm going to prepare a few today so I can get a couple more done this weekend.

My blocks are not perfect. Last year when I began my Jane Journey, an "acquaintance" told me that she was very surprised that I was starting a Dear Jane quilt. I don't know if she thought I couldn't make one because of my lack of experience or that she was surprised that I was undertaking such a large project. I could tell that she had doubts I would finish, and maybe I won't, who knows? But let's have a little faith, please. I keep plugging away and at some point I may give up but for now it is very relaxing to work on them when I have the time. And, since I'm not working on a book, there is more of that. Some of you have been asking me what I am working on NOW. Again, I am not working on a book or anything and am just concentrating on getting myself back to a healthy place after my horrendous year. Me time, finally. I've been working and concentrating on raising my kids for forever it seems. Right now, quilting just for myself seems to be exactly what I need for a little while before I get back to starting another huge project to work on.

Working on my Dear Jane blocks relaxes me and like all of you who have made this quilt or are working on one know, the sense of accomplishment after finishing one block that took me ALL DAY feels so good! I am picking up some great skills and finally hope to get better at that applique thing. And let's not forget, Jane's quilt was not perfect so I'm in good company.

I've heard comments from some who have seen Jane's quilt at the Bennington Museum that they were surprised at how imperfect it is. That's one of the things I really love about this quilt - the fact that it is NOT perfect. And yet it is acclaimed and imitated all over the world. Brenda's book which introduced us to the Dear Jane phenomenon in the 1990s has sold over 100,000 copies!

But the most fun I have is just picking through my fabric, particularly all of my OLD fabric scraps I've saved over the years. Special fabrics for a special quilt.

Remember these?? They'll be great in my quilt!

Let's see how far I can get this time. I've only finished 32 blocks so I still have a way to go but you have to grab your inspiration where you can get it and right now I am enjoying catching up. Don't call me a quitter just yet! I'm making progress . . .