Quite contrary

Not long after I did my first Creatures in My Stash post, I was at an HMQG gathering. A group of us were chatting, when one of the young women in the chatting group said to me, "Oh, you're the one with the owls."
Was there actually a what-stinks look on her face or was it just in the tone of her voice?
Yes, sweetie, I am the one with the owls.

After that, this same person became in charge of the Guild's swaps & challenges & handed out a list of fabrics that were unacceptable for participation in them:

no batiks

no blenders

no reproductions

no novelties

nothing from the big box stores

etc, etc

Well, this freed up a lot of my time because, with my odd & old stash, I no longer felt welcome to participate in the swaps & challenges with my guild friends. It also made me really dig through my stash -- not to get rid of my offending fabrics, but to pull them out & try to use them in ways that Modern Quilters would not find so offensive. What began in a state of peevishness has turned out to be a whole lot of fun! I wish I could impress upon younger quilters what a thrill it is when a long-time member of one's stash comes together with some newer members & the combination makes all greater than themselves. Then there is the creative fun of trying to make something lovable from not-so-lovable fabrics -- it's easy to make something beautiful from beautiful fabrics, much more of a challenge using ones that are less than beautiful.

It isn't accurate to say I don't love the owls & browns (all from big box stores, not a single designer's name on any selvage) in this project, because I really do -- the chocolate-y browns & the big-eyed owls really make me happy. But somehow it had gotten sidetracked. I pulled it out early this year & have been building away at it. Then Shug said that he really likes it, could see it as a summer quilt on the bed. Well OK then. The quilt of undetermined size that I had been dabbling at now became a quilt of determined -- & quite large -- size that I was motivated to finish.
Time to get sewing!

p.s. Did you notice my new banner? I thought it was time for a fresh look. And my new "picture"? My avatar, if only I was as cute as her! It was recommended that I add an email update feature, useful since my blog posts have become pretty erratic & a translator, if English is not your first language or if you want to see if I make more sense in Urdu than in English.

The In Crowd

I'm in with the In Crowd,

I know what the In Crowd knows.

I'm in with the In Crowd,

I go where the In Crowd goes. *

Me? Nope, that's not me. I'm not in any Crowd at all.

Traditional Quilters think I'm too Modern. The Moderns think I'm too Traditional. Art Quilters say I have no vision, no voice. I'm too controlled for the Liberated Quilters, too wonky for the Perfectly-Matched Seams set. I fit neatly -- no where. My style is hard to define, a bit from the whole spectrum of quilting. Not a big deal -- except that the quilting world seems to be getting so clannish, that if you don't subscribe wholeheartedly to a Group's lists of dos & don'ts then you don't really belong to the Group. OK, I've always been something of an out-lier, outside looking in from the thin end of the bell curve. I'm used to being there, it just gets a little lonely sometimes.

I am trying to shut out the distractions of the latest fabric challenges & QALs, swaps & the newest trends, the nay-sayers & the yay-sayers. I think it is safe to say that half of my life is over now, I hope I have many good years of quilting ahead of me, but life is uncertain. So I am trying to listen to *my* voice & make *my* quilts. I love making quilts for family & friends, trying to get inside their skin, finding colors, fabrics, designs they would like -- them, but through my eyes. Sometimes I nail it, other times a near miss. I also love sewing my stash into simple quilts for charitable giving -- de-stashing by sewing things that will warm bodies & souls. But when I am not making quilts to give, I want to make quilts that are me, my Own. A new friend used the word "authentic" -- that's what I am aiming for: quilts that are Authentically my Own.

* Billy Page