Somehow, in my travels around the web, I was pointed to Blue Moon River (News from the Studio of Susan Brubaker Knapp, her blog). In the April 15, 2010 post, she tells the world that she has been selected for the Aurifil A team.
I have seen Susan’s work in Quilting Arts, but otherwise I don’t know her from a bar of soap. Still, I loved her post and told her, in a comment, that she is soooooo lucky. Susan’s post is really great. She has a lot of interesting photos and discusses Aurifil in a fun, but also informative way.
The Aurifil A Team is, apparently, a group of quiltmakers who get a bunch of Aurifil thread to use and remark on. Beyond that, I am not exactly sure what the A Team does, but I want to know so I work towards being chosen!
I was introduced to Aurifil back in about 2001 by Kathy Sandbach and I had no idea that Aurifil would become such a phenomenon. I took a machine quilting class with her at Marin Quilt and Needlearts Guild Seminar back then. She sold us ziploc bags full of Aurifil 50 wt cotton Mako. I was a bit leary, because there were no labels and barely any markings. Still, I shared about 12 spools with my mom. I still have a number of spools from that batch which are only partly used. I use them regularly,, but don’t use some of the specialty colors as much as I use the grey. I have become a complete Aurifil convert. I am working on using up all my other thread so that I can justify buying more Aurifil. What I would really like is the Aurifil suitcase. 😉
Aurifil Suitcase
The suitcase is an outrageous wish as I have no place to put the suitcase. I also have PLENTY of thread.
I have only tried the 50 weight. I would like to try another weight, but my ideal would be to go somewhere where they had the different weights and I could try them out without buying one until I was sure which one I liked.
One of the things I like about this thread is that it works well in my machine. It doesn’t cause any problems.
I also like that it comes in a zillion colors. My favorite for piecing is the Light Gray #2600. Right now I am piecing with a slightly different shade, Pearl Gray #2615. TFQ said she had pieced with a color called Flesh (ugh! dislike that name!) #2315 and that color thread had simply disappeared into the fabric. I feel that way about the light gray as well, but am always open to finding the new perfect piecing color. I may try the Flesh, though, just to see how it works. The good problem is that once I buy a spool it seems to never run out. I was really shocked last week when I ran out of the grey!
It turns out that I love these Various and Sundry and Odds and Ends posts! I can collect a bunch of stuff I find interesting and then post it here for your enjoyment. The last one I wrote got a lot of interesting comments. Thanks, everyone!
Searching
I read a blog called ResearchBuzz for my job. I often find interesting tidbits that allow me to find more quiltmaking resources on the web. I also find that testing using quilt terminology is a lot more interesting that my work subject matter!
Recently, ResearchBuzz talked about the reorganization of photos and graphics at the Library of Congress. She writes “Oh wow, I was SO glad to see this article in the Library of Congress Blog yesterday. The LOC has an incredible archive of prints and photographs (over 1.25 million!), the but nav for them has always been icko. The blog announced a new version of the Prints and Photographs Online Catalog, now available at http://www.loc.gov/pictures/.”
Of course, I did a quilt search and came up with some interesting photos. On the first page, there were a few from Gee’s Bend, one of Calvin Coolidge’s shoes, bathrobe and quilt! I noticed a number of the photos were taken by Dorothea Lange.
Fame and Fortune?
I mentioned that my blog was mentioned by Linda Poole on Pat Sloan‘s podcast. That was right after I received two books from Lark Books, so I was feeling pretty high on the hog. Today I was listening to the Sew~Stitch~Create podcast (#41, if you care) and BryeLynn mentions that she heard about me on Pat Sloan’s podcasts. She raves about my website and mentions the blog TWICE!!! I need to redo the website and am slowly (like a snail, actually) working on that. I thought it was really nice that she liked my quilts. Also, she thinks that Pat Sloan should interview me! I laughed at that, but am also very flattered. I am not a fabric designer and I only teach beginners at work. The plans I have are still plans, so I am not sure what Pat would ask me. She did talk about using the Creative Prompt Project for writing prompts for her daughter, which I think is awesome! What a great use of available resources. I can’t wait to see what her daughter comes up with! Finally, Brye thinks I should start my own podcast. We all know that is not going to happen. I like you thinking of me in one of those cute 1940s style suits with a smoky voice and would hate to ruin that illusion. 😉
On the Web
Have you looked at the Quilt Index lately? I am friends with them on FB and get a notice of their Quilt of the Day. I liked this quilt, Thomas Sykes Album quilt, that showed up last Thursday as their Quilt of the Day. they have new functionality where you can zoom in on quilt. They also put as much information as possible into the record associated with the quilt. I like to read that and think about the people making the quilt. Meg Cox, the new president, was on Pat Sloan’s podcast recently and discussed the project and programs. I’d love to have my quilts included!
Spiderwebs seem to be popular again. Oh Fransson has put up a small quiltlet with 4 Spiderweb blocks in it. She has such a wonderful sense of color. While her choices aren’t my style, I do like the combination. I have had in the back of my mind that should finish mine this year. Cross your fingers.
Jen of Quiltin’ Jenny is a new reader and one of those who commented on my Various and Sundry Thursday post from April 1. I went to take a look at her blog a few days ago and found that she does something called Wordless Wednesdays. One of the things I love about the web is that people are so clever and I get to see their cleverness. WW is a photo that she puts up with no words. I might try that instead of my Inspiration [insert day of the week here], except that then I would be stuck with only posting inspiration on Wednesdays. Hhhmm. Perhaps I will leave that great idea to Jen!
I went back a few days ago to see what was up and found that she had just finished a DENIM quilt. I am not a big fan of denim since I made the denim bag for my stepdad for Christmas (my mom calls it his man-purse!) and broke two needles in the process. I also don’t own jeans that I wear. I have a pair that I love, but they don’t fit anymore. 🙁
The other cool thing that I found is that I WON A PRIZE. WOW! I can’t believe it. Go take a look at Jen’s blog!
Reviews
Lark Books gets kudos for updating their Pretty Little Mini Quilts record on Goodreads to include a photo of the book. I use Goodreads to post reviews here, because it kills two birds with one stone and makes the reviews attractive.
I had emailed the lark Books people about the photo when I notified them about posting the review and never heard anything. I went last week to update my review with a photo. Having that big “photo not available” was unattractive and had been bothering me, so I finally went to do it. On a whim I checked to see if Goodreads had received a photo before I did the HTML work on my own and voila! they had received one from Lark Books. The update when much faster than I had anticipated.
Fabric Doing Good
Here is my excuse to finally try out making a pillowcase. I have been thinking about it for a long time and just never get around to it. American Patchwork and Quilting and AllPeopleQuilt.com have launched a project to donate 1 million pillowcases to a variety of causes supporting cancer patients, foster kids, domestic violence victims and nursing home residents. Jean at the Quilted Cupcake blog and podcast asked all of her listeners to make 5. She had a good reminder and that was that boy themed projects are less common than cutesy pie girl projects. I will commit to making one boy pillowcase and see how it goes. I was rummaging around in the bins in the back of the fabric closet on Monday and found a couple of large pieces of fabric that would work well, so I am all set.
You can download instructions to make a pillowcase embellished with leaves from their site.
Making
The members of one of the guild meetings I attend exchange ATCs. We invited some new folks one time and a few of them did not know what ATCs were. I found this guide on how to make them, which gives the basics.
Industry News?
Need some textile industry news? Want to know what is going on in Congress? Textile World is your place to go! Someone who I know from a work related endeavor who is not crafty or quilty sent this to me. The fun thing I saw when I looked at it yesterday was that the town I lived in in Austria is having some kind of textile industry event.
Saturday I attended the East Bay Heritage Quilters Show. As usual, this show was impeccably set up and organized. In general, I thought the quilts were a lot more interesting than the last show in 2008. Much less brown as well.
Evening Star by Karin Lusnak
It is hard to decide what my favorite quilt of the show was, but I think it was probably Evening Star by Karin Lusnak. The thing I like about it is that there is a lot of movement and interest.
Evening Star by Karin Lusnak
She did the same thing I have done using the mosaic quiltmaking technique of Shannon Williams. It looks like she made fabric using her scraps and then cut the patches for the Evening Star from that new fabric.
Model Homes by Karen Flamme
I love the angles of the houses in this quilt. The colors are also fresh and clear.
Posies by Carolyn Weil
The turquoise/aqua and red combination are one that has been attracting me lately. I also thought the flower designs were quite cheerful. These flowers may be from a Piece ‘O Cake or Pat Sloan pattern. I have always liked the layered circles motif, which can be seen in the border of this quilt.
Imagine by Anita Kaplan
There are a lot of things I like about this quilt. The artist does a nice job not exactly reproducing the photograph which was the inspiration. The blue and green are abstract enough to evoke a feeling of nature without exactly duplicating the photo. The main part I like in this quilt is the technical details of the border. I don’t much like uneven borders, because they often floop down when hanging. Ms. Kaplan has resolved this issue with the white border. Her uneven border accents the quilt and adds movement without causing a hanging problem. Nice work!
Circles by Corless Smith
Corless Smith did a great job with these circles. The layers of fabric and the blanket stitch are very appealing. It has a vintage look even though a number of the fabrics are modern.
Circles (detail) by Corless Smith
The small circles also add interest. The scallop type border could be a hanging problem but isn’t, which I appreciate.
Pedestrian Friendly by Pat Dicker
The artist, Pat Dicker, writes about this quilt “Sue Garman’s charming Block fo the Month appealed to me, but rather than use the browns, olives and grays as suggested, I turned to my bright ‘dot’ drawer and found inspiration. I also chose to exclude the cars of the pattern and create a ‘Pedestrian Friendly’ community. ” All good choices IMO! You would not be looking at this quilt if she had made it in “browns, olives and grays.” This is a wonderful quilt in the dots and brights. I also like it that she changed the pattern to suit her vision. How do you like the whale?
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
I heard about Rebecca Yaker and her book, One Yard Wonders, from Jennifer Ackerman-Haywood of CraftSanity. Jennifer did a podcast interview with Rebecca and I ended up with the book from the Library!
First, I love the look of this book. It is lay flat spiralbound with a hard cover. It is well designed in terms of color. Each page has a bit of fabric on the edge to add interest. I wasn’t that excited about the fabric chosen for the projects. It simply is not my style, however I found that the fabric chosen went well with the design and layout of the book.
The table of contents is pretty detailed. Each chapter is defined by the list of projects or elements included. I like that as I was able to flip to projects I wanted to look at immediately because of the detailed table of contents.
Second, the writing style has a sense of humor. The chapters are named things like ‘Dwell Redux’, ‘Household Affairs’, ‘From Head to Toe’, ‘Accessorize Your Little One’, etc. Yes, I like to be entertained!
The book has the obligatory chapter on equipment, notions, and sewing. I do like the stitch terminology section, which talks about what exactly the stitch means. That is useful. I never knew what a staystitch was, and this book defines it. “A staystitch is most often used when a fabric piece is cut on the bias or on a curve. it is a single stitch line on a single layer of fabric. Typically, a line of longer stitches is made at or just within the seam allowance, and helps to stabilize the fabric to prevent it from becoming stretched or distorted later when attached to another piece.” This section is 14 pages long and because of the length, I don’t mind it as much. I would have like to have seen some mention of where the reader can go to get more information.
I would have liked to have seen the chapter pages/section introduction include a list of the projects as well the text. It isn’t difficult to flip back to the table of contents.
The reason I have to put this book on my list to buy is that there are a number of projects that I want to make or use to modify something I already have. Some of the projects on my list are:
Framed Tack Board – I would use this project to modify some bulletin boards I already have
Lined Bookcase – (brilliant!)
Folding Chair Pinafore Cover – I would take the idea and modify it to fit my older dining room chairs
Organized Bed Pocket – great gift!
Smocked Pillow in the Round – would like to learn some of the techniques used to make this pillow.
Granny’s Clothespin Apron
Kitschy Kitchen Apron – I already used the specifications from the Kitschy Kitchen Apron to make the Petal Apron I donated to the CraftSanity Apron Challenge
Hey Hot Dish
Obi-Inspired Hot & cold Pack – I cannot make one of these soon enough and I also think it would make a great gift.
Hanging Wall Pocket
Origami Organizer – I would add a lid to this project
I wasn’t much interested in the clothes. I think that the clothes one can make with one yard of fabric are not the clothes that fit my style. Some of the pieces would be great gifts for my nieces or for friends who have babies and small children.
Another bonus is that this book has a pack of patterns rather than telling you to blow pieces up at the copy center to 5000%. I like the packs of pattern sheets better. I didn’t take them out of the envelope since this is a library book, but will once I buy (or receive as a gift!) the book. You do have to enlarge a few of the applique patterns, but they could be free hand drawn to a larger size as well. Yes, even those of you who do not consider yourself proficient drawers can do it with a little graph paper!
There is a glossary with more terms defined. The resource section includes fabric, inspiration, trims and forums, etc. I was glad to see the contributor bios section. The book was put together with the help of people around the blogosphere contributing projects and it is nice to see their names, a brief bio and a link to their website or blog. I was confused about why that section is organized by first name. Perhaps that is how the authors know the contributors?
There is also (YAY!) an index! Thank you, Storey Publishing for spending the money to include an index! This is the same publishing company that published the Sew What Bags by Lexis Barnes.
If you like to sew for your home or for gifts, I would recommend this book to you.
I met Faye on a list back in the dark ages of the Internet, when normal users couldn’t upload any photo they wanted and write in a blog.
She and her husband came to visit me when I was on maternity leave and took a shine to The Child. They became his unofficial New Zealand grandparents. Every year for his birthday, they send him a classic New Zealand children’s book and write him a nice note.
Faye and I have also kept in touch, sharing our recent quilt projects, bags and stories about our families. Faye had less time to sew during the past few years as she cared for ill husband. After he died, she went on a world tour to visit her family and has started to sew again.
Faye's Rose Bag
She calls these bags her Yin Yang bags. The pattern is by Jaime Kalvestran of Scrap Bags o Minnesota.
Faye's Rose Bag - backFaye's Black & White Ying Yang BagFaye's Black & White Ying Yang Bag - backFaye's Black, Brown & White Ying Yang Bag
Faye writes about these bags “I made several in the same Japanese fabrics; the blue and white ones were from unpicked antique kimonos. There are two inside pockets, suitable for a mobile phone and for keys, and the bag is deep enough for a wallet. Now I am “bagged-out” but may make more for gifts later.”
I have been, slowly, responding to ancient emails and dealing with setting up my computer again as I try to recover from the crash. Below is a lot of different things that I have been thinking about or looking into.
The exhibit was called Modern Materials: The Art of the Quilt and the interviewee was Jill Rumoshosky Werner. She was the curator. I also saw a Flickr group of some of the quilts.
I thought the comments Jill made about her process and the different pieces included in the exhibit were interesting and thoughtful.
I wrote about the Apron contest/exhibit that Jennifer over at CraftSanity is having. I was pleased to see her mention my blog in her blog. Her husband made a funny YouTube video to entice people to take up the challenge. If any of you saw her blog post and came here, leave a comment and let me know.
Patterns
I am apparently in hunting and gathering mode. I am gathering supplies and fabric for a number of projects (and the class I am taking later this month). I don’t know if I will make all of them, but I am gathering. In a comment from the Happy Zombie blog post I made SherriD suggested a quilt-a-long. I have the supplies coming. Anyone else want to make their own version of the Oh Fransson/Happy Zombie quilt with me?
The other is the Basketweave Baby Quilt. I saw it again the other night when I watched a repeat of the Fons & Porter episode featuring the Basketweave Baby Quilt. This is part of series 1000. I wrote about this before and thought I would get over my obsession with this pattern, but when I saw the episode again I realized I haven’t. I got a piece of paper and made copious notes on making this quilt. Later, I went to their website to find the project notes/instructions. No dice. They don’t have the sizes or anything on their site. So, I went to see if I could order the magazine that included the instructions. Again, no dice. It is a Jan/Feb 2007 issue of Love of Quilting magazine and it is out of stock. I emailed them to ask about getting the back issue and didn’t hear back. I also looked for websites or information from the designers, Betty Hufford and Jean Nolte. I didn’t find anything there useful there either. I have looked at the library to which I have a card and I haven’t been able to find it. I can’t say that I explored every nook and cranny of their site. I find the Fons & Porter site difficult to navigate. If any of you have this issue and would be willing to loan it to me, leave a comment in this post’s comment area.
I feel a bit stuck, but I also think that I can draw out the design on paper and use that to make a sample. We’ll see.
Podcasts
I have been listening to Pat Sloan’s podcast while I sew. For some reason I don’t download her podcasts to my iPod. Not sure why. Perhaps the Toginet ads intersperse in the podcast is why. Not sure. Anyway, the interviews are really good. So far she has interviewed quiltmakers I haven’t heard before. One podcast that I really liked was with Bonnie Hunt of Quiltville. I had never heard of her until the podcast. One thing she said was that people who use steam when pressing have problems putting their quilts together. I don’t know if this is true or not. I have always used steam, so I decided to try this out. I have, mostly, not been using steam when I press blocks and elements for a quilt. It is an interesting experiment. I don’t know how long I will do it or if I will never go back to using steam. Some of the things I have found:
pressing wrinkles out of recently washed fabric needs steam
adhering fusible interfacing to fabric needs steam.
I don’t see that pressing seams need steam so far.
I don’t have any other feedback at the moment, but I enjoy the opportunity to try something new. Do you use steam or no steam?
My mom mentioned using Mary Ellen’s Best Press. She said that it really made cutting easy. It might be good to try, but I don’t feel like buying it right now. Mom is going to bring me a sample from her work. The owner offered me one. YAY!
Another Pat Sloan podcast I really liked was the episode with Linda M. Poole. I enjoyed it because Linda was an excellent interviewee. Pat asked her one question and Linda was off and running with interesting comments about her life, family, business and teaching. Linda was well spoken also. In the interest of full disclosure, I have to admit that Linda mentioned my Creative Prompt project. That isn’t the only reason I enjoyed the podcast! 😉 I did see a small spike in comments after that podcast, so, thanks, new readers!
The information related to Pat’s podcast is hard to navigate, though. She doesn’t have much information in iTunes or on her blog about which episode includes which quiltmaker. I had to go to the blogs of two quiltmakers mentioned above to find out which episodes they appeared. I like to have the information right in iTunes.
Inspiration & Momentum
Fabric Closet, Working
I had a fabric/project avalanche in my fabric closet last week. A bad sign was that I shut the door and haven’t really gone back in. I haven gone in, looked at it and left again.
I felt like I was losing my sewing momentum last weekend. I am not sure why. I had very little time on Sunday and I just couldn’t get going. I have to try and take my own advice about dealing with these issues. Part of it may have been that I was sick last week and am still feeling the last bits of that illness. I am blaming my malaise on that illness. I think I need to read a trashy novel.
Someone came in my workroom last week and started asking me about the various piles. I sincerely dislike that. Some are projects in process (yes, I need bins for them). Some are just piles of stuff I haven’t put away. Some are hard to explain. Regardless I don’t like justifying my piles. I work better with an organized sewing area. I need and want to build on the reorganization that TFQ and I did on the fabric closet some years ago. I need and want to reorganize and make beautiful the rest of the room – paint, shelving, the works. There are nice ideas at HGTV that I can use for inspiration. It all takes money which I don’t have right now. I can think about and plan for what is next in this room:
Bookshelves without a doubt! Bookshelves with LOTS of growth space!
Last weekend (Saturday) I went to a scrapbook day with a friend and worked on my Austria album. One of the things we did, aside from cut and glue down photos, was watch a video on how to be a better photographer by Nick Kelsh. I thought for sure the video would be on the web somewhere, but all I could find were clips. Look at Nick’s website for clips on using your digital camera to get better photos. I tried his techniques out a bit this week. We’ll see if my photos get better. I’ll let you know when I post them.
Shopping
I went to Jo-Ann a couple of weeks ago to get a “June Tailor Cushioned Square ‘n Blocker” for a class with Dale Fleming I am taking with EBHQ in a few weeks. I mentioned this class briefly a few weeks ago. I am interested in making a circle quilt and I thought it would be a good idea to learn a different technique. My other option is to use the technique Ruth McDowell teaches in her AWESOME Piecing: Expanding the Basics book. The quilt I am interested in making looks similar to the one that Malka Dubrawsky made that was published in Quilting Arts magazine some time ago. She dyed hers and I plan to piece mine. Why, you ask? Who knows? I may make three blocks, realize I had lost my mind and move on. We’ll see.
Anyway, I hadn’t really planned on buying board, though I knew it was a possibility. I wanted to see what it was and what it looked like. When I asked the price, the retail assistant told me and mentioned that they had 40% off coupons in the front of the store. I grabbed one and then went to grab the coupon. I was able to buy the board for about $10.
I barely ever go to Jo-Ann and I hadn’t been there in a long time. While I was there I noticed they had all of the Fons & Porter notions the two show on their Love of Quilting show. They also had a really good selection of rulers. No Creative Grids, but lots of other brands.
I was in a bit of a rush that day, so I just glanced, and left. Or so I thought. I went to the checkout line and found that Jo-Ann has a HUGE selection of craft magazines. They had some quilt magazines that I had never seen. I picked up the newest issue of Art Quilting Studio while I was there.
Since I just did a rush visit the first time, I went back on Monday just to look around. In addition to the other projects I have in mind, I have to gear up for Teacher Pillow time, so I am starting to gather materials. Finding affordable pillow forms is paramount. The cheapest one Jo-Ann had was $6.99. $6.99 x 5=too much. I also wanted to look more at their various rulers etc. I saw a Simplicity Studio Ruler Simpli-EZ Tri mate. I never knew that Simplicity made rotary cutting rulers. This caught my eye, because of the shape. I wonder if it will help me, more easily, create the setting triangles for the FOTY 2010 quilt? I’ll have to bring the diamond ruler there sometime to compare and see if I can tell.
I was drawn in by some of their fabric designs.I saw some cherries on pink background that were CUTE! And the prices are great. However I felt the fabric, which I always feel compelled to, and didn’t like the feel of the fabrics, so I passed.
Magazine News
The Jo-Ann magazine selection was as good as ever on my second trip there and I saw the new Quilt Life magazine by Alex Anderson and Ricky Tims. I haven’t heard good things about it, so I didn’t pick it up. TFQ said she would send me hers to look at, so perhaps I will do a review after I read it.
Bad news on Art Quilting Studio. They have a new editor who said the magazine would be going on hiatus. I don’t think the new editor shuttered the magazine, but I am guessing that Jenny Doh didn’t want to be associated with a failure. I guess we didn’t give enough support to the 3 issues they did put out. Issues of the latest AQS issue were still available when I was at Jo-Ann the second time. I really enjoyed the first issue of that magazine. I thought the second issue had more of the Somerset look and design – muslin, lace, buttons – and I wasn’t enamored. I did like the in depth interviews with quiltmakers. Denyse Schmidt was in the first issue and Susan Shie in the latest. I am happier with what I saw in the 3rd issue, even though I haven’t read through the whole thing yet. Well, if you like that magazine, write to Somerset.
Finally, I got the latest issue of Quilter’s Home. I was really unhappy with the last issue, which was the first without Mark and the first with the new editors, Jake and Melissa. They did a poor imitation of Mark’s style. I had planned to cancel, but I’ll see how the next issue is before I decide. I am happier with this latest issue. I particularly liked the article about blogs and will try to get ArtQuiltmaker into that list.
Resources
I received the Edward R. Hamilton catalog the other day. If you have never seen their catalog, get them to send you one. They have an online presence, but I really enjoy looking through the catalog. I was really pleased to see the book American Quilts: The Democratic Art, 1780-2007 listed in the ART section. It is also only $27.95. I’d like to look at it before I buy, but if it were $10 I would have scooped it up. I love those books which are combinations of history and quilts, but I don’t want to buy a book with a lot of quilt photos I have in other books.
I decided that I am going to make this pattern, It’s A Wrap Pattern by Sandy Gervais, this weekend. We will see how much of it I get done and if I am able to actually follow the directions. Wish me luck. Hopefully, this will cure my malaise or make it go away long enough for me to make some other things.
I know I have said some things about patterns. I guess I am getting over my snobbery. Hope you won’t hold it against me. I think what I mean is not that there is anything wrong with patterns, but that I like to be able to analyze a quilt and make it by myself without using a pattern. I realize that not everyone has that spatial acuity and that pattern designers have to eat!
Around About Town
Last Friday I had to pick up some tea and return a library book, so I stopped in a little mini-downtown section of SF called West Portal. I parked, walked to the Library, crossed the street and found a newspaper/magazine stand near the place I buy tea! I love those shops where you can see about 300 magazines all at once and buy one issue of foreign home dec magazines as a treat. I have been up and down this street a multitude of times and never seen this place. It may be new. They had a wonderful selection of quilt and craft mags. I had to buy an issue so I picked up an issue of Quilt Mania. I was pleased to find an article about Judy Rothermel and a couple of blocks that were very inspirational. I didn’t know JR designed Civil War fabrics as well as her signature 1930s lines.
After I drank my tea I headed back to the car and saw a handwritten sign in the window of the bookshop saying they give knitting lessons. Hhhmmm.
Somehow I ended up on the Happy Zombie blog. Yes, that is a quilt blog. I loved the turquoise and cherries theme. I was fascinated by everything that Monica, Happy Zombie’s mistress, has done in the quilt world. There are lots of fun links to look at in the sidebar.
While I did love the colors and theme I really liked her version of the Oh Fransson New Wave quilt and am actually planning on making one. I love the way she used a ruler to cut the pieces. I think it is a good use of a Jelly Roll. You can four photos of the quilt on her site, the main one is here.
As an added bonus, Monica and I had a personal exchange about the ruler she used, which was cheerful and nice.
Definitely go to her site to look at the photos. The quilt is awesome.
Jennifer at CraftSanity is running in a race for charity in May. She is part of a special training group called the Road Warriors. The Road Warrior team members get training mentors, have a blog and train together. She has been paired with a domestic violence shelter. In order to be part of the Road Warrior team, she needs to raise a certain amount of money for a charity. Instead of going door to door to gather donations, Jenifer is organizing an apron exhibit. To do that she needs aprons. I decided to make and send her one.
Apron Right (Tarty view)
I had listened to the Patchwork and Pacifiers podcast just before listening to Jennifer’s newest CraftSanity podcast that mentioned the apron contest. The P&P podcast is one to which I just started to listen. On that day, I heard Jennifer Ruvalcaba (P&: host) briefly mention a petal skirt her daughter had. Then, when Jennifer Ackerman-Haywood (too many Jennifers doing podcasts??) mentioned the apron contest an image formed in my mind. Then, I was looking the One Yard Wonders book. That combined with the various other sensory inputs and I was off and running.
The Kitschy Kitchen Apron from One Yard Wonders was a big help with sizing and length of the straps. I had a good time working on it as well, though I found it to be quite a solitary endeavor.
Apron Front (Supermodel view)
One of the requirements of the exhibit is to add a piece of tie fabric to the apron. I wanted to put a flower made from the tie fabric on the apron, so I had to go and find a pattern, which, through the power of the ‘craft’ web, I was able to do quite easily. I found a site, Tip Junkie, which had a number of different patterns. I ended up using Pink Paper Peppermints Rounded Petal Fabric Flower pattern to make my flower. The tie fabric frayed quite a bit, so it wasn’t a particularly fun process, but I learned how to make fabric flowers. I could have used Fray Check, but I was afraid it would stain the fabric.
Apron Side
I spent most of the weekend working on the apron. I had actually been thinking about making one for awhile for no particular reason.. This was the perfect opportunity. It isn’t a quilt, but it may have gotten that particular wish out of my system.
I didn’t take pictures of all the steps. It just didn’t seem right. I feel good making the things I have for charity lately. I feel like I am doing some good in some small way. I hope you will join in and send an apron to Jennifer at CraftSanity as well. If you can’t make an apron read the post to find out other ways to help.
Caroline, another CQFAer, has started her own blog. Her first post tells a little about what she wants to accomplish and what she plans to write about. It is actually a great post and much better than I did on my first foray into the blogosphere. Stop by and say hi.
This is my first experience with blogging. I have seen a few, but have wondered who reads them, and why?
Mostly I will be writing about fiber art, in particular the quilted kind, or that fabricated from pieces of cloth and sewn, painted, embroidered or otherwise embellished. I haven’t done weaving for years and have no current interest in the scrapbook and paper art projects done by many of my contemporaries. There are too many things higher up on my “To Do” list.
Linda, a big supporter of the CPP, has a new fabric line out. It is from Avlyn Fabrics and the theme is seahorses. What I love about her lines are that they are different. She is not creating the same thing that all the other designers are creating. Nice work, Linda! Keep it up.
I also like the background fabric. I like the swirly-ness of it. I would like to see it come in many more colorways. I would also like to see Linda add to it so that all the colors I could ever want were included.
BryeLynn is the creator and podcaster of Sew * Stitch * Create. She is a new quilter. She has a regular format that includes her coffee of the day, what she is doing, progress on her projects and often a lesson. For the lesson she looks into topics using books and the Internet. She also has a blog, polls and drawings.
I am almost never caught up on her podcast or her blog. I miss the drawings, but the information doesn’t get stale. I was perusing it the other day to try and enter a contest when I saw this great idea for using Spoonflower!
I have known about Spoonflower for a while, but didn’t really have any interest in making my own fabric design. Truthfully, I don’t know where to begin or what to create. But tonight I had an “aha” moment. Morgan and I were looking at a pattern for a fabric egg (more on this soon) and she said she wanted one with her name on it.
I haven’t tried Spoonflower, but I am eager to do so. I have been thinking about making more of the Windham fabric using Spoonflower.
Last week, I posted an Odds and Ends post that included some information about a new Judy Martin video. Hope you watched it.
After I watched it I had the following question:
“I was just wondering if I cut the black line off before I stick the template on to the ruler or if I cut on the black line? Or do I leave the entire black line on the template?”
Judy got back to me with the following answer:
“That’s a good question. Do not cut off the black line. Cut on the outside edge of the black line. Technically, the center of the black line is the perfect size. However, including all of the black line in the template will compensate for the take-up due to seam allowances upon stitching. Judy Martin”
I went to A Work of Heart on Sunday with a group of friends to belatedly celebrate my birthday. I LOVE LOVELOVE that place! I love the space, the creative energy, Andrea (the owner). I want that creative wonderland to be down the street from my house. Really, I want to live there, but I would settle for it being down the street from my house.
I invited some non-crafty people so Andrea the Awesome suggested the Altered Mirror project. I wasn’t that excited about that project, but went with it and am very pleased at how mind came out (top), how successfully everyone was able to work and how well all the mirrors came out.
Adrienne’s
Valerie’s
Kathy’s piece
Step Near the End: Embellishing
Step 1: Paint the Frame
Step ?: Distress Some Squares
Creativity Mirror
Maureen, Andrea, Sharon, Julie etc
Mary & Maggie
Helen, Adrienne, Maureen
Julie & Sharon
Kathy, Kim, Terri & Bron
Valerie, Helen & Bron
Kim & Jaye
Andrea, Maureen & Sharon
Helen’s
Bron’s
Mary’s
Maureen’s
Terri’s
Camille’s
Maggie’s
Kim’s
Kim’s also
Sharon’s
Julie’s
The place is great and all of the supplies you see in the backgrounds of the above photos are available to use.
Step 1: Paint the Frame
The first step was to paint the frame and the little chipboard squares. I ended up painting all of them (top and sides). Above it shows the squares as I was painting the sides.
The color scheme I chose was to coordinate with the way we are going to paint our bedroom. I didn’t mean to put ‘CREATE’ as the message, but creativity is on my mind lately and it seemed like the right thing. I don’t know if the mirror will end up in our room ultimately, but we will see.
Step ?: Distress Some Squares
Each of the squares has something done to them: cover with paper, paint with crackle paint, ink, etc. Above I was using distressing/embossing powder on some of the squares. BLECH!!! I sincerely disliked how they came out and the effort was not worth the result. Live and Learn, though. I am glad I tried it and now I know.
Step Near the End: Embellishing
Above I have lined up all of the squares and glued them to the frame. I have also started to embellish. Andrea has FABULOUS glue and I only had to stick down some of the papers a little bit. The glue used to stick the squares down is different from that she suggested I use to apply the embellishments.
Kathy's piece
Kathy, from Everyday Bliss, wrote a great post about the day. She expresses some self doubt in the post, but I didn’t see that at all. I saw her start looking at the paper and dive right in. Kathy’s piece, with its orange base, reminds me so totally of her. It has whimsy and a little reality check (see the martini glass? She is the parent of a 2YO, after all) and a fabulous girly, but elegant girly look. Check it, and her project out, at the Everyday Bliss blog.
One of the great things about the afternoon, as I mentioned, was that everyone was successful. Everyone worked on their mirrors and created beautiful pieces. Everyone seemed happy and to have a good time. There was a nice creative and relaxed feeling that permeated the event.
Julie's
I love Julie’s message. Her message of “Today” makes me think about not looking to the future too much. It is a good reminder to be in the moment – or to balance planning for the future while living in the moment.
Helen's
Helen seemed really uncomfortable when she started. I don’t know what Helen’s creative experience is to date. She did the most amazing work. I love the color scheme and her selections of paper and embellishments. It was so fantastic to watch her work.
Bron's
Bron’s embellishments came across to me as delicate.
Mary's
Mary knew not getting the squares straight would drive her crazy, so she made the squares wonky. That small changed added movement and now the straightness is not an issue. I adore her background color.
Maureen's
Maureen used her hand dyed fabric instead of paper to cover the chipboard squares. It reminds me of a painting I saw at the SFMOMA. I’ll amend this post if I remember which one it was.
Terri's
I love the red that Terri used for the background color. Her piece has a bit of an Asian feel.
Camille's
Camille insisted that she was not crafty. Her piece, for her daughter’s new bedroom, tells me otherwise. I had a pink and purple bedroom when I was a girl, so I am partial to this piece.
Maggie's
Maggie wanted to make a piece to commemorate our sorority. I love it that she used yellow to to prevent the pink from getting to sickly sweet. This piece is very cheerful.
Kim's
Kim has more experience than anyone with the various tools and supplies. If you look closely at her piece, you can see where she used a rubber stamp and then embossed. The embossing actually came out well on hers.
Kim's also
I think the above photo reflects the colors she used a little better.
Sharon's
Sharon’s piece reminds me of sailing and code flags. She says that she chose a color scheme that would coordinate with her duvet cover.
Adrienne's
Adrienne, or AJA, is one of the quiltmakers with whom I do the Bullseye Project. She came all the way from Tucson to be at my party. I was so happy! She and Julie and I went to dinner after the party. I love the way she used the bottle cap and the garter hooks.
Valerie's
Valerie and I see each other once a year. We met in the baby class when we were both pregnant and our kids used to play together when they were small. Now we see each other about once a year, but it is great. She is a great sport at being creative with me.
I am thinking of having my birthday there again next year.
Update: 9/12/2011: due to spam this post no longer allows comments. Sorry!
No, this is not another insane project of mine. The Pineapple is my insane project and I am not starting another until that piece is done.
Mom's DWR
A few weeks ago my mom and I went to the DeYoung to see the Amish Abstractions Exhibit, as you might remember. In that exhibit was a Double Wedding Ring quilt. My mom has been working on a DWR for awhile. She is a really good seamstress and the arcs, etc don’t bother her. She is also fearless. She was going to give it to someone and then decided it was too much work for that particular recipient. When I saw the DWR I asked her about hers and we decided that hers might be about the size of the one in the exhibit. She was under the impression that she needed to make 190 arcs or some such crazy number. I asked her to bring the pieces over.
Mom's DWR (other side)
A few days later she brought them over and we laid them out on my living room floor to see the approximate size. I know the photos are not the best, but they were hard to photograph given the angle of my living room. You can kind of see the curves in the way we laid out the pieces.
Mom's DWR detail
As you can see from the photo (above) she is using foundation piecing. She is having some challenges:
She recently gave away all of her scraps in a fit of cleaning. Now I get to cut scraps for her.
She was having a hard time visualizing the size. She doesn’t have a design wall (or a wall big enough to hang a design wall) so she uses my living room floor as her design wall.
Fortunately, she was able to see the size when she laid it out while having the quilt from the exhibit in her mind. I think she is going to finish the arcs that she has and then start putting it together.
Update: Bohemian Rhapsody is found, apparently thanks to the outcry and connections of quiltmakers! Nice work, everyone!
I am not a member of the Quilt Show and I know only peripherally about Ricky Tims and Alex Anderson (don’t dislike them, BTW). I am, however, generally annoyed with airlines and air travel and United Airlines in particular.
I heard from Douglas Eagleson of Kona Bay that Ricky lost his Bohemian Rhapsody quilt due to UA baggage error. It is described in Ricky’s blog post. United Airlines policy about customer service seems to be non existent.
I was going to tell Ricky to have his local TV station get on board and do an investigation, but I am prevented from leaving a comment on his blog since I am not a member. I could join, but am just too lazy.
One of Libby Lehman’s quilts was in the bag as well. I think that United has a fee per bag, so it makes me wonder what passengers are paying for if not to keep their bags secure.
I have returned from the most fantastic trip to Dubai only to have the joy and excitement overshadowed by the fact that United Airlines has lost one of my bags. What was inside? Along with the unique and wonderful items I obtained in Dubai was my quilt, Bohemian Rhapsody.
