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The pleasure and pain of quilting


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Quilting with my wife has been both a pleasure and a pain. She has her ideas on what a quilt should be and I have mine. She is very traditional in a lot of ways and sees quilting rules as something to be followed. This might be a good idea when working with customers quilts but I see these rules as something to be challenged and molded into what I want them to be. In a lot of ways this has helped us as a team. On more than one occasion my wife has started a quilt and I have finished it. On other occasions, I have started a quilt and my wife has slapped my hand and screeeeemed!

Does that mean i did something bad?

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No, it does not mean you did something bad. Sounds more like you two have different tastes when it comes to quilting and that\'s okay. Quilting is an art form and like artists, some like to work with water colors, some like to work with acrylics and some like to work with oils, etc. I think it\'s cool both you and your wife quilt. You can bounce ideas off each other and learn from each other. I would love it if my husband was into quilting, but I\'m lucky if I can get him to go into the local quilt shop with me!

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I\'m like you Ammoman, I rarely stay with the "rules". Don\'t know why but once I get going on piecing or quilting, my mind just starts to go and I end up in an entirely different place than I had started out. Just this morning I drove 80 miles round trip to get more fabric because I changed my mind and went a different way with the quilt I\'m piecing right now.

My hubby supports my quilting and helps in anyway he can. He\'s the best. He hasn\'t actually tried making a quilt though....yet!;)

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Well...a few people have asked so i\'ll give you a little more about me. i am married to a wonderful woman and we have four kids from two marriages between us. Three boys and one girl. my actual given name is Kelley I was born and raised in the air force and was a munitions systems specialist. among other things, my latest obsession is collecting sewing machines from the fiftys. As the times go faster i find myself falling further behind. All our kids have a myspace and say its the latest greatest thing. lol they even made a myspace for me but i never go there.

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oh yea..and I\'m an English major who can\'t spell i\'m currently a senior and taking classes in journalism. Fiction writing, and Milton at the University of NC. John Milton wrote Paradise lost. Actually...i love Milton and even carried the pen name paradiselost for a while. LOL with all this info...you should have a fairly good picture of me. But remember....my views are mine and my wife has no say in them. But she did ask me to tone it down a little. so i have.

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Ammoman, my late brother was in the Air Force, too. I was very proud of him:) My daughter is majoring in journalism, but will probably change her mind (again). Don\'t worry about toning it down. You\'re doing fine. You can\'t please everybody. In fact, you should hear what my ex says about me!:P LOL!

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Ammoman,

I know what you mean about having your own ideas, and they aren\'t necessarily the same ideas others might have. When I\'m doing a quilt of my own, or one I have free reign with, I tend to get carried away; over the top. The big butterfly I did for the guy is a good example of that. I think that\'s one reason why I have such a hard time on some customer quilts where all they want is traditional or edge to edge quilting. I tend to see the negative and positive shapes in every block and want to adress each shape as an individual entity, rather than quilting the whole quilt.

How neat that you are in your last semester. I just finished my Master\'s in Reading in the Content Areas. Boring stuff, yeah, but it definitely helps with job security.

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Sounds like you are thinking and quilting outside the box! Good for you! Now we need pictures! Have you checked out Myrna\'s site? She has great stuff on Creating Spaces. I love her style. I still don\'t have a machine and no DH either, but to have a machine and a DH to share with would be wonderful. Favorite alternative is a DH that hunts, fishes, golfs, and does woodworking, or any combination of those things. That way he can keep himself busy while I quilt! :P Hoping I can get my grandson involved when I get mine, he\'s really good with color and balance and very artistic.

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Ammoman

No of course you are not wrong. IMHO rules are not there to be broken just for the sake of it but definitely questioned and challenged. If we never did that, nothing would ever change, develop or move forward. Inspirational quilts are often those that have pushed the boundaries.

How wonderful that both you and your wife share a passion for quilts.

Glad to have you back

Chris

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Well, here are my thoughts... Ammoman ...I have always thought out of the box when it comes to quilting. My local quilt shop owners always says that "there are "rules" in quilting. We as quilters are allowed to break those rules and create our own". So, in my IMHO, you go and create all you want. My husband is very interested in quilting and loves to watch me be creative. (I just hate it when he is looking right over my shoulder). Enjoy your creativity.

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OMGoodness - Almost divorce over quilting? Say it ain\'t so. Pls tell me there was more to it than creative differences. That\'s what\'s so great about this art form...the possibilities are endless and we don\'t have to be like everyone else...nor like what they do to appreciate what went into it.

Embrace the differences!

Anita

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ok...clarity on the statement I made "..nor like what they do to appreciate what went into it. "

"Nor do we even have to like what they do (their quilting/patchwork) to be able to appreciate the work that went into it".

I lose alot of meaning when I try to abbreviate what I\'m saying. :o

Sentiment is the same...embrace the differences...enjoy the process...lighten up.

Anita

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Hi Ammoman

My husband caught the quilt bug too.. Long MI winters with out much to do, decided maybe we could spend time togehter if he started quilting.

His style is his own... I did teach him the basics of seam matching and pattern lay out... and now he does his own thing... He loves to work with panels, His first quilt was his own pattern but blocks and he didnt like that technique in the end so would up cutting and sewing and trimming ect till he had what he wanted.

We both like bold bright colors.. but he likes to combine them in a way that my mind just runs screaming from the site... I like to match and have balance and I guess I dont think out of the box. I like my quilts to have peace and order... Now it might be batik brights on black.. but?

I started a block by block(Under the sea theme) RR back in 97 I think.. have had the blocks for ever but couldnt make my mind just stick all the differant fishes just any place.. So finally I just handed him the scene panel for the middle.. that was my only restriction on how he did it.. and gave him the blocks and finally my grandson has his quilt.. um...10 yrs after I started it.. thank goodness he loves grammies and grandpys quilts.

I would post a pic but we are packed to sell house and I cant find all my disks ect.

Linda

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