A Quilting Life is a Healthy Life, With Footnotes

Being a, um, mature quilter might mean your most innovative work is ahead of you!
Check out: http://us.cnn.com/2012/06/19/health/enayati-aging-brain-innovation/index.html?sr=sharebar_facebook

What's more, crafting is good for you, and this has got to include quilting:  http://www.cnn.com/2014/03/25/health/brain-crafting-benefits/.

It's all good! News item of the future: Quilting will be proven to be better for you than going to the gym! (If it can happen to wine, it can happen to quilting: Check out: http://www.latintimes.com/drinking-wine-better-going-gym-according-scientists-yes-261496).

This is especialy true if you keep your sewing machine in the basement and your ironing board in the attic. After just a few log cabin blocks, you'll be cardiovascularly and intellectually enhanced, exhausted, and certainly deserve a nice glass of wine!

Collage Tribute Quilt from Novelty Fabric

Do you have a trainer? I didn't, for most of my life. Until, 3 years ago, I met Wendy.

Before, I looked like this:

Now I look like this:

Just kidding. I still look a lot more like the ladies on the first fabric. But I kinda feel like the second one. After three years of training, I am pretty darn strong (relative to me). Yesterday morning, shlepping my 1950s-era boat-anchor Supermatic sewing machine (here's one, not mine) out of the house, through the 25-foot long backyard, and out to the car, and then the 15 feet from the car trunk into the repair shop, was easier than it's ever been in my life. Grocery bags are a snap. 

And not only do I lift things much more easily, but most importantly, I FEEL a lot better. 

Much of this is thank to Wendy, a good-humored angel who is funnier than she is merciful. I do a circuit class with a bunch of other women my age, and Wendy cheer-leads, commands and jokes us through, burdening us with the right amount of weights and reps, periodically chirping "Good times!" as we  kvetch our way along.  

So I wanted to make her something special for Christmas.

My favorite part of making a birthday, anniversary, holiday, or other tribute quilt - whether for someone I like, or as a commission for someone I probably would like if I met them - is digging through my stash (or the LQS's stash) for fabrics that speak to the interests, pets, pet peeves, of the honoree. For Wendy, I had a lot of material to work with (literally), because she and her husband co-own the gym, where there's always a lot going on. Here's an overall shot of the collage quilt:

Specifically, I used:

An out-of-print Lunn/Red Ant Studios black-and-white fabric panel

(If this looks familiar, it's because I also used it in a coffee quilt, here.) 

The gym draws a significant crowd of (male) high school football players who heave Pluto-sized barbells around (the planet + the dog), grunting to beat the band. (Howcome the women clients never grunt? Complain, yes; grunt, never.)

Speaking of women, I threw on a shapely brunette who bears a vague resemblance to Wendy:

To her right are pictures of a heart ('el corazon,' from Spanish tarot fabric), and a before-and-after  illustration from an anti-smoking fabric. Underneath are three women doing Rockette kicks, a variation of which our circuit class also performs on occasion.

Then there's another large figure, a guy who bears a eerie resemblance to Wendy's husband. He came off a novelty fabric panel designed for making muscleman-themed boxer shorts, believe it or not. (I'm glad to get that out of my stash!)

There's a lady doing laundry (because Wendy washes all the complementary towels):

Then there's a fabric that someone gave me years ago that shows an ethnically-diverse group of women quilters, one holding a sign that said, "Will Work for Fabric." I covered "fabric," and replaced it with "Wendy." 

Because I do work a lot harder when she's around.

The gym is decorated with superhero posters, not to mention some exceptionally fit clients, so I threw in some cartoon characters:

To offset them, there's that Terrie Mangat fabric showing more zaftig people, who also abound at the gym: 

I strewed measuring tape fabric all about, not because I'm about to start measuring my muscles or my so-called waist but because there is an awful lot of counting involved in being a gym rat (reps and weights and such ), and, as mentioned before, having a trainer and compatriots makes it all much less boring and painful than I had always believed it had to be. 

So in conclusion: Go to the gym, find a trainer with compassion and a good sense of humor, sign up for her class, let her remake you, buy a lot of novelty fabric, and make her a quilt. She'll thank you. You'll thank her. And maybe me. 

By the way, if you live in the San Gabriel Valley of Southern California and are thinking about joining a gym, Wendy's is here. Highly recommended. Exceptional trainers. Loads of clean towels.

Sit Less, Sew More

And speaking of healthful quilts....

Did you catch the recent spate of  medical studies which show that sitting is killing us? Long hours in a chair are linked to increased risk of diabetes, cancer and plain old death . (If you want to make a quilt about the dangers of sitting, inspiring yet sobering infographics are here.)

I recently finished A.J. Jacobs' recent bestseller, Drop Dead Healthy, in which the humorist addressed the sitting problem by buying himself a 'treaddesk' - I don't recall the brand, but something like this:

The idea is to walk veeeeeeeeery slowly, while working on a laptop. It's not nearly as difficult or distracting as it sounds, Jacobs says. By the time he finished writing the book, he had clocked 1100 miles and lost an impressive amount of weight.

Two more testimonials are on this video. Summary: Two lovely ladies who work in hotel reservations switched from regular to treadmill desks, over their boss' doubts. They  lost 35 pounds each, and continued to do an excellent job booking rooms. They look incredibly fit and happy - you'd think they were park rangers who spent their days hiking through beautiful wilderness. Even the boss is thrilled!

The scary studies, glowy women and anecdotal evidence set my friends and me abuzz. Should we buy, or even build, a treaddesk? How about a cycle desk ?  (Same idea, but on an exercycle).

 Or maybe a  wee under-the-desk stepping machine, like this and this (one of many brands, not an endorsement). Could they possibly work?

That, naturally made me think about how to get more exercise while quilting. After a few moments of thought, it struck me that sewing machine designers invented treaddesks more than a 100 years ago...

Ta daaaaa! They're called treadles!

I'm not much of an oracle, but now I'm ready to predict that handcrank and treadle sewing machines are going to make a huge comeback. Not only do they provide exercise, but they're also about as "green" as you can get. (Plus, they have really cool bobbins.)

The antique treadle above is from Germany, with nautical detailing, and it has served for years as a  tchotchke-display dust-catcher in my house. The ironwork underneath features several elaborate, hard-to-dust anchors and chains. (Why would a 19th century German sewing machine have a nautical theme? Was this machine intended for use on boats?)
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The goldwork on the machine itself is glorious. There's a Botticelli-esque long-haired woman holding an anchor on the top right of the machine - sorry I couldn't quite capture it with the photo. The ellipticals at my gym don't have anything like it.

While I'm in a prophecizing mood, I'm also seeing a day, in the not too distant future, when antique treadle sewing machine bases will be added to ordinary desks and tables for a shabby chic, vintage approach to exercise. At the dinner table of the future, everyone will treadle as they eat. Even La-Z-Boy recliners will bow to the overwhelming medical evidence, and install pedals in its reclining foot rest. People will be able to watch tv, recline AND exercise, all at the same time.

Research about the hazards of sitting suggests another important health strategy for quilters. Quilters should squat, lift, carry to the garage, and toss in the trash barrel all those lovely magazines and books about making our sewing space more efficient. Next,  rearrange everything in the sewing room in the least efficient manner possible. That ironing surface that you strategically placed right next to your machine? Set it as far away as possible. Your rotary cutting setup should, of course, be in another distant corner - better yet, of another room. If your sewing area is in the basement, store your fabric in the attic, and vice versa.

OK, so you'll be perpetually annoyed, and get less done, but you'll also become more fit! The energy and the years you add to your life will doubtless outweigh the extra time it takes to finish anything!

A Glutton for Guidelines

Good Eatin'! What it is it? Asparagus in an ice cream bowl, as in the wacky novelty fabric above?

I worked for many years as an editor of a national health magazine, in which we published plenty of articles that referred to the 'food pyramid.' Specifically, the 1992 USDA Food Pyramid.

How I loved this infographic! Not only did it have a  inexplicable starry black night sky, a hint of perspective, and a counter-intuitive interpretation (the items at the top are bad; stuff at the bottom is good), but it exhorted me to make grain - pasta, bread, and cereal -  the star of my meals.

My husband and I took this pyramid at its word, ate large plates of pasta and rice every day, and, over the pyramid's 13-year lifespan, gained more than 20 excess pounds each, and my spouse became prediabetic.

Plus, it inspired this  fun wall hanging that displays many of the food-themed novelty fabrics for which I'm a glutton:

The 'batting ' is black felt, and I did a lot of what's called 'broderie perse,' which means I cut things out of one fabric and stitched them onto another. 

Food fabrics make up the light large central triangles. On the bottom light row, for grains (above the wording) there are fabric triangles representing wheat, corn, matzoh (see my other website), a bakery, sheaves of wheat, pasta, more bread, and a bagel.

Traffic signs are in the black triangles on the right and left sides, to signal what's good fuel,  and what should be approached with caution. I've stitched words with serving quantities down the right side. There are a few fun 3-D images connecting outer triangles, including a teapot, a bottle of hot sauce, a martini and an ice cream float.  The central pyramid is pieced, and everything else is raw-edge applique. The lettering is cut from gold tissue lame, backed with interfacing and fusible web. 

The quilt was on my kitchen wall for years. How we loved it. My children learned so much. It was a terrific conversation piece. (We debated whether Tweetie Bird, who I placed in the meat/fish/dairy row, was a parakeet or poultry.)

Then, nutritionists realized it was flawed. In 2005 the USDA came out with MyPyramid..

Although enigmatic, and the barely-sorted foods look like they've been tossed down quickly for a yard sale, it is quite colorful, and features a back staircase, with a Matisse-like figure clambering up for exercise.

That rather abstract graphic soon gave way to a new shape: circles. In 2011, the USDA issued MyPlate, announced by Mrs. Obama.

Very "modern" colors. The circles aren't as visually compelling to me as the pyramid. But the Harvard Public Health School faculty evolved a variation, with a plate AND a pyramid that are a little more specific, and, for quilters, more visually exciting: http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/what-should-you-eat/pyramid/. 

As for where this is all going, nowadays most nutritionists agree that fresh vegetables and fruit should star in our meals. There's still plenty of controversy about grains (quantities),  protein (quantities, and animal vs. vegetable sources), and the virtues/dangers of fish, dairy, sweeteners, oils, and alcohol. (Should be consumed not at all/in small quantities/moderately/with abandon, depending on who you ask and who pays for their research).

It's no secret that there's an obesity crisis in America. Even with shifting guidelines, we all need reminders to eat healthier and exercise more. In the last two of years, I lost many of the pounds I'd gained under the old pyramid, by following the vegan-style eating plan of Joel Fuhrman. author of Eat to Live. If he had a plate infographic, it would be 90% vegetables and fruits, with a small sliver for grains, starchy vegetables, and nuts, and less than 1% for meat, oil and dairy.

Maybe I could use some of those hyper-realistic  fruit and vegetable fabrics, like the RJR Farmer's Market line (no financial affiliation). And instead of the bakery lady with the demure collar and sleeves at the bottom right corner of  my  old pyramid quilt

I could sneak a little phototransfer of our First Lady, with pearls, but sleeveless,

Makes me want to do bicep curls right now.

Put a magnet on the back and hang it from the fridge.

Do you have food and/or nutrition quilts, tablerunners, placemats, etc.? If so,  I'd love to see them!