Episode 170: The Fairly Sad Episode

Welcome to Episode No. 170 of the Off-Kilter Quilt Podcast (Where a Straight Line’s a State of Mind). My name is Frances, and I’m your hostess.

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Playing with scraps and “making” fabric:

made fabric

Look at this stranger critter that showed up outside our front door:

spicebush2It’s a Spicebush Swallowtail caterpiller. It looks like a goldfish got stuck to the doorway. Little bit weird!

Don’t forget the label!

http://www.allpeoplequilt.com/how-to-quilt/finishing/making-quilt-labels

 

A fun infographic about copyright:

http://thebluebottletree.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/Copyright-Infographic-crafters.jpg

13 Replies to “Episode 170: The Fairly Sad Episode”

  1. Your words regarding your friend David’s passing were moving and lovely Frances. If, indeed, our choice of friends reflect our own characters, your husband’s character must be stellar and true.

    I was relieved to know your commenters in the quilty universe enjoy and want you to keep your podcast style as it is. I enjoy a “slick professional” podcast such as Startalk Radio or Radiolab – but when you or Sandy or Lazy Daisy have a podcast up I am much more jazzed and ready to enter your worlds because they are real.

  2. I am new at leaving replies but have been lurking for a while. I enjoy your style and wouldn’t want you to change it. I’m very sorry about your friend’s passing.

    And also, I think I would like your friend Katherine. I have the same opinions about medical testing. It’s always nice to hear that I am not alone in the world.

  3. So sorry to hear that you lost your friend way to soon.
    I do have to crawl up on my soap box regarding cancer testing. My husband had colon cancer that we found by tracking his polyps. With his, we caught the cancer just before it grew out of the intestinal wall. Do get the first one done, you never know! Mammograms are important and mostly just an incovience anymore. But if you wait until you find the lumps or problems, it is often progressed farther than it needs to be. My breast cancer was found by my yearly mammogram. Nothing there in 2013, 13 months later I had cancer! The same with my sister this year. We are both doing well, mine is “gone” . Sister’s is still in treatment, fingers are crossed for her.
    For those that say they are to busy taking care of their family, who is going to take care of them if you are in stage 3 or 4 or not here because you didn’t catch it early enough!
    These tests are incovient and a real hassle, but believe someone that has been “saved” by them, they are important.

  4. Hi Frances – I just had to go check I had the spelling of your name correct. Couldn’t remember if you were an i or an e Frances.
    It was sad to hear of the passing of your friend but sounds like he had a good life and a good send off too. Not that it makes your sadness at his loss any less but sometimes we can find comfort in these things. (well I do anyway) I am glad your quilt got to him in time for him to know of your love for him. Yes handmade gifts are special… I find them so. Sometimes they aren’t appreciated as they should be but I know that my sisters, brothers in law, cousins and nieces and nephews to whom I have given quilts have always loved and appreciated them. My kids have too (although I would say less so since they see things being made and to them its just something I do… ) I hope your colonoscopy goes well/ has gone well. To me its a case of why not get tested. I’d really rather “waste the money” if that is what some people consider it when they reveal nothing and support “big pharma” than save my money and risk going undiagnosed. The best outcome you can hope for is that it shows nothing and you have therefore spent time and money to find nothing. My husband just had a biopsy done on his prostate as his PSAs were high. It was a pain in the you know where (literally for him) as we had to go to another town, meant losing 2 days out of our holiday. It cost time and money and the aftermath is messy but the results were clear. I think that was a win!

  5. I’m sorry your friend is gone, and all your thoughts and feelings you shared on the subject made me think stuff and feel ways. <3

    You perfectly put into words how I feel about the big award winning quilts. They're technically stunning but leave me cold. I guess that would be figuratively and literally.. I see the skill in them, but I don't aspire to make such things because I want my quilts to be used for cuddling, for comfort, and for warmth. I've no desire whatsoever to make a $5,000 – $10,000 award winning quilt that no one should touch. That's just not the kind of quilting I ever want to do.

  6. I really like what KellyV said about your podcast. “when you or Sandy or Lazy Daisy have a podcast up I am much more jazzed and ready to enter your worlds because they are real.” Change is good, but putting some music up and adding a “book” or something quilt diary would be just fine. I would rather you post than get exhausted by the slickness and professionalism to which you committed.

    I love Miss Fisher also!

    Thanks for mentioning my adventure with taking the YM to college. I am glad to know people were thinking about us as we made the transition.

    You hit on something that I think about a lot and this is that the Muggles don’t know about quilts. They don’t know that it is a billion+ dollar industry, that there are podcasts and TV shows and guild meetings and sew-ins and that people are making thousands of quilts for charity every year. It boggles the mind! How can they not know?? How?? How can we as quiltmakers be so under the radar?? I just don’t understand it.

    I appreciated your kind words about your friend, Dave. I agree that we get something when we make a quilt for someone else. When I am working on a quilt I get to think about that person and inbue the quilt with good thoughts and love.

    Re: Victoria Findlay Wolfe’s ‘made fabric: You can see the mosaic piecing stuff that I have done at: http://www.artquiltmaker.com/blog/tag/mosaic-quilting/. I saw it first on Simply Quilts a thousand years ago and it is a great way to use up scraps. It is also good exercise if you are working on monochromatic quilts, because you can really see how different many blues (or any color) are even though they are all blue (or whatever color). Press your seams open and the mosaic quilting will be less lumpy.

    You will feel differently later, but I think having palette cleanser quilts is perfectly fine. Not all of your quilts need to be masterpieces of creativity. Continuing to sew is what is important and will help you heal. It will also help you remember him, because you will remember that your last quilt was for him. Process is a good thing, especially when it is rather rote.

    I usually admire the workmanship and time and design that went into some of the prize winning quilts, but they look like quilts that were made to win a prize not to give to someone or to comfort someone. I probably won’t make a quilt like that either and know what you mean.

    Take care!

  7. Hi Frances,
    I’m a new listener and enjoy your podcasts very much. You so often say the things I am thinking but don’t always formulate into words. Your wit and insight into every day life is much appreciated and very often shared! I thank you for your gift of words and hope you don’t change a thing about your podcast. I’m so sorry about your friend Dave but I’m glad he got to see your quilt before he died. I have loved quilts since sleeping under my grandma’s quilts when I spent the night with her as a child. Even then, I knew they were special. I took my first quilt class in 1978 and even made (and hand quilted) wall hangings and quilts to sell when my boys were little so I could stay home with them. But then divorce, college, working full time and raising 3 sons left me little time, energy (and money) to quilt and I totally lost touch with the whole art. I know, sad. But I got lured back when my father suddenly passed away and in the healing process, I made quilts for my mom and 5 siblings using his plaid work shirts that so symbolized how hard he worked to take care of us all of our lives. Since then, I have made a few more “memory quilts” for close friends who lost a loved one. I truly enjoyed making them for the family members to bring them comfort. It made me feel like at least I could do something to honor the love they had and give them something tangible to hold on to. They make an amazing impact and it’s always quite an emotional experience for them and for me too. But I would love the joy of making a quilt for someone like you did for Dave. That would be amazing for all the reasons you stated. I think your husband must have been so pleased to present such a personal gift to him and even if he hasn’t said it, was very proud of your talent and the love that was behind every stitch. It is a beautiful quilt for many reasons.

    So now I feel like I’m ready to jump back into the art of quilting and have a lot to learn and catch up on. I’m having fun going back to your older shows and re-educating myself while I’m being entertained. Advice to a “re-entry” quilter would be much appreciated! My nephew, his wife and 2 adorable daughters just moved to Greenville so if I ever make it to your part of the country, perhaps we two introverts could meet for coffee and quilt talk! Thanks so much for all you do and the effort that you put into every podcast!
    Your new quilting friend,
    Barbara

  8. Hello Frances,
    I am very sorry to hear about your friend’s death. My condolences to your family and your friends.

    I like the ‘made’ fabric and may have to do that with some of my scraps. Sometimes I need a mindless sewing, and this would work just fine. I’ll be interested to see how you use this.

  9. Hi France’s. I too am so sorry about the passing of your friend Dave. I agree that making a quilt for someone is sometimes what you can do when there’s nothing you can do. It helps both the maker and the receiver.

    Good job on having two finishes so quickly. Thanks for sharing the pictures.

  10. Forgot to add. I agree with all the don’t change votes. I like your podcast just the way it is. And, that is a strange looking creature.

  11. It was hard and lovely to hear about David’s memorial–thanks for sharing that with us. Hope the Man is hanging in there; you described it beautifully–Someone who has known us for so much of our life is a tremendous loss. I feel for both of you.

    I’ve also done “made fabric” a couple of times–it’s a fun way to use up scraps but it takes awhile so I don’t do it much. My preferred way (because it’s faster) is one I learned from Carol Ann Waugh’s Craftsy class Stitch and Slash; it’s more like a confetti fabric. You lay all the scraps down on a fusible foundation and just fuse them, then stitch over the top to hold it all down. I did the back of my Stitch and Slash project that way and really liked the way it turned out. Wouldn’t want to use it for a bedquilt, I wouldn’t think–too stiff–but cool for wallhangings.

    Oh–and I just discovered a new show on Netflix for you to check out if you haven’t found it already: W1A. It’s a BBC comedy about working at the BBC. Think a British 30Rock, in a way. It’s only got two seasons–it looks like it might be a current show so the most recent seasons are on Netflix. Half hour episodes; had me laughing out loud. I blasted through the whole first season in one evening; made myself slow down so I can make it last longer! Lots of actors you’ll recognize: Main character is played by Hugh Bonneville of Downton Abbey fame. Great office humor. I’m enjoying it, anyway. Worth you giving it a try!

  12. I am sorry to hear about your friend, but grateful that you were able to finish the quilt in time for him to see and receive the love and kindness. I am sure it will be a treasure for his wife in the years to come.

  13. This was the episode I was listening to when I was driving home yesterday. As I turned onto the driveway you got to the part when you said the Man gave the quilt to David and he passed away the next day. I was sitting in my car tears rolling down my face. I am so sorry for your loss, I hope the Man is finding the rhythm of life without his best friend. I know it’s hard. We lost a friend in October due to brain cancer, she was 35. My Dad died at 36 in his sleep. So yes, it is all around us… So sad. But on the upside, I’m sure it made you feel really good that you made that quilt, and I’m also sure Dave’s wife is treasuring it for the rest of her life.

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