Quilt University February Newsletter Vol 2.1
February 3, 2012
Way back in the mists of time when I was about 18, I brought a friend home for dinner. My dad passed her something (who remembers what it was) and she refused, saying “I didn’t like it the first time I tried it, and I never will.” That became a joke around our house, a laugh at a person who was stuck in her ways.
It is harder to laugh now. I realize how many things I do or say automatically. What brought this forcefully to mind was a pair of snips that a Japanese friend gave me in 1993 when she was teaching me sashiko. I tried to use them when she was here, but I didn’t like them. I wanted to stick my fingers in a pair of scissors the way I always had.
Ten years later, I lost my favorite pair of thread scissors and the extra pair was just too dull to cut thread cleanly anymore. Rummaging through my drawer, I came upon those snips and thought, well, why not? Maybe I can save myself a trip to the store. Yes, I do actually think that - sometimes. Guess what? I really liked them. They were perfect to leave under the edge of my sewing machine, to pick up and snip the threads between chain piecing or to clean the edge of the thread before threading the needle.
It made me wonder how many other things I might feel differently about, things I dismissed years ago and have never gone back to. After all, I am not the same person I was a decade ago. Funny, isn’t it? We go a long time thinking we are the same as when we were younger. Oh, we know our outer shell has changed. We get forced into admitting that every time we brush our teeth and have to look in the mirror. But inside, we think we are the same. Looking backwards, we project our current selves into the memories of that young person we were and are sure that we have always been that way.
Yeah, sure. Remember the first time you heard your parents' words come out of your mouth when you were talking to your children? Have you ever referred to today's music as "that noise the young people call music"? Imagine saying that at 20 and you will get my point.
It is so easy to do things out of habit. The longer you do them, the harder it is to change. That rut gets pretty deep. I know I won't climb all the way out. After all, a lot of activities got to be habits because I enjoyed them. Still, the rut can get pretty boring and I'm hoping there is a lot more life to live. I might learn to program my phone or figure out the satellite radio that came in my car.
Serendipity sometimes plays a part in deciding what I might try next. First, I found a recipe for Posole (a Mexican soup) in a magazine. The picture looked appetizing but it called for hominy, which I had never eaten. I've heard of it, of course, but didn’t know what it was. Stop laughing. This was not grits, but whole hominy. Coincidentally, the very next time I was in the grocery store, I saw a can of it. The picture looked like corn. What could I lose, right? I looked it up online and discovered hominy is dried corn kernels.
The very next day we went to one of our favorite Mexican restaurants for lunch and what should be on the specials menu but Posole. For $4, I could find out if I liked it before spending time making a big pot. Not being a fool, I also ordered quesadillas. Roger and I both tried it. It looked pretty. It tasted like watery nothing. Once home, I really stepped outside my normal behavior. I didn’t pretend I was going to use the hominy at some time in the future - and threw it directly into the trash.
Who knows what other discoveries I will make?
CLASSES OPEN FOR REGISTRATION
Some classes are better for scraps than others. We identify scraps 1/4 yard or less. We have indicated the classes this month that are Scrap Savers.
Want to see some of the amazing things our students do in class? Visit the dozens of photo albums we have on Facebook. You do NOT have to be a member. Just click the Facebook icon at the bottom of our home page and enjoy.
Patchwork & Piecing
Exploring Log Cabin with Carol Miller
** Reversible Quilts with Leslie Lacika - Scrap Saver
Shattered Angles with Susan Purney-Mark
Tessellating Stars with Cindy Thury Smith - Scrap Saver
** T-Shirt Quilts with Fran Gonzalez
Appliqué
2 Fabric Appliqué with Nancy Chong
Quilting, Surface Embellishment
Quilting Designs with Susan Purney-Mark
To Bead or Not to Bead with Susan Brittingham
Whisper Felting with Lily Kerns - Scrap Saver
Dyeing and Painting
** Dyeing with Tea and Spices with Marjie McWilliams
Fun with Paintstiks with Daphne Greig
Wool Dyeing with Marjie McWilliams
Pictorial Quilts
Home Building with Betty Alofs - Scrap Saver
People in Places with Linda Schmidt - Scrap Saver
Realistic Fabric Portraits with Marilyn Belford
** Still Life with Ruth Blanchet
Design & Color
Artist's Toolbox with Lyric Kinard - Scrap Saver
** Color Companions with Carol Miller - Scrap Saver
Crazy and Sane with Cindy Thury Smith - Scrap Saver
Curved Piecing Made Easy with Michele Scott - Scrap Saver
Darned Quilts with Dena Crain
Designer Pinwheels with Dena Crain
Foundation and Paper Piecing
Firm Foundations with Jane Hall - Scrap Saver
Computer-Aided Quilt Design
EQ7 Building Blocks with Fran Gonzalez
Other
Design Your Perfect Purse with Lily Kerns
Photographing Your Quilts with Janice Baehr
** Classes begin this weekend. Registration closes Sunday night. TIPS FOR STUDENTS
When you register for a class, mark your calendar for the Thursday before the start date. If your password has not arrived by Friday morning, email us. Be sure your computer will accept mail from any address at QuiltUniversity.com. If your password email bounces back to us, we will call. That’s why we ask for your phone number.
When class begins, look under the teacher's photo on the Welcome page for the opening dates of all lessons and the closing date of your class. Mark the ending date on your calendar so you will be sure to print all material before class closes. Take note if there is a gap between lessons in your class.
When you print out the lessons, be sure you have printed all the parts. Most lessons end with the teacher's signature, but some have a bonus exercise after that. You need to actually look at the last page when you are printing to be sure you are getting everything.
We try to give personal attention to everyone, but it would help us a great deal if you would include your name in the body of your email when you write. If you are sending a photograph, we need the name of your class, not just the teacher’s name. A teacher could have several classes open at once. f your class galleries are arranged by student, please remember to include your gallery number.
Carol Miller If you wish to subscribe to the newsletter, you may register here. If you wish to read interviews from previous newsletters, click here.
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