Being A Mindful Quilter
I’m still here! It’s been a wild 3 weeks of travel with 3 consecutive trips with just a day or so in between.
I’ve wanted to write about this whole concept of mindfulness for awhile. This comes up in class a lot. I think mindfulness is an important subject, far removed from all the technical choices around thread, batting, tension, needles and such.
But it has a huge impact on your success, your outcome and how much you enjoy quilting.
Mindfulness. It’s an intentional act. I Googled it and Wikipedia describes it using words like awareness, retention and memory, with its origin in Buddhism. The way I use the word in regards to quilting, I think it is all those things and more. It’s about your relationship with your machine. I’m serious!
I see a wide variety of students and skill sets in class. As a teacher, I know that the students who have a mindful attitude towards their quilting are more likely to be successful, regardless of their initial skill level. They are developing an awareness of their machine, attuned to its sound and speed and regard the machine as something that works with them-it’s a partnership.
So what does mindfulness look like? There is a patient, attentive attitude, willing to experiment and play, accepting of initial awkwardness. An attitude that the sewing machine is an extension of oneself and that the two work together to create something beautiful and perhaps even practical. Maybe that sounds a little ethereal, but I know it to be true.
I hope I gently convey the attitude of mindfulness when I teach. Sometimes it comes out in specific ways. There are things I discourage.
One of them is using the start/stop button on your machine. The idea behind it is that the machine just goes at the pace that you set and you don’t have to mind the foot petal-the machine keeps an even speed on its own. It sounds like a great idea. I’m all for simplifying the process.
But the reality is that you become a slave to the machine! The machine is chugging along and you must keep up with it. The machine now determines your speed, not you.
If you are quilting mindfully, you will have to slow down to think at times. And when the path is clear in your mind, go faster. You want that pace to be set by you, not the machine. I f you use the start/stop button, you will find yourself reluctant to stop. So you will just plow ahead, not confident of your path. And that creates angst.
Another habit to avoid is using the speed control. When I look at a student’s quilt sandwich and see lots of very long stitches, my first instinct is to check if the speed control has been dialed back-and usually it has been.
You want your machine’s speed to ebb and flow as you move in harmony with the quilting path in your head. You will hit spots that you have to think about and will need to stop or go slower. You may hit a spot where you’re in the zone and can go at a faster clip. The point is that your speed will ebb and flow.
When I’m quilting I’m listening to the machine. If I listen, I will hear it the moment the needle goes bad-I’ll hear that pop pop. I’ll notice variations in my speed. I’ll hear odd noises that indicate Operator Error. Oh dear-what have I done now? Sewn over that glove I couldn’t find, sewn over my Sew Slip mat, bobbin trouble, out of bobbin thread, big ole wad of thread underneath, broken thread, broken needle? I’ll hear all of that.
Of course sometimes you need some wine and/or chocolate! And sometimes it just ain’t working-take a break!
But the most wonderful thing about mindfulness is that you will enjoy quilting; you will immerse yourself in it and be happier with the results no matter what your skill level. I know it sounds so crazy but I think of myself as being one with the machine. We become a single unit. And I love to quilt. I want you to enjoy it too!
Well said! Wish I could frame this post and show it to my students when I’m teaching then how to use the Sweet Sixteen for rental in our local quilt shop. Most of them have very little FMQ experience and it is hard to explain what you just so eloquently said. If I credit it to you, could I copy your post to put in to the book of tips that I keep by the machine? I also list blogs that I follow and find useful and yours is listed, so I hope I am sending readers your way.
Bambi
Thank you for asking Bambi, and yes, of course. I hope it helps. Of all the things I teach I think this is probably the most important. If a student is patient and mindful, they will be able to quilt anything!
Well said, Jenny!!
Thank you Carla!
With the exception of certain disabilities, I wholeheartedly agree with you Jenny!
Mindfulness and free motion quilting belong together…I can’t separate them when I am quilting. Nor do I want to. If you are crazy for thinking of yourself as one with your machine, then you are only one out of many crazies, including myself. Thank you for expressing this so eloquently!
Ah, kindred spirits! Crazy ya think?
Something that I tell beginners: You have to use your ears and foot in coordination as well as your eyes and hands. Your eyes and hands do a lot of the work but you have to listen to know when to speed up, slow down or stop. It takes eyes, hands ears and one foot; all four to do good FMQ. Experienced quilters know this but beginners forget that when their hands stop moving or are off of the quilt, they have to lift their foot too. The car is out of gear, don’t keep on giving it gas.
Helen that’s a giggle! I like the way you express that and it’s an easy way to communicate that concept. I may have to plagiarize you on that one!
I agree completely — ESPECIALLY about the wine and chocolate. And I am not even kidding. I know there is research about how this or that chemical in chocolate (which, my son informed me, is A VEGETABLE, after all!) and wine work to relax us. But it’s kind of a cultural conditioning thing, too. A glass of wine means the workday is over, it’s time to unwind. It’s a celebration, it’s being barefoot on a warm summer evening. And creative endeavors just happen more naturally when you’re in that mindset. So… How long do you think it will be until someone gets the idea to open a shop that sells quilting fabric, sewing machines, chocolate and wine? It would be The Total Package Quilt Shop, Proud Dealer of Bernina, Godiva & Pinot Noir. Any takers? ;-)
Oh Rebecca that is too funn! What a great idea! Come to think of it, why don’t they sell chocolate in quilt stores? We are their target market after all!
A friend of mine calls it being in the zone. And I didn’t know there were sewing machines with stop/start buttons, but then I lead a sheltered life away from expensive sewing machines.
Yeah, the zone! What a lucky girl you are to live away from fancy machines-you’re not missing a lot unless you embroider-I guess-I don’t know!
You have hit the nail on the head, I find that when I am quilting my machine and myself are at one so to speak, this may sound a bit of wishful thinking but it is true, I find I do my best quilting when I listen to my machine, and like you say I hear when something is amiss, not I have to say all the time, this week I missed a nasty ‘bump’ at the back of a quilt I was doing and gaily carried on quilting..three days to unpick a huge area of quilting soon teaches you to listen a bit harder. Loved this thread very interesting and very true. Thank you.
Thank you for the kind words Janet. Funny no one really talks much about listening but I think it’s really important.
I love the quilting you have put up with this post too.
Blush!
you have got that oh so very right! I’ve never actually thought of it in those terms, but it really is Mindfulness. Thank you for the insights – and for sharing your beautiful quilting!
Thank you for reading! I guess there are lots of us Mindful Quilters out there!
I’ve never really stopped to think about quilting in that terms but it makes so much sense when I read today’s blog. Thank you so much for sharing and I’m definitely going to put your thoughts in my mind when I next machine quilt. I love the quilts you’ve shown today as well.
Thank you Jackie! I do think quilting is way more about attitude than aptitude. I want to enjoy it!
Fabulous article Jenny! I hope you post this far and wide. It’s exactly what I do, but you put it into words so well!
Thank you for such kind words Roxane! Boy do I know you are a mindful quilter-it shows so beautifully in your work.
P.S. Chocolate is sew necessary!!! Ok wine too.
Giggle.
I couldn’t agree more, Jenny. If I’m not a mindful quilter then I may as well be doing something else! It’s all part of staying in the present and enjoying each day, one hour at a time.
Franki I think you live a mindful life! I am better at being mindful while quilting than mindful about living my life sometimes.
I have two very basic sewing machines that I use for free motion quilting-one has the needle up/down feature, which I love, but the other one has a better “feel” to it when I am quilting and it’s easier for me to get in the zone when using it. I’m not sure why so many people seem to fear free motion quilting unless they are striving for perfection and get frustrated when that doesn’t happen. I would rather spend 5-6 hours on a Saturday quilting and make some small stitch mistakes occasionally than not doing the quilting at all.
Well said Laura! I so agree-it feels so good to have done all the quilting yourself even if it’s not perfect. It is a joy!
To read your past posts made me feel so good. Thank you for sharing all this good thoughts.
Joy and bliss,
Jacqueline
What a lovely comment Jacqueline! Quilting gives us the ability to make and share joy.