Susan Stein
Quilting came to my attention during the Bicentennial in 1976. I had done many
other fiber techniques but tired of them after a couple of years. With
quilting,
there seemed to be an endless number of activities, shows, books, fabrics, and ideas to explore for many years to come.
Fabrics excite me and I now purchase hundreds of bolts for my store, Colorful Quilts & Textiles. My personal stash continues to build, with commercial prints
and hand-dyed textures and gradations about equal in amount. My stash is like my palette and I do eliminate some pieces occasionally and do not save tiny
scraps, but give them to others who will use them.
The designing of a quilt is the exciting part for me and that takes place all through the cutting and sewing
process since I rarely repeat the same fabrics in every block. I use a design board to build a quilt top and
do not work from a colored sketch or computer design. The fabric selection can also take place
throughout the making of the quilt top or may involve the use of exciting hand-dyed fabric with
ever-changing shades and textures within a single piece.
I enjoy teaching, both locally and regionally. It is fun to see a new world of creativity open up for women
who have never played with fabric before. Travel to markets, national shows, and seminars interests me
more than teaching "on the road" since I like teaching with dozens of samples and like to know they will
arrive at the same time I do to a class!
My technical strengths are color selection, machine quilting, and textured and embellished designs. My
work is always evolving, and some pieces lead me to explore new techniques as they call for more
development or detail. Sometimes a theme or contest inspires a new project, while many times a quilt
results from the need for a new sample for a lecture or class. New projects are usually completed within
a few months (or days if a deadline is involved) but some do not get quilted until much later.
Occasionally I sell quilt tops that have served their purpose as samples but usually projects eventually
get finished.
My quilts are usually wallhangings, but I also make bed quilts which can serve as wall quilts if desired. They are all intended to be interesting and dynamic, with hand-dyed fabrics and exciting prints, rather
than "fit the bedroom color scheme" quilts. My quilts are transitional, not traditional but not art quilts. Many have common patterns as a starting point but through the use of
unusual fabrics and embellishments, go beyond the expected. I have an infinite variety of hand-dyed fabrics for sale in my
store and so rely on them for gorgeous raw materials.
Fortunately for me, quilting has changed over the last 20 years to include all kinds of techniques, myriad
choices in fabrics, and multiple uses for end products. If quilting was still hand work for the bed only, I
probably would have given it up. I enjoy the design process and use of wonderful fabrics, but do not enjoy
hand quilting. Machine made wallhangings give me the chance to explore and play with color and pattern
and finish projects without tedium. Art quilts are fascinating to look at and quilted clothing is fun to wear. If there are any trends, they are numerous and leave the field open to any and all participants. There are
no limits and if minds are kept open, all approaches are valid and valuable. What other activity has made
so many people happy and stimulated so much creativity!?
