Quilting...for the Rest of Us

In this week's episode, I share the results of the creativity challenge! After our "Quilters Like the Rest of Us" interview with Kathy and some listener comments and updates about what I have going on in my own quilty life, I talk about the responses I received for the creativity challenge. Then I walk through the process I took in my own response to the creativity challenge. In my explanation, I...

Have you thought about taking classes and just haven't made the move yet? Have you taken classes but haven't been sure you're getting as much out of them as you'd like to? In this episode, I share my experience--as always, based on mistakes I've made!--in taking classes from a wide variety of sources over the years. Leave your own tips and hints for others in the comments! Check out your local qui...

This episode is all about value! In what could arguably be considered the second half of episode 11, "In Which We Get Colorful," we explore the concept of color value and its impact on quilts. Learn how value is important, how to work with value in your quilt design, and tools and resources to help you learn more about value. Links I mention in the episode: CraftEdu--online craft courses: www.craf...

In this episode, we get the first interview with "Quilters Like the Rest of Us;" I'm excited! This time we chat with the Sandys from my guild-that-is-not-a-guild-but-a-bee, and the conversation leads into the discussion about color. In the "episode proper," after listener comments, I run through some definitions and describe color schemes, and then we talk about where to get color inspiration. Ite...

In this episode, I talk with Beth Davis, AQS certified quilt appraiser. We discuss how one becomes an appraiser, why you might want to have a quilt appraised, what's involved in an appraisal, the "tools" of appraising, and a little bit about antique quilts in particular.   Beth Davis, appraiser. Shown here with her "lifetime" quilt--one that she slept under as a child. (Made by her great-grandmoth...

"Intermezzo"--a short piece between two longer pieces. This episode isn't an official episode at all, but a short addition for the in-between-times. Episode 010--the interview with the appraiser--is longer than my usual episodes. After debating for some time, I decided I really didn't want to ignore the fact that some kind people have been leaving some great comments and spurring some wonderful di...

In this episode, I talk about creativity. I offer a couple of definitions of creativity and then suggest a few ways you can grow your own creative nature. Then, I issue a challenge! Creativity Challenge: Use the photo below for inspiration for a project, and send me photos of the results by June 7, 2010 (at midnight Eastern Time). It doesn't matter what the project is, and it doesn't matter how yo...

Welcome to the second episode on scraps! In this episode, we get right down to business and I talk about specialty rulers for scraps, and share a lot of ideas about how to use scraps, including some books. Referenced in this episode: Judy Hopkin's ScrapMaster ruler (just google "ScrapMaster ruler" for a variety of sources) "Ugly Little Star Quilt"

I really want to get better at using my scraps, so I decided to do some research on scraps and scrap quilts. I found so much, though, that I'm having to use two episodes to cover it! So, in this first episode, after doing some catching up with listener comments and contributions, I share with you my experience, my research, and some listener suggestions, as we talk about a glossary of scrap-relate...

I just spent a weekend on the road and the only quilting I could do was "virtual." In this episode, I talk about ways we can get our quilty on through online sources. Referenced in this podcast: Village Comforts Quilt Shop (now listed in the "Shops I've Visited" page of this blog) http://www.hudsonstarobserver.com/event/article/id/38311/  (Article about teaching quilting in Middle School) Sew, Sti...

I spent a lot of years in a completely disorganized, completely dysfunctional quilting space. When I moved into the new house a few years ago, I took advantage of the opportunity to overhaul my organizational methods or...rather...get some organizational methods. In this episode I share with you a few of the things I think I did right. But there's always room for improvement--so definitely share y...

Our stashes can be a point of pride or a point of contention--depending on who's looking at it and how well they understand the compelling need quilters have for fabric! My husband, for example, thinks my stash is huge. I've told him he should visit a few other quilters' stashes before casting judgment. The stories I've heard... In any case, I did recently upsize my stash. This episode talks about...

I had a long weekend last weekend, with nothing much scheduled other than church and a family dinner on Easter Sunday, so I planned to spend as much of it as possible at my sewing machine, catching up on some UFOs--one of Mom's, the rest mine. Through the weekend, I came face-to-face with some fundamental truths about quilting. What are your own fundamental truths? Leave comments! Also notice the...

It's been awhile, but I was finally able to attend another class at my local quilt shop. This one was a five-hour extravaganza in machine quilting, taught by a very popular local teacher, Janet Root. In this episode, I share a few tips that I've picked up about machine quilting in the years I've been trying to get good at it.

Welcome to "Quilting for the Rest of Us"--a podcast for anyone who loves quilting and loves to talk about it. I am not an expert, have never published, or competed in a show--but I've picked up a lot of knowledge along the way, if not the skills to match. I was raised by a quilter, picked up the habit in my 30s, and finally got consistent about it a few years ago. (No telling how old that makes me...