Cargo Duffle Finished

Cargo Duffle - Finished
Cargo Duffle – Finished

FINISHED!

I spent the Sunday after the workshop finishing the Cargo Duffle.

I really, sincerely disliked all the prep work, but was thrilled to see how this bag turned out. it has substance. I was going to give it away, but I am keeping it. I really like the fabrics I chose, even though I chose the green because I thought I would give it away. I love that text fabric.

Cargo Duffle - Finished (interior zipper pocket)
Cargo Duffle – Finished (interior zipper pocket)

I am also thinking of making another one. I know. I know. I am crazy, but I keep thinking about how I would make a second one differently. I want to see if I can do it again better. ALSO, I do have to make a bag for one of the guild officers.

For example, after cutting out the straps, I would just sew them. After cutting out the pockets, I would sew them to the lining. I think it would be less confusing. Yes, I would still have to quilt a bunch of pieces and panels,, but I think it would be easier. It might not have worked when I didn’t know how to make the bag, but now that I have an idea, I think it would work better for me.

Helpful Tutorials

  • How to shorten a zipper – IndieSew
  • How to put the Cargo Duffle lining and exterior together – video by Emily Dennis

Fun Sew Day

I had a great time at the Sew Day yesterday and really got a lot done!

Gerre & Jaye work area
Gerre & Jaye work area

It was a small crowd and I was the second person there! That was shocking since I have to go far to get there, but it was a great opportunity to chat with Mary a little and get to know her better. The tables were all there since camp is over, but they were sticky and dirty, so we spent some time cleaning them. We also set up a few tables and the cutting table. By the time we were satisfied we were still the only people there. We both started to sew and continued to chat. Bang on 11am, others rolled in and the party really got started. 😉

I decided that I would work on projects that were hanging around. First up was the Circles Charity Quilt. Gerre and I started working on it at the May Sew Day. MAY!!! I can’t believe it has been 4 months.

Circles Charity Quilt
Circles Charity Quilt

I had worked on it a few times after Gerre gave it to me, but it was hanging around not getting done, so I decided I would work on that even if it took me all day. It turned out that I only had a little more to do. I had about 6 circles to applique’, tying off threads and trimming. It didn’t take me very long at all. I pressed it and gave it back to Gerre who will quilt it or give it to the guild to quilt. I am really pleased with how it turned out.

My “reward” was to work on the Petrillo bag that I cut about 15 years ago. Not really, I cut it out, maybe, a year and half ago. It has been on my to do list forever and it was time to sew it, so I started. I don’t know why I waited because the bag started to look like a bag before I left. I was short some supplies, so I skipped a couple of steps, but did as much as I could in the time I had and really made some progress. I am really kicking myself or not getting to this bag sooner and having it take up space in one of my Chubby Charmers.

Angela basted one of the Pulse quilts the guild made. She is getting ready to quilt it. She was a rock star. She just got on with it and pretty soon the whole quilt was basted. I knew she would be working on it so I checked the Orlando Modern Quilt Guild website to see how they were progressing. They are really making progress. The creativity used in creating the layouts is wonderful. They have a lot of quilts completed and more in progress. I am so glad I was able to contribute.

Lizzie's IRR - before
Lizzie’s IRR – before

Mary worked on the Improv Round Robin project. She had Lizzie’s piece.

Susan worked on her Cargo Duffle and was able to finish that. Patti was sewing doll clothes for her granddaughters.

Karen was working on another quilt in her series of art quilts related to Black Lives Matter.

Gerre's Feathers
Gerre’s Feathers

Gerre pulled out some AMH feather blocks and was putting them together. She is pretty close as all the blocks are done and just has to finish sewing the rows. This is one of her earlier quilts and I love it.

One fun thing is that we talked about sewing – tips, tricks, techniques, hacks. Someone is thinking of making Sew Together Bags, so we discussed making them just as functional, but a bit easier. All in all, it was a great day and I really enjoyed myself.

 

 

 

BAMQG IRR

IRR - June 2016
IRR – June 2016

My Improv Round Robin has returned. Ruth had it for a couple of months because I wasn’t at the meeting last month and she wasn’t sure whether to pass it along.
She added the bottom part with the curves. It is an interesting addition.
I am trying to decide whether to try and get more people to work on it or whether I should just do some work of my own and finish it. I have some thoughts:

  • It needs some space around the edges. The outside top and right side might need some of the turquoise solid to provide some breathing room.
  • It is definitely not square and I need to figure out what to do about that, if anything.
  • I want to add more Flying Geese, which I will do myself. Perhaps I will add them on the right.
  • I am surprised that more people did continue the Flying Geese motif. The time constraints were daunting, however, so I understand.

I do need to look at it for awhile.

Bay Area Modern June Meeting

I was pretty excited to get back to BAM to see my pals. I only missed the May meeting, but it felt like an eternity. I finally had some things to show. You, of course, have seen them all, but I showed:

My SIL came along. She hasn’t been a member of a guild in awhile, if ever, but I dragged her along. She said she had a good time, which made me happy.

June Charity Sew Day quilt
June Charity Sew Day quilt

More details about the meeting can be found on the BAM blog.

I missed the Charity Sew Day due to Political Wifery, but some of the quilts they made were shown. Michelle B. designed the pattern and they sewed the quilts together using the quilt-as-you-go technique. This was a brilliant idea as it made the quilting after the piecing unnecessary.

Claire's innovative quilt
Claire’s innovative quilt

Show and Tell was fabulous as well. Joy-Lily has finished her 100 quilts project. Not all are quilted, but she has a nice variety of pieces. Zoe brought her tiny baby and the black and white playmat she is making. I loved them both! Claire set a bunch of blocks together in a really unique and innovative fashion.

I know it isn’t true, but I feel like I haven’t sewed at all after seeing all the great stuff people brought.

Jaime will be leading a workshop on making the Noodlehead Cargo Duffle. She has made a few and has made some changes to the pattern including more pockets. I signed up because I admire Jaime’s bag making skills.

We both helped work on the Hearts for Orlando blocks, which I wrote a bit about yesterday. You can see the full details at the BAM blog.

I dropped Cityscape off with my SIL who is the new owner after the meeting. I think she liked it.

Orange T Donation Quilt Finished!

Orange T Donation Quilt
Orange T Donation Quilt

This is the quilt that Gerre and I worked on at her house a few months ago.

She finished it and brought it to Sew Day. I couldn’t believe that she finished quilting it so quickly! I was thrilled. Not just that it was finished, but also that we had another donation quilt to help give someone some comfort.

The oranges worked out really well and while we are working on the circle quilt, I am excited to cut for another T quilt. I am thinking of digging into those green bins and thinning out some of those fabrics. I also saw my nephew’s Wonky 9 Patch quilt over the weekend and think that blue would look great with the orange Ts as well.

Orange T Quilt Back
Orange T Quilt Back

BAMQG Sew Day

I finally made it to a Sew Day at the new BAMQG location.

Gerre emailed me while I was in Portland and asked if I was going. I thought ‘why not?’ and Gerre was willing to sew with me again. Even though the YM is home and lounging around, he is old enough to be alone and didn’t want to come with.  Why would he? He would be bored.

It was fantastic! I was thrilled to be there and thrilled to be sewing. Gerre brought the Orange T quilt and it is finished. I have to take some photos and then I will post a finished photo.

Simply Moderne
Simply Moderne

We had a great time sewing and chatting and working on our quilt. We had decided to work on a circle quilt as a donation quilt. We got the inspiration from Simply Moderne magazine. I was attracted by the cover and bought an older issue at QuiltCon.

Pushed Neutral Background
Pushed Neutral Background

We started out by cutting the background pieces in the Pushed Neutral technique I learned from Mary Mashuta 1,000 years ago.

I brought the neutrals and Gerre brought the foreground fabrics, though we didn’t know it would end up that way.

We had talked about using greens, so I brought my green bins along with my beige and brown bin (which thankfully is almost empty). We pulled out the last of my light and tolerable beiges and cut them into 10″ squares and put this together as a background.

Circle cutting ruler in use!
Circle cutting ruler in use!

Gerre then showed me some plaids she had and we decided to use the plaids instead of greens and make a boy quilt. We cut circles using both the Go cutter than Pati brought (with her circle template!) and my newish circle cutting ruler.

I wielded the circle ruler while Gerre took over the Accuquilt Go! I only had my normal 45mm rotary cutter and I think it would have worked better with a smaller cutter. I only have one of those and it was at home, so I did the best I could. I may need a new blade after cutting the circles.

We decided not to have a lot of large circles, because the size of our quilt was smaller than the example we saw in the magazine and we didn’t want the entire surface to be covered.

Circles on background
Circles on background

After putting the background together we laid out the circles on the background. I didn’t take a picture of that stage so you have to be satisfied with the photo on the right.

We decided we had to do the quilt in layers so that we could sew around a whole circle and not have to stop and start.

We didn’t bring fusible so we glued the first layer of circles down on the background, pressed it and then Gerre sewed.

Circle donation quilt back
Circle donation quilt back

While she sewed, I worked on the pieced background.

The fish and leaf fabric is OLD! The selvedge says “Sykel Enterprises 1993.” I don’t even know if Sykel exists anymore. It is certainly no Moda or Kaufman. I am sure TFQ could tell me where I bought it. 😉

It was in the brown bin and good for a boy quilt. I also had about a yard, which was a great start. It was in two pieces, so I added the strip in the middle. We also cut off a strip so we could see about applique’ing some of the motifs somewhere on the quilt. The center plaids are a couple Gerre brought.

First layer circles sewed
First layer circles sewed

We were able to sew the first layer down. These were the largest circles.

We don’t intend to necessarily go from largest to smallest, but we wanted to start with the largest.

So far, it doesn’t look like much, but the next layer (no photo) looks better.

Stay tuned.

Improv Again

I got two new-to-me round robins last Friday. I didn’t have enough design wall space, so I took them out and looked at them. Different elements caught my attention – the squares in Annemarie’s and the applique’ on Michelle-Nicholle’s.

My addition to Annemarie's piece - detail
My addition to Annemarie’s piece – detail

I started with Annemarie’s after I finished the Cutting Corners donation top. I decided to add  the other corner to the top left. My corner has the same look at the corner on the right side. I wanted the elements to be related, but not to be derivative. I wanted to use more of the Alison Glass fabric, but there wasn’t any left in the packet.

I looked at it after I had finished the squares. They looked too square. I had to make up some space (see the bottom strips where the blueberry fabric is?), so I added some strips and kept adding until my addition was large enough to fill the space. The strips look more improv than the squares. I can’t blame my hand for the cutting as it is much better. Habit, I guess.

Michelle-Nicholle's Improv piece -before
Michelle-Nicholle’s Improv piece -before

Michelle-Nicholle’s was harder, mostly because it had the structure of a very traditional round robin. All the pieces in the round robin are getting quite large and Michelle-Nicholle’s is no exception. It is also, I think, the largest piece on which I have worked. There were also only a few motifs I could use as inspiration, none of which were very exciting to me. More applique’ would have been logical, but I just wasn’t in the mood. It was very difficult to think of an addition. I reached back to my early days of quiltmaking when I learned to do improv curved piecing. I added some of that. It is a simple addition, but effective, I think. I may add something else as my addition does seem like much, nor does it help the next person as a jumping off point.

Michelle-Nicholle's IRR after -detail
Michelle-Nicholle’s IRR after -detail
Michelle-Nicholle's IRR after
Michelle-Nicholle’s IRR after

 

April ATCs

April 2016 CQFA ATCs
April 2016 CQFA ATCs

We had the CQFA meeting on Saturday. Of course there was an ATC swap. Not participated in the swap this time, but I received two lovely cards and got to keep one of my own.

As usual I intended to make them well in advance. Friday morning (day before the meeting!!) became unusually busy and I still hadn’t made any. Eventually I tore myself away from all the other things demanding my attention. I went for a walk determined to decide on a design. As I walked it occurred to me that I wanted to do something very simple and I came up with a design comprising an orange circle on a blue background. I was imagining the colors I used in the Wonky 9 Patch quilt. That particular blue and orange glow when put together.

I also remembered Ms. Lottie’s directions for finishing the edges and decided I would try the technique. I would have done a better job if I had actually read the directions again, but I did what I thought I remembered the directions saying. I had some trouble with the corners. They don’t look very tidy and I realized why after I read the directions when I finished. Such a great plan (<–irony). I’ll give it another try next time.

I like to put stiffener in my ATCs so they are more like cards. This meant that the fusible on the inside of the backing was adhering to loose Pellon interfacing. It didn’t secure the three layers together at all. I liked the technique and the little frame it makes. I’ll just have to make the technique my own for next time.Reading the directions might help. 😉

April 2016 ATCs in progress
April 2016 ATCs in progress

By the time I arrived home I had an idea. It didn’t quite work out the way I imagined, but turned out satisfactorily. I didn’t have the exact colors I saw in my minds eye, but I did have colors that worked well together.

When I put the initial pieces together, they looked unfinished. I always like to do handwork and haven’t had many bindings to hand sew recently, so I sat on Friday night and stitched some Perl cotton on to these ATC pieces to add interest and finish them. I seem to often do embroidery or beading on these pieces. I wonder if it is a signature?

Bron & Jaye's ATCs
Bron & Jaye’s ATCs
Virginia's ATCs
Virginia’s ATCs

Bron and Virginia also participated. We each got one of our own and gave Rhonda the extras to bring to Angela.

Visiting with Improv

Improv Round Robin - March 2016
Improv Round Robin – March 2016

I got a brief glance at my Improv Round Robin piece before Ruth whisked it away to work on.

More of the Philip Jacobs print is showing up and that is creating some interesting results. I do think the piece needs more space, so I will add more solid or, perhaps, someone working on it will add more solid.

EBHQ Show Press Release

For Immediate Release:

Media Contact: Edith Beard Brady

Voices in Cloth 2016, Extraordinary Quilts by the Bay

Dates: Saturday, March 19 and Sunday, March 20, 2016
Hours: Saturday: 10:00 A.M. to 5:00 P.M.
Sunday: 10:00 A.M. to 4:00 P.M.

Admission: Two-day advance purchase tickets are $10 until February 29, 2016; tickets purchased at the door are $15 and children 12 and under are FREE.

Location: The Craneway Pavilion, 1414 Harbour Way South, in the Marina District of Richmond, California. With its huge windows, panoramic San Francisco Bay views and natural light, The Craneway Pavilion makes a spectacular venue for the vibrant quilts and fiber art that will be displayed at Voices in Cloth.

Website: http://www.ebhq.org/quilt-shows/vic2016

East Bay Heritage Quilters present Voices in Cloth 2016, Extraordinary Quilts by the Bay. Highlights of the two-day show include an exhibit of more than 200 new quilts and wearable art made by guild members; quilts by kids; a stellar lineup of 37 vendors, offering textile and eclectic wares; a Guild Marketplace of Fine Fiber Art; free demonstrations of quilt-making techniques including new ruler-free cutting techniques by Sherri Lynn Wood; bed turnings by the San Jose Museum of Quilts and Textiles showcasing quilts from the museum’s permanent collection; engaging activities for children and introducing new children’s titles from C&T Publishing; and great door prizes.

Voices in Cloth 2016 will as also feature two special exhibits:

“Off the Wall: Maverick Quilts from the Julie Silber** Collection”

Well- known and highly respected quilt authority, Julie Silber curates this special exhibit of 20 of her favorite quirky antique quilts. The pieces all have in common an unusual twist on the ordinary, a certain verve, and a gritty individuality rarely found in more studied and self-conscious quilts. These playful pieces demonstrate that all over America original works of art may be as close as the blankets under which we sleep. Julie Silber will lead a personal tour through the exhibit each day at 1 p.m.

 

**Julie Silber is best known locally as curator of the world-renowned Esprit Quilt Collection , which was on display at the Esprit Company headquarters in San Francisco in the 1980s. She is the owner of Julie Silber Quilts where she offers a wide range of antique and vintage quilts made between 1800 and 1950. She wrote Hearts and Hands: The Influence of Women & Quilts on American Society, and Amish: the Art of the Quilt.

 

“Tell Me a Story” A Cloth Doll Challenge

For the first time, Voices In Cloth presents a special exhibit of 36 cloth doll sculptures and their stories. The Challenge is curated by Sondra Von Burg, a local doll artist, teacher and lecturer on the Art of Cloth Doll Making. She states “Dolls traditionally were made to represent the human form in miniature. Contemporary dolls are moving closer to sculpture, but often continue to represent humans beyond just the form and all dolls have a story to tell.” Sondra will be demonstrating “Cloth Doll Finger Turning” during the show and has a vendor booth exhibiting her work.

East Bay Heritage Quilters is a non-profit, all-volunteer organization based in Albany, California. The guild focuses on preserving and continuing the traditions, culture, and history of quilting and textile arts. A significant contribution EBHQ makes to our community is the Deanna Davis Community Quilt Project, through which our members and outside volunteers make and distribute over a 1,000 quilts a year. Recent recipients include First Place for Youth (a home for aged-out foster teens), and survivors of the Lake County fires. In 2016, EBHQ will make monthly deliveries to a Neonatal Intensive Care facility.

There are two Opportunity Quilts that will be featured at the show. Winning tickets in the raffle will be drawn on Sunday, March 20, 2016. Photos and descriptions of Bay Windows and String Theory can also be found at http://www.ebhq.org/quilt-shows/vic2016/vic2016quilts.

Bay Windows

42 inches by 46 inches

Raffle Quilt designed by Nancy S. Brown

Appliqued by Nancy S. Brown, Meg Cupman, Cynthia Demidovich Winn, Linda Gavin, Sue Gragg, Linda Gruber, Andrea Hong, Jenny Kolbusz, Liisa Lyon, Lily Pang, Laurel Putnam, Melissa Quilter, Valerie Sopher, Katie Spangler, Carolyn Weil.

Quilted by Laura Lee Fritz.

Photography by C&T Publishing

 

 

String Theory

80 inches by 84 inches

Raffle Quilt by Barbara Ramsey

Quilted by New Pieces in honor of Deanna Davis

Photography by C&T Publishing
East Bay Heritage Quilters, P.O. Box 6223, Albany, CA 94706

Cheryl’s IRR

I don’t actually have any IRRs right now and I wasn’t at the BAMQG meeting, so I couldn’t take another. I had three in quick succession, with Cheryl’s being the last before my brief hiatus. Ruth‘s and Claire‘s pieces were the other two in the trio.

Michelle and I met at Trader Joe’s again and exchanged IRRs. I took Claire’s to pass along as she wouldn’t be at the meeting either. I headed up to the North Coast again with DH for NSGW/#politicalwifery events and Michelle was headed to Spain. Rhonda was kind enough to take both bags to the meeting for us and I gave them to her at the CQFA meeting.

All of this meant that I had to get Cheryl’s done in time to get it to Rhonda. I had about a day once I figured out all of the timing, so I got down to business.

Cheryl's IRR - before
Cheryl’s IRR – before

Cheryl’s piece looked great when I got it and I was loathe to wreck it, but Michelle had added half a row, so that missing section was perfect for me to complete.

Cheryl’s piece is turning out really well. I love it, thus the feelings of avoiding wreckage. I really wanted to use the Paris map fabric, but couldn’t really fit it in once all was said and done.

I walked around with it on my design wall for a few days and decided to add some Flying Geese. Yes, I am still in love with Flying Geese.

I also needed to add my signature fabric, but I didn’t want to add a large patch or strip as I have on other pieces, because I wanted to preserve the mainly white and turquoise color story.

There were a few small strips left over from other piecing, so I pieced a few of those together to make another strip large enough to handle my signature fabric. I wanted something that would look like it fit in.

Cheryl's IRR - my part
Cheryl’s IRR – my part

I made some Flying Geese. Since those were the main parts, I started working getting Michelle’s strip completed. I added some white and a strip of the black and white stripe, which came to me after looking at the piece.

After making my piece, I think the white on the edge needs to be corralled, but someone else, or Cheryl, will have to worry about that. I am pleased with how my part came out and I think my signature fabric piece fits in well without overwhelming the whole design.

 

Cheryl's IRR - finished with my part
Cheryl’s IRR – finished with my part

I also think the piece needs some space at the top. The bottom is getting to be quite breezy while the top is looking a little cramped. Not fatally so, but a little. It will be interesting to see what happens.

Good things about this IRR

  • no rules about how much you have to do
  • don’t have to add much fabric

EBHQ Show Press Release

For Immediate Release:

Media Contact: Edith Beard Brady

Voices in Cloth 2016, Extraordinary Quilts by the Bay

Dates: Saturday, March 19 and Sunday, March 20, 2016
Hours: Saturday: 10:00 A.M. to 5:00 P.M.
Sunday: 10:00 A.M. to 4:00 P.M.

Admission: Two-day advance purchase tickets are $10 until February 29, 2016; tickets purchased at the door are $15 and children 12 and under are FREE.

Location: The Craneway Pavilion, 1414 Harbour Way South, in the Marina District of Richmond, California. With its huge windows, panoramic San Francisco Bay views and natural light, The Craneway Pavilion makes a spectacular venue for the vibrant quilts and fiber art that will be displayed at Voices in Cloth.

Website: http://www.ebhq.org/quilt-shows/vic2016

East Bay Heritage Quilters present Voices in Cloth 2016, Extraordinary Quilts by the Bay. Highlights of the two-day show include an exhibit of more than 200 new quilts and wearable art made by guild members; quilts by kids; a stellar lineup of 37 vendors, offering textile and eclectic wares; a Guild Marketplace of Fine Fiber Art; free demonstrations of quilt-making techniques including new ruler-free cutting techniques by Sherri Lynn Wood; bed turnings by the San Jose Museum of Quilts and Textiles showcasing quilts from the museum’s permanent collection; engaging activities for children and introducing new children’s titles from C&T Publishing; and great door prizes.

Voices in Cloth 2016 will as also feature two special exhibits:

“Off the Wall: Maverick Quilts from the Julie Silber** Collection”

Well- known and highly respected quilt authority, Julie Silber curates this special exhibit of 20 of her favorite quirky antique quilts. The pieces all have in common an unusual twist on the ordinary, a certain verve, and a gritty individuality rarely found in more studied and self-conscious quilts. These playful pieces demonstrate that all over America original works of art may be as close as the blankets under which we sleep. Julie Silber will lead a personal tour through the exhibit each day at 1 p.m.

 

**Julie Silber is best known locally as curator of the world-renowned Esprit Quilt Collection , which was on display at the Esprit Company headquarters in San Francisco in the 1980s. She is the owner of Julie Silber Quilts where she offers a wide range of antique and vintage quilts made between 1800 and 1950. She wrote Hearts and Hands: The Influence of Women & Quilts on American Society, and Amish: the Art of the Quilt.

 

“Tell Me a Story” A Cloth Doll Challenge

For the first time, Voices In Cloth presents a special exhibit of 36 cloth doll sculptures and their stories. The Challenge is curated by Sondra Von Burg, a local doll artist, teacher and lecturer on the Art of Cloth Doll Making. She states “Dolls traditionally were made to represent the human form in miniature. Contemporary dolls are moving closer to sculpture, but often continue to represent humans beyond just the form and all dolls have a story to tell.” Sondra will be demonstrating “Cloth Doll Finger Turning” during the show and has a vendor booth exhibiting her work.

East Bay Heritage Quilters is a non-profit, all-volunteer organization based in Albany, California. The guild focuses on preserving and continuing the traditions, culture, and history of quilting and textile arts. A significant contribution EBHQ makes to our community is the Deanna Davis Community Quilt Project, through which our members and outside volunteers make and distribute over a 1,000 quilts a year. Recent recipients include First Place for Youth (a home for aged-out foster teens), and survivors of the Lake County fires. In 2016, EBHQ will make monthly deliveries to a Neonatal Intensive Care facility.

There are two Opportunity Quilts that will be featured at the show. Winning tickets in the raffle will be drawn on Sunday, March 20, 2016. Photos and descriptions of Bay Windows and String Theory can also be found at http://www.ebhq.org/quilt-shows/vic2016/vic2016quilts.

Bay Windows

42 inches by 46 inches

Raffle Quilt designed by Nancy S. Brown

Appliqued by Nancy S. Brown, Meg Cupman, Cynthia Demidovich Winn, Linda Gavin, Sue Gragg, Linda Gruber, Andrea Hong, Jenny Kolbusz, Liisa Lyon, Lily Pang, Laurel Putnam, Melissa Quilter, Valerie Sopher, Katie Spangler, Carolyn Weil.

Quilted by Laura Lee Fritz.

Photography by C&T Publishing

 

 

String Theory

80 inches by 84 inches

Raffle Quilt by Barbara Ramsey

Quilted by New Pieces in honor of Deanna Davis

Photography by C&T Publishing
East Bay Heritage Quilters, P.O. Box 6223, Albany, CA 94706

CQFA Meeting

Yes, right after the Retreat, we were back at it with a meeting. We didn’t have regular show and tell at the December meeting, so we had to catch up and have a big show and tell in February.

The business meeting portion wasn’t that big of a deal or very long. The topics discussed were important, but we dealt with them quickly – dues, meetings for the rest of the year, etc. We are discussing the possibility of having a show. It is a lot of work for a small group, above and beyond the making of the pieces, so there is discussion.

We traded ATCs and they were great this time. Valentine’s Day is coming, so you can see the red theme was prevalent. I was somewhat embarrassed with mine (upper left hand corner), because they were quick and dirty and I forgot to sew the charms on. I’ll call them minimalist.

Show and Tell is always the best part. There wasn’t a lot. I showed Tuffet #2 and FOTY 2014, both of which were finished since the last regular show and tell.

Rhonda's Blue Shirts
Rhonda’s Blue Shirts

Rhonda showed the quilt she made for her dad, which she made as almost her first quilt. The design is her own and I think it is one of the best shirt patterns I have seen.

Gerre's Vintage Spin
Gerre’s Vintage Spin

Gerre showed her Vintage Spin again. I love this quilt so much that I had to show it to you again.

Bron's Fibershot #1
Bron’s Fibershot #1
Bron's Fibershot #2
Bron’s Fibershot #2

Bron made two quilt-lets for Fibershots based on her paintings. She spent the work time after the meeting, while I quilted my quilt-lets, fashioning some hangers using some pretty chopsticks.

After the meeting, the plan was to work on Fibershots pieces in a group setting and possibly collaborate. Maureen, Bron and I were the only ones who stayed and I was determined to make some progress on my two. I had hauled my machine and gear down to the meeting, so I felt like I had to. I was pleased that they stayed.

Before we started sewing and working, Bron and I went to Asian Box (no affiliation!) and grabbed lunch. I also got some Pho for dinner and I had two of the best meals ever. I can still taste them in my mouth and I am drooling just thinking about them. Bron and I decided that we could share a box (rice, vegees, meat) as it was enough for two. I can’t wait! Yum!

CQFA Retreat

The CQFA Retreat was back to its normal last weekend of January timeframe. I was so pleased to be able to attend again. I know I went in May, but the last couple of January retreats, I wasn’t able to attend. I love January and quiltmaking in January is the best.

Short description of the weekend: it was fabulous.

I drove down with Kathleen, after convincing her that joining CQFA and going on Retreat would be a good idea. She drove over the mountain in her giant truck, so we drove down to the retreat in style!

Hard at work
Hard at work

People trickled in throughout the day and by evening the room was full.

When we arrived, we were disappointed to find Rhonda unable to attend! She was suddenly taken ill. Since she organized everything, it was a big disappointment for her as well. She felt much better on Saturday so her husband drove her up and we were all thrilled to see her.

The Giant Pizzas
The Giant Pizzas

There isn’t a restaurant in the hotel, though they do have a continental-plus breakfast, so we had to go out for meals, though there were plenty of snacks available. Julie and I went to our traditional Mexican place on Friday night. Kathleen joined us. Some of the ladies decided to get pizza delivered and were shocked when two GIANT pizzas arrived.

These pizzas engendered much hilarity because of their 24″ size. The order taker was surprised, justifiably when we saw them, that the ladies were ordering two. Those pizzas fed people on and off throughout the weekend.

Much Work was Accomplished

My retreat workspace
My retreat workspace

I did not bring my design wall this time. The new one purports to be portable, but it is heavy and I didn’t feel like dragging it along. I wanted to quilt various projects that are piling up anyway.

Maureen helped me with my Peacock quilt and that is ready for me to piece and put together.

Maureen also finished her CQFA improv round robin piece that was made at a meeting last year.

Nancy came and went, working on her handwork and chatting with us all.

Angela worked on Reversible Box Totes and they were really great. She used some quilting cottons and some fabrics from FabMo as ’embellishments’.

Julie cut out a new king sized project using Kaffe Fassett fabrics that will be fantastic. You know I love the Philip Jacobs prints in the Kaffe Collective and many of her fabrics were designed by my man, Phil.

Rhonda's Zipper Pouch
Rhonda’s Zipper Pouch

Rhonda worked on nesting zipper bags that will be gifts. She used some Alison Glass fabrics, similar to the ones I used in Field Day Zipper.

Jennifer put the beginnings of a piece together for a show where the theme is ‘Turmoil’. It is made from purples and violets and I look forward to seeing it when it is finished.

Sue also made zipper pouches similar to those from the one of the first BAMQG retreats. She was also making gifts and brought her serger along to do the finishing.

Carol's quilt
Carol’s quilt

I was very pleased to get to know Carol, a new-ish member, better. We sat across from each other at dinner on Saturday and I found that we have similar ideas about quiltmaking classes. She brought the quilt (left) to finish the binding and the sleeve and was beavering away at it when I arrived. The front of the quilt was a big mystery as we could only see the back as she sewed on the binding. We were all stunned and thrilled when she showed us the front. It is gorgeous. Simple in a complex kind of way. It fits in very well with the group as well as ‘modern’ quiltmaking sensibilities. Kathleen, Gerre and I started talking to her about also attending BAMQG.

Gerre sat in the corner and worked on her gorgeous handwork.

Dolores, who normally sits in the corner, came out from her lair, sat across from Maureen and worked on a couple of pieces that are intended for upcoming shows. One included an amazing amount of turning under raw edges and was done in purples and violets.

Bron sat in Dolores’ corner and worked on a gift quilt made from squares and pinwheels. We had a group discussion about borders, pieced and plain as well as the size of the borders.

Jan came and she was working on some pieces for her job at Curiodyssey. I didn’t get a good look at them, I am ashamed to say.

Kathleen's City Sampler Blocks
Kathleen’s City Sampler Blocks

Kathleen worked on her City Sampler blocks and made some good progress, especially after Gerre helped her with the quarter inch foot.

All in all it was a very collegial and productive weekend. Kathleen pointed out that the group is very supportive, which I knew in my heart, but had never articulated. It is true!

 

Ruth’s IRR

Finished: Ruth's IRR - complete
Finished: Ruth’s IRR – complete

Yes, they are coming fast and furious! I got two at the last BAMQG meeting, as I mentioned. I was able to work on Claire’s piece during my last free sewing weekend, but I didn’t get to Ruth’s. While having little time to sew on the weekend, I have had to cram the work into bits of time during the week. Of course, I forgot to take a before picture. 🙁 C’est la vie. If you imagine removing my part, that is the before. 😉

There is something that makes me think of a castle. The ‘mountains’ could be points of a tower and the curved sections could be arches.

My addition to Ruth's IRR
My addition to Ruth’s IRR

Ruth’s piece has a clear color story and large curved center with triangles seem to be a design focus. The piece spoke to me immediately after I put it up on my design wall. I saw the triangles on the top that looked like mountains and decided to add something similar on the bottom.

I had to do some fancy sewing with background around the mountains since I didn’t want to cut off the tips. I think the background looks like Mary Mashuta’s Pushed Neutral concept and I like it.