WHY DO YOU QUILT?

A Question Often Asked

Treasure Hunt 

I've had this post rattling around in my head for a while, something has always stopped me writing it, I'm not sure what really but now in the midst of 'isewlation' due to this horrid Coronavirus outbreak it seems like a good time to finally get it out. For those of you that have read the dreaded 'C' word and immediately got put off - it is the only time it appears here.


What on earth are you doing? What's the point in cutting up perfectly good pieces of fabric into smaller pieces and sewing it back together? Why do you even want to do that?

Honest questions that I get asked all the time, mostly on holiday or on the train when I am desperately trying to grow my EPP project that should have been finished in May 2019:

Questions that are usually followed by 'oooh I just wouldn't have the patience'. Historically quilting was far more utilitarian born out of a need to keep warm at night but with little resource and scare supplies, so any small piece of fabric that could be used, was added to another until larger pieces were made and then turned into quilts. Nowadays though for a lot of people, this isn't the case, blankets can be bought in all forms and fabric is available in abundance - so why do we quilt?

I've long been of the opinion that buying fabric and making anything out of it, in my case quilts, are two entirely separate hobbies, unfortunately my poor husband is still very much in denial about this - the fabric collecting is something I will have to tackle in another post, #tulapink is all I can say!

I thoroughly enjoy the whole process of selecting a quilt block or pattern based on who I'm making it for or why I'm making it, choosing fabrics and colours that bring the quilt to life and then there is the making process - watching as each little section gets bigger and starts to take shape, eventually becoming a completed quilt top.

I've made all sorts of quilts from lap size to king size, machine pieced, paper pieced (my fav!), group quilts, baby quilts, wedding quilts and everything in between. I'm also lucky enough to have made several custom quilts and commissions, something I am very proud of and continue to do.

There are lots of creative things I could do though, so why do I make quilts? It's simple really - to combat loneliness, by somehow feeling connected to like minded and other fabric loving people like me.

I moved to the UK when I was 13 years old, I left my friends, my culture, the sunshine and everything I'd ever known on the other side of the world in South Africa, a severe shock to the system is an understatement. I started school in September 1998 in Year 9 - another severe shock to the system, where I'm from it's quite common to go to Nursery then move to Primary School and then to Secondary School without the people in your class, however when I moved here I learnt that more often than not everyone goes to the same Nursery then to the same Primary School etc so by the time I joined in Year 9 at the age of 13, many had already been together for a very long time. 

It wasn't that people were necessarily unfriendly but it was very apparent that they already had their friends and on top of that I was different, I spoke funny, I didn't know about the popular things or have the right sized waistline or celebrity crushes - PJ and Duncan could have been a takeaway place for all I knew, so it was both a daunting and lonely time.

  

My best friend lives on the other side of the world, she always has, thankfully we're both able to travel (as I am writing this draft I'm sitting in the glorious sunshine in her beautiful garden) and use WhatsApp, Facebook etc now but it's not the same, she's my person and I miss her everyday. We speak all the time but it is still very lonely, I've always felt lonely so I guess I was looking for something that would help me notice her absence a little less. 

I've long believed that any form of craft or doing something that makes you happy, is great for ones well-being and mental health and I think that this is even more important in today's society where so many people have forgotten how to simply be kind to each other.

I started my quilting journey by doing a beginners class where I met some fantastic ladies, a few of us went on to do a slightly more advanced course where we met a couple more and the five of us are still firm friends, meeting once a month for our own stitch and bitch. We even have our own mini retreats where we rent a beautiful cottage somewhere in the country - usually in the vicinity of at least one quilting shop and have a 'sew in' for four days, we've had three so far, this year marks our 8th as a completely mad bunch of quilting friends, we were a group of six but sadly we lost our friend Sue a few years ago.

These wonderful women who I am very proud to call my friends are so inspirational, I've learnt so much from them and continue to do so, they are supportive and encouraging and I honestly wouldn't be half the quilter I am today if it hadn't been for them.

So why do I quilt?

Because it feeds my soul, I love creating, I love learning and I enjoy spending time with like minded people, who despite what life might throw up enjoy making beautiful things to reflect their joy and colour. There are so many great books out there dedicated to why people quilt, looking at all aspects across many histories and I have read many of them, but most recently Thomas Knauer released Why We Quilt and I honestly couldn't put it down - cover to cover it is fantastic, the images are beautiful and each story is so wonderfully unique that each person who reads this book will relate to something in it.

So that's my story, that's why I love to quilt, if you'd like to share your story please do get in touch. You can see all my quilting adventures in pictorial from on Instagram @thatssewkerry 

Happy Quilting

Kerry xx 

HAPPY NEW YEAR

Live, Learn, Love 

I know it's already the 6th (eeeek how did that happen) but technically I can still say happy New Year as this is my first post of the year, hopefully the first of many now that I have a much better system in place for planning and sewing.

It started a few months ago with my usual daily Instagram stalk, come on you know you do it to, there are some absolutely amazing things on there so much inspiration which in turn leads to many, many amazing projects and purchases. One of my other small obsessions just happens to be planners!! Planners, stickers, washi tape, note cards, pens you get the idea, I  love how creative they can be and how there seems to be this massive whole other world all about planners and making them art. If you are going to stare at the thing for hours and plan your life, it might as well be pretty and full of stickers right?? Anyway back to the stalk, I came across lots of planners that were being used and immediately wanted them all, as with most of the lovely things I want they are either only available in the US or outrageously expensive to try and get here, so I had to decide on just one. 

Enter the Get To Work Book designed and created by the fabulous Elise Blaha Cripe and is not only a daily planner but has several sections that can be used for goal setting and project planning as well. Many of the pages are graph paper which is perfect for drawing out quilt block ideas and there are also some pages of thick card stock which makes practising one of my other obsessions much easier......

Sharpie pen, Tim Burtonesque illustrations. Although I have only been able to use my GTWB for nearly 2 weeks so far I absolutely love it, there is plenty of space to make the pages pretty yet still get everything down that I need to plan my day, my week, my life and everything in between.

Last year was a jam packed year, I didn't always find enough time to get as much sewing and quilting done as I would have liked but I did manage to achieve some lovely things that I am very proud of:

1. The ridiculous amount of squares needed to make this centre Star

2. Being brave with my fabric choices for my first Mini Swap

3. Remembering how to put in sleeves for the costumes this loon needed for her first role in Panto (super proud sister moment)

I became a we (whoop whoop) and we celebrated some new arrivals, special birthdays, first experiences together, made some new friends and have made some exciting new plans for the start of a new year together, oh and someone else went and got themselves engaged whoop whoop Kerry Q!!

Last year really was a jam packed year with so much going on, I've learnt a lot about myself as one usually does, but I have also learnt things about other people which was harder to get my head around because I can't really make sense of how they tick. I guess the saying "what doesn't kill you makes you stronger" might just be true after all, although I am fairly certain that if I buy any more fabric I may be killed!! It's not my fault though, look at all these lovely things I have found that I absolutely need to try and make....... 

It's already shaping up to be a busy year and we are only the 6th day in, lets hope I can stick to my New Year resolutions of making more time to sew and planning my time better so I can fit it all in and complete more projects, otherwise there will be a multitude of UFO sightings in the South East!!

Happy Quilting

Kerry xx

21 QUESTIONS

A Few Things About Me You Might Not Have Known....

1: What is your current fashion obsession? I wouldn't necessarily call myself fashionable, having struggled with my weight for most of my adult life I tend to go with the motto - The Baggier The Better, however at the moment I am loving the whole over sized shirt (told you - baggy) open over a vest top.

2: What are you wearing today? pyjamas and there is absolutely nothing you can do or say to make me change my mind.

3: Hair? Unwashed, in a bun, a-la top knot style!! But in general life platinum blonde and honey blonde highlights half way down my back rocking the spiral perm God gave me. 

4: Do you nap a lot? I wish!! I'm fairly sure in another life I was a sloth, and I yearn for those days of bygone times!! I do love a good lay in though and on my days off DO NOT phone me before 10am.

5: Why is today special? I have had a taste of what it might be like to be a parent, I have spent the morning doing loads of washing and making home made pies for lunch......for my parents who currently have no kitchen/utility room due to the renovations being done on their house....parenting the parents??

6: What would you like to learn to do? Run!! I would love to learn how to find the motivation and determination to run every day, all the cool kids do it, I wish I could to. 

7: What's for dinner tonight? Whatever you are making me!! But I am super partial to Chicken Pesto Pasta, so maybe that. 

8: What are you listening to right now? Borrow My Heart by Clare Bowen, Sam Palladio and Jonathan Jackson. I absolutely LOVE Nashville, it's like Glee for grown ups but Country style!! And secretly I've always wanted to be a singing cow girl. 

9: What is your favourite weather? The hotter the better, having experienced a few Californian summers, I would totally say that!!

10: What's the last thing you bought? Ingredients to make the aforementioned chicken pies and the new issue of Love Patchwork & Quilting

11: What are your essentials when travelling? A list of all the quilt shops and fabric shops within a suitable distance to where I am staying/visiting, to be clear a suitable distance is anything within a 3 hour driving radius!! My Sunglasses and a good pair of spangly flip flops.

12: What's your style? Whatever is clean on the day! 

13: What is your most challenging goal right now? to be honest I have 2. Firstly trying to lose this last 5lbs!! I have lost 45lbs over the last 18 months and I just can not get rid of that last 5 to make an even 50lbs!! It's so frustrating!! And secondly to keep remembering that I deserve better and not to think that this time might be different because it won't , I may not be perfect but I deserve better.

14: If you could have a house totally paid for, fully furnished anywhere in the world, where would you like it to be? A big old Brownstone in New York, preferably close to and overlooking Central Park....absolutely beautiful. 

15: Favourite Vacation/Holiday Spot? Huntington Beach, California

16: Name the things you cannot live without: My parents, my sister, my bestests Joelle, Chantal, Lauren and Kerry Q, chocolate and fabric!!  

17: How was your childhood? A mixed bag just like everybody else.

18: What would you like to have in your hands right now? David Beckham, I mean come on?? Look at him, he is absolutely just the most gorgeous being that's ever walked the earth!! 

GOD ALMIGHTY!!

19: What are you most excited for? It's a secret that's not mine to tell, I'm so excited I might just wet myself!!

20: If you could go anywhere in the world for the next hour, where would you go? I would go home and hang out with my favourites

21: Which countries/cities have you visited? I have been very blessed with a wonderful family who love to travel so I have been very spoilt - New York, Florida, Boston, Rhode Island, Huntington Beach, La Jolla, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Atlanta, Carmel Valley, Santa Monica, Cape Town, Joberg, Durban(obvs!), Wales, Scotland, Yorkshire, Barcelona, Rome, The Vatican City, Paris, Calais, Bruges, and a few more I am fairly sure I have forgotten to write down here.

I was set the challenge of these 21 Questions by my Aunty Gilly over at Gill's Jottings, if you fancy taking part in the challenge, I'd love to hear from you so post a comment with a link to your blog post in it.

Happy Quilting

Kerry xx

EVERYTHING'S BETTER WITH SEQUINS

And Great Friends!!

When little children are excited about things coming up they count in 'sleeps', it's not a law written down anywhere it's simply accepted that if a count down of 'sleeps' is involved, it's serious!! Why I ask you is this only exclusive to little children?? I have been counting down from about 200 sleeps until Taylor Swift would be in Hyde Park and I would be there singing very loudly with my favourites!! And on Saturday 27th June there no more sleeps, the actual day had arrived, we were going to Shake It Off along with 65,000 other people living out one of my Wildest Dreams, singing a Love Story whilst watching Sparks Fly all the while hoping there wouldn't be Bad Blood. And it was absolutly amazing!! Taylor Swift might just be the most beautiful person I've ever seen in real life, she's so tall and has such a gorgeous figure and oh my those costumes!!! So many sequins in so many colours every Disney Princess would be jealous. 

The fun didn't stop there no Sir, it has been a few weeks of no stop partying for the crazy Smith girls! This Saturday saw us go back in time to the hay day of our parents (who are actually rather Young for my age) and head off to Club Tropicana, an 80s theme night club of sorts where 80s inspired fashion is the only acceptable form of attire permitted, sooooo.........

As you can see we were true to form and totally got involved, go hard or go home right??!! There was everything from Footloose and Fame to I Wanna Dance With Somebody and no party is complete without Ooops Upside Your Head......complete with dance moves of course!! 

I learnt a few things last week about someone who I thought I knew and who had at one time meant a great deal to me, turns out he was a total liar and he just made a mockery of my thoughts and feelings. I felt really sad to begin with, as anyone would when they confide in a person who just lets them down, but when I thought about it I think I feel more sad for him and the woman he is probably still lying to given he was with her the whole time. Thank God I had a lucky escape from yet another liar, someone else who just isn't worth my tears or my time!! It does mean however that I am still on the market for my knight in shining armour/ Prince Charming, so if anybody has David Beckham or Jamie Dornan on speed dial, hook a sister up!!! 

I haven't just been partying I have been working very hard on a few projects and have some exciting things in the pipe line.......honest!!

Happy Quilting

Kerry xx 

TWO CHEEKY MONKEYS SNUGGLING ON THE BED...

And A Whole Lot Of Shopping!!

So the quilts made it safely across the oceans and found their way to these two cheeky monkeys

And as you can see they loved them!! Look at those smiles and those chubby cheeks, just to beautiful but then I am a very biased Aunty. Something else I am very biased about is how breathing taking The North is, if you have never ventured up there I can't tell you enough how much you should, just don't tell my Granny she won't be pleased if I start sending hoards up there!!

Half of my family is from Yorkshire, it is a fair distance - 263 miles if you want to be picky about it - from where we live down south, so for one week of the summer my Granny (who is rather young to have that title) and I head up to make the rounds visiting friends, friends and quaint little villages that time has forgotten, eating far to many pub lunches and baked goods and of course stopping off at as many quilt shops/ fabric shops that can be found!!   

This is Whitby Abbey, one of my most favourite places on earth, it is set high on top of the cliff face where only the brave can reach it, not because of the cliffs or the heights oh no, but because of the 199 stairs one has to climb to get there!! That is a lot of stairs, I know it looks like a lot of stairs and even saying 199 stairs you know it is a lot of stairs but you don't really, until you have climbed those stairs and then have to turn around and walk back down those stairs...then you will know!!

It was a busy start to the week with lots and lots of walking around all these beautiful places and the end of the week was just as busy with possibly even more walking around at Sandown for The Quilt Champs!! Did you go? Wasn't it wonderful?? I thought so, my bank account didn't however!! 

These are just a small number of things that caught my eye, mostly the really beautiful quilting, a lot of which is free motion and something I really wish I could master!! I'd love to see what caught your eye if you were there?! And if you have any gorgeous projects you are working on I'd love to see them to, not that I need any encouragement to start yet another new project!! Kerry Q already despairs of me, she might just disown me if I start something else!!

Happy Quilting

Kerry xx