Oh, oh… one more!

In case you were wondering why I would choose to make an inventory of accomplishments… no, it isn’t that I need pats on the back or that I’m in a funk about not doing enough. It’s just that I’m a somewhat structured person (ok, ok… just a little OCD) and I find it helpful to “organize,” be it physical objects or goals and dreams that live in my mind. And as we approach the end of the year, I become a little compulsive about housekeeping, particularly in terms of my computer!

So the last couple of weeks I have been going through the 200+ GB of used space on my computer, of which nearly 100 GB alone consist of all the files associated with my quilt patterns and collections (EQ, graphics, pdfs, etc.), which pretty much reflect eight years of work. I have been sorting through files, getting rid of duplicates or no longer necessary files, making sure everything is organized and categorized in a logical way… and then backing it all up.

This is an interesting exercise, as it allows me to go back in time and see how both my quilting/sewing and designing has evolved over the years. Particularly in terms of my drawing and pattern-making skills I can see how much I have grown, so much so that I am somewhat embarrassed about the first patterns I ever offered on my website. (I’m making a mental note to go back and tweak the better ones at some point.)

But I digress. The point here is that even though I have always considered myself a traditional quilter, rather than reproduce I have always enjoyed creating my own interpretations, even when based on traditional designs. And this past year I see that I have become more and more interested in new techniques.

Case in point, this little quilt I had completely forgotten about:

This little piece came about after watching a video by Deb Levy on painting a wholecloth quilt. I found the concept interesting and wondered if this was something I might want to do with my own designs, particularly since I enjoy working on smaller applique projects where tiny pieces sometimes present quite a challenge. In those cases, painting the design might be an interesting option.

I can’t say I’m in love with the colors I chose for this particular project… but I did click with the concept. I think in future I’m going to be doing more of this!

I couldn’t find a way to embed the video here for you to watch, but if you think you might be interested in this technique I highly recommend you watch it. And, while you are at it, make sure to check out the rest of her website! She has several other videos on painting quilts, in addition to some fun EQ projects.