Quarter Inch Seam Allowances (Bwa Ha Ha)
This one goes out to all my fellow quilters who get frustrated when their piecing isn't perfect. Which, for me, is always.
Okay hear me out. When I first learned to make quilts, I was taught to use quarter-inch seam allowances.
What's a seam allowance? That's the amount of fabric left on the inside of a seam.
By PKM - Own original work, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons
In quilting, seam allowances are usually about a quarter inch wide. That's enough fabric to anchor the stitches and prevent them from easily pulling apart.
It's also a convenient measurement for those of us still stuck with the antiquated Imperial measurement system.
Sewing quarter inch seams is good practice. You want those seams to hold together. It's an especially good practice if you are making a quilt from a fixed pattern - that is, a plan that depends on precise measurements, and blocks that all come out the same size.
I don't do that.
I'm an improvisational quilter.
So I don't worry so much about quarter inch seam allowances.
See this quilt top in progress:
Looks fairly nice and neat, doesn't it? What do you see when I turn it over?
WHOA NELLY THE CHAOS.
I MEAN WHAT EVEN IS THAT.
Here's another example:
NERP.
I'm working with a whole lot of fabric pieces that are leftovers, cut off from other bits, scraps, or otherwise irregular. None of these were measured or previously cut to a specific size. That's how I work.
Working with what I have, whether created with or without intention, is where the magic lives. It's in the pleasure of the present moment. It's play.
So, if you are just starting down the quilted path, learning to use quarter inch seams is a good skill to have. Karen Brown of Just Get It Done Quilts can help you.
But, once you know the rules...
You can break them :)
Happy stitching!
Purple Patch, Forth Smith
Purple Patch, Fort Smith
Reclaimed garments and other fabrics, machine pieced, hand quilted. 62 x 40 inches, 2020. $1090
Click here to purchase.
Thrify Is Nifty
I love making quilts out of used clothing, and I love thrift shopping. This can be a dangerous combination. I have to restrict myself to 2-3 outings per year, lest the fabric bins overflow even further.
Sometimes I shop for specific colors, like I did for Fences I, which was inspired by the rolling hills and winter-dormant grasses of Colorado & Wyoming.
Purple Patch came about after my Mom and I took a trip to see a quilt show at the Fort Smith Regional Art Museum in Fort Smith, Arkansas.
We stopped in at a little thrift shop called The Purple Patch. I zoomed through the women's tops and found 3 items that were mostly cotton. I also picked up a pair of napkins. Mom snagged two coffee mugs that were perfect for our picnic bag. Total? About 5 bucks.
Not only are we thrifty, but we love to color coordinate.
I took the clothes apart and made the quilt while I was an artist in residence at the Kimmel Harding Nelson Center for the Arts.
I decided to hand quilt this one. I was inspired by the way Sherri Lynn Wood quilts her pieces. I knew it would take ...longer... than machine quilting, so I gave myself a year to finish it. I just made it.
(If you're looking for a patch that's purple, there isn’t one on the front.)
I loved the process of hand quilting. I appreciate the necessity to slow down. Being used to the grind culture and the urge for constant productivity, I don't dwell in "slow time" very often.
Here’s how my stitches look on the back:
The texture is also unbeatable, especially after laundering.
Purple Patch is available for sale! Like all my quilts, this one has passed the Snuggle Test. I can personally tell you that Purple Patch will keep you cozy on your bed, couch, or wherever you do your best napping. Click here to purchase.
Use This Quilt
Did you know? Most of my quilts are safe for your washer and dryer, and I always include care instructions on the label. Would you like to commission a quilt that can take the stress of daily use? Let's make it happen! Visit my Commissions page to get started.
Series I watched while quilting Purple Patch (a lot of PBS, for some reason):
Craft in America (quilting while watching shows about quilting. meta!)
Don't Stop Me Now
Don't Stop Me Now
Reclaimed garments, vintage sheets, and other fabrics, machine pieced and quilted.
48"h x 38"w, 2022.
$800 Click here to purchase.
I've learned so much from Sherri Lynn Wood. She's a remarkable artist and educator. I took my first workshop with her at QuiltCon 2015, which was also my first QuiltCon. I signed up kind of late, but there were slots left in her "Quilting From a Score" workshop. Her book, The Improv Handbook for Modern Quilters, was so new that I don't think they were even for sale at the show.
If you're familiar with her book, the workshop she taught that year was the Floating Squares score.
I came away changed. I figured out that I was an improv quilter, but I didn't know that quilting could be so... effortless.
Long story short, when Wood announced her spring 2022 lineup of workshops, I decided...
This was a beautiful, fertile creative period for me. A highlight of the workshop series was the guest appearance by Gees Bend quilter Mary Margaret Pettway.
Like, I can't even.
Here's a little tip: If you are a quilter in the twenty first century, you owe a debt to the quilters of Gees Bend. You can pay something toward that debt right here. Learn more about the quilters of Gee's Bend at the Souls Grown Deep Foundation website.
Ms. Pettway inspired this quilt.
With Don't Stop Me Now, I challenged myself to work in an improvisational style, with mostly striped fabric. Here's my maximalist tendency coming through: All Stripes All The Time.
What's In a Name?
I title all my work. Usually, the title comes to me mid-construction. I was so filled with energy at learning from Ms. Pettway, plus the infusion of color and pattern in the dead of winter, that my exuberance could only be expressed in the immortal words of Freddie Mercury.*
Tonight I'm gonna have myself a real good time
I feel alive
And the world, I'll turn it inside out, yeah
I'm floating around in ecstasy
So (Don't stop me now)
(Don't stop me)
'Cause I'm having a good time
Having a good time
I'm a shooting star, leaping through the sky like a tiger
Defying the laws of gravity
I'm a racing car, passing by like Lady Godiva
I'm gonna go, go, go, there's no stopping me
I'm burning through the sky, yeah
Two hundred degrees, that's why they call me Mister Fahrenheit
I'm travelling at the speed of light
I wanna make a supersonic man outta you
(Don't stop me now)
I'm having such a good time, I'm having a ball
(Don't stop me now)
If you wanna have a good time, just give me a call
(Don't stop me now)
'Cause I'm having a good time
(Don't stop me now)
Yes, I'm having a good time
I don't wanna stop at all, yeah
I'm a rocket ship on my way to Mars on a collision course
I am a satellite, I'm out of control
I'm a sex machine, ready to reload like an atom bomb
About to oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, explode
I'm burning through the sky, yeah
Two hundred degrees, that's why they call me Mister Fahrenheit
I'm travelling at the speed of light
I wanna make a supersonic woman of you
(Don't stop me, don't stop me, don't stop me)
Hey, hey, hey
(Don't stop me, don't stop me, ooh, ooh, ooh)
I like it
(Don't stop me, don't stop me)
Have a good time, good time
(Don't stop me, don't stop me) Woah
Let loose, honey, all right
Oh, I'm burning through the sky, yeah
Two hundred degrees, that's why they call me Mister Fahrenheit (Hey)
Travelling at the speed of light
I wanna make a supersonic man outta you (Hey, hey)
(Don't stop me now)
I'm having such a good time, I'm having a ball
(Don't stop me now)
If you wanna have a good time, just give me a call (Ooh, alright)
(Don't stop me now)
'Cause I'm having a good time (Hey, hey)
(Don't stop me now)
Yes, I'm having a good time
I don't wanna stop at all
Lyrics from Don't Stop Me Now, 1978, written by Freddie Mercury and performed by Queen.
* To experience this song in its finest postmodern format, I recommend this Google Doodle.
Don’t Stop Me Now Could Be Yours!
Visit the store page to purchase this quilt.
Interested in ordering a custom quilt to your specifications? Let’s do it! Visit the Commissions page to see sizes and prices, and book your Quilt Customization Session today!
Unleash Your Inner Goddess Podcast: Ep 30 with Sarah Atlee
I’m delighted to share with you my guest episode of the Unleash Your Inner Goddess podcast! Sarah Joyce Hindle’s podcast is truly inspiring, especially for those who are building confidence, and coming to embody their truest self.
Sarah interviewed me for Episode 30: Creativity, Joy & Taking New Paths:
Today I talk to Sarah Atlee, a professional artist who specialises in custom-made quilts. However Sarah didn't always quilt, she pivoted away from being a professional painter and followed her heart.
We talk about the pull and push of wanting to try something different but identifying as what you do for a living and feeling unable to move away from that (Ie "I am a teacher and I trained for this, therefore I can't pivot be an XYZ").
Having been a seamstress myself, we talk about how bespoke work is often undervalued. We also touch on charging appropriately for your services.
And for anyone with a chronic illness - We talk about how we work with our illnesses, not against them.
Give it a listen, and if you enjoyed it, please subscribe, rate and review the Unleash Your Inner Goddess podcast on your platform of choice. Thanks!
The Fold: Better.
This first appeared in the May edition of my newsletter, The Fold. Want to get stories like this delivered straight to your inbox? Sign up here, and be sure to check your email and spam folders for the confirmation.
We interrupt this newsletter to announce that Sarah Atlee is now accepting orders for custom-made quilts!
This is the first time in a long time that I've been available for commissions. I'm really excited about making quilts for collectors, aka folks like you! If you have any questions, or would like to take your next step down the quilted path, please get in touch! sarah@sarahatlee.com
Invest in joy today. Click here to start your custom-made quilt.
Back to The Fold.
I'd like to thank you for joining me on this path. Writing an email newsletter hasn't always been easy for me, but this time around, I'm loving it. I get to share stories with you that matter to me, and you have been so generous in your reception. So pour yourself a hot cuppa and pull up a chair. There's pie.
Now, I'm going to ask you to indulge me, because I am having the most First World Problem ever.
I don't love folding laundry. People know this about me, including my musical friend Paris In Stereo. But I love having clean clothes. So. I learned that you can take laundry to a cleaner's and they'll - get this - wash it, dry it, FOLD IT, and give it back to you. (For a fee.) I don't indulge in this service all the time, but during a busy week, it's a huge help.
I like things folded the Konmari way. The service doesn't fold laundry the Konmari way.
So, do I spend time re-folding my laundry so it's more pleasing to put away? And does this cancel out the convenience of using the service? Or do I accept the folded laundry as-is and live with the daily irritant of my clothes not looking as nice when they're put away? And who even cares? Besides me?
Side note: Before I started The Fold, I asked my Facebook friends to name any associations they had with the word "fold." Angie LaPaglia said,
"I think about laundry. when all the towels are folded and stacked like soft terry cloth soldiers waiting for duty. I think about the act of folding my children’s clothes when they were little, how close to them I felt. I think about everything being folded and put in its place. everything is where it belongs. everything is in order. everyone is tucked in. everyone is safe. everything’s gonna be ok."
Laundry is a small problem that makes a big difference.
I get why we focus on small problems. They’re solvable. Controllable. Can I solve (huge problem affecting every living thing)? Not today, and not alone. Can I fold this t-shirt into its Optimum Form Factor? Watch me. Boom.
I have a challenge for you: Solve a small problem.
Identify something that irritates you, but that you’ve been living with anyway because it’s “too small” to spend energy fixing.
Replace or upgrade a tool that’s worn out.
Discard something that doesn’t fit any more.
Clean that one thing that doesn't usually get cleaned.
Set a boundary, with yourself or with someone else.
These two books will give you some great ideas: Set Boundaries, Find Peace by Nedra Glover Tawwab / The Lazy Genius Way by Kendra Adachi
Please drop me a line and let me know what you fixed! I'm always open to ideas for small improvements.
There's a great recipe coming up, but first, I'd like to introduce you to Basic Split.
Basic Split
Deconstructed garments and other cotton fabrics, machine pieced and quilted by Sarah Atlee.
60 x 43 inches, 2020.
$1,135 Click here to purchase.
Basic Split is, in its own way, a series of small solved problems. The "problem" I set for myself was: take a rectangle, split it, insert a smaller rectangle. Repeat until the quilt is done.
Already have a crush on Basic Split? Wanna make it official? Click here to bring this quilt into your life.
As promised, here's a small improvement that's doing me a world of good:
Stupid Easy Chicken Tortilla Soup
Inspired by the cooking episode of How To ADHD (the salsa chicken starts at 8:59)
In a slow cooker or stovetop soup pot, add:
1 quart of broth
1 jar of salsa
1 packet of taco seasoning
Any amount of chicken in any state (just be mindful of what “bite size” is for you)
Brands don’t matter.
Add any/all of the following:
Extra herbs & spices to taste
1 can diced tomatoes
1 can beans
Potatoes, squash, greens, carrots, celery, onion, in either cooked or raw state (use up your leftovers!)
½ cup uncooked rice
Level 2: Roast the chicken and/or veggies before adding to the soup.
Level 3: Make your own taco seasoning.
Simmer until all the parts are cooked through. Then add 1 can of cream style corn. Wait until it gets hot again, then serve.
Toppings!
(Add these when the soup is being served, not when storing in the fridge/freezer.)
Chopped fresh cilantro
Chopped chives or scallions
Avocado
Shredded cheese
Sour cream or Greek style yogurt
Crunched up tortilla chips
Lime wedges
Makes great leftovers, and freezes well.
Bonus for those who read this far:
Want more in-depth stories, sprinkled with links, delivered to your inbox? Sign up for The Fold. (Check your email and spam folders for the confirmation.) There's a free gift in it for you!
You can also find me at Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, LinkedIn, and Twitch.