Various & Sundry #12 – late September

Websites, Blogs, Patterns & Tutorials

Twitter pal, Kitty Pearl,  has a pattern available, Saguaro Sunset. Take a look.

I recently saw this article in the ResearchBuzz newsletter “Zooniverse is going beyond nature to a new crowdsourcing project: AnnoTate. “In addition to creating art, many artists wrote diaries and letters and made sketchbooks that contain rich details about their lives and creative processes. Help transcribe documents from the Tate collection, and reveal the secret lives of artists.” You may remember I mentioned a similar Smithsonian project last year. This latest project is even more relative to us as creative people because the insights gained from the journals might give his insight into our own work.

Despite being overwhelmed with new fabric, I was needing some friends around me after dropping the Y.M. off at college so Julie and I went to lunch. Right near a quilt shop. Of course. While there I saw the Basket Weave pattern by Pam and Nicki Lintott. There are a few renditions around the web and Connecting Threads has a pseudo tutorial. I didn’t buy the pattern, but think it would be a great Christmas quilt, which was the coloration for the sample I saw. I’ll have to see if I can borrow the book, New Ways with Jelly Rolls, from the Library. Of course, I also have to have time to make this! Have you seen my dream projects list?

We are approaching the end of National Sewing Month. What did you do to celebrate? Lindsay of Hawthorne Threads wrote an interesting blog post about it, which is also her picks for the month. She is a shop owner, after all. I really liked the picture of the french lady’s dress. I’d love to see that baby up close!

Jackie or Gretchen turned me on to Sue Garman. Apparently she posts once a month and the post I saw showed a gorgeous, absolutely stunning Baltimore Album quilt. This site is more in the classic quilt area, but the quilts, regardless of style, provide excellent inspiration. I know that Julie will like the trick or treat quilt Sue shows. There is also a tutorial on using applique’ patterns, which is useful. This is a super long post that I would have broken into several, but to each her own. Worth a read.

Tweet Button
Tweet Button

I have added a tweet button to the site to allow you to easily tweet about a post you like. Check the sidebar to try it!

Aurifil has a Top Ten Tuesday post. I enjoyed one from a few weeks ago that was described on Twitter as “a fun collection of free tutorials”. The tutorials are about labels (put a &^%$# label on your quilt!!!), folding quilts and storage (always need more!)

I also enjoyed the Christmas edition. Mostly I want people to just give me the projects so I don’t have to make them. 😉

Butterflies are everywhere! One of the best patterns I have seen was on Instagram recently. This pattern was originally posted on the Lillyella blog and there are a few variations (check the wing tips). You can download the paper piecing patterns on the site. She has a number of other block downloads available as well.

Fabric Tag Cloud
Fabric Tag Cloud

The Petite Sewist shared a cool, cool tag cloud site. I tried it out using the fabric link from my tag cloud. I adore the tag cloud I made. I would like to make some merchandise from some tag, but the licensing prices are not in my budget at the moment. If you want something with the image above, let me know and if I get enough interest, I will buy the license.

Amanda of 3and3quarters.net posts a lot of video tutorials. She has a YouTube Channel to which you can subscribe and her tutorials vary from blocks to the Poppy ANZAC Broach. In September she worked on posting everyday. Take a look at what she is doing.

QuiltingHub is a site that I wish I had found before I went to Portland. I did a search on Portland to San Francisco and found that my own planning was pretty good.

If you need graph paper, Daisy pointed out a site, which can generate different types of graph paper for you to print for your designing pleasure.

Articles, Classes and Information

This was posted a few weeks ago on the The Quilt Show blog: “Eleanor Burns had heart surgery, Monday Sep 14. Orion (her son) says she is doing well. Let’s cheer her up with cards of appreciation and good wishes. Let’s stuff her mail box with cards and quick notes to:

Eleanor Burns
c/o Quilt In A Day
1955 Diamond Street
San Marcos, CA 92078

Eleanor has given so much to the quilting world. She has an amazing story. It’s worth seeing again, but if you haven’t heard about her journey, it’s a must see.” The Eleanor Burns Quilt legend show is one that is free to all on the TQS site. Go and take a look! I sent a small card with dots and just told her what I was working on. I enclosed one of my cards in case she wants to take a look at FOTY 2014 or my other work. You never know. 😉

Sara Lawson, who told me about Annie’s Soft & Stable recently posted a review of Pellon’s Fusible Felx Foam to her blog. In that post, she answers some of the questions running through my mind, namely would the bag be crinkly after using a fusible. I am not always happy with fusible in a finished piece because of this. All the work that goes into a bag only to have it look amateur makes my heart jump.

We are almost at the end of National Sewing Month. Stashed! from GenQ magazine reported a number of ‘Doing Good’ type patterns when they wrote “… September is National Sewing Month, there are links to many resources, including free patterns to make in-demand items such as chemotherapy turbans, walker caddies, wheelchair totes and the “anti-ouch” pouch for mastectomy patients.” These are good patterns to keep handy in case you need to make some quick charity projects.

You might remember my review of Sara Lawson’s Big City Bags book. In that review I talked about what great tips she had on zippers. She recently posted zipper tips to her blog as well, which are worth saving for future zipper related needs.

I was kind of surprised to see that spray basting had such a large following in the results of a poll by TQS on their blog. If you have heard me talk about the allergic reactions when I use unwashed fabric, you might be able to imagine the reaction from the smell of spray baste, so it didn’t occur to me that others would love it so much. I suppose that is a very tunnel vision view! It is easier except, of course, for not basting at all and having someone else load your quilt on to the longarm, which was my answer. 😉

Exhibits & Events

The Board of Directors of San Jose Museum of Quilts & Textiles is delighted to announce that Joan Phillips will become its new Executive Director, effective immediately.

Joan has her Bachelor of Fine Arts in photography from the University of the Arts in Philadelphia and her Arts and Cultural Management Masters in Professional Studies degree from Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, NY.  She has been working in the not for profit sector since 2003 and has held senior leadership and executive roles in other arts organizations.

She plans to continue building relationships with key community organizations and stakeholders and to focus on the fundraising plan and programs that she implemented over the eight last months as the Museum’s Interim Executive Director.

Born and raised in Philadelphia, she decided it was time for a change of scenery and in September of 2011 moved to California to begin working in the San Jose arts sector; where in the same year she was voted as one of San Jose’s Emerging Arts Leaders by genARTS Silicon Valley.  Joan currently resides in Fremont where she recently finished her creative coaching certification, creates mixed media art and is an enthusiastic baseball fan.

NQR

This article explains exactly how I want to be.