Various & Sundry 2017 #7

Books, Blocks, Patterns & Projects

Modern quilt block library by AnneMarie of Gen X Quilters can be found on her block. Great and interesting block ideas.

Have you seen Yuliya Reshetnikova’s work? I found her on IG and then went to her website to look around. Her website is in Russian, so it is a good thing images are universal. What drew me to her first was her Oddfellows blocks. She chooses fabulous fabrics and does a great job fussy cutting. It has a lot of pieces (which you know I can’t stay away from) and reminds me of my Carpenter’s Wheel blocks. I might need to make some of these blocks. 😉

THEN I saw her Dear Jane blocks. She is making them from Kaffe Collective fabrics. YES! Including my man Phil’s fabrics. Oh what a great idea. I have often thought of making a Dear Jane quilt using modern or more up to date fabrics, but never had an idea that made me really excited. This does, though I would be copying someone else’s idea. Good to know I can still get excited about Dear Jane.

Judy Martin is still one of my favorite quiltmakers. She has such great patterns and her advice and pattern writing is supreme. She may not be considered a modern quiltmaker or au courant, but she keeps putting out patterns and books that are suitable for all levels and all fabrics.  Her Celtic Squares Deluxe quilt pattern would be gorgeous in modern fabrics and has a lot of background space for quilting. She has a new venture: e-books and patterns, which means you can order and receive your purchase immediately. Check out her new site. You can also get a sneak peek at her new Lone Star book. Some of the variations she shows are fantastic. Not stodgy at all.

Pat Bravo is hosting an EPP Party and it starts today. Check her blog for all of the details. It is a good way to dip your toe into English Paper Piecing without committing to La Passacaglia. The EPP Party will run for 24 weeks providing 1 block each other week, so plenty of time to learn and finish your blocks. This post also provides a list of supplies and says that the first block comes out May 1. Of course there will be prizes.

Moda is having a challenge called the Moda Bella Challenge. The idea is to celebrate Mark Dunn’s love of color and passion for textiles. The piece must use certain Bella solids and have a contemporary feel. Full details are in the PDF. There is also a blog post written about the challenge on the Moda Cutting Table. I wasn’t that enamored of the colors. Some are okay, but the primaries are a bit too nursery-ish for me and the selected fabrics are the only ones that can be used. I have a idea in my mind, but since the selected fabrics are the only ones that can be used, I am not interested in spending the time. The first prize is $5000. All the prizes are purchase awards.

Fabric, Notions & Tools

Jennifer Paganelli is a fabric designer favorite. I see her designs as consistently appealing. Her latest offering is Sunny Isle, which is so pretty and definitely goes with her other lines, such as Queen Street (the fabric I used to make the Improv Round Robin).

Prairie Twilight is on sale at Craftsy.

I just started following Riley Blake on Twitter. They post very clever tweets, also useful tweets. One recent one was a yardage card.

Inspiration & Other Artists

As you may have seen, if you have spent any time in my Gallery, I have a small series of political quilts. Politics are hard, because people feel differently about politics and very strongly. I am politically active, but in a quiet and personal way. I don’t talk much about politics, not because I don’t want to talk about them, but because I don’t want to get in a fight with people. I don’t think, in general, we know how to have a civilized conversation about politics. Lately, I have been feeling the urge to make another political quilt expressing my concerns. I haven’t quite figured out what to make. Then I saw my friend Sarah’s quilt. Sarah Ann Smith made the quilt that I want to make for this year. She wrote about Speak Up, Speak Out on her blog a couple of days ago. It is a homage to our right to demonstrate peacefully. It also has messages that are relevant. I really like it.

I saw an ad for beautiful cards on Instagram. One was a lovely in bloom cherry tree. Another was a wonderful cherry pie. So clever. They also have a 5 pack in case you have need of five Mother’s day cards. 😉 The cards are pricey and I would use them more for inspiration than sending one to someone who would just toss it out.

I saw a photo on IG and immediately translated it in my head to a quilt design. What do you see?

I have been thinking about a Jack’s Chain quilt for a long time. I remember seeing a sample at the Cotton Patch when I first started quilting. Recently I saw a super upgraded and upsized version on IG that really excited me. It made me think of my recent review of the New Hexagon.

Friend Mary turned me on to Sotak Handmade. The site has a great look and lots of interesting projects, tutorials, links and fabric. I haven’t had much of a chance to surf the site, but do like the Olivia pouch and the grocery bags.

Feedback & Surveys

If you want to have a say in what videos Sara from Sew Sweetness, creates, now is your chance. She has a short survey that allows you to do just that. All I could think of was techniques she uses in her patterns such as sewing inside pockets. I also said that she would do well to think of producing the videos in such to help us think about using the technique for other patterns.

Hilarity

Riley Blake Sewing Machine
Riley Blake Sewing Machine

Riley Blake Designs posted this fabulous picture on Twitter. It looks innocuous enough until you start reading the labels.

Shop Update

I talked about my trip to Portland in a previous post. I went to a couple of shops for a second time and I want to give brief updates. I went to Bolt again. It is a very sharp contrast to Modern Domestic. It is small, more jammed with fabrics and their aesthetic is really different. i didn’t enjoy as much as I did last time, but I don’t think it is a bad shop. I think I was coming down off of a different aesthetic high. I found some great text fabric I plan to use as the inside of one or two Poolside totes.

I also went back to Cool Cottons. I love the neighborhood it is in and the house where it is housed. The fabrics were also really great, though not as fresh as I was hoping for. I found some more text fabrics and a Blueberry Park I couldn’t resist.

It is hard to know what is a good expectation and what is unreasonable. when I go to shops out of town, I really want to see fabrics and notions I haven’t seen before. I want to take a advantage of the different perspective of a different location. I feel like that expectation might be too much. Still, I don’t want to see the same old-same old. I guess the thing is that shops have to move their fabric through and out and that requires some marketing savvy, knowing the customers and increasing foot traffic. It is hard for a small business owner to be all things.

Author: JayeL

Quiltmaker who enjoys writing and frozen chocolate covered bananas.