Q&A

Hi Melody
I have a question. I see on your site that your recreating your tulip
quilt, the one that won a prize and was sold. I find the thought of
doing same quilt another time kind of wierd. When I finish a piece, I
happily crumple up the cartoon, tossing it into the garbage and I am on
to the next. Do you often recreate your pieces and then I would like
to know WHY?

Shawna from Yellowknife

Dear Shawna,
In my wierdness there is a plan. I make a quilt and then test the waters and see if it should become a pattern.

With the Triumph of Tulips quilt, it was touch and go there for a while.

After I made the original I entered it in three shows, and it was REJECTED from the first two and only got an honorable mention in the third. Then it was accepted in the next show, The American Quilter's Society 2005 and it won First Prize. In the meantime it was optioned for purchase and that was the lovely end result.
But it had not done all the work for me that I expect from a quilt. If I made it into a pattern it could live on and continue to provide an income for me.

I will no doubt finish this second small version (with slight variations from the first) and then it will become a pattern. The second version will also become available for purchase.

I did this same thing with my previous 1st place winner Sunflowers II. (by the way, it was also passed by and got a third in two other shows, so you must remember to keep entering until you get a judge who can see the worth of the piece.)

This is the smaller version of Sunflowers II and is also a pattern and the original was sold. I still have the big version, so I have the option of showing it again or selling it.

This is a quilt made specifically to make into a pattern, and while I made the quilt twice and sold it twice, I really do need to make it again. I only had it in my possession for a couple of weeks before it was purchased.

This quilt Pinwheels and Coneflowers is a pattern and the original was stolen so it too is on my list of quilts that need to be made again. Since I have the pattern, it will be easy to remake.

And then there are class samples that get remade and sold and remade and sold and remade and sold.

The same goes for Bodacious Bloomers. I may have made that quilt four or five times and have one in the unfinished stage at the moment.

I think that everytime I remake a quilt, I have the opportunity to improve on the original and expand on the idea. It makes sense to me to work the dickens out of an idea and learn more in the process.