Spring is here (or so the calendar is telling us) and it's time to try something new! At our March meeting this Sunday, CMQG member Abigail McMurray will be teaching us how and when to use a Silhouette to cut fabric for that new project you've dreamed up.
Meet Abigail:
What’s your favorite podcast/music/audiobook genre to listen to when you quilt?
I really enjoy the podcast Seamwork Radio. The episodes are all sewing-related, but more about the people and their process.
What sewing skill are you most proud of?
I think I'm mostly just proud that I know how to sew! I've come across people, here and there, who have never had an experience with needle and thread. I helped a co-worker re-attach a button one day and it was like I'd performed some sort of magic - his mind was completely blown!
What skill are you itching to master?
Do you ever really master sewing skills? I guess I'd like to be more confident in my free-motion quilting. My design/art background gives me a good foundation, but I want to work on the technical aspects that just come from repetition.
Do you sew for a living?
Nope! I do other creative things for a living, so my rule for sewing is that it can be for me or for a gift, I'm not taking your money.
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| This is a wedding gift I designed and made for some friends who really like bugs. |
What kind of fabric are you most attracted to?
Anything linen (I haven't made a quilt with linen yet, but it's my most-likely fabric impulse-buy). I love mustard yellow. I have to buy anything that references paper or origami, and I do really enjoy cats.
Tell us about the quilt that means the most to you and why. This doesn’t have to be one that you made.
My husband's grandmother made us a wedding quilt. She's still with us, but I think this is the last big quilt she had enough energy/strength to finish. It's currently packed away because it needs some mending - I should bring it to a meeting to get some advice!
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This is the first quilt I finished and kept for myself! My cat, Bash, is pretty sure I made it for him. |
How/When did you start quilting?
My earliest quilting memory is a "learn to sew" workbook my mom bought me when I was quite little - the projects involved sewing pieces of paper together, and I remember spending many hours patching together little paper quilts. While I've know how to sew forever, I haven't actually done a lot of sewing. Now that I'm running my own creative business, I've found that sewing and knitting give me a way to be creative that doesn't have the stress/pressure of trying to earn a living, so I've been more intentional the last few years about trying new projects and taking classes.
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| These are the first two blocks I made as part of the Quilt Block Cookbook monthly class at Gather Here |
From designing and picking fabrics to watching a recipient’s face when they see your quilt for the first time, what is your favorite part of the whole process?
The design and fabric selection part is the most fun for me, I think -- I am terrible at following patterns, and generally will just get out the graph paper and figure out how to make what I'm picturing in my head. I'm enjoying free-motion quilting more the more I try it, though, so that's probably a close second.
What do you do get over a hump when you get stuck on a quilt?
I tend to take a break and work on something else for a while. I'm an excellent procrastinator!
What kind of other crafts are you into besides quilting?
I usually have one or two knitting projects going, and I'm always working on a freelance design project and/or product development for my paper business. I have embroidery aspirations, because one can never have too many crafts.
Where’s your fave place to eat in Cambridge?
Only one? For actual real food, Area 4 Pizza in Kendall Square. Ice cream is probably Honeycomb Creamery. Coffee is either Forge Baking Co. or Bourbon Coffee.
Do you have any favorite blogs/insta accounts we should know about? And where can we find you on the internet?
I spend a lot of Internet energy on my day job, so I don't really follow quilting/sewing things online, but you can find me on Instagram @yeiouamp (where you'll find cats, quilts, and food) and @yeioupaperobjects (my business, mostly paper).
Thanks Abigail, and if you're as intrigued as I am by the paper projects, you can find Abigail's shop here!
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