The Accidental Machine Quilter

Sometimes when I begin a lecture I ask how many people in the audience quilt by hand, how many quilt with their sewing machine, how many own a longarm, and how many are computerized? Surprisingly, I can answer “yes” to all of those.

I’ve been sewing by machine since I was 14, making my own clothes and home dec items. I have been making quilts by hand since 1967 and I never thought those two kinds of sewing would ever cross paths. In the 1980s, I bought a Bernina and at first I was somewhat of a “closet” machine quilter - hoping no one would notice if I put a line of machine quilting in the ditch to save a little time in an otherwise hand quilted quilt. But, I love my Bernina, and I soon began to use it more and more, adding swags and cables, stars and fancy work to both large and small quilts.

I never intended to own a longarm. For years, people have shown me longarm machines at quilt shows. I always smiled politely while I watched, but I wasn’t really interested. And I knew that a big machine like that wouldn’t fit anywhere in my house.

Then a few years ago a man named Todd Brown wrote to ask permission to digitize my Infinite Feather designs for use on a Statler Stitcher. This was a man I had never met, asking me to get involved in something I’d never heard of. Surprisingly, the letter didn’t go directly into the spam folder; I was intrigued by the possibility that quilting designs could be digitized. My daughter, Lisi, does commercial machine embroidery with digitized patterns, so I had some idea what that might mean. I was not buying a machine, of course; just getting involved by offering a few patterns. And what could be bad about offering my feather designs to a new group of quilters? The request came near the end of the year and we were busy with Christmas preparations and the anticipation of finishing and moving into a new house, so I put it off for a while. I would think about it after the new year, when my life settled down.

You know, things never settle down. In the spring, I found myself deep into my workshop commitments and trying to cope with crutches and a broken foot. I asked my daughter Jen to travel with me to manage all the suitcases and teaching supplies for a weekend retreat and then we planned to go on to the MQS show. I thought I should meet this man face to face before I decided to sign a contract. The trip would also give us a chance to see what was happening in the world of longarm quilting. And, as they say, one thing led to another...

We met Todd Brown, Kim Diamond, and Paul Statler and we saw the Statler Stitcher in action. I have to say, I was amazed at what it could do and excited about making my patterns available in this format. It was a good idea. Todd and I agreed to work together and I had done what I came to do.

By the second day, Jen and I were already planning what we could do with a machine like that. We could go into business quilting together, or Jen could quilt for others and I could just play with the machine and quilt a little for myself. The hook was set. I went home just babbling about this incredible machine and how much fun it would be…..

I should mention I have the perfect quilter’s husband. He not only understands and enjoys this art, he also helps in so many different aspects of my business. He is my webmaster, bookkeeper, shipping department, etc. etc. I convinced him that his part in this new adventure could be to take a class on digitizing with me. After all, he was the computer expert in the house and I thought I would need him to explain it all to me when we got home. Now, I’m digitizing patterns for my own use and for sale and I’m teaching Autosketch classes to others.

I’m not sure if it was coincidence or karma, but our new house had a perfect spot in the basement, just waiting for something BIG to arrive. Jen and I quilted two quilts the first day the machine was delivered, and at the same time we could see what a huge learning curve was ahead of us. We spent the early weeks quilting for ourselves, taking baby steps, and learning the machine, but there were several moments that made me take huge leaps and forced me to do something new.

I was teaching at a show in Washington state and was told after I arrived that one evening would include a dinner and auction for local breast cancer charities. I wasn’t aware of the auction ahead of time, but on the spur of the moment, I felt like I should offer something. After all, I had had my machine for 2 months; certainly I could do something! When I offered to donate my quilting services, I said “Please say I’m a beginner.” Instead the auctioneer said, “We’ve just had a fabulous offer!” and included other words, such as “famous, award winning quilter”, and “I’m sure she’ll fill it with feathers...” I was terrified when the bid went to $600! In talking with the winning bidder, I again reminded her I was new to the longarm. She sent a sweet little nine patch quilt and I did fill it with feathers. It was the first quilt I quilted for someone else.

Another early request was to quilt a Coxcomb wall quilt, made from my Coxcomb Variations book. The woman needed to have it finished in a couple of weeks to take to a friend in France. No pressure there, right? I hadn’t quilted anything appliquéd and didn’t have much in the way of free motion skills, so I convinced my husband we needed to digitize designs to fit those spaces. It was an interesting adventure and we polished up our digitizing skills in a hurry.

A second donation of quilting services brought a request to design and quilt a wholecloth quilt. A publishing deadline resulted in the need to do free motion quilting to fill the background of a full size sunflower and basket quilt. And a large, random sampler I made for my husband was my training piece for stitch-in-the-ditch. Each of these circumstances pushed me far beyond what I thought I could do and I learned so much more than I would have if I’d stayed in my comfort zone.

My quilting now includes quilts for myself and my family, workshop samples, and custom quilting for others. I always make time for a little pro bono work and have quilted for organizations such as the Alzheimer’s Art Quilt Initiative, National Quilting Association Grants and Scholarships, the National Quilt Museum in Paducah, North American Mennonite Relief Sale, and Quilts Of Valor.

I suppose most quilters make a more gradual transition, but for me it seems to have been

a big leap from traditional hand quilting all the way to computerized longarm work. People have been worried that I won’t continue to quilt by hand, but I love hand work and can’t imagine ever giving it up. I guess I’ll be something of a hybrid quilter, using whichever technique seems right for the quilt – hand, domestic sewing machine, longarm or computerized – and frequently I mix them all together in the same quilt. My philosophy is that the technique we use to quilt things is not nearly so important as the fact that we DO get them quilted. It’s all good.

"Arizona Sunflowers" is quilted with a combination of digitized patterns

 and free motion background lines.

"Applique Among Friends" includes computerized designs, free motion background quilting,

 and hand quilted details within the applique shapes.

Fresh from the Garden

Nothing says Summer like tomatoes fresh from the garden. The colors are beautiful and the taste is unbeatable. And, don't you love the color gradations here?

The other day, I asked 7year old Blake if he likes tomatoes and his answer was “on a cheeseburger!”. I agree, that’s a good way to use them.

We’ve been picking salad tomatoes for several weeks now, from the greenhouse and the garden boxes and enjoying them almost every day.

Here are two of our favorite ways to serve them:

Tomato Cucumber and Basil Salad

Slice cucumbers and sprinkle with salt

Cut tomatoes into bite size pieces

Mix in and drizzle with vegetable oil

(surprisingly, I like this one better with plain oil

instead of olive oil, since it doesn’t compete

with the other flavors)

No vinegar needed.

Tomatoes will supply the acid as they juice out

Cut fresh basil leaves into thin strips and

sprinkle on top

 Caprese Salad

Alternate slices of large heirloom tomato with thick slices of fresh mozzarella cheese

(I went with a more "artistic" arrangement here)

Add a sprinkling of fresh basil on top

Drizzle with balsamic vinaigrette dressing

            ¼ cup balsamic vinegar 

1 clove of garlic, minced

½ t. salt

½ t. black pepper

¾ cup olive oil

 Enjoy!

Anita

Kids and Quilting

Are you sharing your love of quilting with young people?

It is often said creative arts such as sewing and quilting skip a generation. Things go out of style and then, after a while, are rediscovered by another generation of young people. This was true in my family.

My grandmother was a quilter; a product of the depression, when sewing was more a matter of economy than of creativity. She made many of my clothes, so I was exposed to sewing as I was growing up.

My mother did not sew. She went directly from high school to factory work during WWII.  In the 1950s, part of the culture shaping the “modern” housewife was that life was good and everyone was able to buy new things. No one was interested in “home-made.” Hers was the generation that missed out on creating things for themselves.

I remember working with fabric from an early age and have always enjoyed making garments, quilts and other decorative items for my home.

There is a current push to try to involve more young people in sewing. I am fortunate that both of my girls learned to sew when they were young and still enjoy doing so. I also have grandchildren that love to design and work with fabric.

Because most children have a shorter attention span, it is important to focus on projects which can be completed in one or two sittings. When you are sewing with children, begin with something simple. Chances are, after that item is finished, they may be willing to invest time in a longer, more involved project.

Once young people feel the sense of satisfaction in creating something new, something for themselves or their family or friends, they will enjoy sewing forever.

Anita

Here’s an idea for a summer project for kids of any age.

Pack up paper, pencil, and crayons and get ready to record your “impressions.” Take a walk in the park or along your street, looking for things that have interesting textures.

First, use paper and crayon to make test rubbings on different surfaces like stone, tree bark, or leaves. You might want to keep notes of the textures you liked best and where you found them.

Repeat your favorite rubbings, using fabric and crayons or paint sticks to make blocks for your Impressions quilt.

   

Cut your blocks bigger than you need and use masking tape to hold the edges in place while you color. We started with 10” blocks and trimmed them to 8 1/2” when they were finished.

Set the blocks together with fabric that fits the mood and add some simple quilting to finish.

For more project ideas check out our Teens & Tweens book on my website:

http://anitashackelford.com/

A Quilter and A Gardener

I am a gardener and a quilter.  A good combination, I think.  Both give me the same pleasure and sense of accomplishment.  They satisfy my creative needs and  provide something tangible for my family.  There is order, pattern and color in each one.  Both are long term projects and I enjoy watching them grow.

I like to think that growing our own food gives us a little bit of self sufficiency.  That if the world suddenly changed, I could still put food on the table.  There is comfort in that.

Quilting may be even more important than food to me.  Reflecting on this idea of self sufficiency, I thought if I were suddenly cut off from civilization, I could still quilt.  I would miss my goose neck lamp, but natural light is really the best anyway.  Since I can do my work by hand, I could live without a sewing machine.  All I need is my needle and thread.

But what about the needle?...and the thread?...and the fabric?  What would I do if I could no longer buy those wonderful fabrics and my favorite little betweens?  I know that it is possible to spin and weave, but after all of that, would I really cut it into thousands of pieces to be sewn back together again?  How could I make all of the quilts still waiting inside my head?  It made me thankful for all of the people who make these things available to me.

I will continue to garden, to work and wait and watch it grow.  But I feel lucky to be able to be able to buy, at a moment’s notice, anything I need to make my quilts.  If the grocery stores close, I can still feed my family, but without my quilting, my soul would surely starve.