Meet Myrna Giesbrecht

Kamloops, British Colombia, Canada

Photos courtesy of Myrna Giesbrecht

Hi Myrna.  Tell me about your start into quilting.

I made my first quilt just over 20 years ago.  Of course I picked a queen-size project to start with!  I’m not sure I consciously chose quilting. I evolved into it and then stayed there. My girlfriend and I were taking fashion sewing workshops at the local shop. When the instructor, Dianne Jansson, learned to quilt, she started teaching quilting classes and we started taking them. From there things exploded. It was an exciting time in quilting with the development of template free patterns and the rotary cutters, mats and rulers.

Tell me about your family.  What do they think about your quilting?

My husband is incredibly supportive. I started quilting as a hobby before we had children and then after our third child was born, began working full time from home in my quilting business. To my children, quilting is what I do. They don’t remember when I used to work outside the home. I had to explain to them that when I was developing a pattern or workshop, I was working. The kids love having the quilts around the house and in their rooms and are very encouraging about the new direction my work has taken. They each seem to have a list of quilts they plan to move out with.

Where do you live?

My home is in Kamloops, British Columbia, Canada – www.venturekamloops.com - which is in the Pacific Northwest about 5 hours north of Seattle Washington. It’s a regional trade center with lots of recreation, tourism and natural resources. The population is around 85,000.  I moved here thirty-five years ago and have lived in almost every area of town…though I’m too busy playing in the studio to visit the attractions.

What other hobbies do you have besides quilting?  How do these interests affect you quilting?

Several years ago I discovered a software program for designing custom clothing and I’ve been re-attracted to fashion sewing ever since, especially sewing creative wearables. It’s fabulous to have clothes that fit, flatter and are fun. Throughout the years I’ve explored other crafts but none have stuck like sewing. I’m an avid reader of primarily non-fiction including psychology, self-help, business, textiles, art & design and writing. I rarely watch TV; romances are my sitcom. I enjoy walking, journal writing and especially having lunch or coffee and a great conversation with a friend. I’m very chatty. Relationships are important to me. I spend a lot of my time with family and friends

Are you retired?  Do you currently work outside the home?

Retiring seems so very far off perhaps because it will look a lot like working except I won’t get paid for it. I love what I do. I can’t imagine not doing it. I’ve been employed in my own business as a textile artist, author and instructor for almost twenty years. Along with creating and selling textile pieces, I write about quilting and other subjects like self help, diabetes, decorating, and parenting. Basically whatever I can think of. I love to write.  I teach online at Quilt University and occasionally travel to give workshops, but not very often. I’m happiest at home. One of my biggest passions is supporting and encouraging others to be their best. I just finished writing a workshop called Self Expressions that takes quilters from patterned to pattern free work. It’s so exciting. Currently I’m working on one called Creative Wearables which will illustrate how to sew creative clothing that doesn’t look like you’re wearing a quilt!

What were your favorite arts and crafts projects as a child?

Even as a child, I did not like glue. Most of my arts and crafts were constructed from fiber art. I did macramé, cross stitch, yarn hooking, knitting, crochet and some embroidery. I loved dressing my Barbie doll and setting up her house. That makes me laugh now. I’m still not very domestic. I love decorating.

Where in your home do you quilt?

I’ve had fifteen different studios. The one I’m in now is not the biggest but it’s quite wonderful, about 300 square feet with a view of our “soon to be gorgeous” back yard.  It’s painted my favorite color of lime green with hardwood floors and lots of storage. I’m looking for a curl up chair for the corner and a different work island, but overall I’m quite happy with it. You can see pictures of my studio on my website. Studio Makeover is one of the workshops I teach at Quilt University where I get to help other artists develop their studios. Too fun! I believe that we each deserve a creativity room of our own that meets both our emotional and physical needs.

What is your favorite part of the quilting process?

My favorite part of the quilt is the stitching. I love dense threadwork and can’t stand it if my quilts are flabby and so I quilt them “to death”.

What inspires you creatively? 

Quotes and ideas inspire me. I like to work to a theme as long as it is general and not too constraining. It has to allow for individuality. The more “rules” there are the less interested I am. I’m big on personal challenges like “how many pieces could I make out of that pile of scraps”. Last year I challenged myself to only use what I had in the studio. It really pushed my creativity. 

Please list your favorite quilting books and authors.

Hmm… mine! There is no way I could pick a favorite book or author. It just depends on what I want to learn when. Because I read so much, I may study three or four books on the same topic and integrate points from each. I tend to read art and mixed media books over step-by-step how to quilt books in order to create independent work. I wanted to disengage from the influence of other artists and create my own style of work.

Whose quilts inspire you?  Why?

Two names that pop into my mind right away are Libby Lehman and Jane Sassaman. I love the threadwork in Libby’s quilts and the color, clean lines and attention to detail in Jane’s original work.

When I met Jane, I told her that she’d influenced my work both toward and away from her style.  Even though I had seen Jane’s work in magazines, I didn’t recognize the artist’s name. I just liked the smooth curves and amazing satin stitching in her pieces. Years later, I took a workshop with Jane and we discovered that we have some similarities but she is much more detail oriented than I am and my threadwork is denser than hers. Before A Quilted Garden was published, my work was recognized as mine.  After her book came out, I would hold up a piece of my work and invariably be asked if I had studied with Jane Sassaman. You have no idea how frustrating this was. Even though it was an original design, my work was no longer my own and had become a derivative of Jane’s. This brought about my awareness that many quilt artists were cloning themselves in their classes and that I wanted a unique voice. While I don’t know that it’s possible to be uniquely unique, this awareness changed the direction of my work and of how and what I teach.

How many quilt projects do you have in progress right now? 

One! After I’m comfortable with the design and process and am working away on a piece, I will start thinking about what I want to do next.  But I almost never start a second project until I’m finished the first one.

Has quilting ever helped you through a time of struggle or heartache?  Can you share about that?

Quilting is my way of de-stressing. Even though I love people, talking and teaching, especially grabbing the mike and talking to an audience, I am basically an introverted personality. I refresh by being alone so time in my studio quilting is essential to life for me. It’s where I go when things aren’t working out and when I want to create new life. Since I’ve been quilting my family has gone through many upheavals, some emotional and some physical. Having such a good friend to curl up in, as my studio is to me, is a gift. It doesn’t really matter what I’m making as long as I’m making something.

Has quilting taught you any lessons of life? 

Quilting as a business, taught me two lessons. The first was that I’m very capable, full of ideas, and able to make them happen. The other was about setting priorities. Working from home with small children, everything was about work. Before that I didn’t recognize I was a workaholic. Between feedings and naps, play groups and school, homework and bedtime, I would write and quilt until all my time was consumed with quilting for work and there was no time for quilting for pleasure. The end result was that my destressor became my stressor. When it got to a point where I didn’t even know if I liked fabric anymore, I had to take time to rest and reorganize my priorities. Now I work differently. I remember that people – my faith, family and friends – are more important than anything else.

What is your favorite Bible verse?
My favorite verse and one of my favorite quotes are along the same line. The verse is Proverbs 16:3 “Commit your plans to the Lord and they shall be established.” The quote is Goethe’s “… that the moment one definitely commits oneself, then providence moves too.”  These are not about manipulating God to get what you want. They are about finding your purpose, committing to it, and recognizing that in living into that commitment, God will provide you with all that you need and much of what you want.  My purpose is to support and encourage others and to share the gospel. Since I’ve recognized that, much has fallen more smoothly into place.

How has your quilting changed over the years?

In the twenty plus years I have been quilting, I’ve moved away from very controlled to spontaneous work, from traditional strip pieced quilts in the eighties to the innovative, one of a kind, pieced and appliquéd designs I create now. At first I tied off quilts, and then stitched in the ditch, and finally ¼” away from the seam line. Now the entire piece is covered with threadwork. I started with three, maybe five color quilts and now my pieces have as many colors and textures as they need to complete the design. My work has really changed. That’s good. If I had spent twenty years of doing the same thing, I imagine I’d be very bored and boring. 

What is your favorite color?

If I had to pick just one it would be a non-garish lime green, Benjamin Moore color 543, the color of my studio. Apparently I’m very fond of lime green as my friends are always holding up some object and saying “Myrna you’ll love this; it’s lime green”.  BUT, I also like fuchsia and a deep electric navy. The three are neutrals in my palette and seem to find their way into all of my quilts (and clothes) which are full of bright colors, contrast and visual energy.  And lately, a lovely golden yellow - Benjamin Moore color 179 – has been sneaking into my work.

Is there a quilting technique, pattern, color combo, etc. that you’ve been dreaming of but haven’t tried yet? 

Everything we do in life influences our work. Over the past few years I’ve taken voice, dance and drawing lessons in little bits, trying this and trying that. I’ve begun reading books on exploring creativity and mixed media approaches. All of these have resulted in more freedom and joy in my work perhaps because I am experiencing a new lightness myself. 

As my youngest child will start high school in September 2006 and my oldest is now in university, I am approaching my second adulthood and am quite excited about the changes this will bring to my time and energy. My dream is not necessarily of a specific design but of time to design. The ideas are plentiful, now to create them.

Do you collect certain types of fabrics, quilting tools, gadgets, or supplies?

The buying frenzy part of my quilting life is over and I’m in what I call my “more with less” stage. I believe there is a desirable creative push in making do with what I have. It works for me now but that might change. You never know. Change is the one thing you can count on. The tools and equipment I have in the studio now are familiar to me and do the work required of them. I only buy a new tool or gadget if I know it is something I am REALLY going to use. I don’t collect just to have which can be both a good and a bad thing because sometimes I am not aware of a wonderful new tool until a student tells me about it. The fabric in my stash run a 20 year range of colors and patterns but lean toward prints that read as a solid. When I buy fabric, it is usually a commercial print that looks like a hand dyed fabric or a hand dyed one. I prefer a bit of visual texture over a true solid.

What is your favorite brand of fabric?  Do you have a favorite fabric designer?  Do you ever hand-dye your fabric?

More than a favorite brand, I have a favorite feel of fabric - a dense thread count and a crisp hand like good cotton or soft and supple like a rich silk, linen or rayon. I buy quality over quantity. Marjie McWilliams (www.fabricdesigns.com) makes fabulous silks and Elin Noble (www.elinnoble.com) creates the most amazing clamp dyed pieces. I’m in awe. To me, dying fabric and cooking have a lot in common. I’m not fond of either. I end up with a huge mess and mixed results so it’s easier to buy fabric from someone who loves the whole coloring process and I get more time to stitch.

Do you daydream about quilts while you are doing other things? 

Walking is an excellent way for me to plan my day. On fair weather days, I will drop my youngest son off at school and then go for a 45 minute walk around the block while deciding what I’ll do next. Quilt ideas may pop into my head then or when I’m reading, writing or working on another piece. I find when you let them show up in their own time, the ideas are more exciting than the ones you force. If a writing idea pops into my head, I am sure to write it down but I don’t record my quilt ideas. If they are exciting enough, they stay there until I’m ready for them. If not, they are replaced with even more exciting ideas.

Have you developed any special quilting techniques or products?

Pressing may not sound like a technique but it’s absolutely critical to producing flat, even, quilts with well matched design lines. My book Press for Success is now out of print but I teach three workshops on pressing at QuiltUniversity.com and these are my most popular workshops when I travel to teach. It’s like magic.

What is your favorite class to teach?

All the workshops I teach are based on teaching a technique rather than a style. I believe that developing a skill library through learning and practice allows our hands to work with ease while our minds are bubbling with creativity. The more you learn, the more you can create. Workshops that include some element of design-it-yourself and that encourage my students to adapt the skills and techniques they are learning into their own work are my favorite. Anything that helps my students create at their best.

Do you have any tips or advice for beginners?  What do you wish you would have known when you started quilting?

The need to be perfect and constant comparison will kill any joy you might find in quilting. I see this in my students all the time. They are learning a new technique but expect to be perfect at it already and are comparing their skill level as a beginner to someone who has years of practice. Strive for your best and compare your current work against your previous work to see how far you’ve come. Ignore the quilt police or any other kind of “art” police that are trying to control your creativity with rules and “shoulds”. It’s crippling. Who really cares if that stippling happens to cross over itself or those points are not dead on perfect? The world will not stop turning over something as simple as fabric. Relax, breathe, make a decision to have fun, do it for you, and you’ll enjoy quilting a lot more for a lot longer. Practice will lead to perfection. Practice lots.

Do you have any suggestions for quilters who are trying to fit more quilting time into their day? 

The bottom line is that if a person wants more time to quilt, they will either have to let go of something they are already doing, adjust their expectations in another area, or become super efficient.

It’s good to know yourself and work with your personality. For instance I can not quilt with visual clutter all around or dishes piled on the counter so I pick up every night and do the dishes before heading to the studio. No clutter means our house looks cleaner than it actually is.  Several months ago I started taking Fridays for housekeeping and grocery shopping and that has been so successful that I'm contemplating designating Mondays for creating my personal art work.

One thing I see with my students is that they are over committed. They are involved in their children’s school, in one or more quilt groups, their church and/or community organizations, and taking LOTS of classes. It’s impossible to do anything well if you’re doing everything. I saw that in my own life.

Chat can take up all your time – online discussion forums, emails, phone calls, coffee and lunch. I love chatting, but I want to quilt more than talk about it and I want to make sure that my people time is given to the individuals who matter to me…not those who demand it the loudest. I carefully monitor my commitments and encourage my students to focus on self care--taking the time to do what they need to do to feed their souls so that they have enough energy to meet the needs of those they love. Many feel selfish doing this at first and then realize that they’ve been running around in de-energizing circles for years. Slow down, live your own life, stop doing what others say you should, and do what you’re called to. I think it’s so important for women especially and we need to model it to our children. The world is buzzing way too fast and what’s important isn’t getting the attention it should while inconsequential things are.

Thanks so much, Myrna, for sharing so openly with us!  You are a fascinating quilter!


If you would like to learn more about Myrna, please visit her website:

www.MyrnaGiesbrecht.com

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