Telecast Thursday - Book Review: Stash Lab - Simple Solutions for Scrap Quilts

It's Telecast Thursday and I'm reviewing Stash Lab - Simple Solutions for Scrap Quilts by Tonya Alexander.

From Stash Lab by Tonya Alexander, Martingale, 2015; used by permission. Photography by Brent Kane. All rights reserved.

My scrap fabric bins are overflowing and seem to be getting larger all the time.  I'm always interested in books that have scrap projects in them in the hopes that I will someday use up some or all of my scraps. Stash Lab addresses this issue and is divided into 3 sections with a different premise for how to use your fabrics in each of these sections.

From Stash Lab by Tonya Alexander, Martingale, 2015; used by permission. Photography by Brent Kane. All rights reserved.

To find out more about these 3 sections, watch the video below or on my Youtube channel. 

Subscribe to my Youtube channel to receive automatic notifications when new videos are posted. You can also click on the Chatterbox Quilts logo in the lower right corner on the video itself to subscribe. Please like and share my videos with your fellow creatives.

From Stash Lab by Tonya Alexander, Martingale, 2015; used by permission. Photography by Brent Kane. All rights reserved.

Leave a comment below on how you manage your scrap fabrics.

Creatively,

Telecast Thursday - Piecing with Strips and Strings

Welcome to another Telecast Thursday. This week I'll show you how to use up some of your scraps while making an easy string block.

There are lots of ways you can use your completed blocks. Like a log cabin, string blocks can be combined in different orientations to create interesting effects. 

As well as using up scrap fabric, I also recycle when creating my string blocks. Watch the video below or on my Youtube channel to see how I recycle and create at the same time.

Subscribe to my Youtube channel to receive automatic notifications when new videos are posted. You can also click on the Chatterbox Quilts logo in the lower right corner on the video itself to subscribe. If you like what you see, please share my videos with your fellow creatives.

Are you a stringer? Leave me a comment below to tell me what you do with your string blocks.

Creatively,

Telecast Thursday - Book Review: Stitch on the Double by Kathleen Brown

Welcome to Telecast Thursday. This week I'm reviewing Stitch on the Double - Easy Quilt Projects to Stitch on the Go by Kathleen Brown. 

From Stitch on the Double by Kathleen Brown, Martingale, 2015; used by permission. Photography by Brent Kane. All rights reserved.

I'm not a hand quilter, but I love to do hand embroidery (I can't figure that out, but that's just the way I am), so I was intrigued by the title of this book. 

From Stitch on the Double by Kathleen Brown, Martingale, 2015; used by permission. Photography by Brent Kane. All rights reserved.

Kathleen shows you how to hand piece your block and then continue on to do some hand stitching which mimics hand quilting before finishing with that block. It sounds a bit complicated, but it's quite easy and gives you the ability to have a portable piecing project so you can piece on the go.

From Stitch on the Double by Kathleen Brown, Martingale, 2015; used by permission. Photography by Brent Kane. All rights reserved.

Watch the video below or on my Youtube channel to find out more about this book.

From Stitch on the Double by Kathleen Brown, Martingale, 2015; used by permission. Photography by Brent Kane. All rights reserved.

Subscribe to my Youtube channel to receive automatic notifications when new videos are posted. You can also click on the Chatterbox Quilts logo in the lower right corner on the video itself to subscribe. Please like and share my videos with your fellow creatives.

Are you a hand or machine quilter? Leave me a comment below to tell me how you piece your quilts.

Creatively,

Don't Compare, Create!

Photo courtesy of www.artoflifeandwellness.wordpress.com

I want to talk about a trap I sometimes fall into – comparing myself or my accomplishments to someone else. There are times when I am feeling down or frustrated that if I step back I can see that I am upset because I don’t feel adequate in comparison to someone else. It may seem silly for your happiness to be determined by how you perceive yourself compared to another person but it happens all the time. The theory is called the Social Comparison Theory and it states that that we determine our own social and personal worth based on how we stack up against others. As a result, we are constantly making self and other evaluations across a variety of domains (for example, attractiveness, wealth, intelligence, and success). Most of us have the social skills and impulse control to keep our envy and social comparisons quiet but our true feelings may come out in subtle ways. There are many reasons that using social comparisons to determine your self worth are wrong but here are three that I think are most important:

1. Others’ so-called "perfection" is an illusion. The glorious vacations, the enviable professional accomplishments, the perfect children and spouses we see are just one sliver of people’s real lives. It’s the truth, but not the “whole truth”. A quilter may win the best prize at a quilt show but you may never know about the 12 other quilts that had previously been rejected. If we knew others’ whole truths, we might not feel so inadequate when comparing ourselves to their carefully crafted public images of "perfection.

2. Life isn’t fair. Some people are born with more advantages than others: wealthy parents, artistic talents or an eye for colour. Yet when we compare ourselves (unfavourably) to others, we often beat ourselves up for not trying hard enough as if working yourself to death will guarantee the same results as the person to whom you're comparing yourself. It’s much more likely that the differences we see reflect an uneven playing field. Sometimes hard work just isn’t enough.

3. Comparisons turn friends and allies into rivals. In a perfect world, we would celebrate and genuinely enjoy the joys and accomplishments of others. Yet if we use others as a benchmark to evaluate ourselves, that creeping twinge of jealousy may undermine our ability to truly cherish the good things that come to others.

The thing about comparison is that there is never a win. How often do we compare ourselves with someone less fortunate than us and consider ourselves blessed? More often, we compare ourselves with someone who we perceive as being, having, or doing more.

Although I sometimes struggle with social comparison in my everyday life I make a conscious effort to avoid it in my quilting because of its effect on my enthusiasm and creativity for quilting. Here are few of the things I think about if I feel the slightest twinge of comparison creeping up on me (often when I am at a quilt show):

1. Quilting is a process that you should enjoy, not a competition.

2. Celebrate what you create without comparing it to others.

3. Celebrate other’s success without denigrating your efforts.

4. Use the work of more proficient quilters as an inspiration or, even better, a source of ideas and techniques.

5. Watch out for art quilts. They can be especially discouraging – some people are just naturally more creative than you might be. That doesn't mean that the rest of us can't still enjoy the craft and (if we work hard) produce quilts that WE can be proud of, while still admiring other's work.

So, if you find yourself feeling upset of frustrated just remember: you don’t have to be a quilting rock star to enjoy the craft of quilting.

Chatterquote: “Quilts are not sports cars; yours doesn’t have to be ‘bigger’”.

Creatively,

Telecast Thursday - Real Quilting: The Learning Curve

It's Telecast Thursday and I'm addressing another "Real Quilting" topic.

I've been enjoying playing and learning on my Handi Quilter Infinity, but there is definitely a learning curve with this machine. As with most new sewing or quilting machines there are many different functions and it does take time to become completely familiar with all - or even some - of them. While it can seem overwhelming to use a new machine, it is essential that you spend the time to learn about it so you will use it. It's just this issue that I am addressing in the video below.

You can watch the video on my Youtube channel.

Subscribe to my Youtube channel to receive automatic notifications when new videos are posted. You can also click on the Chatterbox Quilts logo in the lower right corner on the video itself to subscribe. Remember to like and share my videos with your fellow creatives.

I hope I've inspired you to overcome your fears about learning to use a new machine or tool. Let me know how you handle this situation by leaving a comment below.

Creatively,