More Scoops: On a Personal Note

Jake gave you a few creativity kick-starts yesterday, with her selection of top books that can inspire us to greater (or simply more) stitchiness. And today, we put a personal spin on that, with some staff members sharing about books–old and new–that have tickled their “do button.”

Megan Dougherty—“I was so thrilled to get Kim Kight’s book, A Field Guide to Fabric Design: Design, Print & Sell Your Own Fabric ( Stash Books, 2011), because I have a tiny bit of experience in graphic design and have long been wanting to try my hand at creating my own fabric.

And once I started reading it, I knew exactly what kind of fabric I wanted to make first. Introducing, the GenQ Collection!

I have to admit, all I did was upload the wonky star logo to Spoonflower and select my repeat pattern, so I really didn’t employ any of Kim’s fantastic instructions, but now that I’ve tried something easy, I’m ready to go for something more complex.”           

Scott Hansen— “I met Susan Maw and Sally Bell at Quilt Market years ago in Portland, Oregon. ‘Sweetest ladies on the planet’ would be my first impression of them. And as I recall they had some cupcakey thing going on at the time. When their book, Summer at the Lake (C & T Publishing, 2011) came out  this summer, I was so excited. They sent me a copy to review on my blog, but then we had this ‘personal scoops’ concept pop up in a GenQ staff meeting, so I knew right away which book I wanted to plug.

“As a quilt designer myself, I don’t look at too many books or magazines in an attempt to keep my ideas as original as possible.  But with this book, I fell in love with the cover quilt right away.  And when I discovered the circular effect of the quilt was achieved without any Y-seams, my first thought was ‘Dang! I wish I had thought of that!’ Lots of patches and scraps that look like very busy circles — straight stitches all the way.  That’s my kind of quilt! So I am making it. I am re-inventing it in my version, though, where I am playing hot colors against soft cool colors.  (Well, I have started it, at least. Christmas intervened, and I have not gotten too far.  I have a few pictures of it here. But I will have more on my blog as I work more on it. Stay tuned there.)

“There are 11 projects in Summer At The Lake, my favorite being the cover quilt. I also love the Water Lily pillows, the Meadowsweet Basket Quilt and the Indian Paintbrush Quilt.  Everything has a pretty summer palette of soft yellows, greens, blues and naturals, with hints of rosy reds.  There are also directions for picnic gear, a hat, and a backpack. The only project that seems out of sync with the overall palette of the book is the Red, White, & Blue table topper, which is just another variation of the cover quilt. This table topper is intended for a  very summer holiday in the US at least (Independence Day) so it still does go with the summer theme, but I just found the colors jarringly bright.  The only other thing I don’t like is that you have to use templates for some projects.  I personally hate tracing and cutting out templates.  I would rather just cut everything with a rotary cutter and ruler. I wouldn’t say the quilts are exactly “modern,” which is our usual leaning here at GenQ, but I find them fresh and very fun. (And I think you get a lot    of value from this book, which, in these economic times, is inspiring in itself!)

Melissa Thompson Maher–I love vintage about as much as I love modern. So when the early publicity mailings about Amy Barickman’s Vintage Notions: An Inspirational Guide to Needlework, Cooking, Sewing, Fashion and Fun  (Amy Barickman, 2010) came rolling across my desk back during my Quilter’s Home days, I started drooling.

This beautiful book brings to life the sewing and dressmaking wisdom of Mary Brooks Picken, who taught at The Woman’s Institute of Domestic Arts and Sciences in Scranton, Pennsylvania from 1916 to 1934.

Then my sister Stephanie called to tell me about a lecture and book signing she’d attended at a bookstore in Kansas City for this very same book. She heard Amy talk about how Vintage Notions developed, and there was a bonus–Mary Brooks Picken’s relative was in the audience!

(Guess who was now jealous and drooling? You have to understand…probably my most prized fabric collection is a clutch of Double Wedding Ring Quilt pieces my grandmother and great-grandmother cut out of feed sacks and early 30s prints.) Thanks to my pal Jake, I finally got my hands on a copy.

Okay, I haven’t actually been able to make anything yet from the book, but the first thing on my list is the apron remodeled from a man’s shirt. (“Green” is not just a post-20th century concept, people.)

P.S. Contests, Challenges & Giveaways

Whether you keep your calendar on the wall, in your smart phone or in your head, it can all become a blur at times. Here’s a little glance at the ongoing and upcoming GenQ fun-and-games:

• Music Monday Challenge—GenQ staffer Scott Hansen (also of Blue Nickel Studios) linked us all up with Swing Out Sister’s video of Breakout, where a sewing machine almost steals the musical moment. And he issued you a challenge…to use this video as inspiration for your own fabri-creation. We’ve heard from some of you, but know there are more great ideas floating around out there. So we’ve extended the deadline. And don’t forget…the Fat Quarterly fab five are the judges! See the new date below.

Pictures of your Music Monday entries: Due ASAP to scott@generationqmagazine.com

Announcement of winners: Dec. 30.

• Needle Book Challenge: We recently shared the felty magic of authors Adrienne Smitke and Cassie Barden (Everyday Handmade, Martingale 2011) and Cassie’s Toadstool Needle Book project. And then we issued you a challenge to create one of your own.

Pictures of your design–Due Dec. 31 to megan@generationqmagazine.com.

Big reveal–Jan. 5