Letting Go of the Reins: A Quilter's Journey into Mystery

Quilting is my therapy, my creative outlet, and usually, my personal challenge. I've always been drawn to the art of designing my own quilts—from creating the pattern to choosing fabrics to sewing each intricate piece together. It's a process that brings both joy and a fair share of stress, but that's the thrill of the creative journey, right?

However, my quilting routine recently took an unexpected turn when I found myself grappling with a new dilemma: letting others take control. For someone who thrives on the challenge of crafting my own designs, it was both liberating and, admittedly, a tad terrifying.

Typically, I steer clear of patterns—not because I don't appreciate the myriad options available, but because I relish the challenge of navigating the creative chaos and finding my own path. Isn't following a pattern, selecting fabrics, and stitching the quilt challenging enough, you ask? Well, yes, it is. Yet, for some inexplicable reason, I couldn't resist the allure of the 2024 Murder Mystery Quilt.

Here's how it works: they provide a colour palette, and each month, a new block arrives along with a chapter of a murder mystery book. All I have to do is select fabrics that fit the palette, sew, and read. It sounded like a quilter's dream—someone else doing the hard work, leaving me with the joy of the craft.

So, is relinquishing control liberating or terrifying? The answer, it seems, lies in the delicate dance between the two.

Liberation Through Creativity: There's a unique joy in allowing someone else to guide the process. Choosing fabrics within a set palette is a delightful challenge on its own. It sparks a different kind of creativity, forcing me to think outside my usual colour schemes and fabric choices. It's a refreshing departure from my usual routine, liberating me from the self-imposed pressure of perfection.

The Element of Mystery: The murder mystery aspect adds an intriguing layer to the process. Each new block brings not only the excitement of stitching but also the anticipation of unraveling the mystery. It's like sewing my way through a gripping novel—one stitch at a time. The element of surprise keeps the creative energy flowing, making each step a revelation.

Terrifying Unknowns: Yet, there's an undeniable fear in not knowing the end result. When you purchase a pattern, you have a visual guide—a picture of the quilt, showcasing how the dark and light fabrics harmonize to create a cohesive design. With the mystery quilt, I'm left to wonder about the final product. Will the colours align with my taste? Will the finished quilt sing for me?

The Verdict: Embracing the Journey: For now, I've chosen to embrace the mystery. The uncertainty adds an element of excitement to the creative process. Will I like the finished product? Will the colour palette resonate with me? Will I successfully solve the mystery? These questions linger in the background, but the joy is in the journey itself.

Quilting has always been about more than just the finished product; it's a labour of love, a dance with creativity. Whether liberating or terrifying, relinquishing control has opened a new chapter in my quilting story—one filled with surprises, challenges, and the joy of going with the flow.

So here's to the unknown, to the liberating terror of creativity, and to enjoying the process, stitch by stitch. After all, isn't that what quilting is all about?

#QuiltingJourney #MysteryQuilt #CreativeChallenge #EmbraceTheUnknown #QuiltingCommunity #StitchingStories #2024MurderMysteryQuilt

5 quick exercises to get your patchwork mojo back. (Copy)

I’ve lost my patchwork mojo; how do I get it back?

It has happened to all of us at some point, I think.

So what do you do when you have lost interest in patchwork and still have a room full of fabrics? Well one thing is for sure you need to find your mojo and get sewing again.

Here are 4 exercises to re-ignite your creativity or just get you feeling a little differently.

1.      Look at colour. Walk outside, stop and close your eyes. Take a deep breathe, open your    eyes, what is the first colour you see? Now look at the colours around that first colour. Do the surrounding colours contrast or compliment that first colour? Does the colour combination work or not? Does the colour combination make you feel happy, sad, energised, warm or cool?  Grab some colouring pencils and with the help of this printable sheet document the colour combo. http://www.nestofquilts.com/cheatsheets/qtzbyqkr45rftxtevyo4anz8xosnbx

Each season has it’s colour pallet, do you have a preference?

 2.      Either pick up some interior design magazines from the shop, library or op shop and look at how interior designers use colour combinations. Take note of the colour that “pops” in the images and how much of it they use. Great colours to use for “pop” are black, hot pink, orange, purple, lime green and white. 

 3.      Now that we have looked at colour and have hopefully re-ignited some creative interest let’s look at patterns.  Again let’s go back to nature, in the garden. Does the garden path, the highs and lows of the planting, the clouds create patterns? Do the windows of the buildings create patterns? Now start filling in the boxes, on the sheet you printed out in exercise 1,  with patterns, random lines, just doddles, don’t over think it, do it quickly maybe 2 or 3 minutes. Is there one you like, if so colour it in using one of the colour combinations from the above exercises.

 4.      Go to your fabric stash and put together some of those colour combinations you played with in exercise 2 and 3. Throw in a “pop” colour and see how it changes things? Hopefully you are starting to feel a little energised and are wanting to go beyond the theory and into the practical.

 5.      I have left this exercise till last because it is almost too obvious, look at Pinterest. But I am going to put some restriction of your search because we all know Pinterest can be overwhelming and the last thing we want is for you to find it all too much and lose interest. So only search for one type of quilt design eg black and white quilts, four patch quilts etc, you get the idea. Maybe step out of your comfort zone and search for art quilts or miniatures.  Only spend half an hour on this exercise, has anything caught your attention?  

 I hope this has been helpful and you are now wanting to grab the rotary cutter and launch into a new patchwork project or even maybe revisit a UFO with new enthusiasm.

 I find I revisit these exercises whenever I find myself in a creative rut, they help free up my mind to other possibilities.

 Good luck and happy sewing

Margaret

Patchwork, waste of time, no, no, no. Waste producing, yes, yes, yes.

Patchwork rubbish.
I love making patchwork quilts but it does produce a lot of rubbish. I used to just throw all my threads and tinny scraps into the bin and send it off to landfill. Then two years ago I stopped and thought about what I was doing and was horrified. Yes cotton does eventually decompose but during the decomposition process, textiles generate greenhouse methane gas and leach toxic chemicals and dyes into the groundwater and our soil. I realised I could not continue doing what I was doing. After doing some research I found a company that would take my scraps and recycle them. I have two companies in Australia -UPPAREL Australia and Textile Recycling Australia.

I have a box beside my sewing machine and as I cut threads of bits of fabric I drop them straight into the box. When the box is full, and I mean pushed down to the point where not another piece will fit in, I seal it up and organise a collection.

As patchworkers we already do our bit by using our fabrics until they are too small for even the smallest template, this is the next step, finding a way to recycle what is left. Hopefully there are companies near you that can help you reduce your textile waste.

Margaret

PS. After posting this blog I have had a lot of suggestions, from other patchworkers, as to how to use my scraps. The one I really like is using them to fill a pillow case to make beds for animals in shelters.

Same, same but different.

Really? No.

What do COVID and patchwork have in common????

Here we are in our 3rd year of COVID life, COVID restrictions and COVID same,same.

COVID has taught us how to be flexible, compassionate, and tolerant. But what do COVID and patchwork have in common you ask? Well let me explain.

1.      Reduced food intake.

COVID - one of the symptoms of COVID is nausea, it reduces your food intake.

Patchwork – you can get so involved with a project that before you know it is 4pm and you haven’t had lunch.

2.      Staying at home.

COVID – has kept us all at home for short and long periods over the last 2 years. Some of those stay-at-home periods have been because our government has restricted our movements, others have been self-inflicted to safeguard our health and others have been because unfortunately, we have had a close contact or worst we have had COVID.

Patchwork – when you are really into a sewing project you just want to stay home and sew, sew, sew.

3.      Use what you have at hand.

COVID – at times we have not been able to get to the shops, so we have had to make do with whatever is in the pantry and fridge.

Patchwork – a good size fabric stash came in very handy when the patchwork shops were closed ie using what you have at hand.

4.      Increased energy and enthusiasm.

COVID – in our first and second lockdowns I took the opportunity, and was enthused, to clean out draws and cupboards, wash curtains, do a good “Spring” clean. I really achieved.

Patchwork – at the same time I took the opportunity to finish a few UFO’s, start a couple of, and finish, some new quilts and use up some of my stash.

5.      It is here to stay so we learn to live with it.

COVID – unfortunately I think COVID is here to stay for a bit longer.

Patchwork – once you have the patchwork bug is very hard to shake, if you want to, which I do not. My family has had to learn to live with fabric in various rooms in the house, quilt tops laid out on beds, late dinners because I can’t stop sewing and holidays designed around patchwork shop’s locations. They may complain about it all but they never complain about the finished quilt that suddenly appears on their bed to keep them warm on Winter nights.

As a patchworker I hope you can relate. Happy sewing, stay safe and stay healthy.

Margaret

Why is patchwork so popular?

Antique quilt

Why oh why is patchwork so popular.

Very good question. Is there a definitive answer? I don’t know but here are my thoughts.

It was popular years ago because it filled a domestic need, to keep you warm on cold winter’s nights in a home that possible was very drafty. Quilts were made from left over fabric from worn clothes, seed bags etc so cheap to make and all the requirements were on hand. Necessity made it popular.

Fast forward to today. Quilts still fulfil their primary purpose, keep us warm but they do so much more now. We now buy fabric specifically for a quilt, we have access to patterns, batting and sewing machines. So yes we can, if we choose, make them quicker and easier that our for-fathers but why do we still make quilts when we could go out and buy them.

We, like those patchworkers that have gone before us, want to express our creativity. A lot of what we do, on a daily basis, we repeat over and over again eg we wash dirty clothes, hang them on the line, fold them, then they are worn again and need washing again. On and on and on it goes. We make a quilt and it stays made. Our creativity, talent and love is there for all to see. There is a saying “ it’s cheaper than therapy” and yes it is and you have a quilt to comfort you, win, win.

Patchwork is mindful, calming, fulfilling in a time when we all seem to be busy, rushing around chasing our tails. Maybe it’s popularity stems from a need to slow ourselves down, enjoy the moment and be mindful and if anyone asks ”you are sewing” and that is being productive, not wasting time or being self-indulgent. Oh if only they knew how totally self-indulgent half an hours sewing really is, just me and my fabric, priceless.

So why is patchwork so popular? Because it is the perfect self-help, me time, share with like-minded friends craft, that results in a functional item of home decor. Do you think the husband will buy that explanation when I next come home with new fabric to add to my already extensive collection? Probably not but as long as I have the patchwork bug/passion I will continue to make quilts and give quilts because they are beautiful and functional, but most importantly beautiful.

 

Marg

5 quick exercises to get your patchwork mojo back.

I’ve lost my patchwork mojo; how do I get it back?

It has happened to all of us at some point, I think.

So what do you do when you have lost interest in patchwork and still have a room full of fabrics? Well one thing is for sure you need to find your mojo and get sewing again.

Here are 4 exercises to re-ignite your creativity or just get you feeling a little differently.

1.      Look at colour. Walk outside, stop and close your eyes. Take a deep breathe, open your    eyes, what is the first colour you see? Now look at the colours around that first colour. Do the surrounding colours contrast or compliment that first colour? Does the colour combination work or not? Does the colour combination make you feel happy, sad, energised, warm or cool?  Grab some colouring pencils and with the help of this printable sheet document the colour combo. http://www.nestofquilts.com/cheatsheets/qtzbyqkr45rftxtevyo4anz8xosnbx

Each season has it’s colour pallet, do you have a preference?

 2.      Either pick up some interior design magazines from the shop, library or op shop and look at how interior designers use colour combinations. Take note of the colour that “pops” in the images and how much of it they use. Great colours to use for “pop” are black, hot pink, orange, purple, lime green and white. 

 3.      Now that we have looked at colour and have hopefully re-ignited some creative interest let’s look at patterns.  Again let’s go back to nature, in the garden. Does the garden path, the highs and lows of the planting, the clouds create patterns? Do the windows of the buildings create patterns? Now start filling in the boxes, on the sheet you printed out in exercise 1,  with patterns, random lines, just doddles, don’t over think it, do it quickly maybe 2 or 3 minutes. Is there one you like, if so colour it in using one of the colour combinations from the above exercises.

 4.      Go to your fabric stash and put together some of those colour combinations you played with in exercise 2 and 3. Throw in a “pop” colour and see how it changes things? Hopefully you are starting to feel a little energised and are wanting to go beyond the theory and into the practical.

 5.      I have left this exercise till last because it is almost too obvious, look at Pinterest. But I am going to put some restriction of your search because we all know Pinterest can be overwhelming and the last thing we want is for you to find it all too much and lose interest. So only search for one type of quilt design eg black and white quilts, four patch quilts etc, you get the idea. Maybe step out of your comfort zone and search for art quilts or miniatures.  Only spend half an hour on this exercise, has anything caught your attention?  

 I hope this has been helpful and you are now wanting to grab the rotary cutter and launch into a new patchwork project or even maybe revisit a UFO with new enthusiasm.

 I find I revisit these exercises whenever I find myself in a creative rut, they help free up my mind to other possibilities.

 Good luck and happy sewing

Margaret

Do I have enough? Just one more?

I recently listened to an American Patchwork and Quilting podcast about how patchworkers travel, and it got me thinking. In the podcast they talked about buying fabric, at your destination, that reflects the destination, about taking sewing with you to do in the car, plane and at the destination and about planning your holiday around quilt shops.

Ahh travel, a thing of the past thanks to COVID but I am hopeful to be able to travel again next year even if only within Australia.

As I have mentioned in a previous blog I have made several quilts about holiday destinations I have been to but there is still a problem I ponder each time I am getting ready to go on holiday, “how much sewing should I take or need?” The last thing I want to happen is to run out of sewing and find myself on a 6 hour train journey and no sewing.

Is the calculation 1 block per day or per week or 1 per plane trip or 1 per train trip. I know what you are saying “you can never have too much so just prep more”. But there is the issue of packing it and keeping it organised when you are packing and unpacking when traveling.

So what do I do? Firstly the calculation very much depends on what sort of a holiday you are going on, but I would usually prep at least one block per day and 2 to 4 for the travel to and from. When we Australian’s travel overseas we are usually on the plane for many hours.

When it comes to packing and keeping it all organised, I have a secret weapon, Jen Kingswell’s Block Wrap, https://www.jenkingwelldesigns.com/jens-block-wrap . It has room to lay out 6 blocks, keeps them tidy and ready to be sewn. As you finish a block take if out and lay out the next block therefore you always have 6 blocks at the ready.  The rest of my block pieces I keep in letter size envelopes, well labelled and held together with a sturdy bulldog clip. Needles, tiny cutter and pins are all in a small needle wallet. I then put all these into a well labelled packing cell, neat, tidy and very easy to find in the suitcase.

I have photos of me sewing in all sorts of holiday destination eg Machu Picchu, Antarctica, Uluru. I have had to go into the hotel laundry to iron my block while staff watched on and I have finger pressed many a block until I could access an iron. It has all been fun and I think of all those experiences and places when I look at the blocks.  

I hope this has given you some ideas for your next trip.

Here’s to travel and prepping our sewing and packing it lovingly ready for the big day, departure day.

Happy sewing wherever you are

Margaret

I sometimes cheat, do you?

I sometimes cheat, do you?

I love tips and hacks that make my life easier, whether it’s cleaning, cooking and especially sewing. I believe if there is an easier way of doing something that gives you the same result embrace it. Is that cheating or just being smart with your time? I think definitely the latter.

I also love patchwork blocks on point, like the one below. I love the different pattern that is created when you flip a block onto it’s point. But there is a little more maths involved in this layout than a straight horizontal layout.

So with that in mind I decided to spend a little bit of time now to save time later. I have created a free downloadable cheat sheet for the set-in-triangles and corner triangles for on-point quilt layouts. I have done the maths from 4-inch blocks to 14-inch blocks.

Head over to the “Cheat Sheets” page, on my website, to download the chart for free, I keep mine in a resource folder as well as on my computer, so it is at hand whether I am at home or on a sewing weekend away.

I hope you find the cheat sheet helpful.

Happy sewing

Margaret

Help the rabbit has got my quilt

Help the rabbit’s got my quilt.

As each of our 3 children approached their 21st birthday I started making them a quilt. I don’t think any of them actually received their quilt on their 21st but that is my MO, start late, finish late.

Our daughter is a Marine Biologist, so her quilt was an under the sea scene. Our youngest son was in the Army loading and unloading aircraft and doing a bit of jumping out of aircraft too so his quilt was called “Props” as it depicted propellors. Our middle child, another boy, was heavily into downhill mountain bike and dirt bike riding so his depicted hills, sky and sandy soil.

I am getting to the rabbit don’t worry. So as they each went their separate ways in life they took their quilts with them, all good they were made to be used. Our middle child partnered, bought a house and yes a rabbit, Storm, and then had a child of his own. So what did the rabbit do you ask. Well the rabbit died when their son was about 18 months old, very sad. Months later I noticed my son’s 21st birthday quilt in his son’s room, I was so happy to see it being used. When I commented on this fact my son and daughter-in-law both went very quiet and looked at the floor. Alarm bells started going off in my head, what have I said to evoke this response, what is wrong with the quilt?

Son finally made eye contact and told me that Storm, the rabbit, had eaten a hole in the quilt. Ok breathe Margaret breathe, it will be fixable, difficult to do considering the design but doable. “How big is the hole” I asked. Again son’s eyes went to the floor “pretty big, it goes all the way through”. I took a deep breath and decided now was not the time to take a look, I needed to get my head around the fact that I may not be able to repair it or if I can it might be very intricate and very time consuming.

So here I am 6 months down the track from that awkward conversation and confession. I have asked for a photo of the quilt damage as we are still in a COVID lockdown and I cannot go and see it in person.

Well the photo arrived. Is it as bad as I had imagined, yes and no. Is it fixable, yes it is but how it will look I don’t really know. I will have to introduce new fabrics as I don’t have any of the fabrics anymore I don’t think.  How am I to attack this repair job. How did one cute, fluffy bunny do so much damage.

With son number two getting married April next year I am busy making a Wedding Ring quilt and I am determined to have it finished for the wedding, I will not be following my usual MO. The repair job might just have to wait until after April, it could be my Winter project.

The lesson to be learnt is; quilts are made to be used and when you use something there is always the potential for damage.  So I will take that deep breath and come to terms with the fact that this might be the first but it will not be the last quilt that I will need to repair.

I will always look at this quilt and think of my son aged 21 on his mountain bike with his mates having the time of their lives but I will also think of Storm, the rabbit, and the love she gave my family and the headache, of a repair job, she has given me.

Wish me luck and patience.

Happy sewing and stay healthy

Margaret

Achieving in lockdown

So, what to sew during an extended lockdown.

I need no excuse to start a new quilt but I love when someone actually gives a me a reason to. We have a family wedding in April next year and my soon to be daughter-in-law has requested a Wedding Ring quilt. I am really enjoying the process of foundation piecing the arcs and have set myself the goal of 4 arcs per day, which of course is very achievable.

So as I started this new quilt I got thinking about the quilts I have made/finished during our previous lockdowns. I have enjoyed doing some relaxing hand piecing as well as some quick machine piecing. I have spent time designing and sewing new blocks as well as visiting some tried-and-true old favourites. One of the big challenges of lockdown, for me, is the fact that the patchwork shops are closed. I know this really shouldn’t be an issue as I do have a large stash of fabric, but you know how it is sometimes you just need a particular colour or design or size print that is not in your stash.

I have found lockdown to be a great time for scrappy quilts. One of the elements of scrap quilts that I really like is fussy cutting centres of blocks, I love getting my grandchildren to find the flowers or animals scattered around the quilt. Talking about grandchildren the pink quilt in the top left corner is my granddaughter’s first quilt, I have called it Pretty in Pink. The free pattern is available on my website and it is a quick and easy quilt to make.

I think I have made about 9 quilts during lockdowns, 7 of which are in the photo above. The blue, black and white quilt, middle top, was a mystery quilt designed by Laundry Basket Quilts, https://www.laundrybasketquilts.com/. I am in a sewing group of 5 so we challenged ourselves to make this quilt during lockdown 1. All 5 look a little different.

Middle row on the left is a panel I bought from Bella Fabrics, https://www.bellafabrics.com.au/, just before lockdown 2. I always like to cut up a panel and challenge myself with the maths of reconstructing it in another way.

The central, yellow quilt is a pattern I bought at a quilt show, ahhh remember them, from Sommerset Cottage, https://www.somersetpatchwork.com.au/. I love the cheeriness of the yellow background. I hand pieced this one and machine quilted it myself using our group’s quilting machine.

Bottom right is a section of my Cross Roads quilt another free pattern on my website. Again a quick and easy scrappy quilt.

The rectangular photos are very scrappy quilts. The bottom one all started with a block designed by Jen Kingwell, https://www.jenkingwelldesigns.com/, Mega Star. I made about 5 of the Mega Star blocks and then started designing my own blocks and the quilt just grew like topsy turvy. From that quilt I jumped into designing blocks for the other quilt, right hand side. This one has blocks named Beach Ball, Towel, Sea Star etc so I just had to name the quilt Summer.

I may be in lockdown but it does not mean I have to be glum or inactive or negative. Lockdown has given me time to finish quilts, start new ones and do some block designing. In years to come these lockdown quilts will comfort and warm family and friends and might even have them thinking about these difficult times and be thankfull that we all got through them.

Happy sewing and stay safe and healthy

Margaret