With Hands and Heart

30 x 30 wall hanging created with Kansas Troubles /Moda fabrics.

Machine pieced, hand quilted.

A photo-laden post on the merits of crafting is likely redundant when it comes to my little gang of 'followers.'

Most of us who hover around a particular list of favorite bloggers are already crafters, creators, 

makers, doers.

We've tried, tested, rejected, out-grown or refined a number of different mediums before settling on the several which bring us joy. 

I well remember my frustration during Friday afternoon 'art classes' in grade school.

[We're talking 1950's here, and having rather publicly celebrated 50 years of marriage, some of you will recognize the era of which I speak!]

Art class in our one room rural school consisted of teacher choosing a season appropriate colored picture from the illustrated 'Teacher's Guide'--which contained everything from poems, skits, Christmas plays, to a variety of 'busy work' projects.

A 'pattern' was included for the art picture and this was passed from desk to desk to be traced off.

The colored page was then pinned up in sight of all and crayons or colored pencils were chosen.

I remember one such project in particular.

The picture of the day was a blue basket filled with daisies.

Simple--or so one would think.

I hadn't met up with a blue basket, but I knew several vintage baskets at my grandfather's farmhouse--all in weathered tones of brown or grey.

I colored my basket brown, shading the edges carefully--and I made yellow-petaled brown-eyed Susan's instead of white daisies.

The teacher was unimpressed with my creativity--to the point up waving my finished picture aloft in disgust and stating to the class at large, "Who would want an old brown basket?"

I fared a bit better when the traveling art teacher showed us how to make paper mache' bowls. 

We slopped cheerfully about with sodden bits of newspaper and some globbery gluey substance--but at least my bowl dried to a neat shape which was then finished with poster paint in my choice of white with terra cotta bands.

I couldn't draw--or sketch--or paint--and for years I felt regret that my appreciation of natural beauty had no creative outlet.

I honed my skills with a sewing machine during many years of making clothing for my extended 

family and friends.

Quilt making in America surged into renewed popularity following the 1976 Bi-Centennial--beautiful cotton fabrics, time-saving methods and new tools for measuring and cutting appeared for a growing market trend and caught my attention.

Detail of the wall quilt--my hand quilting is far from museum quality!

This quilt was made for J.'s cousin Gloria, to commemorate the life and death of her son, a member of the US Special Forces. Ironically, after several tours of duty to the Middle East, Glenn died in a traffic accident a few miles from his off-base apartment in Florida.

Making this quilt for Gloria, herself an accomplished crafter, was a way that I could express my sorrow. Since her son's death, Gloria has produced a number of colorful baby quilts and taken on the previously planned redecorating of her vintage New England home.

The choosing of fabrics, sewing, striping off old paint and wallpaper, rolling on fresh colors has been a creative outlet at a time when she felt that sanity might leave her.

Here are two little scented pillows of Gloria's making, such as she has sold in her gift shop.

She also carves distinctive Santa's and creates patterns for primitive dolls.

My Amish neighbor, Delila, makes quilts in the tradition of solid color fabrics.

She phoned two weeks ago to tell me that she had finished one, and would I like to see it--and bring 

my camera.

While the Old Order Amish do not approve of personal photos, Delila enjoys having a pictorial record of her quilting, so I print photos and present them to her in a clear plastic sleeve.

This quilt, pieced in "Log Cabin' type strips, mimics the popular [and difficult to make correctly ] Lone Star pattern. When I worked in the Wyoming quilt shop women from the nearby Wind River Indian Reservation brought their version which they called "Native American Star" to be finished at the shop.

The bias points of the 'stars' tend to stretch creating a tented effect in the center 

which is a quilter's nightmare. 

Linda, the shop owner, became adept at taking tiny tucks around the quilt centers as she finished the quilts with her long-arm machine. 

Delila states that she had to 'quilt out' some fullness in the center of her quilt.

Delila does the piecing on a vintage treadle sewing machine, then the  layers of the quilt, batting and lining are stretched on her wooden quilt frame.

This is the third large quilt which Delila has hand-quilted since the turn of the year.

She is casual about housework--passionate about her quilting and gardening.

Detail from the center of Delila's quilt.

Delila's quilting stitch is neater than mine.

Amish girls begin to learn quilting skills well before their teens.

I usually have several quilts in progress.

This one, a New York Beauty, is pieced over a foundation of paper which is marked with the stitching lines.

I've only made the one block which took me an entire evening of sewing time.

I doubt that I will produce sufficient of these blocks to make a bed sized quilt.

The pattern is wasteful of materials, which is a consideration.

My quilt making is hampered to a degree by the interest of my cats in 'helping'

This is Nellie, looking innocent.

My friend Gracie creates beautiful scrapbooks.

She saves maps, small items picked up on family trips, programs from events, newspaper clippings.

These, with carefully edited photos, become themed collections, cleverly presented.

When Gracie phoned last month to ask if I had scraps of fabric from my latest quilt, she mentioned that she was working on a 'project.'

I had no idea that the 'project' was a gift scrapbook for our wedding anniversary.

 Our daughter Gina, gathering photos for her own purposes, was stealthily sharing them with Gracie, who did fanciful things with them using her Photo-Shop skills.

The book was presented to us when we arrived at our anniversary celebration.

Note the tiny pieces of fabric secured to the page and anchored with appropriate embellishments.

I was with Gracie last summer when she shopped for scrap-booking supplies.

The background papers, the stamps, the tools for designing cards and memory books are very enticing.

Those who create in this medium have wonderful choices of supplies, but like any other form of crafting, the maker learns to put the mark of individuality on their creation.

A page created to show some of J.'s special interests. 

The background paper is a grassy meadow--just waiting for his tractor and mowing machine!

The book is a treasure--and was much admired at the gathering.

This photo shows quilt blocks made during the recent spell of gloomy wet weather.

I collected a number of fabrics with pansy motifs when I was in Wyoming.

The cheerful colors called to me on a rainy afternoon.

This quilt will likely become my main project for summer afternoons when the cool of my basement workroom is more inspiring than the heat of the garden.

I had the opportunity to take classes in tole painting during the three years we spent in Massachusetts--1977-1980.

Tole Painting is described as a 'method painting'--one traces the outline from a pattern book, perhaps adjusting or changing a few elements. I learned to blend artists' oils, to create dimension and shading.

It was a wonderful experience for a person who had longed to paint!

Many of the pieces I made were given as gifts, a few were sold.

These two were special favorites.

Our niece Susan created these paper-pieced potholders as a gift for me. 

You can be sure that a greasy casserole will never touch this lovely fabric art!

I plan to hang them where I can enjoy Susan's work.

Detail of one of the pieced flowers.

Susan is an expert needlewoman, my mentor, who encourages me to continue hand-quilting.

Susan has stitched her way through tragedy, ill health, many a stressful situation.

She rises early in the morning to sit quietly with her hand sewing.

Neatly organized totes travel with her to keep a current project at hand.

Susan says, "Creating is a big part of who I am."

My daughter, Gina, doesn't sew--she merely threatens to do so at some future time.

Gina's gifts of creativity are expressed in her baked goods, appealingly presented.

She has a keen eye for balance and harmony in arranging a room, decorating a mantle, for serving a meal in the various bowls and platters which her knowing eye has spotted at charity shops and yard sales.

Gina has a love affair with glue.

[I can't get near glue without creating a disaster!]

This is one of three large photo collages she put together to share our family memories.

They were displayed at the anniversary party.

A current hand-quilting project in the oval hoop/stand which Susan gave me.

I labor away at it, not becoming as skillful as I would like, but finding that the act of stitching can have a restful effect.

Hand work is calming when I must be tethered to a chair while making 'polite conversation' or waiting somewhere while J. transacts his wheeling and dealing. I can transfer this wall quilt [made with extra blocks from a king-sized quilt] to a smaller hoop as a take-along project.

There are other skills I wish I could learn: weaving, spinning, basketry, calligraphy, knitting, to name only a few.  I have worked with dried flowers, crocheted a hideous afghan or two, decorated sets of storage boxes with fabric or paper. I have refinished vintage furniture. 

There is great satisfaction in learning a craft, in gathering the 'tools and tackle and trim.'

I enjoy giving gifts that I have made with a special person in mind.

I've observed that those who 'make things' seem to have a greater degree of contentment than those who are easily bored or need the stimulation of endless shopping or outings.

When we create an item of beauty and/or usefulness, something of the delights we have accumulated, something from the 'heart' or essence of each of us, joins with the skill of our hands to produce a treasure that may be cherished well beyond our own time.