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.
The Creative Prompt Project, also, has a Flickr group, which you can join to post your responses. Are you already a member? I created this spot so those of you without blogs and websites would have a place to post your responses. Please join and look at all of the great artwork that people have posted. Post yours and get kudos!
This fabric was included free when I ordered the Mexican food pillowcase fabric from Whichway Quilting. It is beige/taupe/tan (no info on the selvedge on my piece) so I wasn’t very excited about it. However, when I washed and pressed it, I noticed the incredible dimensionality. It made me think that this fabric would make a really cool journal cover or pencil roll. I only have a FQ, so the project would have to be small. Also, it isn’t as if I don’t already have a thousand projects on my to do list. We’ll see.
I mentioned that I went to a party on Sunday. Bron, a CQFAer was kind enough to give me two star blocks for the project. Bron is originally from New Zealand and is the leader of our little band. She keeps us on track at meetings. I was fortunate enough to see some of her work last Sunday. She does beautiful NZ imagery.
If you would like to make a block (or blocks), here are the parameters. All blocks are welcome!
Block background: dark blue
Block design: Yellow star (any pattern)
block size: 8? or less (we will work with any size)
remember to sign your block!
Contact us through our blogs for mailing instructions. Thanks so much for your generosity!
One of my medium nephews was over while his parents were gone and he decided he wanted to make a pillowcase.
The first step was to select fabrics. In the course of doing that, we pawed through my Christmas bag fabrics. I was reminded that I needed to get busy on some bags for 2010.
I have two gifts for two different people at work who have been especially helpful to me this year, so I decided to make bags for them. I don’t normally spread bags outside of the family, but the alternative would be to actually wrap the gifts with PAPER. Ugh! So, above are the bags. I used the French Seam method that I learned from the Twiddletails pillowcase pattern. I am not at all near making very many bags this year so far. That can always change, though, right?
This is the first of a few gifts that I made this season. I really missed making the quantity of gifts I made last year. It was fun, but I was way too busy this year. I’ll have to think about it and plan better for next year.
I made this Little Wallet as a hostess gift for a friend who hosted a CQFA meeting on Sunday. We went to her house and just did handwork and chatted. It was very pleasant and relaxing. She has some beautiful trees in her backyard that were sending showers of leaves down as I looked out the window. Gorgeous.
The afternoon made me think that I need to spend more time just sitting and stitching. Anyone need right of first refusal for artworks in exchange for a salary each year?
These diamonds could also be called Late Early December Diamonds. You pick and I’ll go along with it. I am nearing the end of my pressing and cutting. I don’t think I have anymore fabric enroute and I plan on keeping it that way. Famous last words, right?
That stripe at the top is my committment to making another Interlocking Triangles quilt. I have the Mixmasters Fizz and the P&B Fizz which are destined for that type of quilt as well. I worked on a design, but am thinking I may just use the same design I used for Spiky Stars. It is a good design and will look different with different fabrics. We’ll see.
Shall I make a New Year’s Resolution to that effect? I never make New Year’s Resolutions, so that would be new. We’ll see.
On September 10, 2010 a gas line exploded and leveled a neighborhood near where we live. It was big news at the time, but the world has moved on. In that neighborhood lived our cousin. His house was not destroyed, but was severely damaged. Also, the Young Man’s school friend lived there. His house was destroyed and he and his father ran for their lives.
Barsha's Star
My mom put out a call for blocks that we can make into quilts for these families and we received our first block today. One is promised and one is in the mail.
Barsha taught sewing in a local county for years before she retired. She is a gifted seamstress and I go to her when I need new pants. 😉 I first met her through a local guild. She is also a gifted quiltmaker, teacher and wearables artist. She has a wonderful, light studio and knows how to use a serger.
Thanks, Barsha!
Would you like to help? The parameters are:
Block backround: dark blue
Block design: Yellow star (any pattern)
block size: 8″ or less (we will work with any size)
remember to sign your block!
Contact us through our blogs for mailing instructions. Thanks so much for your generosity!
Skyee vodka (perhaps they don’t pronounce it the same way)
Sky.com
they sky opened
skydiving
light up the night sky
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.
The Creative Prompt Project, also, has a Flickr group, which you can join to post your responses. Are you already a member? I created this spot so those of you without blogs and websites would have a place to post your responses. Please join and look at all of the great artwork that people have posted. Post yours and get kudos!
As I mentioned, I opened a Cafe Press store around Thanksgiving (http://www.cafepress.com/Artquiltmaker). I was thrilled to check on the sales and had two sales after only two days. AWESOME! if you are reading this and you bought something, thanks! I know it doesn’t sound like a lot to you big time retail executives, but I am excited. Don’t worry! I am not going to harangue you with sales pitches all the time, but won’t you go take a look and buy?
American Patchwork & Quilting Winter 2010
The Henry Glass Designer Holiday showcase of Project Goodness (or whatever it is called) just ended or is about to end. Linda Lum DeBono (Mark Lipinski’s friend) started out the first day with her blog post. She showed the picture above and I thought it was very like It’s a Merry & Bright Wrap, but much cuter. Is there another Christmas quilt in my future? I don’t know. I’ll buy the magazine, though. In general I found this blog hop confusing and gave up after a day or two. I did enjoy seeing the artists’ work.
Heather Muldur Peterson is also on the Project Hit Parade (or whatever it is called) and she has a great project in her blog post using her new fabric line called Artful Home. I like the way the stripes work in the piece. The colors are very vivid. She must have great light (or a special secret) for photographing. Her project is a dish passer, which I needed the other night. Perhaps I will make one. I assume I will have to make one for each of my baking dishes, so perhaps not.
I joined Creating the Hive when Lisa F of C&T Publishing invited me. I don’t do much there except repost my blog post and respond to comments. I was thrilled when my Red Journal post was featured last week! It makes me feel like all this writing is valuable! If you want an invitation, leave a comment and I will invite you. I think you can join without an invitation as well.
Last week I talked about the Bay Area Modern Quilt Guild meeting I attended. At that meeting, Adrianne brought a bag she had made. I really liked the bag and was thinking that I should buy the pattern. I thought I might have bought it already as the Grand Revival name rang a bell. I did a search in my blog to see if I had bought it and found that I had THOUGHT about buying that exact same bag pattern, but apparently didn’t. I wrote a blog post about it back in September. Perhaps that is a sign that I should actually buy the pattern, which I didn’t. Yes, I am still lamenting hte fact that I have so many bag patterns and haven’t made many fo them.
I did see a free bag pattern from Rebeka Lambert of Artsy Craft Babe, which might satisfy my urge for a new bag pattern. I really want to make some gifts for the holidays, but time is slipping and I am only wishing. We’ll see. Not having to wait for a pattern to arrive buys me time.
Somehow, in clicking around, I ended up at Kathy Loomis’ blog. She didn’t have a lot of pictures and sometimes I am too pressed for time to read a lot of words (I should remember that when I am going on and on, right?), but her post about taking a leap in art quilt imagery was interesting. I don’t know if I agree with her completely, but it was interesting to read some writing about going beyond the “bad, citing “clunky, obvious images” and “sappy, crappy ugly quilts or embroideries or puff-painted sweatshirts.” I think I got a glimpse of reaching beyond during the fabric exercise at the Bay Area Modern Quilt Guild meeting. I have been struggling with putting fabrics together and that exercise (which I am more and more in awe of as time goes by) really helped me. I don’t want to make representational quilts or quilts about AIDS or depression or the impending train wreck that is environmental disaster. I do want to reach beyond what I am doing now. I am not sure what that means quite yet, but since this quilt adventure is a process for me, I am sure I will reach and find it.
REACH BEYOND
I saw a feature story on the web about a grave in Massachusetts on Andi Stern’s blog with a really interesting carving of a cephalopod on it. Cthulhu was in the title of the story and I didn’t know what what it meant so I looked it up on Wikipedia and found some clarification on some other aspects of the story. Regardless, the image looks like a cheerful beast and I thought some child might like it on a quilt some day, so I saved the photo to my inspiration file.
I spent several hours having a test at one of the labs at the hospital on Friday. It wasn’t invasive or painful, so I spent time reading, drawing, writing in my journal and staring at the wall.
I spent the time doing this Creative Prompt response. I am really happy to have gotten it done so quickly. Check out the original prompt.
In the 6th grade, I was in Mr. Sommer’s class. At some point he and my parents became friends and we used to go over to his house to swim. He also, at some point, married my 1st teacher, Ms. Selsky.
Anyway, Mr. Sommers was one of those innovative teachers. We did a project where we dissected the newspaper. We looked at shipping schedules, weather maps, etc. We learned a lot about the newspaper (FYI: that was WAAAAY before the Internet was a reality on my desk, so things have changed).
Some years ago, I found a tiny little “Converting Fractions to Decimals” chart in the newspaper. I was immediately transported back to the 6th grade.It is useful for quiltmaking periodically.
Decimal Equivalents Chart
Once more, I was transported back to Mr. Sommer’s class when I saw this chart. I don’t know if it is a good enough photo to print and paste up on the wall in my workroom, but it is useful anyway.
I talked about some giveaways I was planning. This isn’t one of them and I don’t have the stuff in my hand, but Chronicle Books is giving away stuff. Thanks to Cool2Craft on Creating the Hive for her post!
Here’s how it works:
I was supposed to make a post on here on the blog (check!) listing Chronicle Books valued at up to $500 that would be nice gifts under my tree. Check! They are:
Then I had to go to this Chronicle Books link and complete the form (Check!) and, theoretically, I was automatically entered into a drawing to WIN my list of books! And, one of YOU, dear readers, who comments on your post on your blog will win the list too! The rules don’t say a substantial comment, but you know how I am. While you are hanging around, go and take a look at the other posts. The scrap post was nice. the Modern Quilt Guild Meeting was fun. etc.
You can put up a post on your blog as well. Last day to submit entries is December 10th! Read all about it at Chronicle Books! Official Rules!
Leave your substantial comment here to be entered to win!
I am working on a, as yet unnamed, purple project using the fabrics on the bottom of the photo to the left. Those fabrics are from a Birch Bundle I bought at the end of the summer. The project is based on a picture I saw on Flickr and posted here in September.
I was cutting the rectangular patches for the piece in a random manner as I pressed fabrics, but wasn’t really ready to get busy until this week. I ordered some possible fabrics and got busy sewing yesterday.
I thought the Crocus (on the right, above) would be perfect. I picked it out using a color card that TFQ brought with her when we went to PIQF. I finally got around to ordering it. When it arrived, I looked at it in various lights around my house. Then I laid it out with the other two solids: Violet (left) and Deep Violet (middle). the two additional purples are from Free Spirit.
The Crocus is too grey/dusky for my project. That was clear from looking at it. That left me to decide from the two other choices. I think this experience is a good reminder for me to remember that a piece of fabric that looks good in a small piece may not be as perfect when I see it in a larger piece.
Violet as Piecing Possibility
In order to make the choice, I laid out some of the pieced rectangles on the Violet. The photo above looks a lot more red than the real thing. Still, I should consider that the red may show up more in certain lights. The quilt will be going to live in a much different lighting situation.
Deep Violet as Piecing Possibility
I am liking the Deep Violet. There is a lot more pink in the above piecing that I intend in the overall quilt. I need to stop the random cutting and be more organized about my cutting now that I am serious about piecing this.
