Author: sharonwasteney@gmail.com

Inspiration Starter–Old Quilt, New Tote

Inspiration Starter–Old Quilt, New Tote

I acquired an old quilt with the Missouri Daisy pattern a few years ago. It was in very sad shape but the pattern intrigued me since we had recently moved to Missouri from Iowa. I managed to salvage several blocks for potential repurposing, but no 

Marbling Workshop to be Offered

Marbling Workshop to be Offered

I have set aside three days, June 6, 7, 8, 2019 for teaching marbling on fabric with acrylic paint. Time frame will be 1:00 to 4:00 pm each day. Because I have limited space at my home I will take 4 participants each day at 

developing a pattern

developing a pattern

I can create many a quilted project that looks pretty appealing to many but to put that idea forth as a pattern is truly work for me.  For Hannibal’s bicentennial I created a wall hanging to represent the past of Hannibal as well as to portray the quilting traditions through blocks and embellishments.  When asked to create a pattern for replication I must think differently–write down what I am cutting from each fabric, consider how I am constructing a block, questioning if instructions will be understood by others and on it goes.  At this point I am sharing the work in progress on “America’s Hometown”, an easier to construct adaptation of the original wall hanging.  This is the easy part.

The other side of this project is to become more proficient at using software to enhance images.  For that I have relied on my daughter’s expertise.  Over Easter weekend she made me a cheat sheet which I have used to plug in this photo of work in progress. I must do it repeatedly so I become more proficient and less timid about searching and trying the plethora of options. I have come to the conclusion it is easier to develop a quilt pattern than to develop a proficiency with software but I will keep practicing.

Inspiration Starters

Inspiration Starters

One of the things I am told most often when I am presenting a trunk show or doing a workshop for a guild is “you have so many creative ideas”.  The response is that I constantly take in information from surroundings, from experiences, from quilts 

Bamboo scarves and more

Bamboo scarves and more

I have been dyeing scarves in bamboo, silk charmeuse, and rayon.  A selection is available for sale at Hickory Stick Quilt Shop.  If you don’t live near Hannibal, Missouri email me for details.

Creativity and Inspiration

Creativity and Inspiration

In a recent podcast interview with Pat Sloan we talked briefly about creativity and inspiration. Creativity for me happens when I imagine the possibilities as I plan a quilting project. That happens after I have had an inspiring experience—be it discovering a leaf along the road on my morning walk to the Mississippi River or reading about a new technique or seeing a color combination I hadn’t used before. Serge Bloch said, “creativity is the art of combining a little idea with another little idea” and eventually you have a great idea. When I’m working on a quilted project that is what often happens. I have a little idea and then while I am working on that another idea inches it’s way into my consciousness and I begin a different line of thought. I also do a lot of what some would call procrastination but it’s really just taking time to sit back, reflect and gather in additional information or ideas and allowing them to simmer before continuing.  I savor the process of creating rather than being driven to move to a finished product.

A small project to illustrate the process is this collage that was going to be just a patchwork of shapes of my hand dyed vintage linens cut and sewn in an interesting way with soft pastel colors that reminded me of a particular spring morning. Perhaps I would add some decorative threads hand stitched for accent. I got that part of the project done and it was not as inspiring to look at as I had visualized. So I put it out of sight for a few days, contemplating off and on what I might add to make it more interesting. A spring-like patchwork needed a spring-like flower and some additional linens with different texture, some silk ties of the right color, a touch of rainbow organza leftover from another project, and then some beads and a little more stitching.

Looking back

Looking back

Last day of 2018 I’m looking back at photos and recalling what I experimented with in the field of dyeing and painting fabric. One of my favorites is the plunge into ice dyeing. There are no “ugly” results and I love to pull out the 

A Tribute to Pearl

A Tribute to Pearl

My grandmother, a farmer’s wife, did needlework of some kind every evening.  She kept a basket of embroidery by her rocking chair along with a hand-made bag of crochet or tatting thread complete with mail order patterns ready to be worked into doilies or  edgings for pillow cases.  She quilted regularly with a neighborhood group of other farm wives from 1919 to her death in 1975.  As my interest moved in the same direction I came to realize just how good she was at what she did. Her tatting and crochet often won awards at the county fair.  I marvel at her embroidered pillowcases where the wrong side looks very nearly as neat as the right side.  Her hand quilting would win best of show at today’s national quilt competitions. I aspire to become as skilled at least in quilting—I gave up on tatting and crochet.  “A Tribute to Pearl “ seeks to honor her work and the work of those women who continued to keep their hands busy into the evening hours after daily chores and evening dishes were done.

So how does this project begin? None of the pieces used in this project were made by my relatives so I did not hesitate to consider cutting, dyeing or otherwise manipulating them.  I acquired the linen towel with beautifully sewn handwork on the hem and centered motif at auction.  Since it was in pristine condition it served as the centerpiece of inspiration. A doily with the popular pineapple motif had a coffee or other stain that I could only lessen but not eliminate so didn’t hesitate to add color and include it and even consider cutting it into pieces.. A current reproduction of the bark cloth drapes that I remember hanging at farmhouse windows frame the centerpiece.  A photo of a young, spirited version of my grandmother posed against a classic roadster of the times seemed most appropriate to include (I recall her saying she dated in a horse drawn carriage so would love to have known the “rest of this story”).

So, the pieces are gathered, arranged and ready to stitch with addition of  embellishments.

Pear profiles

Pear profiles

Using Linda Ambrosini’s pattern to have some fun with different fabrics and textures as well as quilting designs. Her pattern reminded me of a design I did for a college art class using blue apples. I may have to create or re-create that design in