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Myrna Giesbrecht's Workroom
Myrna's Designer Secrets
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MYRNA
GIESBRECHT'S
DESIGNER SECRETS
To break the rules, you have to know what they are!
A lucky few come by quilting naturally. They dive into the fabric and create breathtaking works of art with barely a flicker of the finger, while the rest of us stand in awe and wonder how they did it.
For the majority, taking time to develop technique is very important. Once you have a firm understanding of the basic techniques of quiltmaking—cutting, stitching, and pressing—and have practised, practised, practised, you'll have achieved a level of competence that will show up in future projects.
When the basic techniques simply flow from your fingertips, your mind is free to add in the creativity and individuality that makes a piece uniquely yours. And you'll know when to break the rules for the sake of the piece!
Take time to enjoy the process!
When I turned 30, I thought I'd arrived, that I had the world by the tail and I could go anywhere and be anything. And I was right. But then suddenly I was 35, and life was too short to wear beige. So I made a conscious decision to wear, decorate, and quilt with brighter colors, and to seek out the sunshine in all my endeavors. I chose to focus on the positive, not the negative.
We are often tempted to live in the future. "When I'm 16, I'll get a driver's license. When I'm 22, I'll to get married. When I'm 26, I'll have children. When I'm 55, I'm going to retire, so I can enjoy life." But if you or someone close to you has experienced a serious illness or sudden death, you know the future doesn't always come. Life is happening now. Celebrate and enjoy the present.
This year I made an unusual New Year's resolution. I decided to ignore any and all entrepreneurial ideas, for I have way too many, and they caused me to lose focus. And I decided to take time. In the early days of my career, while fitting quilts between infants, toddlers, school, and car pools, I found that I was always rushing to design a quilt. I rushed to stitch it, baste it, and quilt it. I rushed in the binding, and rushed to write and illustrate the pattern. Everything was then rushed off to the publisher, so it could be rushed to market. While I'm very proud of my accomplishments—four books in five years while raising a toddler and having two new babies—I'm not sure I really took the time to enjoy the process.
Taking time to celebrate and enjoy life includes taking time to enjoy your quiltmaking. Choose a pattern that excites you, that sparks your creativity and wonder. Choose fabrics that intrigue you. Add a sparkle of orange or yellow or gold, to set off the other colors. Work in some lime green or fuchsia, if you've always wanted to but never dared. Try new color combinations. Be brave.
As you piece the quilt together, take time to change that fabric that's not quite right. If it's not right now, it never will be. Remove any irregular stitches, fix mistakes, and press evenly. Use quality products and quality workmanship. A beautiful quilt cannot be created from mediocre parts.
Baste the quilt with loving care. If you like to hand baste, go for it—there's no rush, only the goal of securing the layers together strongly and evenly. Quilt by machine or by hand, whichever appeals to you, and take the time to develop a quilting pattern that complements the design. Step out of the ditch. Carve the quilt into an irregular shape, or add a designer binding. Be creative, if only one step at a time.
Grant yourself the freedom to hire someone else! If you enjoy piecing but not quilting, there is someone out there who enjoys quilting but not piecing. Get together—it's okay! I put off making a new quilt for my queen-sized bed for five years because I didn't want to have to struggle with it under the machine. Every morning, when I hurried to hide those bare batting patches with a throw, it nagged at me. Finally, in an effort to get rid of mind clutter, I sent the unquilted top off to a professional longarm quilter. It returned densely quilted with wonderful, meandering feathers all over the surface. Now I delight in making my bed every morning!
Follow your heart!
The quilt you are making is an expression of who you are. Even if you intend to give it as a gift or sell it, this quilt reflects your heart. It contains a piece of your soul and the work of your hands, so let it be the joy of your heart.
For several years I tried to quit quilting. I had lost the joy of it. It had become drudgery. I felt I was creating patterns and designs only because they would sell. Rather than create for myself, I was creating for the great "they" out there. Whatever "they" were buying. While I couldn't seem to quit, I couldn't seem to stay, either, and I found myself stuggling hard for several years.
This past year, I took the time to look at what kinds of designs intrigued me, what arounsed my passion, where I was going with quilting, what my goal was, and whether I had a message. You may not need to go this deep, but you do need to know why you are quilting and what's in it for you. It is an incredible source of creativity, learning, and relaxation. For many of us, it's an important stress relief amid busy lives.
The quilts I'm creating now are entirely different from those at the start of my career. You've seen this happen often with better-known designers. You may feel it in your own work. A yearning to use curves instead of geometric shapes, a desire to splash paint on that surface, an attraction to decorative threads, or a sudden desire to take drawing lessons.
I urge you to follow your heart. It will keep (or reinstate) the joy in your quilting, and this will lift your soul and radiate into every area of your life.
Life is for living!
Continue on to:
Read Myrna Giesbrecht's Life Story
See Myrna Giesbrecht's Fashion Show
Print Myrna Giesbrecht's Free Patterns
Purchase Myrna Giesbrecht's Products