Visit Jennifer and her sister-bloggers, Laura Nownes, Darra Williamson, and Christie Batterman at See How We Sew. New postings every Tuesday and Friday.
Revelations of a Rosie Quilter
Jennifer jumped into quilting feet first without tools or significant knowledge of the craft. In her first quilt she used old record album covers as templates and pieced chintz florals. She acquired a rotary cutter and straight edge by the time she made her second quilt, but she used her kitchen cutting board instead of a rotary mat. Jennifer has since become far more sophisticated, and much kinder to her equipment.
I wrote that autobiography several years ago for a book I co-authored called A Dozen Roses, published by Martingale & Company. It’s probably the truest description of my launch into textile arts: unplanned and improvised.
Impulse still does rule my creative life, but I’m more conscious now of how I tackle my art. These days the joy of the creative process is as much about the inspiration as it is about the craftsmanship in the work.
I come from a family that places great importance on creativity—no matter the activity or pursuit; we like to do what we do with great flair. My mother, sisters and I are just a little obsessive about the things that delight us, so it’s no surprise to me that I’m compelled to seize little bits of time in my day to commune with my various muses—arts, letters, music and dance. Some are, like writing, more remunerative than others, but all are essential to me.
My quilting life has been almost as much about writing as it has about designing and making quilts. I never imagined when I started experimenting with the craft that I would also find my commercial writing voice nor did I think that the authors of some of the how-to books that crowded my bookshelf would, fifteen years down the road, become dear friends, and even collaborators.
So here I am, a quilt maker with a fancy for flowery dimensional appliqué quilts who also loves geometric patterns—it’s a kind of yin/yang dynamic that helps me to keep my creative energy in balance.