You Know You're a Quilt Enthusiast When You....

A sneak peek for today brought to you from:

Once Upon a Quilt: A Scrapbook of Quilting Past and Present    

By
Margret Aldrich

"Once Upon a Quilt" is an exciting anthology of stories, essays, and memoirs relating to quilts, quilting, and quilt history. It has something for everyone who makes, collects, and admires quilts.

Selections range from the amusing to the informative to the enlightening: "Why We Love Quilts" by nationally-known quilt authority Merikay Waldvogel traces the steps of quilting history in America, musing on the importance of patchwork in our lives; "Alice's Tulips" by best-selling author Sandra Dallas tells the humorous yet poignant story of a newly married young woman who makes a quilt for her husband, an enlisted Civil War soldier; "Are You a Quilting Fanatic?" by quilter and humorist Ami Simms takes a hilarious look at our quilting obsessions; "Starting from Square One" by Quilter's Newsletter Magazine columnist Helen Kelley is a charming essay about passing on our knowledge of quilts to another generation, as Helen teaches her granddaughter the art of quilting.

The stories work in perfect tandem with an eye-catching collection of artwork. Color photographs, black-and-white historical photographs, artwork, vintage advertising, pattern booklets, and more are from such talented artists as Diane Phalen, Rebecca Barker, and Warren Kimble.

So as we are under pressure to finish all our handmade crafts and get them all wrapped up I thought you all might like to take a break for a good giggle. I am quite sure this list can be translated into any craft, merely substitute the supplies of your craft in where necessary!

(Click on Image to Enlarge)

Now on to day 13 of our:

15 days of Holiday Goodness Giveaways!

Simply leave your answer to each day's question in each day's comment section and we will randomly pick a winner of a book from each day's commenter. You can enter every day but you are only eligible to win 2 times! (You can go back and answer previous day's questions. We will be drawing the winners after the first of the year.)

13. How do you fit crafting into your day?

My Answer: I break my day up so that all the things that require thinking (such as designing and coming up with the way to make an idea) happen in the morning. Then in the afternoon I either write or work out details, sometimes take a break for supply shopping. And then in the evening I like to either do the labor, like easy knitting or stitching or read books to get new ideas that I write down in a sketch book (one of many I keep everywhere!)

The pesky things like housework, exercises, and eating I fit somewhere in between all that!

Be sure to read the comments of others, maybe you can pick up a good idea to fit more holiday crafting into your day!

Comments

[Liz]

I work outside the home 40+ hours per week, so my crafting usually ends up relegated to the weekends. I'll strategize during the week and then get the supplies assembled and work while I watch a movie on Saturday and/or Sunday afternoon.

[Valita]

I work from home, so I work on my projects on my kitchen counter between phone calls. A little paint here, a little glue there,

[Linda Morgan]

I work on my projects on the weekends - it seems like I am forever cleaning up my studio in order to find a place to work!

[Stephen du Toit]

I have a home studio, but it's small - well it also has a lot of stuff in it! So I have to keep clearing a space to work in, and I try to plan "Work" days in between "Errands" days when I run around doing all the dull bits like buying food and seeing clients.

[Judy in Iowa]

I have a table in my bedroom where i do crafting, usually in the evening. I want to get a table for in my frontroom by my picture window where theres lots of light and life! =) HUGS

[Janet]

Art making is usually early in the morning or late at night. As I have a dedicated room for my art, I can leave half-made projects and just close the door and return to them when I have time.

[JulieZS]

I make sure to not turn my computer on until I've done some crafting. That temptation is just too overwhelming for me. Also, I clean up and leave an empty table to come back to the next day. Makes it easier to start.

[Gayle Richmond]

I try to make time for are each day while I am home schooling my granddaughter. She loves working on art projects with me. In the evening, I am usually too tired mentally to design but if i have a project already planned out, I might work on it for a few minutes. On the weekends I work on my art off and on each day.

[Tamara]

I deas fly around in my head all day long, and when I go to bed at night, all I see are possible combinations of materials. The big problem is working the actual crafting into my day, and that is tough. The best time is evening, but then I'm tired. So that piece is catch as catch can while I try to figure out a system that will really work...

[Sue McG]

I work full time outside the home, but crafting is a top priority for me :) So I think about it during the day, dream about it at night, and work on it in the early morning, late night, and weekends! I make lists to remind myself of those great ideas I have when I can't jump right into creating.