Jan T's Loves/Hates?
The list!
All you ever wanted to know about Jan T
(says who?)
all about my hubs and other stuff about:
what I do and
who I am and
what I like and
what I don't like and
who I love and
where I live and...
Right: one of my art quilts.
Reach for the Sky 1990, 3' x 4' A three sided boomerang is flung up into the sky to reach for the southern cross above the dunes.
10 things I like - at the moment
- my husband, Bob
- teaching people things
- making art quilts
- The Mentalist — not because Simon Baker's from Oz
- the How-To channel. Can't get enough of decorating
- Australian native plants
- old fashioned cottage gardens
- WordPress® 4
- chocolate — but it looks like I might be allergic to it (how terrible)
- me!
Being grateful for the good things in my life
Recently I have been absorbed with art journalling, and have been using the prompts from journalling websites to "get going".
It's very hard to say nice things about yourself, even in a painting. It's much easier to say nice stuff about others. My list is kind of about me, but more about what's in my life at present.
The list of likes is only ten because there are way too many good things in my life these days. The list could be hundreds of things.
1. Things I wrote about Bobby
- Collecting: His treasures, add mine, full house!
Can you imagine what happens when two avid collectors get married? A very full house indeed... - Collecting: Love tokens
Love tokens come in many forms: traditionally they are coins from circulation, edges filed down and smoothed, engraved by hand with loving messages. My husband Bobby's love tokens are different. - Eh? What did you say?
Are you tired of being able to hear the television from the other end of the house? Could your husband or wife be suffering from hearing impairment? - Do you have collections within collections?
You begin collecting every item you see for your collection of [thing]s, then you start to become more discerning. You weed out what's not good enough, you swap your extras and you look into the history of your [thing]. Refining your sets of... - How do you cope with an ADHD partner?
When I suggested the idea to the family doctor, she said that the head doctor from the pain clinic had talked to their doctors about patients with work injuries. Almost all are undiagnosed adult ADHD
Teaching people since I was 10
And I just turned 70!
Because I was a bright little thing, my teachers were always challenging me, sometimes by sending me down to the Infants section of school to teach the littlies, if someone was away.
Looking back on my life, I have been teaching people, students, neighbours, friends and others, how to do arithmetic, sewing, handicrafts, crochet, knitting, accounting, life skills, art, patchwork and quilting.
I love the Yes! moments that happen the pupil "gets it". I think it's called (so-and-so's) Theory of Revelation. I call it the Aha! theory. My favourite part of teaching.
In the hub Cancer Council Quilts, linked below, you will read about two tiny girls whom I taught during that project.
Students of mine in Tenambit NSW 2008
2. About my love of teaching people things
- Learn to love Electric Quilt
If you have EQ and are afraid to start, here's a simple drawing tutorial for you. I'm known as the eq guru in Australia because I have been writing about the software for years - Charity quilts: Cancer Council quilts project
Quilters from all walks of life are ready to help whenever the call goes out that people are in need. And the help they give? They make quilts, of course! - Teaching patchwork: product or process?
I have taught many things to many people, but my main focus has been teaching people how to make great quilts.I had an online school and a studio where I taught students how to enjoy their hobby
A few of the 200
Thirty years of quilting
Making quilts, writing about making quilts.
Designing quilts, writing about designing quilts
Inventing shortcut method for patchwork, writing a book about that
There's more than 200, from 1½ inches square to 12 foot square.
4 published patchwork/quilting books, hundreds of articles published
3. One or two of my stories about making art quilts
- Jan T's Quilt Gallery
I design all my own quilts. I make art quilts, bed quilts, wall quilts, baby quilts, miniature quilts, really big bed quilts... - Rosellas in my garden quilt
Free machine embroidery enhances a quilt. Inspiration for a quilt can come from many sources. My sister gave me an old calendar with prints from an artist who specialised in Australian birds. - Quilt design inspiration from a photo
Inspiration comes from many sources. See how Jan T used some of her late husband's photos to get the creative juices flowing, to design and make some quilts - Ulysses butterfly: Jan T's talisman
The Ulysses butterfly is so beautiful, I became enraptured by them on my first visit to a Daintree (in far north Queensland, Australia) coffee plantation about thirty years ago. As they flitted in and
10 things I hate - at the moment
- the quilt police
- bad spelling (Signwriters should take spelling tests!)
- inconsiderate drivers
- rude sales people
- quilts with wonky borders — unless they're art quilts, and meant to be wonky.
- neighbour's noisy barking dogs
- pencil lines 'embedded' in a quilt, they just won't wash out! (No I'm not one of them! )
- being late
- terrible listeners
- hives — I've been suffering since Christmas...
(That was 2004. 2016 update. Turns out I had Chronic Urticaria which went after three years.)
Manners, etiquette a thing of the past?
- Helping others: passing kindness on
What if you were never able to return someone's goodness to you? Let me share how I live my life by passing the kindness on... - Top ten reasons for giving thanks on Thanksgiving
Being thankful for the gifts we are given every day is not just for one day of the year. We don't celebrate Thanksgiving as a holiday in Australia, but we can be thankful for what we have. - How to mind your (table) manners
I think I had table manners fed to me. I still have an abhorrence for really bad table manners, but do we need to be formal in our everyday lives? My mother would rival Hyacinth Bucket (boo-kay).
I'd love to hear what you like or don't like, or the rest of it
