How many of you document your quilts…?
What do I mean by ‘Document’?
I created a journal of the making of the 1776 Heartache, Heritage and Happiness quilt. It was my journal that eventually ended up being the base for my book.
I received this email today….
"I especially liked the journaling you did. How special that was for you to go back and read what was going through your mind during that time of stitching, ripping stitches and re-stitching. We have all done that and just must settle for the very best."
I’m pleased that others else think that journaling is worthwhile…!! and it was lovely receiving the email.
In re-creating the Bayeux Tapestry, I decided not to count how many hours it took me…
The first question I was asked was "How many hours did it take you to make"?
When I told them you could see a wave of pity wash over their faces…
Then I thought about it again…. I do need to have some statistics for my own information.
But……How do you add in the hours of filming, research, travel etc……? it’s almost impossible in this project.
So I have a simple journal in the computer and it goes a little like this….
Date
12/09/2008
Time
5.00 am – 6.45
Information
Quilting
Then the next section has information on how many bobbins I use, when I change them and when I change a needle.
Hours spent.
1.45
Feet used.
free motion foot – spring
Stitch Used
Free motion
Task at hand.
Working on Final Border.
So that is just one line…. I generally have 4 or five lines a day…. and the clever computer adds up the hours, the amount of bobbins and the number of needles….
NO !!!! it won’t be for public scrutiny, just for myself.
In fact, I’ve found it rather informative… I know I change my needle every 10 hours or so… (sometimes I can go through 3/4 bobbins a day ) and that’s no mean feat with the bottom line in the bobbin……
I photograph the process every couple of days and then it goes into the file.
When I was creating the 1776 quilt, I didn’t have the sophisticated computer that I have now…
But the journal worked…
On another note, last night I left the studio rather late and went in and flopped on the settee under my comfy old quilt. I turned on the TV and watched ‘Jam and Jerusalem’
I sat there by myself and absolutely roared… its the funniest thing I’ve ever seen..
It’s about a Guild…. an English Guild in a church. They have decorated the church with ‘craft’ and the Pastor is at his wits end….
There were quilts on the pews on the alter, hanging from the choir stall and then to top it off they had made some wonderful crochet hymn book covers….
It’s coming on UK TV on foxtell and is a classic. I love the characters…..
I get to visit a numbeer of Guilds…. I’ve been in some just like this.!!!
Yes I do, though not in near as much detail as you. I would have to make up a lot to write a book about one of my quilts, but I can usually write half a page to two pages to go in my record of finished projects, along with at least one photo, and fabric scraps.
I can tell you exactly when I started my oldest UFO, but I’m not going to, on the grounds that it will let everyone know that I am old enough to be a grumpy old woman!
I started journaling the process of creating my first ever ‘art’ quilt. I already had a blog so I found it easy to take photos and write up the progress, decisions made, tangents taken, etc. That series of 11 blog posts starts here: http://sandgroper14.wordpress.com/2007/12/30/evolution-of-a-quilt-1/
Since then, I’ve documented other quilts I’ve made, though not to the same level of detail. Probably because most of the rest have been made to a pattern and weren’t a totally creative process. To see those posts, select the “Quilts” category on the right.
I find it very useful to document the process and progress, and have found that others have enjoyed the journey with me. Blogs make it so easy.
Oops! I forgot to add that I also post my quilt pictures (and those of others) at full size to a photo sharing website. For example, this selection is of quilts made by me and others: http://home-and-garden.webshots.com/album/558761507dDticj
Whereas this page is just of the ‘dragonfly’ quilt (my art quilt): http://home-and-garden.webshots.com/album/562322951EmeWWz
I’ve just finished a convergence quilt, so I blogged about that too, and put up all the photos of the quilt here: http://good-times.webshots.com/album/567212227CWlPza