My local grocery store has a lot of interesting magazines and they change them up quite frequently. I saw one called ‘Salt’ once and then never saw it again.
Last Tuesday, I was doing the weekly shopping and saw this magazine at the checkout stand. Of course, I had to buy it.
It is a publication by the same people who make Threads. Scrapitude is on my mind, so I grabbed it to see what quilty loveliness was there.
It is actually more of a book in magazine format, though here is no title page.
The whole magazine appears to be written by Joan Ford and discussing her Scrap Therapy program/system. I was interested in the various sections (they weren’t really articles) and how she presents the system.
One thing she does is cut her scraps into 2″, 3.5″ and 5″ squares. She explains how much can be done with those sizes, including how well they fit together. It occurred to me that I could test this on a donation quilt at quilt some point.
Aside from the sizes, her system seems to include the concept of Scraps+1. Fortunately she has the sense to point out that it is fine to buy a background fabric to go with your scraps. She considers design when she is discussing laying out the scraps, which I appreciate greatly.
Included is a sensible approach to some of the basics. She has a section on accurate cutting and shows a slightly different way to hold the ruler to keep it in place. In places where she does things slightly differently than the assumed norm, she explains why she does it that way.
The projects are interesting, too. One thing that s a given is that more fabrics are better than one. Many of the projects are inspired by the Infinite Variety show, but do not mimic the quilts in that show. One of the quilts inspired by the show is blue and cream. I love that! I love that she shows how to expand beyond what the pattern shows.
There are a lot of photos and diagrams, which helps explain the techniques. Applique’ as well as piecing is included and Ms. Ford marks the patterns by difficulty. She does not shy from intermediate and advanced patterns.
If you see this magazine, it is beautifully done and well worth the money.
I plowed through, via audiobook, a number of the Jo Beckett series of mystery novels by Meg Gardiner while I was home over the holidays. They novels are a little formulaic, but I like the characters and the relationship of the characters to one another. The latest one, The Nightmare Thief, is the best, I think, though I liked the character development in the others as well.
Want some free audio books, so you can listen and sew? Try openculture.com. They have a lot of public domain stuff.
Housekeeping
We moved the blog to a new hosting site. This will alleviate, with any luck, the 500 Internal Server errors that were recurring with some regularity. If you are reading this, you have gotten through the worst of it. If you commented before the move, but not since, your comment will not show up until I confirm you are not a spammer. I try to be very quick about it, but if you are on the East Coast and commenting at 6am, you’ll have to wait until I get up a few hours later. 😉
We have noticed a few missing posts. If you commented on one of the missing posts, we will have to restore it and then I can respond to the comment on the blog. I’ll try to send you an email sooner, though. Polly, you leave such fabulous comments and you are one of the ones in this bucket. So sorry! Data conversion is a *itch!
Projects, Patterns & Tutorials
Quiet Play blog has a very appealing BOM called Sew Kitschy. It is appealing for me because of the turquoise and red. The imagery consists of 1950s looking kitchen accessories. I am not sure how the artist will create some of the patterns, but I look forward to seeing what you all make.
I found a pillowcase pattern that might be more my speed. I haven’t tried it, but there is nothing about selvedges, which might be a blessing. Thanks to Pam for pointing me to it.
There is an interesting Blog Hop going on called Dreaming of Stars. I saw it on the Magnolia Bay Quilts blog.
Now I know what crumb blocks are. Daisy mentioned it on her podcast and I had a minute to go look up the explanation on Bonnie Hunter’s site. I know it as mosaic quilting! I do it all the time and make new fabric from like colors.
I really like the Super Size Castle block from Sew Mama Sew. After the Swoon and Round and Round, I am thinking that blowing up some of these blocks with 85 pieces is a good idea and a lot of bang for my buck.
Joyce, over at Quilting Adventures, has a blog post up about making Hearts. It came about because of the upcoming Valentine’s Day. She acknowledges that many do not celebrate VDay and this project transcends those people to be all inclusive. It is a really sweet idea and an easy project – really good for TV time, or doctor waiting room time.
Helpful Hints, Tips, Traps & Tricks
If you need to know how much yardage a layer cake has in it, take a look at this page of quilt terms. I didn’t check the math, but it is a start.
Robin has a great, temporary, but not lame, tip for preventing your rotary ruler from shifting while you cut. You can find it and a brief overview of other more permanent methods on her blog.
The Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Guggenheim has 474 free art books available online. There is excellent access to catalogs, bulletins and other hard to find art materials. thanks to Timi for pointing that out to me.
From ResearchBuzz “Wellcome Images is releasing over 100,000 high resolution images under a Creative Commons license (CC-BY). “The earliest item is an Egyptian prescription on papyrus, and treasures include exquisite medieval illuminated manuscripts and anatomical drawings, from delicate 16th century fugitive sheets, whose hinged paper flaps reveal hidden viscera to Paolo Mascagni’s vibrantly coloured etching of an ‘exploded’ torso.” Good morning, Internet…” I am sure you’ll find some inspiration for your quilts there.
I heard a recent lament from a quiltmaker friend who hadn’t followed her own advice and put the kind of information on her label that she really needed. Yes, she put name and year, but not whether the quilt was from a guild challenge or made especially because of some specific inspiration. What if we all put QR codes on the backs of our quilts? Then, we could tweak the related page infinitely. I saw an article recently about prettifying QR Codes. There are Android & iOS versions to play with for free.
Fabric, Supplies, Tools & Jewels
I popped by the CraftSanity blog and was thrilled to see a feast for the eyes. The fabrics shown are gorgeous and I feel the first stirrings of interest in buying some fabric that I have felt in awhile.
Timeless Treasures has a hilarious vampire fabric. You don’t often see hilarious and vampire in the same sentence, I know, but this fabric made me laugh.
Exhibits
Weeks Ringle and Bill Kerr will have an exhibit of Modern Quilts at the Wisconsin Quilt Museum from now until the beginning of April. If you are a reader from Wisconsin, I would love to hear what you think.
The California State Parks are celebrating the 150th (WOW!) anniversary of the system with a quilt contest. Make a quilt, make history. The contest will include an online show of quilts created by quilters throughout the state to honor our state parks. The theme of the quilts is any aspect of California State Parks that inspires you. There are no restrictions as to quilting style, fabric, technique, size, etc!!!
Other Artists
Friend Julie has a new website and her own domain. Check it out at JulieZacconeStiller.com. I am jealous. I really need to work on Artquiltmaker.com, but haven’t done it. Yes, I am putting it on the list.
You can still read Libby Lehman’s CaringBridge site. She went home last week, which is great news. You have to log in to leave a comment.
Frank’s Lovey
I am in an online quilt group and periodically a member will have a really terrible year. this happened to a member recently. We all made blocks and one of the members put them together into a ‘lovey’. I no longer remember which block I made, though I suspect it is the Sawtooth Star with the black on white background to the right of the center. I think I made it during my Star Sampler craze last year.
I was interested in the way the author of the With Strings Attached blog calls quilt tops ‘flimsies.’ I have never heard that before. She has a page with all of her flimsies listed (no links, though) so you can take a look.
Quilty Fun
Most Interesting Man
I do think that quiltmakers, for the most part, are funny people. Recently I saw this posted to Instagram by MissouriMel and retweeted by Alex Veronelli of Aurifil fame. I wonder if the most interesting man knows?
Some of you read of my computer woes last summer. After reading a brief article about Windows 8, I feel a bit vindicated in my frantic search for a Windows 7 machine when Windows 8 was taking over the world.
Are you interested in cheesecake (@HQSuz??). I met a librarian at a recent conference who bakes cheesecakes in his spare time. Then he writes about them in a blog. He is a librarian, after all, and that is what we do. You can see the regular blog as well, which has interesting bits of information, things about life, books, etc.
The major cause of rain production is moisture moving along three-dimensional zones of temperature and moisture contrasts known as weather fronts. If enough moisture and upward motion is present, precipitation falls from convective clouds (those with strong upward vertical motion) such as cumulonimbus (thunder clouds) which can organize into narrow rainbands. In mountainous areas, heavy precipitation is possible where upslope flow is maximized within windward sides of the terrain at elevation which forces moist air to condense and fall out as rainfall along the sides of mountains. On the leeward side of mountains, desert climates can exist due to the dry air caused by downslope flow which causes heating and drying of the air mass. The movement of the monsoon trough, or intertropical convergence zone, brings rainy seasons to savannahclimes.
The urban heat island effect leads to increased rainfall, both in amounts and intensity, downwind of cities. Global warming is also causing changes in the precipitation pattern globally, including wetter conditions across eastern North America and drier conditions in the tropics.[citation needed] Antarctica is the driest continent. The globally averaged annual precipitation over land is 715 mm (28.1 in), but over the whole Earth it is much higher at 990 mm (39 in).[1]Climate classification systems such as the Köppen climate classification system use average annual rainfall to help differentiate between differing climate regimes. Rainfall is measured using rain gauges. Rainfall amounts can be estimated by weather radar.
Rain is also known or suspected on other planets, where it may be composed of methane, neon, sulfuric acid or even iron rather than water.” Wikipedia
Jung Ji-Hoon (born June 25, 1982), better known by his stage name Rain, is a South Korean singer, actor, songwriter, dancer, model, producer and designer.
“Rain” is a song by the English rock band the Beatles, credited to Lennon–McCartney and first released in June 1966 as the B-side of the “Paperback Writer.”
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 feel somewhat self indulgent by sharing my birthday report with you. I had such a great day, though, that I can’t help myself. I love my birthday and really strive to savor it every year. I think I would love to have it more than once a year, but then I would get really old, really fast and it wouldn’t be as special. The bonus was that I had a day off of work!
First, I got up and wrote in my journal and drank my tea. The boys got up and DH made us an omelette (I didn’t even have to ask!), then I started opening gifts. I couldn’t believe the generosity of my friends and family. I couldn’t even open all the gifts at once.
Granary Fabrics
Later, I went to pick up my sewing machine and out to lunch with Maureen. Our favorite lunch place is right near the Granary, so while I waited for her, I looked at fabric. Julie and I are going to do a block project with the 100 Modern Quilt Blocks book by Tula Pink and I saw the perfect background. My mother-in-law gave me some money and the fabrics are the result. I really like the Granary. The fabrics are all commercial and most of the ladies there tend towards non-art quilts, but I like the busyness and the variety of products in the place. They have a lot of fabric that is well organized and it is clean. They have lots of everything as well.
Birthday Gifts
And then there was the birthday box! OMG! TFQ out did herself this year and sent me the most luscious quiltmaking fabric and supplies and inspiration. If I don’t buy anything else this year, I will be all set.
I also put the books that Julie gave me and some gifts that DH gave me in the picture. I am not tall enough to include them all.
One item I received was a FitBit. I have been wanting one and am pleased to finally be able to see where I am in terms of fitness. My first morning workout was over 2,000 steps, which is amazing!
I am back on the donation quilt bandwagon with the Black/Grey Donation Quilt. I was afraid this would be a little depressing, but I think it will be great for a teenager.
I used the patches as a leaders and enders as I was working on Scrapitude.
It isn’t turning out exactly the way I thought, but I like it. I have four other blocks around somewhere, but they are misplaced. They’ll turn up.
Remember last week when I showed you the Pink Spider Looking at the Stars? Well, Amy and I are friends on FB and she chimed in about her version of the quilt. She was in my quilt group and made another quilt with the same fabrics. She sent me a photo and gave me permission to post it. I am posting it here.
This is a great example of the same fabrics being used in completely different ways. I really like the white background as it gives the quilt a lightness.
I went to Memphis for work last week and really missed sewing. I arrived home on Saturday around 8. No sewing that night, but Sunday, I got to it. Sandy posted the next clue on Scrapitude sometime last week and people were already finishing up their blocks – yes, that clue included the blocks layout – and I was chomping at the bit to sew. As soon as I got some Sunday chores out of the ay, I started laying the blocks out.
Scrapitude: Don’t Do This
I realized pretty quickly that I would have to rip out the units I had sewn with the large plain triangles and the complex corner units, because that combination was completely wrong. Duh. I didn’t rip them out before, because I was hoping I was ahead and not wrong. Sadly, Charlotte has another plan in mind and I was wrong. I ripped a little and sewed a little and finally got enough of the Jester Hat blocks (I’ll have to look up the real name sometime) to make up 25 blocks. I slowed down on the ripping and started to sew in earnest.
Scrapitude: Missing Jester Hat blocks
As you can see, I laid out the various parts into blocks. Most of my Jester Hat units are not 4.5″ and that really bugs me. I think it is because of switching machines, what feels like, several dozen times.
As I arranged the layout, I did a the pieces around to maximize the colors and spread like colors across the piece. Mostly I just laid them out. There is enough variety so, for the most part, no two fabrics are next to each other. Still I thought the piece looked like a bit of a jumbled mess.
I went and got my machine on Monday and used it to make some of the blocks, but after about two hours of sewing, it is acting up, so I didn’t get as much done as I would have liked. 🙁
I can’t be too upset, because I did get quite a bit done. I also had fun on my birthday, got back in the workout saddle AND I was thrilled to be back and playing with fabric.
Scrapitude: Too dark?
I am still thinking about the piece as a whole. With Mystery Quilts, it is hard to figure out a cohesive look for the whole when you don’t know what the whole will be. I guess that is the nature of Mystery Quilts. Rather than exciting, it is causing me some anxiety. I think, because of the amount of the turquoise and pink that there is an element of cohesion. Or I might be wishing strongly.
In terms of the scrappiness of the piece, I have been concerned all along. It is easy not to be too concerned while grabbing fabrics and cutting them up. What could go wrong, right? There are a lot of different fabrics and, though most are really clear, there are some dull ones (see that yellow with sailors towards the bottom of the above photo?). I think they are ok in the grand scheme, but I would be happy if they were gone.
I think the dots-as-background pull the piece together, even though the background is made up of a lot of different dot fabrics. Still I have some concerns about some of the darker fabrics. I have arrows pointing to the fabrics that are really B List fabrics, in terms of this piece. There are some others. I am going to leave them, because Maureen said they would be ok. I also don’t want to rip anymore. I am trying to spread them out so that they do not clump together to create a dark spot or hole in the quilt.
Scrapitude detail
And so, I ended up with these blocks. To the right are the completed blocks. they are bright and cheerful and I am glad I used my dots for the background. I think it needs to be the Year of the Dots, a year where I will use my dots.
I have also made some of the triangle units designated in Clue #4 part 1 and Clue #4 part 2. I think this piece will be set on point, but I am not sure how as there are still sashing strips. I do like the look of the two triangle (corner??) units.
Scrapitude: Large Triangle Unit
I had to finish ripping the rest of the wrongly sewn blocks in order to make the piece above. It looks fairly complex, but is pretty easy to put together.
One good thing about a Mystery Quilt is making all the units upfront. I didn’t like all that cutting, but it really makes this step go fast.
Scrapitude: Small Triangle Unit
These also look fairly complex, but the same applies. I am getting a lot of bang for my buck!
We give bags of gifts to the officers of the guild. Some of us make tote bags and then all the guild members bring a gift for each officer. It is a lot easier than making a quilt. It also allows people to contribute in a way that makes them comfortable.
Needle Cases
We encourage people to bring small gifts, such as spools of thread, packs of pins, needles, Pigma pens and WonderClips. We also encourage people to make small gifts, like zipper pouches. Some just write heartfelt cards and I know that is appreciated.
This time I made needle cases. As I mentioned in previous posts, I found the needle case pattern in a magazine and modified it to suit my needs.
I used, mostly, scraps for these needle cases. I like this project and am pleased with the modifications I made to the pattern. It is something I can make quickly as a gift.
I wasn’t able to make the meeting yesterday as I just returned from a work trip. I hope the officers liked them.
This is a hard book to categorize. When I borrowed it from the Library, I thought it was a mystery. When I started to read it, I thought it was a memoir. As I read it, I realized it was full interviews. The only thing I can call this book is a memoir full of interviews. I am okay with it not being a mystery, but I wish there had been more memoir, influenced by the interviews.
I thought the interviews were, mostly, out of context, not to mention poorly edited. In some cases the interviews were repetitive and nearly incomprehensible. I know that the author was trying to give us a sense of the voice of the interviewees, but I would have rather had more editing.
People say what they think, often, but not always as clearly as they would if they had the opportunity for a second draft. I think Ms. Gillespie should have cleaned up the stream of consciousness. I don’t think it adds to the book and verges on distraction.
With that criticism out there, the interviews were interesting. It was nice to read about Ricky Tims’ background and how he got started. One quote from his interview, which sticks in my mind is “So whatever I was doing in my freeness as an ignoramus, I ended up leaving that behind so I could learn to do it right. I went into the box, I learned to do it right, and for years that’s the way I sewed. (pg.47)” Later, he follows up with “Once he mastered traditional quilting-the technique for which he wins awards-he revisited his original style and began teaching classes in which he encourage students to cut without the aid of rulers.” These two quotes warm my heart, because they show that knowing how to perform accurate work (I won’t say “piece the right way”) matters and had value as does styles like Tims’ Caveman style.
Later, the interview with Tims has him saying “I wanted to learn to do it right. There were two reasons why I wanted to do it right. Number one, I wanted to challenge myself to excel. Why do things halfway? Number two, I think, comes into the dynamic I really often want to play down-that I’m a guy in a woman-dominated field. Because of that, I thought there was a need in me to excel, because my work was going to scrutinized more.So I needed to do a better job so that if they looked at, I had a little more respect. Now that’s a blanket statement; that not everybody. (pg.51)”
Quotes like the above and gems about Gillespie’s life make the book worthwhile.
I have scent on the mind, because I am reading the Perfect Scent: A Year inside the Perfume Industry in Paris and New York by Chandler Burr. This is not my kind of book and there are things I don’t like about it, but it has scent, the sounds around scent, the words of scent on my mind. It will be a challenge, darlings. 😉
Definition: 1, to cause distaste or disgust by supplying with too much of something originally pleasant, especially something rich or sweet; surfeit. 2. initially pleasurable or sweet but wearying in excess. 3. overly ingratiating or sentimental.
sickly
Apparently ‘cloying’ in home brew is not a good thing.
saccharine
syrupy
cloying sentiment
From the Urban Dictionary: The deathbed scenes in the novels of Dickens are famously cloying: as Oscar Wilde said, “One would need a heart of stone to read the death of Little Nell without laughing.”
It was word of the day in the New York Times on Sep 21, 2011. Who knew there was such a thing as the New York Times Word of the Day? I may have to start reading the New York Times!
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’ve recently started to expand my wine horizons by including sweet and/or dessert wines. I’ve noticed many reviews of sweet wines mention the word “cloying.” It seems some of the best sweet wines are described as “sweet but not cloying”. Can you tell me how I will know if something is “cloying” my palate?
—Tom, Denver
Dear Tom,
You’re correct that “cloying” is most often a negative term, referring to an excessively sweet wine that is lacking acidity. If you’re not certain what cloying feels like, take a tablespoon of honey and swallow it. It’s very sweet, but it’s so sweet it feels like it might get stuck in your throat. The best dessert wines will balance any sweet, sugary or honey notes with a body and acidity that make the wine glide over your palate and linger without being sickly sweet.
The blood oranges in this response came out purple. I am not sure why, but they are clearly a kind of purple. I know the center is at least partially purple, but the outside is orange and I did not show that at all. I could do this response over, but I probably won’t.
If you have not done a response, you can be inspired by the original prompt.
What did you think when you saw the prompt?
I hope you have done a response. If you have, please post the direct URL (link) where your drawing, doodle, artwork is posted (e.g. your blog, Flickr) to 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 the Creative Prompt Project on Twitter. Use the hashtag #CPP
I am behind, but I have been doing responses. I had so much to say about quiltmaking that I haven’t been posting the responses.
I hope you have done a response. If not, you can see the original prompt to be inspired. If you have, please post the direct URL (link) where your drawing, doodle, artwork is posted (e.g. your blog, Flickr) to 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 the Creative Prompt Project on Twitter. Use the hashtag #CPP
Last weekend was the CQFA meeting. I mentioned this project briefly when I talked about Attack of the Hexies.
Caroline taught a workshop using Susan Carlson’s techniques from her Serendipity Quilts book.
To start we got an email with prep instructions and when I finally got a minute (work really gets in the way of my quiltmaking!) I started getting the materials I would need together. One of the items was Drawing of simple object, ( Think little kid’s coloring book.)
I have one coloring book left from when I was a kid and couldn’t find it. I did find my old stained and leaded glass pattern books. Those drawings are simple enough and I perused them. Two stuck out for me. One was in the book and one was a drawing, probably a tracing of an image from another book, I had done that was stuck in the book. No attribution on the second one, nothing. If you have an Ed Sibbett, Jr book with the image below, please send me the citation. I do want to attribute it properly.
I decided to do them both, one at a time, but both. I have been lamenting, in my head, the fact that I haven’t been doing much art quiltmaking lately, which seems kind of lame, considering the name of this blog. I tell myself that all of my other quilts are ‘color work’, but I might be fooling myself. I do work a lot on color, but….
Stained Glass image
This image shows the first piece I will work on. the idea is to use scraps to make up the image. Everyone was working on it at the meeting and I was ‘in process.’
I will use pink for the hair and blue for the roses. I will probably use one piece of fabric for the face. It will not be green, but other than that I don’t know what color it will be. I might do the eyelash in embroidery.
According to Caroline, our workshop leader, the first step was to transfer the image to fabric. My actual first step was to enlarge the image. The original was smaller than 6×6 and I wanted to do something a bit larger. It is now in the 20×16″ range. It was a painful process, but I finally figured out how to do it and went ahead to the transfer-to-fabric stage.
Design on fabric
I used a piece of the linen colorway of an Art Gallery solid. I still had some left even after using bunches on the Flower Sugar Hexagon (Attack of the Hexies) quilt top. I simply traced over the printout with a Sewline pencil. It worked like a charm when I was able to keep the fabric in the right place over the printout.
My next task is to remind myself of the rules of light and dark: “if I put a light in a front piece of hair, will it look closer or farther?” and then I will get to it. I have the scraps already chosen and am eager to get to work.
I suppose I could check more thoroughly to see if I have Susan Carlson’s book, too.
