Lecture--Complete

Some of the quilts chosen

 The North Star Quilters in Ridgefield Washington, invited me to speak to their guild on Thursday, March 7. Their president, Carol, said the group was going to participate in their first challenge. Since it was their first time to do a challenge, she said it would be helpful for people to get an idea of what to do. She said they had had a fun activity in receiving a page out of a magazine and the challenge is to create a 20x24 inch quilt inspired by something on that page.

Having participated in a few guild challenges and having completed a number of book club quilts, I decided I could share examples of quilts that I had completed and the inspiration behind them. We decided my topic, "Finding Your Artist," would fit well with the group venturing into the challenge. She asked me in December to be their March speaker. Right away, I completed an outline of what quilts I wanted to share and I wrote an introduction. At the beginning of January, I rewrote a good portion of the lecture.

Suitcase loaded for the lecture

Mid-February, I started pulling my quilts. I looked at my lecture notes.  I was surprised that I had 45 quilts from which to choose! Miss J helped me choose the best options. We pulled about 20 examples for the talk. In the evenings after my husband went to bed, I'd practice my talk. My practice sessions were awful. I was so nervous!

In one of my work life positions, I used to "get" to do TV interviews. Gosh, I'd be so nervous!! Practicing for this lecture brought up those old feelings. I've taught CPR type classes for many years and I was president of a quilt guild with about 400 members so I've had a lot of practice with public speaking.

Example of a Vikki Pignatelli  inspired facing

I completely rewrote my talk. This time, I approached my subject as if I were the first time challenge participant listening to me! I wrote note cards to use to keep my presentation on track.

I practiced holding my quilts and talking about each one's story. The note cards weren't working. I decided to rewrite the lecture AGAIN. This time, I would share a story and then show an example. I removed most of my explanation about what techniques I used. The nervousness eased a bit. I packed my quilts into a large rolling suitcase. I printed my lecture. Still, that "I need to tweak this talk a bit," feeling lingered.

Example of letting the fabric do the work

Driving the hour to my friend's house, I realized it was my delivery that needed the tweak. As I finished showing a quilt, I would share a point that would encourage or at the least give the participant another possible approach to their idea. I felt a calmness. I was still nervous; but, more of a buzz than outright jitters! A buzz, to me, means I'm nervous because I care and not because I haven't prepared well enough.

Back of "linen" quilt

I fully intended to take photos; but, I forgot so I'll get to rely on my memories of the evening. One smart move I made was to set the timer on my phone for 30 minutes into the talk so that I would have another 30 minutes left to pace myself. In my case I needed to speed up which really surprised me because when I practiced I was much slower!

The hour flew. I felt great while I was speaking. People were quiet while I spoke; there were oohs and giggles in the appropriate places. People appeared to be engaged the entire time. I received good comments after I finished. I watched people take photos of many quilts. I listened to a

Front of the linen quilt

few participants tell me what their page had on it. I answered a few questions of how would I approach the project if it were me. A couple people shared their first thoughts about their plan for their project. One person said she was new to quilting. She felt overwhelmed. I encouraged her to find fabric that had what she needed. . .like a panel or to use a fabric color to represent the object. The guild president e-mailed me the following day with great comments. I understand my passion for quilting showed. I call my experience a grand slam!

In preparing this lecture, I have even more respect for the speakers that I have heard in the past. A ton of thought and preparation goes into those presentations!! I also realized that I haven't documented many of my early quilts with photos and a story. Well, some of those quilts were documented in my old blog. Perhaps, a few times a month I'll write a post about a past finish.

I was surprised that so many of my projects included appliqué. Had I been asked about my quilting style before the lecture, I would have reported I was a piecer! Maybe if I were viewing all my work together, there would be more piecing. Also, I realized that in every project, I tried a new technique and/or I improved a technique. Often in a project, I had used several of each! I didn't realize how much I enjoy exploring possibilities and techniques!

If you were to ask me if I was an "Artist," I'd reply that I'm continually exploring possibilities and that exploration has helped me become an artist. I do plan to visit the group when they reveal their responses to their challenge. I look forward to that meeting!!!