Atomic Habits as applied to quilting

Atomic Habits by James Clear is an amazing book that opens up avenues for actually getting things done.  Like Moses with the ten commandments this lays it all out in a step by step way.  It inspires all kinds of things I can get done...clutter-no more...over eating-no more...for me, it has been a revelation.  I've from time to time maybe thought about applying some sort of these ideas, but it's good to see them laid out in order.   

So, with my new found knowledge, my goal is to try to apply thing to my quilting life.  I've been a quilter for over 30 years at this point.  I've probably finished well over a hundred quilts in that time, but the list of projects I can only dream of finishing has grown too long for this gal to finish without an intervention.  With the help of this book, I am going to adapt new habits for quilting. 

The first thing to know is it is not about the goal at all it is about making the process enjoyable.  I used to be a triathlete and I really enjoyed training.  I would go to different trails to run, swim in lakes or pools, and ride and ride and ride my bike around the lovely Kentucky countryside.  So the process of training was always enjoyable.  

Quilting is a solitary craft, for the most part.  We recently moved and downsized into a sewing room for me that was maybe a third the size I had in Kentucky.  I have learned to adapt and it's been too bad.  For the first time in my life, I actually have paid to have someone quilt some quilts for me.  I can still manage small quilts and wall hangings, but it is easier to "quilt with my credit card" now. 

Atomic Habits as applied to quilting:

Happy Sew Lucky Sew Along
Tattoo Quilt paper pieced Block of the Month

                      Tula Pink Fabric-hosted by Pink Door Fabrics

Make it obvious.  I have chosen 3 projects to knock off my list. When I walk in my studio they are right up front on my design wall, so I'm reminded what I need to do.  

Farm Girl Vintage
I'm using my fabric stash 
48 blocks when done

Yoda for Paul

Original collage quilt by me 

 

The next way to enjoy the process of quilting more is, Make it Easy. 

When I walk in the Studio, the work is on the design wall.  So I know where I left off.  I try to make 2 blocks from the FGV everyday.  The Tattoo quilt is a BOM so I have to wait for it monthly.  When I finish my 2 blocks, I cut out the next days blocks, so it's easy for me to set down and finish a block.

Make it Satisfying.  I have devised a visual cue that is enjoyable for me.  I have a large collection of costume jewelry.  I put 48 pieces of the costume jewelry in a jar and every time I complete a block, I remove a piece of jewelry from the jar.  In time the jar will be come empty.  

I've also made a commitment to myself to work in my sewing room for at least an hour.  It's cliche but, time flies when you are having fun, and it seems true for me.  We are hopefully soon, at the end of the Covid 2020/21 scare.  We've been hunkered down for over a year now.  We were one of the early ones that took it seriously.  

Reward myself is another habit of the process that I have developed.  I finished the Yoda quilt and I treated myself with a new Creative Grids Ruler.  

My list is long, my desire is great, my hope is to bust a few of these projects out this year.  The only fabric I plan to buy this year is the Tulsa Pink Curiouser and Curiouser quilt kit that is called the Mad Hatter Tea Party.  It is offered by a new quilt shop in Cattoosa, Oklahoma called Southern Comforts.  

Swimming Is My Thing..right now...smile

I have always enjoyed swimming.  As a young girl my mom would use the town swimming pool as a babysitter of sorts. We'd sell empty pop bottles at the grocery store and I’d spend all day there, showing up famished for dinner.  Because, nothing burns calories better or makes me more hungry than swimming.  

Here are some things that make this exercise worth while for me.

It's about the swim suit, first and foremost.  I like a racing suit, it criss crosses across your back. I don't want to be in the zone and listening to my jams and having to watch my strap slide off my shoulders.  Clean and care of your suit will make it last longer.  After a workout of an hour in the pool, I like to rinse out my suit in fresh water and then run it through a spinning force dryer.

When I was younger I got swimmer's ear a lot.  It's a very painful ear infection, I guess they all are, but, this happened frequently.   As an older swimmer, I learned to use earplugs.  I like these jelly type.  You can get them at the pharmacy in Walmart for about 3.00.  I also like these Finis Swimp3 headphones.  They sit along the bones near the ear.  It's a great sound.  I count at least 6 songs before I start to look at my Series 4 Apple Watch.  It count's laps very well.  I also get a kick out of completing that circle in the Activity read out.  

Last but not least at all, is the recovery effort.  I cool down and stretch in the water, legs and arms.  Then I shower, rinse suit and spin dry it.  When I get home, this is the first thing I do, drink a glass or two of chocolate milk.  Back when I was running a lot, this was recommended for a better repair of the muscles.  I don't know if this is true, but, I like it and it does seem to make a difference.  I also take 2 Ibuprophens before I go to bed to help with recovery too.  

So this post is for me.  I just turned 60 years old this year.  When I get in the old folks home and decide I'd like to swim again, and I've forgotten how I did it, this is to remind me. 

#swimforyourlife#swimmingismything

My 2 Quilt Worlds...They both have their own jargon.

I belong to 2 quilt groups, one is traditional and the other is modern.  They are represented on this wall.  Traditional hand applique using a warm pallet on the left and my modern, japanese and other fabrics on the right.  

PUP is the acronym for Poor Unfinished Project on the left.
QAL is the acronym for Quilt A Long on the right.  This is an internet supported, for lack of a better word, Quilt A Long, using the hashtag:  #2019gypsywifeqal

My PUP is due on the February 12th meeting of the Collinsville, Ok, Patchworkers.  The pattern is The Raven, by Blackbird designs.  I use the "Quilt in a Day" method of applique.  This group is an older group of ladies with little interest in the internet support for their projects.  

My QAL is with the Tulsa Modern Quilt Guild.  The pattern is the Gypsy Wife, by Jen Kingwell.  This pattern is not for the faint of quilting heart.  It runs for several months. 

For both of these patterns, I can use my stash up, which is what I need to do.  I really enjoy using what I've purchased, especially if I can see some old quilts I've made in the scraps.  It's like visiting old friends.  

One of my quilting bucket list items can now be check off!

We lived in Kentucky for 20 years.  Out of those 20 years I probably attended the Paducah Quilt show, at least 10 or more of those years.  The first stop was the Bob Cherry Convention Center, where at the back was always on display the Hoffman Challenge.  The Hoffman fabric company makes some very nice quilter's cotton.  For the last 30 years, the company has been choosing a fabric to challenge people to make quilts using it.  This year I entered the competition and was accepted to travel the country.  I didn't win anything, the competition was fierce and those that won definitely should have.   
   

 Even though it was pretty wrinkled I still got a kick seeing it in person.  The lovely ladies from the quilt guild that had the foresight to snag one of the trunks of the Hoffman Challenge thought it kind on cool that I drove 2.5 hours to their quilt show to see my quilt.  Little did they know...smile. 

   One minor thing is I sure would have hated it if my quilt had been draped over a rocking chair.  I guess space was limited, for the mini show within their show in Cassville, Mo.  The quilts were judged and displayed by the Ozark Country Quilters.   
  

Intarsia-the method I use for making a horse quilt.

I've made this same pattern, perhaps a dozen times.  It never gets old for me.  I really enjoy giving the horses life and movement.  Art is all about creating something that was never there before.  Creating is therapy and maybe a god complex of sorts.  We can't control things in our lives, but we can put fabric together and create things just the way we like them to be.  

I saw a new term at the the American Folk Art Museum in NYC.  I think it perfectly describes the method for making these quilts.  I took this photo of the description of the process.

Intarsia-is a method of butting fabrics up to each other to create something.  

When I make my horse quilts with the intarsia method, I butt the fabric next to each other and use a blanket stitch to carefully attach the pieces together.  The horse quilt above uses wool, cotton, and silks in the piece.  

It is going to be auctioned at a benefit for the Broken Arrow Baseball team.  In Kentucky, I donated a couple to the Mom's Closet for a benefit which was sold during the Kentucky Derby festivities.  #quiltersdoinggood

Mystery Quilt Obstacle Course! Are you Quilter enough????

In the wee small hours of the morning, the course is set.  Back and forth the quilter traverses, bin after exciting bin of holy stash fabric, that's rarely touched or has seen the light of day.  Like the treasure of the Sierra Madra dancing miner she bops and weaves and sings her maddening song as she tries to decide the fate of the fabric.  Oh worra, worra, worra, will this be a great quilt or a drag around quilt?  Attacking the first hurdle of the Mystery Quilt obstacle course, she must choose a Sofi's Choice: A, B, C, D, E and F of tiny 2 inch pieces of fabric attached to boxes that will determine the fate of her beloved fabric that she has, like the proverbial squirrel, stored for the WINTER IS HERE!  It's a commitment!!  She's turning it in and throws fabric stash caution to the wind...BWAHAHAHAHAH!

James Bond Quilt

 Quilting can be cute and traditional or edgy and modern, or completely original like this James Bond Quilt.  I made it for my brother, Don Blanchard, Jr.  In the best of worlds, quilting is relaxing and hobby that can be beneficial for your mental well being.  Art is therapy.  That is what I believe.  A pot of tea and a chance to work in my studio is, to me, like Radiohead and butter, oh so good when you need a boost of flavor in your head or your mouth.  Using your hands to create this or any work of art is also some soul food for your mind.