Various & Sundry 2016 #5

Housekeeping

Thank you for leaving a comment. I really appreciate it. If you have never left a comment, I need to approve it. Recently, a kind person named Jen left a comment adding to the list of QuiltCon posts on the last V&S post. I could not approve her post, because, though it seemed real, she did not leave an email address or a website so I could check. This information, when you register, is not shared. Please do not leave fake addresses. I do appreciate your comments, but I need to confirm that you are not a spammer. Thanks!

Other Artists

I finally took a look at Melissa Averinos’ website. Her quilts are colorful, but have an element of sadness to them IMO. Her blog has a lot of OMG in it, but I think a lot of good has happened to her recently, so understandable.

Libs Elliott posted a great manifesto of sorts on Instagram. She posted it during the dark time on Instagram, so I am not sure how many people saw it. Take a look.

Exhibits & Events

The Monterey Peninsula Quilt Show is coming up on the weekend of April 9. Entry is only $5 according to their website!

Winners of the Lancaster AQS Show have been posted.

Piecemakers Legacies of Love Show will be held in Fremont July 16 & 17, 2016. Check the website as the date gets closer for more details.

Fabric, Tools & Supplies

I was directed to the Okan fabric shop. They have mostly indigos and other Japanese fabrics. After buying a lot of Japanese fabrics early in my career, I have sworn off them. The colors and clear designs are VERY hard to resist, though, and you should indulge. 😉

Yes, I have many of these low volume prints, but I will take the ones I don’t. Thanks.

Sew Mama Sew had an article recently called 12 Places to Donate Fabric. I was kind of disappointed, because it wasn’t a list of, say nonprofits, that actually take fabric; it was a list of places the might take fabric. We all know that many of the organizations that might take fabric are overwhelmed with generosity and usually don’t have the capacity to take it. Jenelle Monitlone wrote in a comment “Here’s a resource I pulled together which will allow you find Creative Reuse centers like SCRAP across the country and around the world” Jenelle’s list looks much more useful. Other suggestions include:

Take a look at the article as the ideas in the comments are more specific and useful.

Articles & Information

Frances has written a very good essay on why quilts matter. If you have listened to her podcast you know that the PBS series by the same title didn’t provide satisfaction in telling us why quilts matter. Frances picks up the slack in a well written and articulate piece.

I found an article about a mathematician who is also a quiltmaker. The article describes her method of ‘tube piecing’. The writer does not seem to have done any research into the current information, blogs, magazines about quiltmaking, because there is a tone of ‘awe and amazement at this little known artform’ (a description of my impression). I was also kind of surprised at the phrase “strip piecing, a technique developed by Ernest Haight in the 1960s and ’70s. ” I have never heard of Mr. Haight so I did a little digging and found an IQSCM exhibit featuring his work as well as a QNM article.

Frances has some thoughts on why the 16 billion dollar quiltmaking industry appears to be invisible.

Reminding you of a theme at QuiltCon, which was to learn what you can from classic quiltmakers, I wanted to share a blog post on borders with you. Jinny Beyer has always had an interesting take on borders and you might be be able to incorporate some points into your modern quilts.

Websites

TFQ told me about a color activity. Try it out. It tests your color acuity.

Check Sizzix’s Pic-a-Day post.

If you want fantastic soaps, check out my sister’s shop, Wooden Heart Soaps, on Etsy. If you see soaps in the shop, buy, because they are fantastic and made in limited quantities. She also has a Facebook shop where she posts tidbits of information.

I saw a post by My Creative Corner and took a look at her blog. I like her style of writing.

Now that Instagram is changing to a ‘relevant’ sort (a la Facebook) in the feed, are we all moving to Ello?

Patterns & Projects

Clue #3 has been posted by Charlotte of Scraptiude fame. This is for her latest mystery quilt Scrap in the Corner. Leave a comment if you are making this project with a link to your progress. I’d love to see how you are doing.

Carpenter’s Wheel #10

Carpenter's Wheel #10
Carpenter’s Wheel #10

I made more progress on the Carpenter’s Wheel project over the weekend. I worked on this one in between working on the Cutting Corners donation top. I put in some newer fabrics and that makes me very happy. I am totally in love with that flower print I used for the center. It is by Studio E and that blue is fantastic! Especially since it is not turquoise. 😉

Now I have a dilemma. I now have 10 blocks. That is a very awkward number with which to lay out a quilt. I am going to look at the blocks and see if I can eek out two more unique layouts. If not, I may make two more of my favorites. I will also try to lay the blocks out in different ways to see if there is an interesting layout which will work for this piece.

Artist Statements

At the EBHQ Show the other day, I noticed a lot of quilts that were made because the artist had something in his/her fabric stash already. There was a lot of “I made this quilt because these blues had been in the drawer for awhile” type of descriptions.

So, you made the quilt because you had some fabric laying around?

You didn’t like the pattern you selected?

There was no challenge in the technique?

You weren’t inspired by the blue of the sky and sea and picked appropriate fabric that you already had?

I don’t think it is wrong to use fabric in your fabric closet. I don’t think it is wrong to be inspired by a fabric line. If I did think that you would all call me out and you should!

Often, I am in the process of making a quilt and not at all inclined to go out, buy some fabric, wash and iron it before being able to finish. By that time it is time to cook dinner or someone needs my attention and the quilt will languish. I like having fabrics on hand with which I can work.

I do wonder why anyone would make a quilt solely because they had certain fabrics? Where is the fun in that? Quilts require a lot of effort so to have one aspect be the sole reason you make one seems a little odd to me.

I applaud using what you have, but let’s think about the whole process and not make the process solely about destashing. Process is really important to me. Some questions that float around in my head are:

  • What am I trying to achieve?
  • What am I learning?
  • What do I have that is appropriate to use to make progress?
    • Why or why not is it working?
  • What do I need to change to make the piece work?
  • Where am I, after making some progress, based on what I started out to achieve?

Quiltmaking is not a life or death situation and if people want to make a blue quilt because they have blues in their stash, at least more quilts are being made. I hope that quiltmaking will keep my brain pliable and active as I age. I hope that all the different aspects of quiltmaking will provide a variety of opportunities to continue learning and growing.

Why do you make quilts?

FOTY 2015 Mid-March Update

Darla, of the Scientific Quilter, is hosting the #March-a-long event. The short version is that you do something quilty for 15 minutes per day. I failed last week, but was doing pretty well especially since I have a lot of ironing of fabric to do. After ironing comes cutting and that means more FOTY fabrics. Yes, I should starting putting FOTY 2015 together. I haven’t quite gotten to it, but soon.

FOTY 2015 Mid-March 2016
FOTY 2015 Mid-March 2016

I have cut a number of patches for the quilt and it is interesting to see the themes that crop up in my patches.

That purple on the bottom looks a lot better cut into smaller pieces. I pulled it out to cut and wondered what I was thinking when I bought it. Good thing I have no problem cutting up fabric.

Organization Update

Someone asked a question in a comment this week about organization. This sent me back in time to review my posts on organization, as it is always easier to point someone to a previous blog post than to write the whole thing over and over. Not that you aren’t worth it, of course. 😉

Organization of Fabric Closet: Plastic Bins
Organization of Fabric Closet: Plastic Bins

I am not sure I ever said, but I store most of my fabric, primarily, by color in plastic bins. Occasionally, I will put a special group of fabric together. For example, I have some silk fabrics in one bin (bottom right). I can’t buy those bins anymore, which is too bad, because I like the flat tops, but in an ideal world I would have some other system where the fabric wasn’t confined like it is in the bins. I am grateful to have the bins, but if I need light blues, there is a lot of manhandling that has to happen before I can get that bin out.

Fabric Closet Drawer System
Fabric Closet Drawer System

Some fabrics have spilled over to other parts of the closet, so I can’t just look in the orange bin if I want orange fabrics. I also have a drawer system, holds a lot of my dots. Not all, but a lot.

TFQ helped me pick out this as well. I like it and it holds a lot.

One issue I have is non-fabrics and non-patterns. I have pre-cuts waiting for me to make my intended project. I have blocks from the City Sampler project. I also have blocks from the quilt class with Frances. These are still a problem I haven’t resolved. I put them where I can find some space. This isn’t an ideal solution. The pictures in this post from 2008 make me sentimental for the good old days when this closet was clean. At least, I am continually removing fabric I no longer want to use for my own projects and making it into donation quilts or giving it to the guild. I am also paying more attention to fabric I buy so I don’t buy things that will end up in a donation quilt sometime.

Translucent Office Storage Boxes
Translucent Office Storage Boxes

One of the posts I wrote talked about organizing projects in project boxes. I have a couple of project boxes like the ones pictured and I don’t use them for projects. I want to use them for projects, but they take up more space than file folders. In my current space, with the current furniture, etc, it isn’t possible. The ones I have I use for patterns, especially bag patterns. And they are full, which means that I have to start churning out bags. HA! We’ll see since I have two bags on my to do list and all of those patterns are bags on my ‘someday’ list.

As I mentioned in another previous post, I still use the hunting and gathering method to make quilts. At the moment I am hunting and gathering for at least the following someday quilts:

  • FOTY 2015
  • SpinWheel
  • Blue Lemonade
  • Windmill
  • Pink gradated quilt
  • Blue gradated quilt
  • 30 Something quilt
Patch boxes
Patch boxes
'Free', but unstable organization
‘Free’, but unstable organization

There are other patches as well such as 2.5″ squares (you just never know when you will need some), donation patches, random HSTs and others.

I still use the scone boxes for hunting and gathering, though that trickle of new boxes has slowed. The company changed the cranberry orange scone recipe 🙁 and they just aren’t as good as they used to be. Not bad, but not worth the 360 calorie commitment. The scone boxes are a good size, but they have some issues. The rounded edges don’t poke me, which is not. They also don’t stack very well because of those rounded edges. Also, being disposable, the plastic is pretty thin and tends to break easily. Still since they come into the house filled with something rather than empty, they are economical.

Of course, I probably shouldn’t stack them 8-10 high. Fortunately they don’t open and spew fabric patches everywhere when they do fall. One thing to think about would be not to have so much hunting and gathering going on all at once.

I have a few miscellaneous plastic, former food containers as well. Good ones, for me, come from chocolate covered cherries and spinach.

At some point, I plan to replace these with more stackable and sturdier boxes.

There is a lot of other stuff to organize in my workroom, but it is all badly stored if adequately organized and I don’t want to show you photos. I really want better shelves or something for my books, embellishments, etc. I think I will be able to work better and get more day.

Off to buy a lottery ticket!

Donation Top

My Wed Sewing Room
My Wed Sewing Room

I didn’t mean to have two donation posts in a row, but it was more about poor blog post planning than not knowing I was going to sew.

Gerre and I spent the day together chatting and making another donation top. I had cut the backgrounds for a T quilt a few months ago, but didn’t finish the foreground cutting. I brought what I had and my bin of orange fabrics since sewing together is way more fun than sewing alone.

It was great. Gerre was kind enough to listen to a couple of sad tales of woe. After that was over, I started in on cutting foregrounds while Gerre set up to sew. Pretty soon she was sewing as I handed her packaged sets of ready-to-sew patches. We both pressed. It took us about 4 hours to make the top back and binding, but we had lunch in between and I wasn’t caught in terrible traffic on my way home. All in all it was a pretty leisurely schedule. Satisfying to finish a top and back as well.

These aren’t great photos, but you get the idea. The top is about 45″x45″. The binding will be random bits of leftover fabrics.

It was a great way to spend the day and I really needed a day of sewing as it was a stressful week. Also, we were able to do something good for someone else.

Creative Prompt #355: Dragonfly

After this one, only 10 more prompts!!!

Project Dragonfly, at Miami University, promotes inquiry-driven reform, reaching millions of people worldwide through learning media, exhibits, and education programs.

From Luke Burns Enterprises: Dragonfly is a very small and compact browser. It uses very little disk space, but is capable of visiting any Web site on the Internet.

DRAGONFLY, a metabolic farm for urban agriculture 2009

The Dragonfly tube set was designed to build the lightest possible bicycle frames without sacrificing stiffness, durability and ride quality.

Dragonfly Symbol Native American Indians had a highly complex culture, especially those who lived on the Great Plains.

Definition: “A dragonfly is an insect belonging to the order Odonata, suborder Anisoptera (from Greek … anisos “uneven” + … pteros, “wings”, because the hindwing is broader than the forewing). Adult dragonflies are characterized by large multifaceted eyes, two pairs of strong transparent wings, sometimes with coloured patches and an elongated body. Dragonflies can be mistaken for the related group, damselflies (Zygoptera), which are similar in structure, though usually lighter in build; however, the wings of most dragonflies are held flat and away from the body, while damselflies hold the wings folded at rest, along or above the abdomen. Dragonflies are agile fliers, while damselflies have a weaker, fluttery flight. Many dragonflies have brilliant iridescent or metallic colours produced by structural coloration, making them conspicuous in flight. An adult dragonfly eye has nearly 24,000 ommatidia.

Fossils of very large dragonfly ancestors in the Protodonata are found from 325 million years ago (Mya) in Upper Carboniferous rocks; these had wingspans up to about 750 mm (30 in). About 3000 species of Anisoptera are in the world today. Most are tropical, with fewer species in temperate regions.

Dragonflies are predators, both in their aquatic larval stage, when they are known as nymphs or naiads, and as adults. Several years of their lives are spent as nymphs living in fresh water; the adults may be on the wing for just a few days or weeks. They are fast, agile fliers, sometimes migrating across oceans, and are often found near water. They have a uniquely complex mode of reproduction involving indirect insemination, delayed fertilization, and sperm competition. During mating, the male grasps the female at the back of the head or on the prothorax, and the female curls her abdomen under her body to pick up sperm from the male’s secondary genitalia at the front of his abdomen, forming the “heart” or “wheel” posture.

Loss of wetland habitat threatens dragonfly populations around the world. Dragonflies are represented in human culture on artifacts such as pottery, rock paintings, and Art Nouveau jewellery. They are used in traditional medicine in Japan and China, and caught for food in Indonesia. They are symbols of courage, strength, and happiness in Japan, but seen as sinister in European folklore. Their bright colours and agile flight are admired in the poetry of Alfred, Lord Tennyson and the prose of H. E. Bates.” (Wikipedia)

The Dragonfly Foundation

Opera Dragonfly — our fully-featured suite of developer tools, designed to make your job easier.

The Dragonfly generates a silky extended top-end, contoured midrange and a bump at the upper end of the lower frequencies that thickens thin signal sources by Blue Microphones

 

Symbolism of dragonflies

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 get familiar with your blog or website.

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.

We are also talking about this on Twitter and Instagram. Use the hashtag #CPP

Places

  • Dragonfly Creek, a stream in the Presidio of San Francisco, California, U.S. (google)

People

Fictional

Transportation

Aircraft

Spacecraft

  • DragonFly (spacecraft), an asteroid material-sampling spacecraft proposed by Deep Space Industries
  • DragonFly (rocket) – a prototype reusable launch vehicle to test propulsive landings of the SpaceX Dragon space capsule, in a low-altitude atmospheric flight test program

Fictional

  • Dragonfly (G.I. Joe), a fictional make of helicopter in the G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero toyline

Computing

Film and television

Literature

Music

Albums

Songs

Other uses

Doing Good Donation Blocks

Donation Blocks
Donation Blocks

As I said yesterday, I spent Sunday making the Peacock blocks. In between I made donation blocks. I had taken 3 kits from the BAMQG meeting on Saturday so I made those up first. Those blocks are the 2 on the right and the one on the top. After I was done with those, I made up a few more from my own fabric. I sewed them as leaders and enders in between the parts of the Peacock hexagons. I used them to keep track of the various parts of the blocks. They are all the same colors, so it is easy to mix of pieces. And the bonus was all the donations blocks I finished as well.

I do intend to make more donation blocks.

Peacock Blocks

The change to Daylight Saving Time is a nightmare. What a dumb idea or an idea whose time has passed. I changed the clock by my bed the night before so when I woke up, I saw that it was already later than usual. For some reason I felt awful. It might have been the dread of knowing that I had lost an hour. I got up and got some caffeine and went up to my workroom.

I needed to just sew, so I looked at the projects I had that were at the rote sewing stage. After a very short deliberation, I pulled out the Peacock blocks and started sewing.

Peacock Blocks
Peacock Blocks

I don’t remember how many sets I cut up at the Retreat, but the prep I did there allowed me to just sew pieces and parts together. I now have about 40 blocks. When I say blocks, I mean two halves of blocks because I can’t sew the pieces of the blocks together until I lay out the entire quilt. Once I lay it out, I will sew it together in rows.

It was great to just sew. I only had to sew straight seams. I didn’t have to make a lot of decisions beyond how to press the seams and the stack of blocks got bigger and bigger.

I wanted to do more, but don’t I always? That was the kind of sewing that I needed. I finally feel like I am making progress.

Cat Bed Redux

I had a pretty good weekend sewing. It started with my return from the BAMQG meeting (post on that later). I was so fired up to sew. This was also pent up energy from not sewing for a few days. As soon as I arrived home and dumped my stuff, I sat down at the sewing machine and sewed the cat bed I got from Amanda at the meeting.

Seashell cat bed
Seashell cat bed

I like the fleece fabric Amanda picked out. It is really fun. And cheerful (though not in a pink kind of cheerful way). I like those seahorses.

I needed to make another cat bed, because my bag of schnibbles was starting to scare me. I should have taken two, but I wasn’t thinking.

I wonder if seahorses will be the next big thing. I saw a paper pieced project of a seahorse on Instagram recently.

March 2016: 26 Projects

March?? March already? What happened to January and February? The last time I posted on this topic was back in December and that was a great post, because I had accomplished so much. So far this year, there is a lot of hunting and gathering going on, but not many completions. It is all about process, though, right?

Finished 2016 Quilt Projects

none so far

Finished 2016 non-Quilt Projects

In Process
The  ‘In Process’ is used to denote projects on which I am actively (or pretending) working. A project in the ‘UFO’ category means I am stalled. A nicer way of saying UFO is a WIP.

  • Carpenter’s Wheel blocks – I finished #8 and started to sew #9
  • English Paper Piecing Project– half hexies – slowly but surely wins the race
  • Food Quilt #3 – pieces are cut. I need to start sewing
  • Lobster – have more stitching to do and then I need to quilt it.
  • Octagon 9 Patch: ready to put together. Not sure what I am waiting for
  • Peacock Quilt – need to sew pieces and parts
  • Pies and Points from Victoria Findlay Wolfe class.
  • Stepping Stones #2 – I haven’t worked on this, but I still have one block on the wall for inspiration. I could work on it at any time.

Still WIPs
I still have WIPs. Who doesn’t, after all? The list is a lot shorter and the projects are newer, for the most part.

  1. Aqua-Red Sampler – I still have to work on the partial seaming tutorial.
  2. The Tarts Come to Tea: I still haven’t worked on this since April 2011, though, it is in a prominent location so I have easy access. I was thinking about how this was veering in the direction of being one of my ‘masterpieces,’ but now that it has languished for so long it just looks old and dated. :(
  3. Pointillist Palette #4: Fourth is a series of 6 quilts; needs tiny square patches sewn together. I still haven’t worked on this project either, but I do think about it.
  4. Self Portrait: started in 2006 at a class at Quilting Adventures in Richmond, Virginia. My career counselor breathed new life into this project for me. She asked a simple question and the end result was inspiration for this piece, but I kind of lost steam again after printing images on paper to try out different designs. Lately, I have been feeling like I need to finish this piece as it should be a good reminder to keep in my office.
  5. Under the Sea: class project; like the design, but not the colors. Still a possibility for abandonment. Just can’t seem to pull the trigger.
  6. City Sampler/ Tale of Two Cities blocks
  7. Serendipity Lady Quilt

Ready for Quilting
Wow! Everything on this list is new, as in it was never on the original 26 Projects list.

  1. 2 Thanksgiving tablerunners
  2. Flowerburst

In Quilting Process

  • Christmas Tablerunner – nearly done

Binding

  • I have to make the binding for one Thanksgiving tablerunner and then bind it.

Hunting and Gathering

  • Blue Gradation Quilt: cutting 2.5″x 4.5″ blue rectangles
  • Blue Lemonade: cutting blue, green, purple 2″ squares
  • Food Quilt #3: cutting food prints
  • Pink Gradation Quilt: cutting 2.5″x 4.5″ pink rectangles
  • Spin Wheel: really not started, but supplies gathered. I probably have enough fabrics and just need to decide to start.
  • Stepping Stones #3 using the Macaron pre-cuts from Hoffman. I have all the fabric in pre-cuts and am just waiting for space in my schedule.
  • Windmill quilt: Still hunting and gathering. I am supposed to be cutting a variety of greys for the background. The problem is that I mislaid the rotary template. Sigh. I may be able to cut the greys on a Sizzix.

What’s on your list?

Creative Prompt #354: Dessert

No more animals for the moment.

This prompt is related to Prompt #184. They are similar, but a little different.

dessert recipes

Definition: “Dessert (/d??z??rt/) is a course that concludes a main meal. The course usually consists of sweet foods and beverages, such as dessert wine or liqueurs, but may include coffee, cheeses, nuts, or other savory items. In some parts of the world, such as much of central and western Africa, there is no tradition of a dessert course to conclude a meal.

The term “dessert” can apply to many foods, such as cakes, tarts, cookies, biscuits, gelatins, pastries, ice creams, pies, puddings, custards, and sweet soups. Fruit is also commonly found in dessert courses because of its naturally occurring sweetness. Some cultures sweeten foods that are more commonly savory to create desserts.” (Wikipedia)

cake

“Dessert” is a song by American singer and producer Dawin. It was released in the United States on March 17, 2015.

cookies

Sound Dessert is a music blog featuring music reviews, music interviews, indie rock playlists and more.

ice cream

Dessert Wars Miami is the premiere dessert competition in South Florida. With over 20 participants, you have a lot of decisions to make and a wide array of desserts

cheesecake

Dessert delivery from GrubHub (Brilliant!)

sweet soups

dessert wines

jellied desserts

dessert glasses

Dessert Lab

free listening on SoundCloud

This is Spot, a dessert bar like no other, home to a whole new world of delicious flavors and tastes. At Spot, Dessert Bar, traditional confections are re-imagined

Fast food desserts

Dessert Fox elegantly provides custom cake creations in the Rocklin/Roseville area.

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 get familiar with your blog or website.

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.

We are also talking about this on Twitter and Instagram. Use the hashtag #CPP

Carpenter’s Wheel #8

Carpenter's Wheel #8
Carpenter’s Wheel #8

I finally finished another Carpenter’s Wheel block. As I have said there is a lot going on and focus is difficult. Looking back, I found that I posted #7 on March 1 even though March 1 seems like a long time ago from where I am sitting now.

I am pretty pleased with how it came out. Since I have so many blocks, I do think a quilt is in the offing. I have been thinking of layouts and was thinking of something asymmetrical after attending QuiltCon.

8 Carpenter's Wheels
8 Carpenter’s Wheels

However, I put them up on my design wall and really like them jammed together. There is something about them together that looks interesting.