Me Being Authentic

Looking back, I see that my first blog post was five years ago. Mind boggling. Sticking with the blogging is an accomplishment. I have had lapses, but have really leaned into posting at least once a month. Sharing some of my creating struggles and accomplishments has been a great way for me to have a record of my journey. Plus, I try to be upbeat, kind, and look at the bright side. No kvetching, no politics (well, a little bit of each when it is unavoidable.) I have shared the good, the bad, and the ugly. I have shared projects that I still shake my head at; wondering what I was thinking? I have even annoyed other people along the way. That is the true test of authenticity.

One of my most recent projects is going to counseling to learn to be more assertive, and to get to the bottom of my hang-ups. Today's assigned reading is about Authenticity. I know what it means, Originality,  but just how to do it is sort of ephemeral. I think writing a blog post and sharing it in social media is pretty authentic. While I was writing my morning pages today, defining authenticity and attempting to write some measurable objectives, I realized that I was in my yoga uniform: racerback top and matching tight leggings, definitely conforming. Hmmmm.

Authenticity seems to be a mental thing. An emotional thing. A Be True to Yourself thing.  But don't overthink it! Good luck defining it, that really gets twisted. We are all original inside, but there is nothing new under the sun. I mean, for Pete's Sake, there are over 7 BILLION people in the world right now, and lots more before us, so how can there be any originality? Well, we all have unique fingerprints. How amazing is that? That must mean there have been over 10 BILLION different sets of fingerprints in all. Wow. And every one of those sets of fingerprints belongs to a unique person who smiles and thinks differently. Even identical twins look a little bit different. To me, that says there is hope!

When I look at a book of quilt ideas, I love to analyze the colors and overall effect. I like to read the text, and study the pattern instructions. I look for fabrics that I recognize. And then I dream about how to take the ideas, and make my own quilts. My sister gave me a dreamy book for my birthday, Cultural Fusion Quilts by Sujata Shah. It is a melting pot of piecing and fabrics from different cultures. Her work has lots of contrast, and lovely saturated colors. The instructions are ridiculously simple. Her enthusiasm is contagious. When I look at this book, I want to dump out boxes of fabric and start cutting stuff up and sewing it back together. Which, in case you aren't a sewer, is a good thing!

The little quilt in this blog post is based on her quilt, Sunset. She uses blues and oranges to create a tropical sunset over the Arabian Sea. It almost shimmers with breezes, and ripples of water. Her half square triangles are uneven, and graduate from lighter to darker to cause the effect, which I love.

I have been wanting to use some triangles of pastel left over from a baby quilt, and paired them up with variations of celery green and soft butter yellow. I think the effect is like an English garden, very soft and muted. I chose a lavender Kaffe print for the border, which draws the eyes toward the violets in the middle of the quilt. The binding is plum with a flange of grey and silver. The back of the quilt is yellow gingham, like a picnic cloth.

To make this a Cultural Fusion quilt, I thought of Mary Lennox, in The Secret Garden, a little girl who came from India and was able to become free and authentic in an English garden. This is my original version of a traditional pattern. Me being authentic.

An Unlikely Muse

The original muses were 9 Greek goddesses to whom poets and artists prayed for creative inspiration. To be a modern muse, one doesn't need to be a beautiful deity, but must inspire uninhibited, original creative work. My inspiration comes from joking around, silly stories, crazy prompts, oxymorons, other people's weird ideas, the worse the better.

I'll take an idea, pull fabrics to express the feeling, audition neutrals to create dimension. Then I'll look for patterns. The internet is a wonderful cornucopia of free patterns, I also have a few quilt books for ideas. And then there is my fabric collection, my stash of possibilities.

This project started as a question in my etsy shop last summer. Could I make a Christmas Tree skirt with photos? Not my idea of the best tree skirt, but, yes, I can do that. I didn't hear back from the client for several months. Then, in September I received an email with 7 stunning professional photos of a beautiful, Land's End type family. She wanted a style of classic modern country Christmas. No Santas, angels ok. My muse had arrived.

I found a pattern on a blog I like called Quilt Inspiration. They offer 30 different quilted tree skirt patterns. I found one with 7 stars on point, perfect for my 7 photos. It was designed by Margrit Hall for RJR Fabrics. Slightly larger than the traditional 48 inch tree skirt, this one comes out at 54 inches across.

In early October I attended a Kaffe Fassett lecture on color  inspiration. With his ideas fresh in my mind, I chose one of his prints with red and orange flowers, and small turquoise and forest green jelly beans. The orange gives the quilt some nice zest. The rest of the fabric is Moda.

I didn't bother with fastening ties for the skirt opening. I doubt the skirt will fall away from the tree.

Tree skirts make elegant table toppers. Therefore, you can never have too many tree skirts.

The client was happy. Here's her review on my shop: Absolutely gorgeous! I ordered this tree skirt for my parents as a Christmas gift with family photos as a memento for Christmas over many years to come. It is truly beautiful and Jane combined her skill and eye for patterns into a great piece of art that I am so excited to give to my parents. They are going to love it.

Dog's Best Friend

   I was commissioned to make a memory photo quilt via my etsy shop. The client told me her  young sister was recently widowed. Her husband had loved the outdoors, canoeing, his family, the color purple, and his dog. I wanted a simple, classic frame for each photo, and decided on a bear's paw design. Searching for a dog pattern, I found this "Dog Gone Cute" pattern at SewFreshQuilts. It is an instand pdf download, and very easy to follow.

48" x 48" with soft flannel on the back for lap snuggles

Vinyl pleather made the eyes and nose shiny

Getting into blogging and sharing online has helped expand my creative flow. There are so many inventive sempstresses out there, and they make my quilting world go 'round.