Thank you for all your comments and welcome to my new readers. With 613 comments, I couldn't respond to all of them but I did read and appreciate each one.
And BTW, If you have emailed me in the past few days, because I have each comment emailed to me, your email was probably temporarily lost in the shuffle. Give me today to weed through the giveaway comments and find your email and I will respond!
Now on to my musings... ;)
I woke up the other night wondering {with a hint of worry} if all the good quilts have already been made. I know; waking up thinking about quilting is definitely strange.
What got me going on this was getting EQ7. As I was scrolling through the block library, I saw block after block that could easily be a modern and original design but turned out to be an old traditional block.
In the grand scheme of things I haven't been quilting that long but I guess I've been quilting long enough to see some of the trends come and go... and observe some others come from the past and into the present.
What used to be wonky has, in many ways, come back around to straight or even curvy.
Stippling has become "easy" and intricate patterns or straight lines have become more popular.
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| image from Charleston Museum |
What used to be an old, traditional block has morphed and become all the rage with a different name... and I really like the new version!
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| image credit |
Gee's Bend has become improv.
Amish style quilts are now quilts made from Kona solids.
And maybe the funniest to me, what used to be a zig-zag quilt is now a chevron quilt.
What's old is new again.
With my mind often spinning with designs, I'm starting to realize that there are only so many shapes which is pretty much what quilting is. Shapes & colors. So are there only a finite number of designs before we just start repeating the same ones with different twists?
Perhaps I'm over-thinking this and maybe this is nothing new to those who have been quilting longer than I have. But it does make me wonder about and smile at the whole modern vs. traditional discussion of last year because we seem to have come full circle in many ways. And personally, I like it!
What originally made me fall in love with quilting was combining modern fabrics with traditional blocks... it's such a pleasant balance of design. So I'm happy to see such beautiful patterns like Swoon that strike that balance perfectly.
But that takes me back to the beginning of my post... what if all the good quilts have already been made?? And by made, I guess I mean designed. And because I love the design process just as much as the quilting process, I can't help but stop and think about it. Anyone who designs much of anything wants to be original and creative.
But when it wakes me up at night, that might be considered a problem. So I found it interesting to read that historically, spring was when quilters used to hang their quilts to air out and that was the time where other quilters gathered new inspiration. These days all we have to do is go online or even on an iPhone and the amount of inspiration out there can be overwhelming. Maybe they were on to something in unveiling new designs less often.
I certainly don't want to go back to seeing everyone's quilts once each spring but maybe I'm at the point right now where I need to stop thinking about it, stop obsessing over every piece of inspiration I see out there, and just make some quilts that I love.
Have you ever gotten to this over saturated point before? I wonder what would happen to our quilting trends if we took in less and made more...
15 comments:
I am not to the point where I can design a pattern but I do like to mix up traditional blocks to make something unique to me. I guess all of us like to take a pattern and make it your own with different fabric or a slight tweak.
I actually started to sign off reading various blogs for the same reason. I had so much inspiration, that it was almost like a creative block for me. Like you, I adore creating my own designs. My fear is that I will create something that will be already 'out there' without realizing that it IS out there.
How are you finding EQ7?
My grandmother (born in 1898) used to say "There is nothing new under the sun." I always thought that odd, considering the times she lived in - from horses and carriages to autos, from fires and woodstoves to central heating, from walking pretty much everywhere to a man on the moon... And so I guess that it all depends on your perspective. But I love quilting in all it's forms, and I'm always glad for new inspirations. Thank you for your thoughtful post. (And no, I don't think it's odd that you dream and/or wake up thinking about quilting - I solve most of my quilting and design problems that way.)
I was thrilled to see the Charleston Museum quilt! What a beauty! You have done an interesting analysis of old and new design. I'm convinced that there are endless possibilities!
I loved your post, I have wondered at times this myself about all types of art, from paintings to movies to songs, clothing styles, but sure enough, new original ideas seem to keep emerging.
I couldn't agree with you more! I have recently started to feel like I spend way too much time worrying about what is current, what is coming next, what everyone else is making, etc. I need to let go and just sew! (Which includes trimming my blogger list! Not you, of course!)
I also feel like there are too many modern fabrics coming out ALL THE TIME right now. I can remember before Amy Butler, when it was "which is the lesser calico"! I feel like we are being a bit wasteful right now, maybe we should be saving some of the modern awesomeness. (I know, I probably sound crazy now!) I suppose it is teaching me a lesson in spending though, because I'm only buying what I :)
LOL, gotta say that for the most part I agree. When I do buy a pattern I mostly buy it for the shape I can't draw (anything past a straight line can qualify, LOL) and/or for the "designer" to have done the math for me. I honestly don't think that it is possible to copy write a full pattern these days. I have seen several "that is MY pattern" debates recently...and every single one (I have seen) has been done before. As far as inspiration overload, oh. yes. LOL, I have recently majorly reduced the number of blogs I read (obviously I kept yours...LOL)and am severly limiting any "searching for inspiration" time. I have made a "go to" list...When I feel the need for inspiration there is my list broken into areas...color or shape or patterns that have inspired me and, of course, the WIP list...LOL....
Your posts, as always, are thoughtful, insightful and well written. I have been mulling over the very same things recently, and yes, I wake up in the middle of the middle of the night thinking about quilts, and one night I even had a "brilliant" design idea...However, most likely it has already been done before.
I find it so fascinating the ebb and flo of quilting. Recently it was all wonky, and now it seems that a lot of intricate blocks are being made, old blocks that are just being "reinvented" by new quilters in a new style. I LOVE sitting back and watching the whole process...and then just doing my own thing. Not always what is the current rage (although I certainly have jumped on the granny square and Swoon bandwagon, and glad I did!), but then trying to follow my own instincts and create something that makes me happy.
I agree! This seems to be the year of updating the old fashioned quilting designs, and I just love that! There is so much to build upon and it is a waste to trash it just because it's "old"!
Keep up with your quilting, Jennifer, as inspiration strikes you. In a way, it's all been made, but not by you in your own style. You have brought a wonderful "look" to quilting and I always look forward to coming here and seeing what you have made!
I reckon it's all been done before but we're all putting our own spin on things. I find it quite interesting to take something and do it in a different way - it's like a challenge! You produce some beautiful patterns (that aren't common at all) so just keep doing what you've been doing!
i really enjoyed your post! i am always pondering these things as well. i get especially tickled at the old blocks with a new name that now "belong" to the "new designer". i also think it is fun to go through old quilting books/magazines with my mom and show her what blocks are "hot" now and what they are being called. it's fun when everything old becomes new again. :)
I like this post a lot. I'm not sure if I agree or disagree... but I like it. I run the craft section of a busy used book store and I feel it too. The pressure that everything has been done before. But at the same point I feel as though there's so much that we each have to offer - our own perspective our own colors or style. I like that. I really feel it on the over saturation. I'm the sort of person who checks flickr several times a day, and follows a zillion blogs. But I've been finding that more often than now I've been avoiding my blog list and doing my own thing. It's easier to create without everyone else's ideas in my head. Thanks for adding more to think about though!! :)
It all can be a little overwhelming with all the blogs and websites etc but I can't stop myself from looking. I know I'll never make most of what I look at but a girl can dream and drool right?
Relax and quilt don't dwell on it. ;o)
Enjoy reading your blog.
I've definitely had this feeling - especially when I see the world of art quilting and the number of people doing amazing things and realize that none of my thoughts are really that new. But I try to stop comparing and keep doing so that I can actually learn things myself, push my own art, and go beyond my own skill set without worrying about whether or not I'm an Artist but just instead using quilting as a way to express myself. But I have much more time at a computer to look at images or doodling in my notebook in meetings than I do actually sewing, so I need to keep the right perspective so I'm not stifled in my creativity when I actually have time to sew.
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