I really do. The possibilities are so endless and I love possibilities.
All Pieced 8″ & 12″ Blocks
Above are the 59 Sawtooth Star variations that I have made for my Star Sampler Project. I am pretty pleased with the way they look together. There are 2 I may redo, but TFQ is coming to visit this weekend, so I will ask her what she thinks.
Week 15 8″ Blocks
These are the Week 15 blocks.Left to Right, Top to bottom they are Mosaic #11, Sarah’s Choice (again), Basic Star (with a flourish) and Rising Star (another redux).
I am still dying to know why many of the classic blocks are called Mosaic #something. I’ll have to look on Barbara Brackman’s blog to see if she ever talks about it. I like the fabrics I chose for this block. It looks beachy and fresh.
The Sarah’s Choice is a bit blah, but not terrible and it blends in well with the other blocks (see above), so I will leave it.
I decided early on that I wouldn’t get fancy with the Basic Star, but decided on this last one to use my ‘focus’ fabric as the center and different legs for one block only. I wanted it to be clear that the Basic Stars were Basic Stars.
I am pretty pleased with the Rising Star. I really love the design of that block. I used the excess backing (cut off after the quilting process) from another quilt. It is a nice batik fabric and I wanted to use it again.
I still have about 25 4″ Sawtooth Stars to make. I pressed fabrics earlier this week and on the weekend and cut parts to make them, but didn’t do much sewing. I didn’t get to cut all the parts I needed, but I will certainly be ready to sew when the weekend finally arrives.
I am really looking forward to starting the process of putting these blocks together.
This is part of an ongoing series of essays responding to Weeks Ringle’s post called QuiltCon Homework. Read my first essay on Encourage. Apparently, I have more to say.
In her blog post, Weeks writes “Encourage one another. Bill and I have an agreement: love it for 10 minutes, which means that before you decide if you like it or not, give it 10 minutes. Look carefully. Think about it. Listen to the point of view and find at least as many positive things to say as negative ones.”
We are trained to compete. We are trained to knock others down so we can feel better than they are. It is so easy to want to be better than everyone else. It is easy to compete and we are encouraged to compete and be better than everyone else.
At some point, this behavior becomes pointless. Not everyone can be the best and constantly competing means that you become secretive and unwilling to share what is not done, your failures, your troubles with a project. You know by looking at blogs that most blog writers only show their best pictures, the finished, perfect item and not the shredded, ripped out, too large and ugly projects.
We each gain so much more from other people by encouraging them. A kind word after guild show and tell, some encouragement when Twitter shows your correspondent to be down. The encouragement bounces back to us. Giving a bit of encouragement makes me feel better inside, especially if the person to whom I am speaking smiles.
As Weeks says “give it 10 minutes”. While sending a message doesn’t take minutes, looking at projects takes longer than the 30 seconds we usually allot to quilts hanging in shows. Take 10 minutes to look at a piece. Get past the hideous colors and find something to like about it. Ddoes that Sampler have a great block you have never seen? Is there an amazing bit of piecing? Is the sashing put together in a new and intricate way?
You CAN find something to like about each and every quilt you look at, if you look hard enough.
Take some time to encourage someone else. If you are a beginner, you can still say some kind, relevant words to someone who needs them.
By encouraging others, we grow our ranks and teach ourselves to really look at things.
I have a lot of needlework from my female ancestors. I am starting to have a hard time appreciating it, because It is taking up space in my cupboards and not all of it is my style. Yet I feel compelled to keep it. I know this is how the Young Man will feel when all the quilts I feel compelled to make are dumped on his living room floor when I am dead.
Parakeet Embroidery-detail
This dresser scarf is actually one of the pieces that I like and use. the birds look very cheerful in this piece.
We had parakeets when I was a kid and, though, they were messy, they also made a cheerful noise. We had a green (Bilbo) and a blue one (Gandalf). As an aside: My mom named them, I think, because I would have never named them after characters in the Lord of the Rings series.
I like the embroidery because the cheerful personality of the birds comes through.
Parakeet Embroidery-detail
I also like the way the stitching was done. It isn’t really dense, so the stitches seem to have some air to breathe.
I haven’t ever seen an embroidery with this pattern before and it makes me wonder if it is unusual.
I think this one must have been made by my maternal great grandmother, because of the tatting around the edge. I don’t remember my grandmother ever doing tatting.
I looked for an image of the pattern, so I could give some background for those of you history buffs, but didn’t come up with anything. ‘The’ Google’s precision is really lacking. I would love to be able to filter more, but they have dumbed their system down enough that it is nearly unusable for difficult searches.
I had seen this book, but when I heard about it from Frances, I decided to buy it. I like this book, in general. I like the examples at the beginning of how to gather scraps. I know that one of the Twilters, Torie, goes to Strip Club and exchanges strips. This program has interested me ever since she mentioned it. As an aside, I think it would be an interesting for a quilt shop to cut 2.5″ strips in a “Club” format for their customers and the customers could subscribe and get a set of strips each month. The strips sets could be new fabrics the shop received or fabrics according to a theme.
The author also talks about gathering strips from your stash, which includes cutting from scraps. Ms. Brackett also talks about sorting and storing strips. I was pleased to see the sections on themes and color schemes.” In the Color Schemes section Ms. Brackett writes “Be alert for color combinations that catch your eye in clothing, magazines, nature, and the quilts of others (pg.10).” This is a great way to learn about color. I keep an idea book where bits and pieces are pasted. Some are shapes I want to remember and others are color combinations that would make great quilts. Once you identify color groups you like, check the color wheel and try to identify the type of color scheme it is (primary, secondary, split complimentary, monochromatic, etc). This exercise will help you to become familiar with the different ways to use the color wheel to make successful quilts.
While this book does have the obligatory basic quiltmaking instructions, there is some very good, useful and interesting information in the front of the book-before the patterns start. The author talks about adding borders and includes the different types of borders (butted-corner, mitered, etc) as well as how to add borders. There is also a section on preparing the backing and batting as well as binding. I don’t think a person can learn to make a quilt using the basics on a few pages, but these instructions can get you started and shows more experienced quiltmakers different techniques.
There is a section called “Special Piecing Techniques” (pg.17), which goes over folded-corner units and split units. The section on split units has some interesting design possibilities! I haven’t every seen these techniques explained in a book before. It could be that I am reading the wrong books.
Then the patterns start. There are 18 patterns in this book. of those, there are three I would seriously consider making: Over and Under, Sparkler and Flower Boxes. Each book is very personal to the author and it is clear what type of fabric this author likes. Her fabric choices are fine, but not as bright and cheerful as I like. Despite that most of the patterns have very interesting lines and shapes. There are a few where the blocks make up an overall pattern.
There are also some great details. I like the sashing on the quilt called “Flowers for Nana Girl.” The pieces appear to form a mini Friendship Star. I really like it when sashing adds a little viewer’s reward to the overall design of the quilt.
If this was the only book, I had, I think I could be very happy with the wide variety of patterns provided. My one criticism (aside from not having an index) is that the borders on many of the quilts were not well thought out. Some of them were just slapped on. I realize the time pressure that authors are under to make a gazillion quilts AND write the text AND test the patterns, but poor border choices can ruin a quilt. I don’t think that any of the quilts were ruined, but I do think different border choices would have enhanced several of the quilts.
All in all, I would urge you to take a look at this book.
My journal is very important for me. I have spent the last 25+ years keeping a journal, though the college years, which would have been very interesting, didn’t leave a lot of time for contemplative writing. I was pouring my heart out to a spiral notebook from the local drugstore long before the word ‘Journaling’ was a twinkle in any scrapbooker’s eye. These days, I write every day, except Friday, usually, for about 20 minutes in the morning and another 10-15 in the afternoon. I record the books I have read, the progress I have made on projects and any drama going on that I may need to get out of my head.
I find that if I write drama down, it doesn’t dog my days and night. I know that that the words are safe between the covers of my journal and I can move on with my life. If I need to refer to them, they are waiting for me. My journal is a working space.
I sometimes do a sketch for the CPP to try and work out the curve of an elbow or the relationship between sizes of elements. I make lists of things to remember. I records lists of gifts I have received for Christmas and my birthday.
In recent days, I spent entirely too much time writing in my journal about how I needed a new journal cover (see previous covers in the tag ‘journals‘). The pages and pages of agonizing as well as rending of garments is too much, especially since the word ‘need’ demonstrates that I might want to look at my priorities.
The fact of the matter is that I enjoy using journal covers. The Miquelrius journals I use have nice plastic or paperboard covers with VERY pokey corners. I am already bruised and battered from the corner of my desk, the step stool in the kitchen and the general loving of a large teenager. I don’t need any other opportunities to bruise myself. Fabric covers pad the corners enough not to leave a bruise.
Simple Journal Cover-open
Today, I decided, was the day to make a new journal cover. I made a simple cover with a pink dot on the inside and a Philip Jacobs print on the outside. In about half an hour, I had it done.
I didn’t do any piecing on this one. It is one piece each of two fabrics. I do have some large shards of the Patty Young Textured Basics for Michael Miller fabrics that I thought of using. I didn’t want to take the time, so I will use them for another version.
Simple Journal Cover-spine
The tutorial measurements are now really great and I didn’t have to rip any of this journal cover out at all. Not sure if that will be the case next time. 😉
Now I can finish the last few pages of my current journal and move on to the new journal tomorrow. If you make one for yourself, please post a link to your version in the comments. Thanks!
As I mentioned in my last BAMQG post, my Color Group decided to throw our colors out the window and do a round robin. I am going to participate, but part of me is on the fence. My last experience with group projects left me with blocks filled with inept sewing, poor cutting, ugly fabrics and a bad taste in my mouth.
I brought this point up a bit tentatively at the group and, not wanting to insinuate anything. Kelly and Kathleen suggested that it would be different because we know each other. They may be right as the round robin I did, back in the Dark Ages (1999), with my quilt group worked out really well. The piece I got back, Carousel, is really nice. I decided to do it, if for no other reason than to get to know my group better and, perhaps, create a small group that can meet for a long time into the future.
First things first. Fabric.
I have several groups of fabric put aside for a future project. I dug the most attractive and appealing out.
Option 1: Dots. Dots. Dots.
Dots Option
I love these fabrics. As you might remember, they were in my birthday box from TFQ. They have been sitting on my cutting table waiting for inspiration to strike while I plow through Sawtooth Stars. The lightning has not yet struck.
If I use these, I will need a background fabric. I think it would either have to be the Michael Miller TaDot in Stone to be in keeping with the all of those dots or a smaller dot. A stripe might work as well. These are strong fabrics and the background will have to be a real background.
Option 2: Pretty in Pink
Pretty in Pink Option
I am not over the pink thing yet, despite Sparkle Pink. I also like the idea of calling a quilt ‘Pretty in Pink’. The group on the right is a group of fabrics I bought at FabricWorm/Birch, probably on my first trip to Birch. The Victorian style large print on the left is recent and I added it in to give some interesting design options to those working in the group. Besides who doesn’t need a little turquoise and a few birds in a quilt?
Option 3: Rainbow Modern
Rainbow Modern Option
These have been languishing since my first trip to Birch. I have been waiting, again, for inspiration to strike. The fabrics are all probably old news and nobody likes them anymore, but I still like the group of them. This is my favorite group, actually, although some of the colors are a bit greyed. I think I would need a larger piece for background and would have to try out different fabrics to see what would work best. I would love to include one of the many dots I have, but I wouldn’t want to overshadow the other great fabrics.
Option 4: Pop Parade by Metro for P&B
P&B Pop Parade
I bought these fabrics via mail from Quilting Adventures after having great fun using the previous P&B line for Serendipity Puzzle. That was 2.5 years ago. This group was actually the first group of fabrics that came to mind. There are dots. There area lot of interesting design elements in the fabrics. I would need a background and I am not sure what that would be.
Of the 4 options, which is your favorite? I won’t promise to use your favorite, but I am interested in your opinions.
Next up: instructions, guidelines and suggestions.
Journals
We also need to include an instruction sheet or list of dos and don’ts. There is some information on the Indianapolis Modern Quilt Guild site about round robins, which is helpful. I think I will use one of the journals Maureen gave me for this project. I could also use one of the journals I bought as party favors for my birthday. I don’t want to just include a piece of paper. It would be nice to have a little keepsake. Emphasis on ‘little’, as it has to go in the project folder. Also, I don’t think people will write a lot.
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.
dive bar
Bureau of Automotive Repair, State of California Department of Consumer Services
saloon
Clif Bar
Genius Bar
granola bar
belly up to the bar
candy bar
“A man walks into a bar….”
State Bar of <name your state>
bars and wine cabinets
“A duck walks into a bar…”
Bar stools
blow dry bar
chocolate bar
BeautyBar.com
BASF
Hello Bar – Hello Bar is a fun, unobtrusive yet highly visible web toolbar that sits at the top of your website and is a great way to engage users and get them to take…
navigation bar
toolbar
pull-up bars
Browning Automatic Rifle
towel bar
Lara Bar
address bar
bar mitzvah
milk bar
Barr (placename element), a pre-Indo-European linguistic root meaning ‘wooded hill’, ‘natural barrier’
Definition: “a retail establishment that serves alcoholic beverages, also the counter at which drinks are served by a bartender”
OR
“in a legal context has three possible meanings: the division of a courtroom between its working and public areas; the process of qualifying to practice law; and the legal profession
A type of gatehouse in city walls of the Middle Ages
Medal bar, a thin metal bar attached to the ribbon of a military decoration, civil decoration, or other medal
Bar examination, an examination conducted at regular intervals to determine whether a candidate is qualified to practice law in a given jurisdiction
Bar association, a professional body of lawyers. Some bar associations are responsible for the regulation of the legal profession in their jurisdiction; others are professional organizations dedicated to serving their members; in many cases, they are both”
Bar, another term for the landform known as a shoal
Bar (river morphology), an elevated region of sand or gravel deposited by the flow of a river
Bar, a notation used in X-bar theory in linguistics
Bar (dance), a form of dance that originated in Western Armenia and continue to be found in modern Turkey. The word bar (???) means ‘dance’ in the Armenian language
Bar (music), a segment of time in musical notation
Can you believe I am back already with another episode of Various & Sundry? I can’t, truly, but I had so much stuff, I couldn’t not post it. Besides the lack of sewing is catching up with me. Get ready for some book reviews, chicklets*!
Products and Services
Aurifil May Club
The Quilt Bear came through again. My monthly does of Aurifil came through again today with a little bit of fabric as well.
This month I received a spool of the 50 wt. Plum Purple and a second spool of Aqua Blue. The Aqua Blue looks similar to colors I have, but I don’t know if it is the same. I can always use more aqua and turquoise of everything!
Again, these colors are a bit duller than what I would call bright , but I think I will be able to use them.
The Quilt Bear included a fat quarter of fabric, as I mentioned. I think I will give it away when I send off the Art Quilt Portfolio books.
There are a lot of fun palettes on Pinterest and I always wondered where they came from – not enough to actually look it up, of course! The answer (or one answer) fell into my lap the other day when I read the Intrepid Threads blog about the Play Crafts Palette Builder. There are a couple of palettes I have been wanting to make and this might just be the impetus I need!
And of course, buy fabric while you are at the Intrepid Thread. Have you seen Hipster Pop yet?
I was amazed, thrilled and a little frightened to see a pop-up from The Electric Quilt saying that there was a new downloadable update. I went to open and a window opened saying there was an update. The box had a button to click that immediately started the download. If you haven’t updated your copy of EQ7, try it out.
Creative Prompts
The Creative Prompts came to the rescue a few weeks ago at an event AJ Dub attended. It went on for longer than anticipated and she whipped out her phone to amuse some children. She writes “By they way, the creative prompts saved our sanity in church today. We had an unusual 2 hour meeting and the kids were pretty bored and restless towards the end. I got on my phone and looked up your creative prompts posts (thanks for tagging them! NICE!) and set them to drawing. They kept at it for about half an hour and between the 3 of them we went through about 20 words.” I am so thrilled that Amy used the creative prompts in such a creative way and that I was able to assist! Thanks for sharing, Amy.
Here are some thoughts and questions for you to ponder on living a creative life.
In my mind, the CPP is about inspiration. Look at the prompt and get inspired. Even if the prompt makes you think about something else and that something else forces you to go make something, I have succeeded (are you in with my plan for creative world domination?). Sometimes, though, we are unbelievably successful and people hate us and call us names. Delilah Dawson, a writer, writes about this on her blog. The post is about writing, sort of, but mostly about behavior. She encourages us to WRITE HARDER. I say SEW HARDER!
Follow-up
California Adventure Mosaic
After my post about Roxanne’s, there was some discussion about the mosaic on their cutting table.
The first time I saw this type of mosaic, that I remember was in California Adventure in 2005. I wanted this type of backsplash when we remodeled our kitchen, but the timeframe was too tight and the amount of work involved makes these things very expensive.
There will be a sequel/follow-up to the Primal Green exhibit of which I was a part. Stay tuned for more details.
Technique
I get my quilts photographed professionally. Not all of them, but the ones I consider important. The Modern Quilt Blog has a post from last year about photographing your quilts. There is a lot of information about photographing quilts out on the web. Read it and figure out what works for you. As long as you get a decent photo of your quilt, you don’t need to do it the way others do it.
If you are still thinking about Bonnie Hunter’s Easy Street, take a look at the post that Kati did for Part 3, shaded 4 Patch blocks. there was a reason she couldn’t make the blocks the way Bonnie Hunter did it, so she went out and searched YouTube, then did a tutorial for you. Take a look.
BTW, you have only about a month left to download all the parts of Easy Street, if you want to do it. She will take it down soon.
On the Web
Have you heard of the 31 quilts in 31 Days project? No? Me either. I found it through Adrianne and I have to say that the contributions of the South Bay Modern Quilt Guild are really GREAT. These are simple quilts that don’t look simple. They are simple quilts that are interesting. Great job SBMQG! Here are some Flickr photos of their quilts.
I like this blog, I Want to Cut You, though i am not sure how I feel about the name. I like her post on QuiltCon. Sadly I found it as she is packing to move somewhere overseas and will not be back to blogland for 2 months. Oh well, perhaps in two months I will remember to go back.
NQR
My dad is now on FB. It is a good and bad thing. I can’t say that I have a terrible dad (I didn’t and wouldn’t say that; this is an example), but I get to post things to his wall to get his attention. He found this post about Dads and Daughters somewhere and posted it asking us how he did. This is a great post about dads and daughters. It really evoked imagery of my childhood when I read it.
I really liked the interview with Sally Melville on Creative Mojo on the week of April 3, 2013. She talks about knitting, but some of her comments relate to quiltmaking. One of the comments [paraphrasing] was that we have gotten away from knitting for our wardrobe and we just like to knit for the meditative qualities, etc, but as soon as you learn how to fit in knitting you can knit for your wardrobe successfully. I thought that this was true for me with quiltmaking. Of course, I like the quilts I make, but I don’t need 12 new quilts every year for my bed. I make quilts to keep myself sane and because of the crazy compulsion I have to create. Can I get back, without losing my stress reliever, to making quilts that are useful? Do I want to?
*I promise not to call you chicklets anymore, but I need something to call you all. Deanna Raybourn calls her readers ‘chickens’. I don’t want to copy her despite the fact that she is totally awesome and I want to be her when I grow up. ‘Dear readers,’ which you totally are, is just a bit too formal sometimes. What could I call you?
Week 14 Week of April 29 (8″ blocks) (JHL chooses)
Basic Star
Broken Star (Around the Block)
Indian Star (Around the Block)
Martha Washington Star (Around the Block)
Hooray! I finished another week’s worth of blocks. We are nearing the end of these blocks, too.
I still have about 40 of the 4″ blocks to go, but I have been cutting for them and using them for leaders and enders. I can get about 5 done in a few hours that way.
I made a pile of fabrics, from the grand pile that is my palette of blues, greens and purples, that I may use for the 4″ stars. I’d like them, if possible to each be different. I don’t know if it is possible. I have plenty of fabric, so that isn’t the issue.
The issue for next week is whether I lost a basic star or not. I think the issue is that the stars fill every inch of my large design wall and I may have lost track of one of the blocks. I have to count and see.
I have plenty of work to do on this project, but I am glad that the end is near.
While I was visiting my Grama a few weeks ago, my mom pulled a quilt out of the cedar chest (I know! wrong on so many levels).
Huh?
A quilt? Huh? I really was confused because my Grama is a not a quilt person. She enjoys the one I gave her, but she doesn’t want more. I have no idea why I have never seen this quilt before.
Apparently, my sister has known about this quilt for awhile and always uses it when she sleeps over at Grama’s.
This quilt is referred to as Grandma Betty’s quilt. Grandma Betty was a woman who drove out to California from Chicago with my Grama, her brother (Uncle Gene), their father (Grandpa George, yes I knew him) and Grandma Betty’s daughter. I am not sure who drove, but Grandma Betty owned the car. I’ll have to ask Grama more about that trip.
Grandma Betty’s Quilt- detail
This is the first time I have heard this story and was amazed. The quilt is in terrible condition, but has a lovely soft look and feel to it.
If my quilts look like this in 70 years, I will be happy. It means they were loved.
This is the 10th part in an ongoing series of essays responding to Weeks Ringle’s post called QuiltCon Homework. Read my last essay at discussing the concept of “encourage.”
QuiltCon Homework 9
Weeks writes ” Havefortitude to follow all the way through on an idea, even when you stumble and are tempted to give up.”
It is hard to keep going on a project. We all get stuck or stumped or don’t have enough fabric. That line about not having enough fabric being a design challenge and not a crisis makes me crazy sometimes when all I want is that one last quarter yard to so I can finish my project.
For a long time, I kept leaping around to different projects. I was excited about new blocks and art quilt concepts new techniques I had learned in workshops. This was all great, but I was also not really finishing those projects where I had gotten stuck or where my attention had wandered. You can see my languishing projects on my 26 projects list.
I have to say, though that I have been quite thrilled when I have finished an old project. Sending a back and top off to be quilted or finished the binding on a project I started in 1997 is a thrill. It is a good feeling to know that a 10 year old project can be salvaged. It is nice to know that I have less guilt about my UFOs.
Design challenges have the word ‘challenge’ in them for a reason. If you run out of that 5 year old fabric, you are faced with never seeing that quilt on your wall or bed or trying something else. Having fortitude to work through the challenges of a project make you a better quiltmaker.
Having fortitude can also mean you face reality and abandon a project.
If you want to make quilts out of 6″ squares for the rest of your life, that is absolutely fine. More power to you. You still need to have fortitude. You need to have fortitude to not let the parameters you have set for yourself weigh you down.
If you decide to make a hand pieced Mariner’s Compass quilt with a Double Wedding Ring border, your need to have fortitude comes a lot sooner in the process. You have to power through difficult piecing challenges that will continue through the project.
At the end of the day, regardless of your skill level, the difficulty of the pattern you choose, or the time you have to devote to quiltmaking, you need fortitude. You need fortitude to power through design challenges. You need fortitude to deal with a precocious kid with scissors, lack of time, depression, not enough fabric and a multitude of other situations that could completely derail your quiltmaking adventure.
You also need fortitude when you consciously want to extend your reach in the quiltmaking world. If you decide to make a Double Wedding Ring quilt, you need fortitude through all steps, even if you never finish it, because it is a difficult project. difficult projects should not discourage you. Yes, you will curse and rip out stitches, but you will also learn and be proud.
Quiltmaking should be fun. If you are not having fun, ask for help. There are lots of people around (LQS, Twitter, FB, church quilt groups) that would be happy to help you. Just ask. Have fortitude and just ask. You can do it.
Description of May Bay Area Modern Quilt Guild meeting
BAM Banner
The meeting was great. I had fun, people were nice, leadership is getting in the groove of really hard jobs. I got see my pals, pick up a new cat bed and BEST of all, be relieved of my blog duties. Everything seems to be slipping into place. I took several pages of notes even though I don’t have to write up the meeting for the blog.
The blog part is great news. I decided, for various reasons, that I didn’t want to do it anymore about two months ago. The President was finally able to get someone to volunteer for Social Media Chair and, though, I could have stayed on as Blog Manager, I decided a year was a good run and took the opportunity to step down. It is kind of sad that the blog will be used only for meeting notices, especially since I worked pretty hard at putting up good content and trying to build a readership. The new social media chair told me only 10 people were reading, which I find hard to believe, but have no other figures with which to argue. I can, now, spend more time here, if I need to. Lucky you! 😉
All good things have a dark side and the dark side of this is that I have to figure out why I am not getting the Ning notices. All the guild information will be posted there and I would like to keep up.
I really like the banner Kelly made, which is why I put it up again. This time she added to it by buying materials at OSH to make a stand. I love the quilt and library signs int he same photo. I may just photograph it at every meeting from different angles and put it up for you to admire. 😉 Perhaps I’ll sweet talk Kelly into making me one.
There was a lot of interesting discussion about the plan for local modern guilds to join the mothership. The MQG is proposing at $15 per person fee for guilds to be part of the MQG. The mothership will offer some technology solutions and hire staff. I can see the pros and cons of joining and not. I don’t think the value of what they are offering is convincing guilds to join, though. Guilds have until December 2014 to decide whether to join or not. The BAM group will wait until October or November to vote on the decision.
Color group
In the last notes on the April meeting, I talked about my Color group. That turned out to be one of the funnest parts of the month between the April and May meetings. I like the idea of a small group and am, kind of hoping, it will turn into something more than just a guild group. While I enjoyed thinking about about the possibilities, I ended up making the blocks at the last minute and I felt terrible while I was doing them (stomach issues). I am not sure they are my best work, but they were ready. I plowed through and really like the way they turned out.
Color group blocks
I used the pattern I really liked, Chisholm Trail, from the blocks I made for Week 13 of the Star Sampler blocks. The bonus about that block was that I had everything I needed handy and the construction was fresh in my mind. I wasn’t so thrilled with the color choices I made. I don’t hate the blocks or anything, but I liked my blue version better.
Only Chris and I brought blocks for the charity quilt and 3 people from our group weren’t even there. Other members will bring them next time and we will still do the charity quilt. We decided that we would diverge from the color project and do a round robin. I haven’t done a joint project in an age, except with TFQ, so I am a little anxious. I stopped doing them, because I didn’t appreciate bad technique. I am willing to try again with people that I know. I am going to get a set group of fabrics and make a nice center. I need to figure that out soon, since I have very little time to sew and won’t be at the next meeting, so have to get it to someone in the group before the meeting. Eeeekkk!!!
Donations
Cat Bed #2-2013
I have to admit that I did the bulk of the work for the meeting on Friday afternoon and Saturday morning. I couldn’t get to it sooner, apparently and felt I just had to get my charity projects done.
Friday night, I pinned the first bits of the Cat Bed together so I would be ready to sew first thing Saturday morning. I was able to sew it together relatively quickly. I stuffed it about 1/4 full of my scraps and that was done. It looks very similar to the one I made in April.
Patchwork Wheel Donation top
I had also FINALLY started to sew the Patchwork Wheel blocks together as leaders and enders. Before this last week, I hadn’t worked on them since January.
I wasn’t very organized about it and hadn’t made much progress. Yesterday morning I decided that there was no time like the present and whipped those babies into a top.
Because I was in a big rush, I didn’t put borders on the top and I didn’t make a back. I think it needs to be contained, so some borders would be helpful. I kind of wanted the piece out of my life.
Patchwork Wheel Donation top
It wasn’t all peaches and roses, though and I think the blocks look more like Sawtooth Stars than Patchwork Wheels. I think that there is too little organization in the fabric choices. Still, I like the idea of the pattern and I think this particular top will be very interesting to the Muggle, as Frances says, that will receive it.
I also think that the pattern has possibilities for future donation tops. I didn’t take another kit, because I think i will make this pattern again out of my own fabrics. If I make this pattern out of solids, it will look modern and viewers will be able to see the wheels better. I am thinking of making cool wheels – purples, blues and greens – and warm wheels – reds, pinks, yellows and oranges – and putting them all in the same quilt. I could even use prints, but make each wheel monochromatic or warm or cool so there was some organization. I would also like to try the Triangle Technique to make triangle squares. I know it means there wouldn’t be as much fabric variety overall, but I think it would be ok. Regardless it would be worth a try. If it isn’t perfect, I can try again.
Workshop
The most exciting news is that Weeks Ringle and Bill Kerr are coming BAM! I signed up for their workshop, which is on creating palettes. I would sign up for almost anything they did.
Other Work
Leona’s Angela Walters Challenge
Show and Tell is not as exciting as it was now that we have to bring finished pieces. I try to look around and see what people might be working on during the meeting.
One of the reason I enjoy the BAM meetings is that I hear about new things. Leona did show this quilt, which she made in response to Angela Walter’s panel challenge, Make It Right. I hadn’t heard of this challenge. I noticed her project because of the quilting. Leona has a longarm and she programs it using patterns she purchases. I love the combination of pebbles and spirals.
Leona’s Star Block Quilt
Leona brought another quilt, which I noticed first. The spiral with the sun design within the spiral is very appealing for an all over design. I really like it and may show it to Colleen.
As I have mentioned, I am behind on this project. We both should be done with the 8″ blocks and finishing up the 4″ stars. We are on Week 13, which was supposed to be finished during the week of April 22. TFQ chose these blocks and I just started them on Sunday.
Basic Star
Free Trade (Around the Block, page 67)
A Salute to the Colors (Around the Block Again, page 106)
Chisholm Trail (Once More Around the Block, page 50)
Star Sampler: Free Trade
Free Trade was the first block I sewed to try and catch up.
I like the look of the squares and half square triangles in the center.
I used squares for the center that had been rejected from other blocks. I couldn’t find any to match, so I used some that would look good together and, perhaps, create a little added movement in the block.
I was pleased with myself for thinking of this. I happened to be filing scraps in the course of tidying up the workroom when I thought of it.
Star Sampler Week 13
I finished all of the blocks last night.I don’t usually sew during the week, but my mom had to switch her days (she usually comes over on Tuesdays to see the Young Man) so I threw caution to the wind and just worked. I don’t know what DH was doing (ballgame, maybe?), but he didn’t want to catch up on a show with me until later.
So, TFQ picked these blocks and they were fine. I wasn’t really pleased with A Salute to Colors (lower left) when I saw the pattern, but I changed around a couple of colors and like it now that it is done.
Chisholm Trail
My favorite of this group is the Chisholm Trail block. I love the way the fabrics work together.
The fabric I used for the arms of the star is perfect in that space with the other fabrics.
I am pleased.
Now I have to get busy with the blocks for Week 14. I have one cut out, one made and another 41 4″ Sawtooth Stars to cut out and sew.
Definition: A shadow is an area where direct light from a light source cannot reach due to obstruction by an object. It occupies all of the space behind an opaque object with light in front of it. The cross section of a shadow is a two-dimensionalsilhouette, or reverse projection of the object blocking the light. The sun causes many objects to have shadows and at certain times of the day, when the sun is at certain heights, the lengths of shadows change.
An astronomical object casts human-visible shadows when its apparent magnitude is equal or lower than ?4.[1] Currently the only astronomical objects able to produce visible shadows on Earth are the sun, the moon and, in the right conditions, the planet Venus. (Wikipedia)
Shadow the hedgehog video game
2009 movie
Me and my shadow
shadow government
Shadow Hills, Los Angeles
Shadow Dancer – 2012 movie
shadow puppetry
beyond a shadow of a doubt
Silver Shadow
Sea Shadow (IX-529) was an experimental stealth ship built by Lockheed for the United States Navy to determine how a low radar profile might be achieved
Earth’s shadow
eye shadow
lengthening shadows
shadow play
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.
and, of course, sewing. Of course, this is all virtual, since I am probably headed to work as you read this.
Have you been blogging that long?
Are you inspired when you read my blog?
Enjoy the party and let me know if you want me to write about something special during the next year. I can’t promise I will do it, but I will try to be inspired by your request!
