When I first got back into quilting, I began with making traditional blocks.  I loved the look of some of the vintage quilts that I saw - Dresden Plate, Sawtooth and of course, Log Cabin.  I started making quilts using old fashioned blocks and tried to make them more modern by using newer fabrics in more modern colours.

I liked the look - but was not in love with any of the quilts that I made.  I showed many of them to my mother - who has a great eye when it comes to style.  She remarked that they were beautiful but wondered if maybe I should try making quilts that were more modern and that would fit better into peoples contemporary decor.  I had to really think about this because the one thing I did not want to do was to create quilts that were available in similar looks as some quilts sold at retail stores.  And I really did not want an avant-garde look either.  I like corners that match and do not like bizarre looking blocks!



​It took some time to realize what the differences were between a more traditional quilt and a modern looking quilt.  Interestingly enough, modern quilts were actually easier to make than the more traditional style quilts and after a little experimentation, I finally determined how to make a more modern quilts that look great in any current decor.  And you don't have to buy special patterns to create them.  So here are some things you can do to take a traditional pattern and make it more modern.

I was in a business course many moons ago and there was a coach there who was listening to a dilemma that I had.  He paused and listened intently, and then waited until I stopped and calmly asked me "Why do you keep swimming upstream?"

My first thought was - "well there is a right way to do things".  And that may be true if you are a surgeon or  dentist.  Or a Judge.  But in most things in life there are many ways to accomplish any one thing - and as long as no one gets hurt or there is no damage to property - it may even be easier!

Well I experienced this again! Really?  In quilting?  Oh yes I did. (chuckle)

Several years ago I bought a program with a pattern called a 'mystery quilt'.  It was a program that sent you part of the pattern each month and you did not know what the quilt looked like until the last installment.  I never did get the quilt started until several years later.  On this past Sunday evening, with all the installments in hand, I headed off to a quilting retreat in the hopes of starting and completing the entire quilt in 4 days.  To maintain the integrity of the program - I decided to do each installment before looking at the next and actually followed the directions.  And began swimming upstream.

I will not go into all the gory details - but each step, after I had painstakingly followed all the directions and pieced each section, I realized that the instructions swam upstream so to speak.  Each step that I went through took the long way to cut and piece each block  All 1800 pieces.  I was tempted to try to rewrite all the short cuts - but in most cases when I realized there was another way - I was already half way through the hard way.

What many people do not realize is that you do not win any awards or badges of honour to do things the hard way.  In the end we actually lose.  Time.  Patience. And even the desire to finish something. You may feel a sense of accomplishment for swimming upstream - but the only thing I know that swims upstream to success - is salmon.  And we all know what happens to them when they reach their destination.

When I find a faster, easier way to do something now - I make it a habit to use that way - and still keep looking for other great time saving methods.  This is why I have been writing patterns with fast and easy techniques to make the project more enjoyable that can be completed in a shorter time period. You can have results you can be proud of  and still have time for that cup of tea. (or glass of wine).

So, if you are wanting to save a little time making your quilt tops - sign up for my newsletter  - or read the archives here where I announce new patterns - or take a look at "No Waste, Quick Finish Quilts".  I will be adding more patterns over the next little while!

When I was in grade school, we had fewer professional days and more “unprofessional” days - where we simply had a little bit of fun!  Every year we would have a pajama day where we all got to wear our pajamas to school. 

We also had “Backwards” days where we wore our clothes backwards and tried to do everything backwards. Walking backwards became dangerous and as I recall we did not do much in gym class backwards - but it really opened our eyes to doing things in a different way.

In quilting, I find I do a lot of things backwards.  Unsewing for example.  Yes we all do that once in a while!

But I also visually deconstruct quilts to determine the pattern or to redraft a pattern to make the best used of the width of the fabric - making it a no-waste quilt.

I was inspired recently though, by the wideback fabric I ordered and received that I keep in stock for quilters.  The quality and colour of the wideback was beautiful and I began to wonder why I should only use this fabric for backing.  Why couldn’t a backing be used in or as a quilt front?

I showed one such fabric to my daughter who loved the neutral look and rose pattern of a wideback called “Rose Whispers” designed by Eleanor Burns.  She asked me if I would make a quilted bedspread out of the wideback - which of course was very easy.  Widebacks are 108 inches wide - so I cut a front and back 108 inches long and quilted it with a wool batting and voila - a beautiful king size bedspread! The big surprise was the cost.  Fabric for the front of a king size bedspread was $86.50. (the back would cost the same)

​For a king sized quilt - this was unheard of!

When I was 5 years old, my Grandmother knitted a beautiful cable cardigan for me in a lovely shade of rose.  But like all little hooligans, I grew out of it - likely within 18 months! Oh how I loved that sweater - both the cables and the colour. 

Several years later when we moved from Calgary to Montreal - a resourceful retired neighbour offered to pull the sweater apart and made a granny square afghan for my bed.  Deconstructed and re-created - it was just as well loved as the rose cable sweater. I still have that afghan - and the many memories from those childhood days.  I am sure it took a lot of work to pull apart and re-invent but what a wonderful repurposing of a childhood treasure.

​In the last several years I have had the honour of re-purposing well loved quilts of friends and customers into repaired, restored and sometimes newer quilts with older pieces in them. When "Nanna" makes a quilt and it gets dragged around by a two year old until grade school, you can bet there is sentimental value - even if it looks a little tattered or the batting has all but disappeared from multiple washings. 

Which brings me to my most recent story......

In 2008 when I was living in Canmore Alberta - I visited Pine Tree Quilt Company on a regular basis.  Not yet a "real" quilter - I drooled over the quilts and projects that they had on display.  One day I broke down and purchased fabric and pattern for the quilt called "A Weekend in Canmore".  It was a log cabin style quilt in reds and creams and I was so excited to get started.  A little at a time I got half of the quilt squares completed and then the project got put away for several years.

Fast forward to 2017, I decided to finish that UFO.  Once I finished the queen sized top, I was thrilled.  It was gorgeous. The problem was - I was not a longarmer and I had no idea how to quilt it.

So using pool noodles and all kinds of other aids - I did a wide cross hatch pattern on my domestic machine and bound it.  It was my very first finished large quilt but I was not very happy with the look, but it was the best I could do at the time with the knowledge that I had.  So - on the bed it went.  My first big quilt.

Since finishing the quilt - I have learned so much more about quilting and have developed a little more patience. I have wanted to recreate the "Week-end in Canmore" quilt and I have searched and searched for similar fabrics - hoping of course to 'do it right' this time but have not found anything that I thought would work as well as the first fabrics did.  It wasn't until I sat down one afternoon in my studio and glanced at the end of the couch  - I saw and remembered my sweater turned afghan. 

​Could I deconstruct my quilt and re-invent it into a bigger, loftier, better constructed quilt?  If you know me well enough, you know you cannot tell me it can't be done!

Sadness.  We all sometimes experience it.

Recently I awoke to realize I had been feeling a little blue. I was having difficulty getting motivated to do even the things I love to do. “Why not do some quilting?”, she asked herself.  Sigh.  I just couldn’t get started.  I even mentioned it to my guy who of course told me maybe I should take a break and not be so hard on myself. (Hmmm does he even KNOW me?)
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After a day or two of bumbling around doing well, not much, it dawned on me!  I checked the calendar and realized it was the day before the 11th anniversary of the floods of Alberta - an event I was heavily involved in as a first responder. (Yes this is me here!​)  AH Ha!  I now understood the sadness.

​It was a major milestone in my life - and I had to work very hard to stop measuring my life by referring to events that have happened in terms of before or after “the flood”. 

Many of us have experienced disasters, trauma or losses in our lifetimes.  It is these memories and experiences that are stitched together in our souls that makes us the fabric of who we are. Estimates say that as many as 75% of all North Americans have experienced some sort of trauma in their lives and many of those who have experienced trauma are our veterans. 

One of the many veterans in the US and Canada that has taken up quilting to help him with the effects of trauma is Andrew Lee.  After 2 deployments in Iraq he suffered the effects of PTSD.  He talks on his web site  Combat Quilter of how he creates quilts and donates them to an organization called Quilts of Valour that in turn distributes them to veterans.  

​Lisa Compton, who served first as a Canadian Armed Forces Nursing Officer in Kandahar, Afghanistan, also speaks about the healing journey she took after receiving a quilt.  She then took up quilting as part of her PTSD healing journey and is now President of Quilts of Valour Canada. This is an amazing organization and you can read more about it here. 

Incidentally, one of the women who attended a recent workshop I taught is a representative for the Newmaket area,  for Quilts of Valour.   Naomi and Mike Babineau have been working with QOV since 2019. Naomi is an area representative and Mike is a presenter. (look for her on facebook)

Utah State University reports that “participating in activities during leisure or spare time has been shown to reduce stress levels. For instance, one study showed approximately 75% of participants’ cortisol levels (one of the most widely studied hormonal markers of stress) were lowered after making art.” You can read more about this here.
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Despite our ability to move on and heal from emotional events and trauma, there is much research that supports the fact that our bodies carry these memories over our lifetime.  We can subconsciously remember dates and times and those memories can cause a physical response.  Sadness is one response.

​For me, I don’t want to label this sadness as depression - because it happens every year on or near the 20th of June for me.  And as quietly as it appears, it also leaves on its own.  Just being aware that the reason for the sadness is because of the past experience - helps me to be kinder to myself - enjoy a bit of nature - maybe wrap myself in a quilt - snuggle up with a warm beverage and read a good book.

Sometimes however, the best remedy to feeling sad and wanting to isolate - is to do something for someone else. 

Maybe it is time for me to make a quilt to donate to Quilts of Valour Canada.
Yes. Yes.  I think I will.