A Weekend in the Country
Quilt Retreats and the benefits of not thinking
Last weekend saw the San Francisco Quilters Guild decamp from their usual city home to Camp Newman near Santa Rosa CA. It was a hot few days at around 28C/82F but with much cooler evenings and early enough in the year to avoid mosquitoes.
I am a pretty hardcore volunteerer, so not only was I in charge of “Make & Take” (a self-paced evening activity for those who wanted to) but I was also one of six volunteers in the “Demos & Desserts” segment one evening, demonstrating Cathedral Window blocks.
Make & Take - Fabric Flowers
Having cxreated the instructions for the Retreat, I wanted to also share them with you here. I think they’re rather adorable and intend to make a huge bouquet rather than stopping at the six shown here. The 2nd page of the PDF gives the three sizes and you can use floral wire (I used these) or a skewer or chopstick as the stem. You could also easily add leaves too should the spirit move you.
Patchwork Shirt with Stacey Sharman
Stacey is a lovely woman and great teacher who I first met at her makerstudio/sew space years ago, which sadly closed down when the landlord sold the building. For one workshop she asked us to bring a garment we knew fitted but didn’t wear, plus some scraps. I dug out my Japanese fabric stash from when I lived in Tokyo, which has been added to sparingly over the years since then. My table soon began to resemble my sewing space at home.
This is how far I got during the class. I started with a rayon shirt which was super lightweight but which always seemed too warm for warm days and too cool for cool days. I cut off the pockets and shortened the long sleeves.
I definitely need to take that blue strip off the sleeve on the right, but other than that I am very happy with it. It’s all big stitch quilting and similar to Kawandi, but different.
I also did another class with the pre-eminent Rachel Clarke but I will save that for another time.
Not Thinking
I had intended to not think about work while I was away, but that’s not easy when you are surrounded by 70 quilters who mostly know you run two quilty businesses and want to support you and show they’re taking an interest. Many questions abounded and I also took advantage a few times to run a mini focus group and help resolve a few questions I had.
I have a tendency to get all up in my head about creativity and so I relish opportunities to create without thinking about it too much. There is a book coming out soon called “Inside the Box: How Constraints Make Us Better” by David Epstein, who’s substack I read. I find it easiest to create when I limit myself to a set of materials, such as old book pages and ink.
If I get out all my art materials to play with, I end up feeling overwhelmed about which direction to go in. If I limit myself, it’s easier to get started… to let go of the thinking, and just “do”. I did this with Rachel Clarke’s workshop and was able to create patterns quickly and easily, all of which I’ll share next time.
The problem with constraint is where it meets my ADHD. Generally, if I can’t see something…poof! I’ve forgotten all about it. It ceases to exist. To avoid forgetting, I need need to have things visible, but that makes me messy. But if I leave things out, or at least visible so I don’t forget them, I feel overwhelmed by what to pick up and use. It’s a definite dichotomy.
All Star Sampler Platter, 16-17 May
Heads up that registration for this bi-annual event is open! Last September, nine thousand of the finest quilters around the world sat down and watched 18 teachers each give a 15 minute demo, and this May you could be among them. I am not teaching at this one - I am the host! There will be champagne for everyone1 and every attendee is permitted to eat as much cake as they like.
Registration is just $25 for an individual, but if your Guild registers on behalf of all their members it works out as around $1 per person. Not bad for 6 hours of live content, bonus recordings, access to the recorded live sessions afterwards, a workbook to download and keep AND more.
Lastly, did you know that being a self-employed creative is not terribly lucrative? You can help a sister out by taking out a paid subscription to this newsletter from only $9 a month! Just click here for details.
Or if you want something more substantial than a warm glow in return for your $9, you can buy one of my on-demand workshops here.
And that is it!
Stay classy everyone,
Bea
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