Dog Days of Summer

Ugh. It's sooooo hot!!! I was binding a quilt the other night, meaning the quilt was piled into my lap as I sewed (I sew the binding to the back by hand because I think it looks better). The dog was piled onto the quilt. I was burnin' up, even with the air conditioner working overtime to keep us cool. Now, logically, it's just as comfortable in the house right now as it will be in January when it's cold outside and the heater is working overtime to keep us warm. But I'm crazy so, in my mind, I was much hotter under that quilt than I would be in the winter. LOL! 

If we wanted to, at this point, we could begin a huge discussion about whether to bind by hand or machine. Like political views, this issue will never be resolved. And, like politics, it doesn't matter much which is right and which is wrong because it's all about who is in charge and what they want to do. SO, it's your quilt, you're in charge, so however you want to bind it is the absolute right way! Enjoy your power!

The TMQG leadership and committee/volunteers have been busy getting ready for the quilt show/craft fair that will take place in November. If you haven't heard about it, contact Rhonda, Kate, or Mendy for information on showing your quilt, renting a booth, or volunteering your services to prepare for or work at the event. And stay tuned on the TMQG facebook page for information as the event gets closer.

The Acadian paper piecing group had our first sew day this month. I have my fabric, the pattern, and good intentions. Just like I did with the Gravity quilt. *sigh* What's the old saying? "The road to hell is paved with good intentions." I know myself, and I know I'm all about immediate gratification (which explains a lot), or at least "as quickly as I can get it" gratification - meaning I should probably stick to quick, Jenny Doan type quilt patterns instead of the more elaborate, time consuming patterns. But Acadian and Gravity are soooo pretty! We'll see how it goes. At my old job in athletics we would say I have "outkicked my coverage" which means I've probably bitten off more than I can chew. Ha! My goal is to hang in there and finish these projects. ACK! It's not too late if you want to jump in on the paper piecing group. Contact Kate Bynum for group/meeting info. 

I missed regular sew day but, judging by the pix, it was the usual fun and productive gathering. Hopefully I'll be able to make the September sew day. I miss my quilty peeps. It is said that one is "outta sight, outta mind" but I assure you that's not the case with me regarding my quilty buddies. I think about y'all all the time...fondly for the most part. LOL! 

Y'all hang in there. We're getting closer to Fall, pumpkin spice, football, pretty leaves, and cooler temps. For me, that's REAL quilting weather. Others would argue that ALL weather is REAL quilting weather. LOL!

Choose KIND. And be the person that makes it easy for people to treat you kindly.

-Angie Clemons

The Tyler Modern Quilt Cult, errr, I mean...Guild

www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/cult

A situation in which people admire and care about something or someone very much or too much. 

Whoa. I laughed when Kate’s (Bynum) daughter called us “her mother’s cult friends” but I think she may have hit the nail on the head. I mean *insert nervous giggle* we reallllllly like making quilts and all that entails. 

We have meetings...to talk about quilting.

We have retreats...to quilt.

We have workshops...to learn stuff about quilting.

We have programs...to learn stuff about quilting.

We call each other...to talk about quilting stuff.

We have sew days...to make quilts.

We invite people to our houses...to make quilts.

We shop...for fabric to make quilts.

We watch tutorials...about quilting.

We have additional sewing gatherings for...quilted bags, art quilts, and paper piecing quilts.

We read books...about quilting.

We recruit...more people to join our cu.., I mean, guild.

By golly, I believe we’re a secret handshake and matching tattoos away from being an actual, full fledged quilt cult! 

If you have a need for all things quilt, you should join us!!!

Who gets to design the tattoos? 

-Angie Clemons

Choose Kind

P.S. And don’t drink the KoolAid if anyone serves that for refreshments. Just sayin’. 

I. Hate. Basting.

Of alllllll the steps in quilting, basting is the WORST! In my opinion, of course. My longarming friends don’t have to worry about basting, which makes me more than a little jelly [jealous]. I’ve spent hours watching youtube videos about basting, searching Pinterest for different ways to baste, and have asked just about every quilter I know how they baste their quilts. Most people I’ve asked tape their backing to the floor and then layer everything on top, then pin or spray baste. I have limitations which makes floor basting difficult. My house is small so laying everything out on the floor would be a challenge. When I do lay things out on the floor (i.e., my batting when I’m cutting a piece off the roll) the dog (my sweet, perfect Cookie) has to sit on it. This doesn’t bother me but the possibility of her deciding it’s a giant piece of doggy toilet paper and dragging her “self” across it does give me pause. The main limitation is that, while I’m able to get myself onto the floor, it would take a tow truck with heavy-duty wench to get me back up. My back and knees speak to me, “what on earth made you think we were gonna help you with this?” Ugh. I have settled on a three-pole, long table, and glue basting system. I roll the backing, batting, and top onto 8-ft poles (none of my quilts have even been close to that size but I dreamed big when I purchased the dowels) and then use washable school glue sticks to stick ‘em together. The youtube video showed a lady unrolling all of them at the same time as she worked her way down the quilts pinning the layers together. Since I glue instead of pin, I like to do the top first and then flip it over and attach the backing. That pinning business wasn’t for me. I’ve also found that the glue, once dry, holds the layers together more securely, or tighter, than the pins. This is way easier for quilting on my Sweet 16 (aka Sweetie) and I can begin anywhere as opposed to having to start in the middle as with the pin basting. I’m considering switching from poles to 1”x3”x7’ boards. It’s hard to keep the layers straight as I roll them onto the poles and a flat board might be easier. I hope. They definitely wouldn’t roll off the edge of the table unwinding as they go making me lose my religion. OMG!! Did I mention that school glue is way cheaper than a can of spray? I also prefer the purple gel glue stick as it shows up on the batting and also smears onto the batting much smoother than the pasty glue sticks. I’m researching for a formula to dilute plain ol’ white school glue with water so I can spray it on instead of smearing on the glue sticks. That will make the process even more cost effective. Hey, you there with the skeptical look on your face! You need to be willing to try new things! LOL! I’m sitting here looking at three quilts that need basted. I cut the batting to size yesterday after I vacuumed my neighbor’s dog’s hair off the floor. Cookie doesn’t shed but her friend does. I understand now why my parents didn’t want certain kids coming to the house when I was a kid. LOL! I’m currently in the procrastinating/psyching myself up phase of the basting process. *sigh* First I’ll put up the table in the living room, followed by more procrastinating, then bringing in the 8’ poles hitting the ceiling fan at least once before I remember to be careful, then more procrastinating. I’ll eventually get these bad boys basted. And then it’s quilting time! Woohoo! What’s YOUR least favorite part of making a quilt?
Angie Clemons Choose Kind (and remember, just saying it or posting a meme about it doesn’t actually make a person kind - LOL!)

Sewing Room!

Or, as Cynthia tries to get me to call it...My Studio. Sewing room sounds functional. A room where "stuff" gets DONE! At least it does sometimes. Studio sounds more artsy, an adjective to which I can't relate. My dad taught math for 50+ years; my mom was a real-deal artist and taught art. Oddly, I didn't inherit any of those genes. Having them sure would make quilting easier for me. I've said several things in my youth that have come back to bite me in the butt. "What's the point of exercising when we're all gonna die anyway?" And now I need exercise just so I can get outta bed in the morning. And, "I won't everrr use math so why do I have to study this mess?" Sure would be nice to be able to accurately calculate the blocks and fabric I need for a project. Ugh. Doubly troublesome for Daddy as not only did I miss his genes but he was also my math teacher!

Back to my sewing room... About a year ago (already?!?) I purged and cleaned, got new shelving, wrapped fabric on magazine boards, sorted by color and collections, and designated drawers for fat quarters and precuts. It looked like a fabric store. Allll the pretty colors!! It looked great! For about a day. Then I began a project. Then I acquired more fabric. And more fabric. (It was on sale!) Then I saw Jenny Doan make a wonky star quilt so I needed to get the right fabric for that, right? And there's no room for the new roll of batting. *sigh* It doesn't help that I'm a lot like Pigpen from the Peanuts comic strip from Charles Schultz.I'm messy, to say the least, and probably have my own dust cloud. There is now a healthy stack of fabric that needs to be wrapped and shelved. Dangit! Sew? Or straighten up the room? If you know me at all you know which I'll choose. Haha!!

Kaffe and Tula have their own shelves. They'll probably be there from now on because I can't make myself cut 'em. I just hold them and love them and talk to them about what pretty quilts they would be if I could cut them. Then back on the shelf they go. There's also a grunge section but I'm able to cut grunge, so I get to (I mean, have to,  - oopsy!) restock that shelf.

My sewing room is my happy place. Well, my sewing room and my recliner. My favorite thing to do in the world? Rainy, cool day...Aggie football on tv...sewing...Cookie on her doggie bed under the ironing table. Man, oh man. Heaven! [Oh my. My favorite thing to do sure has changed since my twenties! Lol!!!]

The way I see it... if the sewing room is clean you ain't sewing. So, get in there and make a mess. Have fun! And remember, life is short/buy the fabric.

-Angie Clemons

[Some days it's more difficult but always trying to] Choose kind

Snobs

I realized at the last guild program that I'm in a group with a bunch of SNOBS! Yeah, that's right! Snobs! Thread snobs. Fabric snobs. Ruler snobs. Notions snobs. Machine snobs! Pattern snobs! Seems we all have our favorites that we swear by and are willing to defend to the death. Well, okay, maybe not to the death but we really like what we like.

I feel bad. You see, I played along...but I was afraid because I have a secret. I agreed, "Yes! Superior thread! Woohoo!" At other times I have said, " Yes! Moda fabric! Kona! Mostly Freespirit! Yes yes yes! " And when we're discussing where to buy fabric I'm nodding my head in agreement that we should ONLY buy quilt shop fabric. Then I go home to my secret...discount fabrics, cheap thread, off brand notions, and free patterns. *gulp* Don't get me wrong, I have a ton (too much!) of the good stuff, but I'm definitely guilty of trying to save a nickel. I understand the premise that you should only use quality fabric if you're putting in all that time and effort to make a quilt. I also understand being thrifty. I like to splurge on fabulous print fabric but then use Hobby Lobby or Joann solids to stretch it. Lol! I like to piece with Coats&Clark but quilt with Superior.

My goal when making a quilt is to make something that someone I love will love. My quilts aren't for hanging in a museum but for covering someone I love to keep them warm. The show quilts are fabulous and I am in awe of my friends who are that talented and committed to the art. I just don't have that kind of dedication. The beauty of quilting is that there's room for every kind of quilter. Beginners, competitors, art quilters, modern, traditional, and me (a combination of the labels). The quilting community is, for the most part, a welcoming and encouraging group of people.

The thought of one of my quilts being judged in a show freaks me out. Show & Tell gives me the vapors. But something one of our members said last week gave me pause..."If you don't enter your quilts in shows there won't be quilt shows. " (Cheryl Moore) Yikes. That would be awful! All that beauty and inspiration no longer available? Noooooo! Something to think about fo sho.

I hope you're enjoying this perfect quilting and sewing weather! It's too hot to do anything that doesn't involve air conditioning and being indoors. I look forward to seeing what you're working on...either at a meeting or...dare I say...at a quilt show!

Choose kind...

Angie Clemons

Dyeing for Sew Day!

Some of the guild members did some fabric dyeing at yesterday's sew day. They lost their marbles during the marbling process and ended up with numerous lovely pieces of uniquely dyed fabric. It really was cool, and great that the guild makes these opportunities to play, experiment with, and learn new aspects of our craft! They had fun and I appreciated the opportunity for puns about dying and marbles. They must have loved the puns because they were dyeing with laughter. 😂  I didn't participate. 1. It's messy. 2. It was hot outside. 3. I was afraid I would enjoy it. You see, I'm one of those people who, if I'm into something, will have to acquire every tool, book, dye, gadget, and fabric that anyone even mentions I might need. Case in point: my sewing room full of every ruler, precut, fabric line, rotary cutter, scissors, book, pattern, and machine someone mentioned I might need for quilting. First thing I did when I got home was order the led light strip like Mendy had on her machine. Wow! It was bright like a mini landing strip! I can't wait till it gets here on Tuesday. It's a sickness. 

Three of us actually sewed on sew day. I chain pieced some HSTs from a kit I purchased from Bluprint after Cynthia mentioned I might need a membership (one of three kits purchased). Curses on her! It had been awhile since I chain pieced. What a great way to completely zone out! Bzzzt. Bzzzt. Bzzzt. Until my bobbin ran out of thread. I ran 2-3 pieces through before I noticed. Aggravation!!! I won't go into what might have happened or been said, but everyone in the room knew my bobbin was empty. Oops.  No, I didn't cuss, but they knew. At first I found it irritating that my Pfaff beeps when the bobbin gets low but now I'm spoiled to it. My "travel machine" somebody told me would be helpful to have so as not to mess up my home machine, doesn't beep. I'm never satisfied. 

Really cool things from sew day:

*  Listening to the excitement and discussions of learning from the group dyeing fabric. There were rookies and veterans working with the dye and it was fun listening to the exchanges of information and ideas when they came in to cool off and clean up.

*   Sewing with Mendy and Janis. Just...sewing with friends. I love it.

*   Seeing Kate showing her finished quilt top. An example of what it's all about. Kate hasn't been quilting very long and to see her progress and the pride on her face is FUN. I love that this group is so encouraging and supportive whether you're a beginner or lifetimer. 

*  Having two used-to-be members re-up their memberships, and two potential new members come check us out. Thanks, Janis for being a great ambassador to the visitors.

*  Laughing. Lots of laughing. An atmosphere of learning and creating with a group of friends who want nothing more than to see you enjoy what you're doing and have success doing it. I almost tear up thinking about it. What a gift.

As always, we missed the ones who weren't there Saturday and hope everyone can attend next time. Sew day really is Sew Fun! *giggle*. That is sew cheesy!!!! Lol!

May your bobbin be full, may your fabric be pressed.

And know that our Guild is always the best!

-Angie Clemons

Choose Kind (even if you have to chew your tongue outta your own head sometimes) 😁😇

Sewist, Quilter, or Both?

I'm not sure what the official definitions are of sewist and quilter. I grew up when anyone who sewed was a seamstress (back when men didn't do home sewing, or if they did it wasn't talked about). I like "seamstress" as I have had quite a few seams that caused me stress! Sewist and quilter are definitely more inclusive. These words open the crafts/arts to anyone without worrying about a label. Well, except the quilt label which, I've learned, is kind of a big deal. 

I enjoy the heck out of making quilts! As I've said before, quilting feeds my soul by providing creativity and purpose in my life. However, I've had opportunities to use sewing skills for other things that were unexpected and useful. Curtains, of course. Who hasn't made a curtain? Or maybe just us poor folks are curtain makers. Lol! Some other projects have been:

* Tiny panties. My great niece CeeCee was a micro preemie and didn't catch up to the growth charts for a few years, unlike her other development. She was potty trained but the smallest panties were a size 2. I altered them to fit the tiny hiney and she was so happy to have big girl panties and not pull ups.

* Tiny baseball pants. Same niece for t-ball. I also resized her size small tshirt.

* Wedding party clothing for family weddings. Ack! That wasn't nerve racking at all. (Lie.)

* Halloween costumes. Yu Gi Oh characters, bride dress for my nephew, Frozen guy, Kick Buttowski, a dress for one of the emotion characters from a movie, and more. Some of the costumes could have been purchased except my great nephew wanted his dad to wear a matching costume. Costumes available in a kids medium don't come in an adult 2X. Ha! The bride dress was also for that nephew. They're realllly into Halloween and costumes.

* Falsies. Yep. My friend fought breast cancer for years. The prosthetics were painful so I made soft ones, then modified tank tops by adding pockets on the chest to hold "them." It allowed her to keep some femininity and minimize the discomfort. She eventually lost her battle.

* Underarm pillow and bag to hold drain tubing for my cousin to use after mastectomy. The patterns for both are on Pinterest if you know someone who needs them. Both added much comfort post surgery.

* Weighted blanket. My neighbor's dog is terrified of thunder, fireworks, and gunshots. July 4, New Year's, and storms reduced him to a shivering mess. I read about weighted blankets helping children so thought it might help a dog. They're a little spendy so I made one using plastic pellets and an old denim shower curtain. It has changed this dog's life. No more shivering terror! 

* Before retiring from Tyler Junior College athletics department, I repaired countless football, baseball, etc, uniforms. I saved the taxpayers hundreds of dollars. You're welcome! Lol!

Those are just a few of the ways I've used my sewing machine for good and not evil. Lol! I would love to hear about your unique sewing experiences if you have any. Or share your best quilt making story. Y'all inspire me!

-Angie Clemons

Choosing kind (one day at a time!)