Welcome to The Cranky Quilter!
My name is Susan O’Connell, and I started this blog back in 2009.
After I named it, set it up, and sat down to write my first post it occurred to me that I'm not really sure who I was writing it for. I know that for me it was a bit of therapy, a way to work out those artistic kinks and get me motivated. But I started wondering about who would be attracted to a blog called "The Cranky Quilter."
Now, I guess if you're looking for a word expressing a certain amount of dissatisfaction, "cranky" is less threatening than most. I mean, who'd read a blog called "The Surly Quilter," or "The Depressed Quilter," or even "The Peri-Menopausal Quilter with a Mean Streak"? "The Grumpy Quilter" isn't as bad but for some reason it seems like it has too much testosterone for me, (maybe it's all those viewings of "Grumpy Old Men").
The fact is that if you want to express a certain amount of unhappiness, mostly temporary, and often alleviated with a touch of humor, I guess "cranky" is the best term. And cranky I was in 2009, usually for a reason, but often not, (it's called Menopause ladies...).
It's 11 years later and I'm post-menopausal, retired, and have a lot more years of life experience. The years haven't always been kind, but I'm still standing, (and quilting), and I still have a lot to say.
A little about me. I'm in my sixth decade, (barely!), married with a son soon to graduate from college. I started sewing before I was 5, sewing clothing by the time I was 10, and started quilting at 14. I sold my work in shops and had my own booth in a craft fair by the time I was 19.
I was also an artist and had my own private show at 16. I studied art in college, but found it wasn't very welcoming to a traditionalist like myself. During this time, I continued to quilt and one of my art instructors thought that was fabulous and referred me to a program in clothing and textiles. I gained certifications in design and construction and went on to get my BA in Clothing and Textiles.
I worked in a lot of different jobs but ended up landing a job in the event industry where I turned “I can do that” into a new career in graphic and web design. Yes, I can do Photoshop and can code just enough to get into trouble. For years I had my own business, Gillygaloofus Design Studio, which ended up fading away due to the success of on-line printing companies. Turns out the money was in the printing upcharge, not on the design end. The web design was doing better but then we moved to the country and ended up with unreliable satellite internet. It’s hard to do web design when you can’t upload. Oh well. . .
Throughout this time, I continued to quilt. I won First Prize for my first entry in our local county fair, and competed for years in local, national, and international shows and various contests. Over those years I won a Best of Show, three First Prizes, and a Judges' Choice, took one First and one Second in Robert Kaufman's Quilt Quest, appeared in the Quilting Arts Magazine's 2003 Calendar, had my work used in various advertisements in quilt magazines, won Quilter's Home magazine's Mojo Doll Contest, and was thrilled when this blog was named among the top 50 quilting blogs in Quilter's Home magazine.
It's been a while since I stopped competing. I decided to focus on my family and on doing what I want to do without the pressure of performing. I also realized that I couldn't compete with the machine quilting of today because my heart wasn't in it. I guess at my age I realized that it was more important for me to do what I was meant to do, even if I didn't know what that was. I think it's time to find out what that is.
I suspect that a lot of you are in a similar place. So, if you just had a difficult guild meeting, got ignored at the quilt shop (again!), or just realized you pieced a whole series of blocks backwards, join me and cater to your inner cranky child. You know you want to...
Oh, and by the way, I have two other quilting related blogs which are updated regularly. Fraidy Cat Quilters is a site for those quilters who need encouragement and a soft spot to land. We're all about empowering all of you to be the best you you can be, whether you're quilting or not. Quilt Lit is the home of our weekly quilting soap opera, "A Piece of Work." Catch up with the members of the Pleasant Valley Quilt Guild every Friday. You never know what they've been up to!
Happy Stitching,
