What you get for free

Don't forget that this weekend is Quilts at the Creek at Black Creek Pioneer Village. This is the LAST time this show will be held (unless someone comes forward to organize it!).  There'll be loads of gorgeous quilts to see and some of them are for sale! There's the Prince challenge (Cherrywood) to view which is going to be stunning and if you see no other show, this exhibit one is worth a visit. It's indoors I believe so if you need to cool down, this is the place to go.

There's going to be the map quilts from the "Map Your World" challenge. I love challenges - it's fun to see how people interpret the theme. From that link, you can see several of them that don't really look like "real" maps but are representational of a map of a life or an event or something. That's one of the most interesting parts of a challenge - viewing the end results. My quilt is a very literal map - a view of the neighborhood from a child's eye. It's quite fun.

There was a map workshop yesterday with Valerie S. Goodwin. I wonder how it went??? I'm all packed for my class today. The supply list is quite varied - paints, brushes, fabric. The only thing I can't find is the fabric medium. Hopefully, someone will have some I can borrow. I know I have some - it's just the question of which box it's in. I thought I had the right box set aside, but it's not the right fabric medium.

It was fairly easy to assemble the tools. They fit into a small container. But fabric - what to take?? The list said take lots in various values. Lots of lights. Hmm - I refuse to cart tons of fabric to a class. Considering that we're making SMALL map collages, I settled on TWO scrap boxes. Those precious shoeboxes of scraps. I have a box of brown and a box of light. I threw in a couple of larger pieces that can be used as the base. I think it's a brilliant plan. There are LOADS of variety in those boxes. I'm going to make do with what I have with me. I can't wait!!!!

And a clarification about the trunk shows. Even though I'm listed under the trunk show list for Sunday, I'll be leading a walkabout of the show. I'll be checking out the quilts today, but I think I'm going to spend some time chatting about the map quilts since they are a challenge and as I already mentioned, I love challenges. That's at 3 PM on SUNDAY. Meet up is at the Town Hall. Plus I'll be chatting about some of the other quilts. It's going to be fun!!!! 

I must admit that I was a bit of a slug yesterday. I got 2 ½ bindings on quilts and then - well it was too nice to stay in the house so I went to the backyard. I know - I shouldn't have, but I did. Summer is too short and there was nothing super urgent on the list. I finished my book, had a nice nap and did a bit of weeding. It was glorious!!!!

I also prepped for my class last night which was a bit of a challenge as I was looking for a particular quilt top! Do you think I could find it? Nope, but then I started digging a bit deeper and spotted it through the clear plastic of the tub it was hiding in. Now I have to put stuff away, but that's for later tonight - after the workshop. The class is a 2 part class on half square triangle quilts. Making and designing them. The ladies went home with visions of great quilts in their heads. Can't wait to get to the fun part in the next class.

I've had some pictures sitting in the editor for a while and time to get them edited and up on the blog. Talk about an obsessive quilter. Perhaps I should talk about myself in the third party so it won't look so bad.

So there's this quilter I know. She's totally obsessed with fabric. Not only does she collect fabric in many colors, but she has a thing for novelty prints. Look at what she has.

One laundry basket of novelty prints

Wait - there's more!

Another laundry basket of novelty prints

But we're not done......................

More novelty prints

I like novelty prints, but this woman is crazy!! I heard she's no longer buying novelty prints, although she does look every time she's in a quilt store. Thank goodness for that. Where would she store them? I heard she put them in FIVE cardboard boxes (best option at the moment) and they are stacked (and labeled) in the large storage room. I hear she's going to be cutting them up into squares and making kids quilts from them. How long will that take?? Years - she had better start now.

Seriously - how the heck did all that accumulate? I did remove two fabrics because I want to make a couple of things for myself.

Two novelty prints removed from the massive pile

Remember, the goal of this organization is NOT to necessarily reduce the stash. It's to get everything neat and tidy so when I want something, it's easy to find. I'm eliminating some stuff now and then I know I'll go through it again and again to cull it. Each time will take less time.

I even found a basket of denim. I believe this is all denim pants. Some have been cut apart, some have not. I always wanted to make a denim scrap quilt. So I'll cut what I need and the rest goes. How much denim does one need to stockpile if you're not into making things with denim??  It is NOT up for grabs just yet. I need to go through it first.

Laundry basket of denim

Did you notice that there are three laundry baskets in today's post? Yep - kind of silly because they can't be stacked and that takes up a lot of floor space. No wonder everything was laying all over the floor. If I wasn't going to put bindings on yesterday, I could at least have done some tidying!

OK - so here are some FREE things. All different sorts of containers. I have a feeling that these are going to the thrift store. 

Containers for free

White boxes up for grab

Odd sized containers

I have a couple of comments to make about free stuff. First I want to say that I'm impressed with your restraint. I've gotten rid of most of the stuff that I've posted on my blog. It's gone to a variety of homes and I know that the people who are taking the stuff will work with what they got. Perhaps not right away. I'm OK with that. No one is asking for everything. I know that you're all in the same boat as myself with the amount of stuff you have. I'm truly impressed.

So here's my beef about free stuff. Please note - this has NOTHING to do with me. I've not been involved except to be aware of the "complaints". I've seen the feedback on various Social media platforms, in person, e-mail, you name it. Let's say that you find a pattern on the internet for free. Hey - that's exciting. You download it and start to make it. Wait a  minute - there's a mistake in the pattern. It's perfectly fine to send the designer a note and gently explain that there is a mistake. Sometimes those mistakes are NOT mistakes, just a misinterpretation of the pattern.

It's EXTREMELY DIFFICULT to write a pattern so that ALL skill levels can understand. Some people are better with visual instructions and some people are better with words. Some of the people who design free patterns are NOT pattern designers but got roped into it for whatever reason. A sew-along, a blog hop, a physical shop hop. Whatever. We have to remember that these patterns are FREE.

If there's a mistake and you can figure it out yourself, then do so. Send the designer a note and move on. If you can't figure it out, ask a friend. But DO NOT COMPLAIN.  It's free!!!!  If you don't like it, then don't download or collect the free patterns. While you and I may be computer savvy (yes - I think I'm pretty good with the computer even though some days it hates me), many shop owners and casual designers are NOT savvy with the computer and do not know how to write a pattern.

It's like anything else - "buyer" beware. Please don't complain about free stuff. You don't have to acquire it or use it. And you should not feel obligated to use it if you don't like it. This is where you can let your creativity run loose. What can you do to that free pattern to make it your own!!!!

Wait - did you download the app from yesterday's QUILTsocial blog??? It was hilarious when I was doing my machine embroidery on my map quilt the other day. I'm listening to my audiobook and kept getting interrupted when the machine gave me a notice that the embroidery was done!! I could have shut the notifications off, but I didn't.

On that note - I'm out of here. I'm excited about my class today. If you're at Black Creek Pioneer Village today, stop by and say HI. We're in the basement of the Visitor Center. I'll sit at the back so we don't disturb the class.

Have a super day!!!!!


Ciao!!!!