Artist Talk: A Painter Who Quilts

Here is my slide presentation about pivoting from painting into quilting as a full-time creative practice.

Click here to download the PDF (about 5 MB).

Many thanks to the Mid-Del Art Guild for having me as their guest presenter!

Smart Humans: Jenni Grover

Photo by Alix Kramer

I'd like to introduce you to Jenni Grover.

Jenni is a wellness coach for creative folks, and a wonderful quilter. I just love her generous spirit and compassionate approach to creativity.

I first connected with Jenni through the social networks. I came across one of her articles about quilting and physical wellness, and I was like, “Holy crap, she wrote this just for me!” You can read more of her articles for SuzyQuilts here, and learn about her coaching services on her website.

I highly recommend following her on Instagram and LinkedIn, and reading her book ChronicBabe 101: How to Craft an Incredible Life Beyond Illness.

Jenni was gracious enough to answer some interview questions for me. Enjoy!

What's your favorite hour of the day, day of the week, or season of the year?

My favorite hour of the day is morning, around 7:30am, when I've been awake for a couple of hours and done my yoga and had breakfast. There's a moment then when I feel strong and ready for the day, and I love that feeling!

My favorite day of the week is probably Friday. I love the anticipation of a weekend spent doing fun things! As a self-employed person who works from home, it's critical that I set boundaries for work and not-work.

My favorite season, hands down, is summer. I'm obsessed with gardening -- I have a big organic veggie and herb garden in our backyard, and I've planted hundreds of native perennial flowering plants all around our house. Summer is when it all explodes and it's beautiful. I adore sharing food and flowers that I've grown because it feels so magical, and helps me connect with my community. And I love making exuberant bouquets to give people all summer!

What do you empower people (including yourself) to do?

Through my work, I empower people to learn about themselves in deep and unusual ways. The result is that they understand better how to take care of themselves, to advocate and work for change. My clients feel empowered to make big life changes and experiment more.

Through the way I live, which is driven by truth, I empower myself to honor my past and step into a healthier present and future. I come from a family that skews truth, and growing up I always knew that was unhealthy. Today, I feel able to recognize my reality, which leads me to accept it and then take positive action.

I've come to this path through a few steps:

1. Becoming a journalist at age 16 and continuing to do that work even today, which is all about truth-seeking. And about connecting with others.

2. Through 25 years of learning to live with multiple chronic illnesses. That process required me to accept some really hard things, and to get creative with how I live.

3. By exploring trauma therapy in recent years, I've been able to shed a lot of physical damage that came from my childhood and early adulthood. That has changed my mental and physical health in huge, wonderful ways!

So as I do this work and take these actions, I'm learning more and more how to be my own best advocate. And by being vulnerable and sharing my experiences, I'm empowering other people to do self-advocacy work as well.

Photo by Alix Kramer

When people come to you for help, what's the number one question you hear?

Almost all of my coaching clients come to me with a desire for a more fulfilling creative life. They want to know: How do I get comfortable with experimentation? How do I get courageous about showing my work? How do I make more time for my creative pursuits? How do I manage health issues so I'm more able to follow creative passions?

What they're usually really asking is: How do I learn to believe in myself?

...Because when you believe in yourself deeply, you get braver about being "weird." You stop caring what others think. It becomes automatic to prioritize your art. You will feel comfortable making changes that empower you to be more creative.

So while I don't usually tell people they can come to me to learn how to believe in themselves again, maybe I should -- because that's the real thing they want and need help with. :)

What's something that people get wrong about you or your work?

A lot of people think a coach is someone who is just your cheerleader, or someone who gives you advice or directions to follow.

But I'm a wellness coach for makers! Wellness needs are as diverse as humans are, so I don't have a program of advice or a list of directions I can give out. And makers come in all shapes and sizes, too.

So my coaching is highly personalized. I guide each client through a learning process so they can uncover their true needs. Then together we come up with strategies that help them make lasting inner and outer change.

And yes, I'll be their cheerleader! But I'll also be so much more.

If you knew you'd be wildly successful, what would you try today?

I would be a painter! I took painting lessons as a kid but wow, I was not good at it. But I love the feel of a paint-filled brush gliding across a canvas. I would love to get messy and splash paint around and make a masterpiece.

Maybe that means it's time for me to try painting again?!

Photo by Alix Kramer

What's something you love to make?

I love to make quilts! I love every step, from choosing a pattern to gathering fabrics to assembling blocks to quilting it and hand-sewing on a binding. I love every step. (Okay, I actually hate basting a quilt. But that's a short step!)

Quilts have become so much more to me than just fancy blankets. They're a source of connection with others. They've inspired periods of service (I was president of the Chicago Modern Quilt Guild for a time, and I'm about to rejoin the board.) They are a delight for my senses. They are challenges to be worked through, problems to be solved. They make amazing gifts that the recipients treasure. They give my home life and comfort. And they're packed with memory and history!

I'll be making quilts for the rest of my life.

Where should we go to learn more about you?

Head to coachjennigrover.com to learn more about how my coaching works. Connect with me on Instagram for education and silliness. And check out my series of self-care articles for makers at SuzyQuilts.com.

Jenni, thank you so much for sharing your thoughts.

Want to be interviewed for my Smart Humans series?

Send some information about you and your work to sarah@sarahatlee.com.

Ongoing Mastery Podcast with Kirsten Rourke

I had the great pleasure of learning from presenting and speaking coach Kirsten Rourke for an episode of her podcast, Ongoing Mastery. (Podcast website, Spotify, Apple Podcasts)

How Can I Be My Best Guest?

I love being a guest on podcasts, and I wanted to get some tips on how I can get better at it. My goals are to be as easy as possible for podcasters to work with, and to show up ready to have genuine conversations.

Listen to the episode here: How can I be a better podcast guest? Coaching with Sarah Atlee, Improvisational Quilter.

You can also listen on Spotify or Apple Podcasts.

For the full audio-visual experience, check it out on YouTube.

Read the transcript here.

From the show notes:

In this week's episode of Ongoing Mastery: Presenting & Speaking, Kirsten gives Sarah Atlee tips for a smoother experience as a podcast guest. Once your lighting is all set and you’re making eye contact with the camera, think about what might go wrong and be prepared with alternatives, just in case. They also discover that they’re both fans of online role-playing games!

Key take-aways:

• Have a genuine conversation, don’t just deliver your planned talking points

• Know how your material intersects with the podcast’s audience

• Consider having a QR code for your website, etc, rather than sharing a long web address

Thank you, Kirsten!

Kirsten Rourke gave me such wonderful advice that will bring me value for years to come. Her clear, succinct tips on how to be a better speaker and storyteller are helping me to expand my audience and move my business to the next level. Thank you for your fabulous conversation!

Connect with Kirsten Rourke, presenting and speaking coach, at her website, Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram, and Twitter.

Don't Stop Me Now

I've learned so much from Sherri Lynn Wood. She's a remarkable artist and educator. I took my first workshop with her at QuiltCon 2015, which was also my first QuiltCon. I signed up kind of late, but there were slots left in her "Quilting From a Score" workshop. Her book, The Improv Handbook for Modern Quilters, was so new that I don't think they were even for sale at the show.

If you're familiar with her book, the workshop she taught that year was the Floating Squares score.

I came away changed. I figured out that I was an improv quilter, but I didn't know that quilting could be so... effortless.

Long story short, when Wood announced her spring 2022 lineup of workshops, I decided...

This was a beautiful, fertile creative period for me. A highlight of the workshop series was the guest appearance by Gees Bend quilter Mary Margaret Pettway.

Like, I can't even.

Here's a little tip: If you are a quilter in the twenty first century, you owe a debt to the quilters of Gees Bend. You can pay something toward that debt right here. Learn more about the quilters of Gee's Bend at the Souls Grown Deep Foundation website.

Ms. Pettway inspired this quilt.

With Don't Stop Me Now, I challenged myself to work in an improvisational style, with mostly striped fabric. Here's my maximalist tendency coming through: All Stripes All The Time.

What's In a Name?

I title all my work. Usually, the title comes to me mid-construction. I was so filled with energy at learning from Ms. Pettway, plus the infusion of color and pattern in the dead of winter, that my exuberance could only be expressed in the immortal words of Freddie Mercury.*

Tonight I'm gonna have myself a real good time
I feel alive
And the world, I'll turn it inside out, yeah
I'm floating around in ecstasy
So (Don't stop me now)
(Don't stop me)
'Cause I'm having a good time
Having a good time

I'm a shooting star, leaping through the sky like a tiger
Defying the laws of gravity
I'm a racing car, passing by like Lady Godiva
I'm gonna go, go, go, there's no stopping me
I'm burning through the sky, yeah
Two hundred degrees, that's why they call me Mister Fahrenheit
I'm travelling at the speed of light
I wanna make a supersonic man outta you

(Don't stop me now)
I'm having such a good time, I'm having a ball
(Don't stop me now)
If you wanna have a good time, just give me a call
(Don't stop me now)
'Cause I'm having a good time
(Don't stop me now)
Yes, I'm having a good time
I don't wanna stop at all, yeah

I'm a rocket ship on my way to Mars on a collision course
I am a satellite, I'm out of control
I'm a sex machine, ready to reload like an atom bomb
About to oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, explode

I'm burning through the sky, yeah
Two hundred degrees, that's why they call me Mister Fahrenheit
I'm travelling at the speed of light
I wanna make a supersonic woman of you

(Don't stop me, don't stop me, don't stop me)
Hey, hey, hey
(Don't stop me, don't stop me, ooh, ooh, ooh)
I like it
(Don't stop me, don't stop me)
Have a good time, good time
(Don't stop me, don't stop me) Woah
Let loose, honey, all right

Oh, I'm burning through the sky, yeah
Two hundred degrees, that's why they call me Mister Fahrenheit (Hey)
Travelling at the speed of light
I wanna make a supersonic man outta you (Hey, hey)

(Don't stop me now)
I'm having such a good time, I'm having a ball
(Don't stop me now)
If you wanna have a good time, just give me a call (Ooh, alright)
(Don't stop me now)
'Cause I'm having a good time (Hey, hey)
(Don't stop me now)
Yes, I'm having a good time
I don't wanna stop at all

Lyrics from Don't Stop Me Now, 1978, written by Freddie Mercury and performed by Queen.

* To experience this song in its finest postmodern format, I recommend this Google Doodle.

Don’t Stop Me Now Could Be Yours!

Visit the store page to purchase this quilt.

Interested in ordering a custom quilt to your specifications? Let’s do it! Visit the Commissions page to see sizes and prices, and book your Quilt Customization Session today!

So You Want to Donate Some Fabric

Too Much Fabric

If you have any quilters in your life, you've probably heard them joke about how much fabric they have in their stashes.

When a quilter passes away, dollars to donuts they're leaving behind some fabric and unfinished quilt projects. Their loved ones may be tasked with cleaning out their home and dealing with the miscellaneous items that make up a life. I've been through this more than once. I know how difficult it is.

Maybe you are a fellow quilter, or just a fabric lover, and you're taking the opportunity to downsize your collection. Bravo!

For whatever reason, you are rehoming fabric. Excellent! There are a few different ways to go about this.

Maybe you already know a quilter and want to offer the fabric to them. This will probably do the trick, because it's hard for us to say no!

Don't know any other quilters? Buckle up, because you will soon. No matter where you live, there is a quilting guild within driving distance (probably within spittin' distance). Here's a worldwide directory of Modern Quilt Guilds. Here's a directory of other Quilt Guilds within the U.S.(Not in the U.S.? Fear not! Google quilt guilds in your area.)

Quilters tend to get together for monthly meetings, and there's often a "Free to Good Home" table! Contact your closest guild and ask if they're accepting donations. We love to share!

There are also charities that accept fabric donations, such as local chapters of Project Linus or Quilts of Valor. Google "donate fabric" and you'll get lots of options. Different charities have different guidelines, so again, it's best to ask what they need and can use.

Be a Mindful Donor

You may be going through a period of grief and stress. I understand, I've been there. Maybe rehoming these fabrics is difficult for you for emotional or logistical reasons. If that's the case, try and recruit a friend for help.

It's a good idea to at least look at each fabric before you donate. Are they clean and undamaged? Is there water or smoke damage? Mold? Do they come from a home with cats, dogs, or cigarette smoke? Is there any evidence of pests? (Just think how embarrassed you would be if you gave someone fabric that had mouse poop in it.)

Think of it this way: If you wouldn't want the fabric touching your body, it may be best to throw it away. (I know, we try to keep fabric out of landfills as much as possible. If you know of a good fabric recycling source, please tell me!)

If the fabric has that "long-term storage" smell but is otherwise undamaged, run it through a washer and dryer. Did the colors run? Did the fabrics fray a bit? Don't worry about it. Quilters are creative.

Flat fabric is happy fabric.

I’m going to say that again for the folks in the back.

Flat fabric is happy fabric.

If you're not able to iron the fabrics yourself, just fold them into stacks and put them into bags. If you're feeling ambitious, you can even sort them into prints, solids, by color, etc. The recipients will thank you!

Sarah, would you like my fabric?

My answer to this question used to be an unconditional "Yes!" Since then, my boss (me) has had to impose a few rules to keep the stash under control.

These are guidelines for my own quilting practice. Others' mileage may vary.

I will take a look at your fabric if:

• It's 100% cotton. (Some wool is okay.) Denim is okay.

• It's been washed and pressed.

• There is no evidence of pests like moths or mice.

• I especially love blasts from the past, i.e. vintage prints!

I'm not able to use:

• Fabrics that are stretchy or slick.

• Lace, crochet, or knitwear.

• Fabrics with a loose weave that will fall apart if I cut into it.

• Upholstery fabric.

• Fabric that has been damaged by water, smoke, pests, etc.

• Unfinished quilt projects with "traditional" patterns, such as Sunbonnet Sue (check your local guilds for this type of thing).

You Are Doing A Good Thing.

If you donate mindfully, you are doing your fellow person a kindness. You are about to make a quilter very happy! Thank you.

Want more in-depth stories, sprinkled with links, delivered monthly to your inbox? Sign up for The Fold. (Check your email and spam folders for the confirmation.)

You can also find me at Patreon, Facebook, Instagram, and Twitch.