CIRCLES OF MY LIFE: QUESTIONS & ANSWERS
by Jane McLean, Belfast ME

Q: What inspired you to create this exhibit?
A:
  • I was in the process of making a big wall hanging out of Folded Star pieces
  • Fun to design but lacking a personal element
  • Also trying to write a memoir
  • Combined two media, sewing and storytelling
  • To commemorate my 75th birthday
  • To honor the memory of our daughter-in-law, a gifted needleworker
​
​Q: How long did this project take?
A:
  • One year, December 2022 to November 2023
  • To create twenty highly detailed panels as well as signage, publicity, and website

Q: What is a Folded (or Somerset) Star?
  • Patchwork pattern that uses folded squares or circles of fabric to create triangles
  • Triangles are usually arranged in high-contrast circles to make star shapes 
  • Sewn in place on a backing fabric

Q: What is a Pine Burr (Pine Cone)?
A: 
  • Patchwork pattern that uses folded triangles in concentric circles, like Folded Star
  • Placement is not as precise and does not make a star

Q: Which pattern did you use?
A: 
  • Both
  • Generally started with Folded Star for a focused, impact center
  • Changed to less structured Pine Burr for more freedom with colors and patterns
  • Technique adapted from Rachaeldaisy in her book Whizz Bang! Adventures with Folded Fabric Quilts

Q: Did you make panels that don’t follow this arrangement?
A:
  • Definitely, and they were more challenging to create; my husband helped with math, geometry, and construction
  • HOME is laid out like an eight-slice pizza with only a few folded triangles
  • KIMONOS has three small handmade kimonos on one side balanced by triangles on the other (yin and yang)
  • LESSONS LEARNED has a three-dimensional vortex surrounded by triangles radiating outward instead of inward
  • NON-CHUCK-BILL is laid out in sixths rather than eighths
  • OCEAN’s triangles are arranged laterally rather than in circles
  • SPIRAL is made of smaller triangles in concentric circles; color changes create the spiral effect; this was the most challenging and labor-intensive panel to make

Q: Are you a professional sewist?
A: 
  • Definitely not
  • From a long line of needleworkers
  • Sewing for about 60 years, 
  • Love playing with designs, fabrics, colors, and embellishments
  • Previously ran a very small business, PinchPenny Threads

Q: Are you a quilter?
A: 
  • Definitely not
  • Made many simple quilts
  • Like designing and choosing colors and fabrics more than the actual process

Q: Do you use special sewing equipment?
A: 
  • I have a lovely, small home studio with windows looking out to the Maine woods; plenty of light, storage, shelving, and a bathroom
  • Simple low-end workhorse sewing machine on a small sewing table (yard sale)
  • Traditional tools like a rotary cutter and mat, good shears, acrylic rulers, small iron and ironing board (thrift shop)
  • Other tools: chopsticks, colored pencils, small hammer, painter’s tape, glue stick, glue gun (low-temp), acrylic paints, diagonal wire cutters, freezer paper and cereal boxes for templates

Q:  Why do you use freezer paper templates?
A.
  • Can be reused many times
  • Assures that cutting and stitching lines will be circular
  • It’s very easy for the circle to get lopsided and not fit into a 12” hoop; as Scooby-Doo would say "Ruh-roh"

Q: What kind of fabrics do you use?
A:
  • Cotton, mostly quilting fabrics or repurposed shirts; easy to fold, press, and stitch
  • Silk or linen for special panels
  • Polyester felt for central panels
  • I avoided heavier fabrics like flannel, denim, corduroy because of their bulk
  • I avoided wool because I’m very sensitive to it
  • Hand stitching with perle (pearl) cotton embroidery thread

Q: Where did you get your fabrics?
A: 
  • Visualized each panel, drew sketches
  • Wrote a plan for theme, topics, and colors
  • Used my own fabrics
  • For specialties (ex. desert camo), JoAnn in Bangor ME and Mardens in Ellsworth ME
  • McClure and McLean tartans special-ordered from Spoonflower digital printing; this cotton fabric is upholstery weight; I used it sparingly in each panel

Q: Where did you get your embellishments?
A:
  • Visualized each panel 
  • Made a list of possible embellishments (AKA "bling" or "tat")
  • Used my own extensive button collection, jewelry, and other small items
  • Heavenly Yarns in Belfast ME, JoAnn, Michael’s, thrift shops 
  • Small wooden findings from The Other Place in Belmont ME

Q: How did you organize all your materials?
A: 
  • Cut thousands of 3 ½” squares, pressed into triangles
  • Sorted by color or topic, stored in drawers in a rolling crafting cart
  • Made circular templates out of freezer paper, stored in a divided folder 
  • Each panel had its own 12” pizza box with written plan, notes, directions, templates, and specialty items 
  • Embellishments in baggies, jelly jars, fishing tackle-type box

Q: What is on the back of each panel?
A: 
  • Heavy paper is glued onto hoops
  • Wooden discs are glued onto smaller title hoops for weight and stability

Q: Why did you make circular panels?
A: 
  • Had used 12” embroidery hoops in a previous quilt exhibit
  • Lightweight, uniform in look, fairly sturdy, easy to purchase, easy to hang, easy to store
  • Hoops inspired the title of the exhibit, CIRCLES OF MY LIFE

Q: Why did you make twenty panels?
A: 
Q: How did you pick the twenty topics?
A: 
  • Thought about the story I wanted to tell
  • Chose people, places, events that would tell my story
  • Chose the four seasons/four times of day to represent the four quarters of my life
  • Tied all twenty panels together thematically using triangles of McClure/McLean tartan

Q: How did you remember all the details that are in the panels?
A:
  • I have a phenomenal memory
  • I do a lot of writing
  • I have taught “Sharing Your Family Stories” at senior college
  • I asked questions, looked at family photos, did research
  • I don’t listen to music when I work--I let the memories come to me and greet them like old friends, often talking to myself, repeating funny lines, and bursting into song

Q: How can I tell my story in fabric?
A:
  • Pick a topic or subject you’re knowledgeable and passionate about
  • Decide on your audience (personal, family, or public) and how much information they will receive
  • Consider your resources: photos, documents, family stories, family members, yearbooks, baby books, newspaper clippings, online newspapers
  • Ask the 5 Ws and 1 H about your story:
    • WHO is in the story?
    • WHAT is it about?
    • WHEN does it take place?
    • WHERE does it take place?
    • WHY is it important to me?
    • HOW can I share this story?
  • Think about creating a visual image of the essence of your story, not a literal retelling 
  • Take notes, form ideas, draw sketches with colored pencils or markers
  • Try not to censor your ideas, just let them flow 
  • Study fiber art and fiber artists; there are many online resources, in person is even better; go to quilt shows and fiber art exhibits
  • Experiment with colors, prints, textures, placement, embellishment to create a “sensory reality” of your story; I call this “faffing”
  • Decide on:
    • Format: ex. patchwork pattern like Folded Star, collage, thread-stitching
    • Materials: fabrics, embellishments; meaningful fabrics and objects
    • Methods: hand-stitching, machine-stitching, both
    • Size and shape
    • Framing: ex. picture frame, embroidery hoop, traditional fabric binding
  • Begin. Just sit down and begin
  • Be prepared to rethink, to start over
  • Be open to change and inspiration. As my great-aunt said in Growing Up on Butterfield Farm: “I found as I became more and more immersed in the writing that a surprising depth in my memory bank could be utilized.”
  • Be open to suggestions: share your ongoing work with friends
  • Have fun with your project; the more you sew, the more your work will evolve 

Thank you for asking!


Copyright Jane McLean, 2023