| With an estimated 130 completed quilts to her | | | | of books out there that tell you how much |
| credit (and counting), Trudy Schwader at age | | | | material, say for instance for a log cabin. |
| 75 has had a rich lifetime of quilting | | | | Simple ones like that will give you a good |
| experience. Conversations with Trudy to make | | | | place to start. Those simple ones are the |
| a record of these experiences resulted in a | | | | ones that I make now to use up my scraps.[Q: |
| series of articles. What follows here is | | | | Speaking of books, do you have a big |
| article Number II.[Question: You have a | | | | collection or library, or how did you get |
| legendary fabric collection - enough | | | | your patterns that you use for your |
| inventory for a small store! How did you | | | | quilts?]Trudy: No. Not a big library. Just a |
| collect so much fabric?]Trudy: I had 8 kids | | | | few books that really have a lot of patterns |
| and I sewed for them all the time - cotton | | | | in them. And then, like the log cabin - it's |
| dresses, shirts, whatever. When I sewed I | | | | so easy now for me to put one together or to |
| always saved the material that was left, and | | | | make variations. The way I make the log |
| I still have lots of those scraps (laughs). | | | | cabin, I learned from talking to another |
| In fact, I know I have a few scraps from | | | | quilter. I had gone to a mall to one of the |
| material that my mother used when she made | | | | fabric stores, and they have classes. They |
| clothes for us back when I was young. Unreal, | | | | have people come in and tell about quilts and |
| but I really do have some of those fabrics | | | | other types of sewing projects.[Q: So you |
| from the 30s and 40s.So when I started sewing | | | | learned an easy way, a short-cut way to put |
| a quilt, I would usually have scraps to begin | | | | together a classic like a log-cabin, by |
| with. And then I would go into stores - | | | | taking a class?]Trudy: It's a good idea for |
| fabric places you know - and if I needed | | | | beginners to take a class, but this one |
| something special to go with the quilt I was | | | | wasn't a class actually. The speaker was |
| making, then I would buy it. Of course, | | | | just showing us some quilts and talking about |
| while I was there I would see other | | | | how to do a few things. It was part of her |
| materials, and as I say, some of these bolts | | | | demonstration with some other items she was |
| of material would jump out and say, "Buy me," | | | | selling. It's like with any craft, knowing a |
| and so I'd buy some of that cloth, too![Q: | | | | few little tricks can save you a lot of |
| What happened to those pieces that you bought | | | | time.[Q: Can you give an example of a |
| on impulse? I mean, sometimes, you'd have | | | | time-saving trick?]Trudy: Well. Most people |
| fabrics for a long time that you'd never use | | | | might already know about a tool called a |
| and then all of the sudden it'd be just the | | | | rotary cutter, but it is probably the biggest |
| right thing for a quilt? Or did it end up | | | | single thing that made quilting so much |
| that those that jumped out and said, "Buy | | | | easier for me than using scissors. It's a |
| me," never quite fit for any quilt you made | | | | cutter kind of like a pizza-cutting wheel. I |
| later?]Trudy: Some. I do use a lot of them, | | | | can stack up fabric, line it up along the |
| but there's still a few that I've never used. | | | | edge of a special ruler that belongs with the |
| I think this is not unusual for quilters. It | | | | rotary cutter, and get a perfectly straight |
| takes some time and some 'mistakes' to | | | | cut every time without the effort of |
| acquire a really good on-hand quilting fabric | | | | squeezing a scissors over and over to cut out |
| collection. You need lots of variety and | | | | all the little pieces of a pattern.It's the |
| color.[Q: What advice would you give a | | | | best, and anyone today quilting without this |
| beginner? What are some things that you know | | | | tool is really making it hard on themselves. |
| now that you wish you had known earlier in | | | | Go get a rotary cutter right now if you don't |
| your quilting experience?]Trudy: For a | | | | have one already.Theresa Modine's studies of |
| beginner, the thing to do is to go to a book, | | | | American folk art and women's history |
| find a simple pattern that you might like and | | | | includes an emphasis on quilting. She is |
| the instructions will tell you about how much | | | | contributing author of The Quilt Box, your |
| material to get. And if you ask them about | | | | resource for a world of quilting information. |
| it, most of the people in fabric stores will | | | | Addtional articles by Theresa are found at |
| give you a lot of advice about what goes | | | | First Class Fabric. |
| together and what doesn't. There are plenty | | | | |