Well, the Kaw Valley Quilt Show is over and I feel I can take a few deep breaths and figure out what to do now. It almost feels like one of those dates like New Years, Birthdays, First Day of Spring - you know, those days when you think about resolutions and new habits.
I have started reading a book Better Than Before by Gretchen Rubin; it's all about starting (good) or stopping (bad) habits. So, being the quilty person I am, I thought about quilting habits.
I have gotten into some pretty bad habits over the last few years. Habits are bad if they cause problems and I have several bad habits in my studio. I also have found there are things I don't do (like quilt documentation - the Quilt Show really pointed that out to me when I couldn't remember who had quilted some of my earlier quilts) that would really make quilt life better if I did them.
So here is my list of Starts and Stops. Most of them are obvious to quilters.
Start . . . Stop . . .
Securing starts and stops Snacking while quilting
Trimming threads as I go Buying "unallocated" fabric
Tidying at the end of each session Leaving scraps all over
Prepping for next session
Documenting my quilts
Blogging more consistently
Reading more blogs
What good habits do you have in the studio? I'd love to hear them!
Curious about habits,
Four months sure went by fast! The Kaw Valley Quilters' Guild Annual Quilt Show is this Saturday and Sunday and I'm almost ready.
I have the privilege to be this year's featured quilter. Over the last several months I have felt excited, scared, overwhelmed, frustrated, ready, not ready and absolutely exhausted. Tonight I am excited and exhausted.
In the morning I am leaving for LA on a short trip, and I'll get back on Friday afternoon just in time for final set up. Thankfully my friend Shari is hanging the majority of my quilts for me.
I'm hanging 15 quilts and then showing 9 more that we didn't have space for (but really I didn't have time to sew on a hanging sleeve). Then I'm doing something a little different - at least I think it's different.
I'm going to show and talk about some UFOs. When people display quilts at a show, we see beautiful, finished quilts, and then I usually assume that the featured quilter has it all together - all their quilts represent a theme, they are all perfectly finished, including labels and documentation. OK, so maybe they aren't as "perfect" as I am imagining. But it sure looks that way.
I plan on showing the more everyday, human side of quilting - the early practice pieces, the "can't wait to start" but don't finish quilts, the not so beautiful quilts, they are the ones I'm most excited about. I'll also have a display of some workshop projects that I'll eventually finish. I have learned so much about quilting over the last several years, and I've learned a lot about myself and life.
So, I'm still working on the details, I'm sure I will be down to the wire (like a lot of quilters). I'll be giving a short talk at 1:00 on both Saturday and Sunday. I'll be at the Mea Bernina table on Saturday and hanging around with my quilts on Sunday. So please come down to the show at Crown Toyota and visit with me. I'm sooooo excited!
