Post the direct URL (link) where your drawing, doodle, artwork is posted (e.g. your blog, Flickr) in the comments area of this post. I would really like to keep all the artwork together and provide a way for others to see your work and/or your blog.
We are also talking about this on Twitter. Use the hashtag #CPP
The Creative Prompt Project, also, has a Flickr group, which you can join to post your responses. I created this spot so those of you without blogs and websites would have a place to post your responses.
Theatre Royale
Image Theatre consists of physical representation of thoughts and ideas through the raw expression of the body, an individual’s most fundamental artistic tool.
The Castro Theatre
theatre design
movie theater
In the Theatre Management program, you will be exposed to both the art and business aspects of theatre, preparing you for a career in arts administration and …
drive-in
Orpheum Theatre
Theatre Survey is chartered by the American Society for Theatre Research as a theatre history journal.
Curran Theatre
Definition: “Theatre or theater[1] is a collaborative form of fine art that uses live performers to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place. The performers may communicate this experience to the audience through combinations of gesture, speech, song, music, and dance. Elements of art and stagecraft are used to enhance the physicality, presence and immediacy of the experience.[2] The specific place of the performance is also named by the word “theatre” as derived from the Ancient Greek ??????? (théatron, “a place for viewing”), itself from ??????? (theáomai, “to see”, “to watch”, “to observe”).
Modern Western theatre comes from large measure from ancient Greek drama, from which it borrows technical terminology, classification into genres, and many of its themes, stock characters, and plot elements. Theatre artist Patrice Pavis defines theatricality, theatrical language, stage writing, and the specificity of theatre as synonymous expressions that differentiate theatre from the other performing arts, literature, and the arts in general.[3]
Theatre today, broadly defined, includes performances of plays and musicals, ballets, operas and various other forms.” (Wikipedia)
puppet theatre
American Theatre is the national monthly magazine for the American professional not-for-profit theatre, informing readers about important work…
League of Historic American Theatres
Theatre in the Round became increasingly popular in the late 1960s in the UK and Europe, with initially the format proving popular in smaller venues…
American Theatre Organ Society
Theatre Anthropology is the study of the performer’s pre-expressive scenic behaviour
The Ancient Theatre Archive
Theatre Sports is an Improv Comedy troupe made up of students at Whitman …
Elixon Theatre is an extensible carousel/slideshow-like JQuery plugin supporting multiple animation effects.
League of Resident Theatres, the largest professional theatre association of its kind in the United States.
I was thinking of the pseudo-set of gifts I made after Christmas. We all have friends who are also makers and we know that they can make their own sewing related items. The reality is that they often don’t. It is fun to have a coordinating set of things to take along to retreats so others can admire them.
I thought you might find it useful to know the patterns I, either, use or would consider using. The point is not to use the patterns I use, but to make the gifts in whatever pattern YOU like. This is a gift idea.
Pincushion – Fig Tree Quilts Petit Gateau pincushion pattern. I like this pattern, because it makes sense and looks like a pincushion. I have made several and they go together very quickly. I use wool roving I buy at Beverly’s and some of the Beanie Baby plastic pellets to fill it. The pellets give the pincushion some heft. I don’t use walnut shells, because of food allergies. The only issue I ever have with this pattern is to find an appropriate button to put on top and bottom. Often I make these and don’t think ahead and then find myself wanting to finish, but have no appropriate buttons.
Needle case – many people don’t do handwork and so this is an inappropriate gift, but it is so cute! I got the pattern from the Spring 2013 issue of Modern Patchwork. It was designed by Rashida Coleman-Hale of IHeartLinen. I wasn’t able to find a pattern for it on her blog or the web. The pattern is in RCH’s book, Zakka Style, according to Frances Newcombe from Belly Buttons Boutique. You may be able to find I copy of that magazine on Etsy or eBay. I am sure there are other needlecase patterns out there.
Tissue case – This isn’t something that I would really use, though that might change. It is a nice stocking stuffer or small hostess gift. I got the idea to make them from Valerie over at Evening in the Garden blog. I made a few, which you can see in December gift posts. I used the YouTube tutorial that Valerie used.
Lanyard – these are great for guild meetings, but also for hanging scissor sheaths, keys, pens, etc. Think of a chatelaine’s key ring.
Scissor Sheath – as mentioned above, a scissor sheath can be added to the gift pile and adding a ribbon or fabric hanging loop on it enables the owner to hang it from a lanyard.
Project bag – Jeni Baker Drawstring bag (pattern to purchase). The pattern has multiple sizes. This is good to keep project supplies together. She also has a tutorial for one size – Example
Tote bag – There are lots of different tote bags that I have made. I really like the Jane Market Tote (pattern to purchase). I also like the Eco Market Tote from Favorite things (pattern to purchase). I haven’t made that bag in awhile, but I might make one again soon. Including a tote bag in your gift selection is a nice way to package all the gifts. You can choose a pattern that you like.
Journal/Sketchbook Cover – you can adjust the pattern to accommodate a number of sizes of journals. This pattern, as you have seen many times on this blog, is for a 6.5″x8″ Miquelrius journal.
Pencil roll – I love this pattern by Pink Chalk! It is so fun even if you are not pen hog like I am. I have made, perhaps, a dozen of them and I want everyone to love them. I always put a few pens in to give people an idea of what they are for. I reported on one of my pencil roll posts that this project took me about 3 hours to make.
An Alternative to the pencil roll is a tool holder. I haven’t actually made one of these yet, but I do like the pattern.
You could also add a Sidekick from Jinny Beyer’s store. It is good for handwork and I could have used it on my trip this past weekend. I have the pattern, but haven’t made it yet.
You can also think up themes and find patterns that fit the theme. For example:
Last weekend we headed up to the North Coast again for an annual NSGW event. Normally there is an event Friday evening, an event in the late morning on Saturday and a big dinner on Saturday night. This year the Saturday late morning event fell through, so DH and I had the whole day until 5pm to spend together. It was nice. Not having the normal day-to-day to deal with for a little while makes spending time together quite enjoyable.
We took the opportunity to spend some time in the Eureka/Arcata area. The Young Man got accepted to Humboldt State so we went to take a look at it. We did offer to pay for him to come with us and he decided to go visit his grandma and grandpa instead. We tortured him by sending him a bunch of photos of various parts of the campus in a running commentary.
After the campus visit, we had lunch at The Lost Coast Brewery and it was AWESOME! They had gluten free buns, so I took the opportunity to have my first French Dip in, probably, 15 years. It wasn’t as good as I remember a French Dip being, but I still enjoyed it. The restaurant had fun decorations, too. There was a pulley system with a giant spider at the end of it and when the door opened and closed the spider when up and down. They also had a number of paper mache animals hanging from the ceiling. It was a little loud, though.
Ocean Waves Quilts
After lunch we headed up to Ocean Wave Quilts. DH actually came into the store with me. I really like it when he comes in with me. I told him to pick out some shirt fabric, but he didn’t see any that he liked enough to buy. He was interested in everything and looked around. I didn’t buy much as I really don’t need anything. I just bought a couple of fabrics for projects in process and some of the new rainbow Wonder Clips. I bought the latter because they are so fabulous. I think I spent around $23. You might remember my posts from last year?
Lincoln’s Hearse full view
Not too far from Ocean Waves is the Blue Ox Millworks. Over the weekend they had an open house to show off a replica of Abraham Lincoln’s hearse that they are building. Creepy, I know.
Next year (I think) is the 100th anniversary of Lincoln’s death. I don’t know what it is about death anniversaries… Media hype?
The original hearse was destroyed in a fire in about 1870. For some reason that I don’t know since didn’t read in the article very carefully, the Blue Ox is making the replica. Their shop has some amazing tools and fabulously HUGE work tables. I think safety was good in terms of the machinery, but the place felt old and messy and dilapidated. Still, I like the idea of a place that can replicate Victorian ornamentation and where woodworking is a valued art and craft.
Still DH was interested and he slogged through the quilt store with me, so we went. Also, it is historical, and probably once in a lifetime opportunity. I have to remember to tell SIL#2 not to go near the place with her husband. He will be working in that shop and they will be living in Eureka in a heartbeat if he hears about it.
Google notice
We also went to Scottie Dog Quilts. Shockingly, the shop is closed, as in no longer containing anything much less fabric and notions. The property looks abandoned. I finally saw a small note in Google (mobile) that said ‘permanently closed’. I didn’t notice that before. I didn’t really believe it because the website looks completely normal. Finally, I tracked down what was going on on Brenda Lou’s blog. She said that they closed the retail shop last June! So, we drove on and didn’t stop. I hadn’t researched any other quilt shops and one had to be enough for this trip.
I took a quilt look at Google when we returned to the hotel and found Bunny Hop Quilt Shop also in Eureka. We drove pretty close to it, but not right by. It only has a Facebook page, but looks like a real place. If we head up there next year, I will look into quilt shops more exactly.
I received two, yes TWO, Fat Quarter Shop gift certificates for my birthday. I spent about two weeks looking at all the stuff I could buy and ended up with these options.
The color card is a color card of American Made Brands solids. You just never know when you will need to buy some. 😉
The striped fabric below it is actually not a striped fabric, but a carefully folded fat quarter pack of American Made Brands solids. This goes well with the ones my mom gave me for Christmas.
The flannels on the bottom are for some receiving blankets for a friend who is having a baby in May. Plenty of time, right? (HA! Famous last words!)
The rest are stash fabrics. I am starting to contemplate a quilt for my aunt. She loves purple and those violets would be nice for her. I’ll use the dots for the EPP Stars.
Thanks to my sis and TFQ for providing such great gifts!
I made more progress on the Black & Grey Teenaged Boy Donation Quilt. I have about 13 more blocks to which to sew sashing, then I can start sewing the blocks together.
I know the photo doesn’t look that different from when I posted earlier in the week. I really have made progress. I have made progress by sewing a few bits at a time. It is amazing how much I can get done doing that. It is a little irritating, though to be constantly interrupted. Still, duty calls.
I hope to be able to show you a nearly finished top by the time next weekend rolls around. We’ll see since I won’t have much time to sew next weekend either.
Frances had a podcast episode sometime ago about what we call ourselves. Barbara Brackman has some fun on her blog about that as well.
Have you looked at the glossary lately? I updated it after writing the Maryland posts.
If you would like to provide input on creativity and your habits around creativity, fill out the questionnaire.
Projects, Patterns and Tutorials
Have you seen the Pile O’ Fabric BOM? Katie, of Katie’s Quilting Corner turned me ton to it and it looks like a great skillbuilder. Take a look. You haven’t missed too many lessons.
Aneela Hoey has a new pattern for little pouches. They aren’t what I would call pouches, but, regardless of the name, they are cute. Take a look at the blog post where Aneela shows a lot of pictures.
I know you have seen the Twiddletails tutorial for pillowcases and my changes to it. NoScrapTooSmall notes some changes as well, mostly interms of cutting sizes, which gives you a variety of perspectives on pillowcase making.
Some of the Twilters are working on the Jinny Beyer Block of the Month on Craftsy. One of the efforts is shown on Sandy’s blog.
I really like the recent top from Fluffy Sheep Quilting. the pattern is simple, but the combination of fabrics and the way the artist put it together makes it interesting.
Need a design wall tutorial. Nadine Ruggles has one.
Have you made the Let Them Eat Cake block for the FQS Snapshots BOM? This is a Fat Quarter Shop block of the month project that benefits St. Jude’s Hospital. They are requesting a $5 donation for each block you download. Kimberly of FQS, along with Bonnie and Camille, for moral support, provide a video tutorial on putting the cake block together. You can download the free pattern and go to FQS on February 15 for the next pattern. Remember to hashtag your blocks and photos as #FQSSnapshots
Janeen van Niekerk was featured in the EQ newsletter as a person who offers free paper pieced block patterns for EQ. I visited her blog and found that she is starting a new paper pieced QaL.
Cora Village Fete Dress
Need some Downton Abbey dresses? Here is a magazine full of patterns that Friend Julie shared with me. I am torn, because I don’t know if my favorite dress is in there. The one I like is the one Mama wore to the county fair where she looked at the flowers. I’ll post a link if I can find one.
I have been admiring the bucket bags that BAMQGers received as part of their Retreat kit a few years ago. The other day I saw a tutorial for the bucket bag. The post on elvie’s studio blog just shows the bag and talks about it a little then links to a free Craftsy class. Elvie‘s fabric choices are better than the one shown in the class IMO. I like the combination of dots and the big flower print. If I make this I will do something like that as well.
If you aren’t using the Wing Clipper ruler by Deb Tucker to make your Flying Geese, here is a tutorial by HoneyBearLane that is the same principle, but without the ruler. She also gives a formula for resizing your pieces to make the Flying Geese the size you need.
I haven’t made this yet, but I do like the idea of it. Perhaps I will use this pattern instead of creating my own (remember the caddy on my To Do List?).
Supplies, Fabric and Tools
I bought a Sew Together Bag pattern and needed a bunch of zippers. I found them at Sew True.
SIL and I were talking about her Snails Trail block and that reminded me of the Big Little Book of Die Cutting I bought last year. In it is a reference and explanation to the EDeN die notation system. This is a system to allow you to translate patterns with rotary cutting instructions into use of your Accuquilt dies. Take a look at the chart provided. This system truly makes the dies widely useful, not just useful with patterns from Accuquilt.
If you weren’t aware, Hawthorne Threads now has the capability to print fabric. They are creating their own collections and printing them on demand. This is a great idea, because it means that fabric will, theoretically, always be available. To that end, they have produced a line of Marsala fabric. Marsala, for those of you who have been avoiding Pantone, is the Pantone color of the year.
I saw a tweet about Stash Fabrics and went to their site to take a look at their fabric. I really like it. It is very hard not to buy some, especially some of the sale fabrics they have. Their monthly bundles seem like a package that would arrive and make my day.
Did you know that Zazzle sells fabric? Unique designs. Go buy some.
By now you have bought a subscription to the Missouri Star Quilt Company magazine,r ight? I, just, this minute, found out about another magazine (? I think) they are publishing (also at an easy on the wallet $5.99) called ModBlock, focused on color. Molli Sparkles is in the first issue.
Other Artists
I talked a little about words of the year. Nadine Ruggles has some thoughts about her words and her life as well.
Marie Bostwick bought a….go to her blog to read all about her new purchase.
Did you see Tanesha’s low volume quilt? She also shared some of her ‘duds’, which is a part of creativity. I applaud Tanesha for admitting that not all of her work is perfect. She talks a little about our meetup, but focuses on my SIL’s Swoon quilt, which was a big hit. You can see the Flipagram from our event.
I thought the mini quilt Amy made was a nice tribute to her grandmother. Something about the clothesline evokes grandmothers, I think. Mine as well.
I know I have mentioned the Year of Making before in reference to the NoScrapTooSmall blog, however I went back and read the post again, which is really worth reading again. I also clicked on the links to other posts, including one from 2013, which actually has resolutions. In the latter post, Marion Felton mentions play. That hits home, especially in reading what she writes about it: “So in the playing vein, I have plans to read all (and most likely swatch through) Principles of Knitting and a couple other books with really intriguing techniques with which I want to play around…”. I plan to do this regularly and never do. I don’t know why, but I don’t. I suppose if I had a studio and dedicated time to go there where I was allowed to go there without guilt, I might play more. I suppose if I had a space in which to read, where I could pile up books and have a stack of pens and post-it notes and paper, I might play more. A lot of ifs….Go read the NoScrapTooSmall post and let me know what you think.
I can’t believe I missed him, but the god from Mollie Sparkles was in California! He went to the Intrepid Thread, which is not far from my house. Sigh. I was out of town. I love his color sense. He showed the fabrics he bought and I am in love with the pink-blue-orange group in one of the photos. I am tempted to run out and buy some. The sensible, Use-Your-Stash VIMH is saying to walk into the fabric closet and pull out those colors. The voice continues that I must have them somewhere. He is a total temptor as well, asking us (the Glitterati) to link up our purchases with his every Sunday. It is almost like he is giving permission for me to go buy fabric. Sigh.
Exhibits, Shows and Events
The WWII Home Front Challenge exhibit has traveled to the Vallejo Naval and Historical Museum and will be there until April 4. Mark your calendars. There will be an Artists’ Reception on Saturday, February 28, 2015, from 2:00 to 4:00 p.m. at the Vallejo Naval and Historical Museum, Marin Street, Vallejo, California. Meet the artists and hear the stories behind the quilts they made. For more information and directions, visit the museum’s web site or call 707-643-0077. To learn more about the WWII Home Front Quilt Challenge visit their Web site at http://www.wwiihomefrontquilts.com/.
Roderick Kiracofe, quilt collector, historian and aficionado has an exhibit of quilts from his recent book at the Sonoma Valley Museum of Art. The newspaper article says “…and running through May 16, the Sonoma Valley Museum of Art presents ‘Unconventional and Unexpected, Quilts Below the Radar, 1950-2000’…”
Articles and Information
Why am I involved in topics and organizations that are constantly having to prove the value of their work? It is getting old and I would like someone just to say “Oh My God you are a ______________?!? My company cannot live without the services your profession provides!” Here is a recent blog post about a quilt on the front of a Decemberists album (is that the right word?
NoScrapTooSmall talks about her year of making. I am fascinated by the post she wrote on January 1 and have read it several times. I might be trying to get it to sink in. I might be trying to wrap my head around it. I don’t know. Go read it and tell me what you think.
Dierdre pointed out Fit2Stitch to me. They are a show on PBS and have a search feature that tells you when the show is playing in your area.
Off Topic
None of us like to think about exercise. I’d rather be in front of my machine than on the elliptical, but Danny Gregory talks about his experience with exercise, which is similar to my experience and he does so in a human way. Your body is not just a couple of hundred pounds of meet you have to carry around. [paraphrased from the post]
Even though I had cut about 1,000 pieces of fabric for this project, I was about to abandon this project. I wasn’t happy with my first efforts in the new colors. I determined I would make 4 blocks and then decide on whether or not to proceed. I am glad that was my strategy because now I like the piece.
Stepping Stones #2
Part of why I like it is that I see a Sawtooth Star emerging. If you cover up the center and right side with your hand and just look at the right side you will see the legs of a Sawtooth Star emerging – the part that is normally formed by Flying Geese. That secondary pattern adds a design element I did not anticipate and do not see very well when I look back at the first Stepping Stones quilt.
There is better contrast, I think, in this version, though the red 4 Patches coming together in the center are a very strong design element. Looking at the previous version, I know I will have to pay attention to the border so that the Sawtooth Stars, if I want to keep them, will not be cut off. I think that means a different border.
As an aside, I fell down the Pinterest rabbit hole and saw this same pattern done in Denise Schmidt fabrics on the 3and3quarters.net blog. I was really interested in her fabric choices. I think her version looks so great! It makes me wonder anew why the Lintott girls chose the colors they did. I really dislike the examples in their book.
Definition: “An umbrella or parasol is a canopy designed to protect against rain or sunlight. The word parasol usually refers to an item designed to protect from the sun; umbrella refers to a device more suited to protect from rain. Often the difference is the material; some parasols are not waterproof.
Umbrellas and parasols are primarily hand-held portable devices designed to shield an individual from sun or rain, and are sized for personal use. Today, larger parasols are often used as fixed or semi-fixed devices, used with patio tables or other outdoor furniture, or as points of shade on a sunny beach. The collapsible (or folding) and internally supported umbrella, the direct predecessor to the modern umbrella, originated in China.[2][3] and had sliding levers similar to those in use today.[4]
Parasols are sometimes called sunshades. An umbrella may also be called a brolly (UK slang), parapluie (nineteenth century, French origin), rainshade, gamp (British, informal, dated), bumbershoot (American slang).” (Wikipedia)
item of lightweight architecture
Rihanna Umbrella
golf umbrella
umbrella hat
patio umbrella
Umbrella Corporation is one of the world’s leading biotechnology conglomerates.
Art Under the Umbrellas shows are one-day events located in Old Town La Quinta from 10am to 4pm on designated Saturdays, Fall thru Spring.
lighting umbrellas
Post the direct URL (link) where your drawing, doodle, artwork is posted (e.g. your blog, Flickr) in the comments area of this post. I would really like to keep all the artwork together and provide a way for others to see your work and/or your blog.
We are also talking about this on Twitter. Use the hashtag #CPP
The Creative Prompt Project, also, has a Flickr group, which you can join to post your responses. I created this spot so those of you without blogs and websites would have a place to post your responses.
I don’t often have something to show for Throwback Thursday. I received a box back from ScanCafe and I found an early photo of the Tarts Come to Tea. It is amazing to see how it has progressed and to realized that the quilt is still in process. Sigh.
Early Tarts Come to Tea
I started this quilt pretty soon after TFQ and I made She Had to Have Her Latte and I was still thinking that novelty fabrics would be a good idea.
Those novelty fabrics were jettisoned at some point, but some of the elements stayed. Even some of the placement basically, stayed.
I also started out using much darker fabrics.
I do still have that vase, which I like and may make into another applique type quilt.
I am not sure how I feel about these improvisational pieces now. Clearly, I am having trouble finishing the Tarts, despite keeping it on the list.
I went to the BAMQG Sew Day last Saturday. We had a great time making Hawaiian themed quilts. We made 10 tops and 5 backs. Kelly was on back detail, so she did most of them while others of us did the tops.
5 Hawaiian Quilts
These quilts are for a family who lost their beloved mother/grandmother recently. The fabrics are from her stash and some from curtains and her mumus. All are Hawaiian prints.
Our Work
Gerre and I worked together. Gerre was already sewing away when I got there. I stepped in and began ironing and pinning and we ended up making the top (left).
Angela arranged the whole project and picked the pattern. I was grateful that it was pretty easy. She is great that way and figured out fast that if we wanted to get these done this century they should be easy. Also, as Frances says, the Muggles don’t know.
I don’t think this is a terrible pattern at all and I don’t mean to imply that it is. Simplicity is wonderful. The black/dark grey really sets off the bright Hawaiian fabric. I think that people who are unfamiliar with the process can appreciate simpler patterns much better. Not that they aren’t capable, but if you don’t sew, it is hard to appreciate the work that goes into something complicated.
Gerre & Jaye in contemplation
Gerre and I did have to contemplate our piece. We wanted some variety in the fabric despite all the orange we had to work with. The picture above shows the piece laid out on our design floor right before we were were going to sew the sashing.
Hawaiian Back
The backs were pieced with big pieces and they came out fun, because of the motifs on the large Hawaiian prints.
Once the backs were made, Angela distributed batting and Gerre and I moved on to Postage Stamp blocks. We made 16 and I will piece them into another donation top.
This back was made by Peggy and I like the combination of the diamond pattern and the large leaves.
Some people will take the quilts home to finish then bring them back for others to quilt.
Gerre is going to quilt ours while I bind the Pink T quilt, then she will give me the Hawaiian quilt and I will bind that one. She has a goal of quilting a certain number of charity quilts this year and I intend to help her! We work very well together and it is great to have a sewing buddy at Sew Day.
Our own personal Girl Scout
We also had our own personal girl Scout present. She came to keep us supplied with cookies. I think she also took an interest in our sewing. We have to tempt the young ones and Amanda is doing a good job on that account.
I am finishing up a BIG report at work. I only have a few hours left on my contract, so I sent off the draft to my client and then closed it up and didn’t look at it anymore. I felt like I had reached a stopping point where I had done enough work and could be rewarded.
So, I sewed.
Black & Grey Donation Quilt pre-sashing
I got busy putting the sashing on the Black & Grey Teenaged Boy Donation Quilt. I starting marching across the design wall sewing one seam at a time. I used the Stepping Stones blocks as my leaders and enders, so made double progress.
The first part of the chunking was sewing the cornerstones to the sashing and sewing the sashing to the blocks. There are a lot of cornerstones and a lot of sashing in this quilt. I am still working on both.
I am making progress, however and that is a good thing.
I really am a most demanding houseguest. All I want to do is sew or look at fabric and quilt shops when I travel. Fortunately, my SIL was willing and able to feed my frenzy. She came and picked me up on Saturday morning from the hotel in Baltimore and then we headed back to her house to sew. On the way we stopped at a new shop, Prints Charming.
I liked this shop. In general, I thought the feel was good. They had a lot of nice fabrics in my style and colors. They had a good assortment of tools, notions, patterns and books and a longarm that people could rent. The shop is in a new mall, so the building is brand,spanking new and that adds to the feeling of fresh and clean.
Prints Charming front of shop
In the corner near the window is a lighthouse quilt that we also saw at Patches in Mt. Airy. There is a sea theme that pervades quilt shops in Maryland. They are on the Atlantic and seafaring, as well as various Navy related activities go on there, so it makes sense. Plus the whole crab thing.
Anyway, that lighthouse quilt is interesting (not interesting enough for me to make, but interesting) and I enjoyed seeing two different versions. I liked the one at PC fine, but I thought the background used in the Patches version added more interest. In the front of the shop photo, you can see the longarm (Handiquilter, perhaps?) and some of the patterns and books. If you are working at the longarm, you have your back to the front window of the shop, which is seen in the top photo.
The shop still had some of their Christmas stuff out. Mostly it was panels around the counter. Good idea to start early, if you are planning Christmas gifts IMO.
Prints Charming: front to back of shop
I stood near the longarm, kind of in front of the main door, to take this photo, which looks to the back of the shop. The table in the bottom left of the photo has kits and panel kits.
I am kind of interested in this resurgence of panel quilts. I got a panel when I bought some Kate Spain Christmas fabric, but I didn’t think that much of it. You might recall that I didn’t want to waste it, so I put it on the back of the Frosted Stars Leftovers Quilt. I have seen some really pretty panels lately. There was a peacock one that was very tempting. I don’t really begrudge people for wanting a quick quilt and using a panel. I think it is interesting and wonder if there is an AQSG article about it?
I didn’t get a good photo of their featured, new fabric, which you can see part of in the middle right (above). They had great fabrics in that section. I found a paintbox print that I plan to use for a set of gifts. (famous last words, right?).
Prints Charming Back of Shop
I really liked the self made jelly rolls and pre-cuts that Capital Quilts had. The colors were just so fantastic. Prints Charming had a nice array of the kind shops buy from Moda as well. I am always so tempted by the small cute little bundles of pre-cuts, but I rarely use them so I let the shop keep their Jelly Rolls.
The area shown in the picture with the pre-cuts was in a bit of disarray. it wasn’t terrible, just not as tidy as the rest of the store, which was VERY tidy. One of the ladies said that they needed, desperately, to get rid of something and clean up that area. I can’t fault them. Every space (house, shop, cubicle) has a junk drawer. 😉
Prints Charming: Fabric
I guess what I want in a quilt shop is fabric. We have already established that I don’t need more fabric, but I do enjoy having a wide variety of colors and patterns from which to choose.
Prints Charming had a good amount of fabric. Not only did the have a good number of bolts, but they also had a wide variety: 2 brands of solids (not American Made Brands), batiks, novelty, tone-on-tones, flannels, modern, baby/kid fabrics, some 30s, I think and a section of nautical/ocean fabric.
I didn’t ask about whether they cut fat quarters. They had plenty out. I thought the range of colors they had tended towards brighter rather than muted, though I did see a small section of browns. I don’t know if there were other Civil War-colored prints there as I zoomed right by after looking at a coffee print.
One fabric we found was an architectural drawing of boat plans. SIL bought enough to make a shirt for her DH. We discussed cutting it out, but decided we had better finish the other shirts first.
Prints Charming: looking towards the back
I also noticed that they had a lot of examples and class samples hanging in the shop. I thought the hanging quilts made the shop look warm and friendly.
You can see some of the class samples on the back wall. That is their pattern section as well.
Back by the patterns were two more exits and another cutting table. One exit (right) led to a nice clean restroom and connected the shop in some way (I didn’t explore) to the condos above. Can you imagine having a quilt shop right downstairs? I would love it and be totally doomed. DOOMED!
If you are heading to Maryland, I would recommend a visit to this shop. I found some nice stuff to buy and I am sure you would as well. (says your personal Temptress!)
I am starting to think I should call this quilt the Snowball Nine Patch. Even though I think of the original shapes as octagons, I am turning them into snowballs. It is probably too late since, by now, I think of this quilt as the Octagon Nine Patch quilt, but it is a thought.
Also, what is it with Nine Patches all of a sudden? First it was the Rick Rack Nine Patch and now I have, as planned, added nine patches to this quilt.
Octagon Nine Patch Detail
I felt like I needed to add some nine patches to the octagon/snowball pieces to see some progress. I know I am making progress with the ever increasing number of octagon/snowball pieces, but I needed to see more. Making new scrappy blocks meant cutting a whole bunch of additional squares. Still, it was very gratifying when a couple of nine patches came to fruition.
I am trying to decide if I need more cool colors. I used a lot of the cool colors on the Russian Rubix. From the top photo, it looks like enough, but when I look closer I see the same fabrics over and over, then one of the circle blue octagons and one of the violet/light purple with the squares and rectangles line drawing. I don’t know how many octagons I will need as I don’t know how large of a quilt I am making. I am trying to restrain myself and wait to cut more until I can put this on the large design wall to see what I see. At this point the quilt (with 64 Snowballs only) will be 208″, which is a respectable size. Adding the Nine Patches will, I think, double the size.
I am getting to the point where this is starting to look like something. Perhaps this will become my number 1 project soon.
Here are the most recent patches. I can’t decide if I am going to keep cutting until I start laying out the piece on the design wall or if I should stop now.
The CQFA Retreat will be in May this year, but I certainly don’t want to wait that long. On the other hand, I haven’t chosen a shape for FOTY 2015. Lots to do.
Post the direct URL (link) where your drawing, doodle, artwork is posted (e.g. your blog, Flickr) in the comments area of this post. I would really like to keep all the artwork together and provide a way for others to see your work and/or your blog.
We are also talking about this on Twitter. Use the hashtag #CPP
The Creative Prompt Project, also, has a Flickr group, which you can join to post your responses. I created this spot so those of you without blogs and websites would have a place to post your responses.
Definition: “A tower is a tall structure, taller than it is wide, often by a significant margin. Towers are distinguished from masts by their lack of guy-wires and are therefore, along with tall buildings, self-supporting structures.
Towers are specifically distinguished from ‘buildings’ in that they are not built to be habitable but to serve other functions. The principal function is the use of their height to enable various functions to be achieved including: visibility of other features attached to the tower such clock towers; as part of a larger structure or device to increase the visibility of the surroundings as in a fortified building such as a castle; or as a structural feature as an integral part of a bridge.
Towers can be stand alone structures or be supported by adjacent buildings or can be a feature on top of a large structure or building.” (Wikipedia)
the Two Towers, Bologna
water tower
storage silo
Uhrturm, Graz, Austria
La Tour Eiffel
Tower Market
tower defense
Devil’s Tower National Monument
The Tower (IMDB 2012)
Tower of Power
Tower Hill Botanical Garden: Operated by Worcester County Horticultural Society, this garden features several distinctive theme areas.
The Tower District is Fresno’s dining, arts and entertainment district.
