Mornin' all... the rain is pouring down here in Sydney for the second week in a row, but we can finally feel like the summer heat has gone away. There was a lot of rain over the school holidays but my kids have managed to have a fantastic time all the same!
Eleven for every meal was busy and noisy, but the kids just had a blast. The little house we stayed at is one we have been to many times. I love the peacefulness of the place and the feeling that we are the only people for miles.
The kids played in the river and went for huge walks and threw footballs and ate. Ate a lot. And I read my book and made a quilt:
This is City Harbour, a quilt by Cherri House from her book, City Quilts. I don't use a load of solids despite the blogland crush for them that's currently happening - it's just not my thing. I have a bit of a tradition of making a fun, quick quilt by someone else when I go away on holidays, and Cheri's simplicity and bold designs really grab me. I thought this was a fantastic quilt for a 13 year old boy. Now to quilt it!
One of my favourite things about going to the Kangaroo Valley house is getting up early in the morning when everyone else is asleep and reading my book or going for a walk. I'm not usually a morning person ("usually??" I can hear my family saying) but something about the space here makes me want to be out in it. I took the time on one of my walks to look for textures and colours for quilt inspirations.
I love these boots all lined up. I didn't put them there, it must have been one of the kids.
I hope you all had a nice few days break, or few weeks break if you've been on school holidays with your kids too. Everyone is back to school today, and although I have loved it I am very much looking forward to my house being empty today!!
And now for my little rant. It's only a little one, but the negativity and mean spirited behaviour going around at the moment makes me want to say something.
There have been a lot of blogs at the moment, and comments on those blogs, having arguements about which fabric lines are worthy of spending your money on, which designers are any good, which books are any good, what constitutes a modern quilter, what is original and what isn't, and wether or not people make money (shock horror!!) out of their crafting. I'm not saying it's not OK to discuss these things - for heavens sake, otherwise how would we ever find out about anything crafty! It's just that the personal bitchiness has reached dramatic heights. I must add, none of this bitching has been about me, however it has been about friends of mine, and people I admire as well.
We all have different tastes, and different styles. We all like different colours and textures. Some people like wonky piecing, others like traditional blocks. Can we not please realize that we all like to sew, and that is enough? Everyone makes something because they personally think it is worthy of spending the time on - and that goes for someone making their first project on their dining room table to designers and pattern writers the world over. Every project you see on a blog or Flickr or in a magazine was made and put out there because that person thought it was worth showing - so who are you to shoot it down? Who are you to criticize another crafter personally because your style or preference doesn't mesh with theirs? There are many things out there that I don't personally like, including very popular fabric lines and books. I know that the people that made these things put as much time and love and effort into making them as I do into making mine - and I also know that there are plenty of people out there who don't like what I do, and that is FINE!
As for the modern vs traditional debate. I am aware that my name is being bandied around as being a "modern quilter". I am not a modern quilter. I am a quilter who likes to use modern fabrics. Nor should anyone elses quilting be confused with being "modern" because they like to use large pieces of fabric instead of small ones, or a whole lot of 4" squares with white. If you take any time to do research into quilting history, you will see that most if not all of the blocks and arrangements being thrown around as so original these days are from old, old quilts. Or even older tiles, or embroideries, or floor paintings, or stone carvings. And THERE IS NOTHING WRONG WITH THAT. Please everyone stop being so negative and highbrow about who is "modern" and who isn't, and just enjoy the quilts for what they are?
However, if you want my opinion, and many of you won't:
This is a modern quilt. It was made by my friend Lisa Walton, who has won countless awards all over the world for her modern art quilting. Lisa breaks the boundaries of quilting by experimenting with new techniques such as using netting over her pieces, dying her own fabrics, using different threads and textures and using those threads and textures in new and interesting ways. Lisa makes quilts that are utterly unlike the quilts of our forebears - and that to me, if you must define it, is "modern" quilting.
One last thing, about the money. This is not something people like to hear about, but I'm just so sick of the high horse that some of the commenters out there are on. Yes, some of us make money from our quilting. I'm not at all sure that they are aware, but this is a very difficult, time consuming, 7 day a week slog to do. It is not always fun, and it is not all sewing happily in your little sewing room with your beautiful stash. I LOVE my job, and I feel very blessed to have a job that I love and feel fulfilled in BUT - it is just that, it's a job. I try to do my job to the best of my ability, and I try to connect with and keep the wonderful friends I make along the way. However this is how I earn my money, this is how I help to support my family and pay for my kids music lessons and that doesn't make me or other designers out there any different from everyone else out there trying to earn a living working hard at doing what they do.
Ok, that's it. I would love to hear what you think. Those of you who come here regularly will know that I always try to reply to your comments or email you if you have questions. I love chatting to you guys. I will warn you though - I do not in any way support people coming here to comment and laying a whole lot of pointed, personal, negative stuff on anyone, because I will just delete that and send you a snotty email. So there. :)''''''
