Where do ideas come from?

As I was preparing my "Why Quilts Matter" presentation, and thinking about questions that quilters and non-quilters might ask, I remember a question that I heard with some frequency when I was working and teaching in a quilt shop:  "Where do your ideas for design come from?"  

The lazy, flip answer is "I don't know, they just come to me," but that's not very fair--to the person asking the question or to myself and the "creative process."  So I've spent some time thinking about an honorable answer.  I think I'm able to organize it into 3--maybe 4--categories.  Two of them are old standbys for me, as the sources and methods I've used for a long time.

One of them is newer, trying to design a visual representation of a concept.  (This one has grown out of my attempt to develop a creative habit, a la Twyla Tharp, in her "The Creative Habit.)  As I mentioned in an earlier post, when I awaken in the morning I come up with a design idea for a quilt.  (As you might expect, some are better than others.)  It may be something that came to me in a dream, or something I see in the room, but sometimes it's more about a concept or non-visual idea.  One morning, for example, the first thing I heard when I woke up was the train whistle that is there every morning, but which I too often don't really hear.    How could I visually represent that sound, and perhaps even the Doppler Effect of it.

I don't think I'm ready to talk about the fourth one yet--I'm just starting to explore it and its future as an inspiration for quilt design is uncertain.  But I'm excited to give it a try!

One thing I have observed, through all of this, is that I'm observing more.  :-)  Noticing the sounds of the train and then asking the simple question, "What would a quilt of that sound look like," are stretching my creative muscles, and there isn't anything much better than that--even chocolate!

What about you--where do YOUR creative ideas come from?

Irish Lace revisited

My passion for fiber arts plus my half-Irish heritage equals Irish crocheted lace for me, and I have recently taken up learning and practicing more on the lace.   I have crocheted for many year, though I can't claim any great proficiency, and that makes it easier to make a start.  Irish lace uses packing cord, or padding, and managing that cord as you crochet around it is, I'm finding, not as easy as it might seem.   In addition, the free-form nature of connecting motifs can be a challenge but these two characteristics are what make it Irish lace.

A padded ring, or "buttony" as Maire Treanor calls them, is made by winding thread around a knitting needle, crochet hook, or (as one of Ms. Treanor's students suggested) a drinking straw, and crocheting around the cord.  Easy, you might think, if you crochet.   Not so much, I discovered. (The straw suggestion is brilliant, however; I'm not sure I would have completed one yet without it!)  My second was definitely better than the first.   (Note that, in all the following photos, I am doing my practice crocheting with size 12 thread; in the end I'll be using 20-50, with packing cord in size 10 or 20.  I'm waiting for delivery of smaller crochet hooks.)

 The wild rose is a good motif to start with, as it uses most of the stitches and techniques used throughout Irish lace.  I'm working on my first wild rose here, and getting better with each petal. (I'm sure you're all too kind to count, but the first petal doesn't have enough loops--mistakes are important to learning right?)

The packing cord is used when you crochet around all the petals, giving more body to the edging.
Did I mention that this is going to take some practice?

There are so many beautiful Irish lace antique pieces out there, and new ones being designed now.  Check out the Sheelin Irish Lace Museum for a look at some antique pieces.  And a search on "Irish lace" on Pinterest yields some beautiful examples.

Traditionally Irish lace was used for dresses, and for lace curtains and linens.  Since I'm a quilter, first and foremost, I'm thinking about it for crazy quilting; I have been seeing some motifs that would be beautiful as lace embellishments.  Some of the collars and jackets and tops are tempting though; I wonder how long it would take me to crochet a jacket....?

The finer thread has arrived from Heirloom Crochet, and the finer hooks are on their way from Earth Faire.  Then we'll see how I do with finer work. Stay tuned.

How do you define "creativity"?

When asked how he would define creativity, Seth Godin (a hero of mine) replied:
"This might not work."

Which seems the best definition ever.

How would you define creativity?

The habit of creating

Creativity has been a focus for me over the past couple of years:  reading, thinking, taking classes, practicing.  I've learned more about creativity and will be continuing to learn.   I've just started reading 'The Creative Habit" by choreographer Twyla Tharp.  She writes about creative people and how they put themselves into the creative flow--what I would think of as a "trigger."  For a dancer it might be the morning workout, for a writer it might be walks in nature, or whatever tells the mind and soul that it's time to open up ad let the creativity flow.

It takes me a while to develop new habits (though not quite as long as breaking old ones) so I'm not there yet, but I'm working on forming a creative habit in the morning--and morning sometimes means 3 a.m.  My morning routine includes some stretching exercises but now I keep my sketch book on the bedside table, and before I'm up to do the exercises (and still stumble into the shower) I welcome the day and then steer my mind to the creative flow to come up with one quilt design idea, which then goes into my sketch book.  I may not ever make that quilt, but then again I might, and the more ideas to choose from when it comes time to sit down and sew, the better.   What excites my quilting imagination today may not interest me at all next week, or what seems pretty marginal today might inspire me--or a new idea--tomorrow.

Because I'm of a certain age, I spend a lot of time awake during the night and now I've started to challenge myself during those times.  When my mind starts the infinite loop of worrying about one thing or another (don't things always seem worse at night?) I now challenge myself to come up with 6 new quilt design ideas; the focus of my brain switches off the worry and to something more comforting.  Now, I'm not saying that all of my 3 a.m. ideas seem quite as worthy in the morning, but I have designed some interesting things in the pre-dawn hours.    I have a choice at 6 a.m., then:  choose one of the six ideas to go into the sketch book, or I can enter the list of 6 ideas into the sketchbook in lieu of the one, daily design.

So far, it's working pretty well.  I missed it yesterday morning (did I mention that it takes me awhile to develop a new habit?) but my sketch book is growing quickly and, better still, I start the day with creativity flowing, and that can only be good for the rest of my day.

Do you have a creative habit?  What gets your creativity flowing?

The most luscious yarn

Last night I finished a shawl from a pattern by Susan Santos (as a part of the Luxury Yarn Club).  This is the most luscious yarn I have ever felt--45% qiviut, 45% cashmere, and 10% silk.  I'm always happy to finish knitting a project, but I will miss the feel of this yarn!

I need to order more blocking mats and when I get them I'll re-block it, but I couldn't wait to see what it will, in general, look like.

There are clear beads in the edging, and I like that little bit of sparkle, and the wee bit of weight to help with the drape.   I'm glad that it's finished while the weather is still cold enough to be able to wear it around my neck because it is going to feel SO good.  (Did I mention how luscious the yarn is?)

Now, on to quilting projects.

Quilters in community

Yesterday I finally was able to attend a monthly "Quilts from the Bluffs" work day, where quilters gather to work on quilts for Project Linus, local hospitals, and other organizations serving people who could derive comfort from quilts.   ( Kudos to Jeanine, who heads the project.)  There's something for everyone, no matter what you like to do--cutting, piecing, quilting, binding.  I wasn't able to stay for long, but I did bring home several quilts to bind.  (Isn't it funny how some people hate to bind, and some of us don't mind at all?   It's good to have a group of quilters because you're bound to have at least one who likes to do just about anything you need done, and no one has to do something that isn't quite their cup of tea!)

Community has been such a big part of quilting over the years.  It can be a very solitary sort of process and art, or it can be very communal and collaborative, or a mix of both.  Quilting bees and guilds have traditionally brought quilters together for a variety of purposes-to quilt tops for a woman who is getting married,  to share ideas and company and brownies (oh, did I type that out loud?), to share and swap blocks, or to make quilts for comfort or commemoration.  

Creativity is an essential part of a quilter's toolbox and technology has allowed us to be creative in how we do community, too.  Face to face is still my favorite, though I am kind of a geek, but I'm grateful for the tools that technology offers us for communing--online forums, online classes, videochatting, blogs, videos on YouTube, and who knows what else that might be found in the days to come.

What's your favorite kind of community with your quilting?

Why Quilts Matter

Sorry to have been away for awhile--family needs.

Yesterday I was invited to do a presentation on quilts at a rural woman's conference. (Boots to Heels conference; don't you just love it?)  I was very pleased to be asked, and have been spending some time thinking about the topic for the presentation.   Some of the women may be quilters, but not necessarily all of them, so it will need to be different than a presentation to a guild.

My father passed away last month, and part of decisions about his home involved quilts, some old family quilts and some newer ones that Mom made.  With that fresh in my mind and heart, I decided that I would talk about why quilts matter--quilts as biography.  They tell us a lot about us (women, especially), both collectively and individually, in the past and now and in the future.  For me, they mean:  comfort, connection, community, collaboration, continuity and creativity.   

I'm looking forward to finding and pulling out examples of quilts that represent those qualities and characteristics, and sharing them.  And I hope the women at the conference will have stories to share, too.

Why do you think quilts matter?