What did you do before quilting?

I started sewing, in 4-H, when I was nine years old. Sewed clothes for
myself for years - never sew clothes for myself now except for quilted
jackets or an occasional vest. Did counted cross stitch until I found
quilting - counted cross stitch was done. Besides the fact I was tired of
having a magnifying glass hanging around my neck to see what I was doing.

Last 15 years of my working life, I ran the office for a large farm - I was
secretary, accounting clerk, legal research clerk, payroll clerk - you name
it, I did it! Worked all my life at various jobs - always office type.
--
Donna in Idaho
Website: www.LinusIdaho.org

"C&S" wrote in message
...
Wow, glad to read that I'm not the only one that has 3 or more books going
at the same. It's sort of like my quilting ;oD
--
Carole
Champlain, NY

http://photos.yahoo.com/ceridwen_rhea




"Sharon Harper" wrote in message
u...
-------------------------------8---------------------------------

I love reading. It is not unusual for me to have 3 books on the go at
one
time.
--
Sharon from Melbourne Australia (Queen of Down Under)
http://www.geocities.com/shazrules/craft.html (takes a while to load)
http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/shazrules/my_photos (same as website but
quicker)

I should get this out and restarch it and put it "under glass" so it can be
admired like it should.......right now it is wrapped in acid free paper with
the rest of DD's Barbie Doll collection.

Butterfly

"teleflora" wrote in message
news:BEqFf.75788$QW2.15321@dukeread08...

"Butterfly" wrote in message
...

Butterfly (I still have the beaded crocheted Barbie Doll dress with
train that I did for DD)


Oooooo! I ran across those Annie's Attic crocheted Barbie dress patterns
in my craft closet the other day. I must have 30 of them. I got them in
the early 90's. If I recall, I got them through the mail, every month.
They are so elaborate and so beautiful. I doubt I ever make a one of
them. But they were fun to look at again.

Cindy

If I recollect correctly this one was in one of those small booklets that
coats and Clark put out. Just had Barbie Wedding and Bridesmaids dresses in
it ---or was it just 2 different Brides dresses. I 'added' the beads to the
thread before I started the crocheting.didn't like the 'way it looked when I
was done with the pattern so I added a train onto the bottom back of the
skirt---no pattern just continued the dress crochet pattern. ((Hope this
made sense) Now I DO have to get it out and get it 'set up', even take a pix
)) I did it when DD was 7/8 whilst I was waiting in DDS and Dr offices
(both kids had allergy shots that year)

Butterfly

"Phyllis Nilsson" wrote in message
...
I used to get Annie's Attic too and love them. Gave most of them to my
newest daughter-in-law for her 7-year-old last fall, but couldn't find the
ones I "thought" I had with the Barbie patterns. Maybe I was dreaming I
had those, but I sure did tear the place apart looking for them.

teleflora wrote:

"Butterfly" wrote in message
...

Butterfly (I still have the beaded crocheted Barbie Doll dress with
train that I did for DD)



Oooooo! I ran across those Annie's Attic crocheted Barbie dress patterns
in my craft closet the other day. I must have 30 of them. I got them in
the early 90's. If I recall, I got them through the mail, every month.
They are so elaborate and so beautiful. I doubt I ever make a one of
them. But they were fun to look at again.

Cindy

I worked 12-14 hours a day 6 days a week for over 20 years LOL

My Commanding Officers could never quite reconcile the image of me in face
paint and cam gear shooting little cardboard people on the range with me
sitting in my office at lunchtime doing needlepoint or applique. So my
sewing practically stopped for about 15 of those years. I didn't want to
confuse them any more than I had to ROFL

My jobs in the RAAF varied from catering to finance and computer systems
management and development. But as hobbies I have done -
most forms of counted thread embroidery
knitting
crochet
some lace making
dressmaking
painting
fabric dyeing (cotton, silk and batik)
sculpture (stone and wood)
pottery
etchings and various other graphic arts
gardening
house decorating (well I have lived in 26 different houses so it sort of
went with the territory)
goldwork, silk ribbon and stump work embroidery
doll making
beading and jewellery making
mosaic
calligraphy
architecture (designed three houses)
sports (walking, tennis, hockey, swimming and diving)
and always - until a few years ago - reading (anything that was words in a
row but esp history and the "classics") and writing

I am a dabbler - I like to try all sorts of things. As a result I am not at
all "traditional" in my approach to doing any of these things. I will
happily use tailoring tricks to make quilt blocks behave, and furnishing
fabrics for doll making or quilt backs. I have started three different
degrees and not finished any of them. I tend to soak up learning
experiences, but if I feel stifled or "regulated" I lose interest.
Enrolling in a degree in programming while I was actually working as a
programmer was not a good move. I had no patience with being taught how to
suck eggs.

I am not hung up on the need to complete (as evidenced by my 16 WIPs
ROFL). I enjoy the designing/testing bit more than the repetitive
production, and have been known to design jumpers on the fly, knit the front
and one sleeve, and then - having determined that the design works - never
complete the item. I just wanted to know I could do it. My resolution for
2006 is to complete at least 2 or 3 WIPs.

Reading back over this list I am not surprised that I feel tired LOL. I
don't do much of any of them anymore for myself, but I love teaching.
Teaching is as good as learning.
--

Cheryl in Oz
http://community.webshots.com/user/witchofthewest
cawaitesATnetconnectDOTcomDOTau

"Georg" wrote in message
...
Phyllis Nilsson wrote:
Jobs too? Sugar clerk at a warehouse, private secretary (self-employed),
plan commission clerk, water division clerk, solid waste division
dispatcher, bartender (my church friends cannot conceive of that ever
having happened), police records clerk, owned and operated an
introduction service, and medical records transcriptionist for over 20
years.

I'm currently a medical transcriptionist. I likes it. Have been in desktop
publishing and layout for a newspaper (including the Living section),
technical writing, bartending, security, lifeguard, chauffeur, and bunch
of other odd things.

And I'm THL George Anne of Æthelmearc in the SCA.

-georg

I have been sewing since I can remember (2or3). I first learned on my
grandmother's treadle machine. Which I still own and occasionally use.

I have done every type of craft/needlework/ceramics/clay or whatever
"artsy" forever.

I would be lost without my MANY projects.


Connie













"Betsy Ross" wrote in news:6feFf.5125
:

I used to maintain my garden, cook
meals, and sew clothes.

Susan
aka Betsy Ross

I was a floral designer for many years, but had to stop doing that
because of illness. Next I worked at developing photos. part time, which
left me time to run a fan club for a friend of ours who was an IndyCar
driver until he retired at the end of the 2001 season. We traveled to
many of races with him, which took us across the country. I still host a
fan website for another friend who has raced IndyCar, sprints, midgets
and a some Craftsmen Truck Series races. Have discussed starting a fan
club for him but he's waiting for a fulltime Nascar contract before we
do that.
At the end of 2002, I started what has become Critter Comforts: Quilts
for Homeless Animals.
The spring of 2004, I stopped working completely to sew for the animals
fulltime.

Critter Comforts: Quilts for Homeless Animals
http://community.webtv.net/critterco...ritterComforts

Was there life before quilting?
Pat, puzzled in Virginia

Betsy Ross wrote:
I used to maintain my garden, cook meals, and sew clothes.

Susan
aka Betsy Ross

I used to garden also, and crochet a lot.

Karen, Queen of Squishies

Hmmm.... hobby-wise, I, like Cheryl, have been a dabbler over the
years.

Prior to my University years it was music, actually. Artistic
endeavour was discouraged in my parents' household. My mom was
unfortunately fond of telling her children "you wouldn't like that"
about any topic that didn't interest her or didn't immediately
contribute towards the marks required to get into the University
programme of her choice (sciences, preferably medicine). I got away
with music becase the silly school board made you take SOME sort of
arts credit and I paid for lessons myself out of babysitting money.

In University, taught myself to knit mainly to have something to do in
between studying and sleep because I couldn't switch from one to the
other. Needed to shift off the left-brain and get right-brainey.
Knitting was also relatively cheap and portable. I still knit "wrong"
because I taught myself by looking at pictures and sweaters rather than
having someone show me.

Got a sewing machine out of necessity - shortening every pair of pants
I bought for my shorter-than-retail-average legs. Didn't do much else
with it for the first couple of years, but then got into garment sewing
after discovering that the dealer I bought the machine from actually
had an outstanding sewing school.

Have also noodled with bead-work, mainly seed-bead weaving, though my
projects too often got left unfinished. Made some renaissance fest-ish
costumes, mainly for me, the odd small piece for others. Then they
closed my local faire, oh well.

Got the quilting bug after deciding I wanted a "re-introduction"
project after my sewing machine had been idle for a couple years and I
discovered I really sucked at sewing dresses when I dug it out and
tried again. Turns out I LOVE the left-brain/right-brain integration
required for geometric piecing and colour arranging. Still have not
finished too many - lots of people around me keep having babies so I'm
making small-ish, quick-ish quilts for those and neglecting my larger
or more ambitious projects. Still, now that I have a good electronic
machine and most recently a superb fold-away sewing station, it's nice
to sit and piece a bit at a time, and see what wonderful stuff turns
out.

Johanna

that's a llloooonnnnggg time ago...


I went to high school.

seriously, though,...

I used to dabble in many crafts -- garment sewing, needlepoint,
embroidery, crochet, knitting, tatting, baking.

over the decades, they all disappeared except quilting.

susan kraterfield
my quilts: members.cox.net/kratersge