, February 18, 2 Bates rom drone to queen of the qu Marcie Good Contributing Writer ZX admit it. P’in becom- ing my mother. I used to resist it, starting when I was about seven, | bawled at Christmas when my sister got a doll and my broth- er got boxes and boxes of Lego and [ got a lousy sewing machine. My mother sews, I thought to myself. Why do I need to? She was the undisputed master crafter who would always emerge triumphant from her dingy basement sewing room with some dress or pair of pants, made exquis- itely io ft the subject. Always within hours, sometimes min- utes, of when it was due. I didn’t even flinch at four o’clock on the day of my high school grad when her sewing machine was frantically buzzing downstairs. At 4:30 p.m. when 1 left the house, the dress was on. And perfect. I however, did not sew. I did not examine hems on skirts in stores and shake my head with disbelief. I did not return from fabric store super sales with metres of fabric — buy one get two free — that I never used. The few projects I laboriously constructed were usually born of necessity, and when something like a zipper presented itself I was likely to feign complete confusion and ask my mother for “heip.” Given the opportunity, she would complete the zipper and everything else within her grasp. She would rather do it herseif than sce it on me, less than perfect. No, I certainly didn’t sew. I dicin’t need to. Then she started quilting. Now quilting is different. Not so mucha craft as a way of life. Maybe it’s how it started appearing everywhere in my parents’ house — not only on beds, but wallhangings, place- mats, pillows, Chrisamas deco- rations, table runners, and handbags. My mother sur- faced from the basement, claiming she needed more space and natural light to see how her coloars matched. She moved her machine and iron and cutting beard and reams of fabric into the living room. Threads and thin bits of fabric began to migrate all over the house, tracked on clothing or stockinged feet. While quilting had been in our family for generations, my mother took it in new direc- tions. She met a friend through one of her classes, Caroline, with an annoying habit of finishing every project within days. Together they started going to quilting coi- ventions, making Thelma- and-Louise-like excursions to exotic places like Paducah, Kentucky or Intercourse, Pennsylvania. Last year they ended up in Houston. Even quilts are bigger in Texas. For me it started innocert- ly enough. I wandered into a quilting store and started looking at fabric. PH just buv 2 fat quarter for fin, I thought. But looking at the racks of rich colours and designs, you can’t buy just one piece. I took about four home, put them in a shoe box, and took them out once in a while to look at, as if they were stacks of gold coins. That was before T even had a sewing machine. Now [ can’t escape it. The fabric multipiies, as any quilter will tell you. Especially when I have people like my mom and Caroline, so happy with their new convert, forcing their unused pieces onto me. My grandmother let me rummage through her bags of scraps, giving me treasures like a piece of a yellow dress she used to wear when she was lit- le. Having mastered the straight sewing line, I am ven- turing into the finer points: tring corners, stitching curves, appliqué. I can still get my mother to finish off pro- jects, but I actually want to do it myself. The day I visited four fab- RTE oe Oe sic stores to find the perfect green was when I realized it was happening. It was a colour what might follow. { described to myself as rery green, not afraid to be green, with a fittle texture but noth- ing to detract from the green. Feeling the triumph of finding that green {had the odd feel- my mother. vasn’t such a bad NEWS photo Terry Peters QUILTING is not so much a craft as a way of life. Never wander into a fabric store unless you are ready for Net generation incorporates crafts Deana Lancaster News Reporter dlancaster@nsnews.com THERE are few activi- ties left in our high speed society as tradi- tional, peaceful and Sew many choices... North Shore's largest selection of sewing machines & accessories Free lessons Trade-ins welcome 986-1341 NORTH VANCOUVER introspective as craft- making. So perhaps the World Wide Web isn’t the first place you'd think to look for ideas, inspiration or help. Yet a quick search for the word “crafts” on one of the bigger search engines _— yields 1,204,840 pages. Clearly, craft-making is moving swift- ly into the 21st Century. Unfortunately, most of the sites offer little more in [Craft Fabrics Woven fabrics for all uses Showroom open Mon-Fri Sam-neen § 2091 Churchill Nosth Var: (1 héack south of Saris Oe. oft Lcyd Sven) Cail Neil @ 964-3448 ‘ to a@ Fiver near you. the way of project ideas and helpful information than yro- ject patterns and supplies See Specialty next page Le geen B 5 Tv