20 Years of Artquiltmaker

Today I have been writing on the Artquiltmaker Blog for 20 years. I started when I was three. LOL. Just kidding.

My first post was on May 9, 2005, but my first meaty post was on May 14, 2005. I even got a comment on my first post!

THEN: I was the mother of a 7 year old

NOW: I am the mother of a 28 year old

VERDICT: parenting changes, but the challenges just keep coming. I didn’t have as much time to write then so my blogging efforts got off to a slow start, but for the past 15 years I have written 300 or more posts per year. The whole time I have made various fabric related projects.

I started out on the Blogger platform with a free account and eventually moved over to WordPress, which I like. I also pay for it.

THEN: I had limits on what I could upload, thought the Blogger platform was pretty generous. I also couldn’t have my own domain name.

NOW: I use WordPress and I have a lot of flexibility. I can change the look and feel of the blog. I can upload whatever I want and write however much I want.

VERDICT: I am glad I changed to WordPress and will probably stick with it. It is a hassle to change and even now I sometimes find a link to the old blog or a photo that still lives somewhere on Blogger.

I don’t celebrate my Blogiversary every year, but I thought this year was a milestone. 20 years is a long time to do anything. I have been married for longer and my offspring is older than 20. I have friends I have known for more than 20 years, but there aren’t many other activities I have done for 20 years, except for quiltmaking. I am sure I could find other things, but still 20 years is a milestone.

I have always written in this blog to keep track of what I am doing for myself. I like to go back and read my thoughts on a project or link to an old project that influenced a new project. It is fun to see how my ideas and projects have changed over the years.

THEN: Everyone was blogging. All the famous designers and small quiltmaking business owners had blogs. It was hard to keep up with all the great information out there.

NOW: Instagram is king (queen?). People now post there and blogs are silent.

VERDICT: I still prefer blogs. I like the visual and scroll-ability of IG, but I don’t like reading long posts on my phone, so mostly I don’t read them. Also, I like writing more on my computer. It is easier to keep my thoughts coherent and organized. Also, the keyboard is bigger.

What hasn’t changed is how much I enjoy quiltmaking, and, now, bagmaking. I still enjoy writing about quiltmaking and bagmaking and getting your thoughts on my projects.

THEN: I made almost exclusively quilts. I also started new projects whenever I felt like it.

NOW: I also make bags. I started making bags about 10 years ago and never thought I would make bags as complicated as I make now. I really enjoy bagmaking, especially the speed (relative to quilts) that I can complete them. I find the shift from 2D to 3D very difficult, so I think I will continue to make bags to keep my brain supple. I also work hard at finishing the projects I start. The 26 Projects project was great for finishing up WIPs.

VERDICT: My work is evolving and that helps me to stay interested. I also prefer to finish projects I start as I found that I lose interest in old projects that have been sitting around.

I was full into making art quilts when I started this blog. I made quite a few. I make fewer now, but the ones I do make are mostly politically motivated and spring from my mind in the same way Athena emerged from Zeus’ head: fully formed and in full armor. Since the beginning, my work has focused on color and the relationship of shapes. I work with a lot of blocks, but hope I bring a fresh perspective to them. I am enjoying what I am making.

THEN: I worked almost exclusively in art quilts when I started this blog.

NOW: I find that technique – good technique – was very important to me. I wanted to make good quilts that would last, regardless whether they are block based quilts or art quilts.

VERDICT: A lot of my quilts have an art element, perhaps color or shape, but my technique is really good and I think that is important.

The two books above are the books I used as my textbooks, especially The Sampler Quilt book. I used to buy every quilt book that was published. It was possible then as not as many books were published in the late 1980s and early 1990s as are published now. Most of the books then were technique books. There was a lot of information about how to do one technique and a few projects. Now the books are all about the projects and I just don’t understand the appeal.

THEN: When I started this blog, I collected many different kinds of quilt books. I read them all and learned a lot from various artists who wrote them.

NOW: I rarely buy a current book. I get a lot of them from the library if I want to take a look. When I do buy a book, it is often a quilt history book or a book of bag projects I find interesting. I also don’t have space for many more books, so I have to be discerning.

VERDICT: I am still very book oriented and prefer to get my information from a print book than a website. I am disappointed that the market has moved towards project books. I love my collection of books and use them frequently.

Check the Year in Review tag to see all the projects I have made over the years.

While I write for myself, this blog wouldn’t be the same without you. You have contributed so much over the years. Thank you for reading.