Modern Quilting with Bright Colors

Hello!
I have been getting a bit more into my studio now that spring is coming and the winter deadlines are fading as fast as the snow is melting.

With Easter approaching, I thought it would be fun to design my own Easter quilt. The bunny and carrot were done first as they were the trickiest with a few pieces to figure out.
The eggs were nice and simple and bright rick rack finished them off.

Spending some time working on different free motion designs within  a quilt and to play with bright colours and drunkard path blocks. My colours at the moment seem to be bright blue, pinks and greens. 

When watching a movie with the kids, hand sewing these hexies is a great way to keep productive while enjoying family time. 

The national quilt organization I belong to, is hosting a Postcard Challenge this May and you make a postcard, mail it in, and it gets displayed at their annual conference where you can buy the postcards for $5 each and the money goes to the Children's Hospital in British Columbia, Canada. I kept mine simple and modern, hoping that would be a nice draw for someone to purchase. 

Last picture is I am spreading my wings.  My father was an amazing carpenter and could make anything. Most often design his own items. This is a small coaster with epoxy that I dyed blue. I have four more in the making. Eventually I want to make bigger items but need to start small to perfect the process. 

Hope you are getting crafty as spring comes into season!

How To Make a Quilted Postcard Tutorial

Quilted postcards have to be one of the most fun things to make! When I was working with a group of  quilters across the country, we made postcards for each member of the group and mailed them across the country. What I ended up with was a beautiful collection of these gorgeous works of art from some wonderful women.  It is still a special treasure to me. 

My very dear friend Cindy Scraba has created and sponsored a wonderful postcard project that is giving back to a wonderful cause. Through the Canadian Quilters' Association, Cindy has created a Postcard Challenge of  quilted postcards that will then be sold at the national quilt conference in May 2018 in British Columbia Canada, with the proceeds going to the BC Children's Hospital.

Helping Cindy is another superb lady, Karen who is receiving all of these postcards before May 1, 2018 and will then have them ready to be judged and displayed at the conference! 

Now the best part!  The theme is 'Inspired By Nature' and there are cash prizes to be won!  Check out the prizes here!

I thought it would be fun to show you just how easy it is for you to make a postcard, so you too can join in the fun!

Supplies for a 4" x 6" postcard:

Fabric for the top - you won't need much, just some of your favourite scraps

5" x 7" stabilizer for the centre. Peltex is often used, or batting can be used, I like bamboo batting. 

5" x 7" for back of postcard. 

Two 4" x 6" pieces of fusible product (optional)

Instructions:

Design the front however you want, remembering that you have 1/2" on each side that is going to get trimmed, once all the layers are put together and quilted. The reason we went a little bigger is you know sometimes in quilting it can eat the fabric up a bit, so better safe than sorry. 

Your top of postcard can be pieced, fused, embellished... whatever you want. Think of it like creating a minature quilt! 

Postcard top - pieced, stabilizer for centre, back

Once you have your top created, you are going to put the layers together. If you are worried about movement, you can apply fusing to the wrong side of your postcard top and back and fuse them to your batting or stabilizer. Once you have your quilt sandwich, quilt it as you desire and add any embellishments you may want. Trim to a 4" x 6" size.

To finish your postcard, there are 3 common ways. The easiest is a simple satin stitch around the edges holding it all together.  If you like the ease of satin stitch but not the look, remember you can cover it with couched yarn or rick rack or even tiny buttons! 

TIP: When doing satin stitch around the edges, it sometimes gets caught on corners. In order to avoid this, start in the middle of each side and stitch right to the end. Go back and start in the middle of the side and stitch to the other end. This way you never have to start or maneuver around a corner. 

The second way is to do the traditional binding. If you usually use a 2 1/2" strip, you may want to downsize it to a 2" strip as the quilt is quite small. 

The last way is the pillow case method and you would need to do this method prior to assembling your quilt. Once your top is done, you will trim your top, batting/stabilizer and backing to 4 1/2" x 6 1/2". Layer it as follows: stabilizer/batting, then backing right side up, then postcard top, right side down. Pin carefully and  sew entirely around the postcard with a 1/4" seam except for about 3 inches in the middle of the bottom edge. Trim all around leaving an ⅛ inch, trim the corners close. Turn inside out, pushing out the corners carefully. Close the open seam with invisible stitches. Now quilt as desired.

Enjoy making your postcards, I bet you find it hard to make just one!

Prepping for Quilt Canada!

May and June are my crazy months!  Have been for the past four years. This is when I get ready for Quilt Canada and have the honour of representing the Canadian Quilters' Association at the conference.

This year someone thought it would be fun to see if people would like to tour our National Juried Show with me while I gave a short lecture as we went around and looked at the award winning quilts.  Despite my huge fear that no one would sign up, they did. So much so, that I sold out! And they added two more tours, and those sold out!

Needless to say, I will spend alot of time in the National Juried Show floor.. which is fine by me, it is my most favourite place to be at Quilt Canada, well that and the Merchant Mall!

I also thought it would be fun to have a really crazy booth for CQA/ACC.  You know, not one where you just hang quilts in.  Something that people would remember.   That may or may not be a good thing.  Regardless, I got put in charge of booth decorating.
To date I have pool noodles in use and 1,000 circles cut of various shapes and sizes.   Yes, there is an excellent chance I won't get put back in charge of booth decorating next year=)

Besides that I have discovered how to make tassels and have got it down to 90 seconds per tassel.

Uh huh, slight addiction happening.  And yes, they are showing up on my quilts in the very very near future=)

A New Art Quilt, Some Great News and Two Winners

The two winners from my giveaway last week are:

 Anita said...

So lovely! I think that mini is just beautiful!

I'm a follower...thank you!

KatieQ said...

I'm a new follower. I am delighted to have found your blog. I love the tutorial, especially the loopy grosgrain leaves.

I have already contacted them and will send them my hand dyed fabric.

Now, here is what I finished up yesterday.

It is another of my 3D quilts.   The butterfly is also very much three dimensional and it along with the centre of the flower has a beautiful red crochet lace couched around the edge of them.

The centre of the flower is a fabric covered button using my new Itop tool.   Very cool I might add!

Lastly, my very good news is that effective June 30, 2012 I will be joining the Board of Directors for Canada's Quilting Association.  I am very excited to be part of such a fabulous team that does so many proactive things for quilters in Canada.   I can't wait to meet all the wonderful quilters across our great country!

Having Fun at a Guild Meeting

I continue to write humourous columns in our national quilt magazine, the Canadian Quilting Association.   I had a lot of fun writing this one.

A Typical Guild Meeting

Most of us belong to a quilters’ guild.  Some of us have actually been there at the ground floor, while others join in after its existence became known to them, and still others are simply curious in checking out what a guild is all about.

I joined my guild five years after it was founded, so the operation of it  was already pretty smooth.   Until I arrived, anyway.  I am one of the youngest members of our guild, excluding the 7-year-old, the fashion model quilter and the girl who makes rainbows look pale in comparison  to her quilts.   After these youthful show -offs, I am the youngest. 

I have run into some pretty funny things in my guild and others.   So, of course, I feel the need to enlighten you.   (Note, if you belong to my guild, it may be in the best interest of our friendship for you to stop reading now.  If you didn’t really like me before, things are not going to improve throughout this article.)

Let’s be upfront and honest here.   Why is it when two or more women get together it involves food?  And trust me when I say it is never carrot and celery sticks, with a low fat dressing for dip.   I have never heard of a guild meeting where there wasn’t a break so the women could have coffee and a ‘light snack’.   And by light snack you know I mean heap-your-plate-full-of-as-much-dessert-as-you-can-possibly-balance, so that it looks like the Leaning Tower of Pisa by the time you get back to your chair.  

The funniest guild newsletter I ever read had a tear off and return section of the newsletter where members had  to vote over the dessert break.   You could either vote for fewer desserts, meaning less members had to bake, or more desserts, which meant more members needed to volunteer to bring in desserts.   I still laugh my head off when I think of that guild.   I guess eating definitely took priority over quilting. 

Regarding those newsletters, the amount of work the editors put into them is phenomenal.   It should almost be a paid position.   But you know, dear editors , it is very frustrating for a new member to read;  “If interested in the workshop, please call Pat.”  Well, who the heck is Pat?   Sure, if you were alive when the guild started you may know that Pat is the little grey haired lady in the corner of the room, but then again, that could be 80% of the members.

And what about those name tags?   How many of you actually wear them?   How many of you actually own one?   Please don’t tell my guild, but I don’t even have one.  Why?  Mostly because I am too lazy to make one.    I know, you are supposed to wear them so the new members can get to know you.  Blah blah blah.   Really, if a new member needs to speak to me, is she going to come right up to me and then suddenly veer off when she sees I don’t have a name tag on?   And not talk to me?  Or is she going to be a grownup and ask the important question of, “Can you please tell me where the dessert table is?”

Please don’t take pity on me, I certainly don’t want 3,000 name tags showing up in my mailbox.    

I can’t imagine being a new member at a guild.  It seems like everyone knows everyone else and we all hang out in our little cliques.   There is the appliqué gang, the piecing grannies  and the hand quilting group.   I was never allowed into that one.  And don’t forget the artsy peeps.   How the heck do you meet anyone new?  

I remember once mentioning I would like to learn to hand quilt to someone.  Well, they said, “You should go and see ‘Myra’, she is the best one in the guild.”  Yes, that is what I want to do; go and show the best hand quilter my large basting stitches that I am trying to pass off as hand quilting.   I quickly found some new friends over at the ‘anything goes in quilting’ clique, and practiced hand quilting there.  

Does your guild lack volunteers?  Is your executive made up of the same people year after year, except they all switch positions to try and keep it interesting?   Every year in the spring, the president states how easy it is to do a job, how “many hands make light work”, and if no one volunteers, we can’t have a program.   All the members are thinking is, “Wouldn’t it be nice if the meeting just consisted of showing up, seeing some quilts and eating desserts?”

The actual running of the meeting never changes, does it?  The president and secretary perch at the front,  usually taking them 10 minutes to get everyone to be quiet and sit down.   I always wonder why they don’t serve dessert at this point.  If everyone’s mouths are full, they can’t talk and then the president has the floor.  It would also save that mad ‘cattle call’ to the dessert table at break that happens each meeting.  

Most guilds run from September to June.   Some months are so predictable.   For example, there is always a big dinner in December, because we all aren’t already getting one on the 25^th and need an excuse to eat another huge dinner.   June is always the end of the year wrap up… of course, another opportunity to eat.  What about every September; do we have to have an ice breaker game to meet new members?   Honestly, I have my quota of friends at the guild.   If I feel I need more, I will go and get some. But some game where I have to partner up,  stand on my head and name five quilt blocks that start with the letter ‘B’ is not the way to do it. 

Lastly is show and tell. Is it not the favourite part of the meeting?  Second only to coffee break of course.  Does every guild not have that one member that gets up there and has to tell a story that is so long that you don’t even look at the quilt for fear of encouraging her further?  Here is what I do.  The moment she unfurls that quilt, I start clapping.   The more she tries to tell her story, the louder I clap.   While some may think it rude, I believe it is saving my sanity.

In conclusion, if anyone has a membership form they want to send me so I can join their guild, it would be most appreciated.   I am quite confident my guild will be revoking mine.

 This article was published in the Winter 2012 CQA/ACC issue.  Please don't copy without written permission.  Thanks so much!

Traditional versus Contemporary Quilting

I have mentioned that I write for our Canadian Quilting Association magazine.  On the top of my blog is a tab 'My Articles', and there are more of my articles here.

Traditional versus Contemporary Quilting

If this isn’t the hot topic in quilting these days, I  don’t know what is.

Have you ever overheard members trying to book a guest speaker?  “ I want a trunk show of traditional quilts!   I want a speaker who is knowledgeable on all the new art quilting techniques.”

I figured there had to be at least a few of you who were as confused as I was in determining what is an art quilt, and what is a traditional one.  And furthermore, to distinguish what clarifies a contemporary quilter versus a traditional quilter. 

I made a list of top 10 features to be able to tell each one apart.   Carry this with you and when the topic comes up, whip out your list and you can set everyone straight.

How to pick out a traditional quilter:

1.      Their hair colour, not sure of the proper term these days, but grey, white, and silver should give you the idea.

2.     They only shop in quilt stores, and most only go to the same one they have gone to since they started quilting. 

3.     Their machine is the same one they had when they left home and got married.

4.     They have made at least one whole cloth quilt.

5.     They can talk for hours on thimbles, recipes and grandchildren.

6.     They are experts at putting a quilt in a frame and marking it.  

7.     They may not have the newest tools, but they have the most dependable ones.

8.     They have mastered the techniques they use and don’t feel the need to learn new ones.

9.     They still attend ‘quilting bees’.

10.  They are the greatest group of quilters and need to be remembered as the founders of this amazing activity.

How to pick out a contemporary quilter:

1.     They ‘look’ like they are under the age of 60.

2.     They own a long arm machine and know how to use it. 

3.     They have blogs, websites, Facebook and Twitter, and do most shopping online.

4.     Their sewing machines cost more than their cars, and they have at least two.

5.     They have a stash that makes up 60% of their household contents.

6.     They have gallery showings of their work, and enter into many juried shows.

7.     They have a closet full of embellishments, most of which they have never used.

8.     Their husbands think the freezer downstairs is full of food.  It isn’t.

9.     They are outgoing, friendly and know how to have a good time.

10.   They want to promote quilting as an art and are doggedly determined to do so. 

How to tell a traditional quilt:

1.     Colors are subdued.

2.      There are no prints in the quilt.

3.     It has to be 100% cotton.

4.     It is going to be so large, that you probably have to stand at the other end of the room to see the whole thing.

5.      It is only hand quilted.

6.     The artist’s statement is short and only talks about why the quilter made it. Usually an anniversary, wedding or birth are the reasons.  

7.     There is no fusible or machine appliqué, only the real hand method of this technique.

8.     It takes over a year to make this quilt.

9.     There are well over 1,000 small pieces of fabric in it.

10.   There is usually a red ribbon hanging off of it. 

How to tell an art quilt: 

1.     It has no less than 1,000 pieces of embellishment on it,  that do not necessarily make the quilt look better.

2.     It comes in any size, shape or form.

3.     There are various types of material in it, some may not yet be discovered by man.

4.      Good chance there is something you just threw out in your garbage  attached to the quilt.

5.     It is all machine quilted, you will see NO hand work on this quilt.

6.     The fabric will be ‘altered’ in some way. 

7.     The artist’s statement will have a list of techniques, most of which you probably haven’t heard of.   This includes stencilling, discharging, batiking, waxing, shaving, batching, mod podge, gluing, stamping,  slicing, brewing, firing, bonding, cracking,  chewing, molding, shampooing, and conditioning.

8.     The name of the quilt will in no way have any relation to the sight of it.  It probably has a number behind it, as it is in a ‘series’.

9.     A pattern is never used to make this type of quilt, mostly because no one in their right mind would buy the pattern.

10.  It makes no sense to you, has no flow, no rhythm, no theme, and that is what makes it art.

 This article was published in the Spring 2011 CQA/ACC issue.  Please don't copy without written permission.  Thanks so much!

My Writing

My little secret.  I mentioned before that I did some writing.   Here is the scoop.  I write for our national quilting publication here in Canada.  I have my own column.  It is a humorous approach to quilting.  Occasionally the editor feels the need to put in a little sidebar stating that my humour does not reflect the views of the magazine.   I guess there is a need to warn the readers that this chick is very sarcastic.   Such is life.   I mean no harm to anyone, and I usually laugh my head off while I write them.  

The editor, a dear sweet super talented woman, has given me permission to allow my articles to be put on my blog.  So just to follow copyright procedures, this one is from the Summer 2010 CQA/ACC magazine.

My disclaimer is this, it is not one of my funniest.  But it was my first one, so I think it deserves to be showcased too.   As an aside, I do have an all time favourite article, and it will get published here.  I still can't read it without laughing, and trust me when I say I have read it over 50 times.   

I even have a name I write under, I call myself the 'Creative Cousin'.  Anyway, have a read, and I hope you have one chuckle. 

The Fabric Phenomenon

There is one thing that every quilter needs in order to create a quilt.  I am not referring to chocolate, although that is an important tool in quilting,   I am talking about  fabric.

We need fabric to make our works of art.   But it is more than that.  We need it to sustain us.   Every quilter has some experience in this area.   I have met hundreds of  quilters, and each is different in their fabric needs and wants.  After careful research,  I have come up with several types of quilters.  

I will start with  those quilters that buy fabric at the onset of every quilt.   They must purchase new material  as they start a new quilt.  I call this group the  Methodical Quilters.   They have the same practiced method each time they begin a new quilt.   They find a pattern, decide on the size of quilt, jot down the amount of fabric needed, and immediately drive to  their  favourite quilt shop.  After a set amount of time looking at material, they purchase it, drive home and begin cutting it up.   These quilters I admire.   They set goals, work at it, and finish the quilt in a timely manner.   They are a very rare breed.   I don’t  qualify for this group, chances are you don’t either.  

I love  the ‘Oh my gosh,  I can’t believe I just found a quilt shop’  Quilters.  The members of this group  boast extreme politeness and  thoughtfulness.   Upon stumbling  onto  a new quilt store,  (that they had secretly spent hours researching ,  then acting completely surprised when they find it),  they go in and feel it is only courteous to buy something from this business to show their support and thankfulness that there was a store in the area they were shopping in.  Guaranteed you know someone who fits into this group, as you probably always offer to  go with them when they say they are going shopping. 

There are some  that take the scientific approach to quilting.  I call this group the Fabric Scientists.   These are the quilters that will pull several pieces of fabric out of their stash and look at them together, then separately, make notes,  move them around in another manner, mix them up again, take more notes,  and finally come up with a synopsis that they simply must purchase more fabric in order for this experiment  ( quilt) to work.  

I would be remiss if I didn’t mention the  Scholarly Quilters.  These women study the many  topics of quilting.   For example, one area is colour.   In theory the colour wheel is discussed along with values, hues and intensity.   When it comes to doing the practical, you are forced to go into your stash and create different examples showing the hues and values of several colours.  At this point, the Scholarly

 Quilter realizes that in order to achieve a better mark, it  is  imperative that they  purchase more fabric.   I sometimes take a course just to provide a more innovative  excuse to my husband as to why I need more fabric, usually ending with the comment, “You don’t want me to fail the course, do you?”

The new trend is the Enviro Quilter.   This person is the one that knows how important it is to recycle and reuse fabric.  This is becoming very popular.   You will find this quilter in second hand stores, rummage sales and even looking through your garbage.   They produce fantastic quilts and save a lot of money.  And what a great way to increase your stash.

Then there are the quilters that I envy.   They are the ones that have worked hard their whole lives, raised their children, looked after their husbands and now it is their time to enjoy life.   I call these ladies the Golden Quilters.   They are the ones that go into a quilt store and buy whatever they want, whenever they want.   These quilters deserve it, and I applaud them for getting to this point in their lives where they can enjoy themselves. 

I think the most fun one to watch  is the Impulsive Quilter.   This one goes to every quilt show with the motive that they are not going to buy any fabric.  They are simply there to take in the beauty of the quilts, and enjoy the company of other quilters.   Nonetheless this quilter ends up in the vendors’ market every time with her wallet open.   You can always zero in on the Impulsive Quilter by the comments made.  “Oh,  I really shouldn’t get this, I already have so much fabric.”  Or “I don’t even know what I am going to use this for, but I simply must have it.”

My favourite line is when they get into the car with their friends and are doing a little show and share and the impulsive quilter exclaims, “I had no idea I bought so much!”

A Little Humor

The secret is out.  If you live in Canada and belong to the Canadian Quilting Association, then you already know.   Most likely you don't though.

I write a humorous column for their magazine.   I have been doing this for over a year now.   I should clarify, when I say ' humorous', I mean total sarcastic funniness.

The other day a few of the gals on the design team were having a rough day, so I sent them one of my articles.   They laughed.  ALOT.   Well, they told me that anyway.

The next day Amanda, our leader, asked me to write a little article for her blog about our team.   I did.   Check it out here.

Then come back and tell me what you think of it.  Stay tuned for a giveaway.   I have been dyeing a ton of fabric and feel like downloading some to my peeps=)

National Juried Show in Canada

Imagine my excitement that after 6 years of waiting,  I was finally able to attend my very first National Juried Show.   And to top it off I got to see four of my quilts in the show.

Even better, I was able to meet up with internet friends, old friends and new friends.  Needless to say, I had a total blast.   The competition was incredible.  There are some wonderfully talented quilters here in Canada.
The show was held at my alma mater, the University of Western Ontario.

And here is the sign I have been waiting to see for a very long, long time:

I was able to attend the awards ceremony with my dear friend Elaine Quehl.  Elaine had a gorgeous quilt in the Juried Show and another one in the Invitational Show.  She was also teaching a workshop there as well.   She is a super talented quilter from Ottawa.

CQA was celebrating it's 30th anniversary, so there was a huge cake there.

In a juried show, pictures are not allowed to be taken of the quilts.  But the exhibitors were granted a 30 minute time to enter with their photographer before the show opened.   I took advantage of this, and chose to stand beside 'Bye Gram, I Love You' for my picture.

I went through the vendors market and was in love with all the fabric and thread.   I met so many fantastic people.  It was just great being with quilters who share the same passion I do and can relate to all the things we deal with in quilt competitions.  I met the judges, and soon will get my critiques in the mail.   I learned a ton just seeing the other quilts close up and meeting the other quilters in the show.  

It was a weekend I will never forget.

CQA Trend Tex Quilt and Giveaway Winner

As I am typing this, I see that I have 149 followers, just 1 shy of my goal of 150 by March 31st.   So close, I think I need another giveaway in a few days to get over the hump.

I have had several of you email asking where to buy the Citra Solv in the post below.   You can buy it in North America at just about any big grocery store.  It can also be ordered online almost anywhere.   I have enclosed the link to the site.  Be sure to check out the gallery they have there too.

This little art quilt shown below is donated to CQA/ACC for their silent auction that takes place at Quilt London this May.  This is CQA's big fundraiser.   The fabric is donated by Trend Tex, and members buy the specified package of 5 fat quarters and have to make a small art quilt based on the given theme. 

This year's theme was 'Quilting in the Forest'.   I have titled my quilt, 'Branching Out'.  It is 3D, the tree was sewn and then stuffed.  The leaves were made fusing 2 different colours together then cutting and stitching.   I did a bit of discharge dyeing on the background, and both the tree and background had Shiva paintstiks applied.  I found some big beads that looked like leaves so added them as well. 

I certainly don't like the colour combination chosen for us, but maybe that was part of the challenge. 

I will package it up and the next time I will see it is when I am in London to see my other art quilts in the National Juried Show.

Without further ado, the winner of the giveaway is:

Mariliz said...



I'm a new follower and the fabric is just lovely!





I will be hosting one more giveaway near the end of the week. 

Trend Tex Challenge

Each year Trend Tex Fabrics generously donates fabric to the Canadian Quilters Association for our annual challenge.   This is our major fundraiser for the organization.   Wall quilts are made up and sent to the annual convention and a silent auction takes place.    This year's theme is Quilting in the Forest.

I am working away on mine.   Of course it is going to be 3D.  You can see this by the green branches poking out of one picture.   I have discharged and stencilled the fabric with Shiva Paintstiks.  

Here are some pictures of my progress. 

Leaf Bowl for CQA/ACC

As I have mentioned before the Canadian Quilters' Association national quilt show is in London Ontario this year in May.  For the first time, I plan to go.   One of the things they do is ask guilds across Canada to make something for all the delegates attending.  In past years, it has been table toppers.  This year it is a leaf bowl.   It was fast and easy to do.  I made it by fusing material to both sides of timtex.   Next I cut out the pattern and zigzagged all the way around.  Last I sewed up the slits on all four sides to give it the bowl appearance.  

My Column Is Out

I received my copy of 'Canadian Quilter' today. I tore open the plastic and went straight to the table of contents. There I found my very first article for my column on page 72. The editor, Marsha, did a terrific job on laying it out.

I had to have a writing name, so called myself the 'Creative Cousin'. My blog is mentioned under a description of myself, as well as a picture of me and one of my fabric stash.

And I received extra copies to hand out to family and friends. That was a nice treat.

Check me out and leave a comment!

Guild Challenge

In 2 weeks we have to bring in our table toppers that we have made for the challenge. I still have to quilt this one. I have 3 to enter. One is done and I will post that soon.

We had to stick our hand in a bag and pull out a small bag of fabric and we were to use that for our table toppers. These toppers are then being judged, prizes given, and sent to the CQA Quilt Canada conference to be given to the delegates. Yes, the same conference my quilts didn't get into.

About that, I have received some wonderful feedback. Thank you! And realize that my black Perseverance, didn't have a good enough picture showing the quilting. My fault. A good lesson learned.

I have licked my wounds and found a wonderful saying that I think is perfect to post today:

Expect the best, plan for the worst, and prepare to be surprised.
-- Denis Waitley