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NIU's all-female a cappella group The Harmelodics warm up before their performace

NIU's all-female a cappella group The Harmelodics warm up before their performace

Watch The Harmelodics Perform "Peaces," a Song Inspired by Quilts

May 4, 2018

An a cappella group at Northern Illinois University arranged a new song inspired by the Pick Museum of Anthropology’s exhibit “Quilts and Human Rights.” Read more to see their premier performance of the song surrounded by the quilts on display, and hear more about the moving exhibit closing celebration. You don’t want to miss this performance - there was not a dry eye in the room!

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The Quilt Mixtape is Back!

April 29, 2018

Quilt pals! I struggle to update this blog lately. Sometimes life gets busy, and that's happened to me this year. My time has been full of nearly constant work and travel - all for exciting reasons - but it means that my quilting time and my blog time is limited. That should change soon. I'm getting back to a special quilt project next month and I can't wait to spend some time with my sewing machine! But for now I long for some uninterrupted quilting time. Enjoy these songs, and I hope they help you with your quilting or writing!

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QuiltCon Recap: My Top 25 Quilts

March 5, 2018

Quilts and quitmakers changed my life. It sounds sappy, but it's true. In my wildest dreams I never imagined the inspiration and friendship that exists in our community. The story that brought me to quilting was painful and traumatic, but the joy I've found in quilting and studying quilt history is unmatched. That's why events like QuiltCon matter so much to me. Four whole days each year of nothing but learning about quilts, looking at quilts, and spending time with friends who quilt?! I'm down. And today I'm sharing my top 25, heart eye emoji, favorite quilts of QuiltCon 2018!

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My Studio's So Bright, I Gotta Wear Shades: Review of Daylight Company's Slimline LED Table Lamp

February 8, 2018

I was thrilled when Daylight Company sent me a beautiful Slimline LED Table Lamp to review! I first saw this lamp at QuiltCon 2017 and thought it would be an incredible addition to my sewing space. I thought this extra task lighting would help me out, but it made an even bigger difference than I expected! Take a look at some pictures of the exact same space with the lamp off vs. on. 

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December Quilt Mixtape

December 31, 2017

December is one of my favorite times of the year. I love decorating the house, having time to spend with family, and most of all, listening to way too much Christmas music! Take a listen to the wonderful holidays songs that I've been playing in my sewing room all month. 

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Finished size: 60" x 78"

Finished size: 60" x 78"

"Dance Music," New Quilt Inspired by the Mountain Goats

December 3, 2017

Read about the inspiration for my newest music inspired quilt "Dance Music," inspired by the song from the 2005 album "The Sunset Tree." 

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Quilt Mixtape: October

October 28, 2017

Listen to some of the songs I've been playing on heavy rotation in October! 

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Quilt Mixtape: September

September 27, 2017

I love music. I listen to it all the time while I work and while I quilt. One of the best things about finding great music is sharing it with your friends! So last month, I started a series that I'm hoping to do every month where I'll share some songs that are on heavy rotation in my sewing studio. My hope is that you will find some new musicians to fall in love with and start quilting along to some of my favorite jams!

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Quilt Mixtape: August

August 21, 2017

I've had the idea for a while to post mini mix tapes once a month on my blog, and my conversation on the Crafty Planner podcast was the perfect motivation to get one ready! From now on, I'll post a few songs that are in heavy rotation while I'm quilting so you can get a little glimpse into what I'm sewing to in my quilt room, singing along with on my commute, or blasting in my headphones at work. The August mix is full of high energy songs that are helping me while I'm doing the physical work of installing an exhibit at work and keeping up with lots of deadlines in my professional and personal lives. Enjoy! I hope you'll find a new musician you like! 

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"Little Lies," Featuring Chroma by Alison Glass

August 9, 2017

This quilt is about harmonies, collaborations, and the incredible things that can happen when talented women work together and learn from one another. Inspired by the Americana/bluegrass group I'm With Her and what their harmonies look like in my mind, this quilt delves deep into collaboration, women's work, and why I love making quilts. 

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What is Sonic Stitches? 

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I'm Laura, and Sonic Stitches is my online quilting home. Follow along as I learn and grow as a new quilter, explore my ideas in quilt series, and write about some of my favorite projects!


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TAKE A LOOK AT MY QUILTS!

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Find me on Instagram @sonicstitches

Oh, #helloquiltcon! Can’t wait to see you later this week!
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I’m Laura. I make quilts, read about quilts, write about quilts, and talk about quilts. I’m presenting three lectures at QuiltCon this year, and I put my schedule in my story highlights - come hear me talk!
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I can’t wait to see the quilts in the show, learn in the lectures I’m attending, and meet new people. Seriously - I want to meet you! I love meeting new folks, especially quilters. Say hi any time! Tell me about your quilts, and I’ll tell you about mine 🖤
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Will I see you at QuiltCon this week?
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#quiltcon #quiltcon2019
Block No. 4 of my musicians quilt!
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Robyn, from the “Call Your Girlfriend” video - follow her @robynkonichiwa
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Last year, I had been thinking about making a quilt with portraits of musicians for a while, but really finalized the idea on a car ride in Utah with some incredible friends and Quiltfolk coworkers. Blasting Robyn’s music while driving through the mountains, I thought about the quilt idea more and started writing my list of musicians to make portraits of while we were traveling. This is a special block, not just because Robyn’s music is so meaningful to me, but because listening to her is what gave me the final push I needed to start working on this quilt - and making these blocks is the most fun I’ve had quilting in a long time!
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Swipe for a picture of Robyn in the “Call Your Girlfriend” video, fuzzy shirt and all. Thanks to @rashida_coleman_hale for designing the perfect fabric for Robyn’s iconic pants! And go to YouTube and watch the actual video if you haven’t seen it before! 🖤
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#quilt #quilts #quilter #quilting #modernquilt #modernquilts #modernquilter #modernquilting #aurifil #aurifilthread #aurifilartisan #robyn #robynkonichiwa
I’m always excited for QuiltCon, but this year has a little something special! Next week during QuiltCon in Nashville, I’m going to see @imwithherband live - the band that inspired this quilt! Spending a day looking at beautiful quilts and then going to a show by a band that inspired one of my music quilt is my idea of a great time 🖤
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#quiltcon2019 #quiltcon #quilts #quilt #quilter #quilting #modernquilt #modernquilter #modernquilting #modernquilts #aurifil #aurifilthread #aurifilartisan #imwithherband
Behind the scenes of Quiltfolk Issue 09: Utah!
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Profiling Ken Sanders of @kensandersbooks for Quiltfolk’s Utah Issue was an absolute delight! I enjoyed every second of our interview, when I learned about the 1960s horror comic “Crazy Quilt,” Ken’s work tracking down rare book thieves, and his time on Antiques Roadshow. His bookshop is a must visit spot in Salt Lake City for any bibliophile - I got four books after our interview!
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Check out the Utah Issue of  @quiltfolk, available now, to read about Ken’s book shop and his unusual connection to quilts! 🖤
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To learn even more about Ken, I recommend reading the illustrated edition of Edward Abbey’s “The Monkey Wrench Gang,” which Ken’s press published, and “The Man Who Loved Books Too Much” which focuses on his hunt for a notorious book thief.
Photo of me doing what I like best - recording an interview with an interesting quilter! Here I was with quilter Ralyn Montoya under beautiful weeping willow trees in the heart of Salt Lake City, learning about her quilting journey for a moving article in @quiltfolk Issue 09: Utah, available now!
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Have you read Quiltfolk’s Utah Issue yet? 🖤
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Photo by @meg4quilts
Behind the scenes of Quiltfolk Issue 09: Utah!
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While we were working on the issue’s story about Sundance Resort, my pal @hyper.scrappy helped me confront my fear of heights by riding a ski lift with me while our team worked on getting incredible shots of @pingel.h and her quilts! I cried the whole time we were in the ski lift, but I’m so glad I did it and glad I had such an incredible friend there with me. I’ll never forget it. Swipe for pictures of our adventures in the air! 🖤
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@yomaryfons @melanie.zacek
Scenes from one of the @quiltfolk crew’s trips to Utah back in September 2018.
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Have you read Quiltfolk Issue 09: Utah yet? I hope so! 🖤
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@hyper.scrappy @yomaryfons @melanie.zacek
If you’re enjoying Quiltfolk Issue 09: Utah and want to learn more, you’re in the right place! Here’s a review of a book I read while researching Utah quilters for @quiltfolk!
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Gathered in Time: Utah Quilts and Their Makers, Settlement to 1950, by Kae Covington, published in 1997.
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“Gathered in Time” is Utah’s State quilt documentation book, produced in conjunction with the Utah Quilt Guild and Utah Quilt Heritage Corporation, which documented over 2,200 quilts at 26 different quilt documentation days across the state. 74 quilts are included in the book.
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Utah has a remarkably well-documented post-settlement history, due in part to early LDS leaders who encouraged Church members to keep journals and record their life experiences. That documentation is on display in this book, which has quotes from early quilters, precise dates for life events, and photos of nearly all the quilters. Of course, most quilt documentation books choose their best documented quilts for publications, but Utah really shines in that area!
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Each quilt is accompanied by a brief one page essay about the quiltmaker and quilt. It’s arranged chronologically but does not have a historical narrative running through it to help readers learn more about the state’s history beyond quilts. But the next book I’m going to share does, so stay tuned!
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Swipe to see pictures of my favorite quilts in “Gathered in Time” - I hope you read this book too! 🖤
Thanks for having fun seeing the beginnings of my new quilt! Please always tell me about the music that matters to you, it’s so interesting!
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Here’s a bit about the quilt that inspired me to start my music quilt (see precious posts for my first three blocks). After about nine months of no sewing for me, due to a serious back injury coupled with a big career change, I wanted to work on something new where I didn’t have to worry about straining my back more at my sewing machine.
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I have a little quilt history library at home that I’m always building. It helps me with research for work, and it also helps me grow as a quilter to read as many quilt history books as I can. Historian + quilter = lots of quilt history books.
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One day, I bought a box of thirteen quilt history books from an estate sale on eBay and split it with my pal and fellow Quiltfolk writer @hyper.scrappy. When I opened the box and saw the quilt on the cover of this book, “Twentieth Century Quilts: 1900-1950,” I became obsessed and knew right away that I wanted to make something that put my own spin on this stunner of a historic quilt. My quilt is inspired by the visual, not the important Depression Era theme. I thought about it a lot and decided that since most of my quilts are about my relationship with music, making little musicians was the way to go! I have a giant binder where I’ve organized info about each block I’m planning/hoping to make, and it’s been a blast getting started 🖤
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Swipe to see closeups if the inspiration quilt, “Prosperity Is Just Around the Corner,” made by Fannie B. Shaw in the early 1930s.
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#quilt #quilting #quilter #quilts #modernquilt #modernquilting #modernquilter #quilthistory #quiltstudy #sonicstitchesquilts #music #musichistory
Block No. 3
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David Byrne, wearing his big suit from the iconic “Stop Making Sense” Talking Heads concert film! Swipe to see the big suit, and to see me holding the block for scale.
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His music has meant so much to me ever since I first heard the Talking Heads. Very few people can string words together the way he does. His solo career and collaborations are incredible. And, as a former very dedicated color guard and winter guard member, the recent collaboration he did with musicians and color guards in “Contemporary Color” was exciting beyond belief. I’ve seen him live a couple times, once with St. Vincent and once on the stunning American Utopia tour. Subscribe to his newsletter for Reasons to be Cheerful! If you don’t listen to David Byrne, I’m so excited for you because you get to hear his work for the first time. Learn more: @davidbyrneofficial
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#quilt #quilts #quilter #quilting #modernquilt #modernquilting #modernquilter #modernquilts #music #musichistory #sonicstitchesquilts #aurifil #aurifilartisan #aurifilthread #davidbyrne #talkingheads #stopmakingsense
Quilt Block No. 2
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St. Vincent! One of my favorite live performers. If you haven’t heard her, check out her music: @st_vincent
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Swipe for the beautiful outfit that inspired this block, and a picture of me holding it for scale. And check out my previous post for Block No. 1 of my new quilt project!
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#quilt #quilter #quilting #quilts #modernquilt #modernquilting #modernquilter #music #musichistory #musicquilt #sonicstitchesquilts #stvincent #stvincentguitar #aurifil #aurifilartisan #aurifilthread
Block No. 1 of a new quilt I’m working on!
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Happy David Bowie Day! My fave musician and constant inspiration would have been 72 years old today. This little 11” needle turn appliqué block is going to be the center block of a new quilt I’m making that’s very different and also the same as everything I’ve done before. I can’t wait to make and share more blocks!
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I chose Bowie’s famous Tokyo Pop costume (swipe to see the original inspiration photo) for his block because it was the first object visitors saw in one of my favorite exhibits, the 2013 Victoria & Albert Museum show “David Bowie Is.” I was fortunate to see that exhibit twice - once in its original installation at the V&A and once at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago. As a curator, it was so interesting to see the differences and similarities in the two installations, and as a Bowie fan it was a delight to see so many iconic objects from his life and work. A new app featuring a tour of “David Bowie Is” was released today so you can see it too!
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What’s your favorite David Bowie album? Mine changes sometimes, but most days my favorite album is Low, which I could listen to every day and still feel something new.
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This is the first of 25 needle turn appliqué blocks I’m making for a quilt that’s tentatively called “Painkillers.” I’ll share more about the whole quilt soon! Thanks to @man.of.action for making the templates for this and all other blocks of this quilt 🖤👩‍🎤🖤
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#quilt #quilts #quilter #quilting #modernquilt #modernquilter #modernquilts #sonicstitchesquilts #konacotton #aurifil #aurifilthread #aurifilartisan #davidbowie #davidbowieday #bowie #music #musichistory
@man.of.action wins this Christmas! He got me this wonderful quilty David Bowie print to decorate our living room, and he’s going to make a frame for it this spring when his wood shop is warm again 🖤🖤🖤
Quiltfolk Issue 09: Utah is here!
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This issue is packed full of interesting people! I wrote six articles, including one about quiltmaker Ralyn Montoya (Navajo), who recently lost her grandmother, a prolific quilter who taught Ralyn to quilt as a way to heal after the tragic loss of her daughter. Also among my stories, a profile of an English literature and women’s studies professor, Melody Graulich, who brought quilts into the college classroom in creative ways. One playful story focuses on Ken Sanders, owner of Ken Sanders Rare Books in SLC and Antiques Roadshow appraiser, who had an unusual childhood fear of quilts that stemmed from a 1960s horror comic called “Crazy Quilt.”
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The stories written by @yomaryfons, @meg4quilts, and new Quiltfolk writer @hyper.scrappy are fantastic! All the stories in this issue delve deep into Utah’s unique quilt culture and history.
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Utah is one of the most beautiful places I’ve been, and the photography in this issue by @melanie.zacek and @azureewiitala will make you feel like you were there.
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I’ll post reviews of books about Utah’s quilt history here soon. If you read the issue and want to take a deeper dive into Utah, you’ll have a great reading list soon!
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Speaking of reading, if you want to follow along with my reading list for 2019, head to my new account @lauras.reads where I’ll post about all the books I read in the coming year. Happy reading, and happy quilting!
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#quiltfolk #quiltfolkmagazine #quilt #quilter #quilting #quilts #quilthistory #quiltstudies
Close up of a scrappy, tied Louisiana block I made for a Christmas gift 🖤❤️💙🖤
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#quilt #quilts #quilter #quilting #tiedquilt #quilthistory #scrappyquilt #friendshipquilt #aurifil #aurifilthread #aurifilartisan
Embroidered signature and date on the Louisiana quilt I made for @yomaryfons 🖤
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#quilt #quilts #quilter #quilting #embroidery #quiltlabel

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