Work in Progress: From the Depths of the UFO Cabinet

Posted by Nadine

I had an idea the other day that sent me digging through my UFO stash. Years ago, and I mean a LOT of years, I made a bunch of Jacket Jazz jackets. Remember those from the books by Judy Murrah?? I started making those in 1993 I think! I still have the jackets I made, except maybe one or two that I sold instead of keeping for myself. I LOVED making them, and I even taught a bunch of other folks to make them when we were stationed in Stuttgart, Germany. Heck, these jackets were my transition from sewing clothing and evening wear like this: Continue reading →

That Creative Spark Still Burns

Posted by Nadine

It seems quilting isn’t really done with me, or perhaps I’ve just figured out that I’m not done with quilting. Maybe it just takes more time than you’d believe to get past total burnout. Remember that ambivalence? Well, I’ve spent a lot of time over the last three and more years trying to answer the question “What do I want to do now?” I’m lucky that I have the luxury to even consider that, I know.

I’ve thought about (and tried) a lot of different things that I could pursue instead of quilting and textile art: drawing, mixed media art, programming, web design, web and mobile app creation, photography, and so on. It all goes back to how much resources I’d need to devote to be able to accomplish what I’d want to at the level I’d want to be at, and it’s just too much time, effort, and in some cases money, to invest in something that doesn’t speak to me as clearly and as loudly as quilting and textile art always has.

To state it another way, and this is a bit more brutal: I think I’m just too lazy to invest the time and energy it would take to be as good at any of that other stuff as I am at quilting. Yep, I can just admit that I’m lazy. Quilting is still a comfort zone as well. Or it is again…or something. Continue reading →

Beginnings…

Posted by Nadine

Thank you all for the kind words of encouragement I received, both here on the site and via email, after my last post. It’s heartwarming to know that others do understand and that I’m not alone! Looking back a bit, the irony of this post following hard on the heels of this one is not lost on me. I still feel quite ambivalent about it all really, but at this point any decision seems better than no decision at all and if it turns out to be the wrong one later, so be it. I can live with that, because it’s not like it hasn’t happened before, right?

Onward! When I look at all of this “stuff” I have in my studio, I find it rather sad that it’s all sitting here in the dark, not being loved and used and inspiring. It was all inspiring to me at one time; a piece of beautiful fabric could (and did!) inspire whole quilts, and the texture and color interaction of embellishment materials could be the start of entire sets of Inchies. Just because it isn’t inspiring to me anymore doesn’t mean that it should sit in the dark until the end of time however. These lovely bits and bobs should be getting used and loved by someone, and to that end I’ve started creating bundles for my shop. Continue reading →

Endings…

Posted by Nadine

It’s time. I’m done. I just have no desire to actually make anything out of all this fabric, beads, fibers and “stuff” that is sitting in my studio. It’s been three and a half years since I really felt like doing much at all with any of it, so I think it’s really time to just say farewell to it all.

I never thought I’d do that actually, but honestly, it’s been a long time coming, even before I discovered Inchies and created Inchie Quilts. I remember having a conversation with my mother in early 2008. I don’t remember the whole of it, but I distinctly remember saying to her “Maybe it’s time to just be done with all this quilting stuff.” I was working on Elemental Changes and having some design issues and it all just seemed like too much effort to figure it out. I was also developing Inchie Quilts at the time, and I even remember where I was sitting in my studio when I was talking to her. The thing was though, after quilting for probably 40-60 hours a week for so many years as both a hobby and a job, I wondered what I’d do with myself if I didn’t quilt. Quilting was just a part of my life, like ITMan, the girls and the cats. It was soothing when I was upset, it was inspiring, it was fulfilling, and it was an escape. What would I even do with all of those hours if I didn’t play with fabric? Continue reading →

Embellishments are a girl’s best friends

Posted by Nadine

I’m crazy busy at the moment getting ready for Quilt Market and the AQS Quilt Expo, but I did promise quilting content before the weekend is out, and I am loving this current project, so I couldn’t wait to share it! I wanted to make another sample for the Embellishment Dimension workshop, and this time I wanted to do something totally different than the other samples I’ll take with me. I found this luscious batik at the Army craft shop in Heidelberg, and it was just begging for embellishments! It was, I heard it!

I listened to this fabric speaking to me for a couple of weeks before I finally had some time to play. Here’s texture piece number one: Continue reading →

Operation IBOL–Packaging Up the Love

Posted by Nadine

Today is Boxing Day, but not the one that comes after Christmas in some parts of the world. I spent some time the other day pulling fabrics and other bits from my stash to send to Iraq for the Iraqi Bundles of Love project masterminded by Kristin La Flamme‘s awesome husband Art. I pulled out bunches of yardage that I know I’ll never use, as well as some threads that were hanging around and a few trims and bias binding packages that I don’t even know why I have anymore. I’m sure that someone in Iraq will find a good use for these things!

So, Mr. IBOL Guy, there are four boxes headed your way this week! I know that a couple of these boxes are bigger than I think you’d like, but you know how it is ’round here. You can’t always have exactly what you want when you want it. These were the only boxes I could find! 🙂 And can I just say one more time, “You’re awesome, Mr. IBOL Guy, and an inspiration to the rest of us!” Continue reading →