FMQ Friday – Something to Listen To While Quilting
It’s Friday and time to link up about free motion quilting! This week I made some slow progress on Duchess Reigns:
I’m now clocking in at more than a year in progress with this quilt. Part of me loves it, part of me feels trapped by it. And part of me knows my bad attitude has a lot to do with the snotty cold I just caught in the dead of summer. Bleh!
So for the last two I haven’t been feeling well enough to get on the machine, so I’ve turned again to hand piecing hexies on my red chaise lounge in front of the window. This is now, officially, my favorite place to sit and stitch in the house:
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| Perfect spot in the sun, and I can watch the chickens peck around the yard from the window. Perfect! |
To keep my foggy brain entertained while piecing, I’ve been turning on both TED talks and the TED radio hour. TED is a talk conference focusing on technology, entertainment, and design, and speakers from all over the world come and make a presentation for around 12 minutes.
What I find fascinating about these talks is how far they range in topic from changing the world through guerrilla gardening in South Central LA, to the incomplete image we get from supermodels, to how to prepare for Alzehiemers disease.
Listening to these talks is fun and entertaining, but behind the scenes, I feel my brain chewing on these ideas. I love listening to the TED radio hour, which combines several TED talks into an hour long program with extra interviews with the speakers. It’s so fascinating to learn even more about these people and how their lives have changed, or what more they have learned after giving their speech.
So if you’re looking for something to listen to while you’re quilting, consider downloading the TED or NPR app to your tablet or phone, or you can download episodes singly to any MP3 player or burn a CD.
What I love the most after listening to several talks in a row is the pervasive optimism that each speaker brings to their talk. Everyone is excited and happy to share, and even if what they are sharing is a relatively depressing subject, they still manage to end with a positive note of hope.
Overall I can sum it up to this: change is possible. I can’t think of a more positive message!
So what have you been up to this week? Let’s dig into some gorgeous quilting!
Simple rules for the FMQ Friday link up:
1. Link up with a post that features something about Free Motion Quilting (FMQ).
2. Somewhere in your post, you must link back here, or you can just post the FMQF button in your sidebar.
3. Comment on at least a few of the other FMQF links. Share your love of free motion quilting and make this weekly link up a fun way to connect.
Let’s go quilt,
Leah
TED is wonderful! Thank you for writing about it.
Esther
esthersipatchandquilt at yahoo dot com
Cool! I never though about listening to "talk" while quilting. I always put on some music, usually jazz or old crooners. But then I have three boys and they provide more than enough "talk" as it is. The FMQ linkys are so inspiring. Thanks so much for writing your amazing blog. Have a super day!
One of my favorite TED Talks is by Shea Hembrey titled how I became 100 Artists. This one is best viewed, versus just listened to.
Good for you, Leah for hanging in there with your latest Duchess quilts. She reigns supreme, just as you do.
I love TED talks! Especially since I have three kids 8 and under at home all day. I'd like to think it helps combat "mommy brain"!
Hope you feel better soon!
I love NPR podcasts! I'll bet you would also love The Story…some episodes better than others but I do not miss it! Also, you might also enjoy Radio Lab…kinda science but they've got a neat spin on it. You might check them out. And, if you like something short and Funny, The Moth is great–live people telling true stories on stage without notes…yup yup, I originally got my IPod JUST for podcasting! Really just for This American Life, but then I found SOOOOO much more!
Don't give up on your building either! I had my eye on a building for 5 years…tried to cold call buy it but NO…it was given away to another person….tried to buy it but NOOO….then one day he came to me asking me to buy it….I was so excited!!! But… I knew he was in a bind and I sat for a bit and hot it $20,000 cheaper than I had originally offered him….WHOOHoo!
You can soooo do a quilt shop/training shop. You are a very business oriented chick with great talent and a huge following. I've been with you since the beginning!
I owe everything I know about FMQ to YOU and I never miss an opportunity to tell folks that when they see my quilts. Thank you!
Every time I come to your site and see your quilting I get so inspired to get to work on my myriad of FMQ projects that are just waiting for me!
Thanks for the inspiration!
I wanted to tell you how much I am enjoying watching the Duchess Reigns quilt progressing. Its a huge project, and normally we see these projects Finished – TaDah! Its easy to think it was a simple plain sailing ride from conception to finished. Its also very easy to underestimate how much time a project like this takes. I've found it inspiring seeing this quilt develop. Its wonderful seeing you take a break from it, break it up into little bits, doubt whether you are worth it, setting little goals (one bobbin per day) etc. Thank you for opening a window on the actual creative process.
Wish I lived closer so I could see it in real life, but New Zealand is a Long Way Away