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.
My friend Kathleen is organizing a great event in beautiful Reno: Make it Modern. This is the premier Reno event for modern quiltmakers. It is a great opportunity to work with a couple of QuiltCon 2016’s hottest designers.
What: Fun and fabulous days of creating, led by modern quilters Christina Cameli and Libs Elliott. Additional help, discussions, and general shenanigans each evening at the sewing salon, and a trunk show on Sunday morning.
Where: Peppermill Resort, Reno, Nevada
When: June 9-12, 2016
Who: Christina Cameli and Libs Elliot will be teaching
Why: Because it is fun to meet up with other like minded quiltmakers and have some fun sewing
My friend, Kathleen, is organizing a great event in beautiful Reno: Make it Modern.
What: Fun and fabulous days of creating, led by modern quilters Christina Cameli and Libs Elliott. Additional help, discussions, and general shenanigans each evening at the sewing salon, and a trunk show on Sunday morning.
Where: Peppermill Resort, Reno, Nevada
When: June 9-12, 2016
Who: Christina Cameli and Libs Elliot will be teaching
Why: Because it is fun to meet up with other like minded quiltmakers and have some fun sewing
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
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
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
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 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
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 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!
You can read all about the meeting from the minutes, which are already up on the Bay Area Modern blog. I am just going to show you photos and include my comments about them.
Angela’s Goodies
You saw the One Hour Baskets I made for the Charity Girls. I, mostly, forgot to take photos of the fabulous bags made for the other officers. People did such great jobs on them. Kelly got a Chubby Charmer with a sunshine yellow inside from Amanda. Cheryl received a small handbag (we needed and extra bag for all of her goodies) from Rhonda and Angela got a beautifully structured bag from Gerre, which you can see in the photo (left).
Cheryl’s Treasures
The idea is that everyone brings a small gift for each officer and we will fill up the bag with them. This allows people to manage their own budget or make something, if they are inclined. Not everyone participates, but you can see from the stash above that there was no shortage of fabulous gifties.
Getting down to business
After the meeting, people brought handwork. As I suspected, I was too busy socializing to get my (yes the one I am I am making for me!) Sew Together Bag cut out. 🙁 Never fear, I am working on it. Others did work on their projects. Ruth is a master at getting down to business.
Lynette cozied up, too and others (Gerre, Molly, Bonnie and Joelle) stood around chatting. I was there for a bit talking to Lynette about her Bionic Bag, which is similar to my Sew Together Bag, but more evolved. Lynette showed the quilt in the front at Show & Tell. It is a great boy quilt. The pattern is Fireside Chat by Blue Nickel Studios. It might be worth checking out for one of the nephews.
Gerre’s Quilt
Gerre brought the most fantastic quilt. I don’t know the pattern (and am too lazy to look it up) except that she said she made it in a workshop with Freddy Moran. Take a class from Freddy if you can. You won’t regret it!
The fabrics remind me of Jane Sassaman, but the most interesting part is the Big Stitch quilting, which she is doing with 12wt Aurifil. I love that she is using different colors for the quilting. Gerre is not afraid of color and I love her work. Check out a detail.
Donation Quilt
Angela worked on basting a donation quilt, which is bright and cheery.
All in all it was a great meeting. I did want to cut out my project, but that got done and it was great to chat with people.
I have been making and receiving Flying Geese all along. I finally decided to do an update as the group was getting kind of large and was taking up space on my design wall. Also, the last update I did was on November 14 and that seems like a long time ago.
If I did the math correctly (50 weeks x 4 geese each week), I have at least 200 right now. It doesn’t seem like enough, though. I think I must have more. I am kind of amazed at how easy it is to make these blocks and to have them add up in number. I really want to sew up all the patches I have cut. I am trying to restrain myself.
Some of these TFQ won’t recognize, because I haven’t send them off yet. They were part of the Wacky Weekend Work I did. Flying Geese make good leaders and enders.
I have another batch of Flying Geese blocks to show. In light of my post on inspiration for this project, I also spent some time on Pinterest looking at Flying Geese quilts. I finally feel ready to start thinking about a layout. I am not sure I want to sew a quilt, but looking at designs is finally fun.
This group of blocks looks much more Autumn-ish than previous groups.
TFQ recently sent me a link to block that I really like made from Flying Geese. It was on the Moda Instagram feed and I can’t tell if it is a historic block or if the maker added another FG to a Dutchman’s Puzzle block.
We have been doing the Flying Geese Exchange, which I highly recommend, BTW, and I have started to look around for interesting design in which to use the Flying Geese. I have begun to start thinking about something interesting to do with the blocks. TFQ is clearly on the same page.
The blocks above are from the Moda Instagram feed. I have always liked the Dutchman’s Puzzle block and actually made one for my first Sampler quilt. This block puts a little twist on the idea, but it might be just enough to keep me interested.
Mary Fons posted a link to a block she made, which I originally thought would be great for our Flying Geese. After looking at it again, I don’t think it will work. I still like it, but there is an extra color that exaggerates the motion in the block. Our Flying Geese do not have that extra color. Of course, we could still put the block together, but we would miss out on the motion.
Love of Patchwork and Quilting had a block made from Flying Geese (Issue 24, Darling Dorothy) that is mildly appealing. I don’t think it will work for me for a whole quilt.
So you can see where my head is with these Flying Geese. Any ideas? Any interesting ideas?
TFQ and I are still working on the Flying Geese exchange. We will through the end of the year, at least. I think for both of us this swap is keeping our heads in or keeping us on track.
It is nice to have something to do every week.
The FGs shown in this post are a combination of my contributions and TFQs. I think they go really well together. This group is very bright and cheerful.
I am not sure what I want to do with them. I have been looking at different layouts for all of these FGs and haven’t found one that I like yet. It is early yet.
Mom and the Big Guy went to Port Townsend, Washington for a few weeks to see her BIL/ Big Guy’s brother. She brought her Featherweight and sewed like a demon while the Big Guy and his brother visited. She came home with a number of baby quilts/throws. She hasn’t been updating her blog, so I decided I would show you her work.
Alphabet Baby Throw
The BIL has about 13 children. Many of them are grown and having babies of their own. Mom enjoys using her fabric to make baby quilts and throws. She came upon a technique that using no batting and Minkee to make throws and that is the technique she used.
She took the fabric in the throw with the gold border from me. It has colorful scenes from various world cities and I just couldn’t imagine why I had purchased that particular fabric. I think I bought it to give to Mom so she could make this great throw (below).
Mom’s Panel Throw
The colors she chose for the borders, etc really pick up the colors in the panel and make this a very successful piece. It makes me wonder why I gave it to her, but I don’t think I would have thought of doing this and the fabric would have sat in my fabric closet for eternity. I am glad it will go to a good home.
The other great thing is that she got practice and is feeling a lot more confident about her skills especially in machine quilting.
Mom’s Scrappy Log Cabin
I hope, now that she is home, that she will continue making such great progress.
I sometimes make a batch of Flying Geese at once or over the course of a few days. I like to have them available in case my schedule gets crazy and I don’t have time to make some for my weekly swap. I don’t like to show them until I have sent most of them to TFQ, lest she not be surprised at my fabric choices. I also like to show the ones she has sent me. Together hers and mine look super fun.
I wanted the batch off the design wall so I could put up the T donation quilt, so I took a photo and here they are. Aren’t they fun?
I am still thinking of trying out some different rulers for making these geese, but I haven’t done it yet. Stay tuned.
This is such a fun exchange! I am really enjoying it. Find a friend and do one, too.
After writing about the Fine Spring Day Journal cover, I went back and looked for a post about the dress made from the same fabric. No joy. I only found my post about the pattern. I thought I would close the loop and show you the dresses.
In the interests of full disclosure, I did not make these dresses. I found a wonderful woman near my old office who not only can follow a pattern, but who is also able to take apart a garment and make a pattern from it. She has also altered a lot of my clothes as I have lost weight.
Fine Spring Day Dress
I went to her to make these dresses, because I wasn’t prepared to do the work myself. These dresses have to fit and I have to look awesome, because, like a rock star, everyone wants to photograph DH and me. Also,, I didn’t think it could possibly be true, but found out that people were keeping track of my clothes. Life in the fast lane is such an adventure.
Anyway, this dress made a sensation. I wore it to the Ladies Lunch at Grand Parlor and I looked really different than everyone else there. The awesome thing about this dress is that I felt great. The style suited me. I really liked the fabric even though it was a bold choice and way out of my normal comfort zone. I felt confident and like I looked good.
Chrysanthemum Dress
I kind of waited until the last minute to get these dresses made. I thought I would find something at a store, but I didn’t and went back to my original plan to get new dresses made. Yvonne worked like a champ and was able to finish two.
The second dress was the test dress. I purchased the fabric, because I love my pal Phil (Philip Jacobs) and this was a different choice for me for the back of the quilt. For a dress? CRAZY! I don’t think I have ever EVER worn a dress this color. Without the fuchsia flowers, there is no way I would have worn this dress.
Again, I had the right shoes and I felt great.
I have to find the right times to wear these dresses again. They are so memorable that people will remember them. I’ll have to pick the right event. When I need confidence, I will wear them.
I have received more Flying Geese and I have made a few more as well. My last update was May 23 and this group doesn’t seem like enough, but it has to be. I am pretty sure I am not behind.
My geese have been a tough group to make. I am having problems with the measurements on the rulers I am using. I don’t know why the directions say to make the small squares one size and then the geese cannot be trimmed to the proper size. I was in a panic and a rush, so I sent them to TFQ anyway. I know she can handle the smaller seam allowance and I will make a few extras down the road.
Still, I am annoyed at the measurements.
Yes, I am cutting the squares larger now, but I have a whole bunch of squares that are just slightly too small. It is very irritating.
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Post the direct URL (link) where your drawing, doodle, artwork is posted (e.g. your blog, Flickr) in the comments area of this post. I would really like to keep all the artwork together and provide a way for others to see your work and get familiar with your blog or website.
The Creative Prompt Project, also, has a Flickr group, which you can join to post your responses. I created this spot so those of you without blogs and websites would have a place to post your responses.
We are also talking about this on Twitter and Instagram. Use the hashtag #CPP
