Monday, March 20, 2017

When Not Writing: 100 Things Quilt List


  They say you should have 3 hobbies that don't include a screen... and I think that's good advice in general!
 I've got lots of diverse interests (could count in the place of hobbies!) that are off-screen, so to speak, but one of those is quilting.

 I don't adore the piecing process... it's tricky and finicky, and my in-exactitude shows in small ways, which causes my sister to point them out and weep in despair.

 But I DO adore the actual quilting, putting the three layers of top, batting and backing together with stitches... hand stitches especially.
 And I love drawing picture designs with those stitches, which makes it just that much more fun!!!

  I like to create something as a project for gifts to give to special people, instead of giving something less personal. (Of course, I'm aware that not everyone prefers to receive something like this, so I only do this for those who I'm sure would feel special from it! :-) )

  So, with that in mind, I was intrigued when I ran across a list of

100 Things Every Quilter Should Do Before She Dies

over on the Quiltmaker.com blogs.

 So, I thought "Hm, how do I score?"
  I have no intention of passing on, but I like to feel like I'm an over-achiever in any place I possibly can without incurring much extra effort.
 (Oh, come on! You know you've fallen for that, too!!!)

 So here's the list, and I've bolded everything that I have done sometime in my short years so far.
 And if you want to check your own score, leave me a link so I can take a look!!! :-)

  1. Visit a quilt shop.
  2. Make a Nine Patch.  (My first block was a nine patch! Mom was fresh off of quilting classes,
    Our first "big quilt" ended up with quite a few nine-patches.
    and set nine-year-old me up with hand stitching a nine patch. Still have that patch... it never made it into anything!)
  3. Make a Log Cabin.
  4. Label a quilt.
  5. Figure yardage for a quilt.
  6. Learn about warp and weft.
  7. Use a rotary cutter.
  8. Use templates.
  9. Paper piece a quilt block.
  10. Hand applique a quilt block.
  11. Make a yo-yo.
  12. Embellish a quilt.
  13. Try free motion quilting.
  14. Stitch in the ditch.
  15. Try hand quilting.
  16. Bind a quilt.
  17. Miter the corners of quilt binding.
  18. Join the ends of quilt binding.
  19. Sew diagonal seams.
  20. Use a walking foot.
  21. Attend a guild meeting.
  22. Visit Houston for International Quilt Festival(Probably never.)
  23. Have a quilt appraised.
  24. Visit a quilt museum.
  25. Go on a quilt retreat.  (Probably never.)
  26. Try curved piecing( I am leery of this one... but probably something I'll have to try eventually!)
  27. Miter the borders.  (My sister instigated doing this "shadowbox style" for one we were
    Mitered corners, "shadow box" effect.
    making for another sister... I still have the heeby-jeebies from the experience, but she fell madly in love with mitering!!)
  28. Learn to do blanket stitch by hand.
  29. See a local quilt show. 
  30. Put your quilt in a local quilt show.  (I hope to do this one sometime soon, though!)
  31. Sell raffle tickets on a quilt.
  32. Take a road trip with quilt friends.
  33. Create a Pinterest board with quilts.   (Are you Kidding Me? Of Course I've done this!!!)
  34. Make a 3-D quilt block.
  35. Donate a quilt to a good cause.
  36. Make a sampler quilt.
  37. Make an art quilt.
  38. Try bobbin work.
  39. Learn to maintain your sewing machine. (Yes, I've recently learned to clean and oil, and I love my lovely vintage Singer! She sings like a lark, and makes such perfectly pretty stitches.)
  40. Add rickrack to a quilt.  (Probably never. I don't like rick-rack, though Mom loves it...)
  41. Design a quilt. (Remember, you don’t necessarily have to make the quilt!)    (Yep! ;-) Scrap quilter here...)
    Anniversary quilt, friendship style.
  42. Change/tweak/alter a pattern to make it your own.    (Yep.)
  43. Make a color wheel with fabric swatches.
  44. Chat about quilting with a stranger.                           (Yep.)
  45. Go on a blog tour.   
  46. Give a quilt as a wedding/graduation/retirement gift.    (Yep! ;-) See right! -> )
  47. Visit Paducah during the AQS Show.               (Probably never.)
  48. Take a class with a nationally known teacher.              (Probably never.)
  49. Use some fabric you dislike.   (I have often done this! ;-) A lot of my projects borrow heavily from Mom's stash, since she's a fabric-aholic and has no hope of actually using it all. So I try to help her by using some of it up, but our tastes differ... it's a different experience from picking fabric out at the store! ;-) )
  50. Participate in Show & Tell.
  51. Volunteer for a job in a quilt group.
  52. Use a color you detest.
  53. Make a quilt inspired by nature.
  54. Get up early to quilt or stay up late to quilt.      (Ha!!! Are you Kidding Me? Midnight, two o'clock... it's happened.)
  55. Make a scrap quilt.  (Every single one! I generally end up incorporating some new fabric, but I always start out trying to use scraps from other places!)
  56. Make a tote bag.                                        (Probably never.)
  57. Make a postcard quilt.                               (Probably never.)
  58. Make a baby quilt and gift it to a newborn.
  59. Understand the basics of caring for quilts.
  60. Borrow a quilting book from the public library.
  61. Teach someone else to quilt.
  62. Creatively piece a backing for one of your quilts.  (I am definitely going to have to do this... backing is such a great swath of fabric, and as stated earlier, I'm a "use scraps up" type quilter.)
  63. Apply a piped binding, or some variation of it.
  64. Post quilt pics to Facebook.
  65. Install quilty wallpaper on your computer.                 (Probably never.)
  66. Put a quilty bumper sticker on your car.                     (Probably never.)
  67. Cuss mildly -Be exasperated- when you realize you’ve been sewing air (because you ran out of bobbin thread)
  68. Read your sewing machine manual cover to cover.
  69. Learn to thread baste.
  70. Learn to pin baste.
  71. Use basting spray.
  72. Help a friend make a quilt.
  73. Make a quilt for a special child.
  74. Make a quilt for a spouse or partner.
  75. Make a quilt for a friend.
  76. Include your quilts in your will (i.e. who gets them).
  77. Determine your favorite thread for piecing.
  78. Understand the concept of value.
  79. Understand the mathematics of quilt blocks.
  80. Apply a bias binding.
  81. Take a guild speaker to dinner.
  82. Comment on a quilt-related blog post. 
  83. Make a mystery quilt.
  84. Take part in a block exchange.
  85. Write how-to instructions for making a quilt block.
  86. Watch a quilting video.
  87. Know the difference between lengthwise and crosswise grain.
  88. Know the parts of a sewing machine needle and why they matter.
  89. Organize your stash.
  90. Know the names of hand sewing needles used for different tasks.
  91. Finish a UFO.
  92. Purchase fabric on impulse.
  93. Try sewing with precuts.
  94. Trade fabrics with quilt friends.
  95. Identify your ancestors who quilted.
  96. Visit a quilt shop while on vacation.
  97. Sew on a treadle for old time’s sake. (I learned on a treadle! The house we lived at the time had no electricity, so....)
  98. Subscribe to a quilting magazine.
  99. Become a regular reader of a quilting blog.
  100. Go on a Shop Hop.


 Final score: 57, with 10 Probably Nevers that I don't foresee ever doing.
 So that leaves me with a lot of ones I may yet explore!

  How about you? 

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