Confessions of a Beginning Beginner.

By Caroline Gaden  ©

 

Glorious colours, superb designs, intricate details, visually stunning, that’s how I’d describe the wonderful quilts shown in every issue of the  various Australian Patchwork and Quilting magazines. But to a ‘beginning beginner’ like me they look so complicated; they instil feelings that “I’d never be able to do that.” and a lack of confidence. So the magazines get tossed aside again. Every month or so I’d sneak another look at the latest offerings, but find inspiration and confidence in my own ability would ebb even further away… I have no colour sense, no artistic flair, couldn’t design a quilt to save myself.

But, I’m told, “You only have to be able to sew a straight line.”

Ha! That to a lass who in Year 6 was painfully forced to unpick the apron ties seven times because the lines weren’t straight, to a lass whose grandmother was a talented and fastidious tailoress, to a lass whose mother was a perfectionist with all the beautiful clothing and every needlework piece she created. Every single thing I ever attempted to sew had to be unpicked and re-stitched several times… the patch-work fraternity would have a lifetime of negative vibes to overcome before I would be able to join them.

But that lifetime was marching on and the interest and longing were not really diminished, just lying dormant under the surface. Retirement was just around the corner, the horses had all gone to less geriatric owners, the kids had all grown and flown, the time was now available and the timing was finally right.

It was 2004 and I enrolled in a beginner’s class at ‘In Stitches’, the local Armidale patchwork shop… a new block every week for eight weeks. I soon realised that selecting colours, [auditioning, what an appropriate word] was not such a major issue… and the same design can look stunning in a myriad of colours.

I learned how to measure and cut in straight lines and the pieces were so small it was even relatively easy to sew in straight lines. I learned how to use vliesofix and appliqué and how to actually construct the blocks in logical fashion. Karyn was a patient teacher who did any unpicking that was needed so we beginners could honestly say “I made it myself and I didn’t unpick a single stitch.” Before I knew it I had made a small quilt.

Then it was back to the real world. My youngest son’s 21^st was fast approaching. The challenge was on. I decided on a large quilt cover, more practical than a quilt for where he lived and there would be no worry about the quilting part of the exercise.

What to do for a young male, a student whose life at that time seemed to revolve round his motor bike? Each day he wore a T shirt with slogans like “Life begins at opening time” or “I only drink beer on days that end in ‘Y’” and “24 hours in a day, 24 beers in a slab… coincidence?”

Some perfect material was spotted, one with motor bikes, one like a chequered flag and, the best of all, old style beer labels in primary colours. The quilt cover took shape in my mind, nothing too difficult, seven rows of seven patches each twelve inches square, 49 in total. A couple or so beer labels were appliquéd onto primary colour squares, the other materials made complete squares. There were eight patches of white material with photographs printed on them, photos showing family, school mates, cadets, holidays and sporting teams. A navy border, a couple of zips and appropriate backing material and the quilt cover was born.  What a great sense of achievement over something so simple.

 Then I experimented with other designs made into cushion covers in Log Cabin, Roman stripes and Greek cross.  I try Biscuit, Crazy/Random and Seminole and am inspired by the results. I fell in love with a Bargello quilt on display in Trangie and quilter Fiona was kind enough to post me the pattern; how thoughtful and friendly to a total stranger.

The next major assignment loomed. My eldest son and his partner were leaving the Royal Australian Navy and I want something nautical as a memento. I scoured shops for appropriate material and find warships, tropical islands, dolphins, stars, material which looks like sky, sea and sand. I locate RAN ships badges and Australian flags. Trudy, from a Chatswood material shop, encouraged my quest and sent me photos of the quilt she had made for her ex-RAN father, another inspiring advocate for her craft.

Back to Karyn for a workshop on  Mariner’s Compass, an appropriate centrepiece. Gold coloured material was used to appliqué a brass anchor and ship’s bell, cord was used to depict some of the various knots and coil of lines [ships have lines not ropes, except for the bell-rope!] Again white material was used for photographs from their years of service on the various ships. This time the squares were smaller, just nine inches, and there were 81 of them…. well okay the Mariners Compass is equivalent to one nine-patch block.  The result is a lovely quilt to remind the couple of their time proudly serving their country in the RAN. And it’s not too long before I’m busy with a teddy bear cot quillow [using log cabin] for their first baby!

More experiments followed. I love the crazy design so new cushion covers appeared. I even did some foundation piecing. Confidence was growing and it was soon time to tackle the third quilt cover, this one for my middle son and his wife who adored hot pink, the colour worn by her bridesmaids. With that colour in mind, material had been slowly accumulated over a couple of years.

Another class with Karyn, this time to learn how to construct a Lone Star. It became the large centrepiece and was surrounded by three inch patches, twenty seven long by twenty four wide. In all there are over 700 pieces of material in this quilt cover… what progress from the 49 patches of the first one.

So yes I’m still working in straight lines and mainly squares but my confidence has grown and I think I’ve progressed to ‘beginner’ status. Now I’m ready to tackle some more designs using material I have accumulated in my travels to Queensland and the Northern Territory.

I still feel in awe at the glorious quilts on display in shops and photographs in the magazines, but I also realise that simple patterns can be extremely effective especially when they are sewn with love.

Writing a Memoir

by Caroline Gaden ©

You ALL have memories and you can all write those memories down… you just need to get organised and DO IT. Even if you find writing physically difficult don’t use that as an excuse, use a tape recorder and get someone else to do the transcription.
You do not need to have a university degree, you do not need to have studied English literature, all you need to be able to do is find the time and the commitment to do it.

A memoir is not an autobiography, nor is it a family history but it may include elements of both….
• it can select a shorter time frame,
• it doesn’t have to be in chronological order,
• it doesn’t have to be so fiercely accurate… incidents can be merged to help the story telling
• it is your memory and your perspective and so may differ from the memory of your brother/sister/spouse/parent … no one is ‘more right’ or ‘more wrong’. You can write that you saw an incident one way but your sibling had a different perspective, putting all perspectives in will enrich the story.

Write daily…. Just 10 minutes per day to get the flow going - like a jogger who does a bit every day; they don’t expect to run 20 km from day one, without any training.

We can all tell stories
Is my story worthwhile? We talk ourselves down
Where do we start? We all find excuses to avoid writing
You do need time to daydream and drift, to let things settle and allow ideas bubble up… that’s the way the brain and long term memory works.
It may be useful to attend workshops or discuss your writing with other writers.

Write about what you’re burning to write about first.
May be useful to map out your story, the bits you think are important. Major turning points in life will be major turning points in the story eg migration or marriage or birth or death of major character.
• may help to construct a ‘mind map’ or to ‘draw your life’
• may help to draw a time line for your life … world events may trigger memories.
• may help to write your own flyer listing your achievements i.e. blow your own trumpet!
• meditation may help the memory to surface and relive the senses you felt at the time.

What chapters could you uses to write your life story?
• Chronological chapters eg Birth, Childhood, Schooldays, Work, Marriage
• Person chapters eg My parents, siblings, aunts, uncles, husband, children, friends, work colleagues
• Place chapters eg houses, villages, towns, cities, countries where I have lived
• Events chapters eg Christmas, summer holidays, birthdays
• Theme chapters
     Family I have loved
     Friends I have endured
     Places I have lived
     Schools I have hated
     Dogs I have adored
     Horses I have worshipped

Look at your list of chapter heading, put them on a list in a hat, draw one out, write about that for your 10 minutes, when all are done you can then look at the best order and linkages.
You may use diaries and letters for inspiration and support if you are lucky enough to have them.
Have a notebook and pen always handy for the things you are writing about, to jot down that sudden memory that arrives unbidden.

Have another notebook for the things you can’t write about… keep under lock and key, it’s for your eyes only, may be painful, may hurt others, not for publication but may help ‘unblock a blockage’.
Must be compassionate towards yourself and you need support.

You need to transport the reader into another world
• Use your senses to visualise the place or atmosphere ie a description
Imagery can help ...begin with image of eg a beach- you are walking along it. What are you feeling? Touching? Smelling? Tasting? Hearing? Seeing? Allow your senses to help with descriptions. [Imagine you are blind, helps bring out other senses eg sound, touch]
• You may use a photograph to trigger a memory. Describe the people in photograph, their dress, who they are, their personality, where and when and why.
• Use a piece of jewellery, an ornament, a medal, a letter or a diary entry to trigger a story
• To evoke an era use brand names [eg I was hoovering the floor] or refer to brands of food of the time, or things no longer with us [eg Zam Buk for cuts], or TV/Radio programs of the time eg Zoo Quest for BBC TV in the 1950s.
• May eventually need to research to ensure you have the detail correct eg the specific date of Queen’s coronation, the exact year the FJ Holden was released, but do this later, don’t stop the flow of writing.
• I kept six honest serving men, they taught me all I knew
Their names are What and Why and When and Where and How and Who [Kipling]

Writers voice
It is a confident voice, your ‘alter ego’ who is writing.
Step into the character or the narrator, reader needs to emphasise with that person
• May adopt the voice of a parent, a teacher, an environmentalist, an ‘expert’.
• May adopt the voice of child especially if writing of the times when you were a child [eg ‘Good morning Mrs Hardcastle’.]
• May need to put yourself in another persons shoes - to provide understanding of both characters and situations
• May need to detach yourself if you have painful memories to write about… ‘The little girl did XY’ rather than ‘I did XY’
• Your style may be chatty, entertaining, informative, detached, create shock, or ‘in your face’.
• It may be as a family member eg Great Aunt Lucy, so anyone who knew her would immediately recognise the phrases used and be able to hear the tone of voice.
Humour and exaggeration are both useful tools

Use description to ‘show, not tell’ ie show the reader your mother ‘thumping the oak dining table before bursting into tears’ rather than just telling them your mother often cried out in frustration.
Have a go at writing as a child, as a teenager, as a young adult. Play around with tenses
Whose voice are you using? Be a story teller!

Moving through a story
1. Summary
Aerial shot, not a lot of detail but covers a bit area or big time frame. Covers a lot of time but all seen from a distance, none is more important than another eg can do a 10 year period in which you don’t want to cover much detail
2. Scene… shorter time span, a close up, a specific time location, can give conversation, expressions. Dialogue is a great way of getting information across in a short time as there’s no long page of description and you can get to the grist of the story.
3. Musing … a commentary, looking back, compare then and now, bridge eras/time, may use a different type face, can summarise a long time in a paragraph and make a final comment eg It’s taken me 30 years to understand….

Your audience
What I really want to say is that these are my memories written especially for …eg family so they understand why I am so eccentric; wider audience people with an interest in a particular time, place

Potential Subjects-
Christmas. Summer at Grandma’s house. The mulberry bush. Holidays. My 10th birthday
World events eg the day man landed on the moon. The neighbour from hell.
Work, sport, hobby, games we played School. Friends. Family. My first motor bike.
Intense moments of pain. Intense moments of joy. Intense moments of fear.
The year my father died. The year my parents separated. My favourite pet.
The day I broke my leg. When I fell off the ….. Why I love…….
My black eye …. The day I was caught in a rip. My first day at Yoga.

GOALS
Write your goals down!
Bite the bullet and set the timetable
Be obsessed and write 10 minutes every day
What would you like to write in the next month, six months, twelve months?

Further reading
Remember when - How to unlock your life story John Hockney
Writing the Memoir Judith Barrington
The pocket muse, ideas and inspiration for writing Monica Wood
Growing up between 1900 and 1920 Grace Horseman
Growing up in the Thirties Jane Madders & Grace Horseman
Growing up in the Forties Grace Horseman
Writing a non-boring family history Hazel Edwards
Some Memoirs to Read
The Bean Patch Shirley Painter, written as if the child was not her
Sea Rhymes with Me Pamela Mathers, adventures in her 70s
Airmail Kate Fitzpatrick, lots of letters over the years
Misadventures Sylvia Smith, one chapter per person
The colour of water James McBride, written with and about his mother
The horses too are gone Michael Keenan, a particular period of adversity-drought
Almost French Sarah Turnbull, adapting to a new country/culture
The pianist Wladyslaw Szpilman, non-judgemental - surviving WWII
Mao’s last dancer Li Cunxin, childhood in a Communist culture
A Celtic Childhood Bill Watkins, laugh out loud funny stories of childhood
There’s a bear in there [and he wants a Swedish].. how my career went from Play School presenter to brothel receptionist Merriday Eastman, lots of dialogue if you can get past the bad language.
Any memoir you can find as it will give you some ideas as to what will work best for you.