Episode 157: The Not Much, You? episode

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I just realized I don’t have any pictures to show you. Well, there’s always Travis … before his most recent grooming …

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and after:

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Did you know that in 1992 quilters nationwide threatened to march on Washington if the Smithsonian continued to sell reproduction American quilts made in China? Here’s an article: http://articles.courant.com/1992-11-16/news/0000109829_1_quilt-licensing-smithsonian-institution

Quilts, quiltmakers and value–An interesting letter from a quiltmaker to the the band the Decemberists: http://huntersdesignstudio.com/2015/01/22/an-open-letter-to-the-decemberists-quilts-and-their-makers-have-value/

Fun Facebook Group to Join: Quilting Bee. Lots of great pix–you’ll be inspired daily!

Turns out men quilt, too.http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/arts/la-et-cm-male-quilters-cafam-manmade-20150125-story.html#page=1

 

Have a great week!

19 Replies to “Episode 157: The Not Much, You? episode”

  1. I’m excited about your great news! I wish you luck in getting it accepted.
    Dodgeball- Dodgeball is not my favorite, and I am not super excited about my kids playing it. It can be really nasty. But I feel about that the same way I feel about the no running on the playground rules that have permeated our school systems. Yes kids can get hurt. But at the same time, they don’t learn how to make good decisions if we do it for them all the time. We don’t need to baby them, wrap them in, well batting,LOL. They will survive.
    Quilting- I have a quilt that I have every other block to finish quilting as well. Mine has been languishing for months. I started it 2 years ago. It is a gift and the baby is now closing in on 2. I need to get cracking. You are inspiring me! As soon as our houseguests are gone, it’s coming back out.

  2. One other thing I forgot. I just started watching a new murder mystery on Masterpiece Mystery called Grantchester about a young English clergyman who solves murders. There have only been two episodes posted so far. (I watch on our Roku on the PBS channel.) My husband and I have liked them so far.

  3. This comment goes for the last two episodes. I appreciated your rant about Why Quilts Matter dvds. I had tried to watch them last year but life is too short!
    I did watch the Caryl Bryer Fallert part because her quilts are so amazing.
    My PBS quilting-revelation/child-napping quilt show was Eleanor Burns. I had made some log cabin quilt blocks, cut from cardboard templates, probably traced from the same late70’s Women’s magazine that Jackie mentioned. I carried them around with me for years while in grad school, but I couldn’t figure out how to sew them together because they weren’t the same size. There was Eleanor Burns (about1990) with a rotary cutter squaring things up. I think I called the number on the tv right after the show and ordered the tools! (This was just before the internet.)
    I am glad you are enjoying the Weeks Ringle class. I just finished reading One and One by Jojo Moyes – I really liked it. I can’t wait to read a new quilting novel series, so good luck with that! I second the Grantchester recommendation. Have a good week!

  4. I like that a lot of people are commenting now, and I like hearing you talk about their comments. It makes me feel connected to a lot of other quilters even though I don’t know them in person.

    I’d like to say my kids are all good enough too. My sister asked me to post something on facebook about parents who post pictures of their their kid’s grades. She doesn’t feel she can without insulting the crazy PTA moms at her kid’s schools. I told her to post her own SAT scores and her vintage straight A report cards.

    In my mind, posting your child’s report cards on facebook is like posting the amount you have in your 401K: it is not the business of the general public or your 400 facebook friends! Or as a friend of mine used to say, “Just because your kids are gifted (insert athletic, beautiful, talented, etc) doesn’t mean you are.”

    I think it’s great that you are thinking about writing quilting books! I’ve read some of your YA books, and I’d definitely read your adult fiction. Have you thought about including a depression era pattern in the back of the book like Marie Bostwick does? I bet there is some aspiring designer who would be glad to do that for you.

    One detail from my mom’s depression era memories: kids collecting coal off the train tracks from the coal cars running though the city. They would trade the coal with my grandma for eggs. She lived in a small town in northern NY where backyard chickens were allowed.

  5. I haven’t finished listening to the podcast yet, but feel free to email me anytime you have a question about EQ7!

    Years ago when we were playing role playing games online with friends and I needed to name my character I wanted something different, so one of our friends mentioned that Caeli is Kelly is Gaelic and Jean is my middle name – so now I use that as my username for everything! So you were right, caelijean is Kelly 🙂

  6. I couldn’t find my comment on pod bean either. I wonder what I said?
    My son is a lot like yours. You give me hope that this too shall pass.
    Thanks, as always, for the podcast.

  7. I’m Sending out positive vibes for your book proposal. WHEN it happens I will be buying a copy for all my quilting peeps! Go Frances.

  8. Oh I so hope you get quilt novels published, I have read some of your books and enjoy them! I’m getting “Falling In” from audible next. What fun a novel about quilting set in the 30’s would be! I love your Mosaic quilt by the way. Also loved Broadchurch, I hope there’ll be a season 2. I am watching Grantchester on the pbs website and loving it, a reverend who solves murders!
    Thanks for your podcast, even if I don’t always comment!

  9. Wahoo. I’m all caught up to your latest episode. I wasn’t going to comment until you mentioned your book proposal. Put me down for a copy of each one. Fingers and toes crossed for you.

    I love your “good enough” kids comments. Laura’s friend’s comment is right on the money! What will these people do when their kids grow up and leave home? Fall into a depression or follow their kids into their lives and continue not having one of their own? My kids are wonderful. They are not the best at anything but good at lots of things. Mostly at making me proud of just being good kids. And 16 is way better than 14 or 15 for my boy. He is coming through the surly teenager years and I think we may make it without me going to jail for throttling him. Your boys will make it too. I sometimes think teenagers were invented by the hairdressers and blood pressure medication people.

    Looking forward to the next episode. I always love the quilts stuff but so enjoy your “ramblings”.

  10. LISTENED to your podcast at the retreat… may have some new podcast listeners lined up… showed some of the ladies how to download podcast direct from RSS and from itunes.

    CINDY NEEDHAM recommends stitching in every ditch to stabilize the blocks prior to FMQ ….
    AVOIDs THE PUFFINESS…. She is a master award winning quilter on a domestic machine.

    Something that is often overlooked with FMQ on a domestic machine is that some people want complete control of their quilt / art. They might have a vision of what they want their quilts to look like. I am in both camps in that if I make a quilt for really special person (babies and my husband) I quilt it myself as I want complete control. Some quilts that are basically reparative patchwork I take to a long armer. I have also had my longarmer stabilize my quilt by either by quilting just the sashing or stitching in the ditch. This gives me the freedom to quilt in the blocks things I think is important.

    Another group to belong to on face book is FREE MOTION QUILTING ON DOMESTIC MACHINE… good for advice and pictures of FMQ … great group.

    .

    Did you ever get the EQ file open I sent instructions from EQ tech.

  11. I hope, hope, hope your book proposal is accepted. I need a new quilty novel!

    I just read Nonnie’s comment above. I took the Cindy Needham Craftsy class too, when she said to quilt in “every stinkin’ seam”. That’s way too much quilting for me! By the time I’m at the quilting stage, I just want to get that quilt done! If I stitched in every seam, I’d probably decide I had had enough.

    One thing you might try (and I realize it’s probably too late now, but I thought I’d mention it anyway) is to steam the blocks with your iron. It might unpuff them a bit.

  12. So excited about a quilting series of novels from you. I have liked several, but they always seem a little hokey to me. I know you will do the characters justice!

    I was dying laughing over the idea that just being near you would make people not good at math. I think I have that gene! And yet, I also have children who can do math. How does that even happen?

    Enjoy “not working” this week. 😉

  13. I am SO excited about the possibility of you writing a series of books with a quilting theme. I truly enjoy your children’ and YA books but I can’t think of anything I enjoy reading more than a good novel, set in the early 1900’s with a strong quilting theme and female protagonists. Now I am REALLY going to start paying attention to your FitBit steps so I can see when you get busy writing these books. if you hear “MUSH” in your subconscious mind, that will be me urging you to walk (and thus type) faster.

    On stay at home families who do not schedule every moment around sports and extra curricular activities, I think families who enjoy being at home together might be closer. What do you think about that? Naturally, teens become less social but I think spending time together in the same house is a positive thing.

    Now, how is the Forensics coming? I just spent about 60 hours helping to train a new group of judges. Our judges are required to be fully trained before they can judge. Fun stuff!

  14. Well, here I am commenting before listening again. That’s the problem with having your blog in feedly on my iPad while the podcast is on my phone. I’m always ahead on Feedly and one episode behind on the phone.

    I just had to comment when I saw Travis because I always envisioned him as a bit dog, like ,aye an Irish Setter. Hahaha!

    I thirty second the idea of quilt related novels. Even though I don’t know what the proposal is all about, I like the idea. Guess I better go listen to the podcast!

  15. I decided a long time ago that I want my kid to be happy and not be stressed out. I have made a lot of decisions during his childhood that go against making him into a gazillion dollar CEO, thus I am not a popular parent. Still, he makes good decisions and uses relatively good judgment.

    I agree with Sue that I always think of Travis as a giant dog.

    For the second time in his entire school career, my Young Man was out of school two days last week with something – no fever, body aches, stomach upset. He is at the tail end of it, but it was weird. I am not good at being the parent of a sick kid. He is not good at being sick either. He thought for sure that he was dying.

    I don’t think we need a nonprofit to hang out quilts. We can all just hang our quilts out of our windows or wherever (I don’t have a clothesline). If people belong to Nextdoor [insert name of your town].com (find your neighborhood at: https://nextdoor.com/find-neighborhood/) you can post information about hanging out quilts there and get more people to do it. I’ll have to figure out how to hang my quilts out without having them get stolen.

    BTW, I am taking a class from Joe Cunningham in a couple of weeks. I think I doubled up on events, though, and will miss my guild meeting. 🙁

    Love the idea of Ken Burns doing a quilt documentary. Just get a letter writing campaign going.

    I think your triangle border is called a Sawtooth Border.

    If you write books with a quilt theme, please don’t make them insipid. I know you are not an insipid writer, but so many of the quilty theme books just make me want to cringe.

    Re: 27 blocks – we all have to have goals. You had goals; you made some progress and quiltmaking is a process.

    My Y.M. broke his arm very badly in the 3rd grade at school. I picked him up at the same time everyone else was picking up their kids so everyone saw it. The following week I was asked so many times about going to the ER and how terrible and finally I said that I was glad it was my first time with him in the ER. Boys break bones. Girls do, too. I broke multiple fingers and both arms – one I think I broke twice.

    Have the Man get tested for sleep apnea. You never mentioned him snoring before and if this is a new thing, he may have developed sleep apnea. My DH’s allergies are so bad that I think he has it, but he refuses to get tested. You can also get some earplugs. I like Hearos.

    Your podcast makes me laugh! Thanks for continuing to record!

  16. Hi Frances-
    Good enough kids is truly how I try to roll. Sometimes when I hear my peers, I doubt myself a bit, especially since I have a high school senior. She only applied to one college and we are thrilled with how well this choice seems to fit her. A few weeks ago I had a friend lamenting that her son’s 3.8 gpa and top 15% class rank didn’t enable him to get accepted to the best program. She couldn’t even fathom her son going to a lesser program at a lesser school. Sheesh!

    A question that I had as I listened and heard you talk about the things quilters leave behind, what do people do with their former quilts? With 20 years of quilting (I started young), I am on my third bed quilt for my bed and the kids are each on their second. I have the old quilts in a closet or on a quilt rack and they will probably stay there till I’m gone. Do others donate those quilts? Love them, then pass them on? Is this how the quilts used for rags happen?

    Thanks for the podcast!
    Brenda F
    Runswithtutu

  17. Funny to see Travis, as he just scared me today as I was trying to move the giant painting that blocks the basement staircase, and his bark came from behind me as I was wearing earbuds :)))
    I saw Joe Cunningham’s lecture at a local quilt show 2 years ago, and saw a few of his quilts up close and personal. Although I don’t like that style, he was totally inspiring, and very entertaining. He also played a lot of his music :))
    For the border quilting debate I might be a little too latr, but for just future suggests: I like to use ribbon candy, ot l-s. They make excellent borders. You can also use zigzags. Leah Day gives a lot of ideas about border quilting designs. It’s always a pleasure listening to you, even if it’s about Will’s broken finger, or the basketball game. Hope he is not in too much pain!

  18. I’m behind but I just finished listening to this episode. Like you said, life gets in the way even if you’re retired.

    Great episode btw and I also am very excited about your possible book series. I shall keep good thoughts for you.

    I leave for QuiltCon a week from today and I am very excited. I will either comment or send you an email letting you know how I like it. I anticipate it will be fantastic.

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