Category: 2007

Use for post written in 2007

Visit from Quilting Friend

As I mentioned yesterday TFQ visited me last week. She LOVES fabric. Not just likes, but truly loves. When together and discussing something optional that we don’t want to pay for (parking tickets, etc), we talk about the cost in terms of yards of fabric. For example, “I had better slow down so I don’t get a ticket; that is at least 35.5 yards of fabric.” I find it to be quite hilarious and would love to hear what someone says who overhears these conversations.


She loves fabric so much that she will press any fabric I have not washed and pressed. ANY fabric and she considers it time well spent as she can fondle all of my fabric. A fabric saint, if there ever was one, though I am not allowed to say that anymore.

Over the past several months I have accumulated new fabric (you can look back through the blog to see what it was). I haven’t been very diligent about washing it. I have washed and pressed some, but most was still waiting to be washed when the Fabric Queen arrived. Now it is all washed, pressed and beautifully folded. TFQ pressed it all (see above). We got home from the show and I started shoving loads in the washer and she started pressing the stuff I had washed and had not gotten around to pressing. I have lots of of new dots to use for the Pineapple. YAY!

One of the errands we ran before we went to the show were to go pick up my quilts from the quilter and other quilts from the photographer. I finally got the Nosegay back and above is a detail of the quilting. I haven’t sewed the binding down yet, but it is in the queue.

Two New Blogs to Look At

SF Girl By the Bay is a homey, nice feeling blog. She has some great pincushions she posted recently and a beautiful lamp made from trash.

Patterns and designs are the basic “food” of quiltmaking. Print & Pattern shows all sorts of different designs from stationary, gift wrap, cards, etc. It has a bit of a Japanesy/cartoony feel, but interesting for inspiration.

Enjoy!

The Bottoms of PIQF


TFQ said that after going to a big show she always wants to go on a diet, which set my mind to thinking about rear ends. Not really what I wanted to be thinking about at a quilt show, after all, but there you have it. As luck (maybe not the exact word?) would have it, three forward thinking quiltmakers made quilts with butts. I would have never thought of rear ends as a design idea, but it is definitely an idea.

Aside from patooties, there were other themes we saw at the show:

  • Sunflowers were big
  • Trees – there were lots of beautifully shaped trees in quilts
  • Animals in photo realistic type quilts were also everywhere
  • Trapunto was evident
  • People are doing some amazing quilting, which is a comment I made last year, but this year they are pushing the envelope even further.
  • Many more male vendors at the show
  • Packs of fabric rather than bolts and loose fat quarters 🙁
  • Lots of patterns and kits

There were lots of quilts with sunflowers! They were beautiful and it was amazing to see the artistry and work in some of the quilts. It made me wonder if the Sunflower Council did a lot of advertising in quilt magazines last year?

It was new to see so many males selling in fabric and notions booths. Men have always sold sewing machines, but there they were in the booths selling fabric. One guy from the Apple Scrapyard (see this post to learn more about them-very nice people) wanted to show me how to make a fan quilt. He was adorable and so friendly. I felt bad turning him down, but a big guy sitting in a booth filled with pastel colored Moda fabrics really made me smile.

The sad part is that many booths had only kits (including fabric and pattern) or packs of pre-selected fabric. As you could tell from the photos from yesterday, I had no trouble finding fabrics to buy, but there were many I passed up, because the vendors would not open the pack for me so I could just buy one or two fabrics. I hope the trend, which is obviously moving in that direction, doesn’t end up with having only packs and kits available. Don’t get me wrong, there is NOTHING wrong with kits. It is a good way for a beginner to start, but kits are not for me. There is also nothing wrong with packs. One of my favorite vendors, who wasn’t at PIQF for the second year in a row(!!!), Foothill Fabrics, does FANTASTIC packs. Her fabrics packs are right up my alley: all dots or all stripes or all of a line of fabulously bright colors. I just don’t want to buy packs every time from every vendor. I especially don’t want to buy packs centered around a large scale floral or a conversational print. The bottom line is that I want to choose my own fabric and put it into my own designs. I can certainly admire quilts made from kits and fabric packs, but that is not what I want to do.

Again, there were quilts, clearly made from a pattern, where the pattern maker was not credited. There were even some quilts that were labeled as ‘original designs.’ I think it is wrong to buy a pattern, make the blocks, rearrange them and call it an original design. It is an interpretation of a pattern, but not original.

I know this brings up the subject of blocks, especially classic* ones. If someone else designed the block, can it ever be part of an original arrangement? A complicated question, but I think it can. If you see a quilt, and remake it choosing fabrics as close to the originals as possible, the same setting, quilting and binding, then it is not an original work. If you see a quilt with a block you admire, you make a bunch of blocks in different fabrics and rearrange them in a new and original setting, then it is, if not an original design, an original interpretation of a classic block. I just think it is fair to let the world know where you got the idea. When/if TFQ and I enter the basket quilt into a show, I will certainly say that I saw the quilt at PIQF 2007. If I know the quiltmaker’s name, I will include that as well.

You can find a number of photos from the show here.

N.B. I don’t like the term ‘traditional’ to refer to blocks or quilts, because it seems to imply reproduction fabrics. I like to use classic blocks, but use new and fun fabrics in them.

Quilt Activities for the Week

I spent almost all week engaged in quilt related activities. First, I picked up my Nosegay from the quilter. She did a fantastic job. Photos to follow as it is such a monster I have to move furniture to get any kind of photo.

I also picked up some quilts from the photographer so I can update Artquiltmaker.com. The quilts are older, but it turned out that I didn’t have good photos of these quilts.

I also spent a few days this week at PIQF with the JCN, The Fabric Queen (a new moniker for an existing Artquiltmaker character by request). I took a lot of pictures, which I will share in another post. I didn’t take as many as I would have liked as I was having camera difficulties. We went down early and went to the preview on Wednesday night. The quilts were available for viewing and the vendors were open for business.

I found a couple of fabrics that I can use. The three batiks were just there and gorgeous, but the skeletons are for the Flowering Snowballs quilt (I seem to be getting a sense of humor with the background for this quilt), then, of course, there are dots for the Pineapple.

Additional new fabrics.

We went to Eddie’s Quilting Bee after leaving the show. They moved about three weeks ago and it was right on our way, so we stopped. It is a nice, large, open and light filled shop (even in the pouring rain), but they didn’t seem to have a lot of fabric, probably because most of the fabric was at the quilt show. I found a couple more dots that I can use in the Pineapple. 😉

This is one of the quilts in the show. There were a number of great basket quilts, but one block inspired us to get sewing.

It is pretty much a normal Flower Basket block, but the little Bow Tie in the middle gave it a little extra zing.

Since my design wall is covered with Pineapple blocks, I used The Fabric Queen’s bed as a design wall. The green flannel wasn’t as sticky as I like and the green, though warm, was not that attractive for a background.

Not sure what to use for the background, so I was trying a bit of a print. Not so good, IMO.

I took the Pineapples down (don’t have a cow, they are going back up tomorrow!) in order to put the baskets up. They look much better on white.


Some details of the blocks.

This is how I piece when it is too late at night.

We decided that we would work on this quilt together, so I will take the blocks next time I go up to visit or the Fabric Queen comes here. TFQ is going to work on some alternate blocks in a chain to see if they work. I know I hadn’t planned to start a new project, but it was good to get some baskets out of my system and I am sure I will be refreshed for the Pineapples, which I am reinvigorated to work on.

Apologies for the large photos. I wanted to get something out to you sooner rather than later. More soon.

Fabrics and Flowers

I forgot to mention yesterday that I bought some more dot fabrics at Stone Mountain and Daughter. At least the bottom two fabrics on the right right are from the Katie Jump Rope collection from Denyse Schmidt. KJR isn’t, IMO, as successful as DS’s previous collection, Flea Market Fancy. A couple of the other dots I have in different colorways. As you know I am always on the prowl for dot fabrics with white backgrounds.

Last time I visited St. JCN, I looked through some of her books and found the templates for this flower in Follow the Dots to Dazzling Quilts (another dumb name) by Joan Segna and Jayme Crow. I traced them and brought them home. Lately, they have been calling to me. After I found a whole mailing pouch full of handmade paper, I knew what was in store. While Darling Boy was drawing I cut and pasted. I am still thinking about this layering business. I guess it relates to quiltmaking. I am also still not knowing what to draw, but I guess cutting and pasting is OK, too. I am thinking about cutting out dozens of these flowers and pasting them all over the walls of my hallway until I can get it painted. It is such a depressing shade of life-sucking beige.

New Inspirations (and A New Danger to You)

As you may remember from a previous post that I am teaching a class at work (other life). Above is the gorgeous quilt from one of my students. The photo is not so gorgeous, unfortunately. Alice has used all batiks and the quilt just glows.

I got a new phone for work and it has a camera. Danger! Now I have a camera with me AT ALL TIMES. WOW! This is great for me, because every time I see something I can snap a picture. The color isn’t as good as my other camera, but at least I have it with me all the time.

These are tiles I have been walking past for years. Finally, I was able to take a photo. This is a simple tile pattern, but I love the contrast between black and the pastels.

I stopped by Stone Mountain and Daughter to buy some fabric for pants. While, I was there I saw this quilt (yes, I asked and received permission to photograph). It reminds me of the Piece O’Cake pattern (below-pic from APNQ 2006). I like the subtlety of the fabrics that the maker chose.

This is painting by Carolyn Meyer. Ms. Meyer is the Assistant Director of Fine Art at the Academy of Art. The Academy of Art gallery was one that I went to visit a few weeks ago. I went back, because I love this painting. It has some qualities of Wayne Thiebaud’s work, but this painting is very restful to me. It is called Summer and I would love to have this piece to hang in my house. Unfortunately, it is $1900 and I don’t have it to spent on a painting right now.

One of the mosaics in the building where I work.


September and October provide some of the best weather in my area. One day, after work, I couldn’t shake the need to go and sit by the ocean for a few minutes. Despite the weird looks that Darling Boy gave me and the several questions about what exactly this action meant for his future, we went. We went to a place where they have recently remodeled a few benches and a parking lot at the top of one of the cliffs. While there I saw this tree. I couldn’t shake the idea that the trunks would make a wonderful quilting pattern.
I applied some filters to the photo to try and outline the pattern of the trunks.

Rugs – good quilt patterns?
I like the repetition of the windows with the estuary in the background. The color didn’t come through very well, though.

Los Angeles County Fair Photos

I went to the Los Angeles County Fair last weekend and took a bunch of pictures. It was nice to go somewhere and see a bunch of quilts. I was thrilled to see how many people are making things and taking the time to enter them into the fair.

The pictures were really hard to shoot, because all of the exhibits were in glass cases. Additionally, they all had fluorescent lights in the cases, which seemed to reflect off the quilts. The exhibits were also all folded and the quilts often had other exhibits hanging or standing in front of them. Sigh! I did my best and hope you enjoy the quilts.

Snowballs Really Flowering

I spent the weekend in LA. No machine. I brought my handwork with me and was able to sew four Cross blocks (Flowering Snowballs)! I have said that each one takes me an hour and a half, but these, except perhaps the first, did not take me an hour and half each. I really blew through them.

One has two pinks, but I tried hard on the others to make all the corner pieces different colors. I started to run out of greens and really need to add some violet or purple to the mix. I’ll work on cutting some different colors this weekend.

Now that I have a good amount of blocks, I decided to lay them out. They are really looking good! I just love the design that is made when the blocks are set together.

Wallpaper as a Design Resource

While I was stumbling around my other life, I read ResearchBuzz. At ResearchBuzz, Tara reviews a variety of different sites, tools and features that the Internet throws at us. In today’s newsletter, she reviews a historic wallpaper site called Wallpaper in New England. Ever on the hunt for design sources, I took a look.

There are lots of flowers and border prints. The thumbnails are small. Many are muted colors, but design and layout inspiration abound. I took a look at Accession Number: 1985.26.685, which would be a good layout for a quilt. Take a look and get inspiration from a new place.

Doing Time by Judy Martin

Judy Martin, a quiltmaker whose work I LOVE, sends out a periodic newsletter. She is finishing a book and sent out a newsletter, which had the article listed below. Since I have been attempting to engage in the process rather than the product of quiltmaking, I could very much relate to the article.

DOING TIME (Judy Martin’s Quilting Newsletter for September, 2007)
I read a lot of comments online and hear a lot of things that make me think there are a number of quilters for whom making quilts is a chore. Hear me out on this.

There’s a certain satisfaction that comes from finishing any task, whether it’s doing the laundry or a big project at work or making a quilt. There’s the satisfaction of knowing you completed something; the satisfaction of seeing the end result and being happy with it; and in some cases the satisfaction of getting something out of the way so you can get on to something else.

Lost in those varying sources of self-satisfaction is the satisfaction of the process. I enjoy making quilts, from the first spark of an idea to drafting the pattern to choosing fabrics to cutting the fabric to sewing the component parts back together again.
The process never fails to thrill me. I like making quilts. When I finish a quilt, there’s the thrill of seeing the end result, but there’s also a little bit of emptiness to go along with it. The only way to fill this void is to start another quilt.

I hear and read things all the time, however, that lead me to believe that for some people making a quilt is a chore, akin to cleaning the garage, only it takes longer. For them, finishing the quilt must be just another notch on the belt.

There are two things about that that bother me. The first is that if quilting is a chore, perhaps it’s time to find a new hobby. If you are not happy until you are done, if it’s only about how many quilts you can complete and not about how much you enjoy each quilt you make, then it might be time to move on.

The other thing that bothers me, and it’s a corollary to the first thing, is that when FINISHING a quilt is what drives you, then you’re going to look for patterns with chunkier and clunkier pieces. With less to cut out and less to sew, your quilt will be finished in less time. But it will also be less interesting to look at, and the satisfaction of having done it will not be as long-lasting. Or you’re going to look for smaller projects, like wall quilts, pillowcases, or table runners. (Don’t get me wrong: I make those things, too, but shouldn’t the motivation be that one wants and needs a wall quilt or table runner, not that one needs a project that can be finished
quickly?)

My recommendation is instead of judging yourself by how many quilts you make, consider how much you like each quilt you make and how much you enjoy making it. Enjoy the process; cherish the result.

Conspiracy!

I haven’t had much time to post lately, but wanted to post something. The ‘Net gods and Time goddesses are conspiring against me to get the job done. I uploaded a boatload of county fair photos to Flickr, thinking it would be easier to share them. HA! I got the nasty message that I needed to upgrade my account, because they were hiding all but 200 of my photos. I finally tried to bite the bullet and do it, but Yahoo/Flickr is having a glitch and won’t let me pay. This has happened at least 3 other times when I have tried to upgrade, so perhaps it is not meant to be! Stay tuned for Fair photos: coming soon to a blog near you! 😉

I also worked on Cross Blocks (Flowering Snowballs) while I was in LA over the weekend. I finished four, but haven’t been able to press or photograph. Stay tuned for Cross Blocks: coming soon to a blog near you! 😉


While I did a little facilitation in making this quilt, MavMomMary did all the heavy lifting, then we had it quilted. This is a quilt for one of the nephews. The light green squares have drawings done by friends and family

News and Notes
Patricia Cummings has posted her book, Redwork Embroidery and Needlework Traditions in Europe and America, on her website. Previously reviewed nationally, and previously in print, the book is offered for your enjoyment and enlightenment, free of charge. Both quilts and antique textiles are shown in the book.

Enjoy it at http://www.quiltersmuse.com

NOT All Talk and No Action

Darling Boy and I drew together last night and I started the visual journaling I have been wanting to try. I didn’t do any writing, which I think I should. I found a picture of a fabric flower (fusing probably) in a catalog and have had it pinned to my design wall for ages. I thought of creating an applique’, but never did. The first step to an applique’ is a drawing, so I did some drawings using different media last night.

Felt tips pens.

Colored pencils and chalk pencils.
Crayons.

The drawings didn’t come out the way I expected, but I am not disappointed with the results. I still have the CPS article in my mind and my drawings look very different. If I am going to do much of this, I will have to stop comparing my drawings to anyone else’s and become comfortable with my own style.

Thinking Blogger Award

Kristen awarded me the Thinking blogger Award. While it has taken me awhile to post this on my blog and write about it, I was really glad. I don’t think I have ever really shared my writing in any meaningful way beyond letters to friends, essays at school and my thesis. Receiving Kristen’s Thinking Blogger Award made me feel like I had achieved something.

I started this blog, because:

  1. I needed to jumpstart my quiltmaking work after a long drought of time and ideas. I figured if I had an audience of regular readers, it would help me to keep at sewing and writing.
  2. It was a regular opportunity to write for a reason: I was gearing to up to write something longer and needed to “train.”
  3. I wanted to share what I was doing, including pictures, so that I could get feedback without joining a quilt group.
  4. I wanted to chronicle my progress.
  5. I wanted to explore one subject thoroughly.
  6. I like the concept of social networking and the technologies associated with it.
  7. I wanted to show that an ordinary person could also do extraordinary things sometimes.

I did not start this blog to:

  1. Blather on about my personal problems
  2. To talk about the entire universe of ideas and information.

Part of the Award is to make note of other blogs that inspire me or make me think. Here they are in no particular order:

  1. Yarnstorm creates a beautiful blog. The design of the blog itself is a work of art. Then I get the joy of looking at her photos and her projects and her color sense. It is fresh and well written. Her photographs celebrate the ordinary [work of women]. I especially like this post.
  2. Jan at Be*mused has a wonderful sense of design. Her photographs are little works of art. They really exemplify her sense of color. Her title looks like the Bewitched logo from a zillion years ago. An example of her fabulous color sense is in this post. I also like the photos she posts about projects that inspire her, which she follows up with examples of her interpretation.
  3. Red Shoe Rambling. I admire Deb’s perseverance in posting every day; she committed to doing it and she does it. She also has gorgeous photos. They are really different from Be*mused and Yarnstorm. I love the ones she posts of nature. I also appreciate her bravery in posting photos of when she was a kid!
  4. I really like Laume’s Studio, because she describes her projects and thoughts about them. Again, she posts wonderful photos. Laume looks at the world the way I do. She posts pictures of patterns that she sees in her daily life, such as this post about the photo of fence.
  5. I supposed I could have chosen more than 5, but in sticking with the rules, I decided to only choose 5. It was difficult, because there are a lot of bloggers I admire: Deirdre (love the tabs on her blog and she always reads my blog. Also, she is a master painter), High Fiber Content (Julie is fearless in trying new things. Her blog is also a great chronicle of all the various projects in her life), Fibermania (Melody Johnson is so consistent and cheerful in her posting), I chose Pamdora’s Box, because of her drawings and her sense of humor.

You can read Kristen’s post about my blog is here. You can find out about the Thinking Blogger Award in general here.