Process vs. Product

June 26, 2014June 3, 2014 Elizabeth E.3 Comments

Since I am away from the computer for a while, I’m running a few favorite, previously published posts.
This one originally ran on July 16, 2010, but is modified for today’s post.
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Is it possible to lust after another person’s finished quilt? Yes, quite possibly. Definitely. For sure. The quilt shown above uses the Castle Peeps line, and was put together by Elizabeth Hartman, of Oh! Fransson. I purchased the blue colorway of this line this summer and before I close out my sewing blitz and focus on The Job, I’m dying to throw together one more quilt. This design has inspired me.

There’s been a lot of talk on the blogosphere about the issue of production in quilting, and I’m here to add my .02. Jennifer, of “That Girl. . . That Quilt,” has written a whole series of her thoughts about “quilting without obligations.” They seem to be a reaction to the feeling that quilting is all about production, rather than about the process. This is an age-old discussion and is found in other corners of the creative universe.

When I was an undergrad, working in the black and white photo lab, this idea–process vs. product–was discussed constantly. To give you a flavor of what our conversations sounded like, as we blew dust specks off of our negatives and worked at creating “art,” have a listen to the little clip below. Yes, it’s dense, but give it a go.

I think his point that when we focus on product, we may miss other connections that may arise from the creative process is valid, but there are times when product is not the Big Evil. Sometimes I just want to get something done, speaking of quilts and quilting. Sometimes I just want to quickly make up a quilt in a fabric line because I want to see that on my bed. I’m not interested in being drawn into the process of the quilt–I just want to lay down under it. Or hang it up on the wall. Or because the process has already happened in my mind, in thinking about it at the back of my brain when I couldn’t get to the sewing machine for one reason or another.

I read a lot of blogs, like the rest of you, and many of them are designed as advertising. The quilt artists/makers have been involved in the process of their art and designed fabric/patterns/quilts that they need to sell in order to make their living. Many blogs are tied to online quilt shops. These are valuable places for me to go and get my ideas, be exposed to new fabrics, enjoy the fruits, if you will, of other people’s labors all before I take up my rotary cutter to slice into some fabric. I enjoy these blogs, love reading them, admire the work. But I do not ever confuse what they are doing–earning a living–with what I am doing. Some other blogs have “taken the process pledge,” and try to put out on their blogs how they arrived at the journey’s end. This is a valuable resource for us as quilters when it truly involves process, and not just a “how-to” tutorial (although I like those too).

It seems to me that there is enough room in this quilting universe that we can quilt what we want to, blog when we want to, go off on vacation when we want to, work (when we have to) that we don’t need to compete. Commercial blogs? Non-commercial blogs? They are resources for us all to glean from.

Images, and interesting reading, from *here*

Product? Process? We need them both.

Quilts

Keeping the Brain Alive

May 13, 2014 Elizabeth E.13 Comments

Yes, my brain is pretty dead after grading a stack of 10-page research papers, but after seeing all the twenty-somethings at school today, I have to say that their brains are pretty dead, too. We had a hard time stringing words together, but we got through it by watching a video of a David Mamet play (Spanish Prisoner, if you’re interested) to go along with our Drama Unit.

Christine’s Philadelphia • see original post for more info

So today, while I held my last office hours at school and the internet went out (Panic in the Library!! Panic in the Library!!) I resorted to that old-fashioned entertainment device: a newspaper (having tucked a couple of sections of my New York Times in my bag). I read from their Education Life issue from April 13th (yeah, I’m a little behind in my reading), about “Ten Courses with a Twist,” where I found this diagram:

This is from a course from Carol S. Dweck of Stanford University whose “groundbreaking research has helped shape current wisdom about success and achievement — that failure and recovering from it are more valuable than sticking with what you already know how to do. Dr. Dweck tells students to tackle something “they have never had the guts to try.” Her research shows that mind-set is critical at times of transition, and those “with a ‘growth mind-set’ see that struggles can be overcome with effort, strategy and good instruction.” Hey, if it’s good enough for incoming Stanford freshmen, it’s good enough for me. By the way, anywhere from 140-200 people try to get in the 16 spots in the class.

Why I do bring this all up, especially at the end of the semester when all the teachers/parents/students want to do is find a good beach, a cold drink and go slightly comatose for several hours? Because after listing to NPR’s report that quilting is good for aging and combating memory loss, I thought could learn something. (LISTEN *here*)

Quilting keeps us on our toes because, as Denise Park, the Neuroscientist who was interviewed said, “people who learned a new skill – quilting, photography – had significant brain gains [in memory] – which held up after a year.” She continues to say: “Quilting might not seem like a mentally challenging task, but try it. If you’re a novice, you’re cutting out all these abstract shapes, you are trying to piece them together in reverse order and manipulate the images. It’s very demanding and complex.”

And now you know what neuroscientists think about what we do all day.

So when I’m stuck on a project and it’s giving me fits, I should remember Dweck’s advice and try to cultivate a “growth mind-set” all the while knowing that the manipulation, cutting and sewing my patches is keeping my brain active and healthy. Or take it from my friend Lisa, who hosts our Summer Quilt Retreats in her home. . .

Quilting! It’s a Win-Win!

Now go cut some abstract shapes and piece them together in reverse order.

Quilts

Elizabeth’s Lollypop Trees, final

May 5, 2014May 5, 2014 Elizabeth E.27 Comments

Elizabeth’s Lollypop Trees
began May 2011 • finished April 2014

A Kaffee Fassett Lotus Blossom print for the back, and I am finally done. I know you’ve seen an overabundance of photos of this quilt, so this is just a simple, abbreviated post to say I’m finished. (Or should I say: I’m FINISHED!!!)

Some time ago, my granddaughter Keagan saw my blocks up on my design wall, and quietly made a picture for me of what she saw. (I think it’s the block in the lower righthand corner of the quilt.) I love it, so I put it on the label.

Quilt #132 on my 200 Quilts list
73″ square

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This blog software has an excellent search engine box. If you want to see details about this quilt, type “Lollypop Trees” in the search box to the right, and you’ll get more posts than you know what to do with. If you have specific questions, feel free to leave a comment and I’ll get back to you. Thank you to all who cheered me on and kept me going, in spite of days of wondering if I’d ever finish. It’s very satisfying to see that quilt, to run my fingers over the quilting, and to know that I did it.

That’s three finishes in two weeks. Now to grade research papers until my brains fall out and my fingers fall off.

But look! Only four more days of teaching in this semester!

Quilts

Amish With a Twist II Update

April 23, 2014April 27, 2014 Elizabeth E.14 Comments

When I returned from our little visit to the East Coast, my quilter called me and said the Amish With a Twist-2 quilt was finished. I was really happy to jet over to her house and pick it up, and was really happy with the quilting. There was lots of discussion about what color of thread should be used on this quilt, if a person wasn’t going to pay to have it custom-quilted, and needed to travel over both the lights and the darks of the quilt top.

I was able to take my quilt top to the Superior Threads quilt booth at Road to California, and run about comparing threads. They told me that King Tut would sit on top, So Fine would sink a little deeper and that the very fine Bottom Line thread would almost disappear into the quilt. We unwrapped a billion thread cones (just kidding) and I finally chose this one: Blush.

In spite of its name, it is a coppery colored thread, and goes perfectly with this quilt. I still have oodles of thread left, so check with your long-armer on how much thread to buy. I know that Superior also has a thread app, available on the Apple iTunes store, that can calculate how much thread you’ll need to buy for your project. I figure I’m good for about a hundred years of needing copper-colored thread.

P.S. That wild Jane Sassaman fabric you see it the backing I chose.

P.P.S.S. I promise a picture when I’ve finished sewing on the miles and miles and miles of binding.