Bill Stearman, Quilt Maker

  Here's where I will be selling my fabric! I will also have some of my earlier quilts there for sale at VERY reduced prices. I'll try to post pictures of what I'll be selling later today, or tomorrow.

I've been busy dyeing fabric!  The quilt top above is made entirely of hand dyed fabric created last week.  I'm still ironing it this week ... about 60 metres of it! Below, are three of the rinses sinks. I think I filled the three sinks four or five times! I'm loving the results though!  

At the moment, this is still a work in progress.  Today, it will go to my quilter, Deanna Gaudaur ( quintestudios.com ). Soon it will come home and go through a regular cycle in the washing machine. It will fray and soften. Then, this quilt will tell the story that I want it to tell. In early January, I was diagnosed with Liver Cancer. At the time, the prognosis was pretty bleak because of my age, and talk centred around treatment to keep me comfortable and to extend my life for as long as possible.  Generally, the expectation was two to five years. My head and my heart went to some interesting places during the weeks that I ‘lived’ with this diagnosis. My emotions were wild, but my head and my heart calmed me and brought me comfort. I have crammed a lot into my seventy-one years.   For the most part it has all been good.   I have loved and been loved. Generously.  I have cared, and nurtured, and been kind and giving.   I have experienced that same goodness...

  I recently sold my Surviving January quilt to the folks at the Eddie Hotel and Farm , here in Prince Edward County. This is it, hanging just inside the front door. I couldn't ask for a better home for it ... or a more stunning setting! It looks fabulous there!

  I am back to taking bookings for my Back Pack Show!! Yeah!! My Doctors have given me the go ahead, since there is no actual travelling involved.   So far, I have been booked for Halifax, NS … Lethbridge, AB … Orange County, California … and maybe Haliburton School of Art and Design (if it runs next summer). I’ve revamped my Back Pack Show and added many of my newer quilts.  After the year that I’ve had, my quilts more than ever, seem free to speak my truth … :-) I’d love to visit your Guild, Shop, or group! Cost is just $250 and you are free to invite as many paying guests as you'd like! Contact me at b.stearman@hotmail.com

I am beyond excited that this quilt, ‘Finding Comfort in the Unknown’ was one of 72 works, out of 328 entries, selected for the 2021 Quilts=Art=Quilts show at the Schweinfurh Art Center in Auburn, NY. You can find more information about this show here.

I am SO excited to be doing a version of my NEW BackPack Show as part of this event. Of course we will follow all Covid Protocols, but I’ll get to see you in person … and you’ll get to see and touch  quilts! Here’s hoping that at least a few of you are in the area and able to attend! 😊   

These quilts will be on exhibit, and for sale at this show.  

*215 pieces of orange fabric  *Quilted using text from the United Nations definition of genocide, entered into force in 1951 “Genocide means any of the following acts committed with  intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group, as  such:  (a) Killing members of the group;  (b) Causing serious bodily or mental harm to members of the group;  (c) Deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to bring about its  physical destruction in whole or in part;  (d) Imposing measures intended to prevent births within the group;  (e) Forcibly transferring children of the group to another group.”  

  I just LOVE the fact that these words came in a handwritten Thank You Note! The young woman who penned these words is a favourite of mine. She’s one of those young folk who help me believe that all is right with the world, because someday, this woman, and folks like her … will be in charge!

  I started piecing this quilt to keep my hands, my head, and my heart busy during the two weeks leading up to my Liver Transplant.  I was filled with so many thoughts, feelings, emotions, scenarios and I just decided that I needed to find a way to be rid of all of that, and to focus on finding comfort. This piece brought that comfort, and continues to fill me with comfort. It is non-conventionally pieced using traditional Japanese yarn dyed fabrics. I didn’t use traditional seamed piecing because I wanted the quilt to fray and soften and have the comfort of my oldest and softest blue jeans. While I was in surgery, my quilter, Deanna Gaudaur ( quintestudios.com ) quilted it for me.   As soon as I got home I washed it, dried it, and then spent the night wrapped in its comfort. It is perfect.

 I am excited to have a quilt featured in A Needle Pulling Thread  again. This time it is in Brandy Maslowski’s column More Joy, Less Overwhelm. I first met Brandy when she interviewed me for her Quilter On Fire Podcast series.  She is a fabulous woman and a real asset to the quilting world. What I like best about her column though is her description of me as a quilt maker … ‘Bill Stearman is a Quiltmaker living in Picton, Ontario who turns a difficult conversation on its head, makes it into a quilt and tells a beautiful story.’ I LOVE that!  Someone who gets me. Thanks, Brandy!

  Me.  Pretty happy.  Smiling in the sun. It's all good!

June: Comfort In Pride  

Before I Made Quilts This quilt is a work in progress.  It is inspired by the Gee's Bend Quilts, and centres around some old blocks rescued from a water damaged quilt top made by my Grandmother over 60 years ago.  

You Can Never Really Go Home Again    

  The Positives and Negatives of Leaving Home

  Home is Where Your Heart Is

His Name Is Clarence  

  ‘Forever Changed’   1:50 pm, January 5, 2021 … “You Have Cancer. Liver Cancer”   And with those words, my life is forever changed.   The doctor kept on talking. I know that he did. I heard his voice. But I didn’t hear a word that he said.   I didn’t hear him say … “You’re lucky. We caught it early.” “We caught this before you developed symptoms. Before you got sick.” “Continue doing what you are doing. It seems to be working.” “Stay positive.” “We’ll get you into ‘the Centre’ as soon as we can.” “There are excellent treatment options.” “Your prognosis is good.”   Instead I heard the word “ cancer ” and everything went dark.   I had to sit down as his voice droned on. I could see my family crying at my funeral. I sensed their sadness. I felt their loss.   I understood their disappointment.  I sank into my own darkness until it enveloped me.    I wanted to cry. I felt like I should. But I couldn’t. My body went numb. ...

https://www.quilteronfire.com/podcasts If you have about 30 minutes, consider listening to my interview with ... Brandy Maslowski – Quilter on Fire Episode # 5