Open to your Creativity in my new Online Class- free Intro call this Thursday

I welcome you to join the Circle of Evolving Women to learn 4 WAYS TO ACCESS GUIDANCE WITHIN YOURSELF AND THE BIGGER VISION FOR YOUR LIFE.

Circle One- this Thursday, Dec.. 10, 5 PM Pacific, free introduction to the workshop series beginning in Jan. 2010. I'll explain the workshop, answer your questions, and I will give you a brief overview of my story of the last few years that led to the realization of these methods being the best way to find my life's meaning and living it each day totally alive in it, creatively, focused and joyful. You will be able to tell if this may be what you've been (perhaps unknowingly) wanting to have.

Circle Two: Mindfulness -
Define it and why you want it,
How leaders, teachers and other's experiences of it mean to their life,
How mindfulness accesses synchronicity and creativity to deepen your daily life
Experience it
Get tips on how to practice mindfulness during the week

Circle Three:  Meditation -
What is meditation
Effect on you physically/medical, psychologically/relaxation and spiritually/ connection to inner guidance/Source
Some ancient but still used methods described briefly
The simple steps to starting your own meditation practice, I.e. frequency, position, length of time
Experience a short guided meditation from my favorite teacher and share time.

Circle Four:  Journaling -
Defining it as I use it here for connection to inner guidance and moving forward
Describe several methods to use in various situations
How to set up your journaling practice
Experience the journaling process and share time

Circle Five:  Using Your Dreams -
Why bother to record and pay attention to your dreams
Learn an easy and grounded way to interpret them for yourself every time
Demonstrations of interpretation with this method using your recent dreams
How to set up your dream practice

Circle Six:  Intuition Flourishes
From there to here, looking at you from this new perspective,
Wrapping up your thoughts and remaining questions
Your next steps for moving on from here & facilitating the flourishing of your intuition

Optional Individual Circle -
To help you individually with your Evolving Women's Circle process, one private hour with me is available to you during the 5 weeks up to 2 weeks after it ends.

Please join me. For details and to get call-in information, http://tinyurl.com/yznl6tw  Start the new year off with an inner knowing that takes you where you can go. It's bigger and better than you are thinking it is now.

Reminder AQS' Andi Reynolds, Wednesday 11/11 Tele-Interview

Have you ever dreamed of having a particular job, or kind of position that you knew would make your heart sing every day you were there? Andi did and she got it! This interview is for all you who have ever dreamed. But if you are afraid to dream too big or to believe in yourself enough you are getting in your way. Andi will tell us how she got to the position of Senior Book Editor at American Quilter's Society. She did not work her way up in the org, nor does she identify herself as a quilter, yet she has made quilts. it's a fascinating story that gives hope to all of us.

There is a picture of Andi and more details here about her and the topic.  She will be my tele-guest, and yours, on Veteran's day, the second Wednesday in November, 11/11/09. The lines will be open discussion. Bring your questions for her about AQS book submission, authorship, editing, writing articles or a study group magazines, as she was editor of "Pieces of Time" for the IL/Iowa quilt study group before taking the position in Paducah. If you prefer, email me your questions in advance and I'll ask Andi on the call. Reach me at interviewsbykim@gmail.com

Phone number for the call is 1-218-862-7200. The access code is 349853. Enter it at the voice prompt after you call in. You can use your cell phone. The interview is FREE. Any phone charges are yours. I believe the number I use goes to the Midwest. Please be in a quiet room so that when the lines are open (not muted) we can all hear Andi easily.

Please help me spread the word. It's only two weeks away before the holiday rush sets in.

If you missed the teleinterview with Kyra Hicks yesterday, the recording will be Women On Quiltsblog by Thursday. We had a great group and discussion. It was fun with all the input. Let's do it again on Nov. 11!

Andi Reynolds, Executive Book Ed. at AQS & and Old Menswear Made into Quilts Exhibit

Join us Monday evening, Sept. 21, when Andi Reynold's is my guest on Women On Quilts, with open lines for your questions. For much more info about Andi and the call in number go to Women On Quilts.  Tell your friends about and gather around your phone (It's Andi's Birthday!!! No charge for girl's night out)

All cotton, men's shirting stripes and a variety of conversation prints depicting men's sports, especially baseball.

MASTER PIECES: Haberdashery Textiles in Antique Quilts. Curated by Laura Fischer at NEQM NOW until Nov. 15 in Lowell, MA
The antique quilts on exhibit are made of menswear fabrics recycled from suits and shirts, neckties, pajamas, military uniforms, work clothes—even woolen underwear and socks. Some also resulted from the artful salvage of menswear swatch sample books and fabric mill remnants.The tradition of making unique, often very personal quilts from repurposed menswear textiles gained popularity around 1850, and lasted through the 1950s. The quilt below is made from their vests and hatbands.

The 40 quilts made from menswear, much of it recycled clothing, are intriguing, graphic works made from simple utilitarian fabrics long overlooked in the study of antique quilts.  Popular for about a century, these quilts are compelling and often whimsical. Simple squares arranged in a diagonal pattern prove on close inspection to be made from scraps of patterned jersey socks.

A shimmering kaleidoscope of diamonds in rust reds and yellows is pieced from 1950s neckties. Thin lines going in every direction look like a contemporary drawing are actually random scraps in a c. 1915 crazy quilt pieced of fine, striped silk shirting.

The narrow serpentine strips in the blocks of a 1905 Amish quilt are cuttings from woolen long johns. Bright, dimensional flowers are embroidered on a century-old, unlikely foundation of tailor's wool suiting swatches, as are a flock of vividly colored birds on branches.

Visually stunning and strikingly modern, these antique textiles make distinct graphic statements out of the most everyday materials.

The quilt on the left is made from suiting material.

The guest curator for the exhibit is noted antiques dealer and author Laura Fisher of FISHER HERITAGE in New York City.In addition to the quilts themselves, the exhibit will feature historic advertisements, swatch books, and catalogs from menswear companies, dating from the 1880s through the 1950s, including several items from the vaults of Brooks Brothers, the chief sponsor of the exhibition.

Today, the tradition revives in memory quilts made from old T-shirts and clothing that has personal sentiment. Recycling these materials is now considered environmentally aware, adding further appeal to their inherent design potential. Contact the New England Quilt Museum for programs and more info. Photos courtesy of Laura Fisher

For Andi Reynolds interview info go here.  It's happening this Monday evening, 5 PM Pacific, 7 Central, 8 Eastern.

Julie Silber, Kona Coffee, Quilting to Grow the Brain & Social Media Marketing for Artists

Tomorrow night, Monday, join us for Julie Silber's open lines and slide show of her fabulous oddball quilts. The  Call-in info and link is here http://tinyurl.com/kwh96u  at 5 PM Pacific time. No registration or charge.

Kona Coffee is holding a quilt contest for quilts sized to 40"X40". Darn, I have a  lap size coffee quilt I would have entered. How about you?  Kelly Smith let's us know about it on her quilting blog.

Nintendo vs. Quilting in the Fight to Save Your Brain  Which one does the research say save our memory the best? The answer never changes and it blends right into my belief that doing many different creative things is the optimum way to keep your brain young and growing. Mastering one thing over by doing it over and over does not help the whole brain. Different activities that activate different parts of the brain are the key. But how cool is it that quilting is included in the current research!!

If you are a quilt maker who wants to step up to the next level and sell your work or get commissioned work, this is an article full of avenues you might consider. 

See you tomorrow night!

Kim

A Scrap Bag Full of Varied Info & Offerings - Keeping You in the Know :)

Hi Everyone! Grab a cup of java or glass of whatever and settle in with me.

1.) Have you heard the sad news that Cranston (VIP) closed its printing division in their Webster, Mass company? This means that there are no companies in America printing cotton fabric for apparel and quilters. Their textile mill began around 1812, almost 200 years ago. "The plant, which still rolls out 20 million yards of printed cloth a year for people who sew at home, once employed more than 700 people."

I have had the pleasure of taking a tour through their plant three times beginning in 1997 and I was always Wowed. They grew with the times, changing and improving their machinery and adding computerized dye coloring of the roller screen printing machines and all other aspects they could computerize, they did. I saw fewer employees on each visit and no smoking went into affect.

Cranston was not weaving cotton cloth, they imported it from overseas, but all the printing was done there with the design division in NYC. Now foreign companies will also do their printing, just as all the other former quilt fabric manufacturers have done. They will only package and distribute the textiles they design from their US facilities. You can see a short video of their machinery in process and read more about their history and closing here.

2.) AQSG is offering all of the UNCOVERINGS they have in stock at 50% off through June. The order form is in a PDF, to print it out and mail in. Contact AQSG's website to find the link UC JUNE SALE.PDF This is a great deal.

3.) Beth Davis sent me this article in response to my increasing interest in the publishing world, thank you Beth! It was written today by the managing director of one the finest art and textile book publishers, Thames and Hudson. Jamie Camplin writes [bolding is my emphasis]

"If we moan about “dumbing down” in the face of the visual noise that comes our way daily, it only means that we are living in the age of “more”—more that is mediocre, but also more that is astonishingly creative.

Art has a very strong hand to play in the 21st century. In an era in which technology makes most products more uniform but in which printing technology can show art’s strengths as never before, in which fragmenting marketplaces and marketing platforms need all the help they can get, and in which the power of the visual to sway emotions has never been stronger, art’s distinctiveness, creativity and originality give any art-book programme a strong start." (the complete article is here)

4.) Camplin's statement gives me hope that beautiful textile and quilt books will continue to be published and that novice authors, quilters, and other creative people can publish too, online as eBooks, self-published or through traditional publishers. All three have their place. All three have pros and cons for an author to consider in determining which is a better fit for her.

If you have the desire to be an author, are writing your book now,or want to sell the one you have now, get this free report about building your author platform online, written by Joanna Penn, a favorite writer and blogger of mine.

Click on the icon above to read her description of the free report. If it sounds good, then you'll know if you want to buy the tutorial, Author 2.0. It is video, audio, and written text. All learning styles can use it. I highly recommend you get the free report!

Joanna just published "Author 2.0" which both shows and tells anyone how to market their book, beginning before it's written. Publishing houses expect you to put your marketing plan and current platform into any book proposal you submit. If you self publish this is also a must do for you. It can be fun!!

She will be my guest in a free open lines Tele-class, with a slide show, this Thursday, June 4th at 4 PM Pacific time, 7 PM Eastern. It's fr.ee. Ask her questions or email me with them in advance. The call-in info, conference code and link to slide show is here now. The class will be recorded and available on WOQ in the Audio Interview Library.

Joanna is internet savvy. She learned by authoring 3 books and speaks clearly, simply, and to the point. She gives you lots of info about using the internet to your benefit to increase sales and get your words in the hands of people who will enjoy and benefit from your hard work of writing a book!

Get her free report (click the icon above) about the state of the publishing world and what you can do with WEB 2.0, crucial info for marketing through social media and the newest internet forms of media and learn more about the business model for today's market.

6.) When you are feeling down quilting can lift you up again for reasons you might not expect is the title of an article I wrote over the weekend. Read it on Womenfolk's web site. Here is a snippet of my favorite tip for relieving stress from a recent UCLA study, but applicable to quilters during these economic times:

"The friendship effect on females natural response to stress was recently demonstrated in a university's landmark study which showed that different chemicals than in male brains are released during these times of bonding. Oxytocin is the natural occurring chemical released in a woman's brain when she gives birth, breastfeeds and cares for children. The chemical dulls pain and buffers the automatic "flight or flight" chemical response. The numerous opportunities for meaningful conversations and sharing of feelings happen during a girl's night out,...."

Read the rest of my article here. From that page click on Frugal Quilts for patterns and more articles about the past and present.

In closing, I hope you are enjoying reading CHANGING TIMES:Women's Stories 1902-1942. Click the title or the icon on the upper left of this page will download it for you to read online or print out to read in a cozy chair. Lot's of wonderful comments are coming in about it. Please comment here on Quilter's Spirit.**

Wishing you each a fulfilling and creative week!

Kim

**It's easy to make a comment: See the word Comment below? If there is a number other than 0 next to it, click it to read the comments already posted, and a box for you to put in your comment in also comes up. You can write it anonymously or with your name. Please don't solicit your products there, instead hyperlink your blog or web site URL to your name. The comment box makes it very easy for you to do that if you don't already know how. Readers who are interested in knowing more about you because your comment is interesting and relevant will click on your name to "meet" in your territory. (hint-comments done this way are good for marketing)

Women's Historical Fiction Challenge E-Book is Here! Download Yours Now

Women On Quilts' Creative Writing Challenge - Changing Times: Women's Stories 1902-1942

This special digital book is for you. Click on the cover and enjoy!

16 fictional stories written by 14 women about women who create and live at a tough time in our history. Complete with period photos & quilts, plus personal thoughts from the writer's & judge's about their stories. 53 pages.

You can read it online or download and print it out. Send it to your friends in your book club. Put it on your blog, an icon is available. The women in the stories are the types we want our daughters to know about too,  share it with them.

I'll let the book tell you the rest. I welcome, no encourage, your comments below. Which stories touched your heart and why? Let us know. All are deserving. Warning, have tissue handy.

Soon the finalists will be guests on a tele-interview on Women On Quilts. It will be an open discussion. First I want to give you the time to read the stories. Stay tuned for the date and time by subscribing for my occasional email alerts. They won't flood your inbox.

Julie Silber will be my guest interview on June 15.

The Mouse Lost! Results of the Repaired 1840-50s Quilt Top

Hi Everyone!

The results are in and I couldn't be happier with the repaired look of my acid green sashed quilt top. I took pictures throughout to show you my process. I am no pro at this, but it worked I am pleased  to say. The close match of fabric made all the difference. We are very lucky to have such an option today. And it doesn't hurt, that many patches made before us, which didn't match, we find to be precious. So even at closest range, my patch-work is precious.

First a reminder of what it looked like before.

 

 

 

First, I trimmed away only those ends that would make bumps on the top patch. I ironed everything flat before trimming and I saved the trimmed pieces. GUILT!

I made a patch the entire length of the blocks next to the sashing and stitched it on with the green facing up. the edges were turned under with a wide seam allowance and I made the piece ever so slightly larger than the original sashing. I hand-sewed it down from the top stitching through the seam. this means that the edges on the back side are freer in some areas and the stitching is right at the edges in others. Nothing is square in old tops!! this was my way of going with the flow of the years and wear.

 I put it in a hoop and I hand-stitched all those loose edges (in the 3rd photo above) down to the back piece I sewed on first. That's why I put it face up.The bit of white you can see are the turned edges of the seams.

There are tons of tiny stitches holding the little chomped pieces down with matching green DMC thread.

Lastly,  I sewed the final template of acid green fabric across the same space, sewing it as close to the same size as the original, but the brown woven plaid fabric had pulled away and was thread bare, so I darned that area to strengthen it.

In the end, this new patch served two purposes, to cover the mouse hole repair and to correct the failing seam.

Next I am going to repair this area in the top. There are two crocking triangles in this block. I made the paper triangle templates, each being different. Then I cut the fabric, turned the edges under, basted and just need to sew them down to the seams surrounding the triangles there now.

It would do not good to sew the new fabric on top of the rotting brown fabric. I decided not to cover it up with a back patch because it is so beautiful.

When I put the top on my lounge chair for the photos I turned around to see this, my kitty Haley watching over the repair in process on the left side, or was he actually hoping for another mouse visit?

 

I have kept you apprised about the creative writing challenge and fundraiser on Women On Quilts.The results of this challenge are in too, so take a peek to see who wrote the stories you will be reading in the eBook I am putting together for a fr.ee download of pure enjoyment.

Welsh Quilt collector Jen Jones is Opening A Center for Welsh Quilts in West Wales this July PLUS Updates on Former Topics

  The Jen Jones Welsh Quilt Centre will open in The Town Hall, Lampeter, West Wales  on July 28th 2009.

 1.Town Hall from High street (before restoration)

 

Jen Jones, the famous collector of old quilts made in Wales, is opening a center for the study and display of Welsh quilts!! (Be sure to hover your cursor over the photos on the link above to see more of gorgeous Jen's quilts.)

The first exhibition will feature quilts entirely from The Jen Jones Collection and will be representative of the entire spectrum of Welsh quilting.

The Old Courtroom on the first floor makes a fantastic exhibition space. The gallery entrance on the ground floor

2. A pink satin cotton quilt made in Cardiganshire in 1933. The central medallions surrounded by various patterns with fans predominant. Jen Jones Collection 

will house an exciting new shop featuring superb copies of some of Jen's famous geometric flannel quilts. These are being made by a women's group working through a convent in Ethiopia. The other Courtroom provides a wonderful place for classes and talks.

  3. Detail of a tailor's sample Welsh quilt with red stitching Made by Davies Brothers of  Llanelli, 1875-80 Jen Jones Collection

 

4. Lovely early Victorian Patchwork from Cilgerran Cardiganshire.

Jen Jones Welsh Quilt Centre
Phone 0044(0)1570 480 610
email quilts@jen-jones.com
web site www.jen-jones.com

Photograph captions, photos courtesy of Jen Jones

Updates about the Story Challenge and Ghost Hunt Tour

Ghost Quilt Show on Hold & Creative Writing Challenge Reminder

Thank you to everyone who wrote me behind-the-scenes and in comments on the blog. I loved hearing your thoughts about ghosts and spirits in textiles and homes, and talking about your personal experiences. But alas, no photos came in for our show and tell.

In reptrospect this may be in part due to Sat. landing on a holiday weekend. I told you I have been super busy and it didn't occure to me until a few people said they would be away for Easter. May you all have a blessed Sunday.

As a result, I won't be holding a phone or webcast talk on Sat. ,prior to my first ghost hunt, but I talked some freinds into going, so we'll have a blast.

Do you want to hear about it? Do you want to schedule another ghost quilt show& tell? I could share my experience and have a show and tell if you have photos to share.

Let's open it up to any textiles or sewing or needlework that have a spirit attached, or so it seems possible to you. Let me know by commenting below or emailing.

TO COMMENT- click on the word comment below the blog post. If there is a number infront of it, taht tells how many people have commented. I would prefer if all the comments showed up on the post itslef, and I have set it that way in the settings section, but it doesn't work out. I love your comments and read every one.
Do you like a Sat. time or prefer a weekday evening?

The Writing Challenge- If you are writing a creative fictional women's story for the writing challenge, we love you!! I have received some wonderful stories. Thank you so much for joining in and sharing the words from your heart and mind. The deadline is April 20th about 12 days from today.

If you haven't tried to write a work of fiction, you are missing a joyful inner experience. let your imagination go, be in a place and time, with people you would love to be with, quilting, sewing, knitting, growing food, writing poems, whatever makes your heart sing. Do it in 1000 words or less and you have a chance to be published and interviewed on my WOQ with the others finalists. We'll have a great time!

Take the chance of risking your creativity, challenge yourself. Make a quilt inspired by your story, design it to reflect the feeling in your woman's story. Send in the photo and I'll blog it. No, I don't expect that this would be before the deadline, whenever is good.

Have a wonderful weekend everyone!


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Celebrate- It's National Quilting Day! Hug Your Quilt today, March 20

In honor of both Quilting Day and Women's History month I am reprinting an awesome post Julie Silber posted on the Quilt History List this week (with her permission).

Julie is answering a question posed by Catherine Litwinow about a 19th century quilt made by abolitionists, as evidenced by a single inked patch of a slave in chains in a huge silk quilt. Beneath the kneeling male figure holding his chained hands up as if begging to be released, is the phrase "Deliver me from the oppression of man."

The quilt is pictured on pages 70 & 71 in a book co-authored by Julie Silber, Pat Ferrero and Elaine Hedges, "Hearts and Hands, Women, Quilts and American Society," which was published in 1987. It remains  one the THE best books on women's history in America in the 19th and early 20th century. The rest of this blog is written by Julie--

Elaine Hedges, Pat Ferrero and I used Deborah Coates' quilt as part of the COVER design of our book, "Hearts and Hands," as well as within the pages...

I must tell you about first seeing the quilt.

When Pat and I first saw the quilt (about 1987, at Jonathan and Gail Holstein's home in Cazenovia, N.Y.), it was in two pieces, having years before been cut directly down the middle.

Each of the two "new" edges (on each half) had then been bound, years before, probably whenever the quilt was cut.

The inked piece (a small triangle) had been right in the center of the full quilt -- and so it was cut in half!  The tiny inked image of the bound slave (and the words) -- now on two halves -- had been almost entirely covered over by the new bindings. 

It was Pat ("Eagle Eye") Ferrero who first noticed the mere wisps of ink on the two halves of the split triangle.  The owner of the quilt (a descendant) gave us permission, right on the spot, to carefully remove a few stitches holding the binding in place. No one had ever noticed those little marks before...

It was then that the family saw evidence, for the first time, that their ancestor, the quilt maker, Deborah Coates, had indeed been firmly committed to the abolitionist cause.

Her husband was a well known activist, fully dedicated to the cause of Abolition.  His name appears frequently in a "public"
way -- in newspaper articles on the abolitionist cause, and frequently in the minutes of abolitionist meetings. These "documents" remain, and are part of the official "historical record."

But his wife ... how was anyone to know where she "stood"?

Until that amazing moment in 1987, when a few snips of a scissors revealed what she had added in ink, the family had not known, with any certainty, where Deborah's heart was.  What a moment!

The family then took the ball and ran ... and soon discovered another fact previously unknown to them:  The Coates' home in Cazenovia had been a stop on the Underground Railroad!

A lesson about how fragile and elusive women's history (in
textiles) can be -- and how respect, careful observation, and an understanding of historical context can benefit and enrich us all.

Julie Silber
The Quilt Complex
quiltcomplex@hughes.net

(The book, Hearts and Hands is now long out-of-print but we have a few "new" copies at Quilt Complex that we bought from the publisher. Now signed).

***Julie will be my featured guest interview on Women On Quilts, June 15th interview. Join us!***

3 Special Announcements (2 with Deadlines) in Salute to Women's History Month & National Craft Month

1. Join me this Monday night for my tele-interview and group discussion with Lynne Z. Bassett, editor of the newest quilt documentation book "Massachusetts Quilts, Our Common Wealth." It's free and fun and it starts at 5 PM Pacific time, 8 PM Eastern. For all the info and links click here

2. I am sponsoring a creative writing challenge and fundraiser The Quilters Hall of Fame, to help with this year's induction ceremonies of Merikay Waldvogel, and in salute to National Craft Month and Women's History month. A call for fictional stories and the chance to be in an eBook I will publish, go here for details and see some fun photos from my ephemera collection.

3. Quilter Harriet Powers is inducted in Georgia's Women's Hall of Fame!

"A novelist, a conservationist and a former slave whose works now adorn the Smithsonian Institution and the Boston Museum of Fine Arts will be the inductees this year into the Georgia Women of Achievement Hall of Fame.

Conservationist Jane Hurt Yarn, novelist Caroline Pafford Miller and quilter Harriet Powers, all deceased, will be inducted in a ceremony Thursday at Wesleyan College in Macon.

Quilter Harriet Powers, 1837-1910

Born a slave near Athens, Powers became a renowned folk artist long after her death.

Using a Singer sewing machine she purchased in 1881, Powers exhibited the first of what became known as her "story quilts" at the 1886 Clarke County Cotton Fair. The quilt was made from 299 separate pieces of fabric and it depicts scenes from the Bible and spirituals. It was a remarkable achievement, especially considering that Powers could not read.

She sold that work, which is now in the Smithsonian's Museum of American History, for $5. The buyer, Jennie Smith of Athens, entered it at the 1895 Cotton States and International Exposition in Atlanta. The faculty wives at Atlanta University saw it and commissioned a second quilt.

The second quilt illustrates 15 Bible stories and events such as a cold snap which struck Athens in February of 1895. It is now on display at the Boston Museum of Fine Arts.

Powers' work has been celebrated over the years. An off-Broadway play, "Quilting in the Sun," recounts her struggles and accomplishments, there are many articles about her and her two celebrated works, and there is a move to honor her with a postage stamp."`Written by Chuck Mobley for the Savannah Morning News and for more information: To learn more about the Georgia Women of Achievement, and about the other inductees this year and the ceremony

My "Honest Patch" on a 19th & 20th century quilt & the "Massachusetts Quilts" Book

Have any of you who own antique quilts notice your once perfect quilt suddenly has cracking in the brown fabrics? We all have, as pre-1900 dark brown dyed fabric is prone to becoming brittle due to tannin and iron mordants in the dyes. (They used to use iron pots for dyes that needed iron to help the fabric retain the dye, a 2-fer)

Over time the fabric dries out and splits, or it get's wet and splits, or the sun shines on it too long and it splits, or you pack it away and it splits. I think you are get the picture.

Dark brown 19th century cotton fabrics are similar to silks used in crazy quilts, the silk will deteriorate and you can not stop it once it starts.  You can help prevent it from starting

maybe, or better put, increase the number of years before the deterioration begins. Oh, wait, you're telling me that you want to have it out? Oh, well, then you can postpone the deterioration by a number of months. My gosh, I am so negative here- I'm smiling. I hope you are.

That said, here is a repair I did this past week in a most interesting looking quilt that I bought in Arizona years ago when antique store shopping with the two wild and crazy lovely ladies, Audrey and Dee, who own and operate the quilt retreat camps with national teachers Quilting in the Pines and Quilting in the Desert. We all had a good laugh when we saw this quilt.

It is a pink and brown scrap (fabulous 1870-80s fabrics, all new or unused) album block quilt in nearly perfect condition, with wool batting, and tied with pink and green yarn to a  1930-40s back fabric! Each yarn tie, and there are many, is made with both colors of yarn, sort of tufted and it is held down and brought through the thick wool bat with a thick sewing thread.

The thick dense batting saved this quilt from splitting much more than it could have with a thinner bat or fewer ties. I have stored it with as little folding as possible, in a closet, on top of other quilts, with no weight on it. Still, deterioration has set in on two blocks.

  I fixed the most serious and obvious loss of fabric, after taking off the damaged fabric completely, arggg, at some point, and I can't recall why. I know better now to leave

the old fabric underneath and applique on top of it. I used an old piece of fabric, c. 1900, that matched the best with the rest of the quilt. I think it turned out well.

In the words of Nancy Kirk, I made an "honest patch." this means I'm not trying to fool anybody, so my stitches show, but it blends well. It was not easy working on a quilt this thick and naturally, my stitches did not go all the way  through. I appliqué the patch on top of the seams and into the batting when there were no seams. It is made with 1 rectangle and 2 squares and I used brown DMC thread.

Soon I will be done and show you my "honest patch" on the acid green fabric in the pre-Civil War quilt TOP. Where is that batting when you need it? :)

You are invited to join our book discussion and interview with Lynne Bassett, the quilt historian who edited the newest state quilt project book,  Massachusetts Quilts: Our Common Wealth, in a group tel-event on March 16th, Monday evening, 5 PM Pacific time. Lynne will answer your questions about particular quilts and other questions that arise as you read this fantastic book. Read more about it on Women On Quilts.

Antiquequiltdating.com is Exposed Across the Pond and a Border!

What a surprising year 2009 is turning out to be- wow! I am so grateful. My website, officially titled New Pathways Into Quilt History ,is in its 8th year having begun in the spring of 2001. I owe so much to Judy Breneman, of Womenfolk America's Quilt History websites for helping bring me into the cyberspace world. In 2001, she posted her new website on the QHL and invited anyone who was interested in starting a website on the same server she was using, WebSeed, to let her know. WebSeed required weekly updates and other things as they were making advertising dollars off of our websites. It didn't succeed for them  but Judy and I continued on a regular hosted network system. We were on our own now.  Judy and my husband helped me operate and grow my website, as well as a second one for selling my Antique Quilt Dating Guides...by Style. I am grateful for their belief in my ideas and their support and troubleshooting through the years.

It was exciting when guest authors wrote fabulous articles specifically for my website's audience. Requests for fabric and book reviews have been a welcomed adventure.  I have a stack of books on my desk now that are awaiting to be shared with you. Because of all the input from quilters and writers from around the globe, the website developed its own diverse expression. I am not taking credit, instead I am thrilled that the outreach of many has come to the attention of publishers in England, Ireland , France, Canada and Australia, as well as US magazines and publications online and in print. Here is what has occurred this year.

In the January issue of Britain's Patchwork & Quilting magazine,  Yvonne Jenkins editor of Wandering the Web, featured my website "An excellent website for any quilter interested in the history of quilt making" is her opening sentence. And her closing sentence is just as lovely. Quilters Spirit is described, so all of you are in the magazine too, in Spirit!  Thank you Yvonne for this generous review and a wonderful surprise!

It was my Irish friend, Roselind Shaw, who told me this article was published in the magazine she reads faithfully.

 

 

Some of you may recognize Roselind's name because she has two articles about Irish Quilts on my website. It is this quilt article of Roselind's that caught the attention of the editor of the newest quilt magazine Irish Quilting, Sherry Nugent. Other quilters featured in Irish Quilting's Vol. 1, Issue 2 magazine are Mark Lipinski, Pat Sloan, Kimberly Einmo and Terry McNeill. This is a gorgeous magazine, with the quality of paper and photos as that of Quilt Mania magazine. This issue has 99 pages of patterns, travel, articles and quilts quilts quilts, mostly contemporary, but obviously not all. Rosalind and I were thrilled to receive the request to be in this magazine. I have seen the first two issues and it is not only for Irish quilter's. Quilters anywhere would love this magazine and where else can one find out about what the Irish are up to in the quilt world! They are busy and innovative. There is a  Quilter's Guild of Ireland, an Irish Patchwork Society, and of course, the Quilter's Guild of the British Isles. For more information and to subscribe to this magazine contact info@irishquilting.ie and subs@irishquilting.ie It will be available in the US. Turns out Sherry's mom lives in the same town where  my quilt guild meets. Small World!

Canadian web designer and quilter, Michele  Foster, founder of the Quilting Gallery invited me to be in her month long series about quilt bloggers.  This month, on the 18th, I was the featured blogger. I was among many wonderful quilters, so check them all out when you take a peek at mine. I decided not to write the typical normal this is how I got started kind of thing. I hope you enjoy the views I share in this piece which has a few photos too. The art quilt I made, title Reverberations, needs to be quilted. I can't figure out the best pattern to use and would love input from those of you much better at quilt patterns for contemporary quilts than I am.

If you are interested in quilt history study groups, I have posted a detailed summary of our discussion about them earlier this week on Women On Quilts, check it out here. IF nothing else, there is a long list of suggested topics provided by the Illinois/Iowa Quilt Study Group. They meet at the Kalona Quilt & Textile Museum in Kalona, Iowa twice a year and their meetings and efforts help raise funds to keep the museum running and caring for their collections. The Group also  produces the magazine "Pieces of Time" which their study group meeting's photos and focus contribute to and the members do most of the writing in it. What an incredible accomplishment!

May your year be filled with wonderful surprises and people as well. I certainly value your readership and sharing. Piece on!

Kim Wulfert

What? is on a Wall? & Catching Up on Loose Ends

Where has the time gone? Every day is so busy and often it's spent out of town being a teacher or a student. In January I was a student at The Freedom Formula Experience a four day seminar that was, as promised by Christine Kloser the hostess and main speaker, a  profound experience.  The tag line of her book by the same name as the seminar is "how to put soul in your business and money in your  bank." She taught us her way of doing business that is practical and spiritually based. I will blog  more about the event and speakers on my Women On Quilts blog  which "seams together business and spirit for women in the creative arts." (my tag line :)) The entire time we were there, our focus was on  finding our purpose in life or if we knew it, how could we best express it and make our living doing it, giving us the best of both worlds.

When I returned home, with a notebook of my journaled ideas that took me to places I would not have imagined prior to going, there was an email from Patti Williams. We do not know each other, but she is a lurker on QHL, the Quilt History List, for those of us who adore antique quilts. She tells me about a museum's exhibit in Washington state that she has helped with and attaches this picture. The wall is at the entrance of the quilt exhibit and it reads "Quilts can open our eyes and our hearts to share who sewed before us. It is a wonderful way to learn history." Kimberly Wulfert, PhD

Do you think anything could be cooler to me? Me who shares quotes as often as possible and who buys the books of themed quotes and reads them!  On Women On Quilts I place a new one in the margin each month. A great quote is a marvel to read and hold in your mind, to take in and manifest. This is an honor I will cherish forever and I thank the Northwest Museum of Art and Culture from the bottom of my heart for thinking my quote was worthy of being on their wall. The exhibit will run through May and I hope to make it up there. I want to place my face under the quote for another picture for posterity. In the meantime, take a look at their terrific collection of quilts displayed online.

CATCHING UP ON LOOSE ENDS
Thank you to all of you who wrote me by email or posted a comment with your heartfelt sentiments about the passing of my dear friend and friend of quilter's everywhere, Giles Wright. Your sharing meant allot to me.

Remember the Case of the Mouse Who Ate My Quilt and the Hunt for Green 1840s Fabric? Alls well that ends well, but we hit a snag in the middle of the hunt. When a real swatch that matched was not to be found, reader Kathie Holland graciously sent me her remaining yardage of matching acid green from Judy Rothermel's Lancaster 3 collection. But, it never arrived, anywhere. I searched for more, found none and then went to Road to California last month, and when I got to their booth, Schoolhouse Quilt Shoppe, on Sat., the cupboard was bare! I mean seriously- their booth was nearly empty! Bob knew what I was talking about and said he thought he had some at the shop and to contact him there, so I did. He was able to scrounge 1/2 yard and now, finally,  it is in my hands and soon will be in Kathie's too. lesson learned, never give up on the hunt for fabric. :)

Is the match perfect, not quite. The pattern is exactly the same so you wouldn't realize the difference unless you held them side by side (and it will look fine enough in the quilt top, certainly better than the mouse holes). The difference is the background color is darker on the old fabric than the reproduction. Here's a picture. You probably think, what is she talking about, they  match! I think it will work just fine even though they are not the same color. The original fabric has more contrast between the two greens that form the background.

Katie Pasquini Masupost has written another new book that is fabulous and easy enough for beginning art quilters and the more advanced that need some nudging to expand their techniques will love it too. The text Katie writes is focused on her own thinking processes of analysis and alternatives as she plans a quilt from finding the initial concept to the various ways you can turn your idea or photo into a one-dimensional design. She includes her methods known as ghost layers, fractured landscape and the painterly painterly approach.  Check out more details in my book review of "Design Explorations for the Creative Quilter: easy to follow directions for creative art quilts."

A quilter who is also an expert in traveling for business, Carol Margolis, will be my guest on Monday evening, Feb. 23, on a fr.ee tele-interview where we will ask her all kinds of questions to  make traveling easier for quilters, authors, vendors, teachers and women in business. Carol is  the Founder of SmartWomenTravelers.com

This coming Monday evening, on WOQ,  I will  bring you Part 2 of the quilt history study group discussion with Beth Davis and Karen Parrett. Join us from the comfort of your home and share your group's experiences, struggles and highlights, or ask questions. All input is important and welcome.

Have a great weekend everyone. May you be warm, dry and cozy. Piece, Kim

Abundance of Quilts for the Eyes on this Thanksgiving

The Internet honestly I never would have thought I would say this, but it is a blessing. I am about to share with you links to incredible quilt articles, full of love, care, photos and inspiration and mindful thoughts for you to ponder and enjoy over the Thanksgiving break. (I know some of you are saying A break- what's that?)  I could say that too, but I won't. I am going to take a break, consciously setting my work and demands aside for a couple of days. If it feels really good, maybe three days!

I am headed to San Diego to view three quilt exhibits. The main event however is a phenom of avant garde art quilts at Visions. Visions is a juried exhibit. Something like 564 quilted works of art were entered and 41 were chosen. The museum in Oceanside, CA, is tiny, and this limits the number that can be shown. It's a lovely setting and shows the quilts off well. And let's face it, getting your quilt accepted is even more of a coo with odds like that.

Riding on Thermals
by Rose Hughes
Exhibited at PIQF 2008

To learn more about becoming a quilt artist, meet Rose Hughes, maker of this velvet and silk quilt, December 3, on Women On Quilts You can see more of her quilts on this page too. 

So - Take your time, pour a glass of whatever you love to sip, put on some soothing music, light a scented candle, and begin to embrace the variety below.  I recently discovered a musical group or orchestra really called State of Grace which I love to listen to as I work. Few words, mostly heavenly music. Very inspiring. It's published by Windham.  Don't confuse it with their State of Grace 2, it's not as soothing IMHO.  While I'm sharing, have you discovered the exquisite scented candle made by W&M Co.? Wow, scented meets it's match. I bought mine at Home Goods in the Silicon Valley, but it's a chain of stores.

http://www.selvedge.org/default.aspx  1924 video about the  wool manufacturing process step by step in Australia

http://www.pintangle.com/journal/2008/11/21/another-2-diamond-blocks-done.html  crazy quilt embroidery stitching
and http://www.pintangle.com/journal/2008/11/23/how-to-transfer-embroidery-patterns-to-fabric.html  hot to transfer embroidery patterns to fabric

http://lucyquilting.blogspot.com/   "Quilting with the Past"about making reproduction quilts mostly

http://www.gwenmagee.com/portfolio.html  Gwendolyn Magee, Art quilter, some are statements on slavery, intense & speak volumes

http://www.needlenthread.com/2008/11/art-of-embroiderer-museum-exhibit.html  antique embroidery on clothing at Kent Museum

http://www.colourlovers.com/blog/category/interviews  scroll down and down through the posts to see the photos mostly, but they grab you to also read text. Warning- no quilts, yet.

http://greenquilts.blogspot.com/2008/11/new-use-forpaintstix-rubbing-plates.html

Marshall county dump quilts  http://pennysanford.typepad.com/penny_sanford_porcelains_/2008/04/finally-the-sto.html

Judy's frugal link http://www.womenfolk.com/frugal_quilting/
quilt_business.htm 

Selvage jacket Calendar Pages
http://calenderpages.blogspot.com/  and http://calenderpages.blogspot.com/2008_10_01_archive.html and http://calenderpages.blogspot.com/2008/11/jacket-finished.html

http://charmsofdays.com/ Lots of feedsack photos intermingled

http://www.sacredthreadsquilts.com./default.htm be sure to click on the Gallery tab to see previous winning quilts

End with http://farmgirlfollies.wordpress.com/2008/11/12/be-generous-of-spirit/

http://needlework.craftgossip.com and
Oh Well, La La http://denisefelton.blogspot.com/ 

http://lynnewsnyder.blogspot.com/2008/11/lunch-at-quiltlers.html  the Provo quilter  country charm

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/389492_caps26.html  inspiring story about teen girl helping homeless, quilts mentioned just once

http://www.uwhealth.org/gored/goredforwomenandquilting/13919  go red

http://scrapsandthreadtales.blogspot.com/  scroll down for location pictures on this woman's travel

I have enjoyed our journey together this year. Thank you for being with me on it. Each of you are a gift to me. Together we hold the thread that forms the circle of quilters spirits around the world.

Piece to you and those you quilt with,

Kim

The Alliance for American Quilts & Stories

My interview with Amy Milne including the many projects she directs within the Alliance of American Quilts was inspiring, thought-provoking, and truthfully, it felt like a gift was handed to me.

As a result I want you to hand the gift to you too. Amy has agreed that we make this interview available to all of you, VIP or not, right here by webcast. Start here.

Posted by Kimberly Wulfert
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Announcing Guest Interview

The first guest interview on Women On Quilts is

Pat Sloan On Balancing Her Creative Arts

How does she stay inspired with fresh ideas, make one artistic expression lead to another and have the energy to handle it all? Plus live Q&A time.

Pat carries more roles than you can imagine and this is just for her work! Her quilt businesses are family owned and run, but she is the creative brains, teacher, quilt maker and designer behind it all. Tell me more...

You must register for this interview to receive the phone number and code or link for webcast get in. The live interview is fr.ee

Please join us on the teleclass or webcast on a November evening. There is time for live Q&A and your questions will make this aspect fun for everyone.

Women On Quilts

Piece,
Kim

PS When you go to the WOQ page, please cast your vote for the best day and time for you to attend future interviews.