I went to the Bay Area Modern Quilt Guild Meeting on Saturday. I really like that group. Do I say that every time I go? Everyone is really, genuinely nice and I don’t feel like people are judgmental. Also, everyone seems to have a good time. I don’t feel like I make particularly modern quilts, but everyone seems to like the quilts I bring to show and tell.
I brought the Stars for San Bruno #1 quilt, which is almost finished (stay tuned for the unveiling). I have about a foot of binding left to sew before it is finished. I usually like to only show finished quilts, though I do show finished tops sometimes, but this quilt might be off to Tim and Rose before the next meeting. I hope so anyway.
The Board is doing such a great job with the meetings. We talked about the retreat. People showed their Farmer’s Wife and Alphabet Guild Challenge blocks. I made neither, but would like to catch up and try to do the Alphabet Guild Challenge blocks.
Queen Street
It occurred to me on Sunday morning while I was doing my morning exercises (great time to think) that I could use the Queen Street fabrics for that project. I was looking for a project for that fabric. Not sure as the prints are quite large. I could also use Sugar and Spice. That would be cheerful where Queen Street would be elegant.
I want to get through some of the sewing I have on my immediate to do list before I start more Sampler blocks.
There was some frustration with the Farmer’s Wife Sampler blocks. There seem to be a couple of problems: 1) color selection and 2) lack of rotary cutting directions. I also see a related problem to #2, which is that the author seems to have renamed the blocks, which makes them difficult to find in a standard block dictionary or program. I did see an EQ companion software product with all of the blocks drawn out, but it seems like not many of the members have or know how to use EQ7. Adrianne was particularly discouraged, so I offered to draw the next blocks for her. It will give me the incentive to draw them for myself and help a peep!
There was a lot of discussion of fabrics and I felt a bit out of my element. TFQ has really helped me wrap my head around lines of fabric and I can hold my own, but a lot of the fabrics discussed I had never seen. I only had a vague notion of some of the designers as well. Some more study is required, I guess.
I brought a bunch of my block dictionaries for people to look at. A number of people had bought the 501 Rotary Cut Blocks by Judy Hopkins, which I was pleased to see. A number of people are struggling with the Farmer’s Wife because of the math and I think this book will help. I can see that I had a very good quilt education. I admire the Modern Quiltmakers for learning on their own, but also think that learning in a group has value.
Mug Rug Challenge
There was also a mug rug challenge. I did not participate…mostly, because I didn’t have a spare second this past month to sew.
Fave Mug Rugs
Love the aqua!
I spent some time on Sunday drawing or finding the blocks for the Farmer’s Wife in EQ. I was able to put a project together of about 20 blocks. I sent them on to Adrianne so she could focus on the fun rather than struggling with templates. Don’t get me wrong. Templates have their uses, but most of these blocks are easy to rotary cut. I haven’t done all of them, but will get to it later this week.
The question of the month was: what part of the quiltmaking process do you struggle with?
I went to the Bay Area Modern Quilt Guild meeting yesterday. As usual, it was a great meeting. I forgot to take photos, so this is a wordy post not a photo post. (Foreshadowing of posts to come).
The business meeting part of the meeting was pretty long, but it included show and tell. I forgot to bring my show and tell (Frosted Stars), so I played the role of quilt holder.
People brought their Robert Kaufman Kona challenge quilts and they are awesome! Not everyone was done, but pieces that people showed were wonderful. Angela showed an awesome colorwash type of piece that I really want to get a photo of her piece so you can see it. Patti didn’t want to do a quilt, so she painted a canvas black, made yo-yos and glued them in color order to the canvas. It is really a fabulous piece.
I brought my friend, Carol. It was fun to have someone to chat with on the long drive to and fro. She started a quilt a long time ago. When I saw the pieces at her house, I encouraged her to come. I am pretty sure she had fun, since she picked out another quilt she wants to start on. 😉
Chris made more door prizes. She made a piece that was comprised of some blocks stretched over canvas. The person who won them was over the moon. I didn’t win anything, but she has figured out the dimensions for a composition book journal cover. To save me some time, I asked her to send me the dimensions. I’d like to make some journal covers for composition books to give as gifts as composition books are easier to find than the Miquelrius journals.
I have been wanting to recycle old fabric or clothes that are too worn to donate and Amanda came to the rescue. She is making cat beds and wants to use the trimmings from quiltmaking to stuff them. I couldn’t stop thinking about that the whole time I was trimming blocks today. I have to figure out a temporary storage solution to hold the stuff until the next BAMQG.
Julie told us about Market. It was her first time. She talked about how big Market was, meeting with fabric reps, seeing the famous quilters. She brought back leaflets of new fabrics as well as some actual unreleased fabrics. She brought Ruby! I was so glad to see it in person, because I found that I will not be buying the whole line as planned. The greys are really not my style. I might buy the swirly grey, will probably buy some of the aquas and the reds. We’ll have to see about the others. Julie called them warm greys, but, to me, they have too much beige. There are some true calicoes in the line as well, which makes me wonder if calicoes are coming back?
After the meeting is sewing time. I unsewed some blocks that I had sewed together by accident, but mostly chatted with people. Everyone else did, too. I think many of us were tired. It is a tired time of year with graduations and all.
Saturday a week ago was the CQFA and BAMQG Saturday extravaganza.
Every other month, the meetings fall on the same day, which can be awesome and can be exhausting. I love being immersed in the quilting. I adore both groups, too.
CQFA was really small this time. It is a small group to start with and May always begins the end of school/graduation/nice weather demands on people’s time. Still, it was a great meeting with awesome show and tell. We rehashed the Primal Green outing and panel discussion. I got a lot of kudos for my contribution, which was really nice and made me feel good. Nancy had set up demo, which Sue gave after a brief break.
Sue's Piece
Sue makes fabric paper. She found the recipe in the book Stitch Alchemy and has been making gorgeous cards and gifts ever since. Sue’s piece for Primal Green was made from the fabric paper (above). She also sent me some gifts made from her paper. I especially liked the cards.
My CardsSue's Card - detail
Don’t you love the stitching and how it highlights and adds interest to the flower?
If I ever send you one of these cards, you had better not throw it out! I’ll have to think who will really appreciate one of them. I may frame one as well.
The thing about Sue is that she is fearless and will try anything. She really does great work and I always look forward to her show and tell.
Sue applying paper to fabric
In the photo above Sue is applying tissue paper to the fabric she has cut. I don’t remember what kind of fabric it is, but something fairly benign and not very expensive, I think.She used a water and glue mixture to apply the paper to the fabric.
Sue is a really good teacher. She was well prepared and as she talked us through the different steps, she also talked about supplies she liked (Starbuck’s tissue and colored tissue paper are the best).
Painting Fabric Paper
After the paper is dry (this was a second piece, because we didn’t have time to let the one she worked on dry), then you paint and embellish it. That stamp in the front is made from bunion foam. Great idea, huh? Again, Sue talked about things she liked and things that didn’t work out as planned for embellishing.
Painting Fabric Paper
We talked about doing this all together in August and then following up with a workshop to embellish it at A Work of Heart. We’ll see how it goes.
BAMQG is always a fun time, too. This time I brought my camera. I still didn’t take any photos except of the blocks I was cutting. DUH! I took the fabric for the Teacher Pillows and used the time I wasn’t chatting to cut pieces. I was able to cut two blocks out during the sewing time, which was great.
The meeting was good, too. It is fun to see what people are making. I had a lot to show – the FOTY 2010 (sans sleeve, so you’ll get to see when it is completely finished), the Frosted Stars Leftovers and the Purple Quilt. People really liked them and it is gratifying to get positive feedback. I was able to show the quilts at both groups and get double the amount of strokes. Thanks, everyone.
A few people finished their Robert Kaufman challenges. I brought mine, which does not have a border. Look out for a post on that coming soon to a blog near you. It was interesting to hear what challenged people about the project.
Front
Chris won the blocks from the February block strip challenge. She made a table runner and she also made some gifts to give away. I won a folder that she made using a manila folder as a pattern and Timtex as the base. Very clever.
BackInside
The outside of the folder is made from blocks. Can you see parts of one of my blocks? The inside has two pockets. Where the green meets the multi-colored print is where the pocket is.
The Bay Area Modern Quilt Guild met on Saturday and I had a great time. That is just a fun group. One of the things we did was show off all of the blocks we made for the Joel Dewberry Modern Meadow block swap. these are the final blocks I ended up making. I thought I made a lot, but almost everyone made at least four and several people made 6-8! There were a total of 42 blocks, so the leadership did two drawings for blocks, which meant two winners. I didn’t win, but that was ok. I have plenty of projects to work on.
Be Square Blocks
The challenge was to make blocks using squares. I described some of my process in other posts. Nobody else really talked about struggling against the desire to use triangles or other shapes.
I thought the blocks made a relatively cohesive group. there were a number of off center log cabins (which I think might be called quarter square log cabins). There were a few prints that were conducive to fussy cutting, and people took advantage of those prints to highlight certain motifs. People described their process and I really enjoyed hearing how people worked through the constraints of the challenge.
Photo by Adrianne
Robert Kaufman donated charm packs to our group. We received 5″ charm squares of the Kona Solids in the Bright Palette. The challenge is to make a quilt top or something (I asked about a bag and was enthusiastically told that that would be ok) by the June meeting. My immediate thought was to make the quilt I saw at the Manteca show. I could easily make a Chubby Charmer, but my mind is working through the math on the Fun with Scraps quilt. I wouldn’t do the border, just the center. I like the way the hourglass block adds to the postage stamp block. I wonder how many Postage stamp blocks I could make with the charm pack?
We also got a group gift together for Ruth who started the guild. I made her a Jane Market tote, which I forgot to photograph. 🙁 and people brought treats to put in it (thread, FQs, etc). It is a nice way to thank someone.
Kathleen did a demo on how to make the Oh Fransson! Crazy 9patch blocks. She is doing a swap via Flickr of these blocks, so she used the opportunity of making extra blocks to show everyone how to do the technique. Kathleen is a very good teacher.
Fabricworm Custom Bundle Starling Cherry/Aqua/Black 12 Total
I did, mostly, socializing, but cut a few patches for a quilt I want to make from a group of fabric I bought from the Fabricworm. The pack I am using is a Fabricworm Custom Bundle and is called Starling Cherry/Aqua/Black.
It was a fun meeting. I left wanting more and feeling good about spending time away from the sewing machine at a meeting.
Thanks to Adrianne for letting use the Kona charm pack photo and the group photo of the Be Square block challenge.
This past weekend, I spent all weekend doing fun quilt stuff,. None of it, really was sewing, but all of it was inspirational.
The Bay Area Modern Guild met on Saturday for a meeting and sew day. Don’t you love the new logo? I do!
The Manteca Quilt Show was all weekend, but I went with Mom on Sunday. Look for a post about the show soon. My camera acted up, so I need to get some of the photos from mom. I’ll also put a Flickr stream.
I really like the Bay Area Modern Quilt Guild people. I really didn’t know what to expect or what I was expecting, but everyone is great: cheerful, fun, easy to talk to and doing fun projects. Even though I missed sewing on my own projects at home, it was worth the effort to go. Although I feel like I have a lot of deadlines (self imposed, of course) and I am not going to meet them, I need some sewing companionship and I am not going to get it at home alone.
The meeting was really fun. We had a bit of a business meeting and then show and tell. Show and tell was great: my favorite part. I love seeing what everyone is doing. I feel like I am getting some fresh ideas. I have been sewing, but I really had nothing to show. I haven’t finished much and need to get to work.
Amanda's Placemats
Amanda got some fabric from Urban Burp and combine the vintage fabric with some modern fabric to create some placemats. Everyone was very enthusiastic.
Kathleen's Square in a Square
Kathleen brought this square in a square piece. She used a pattern. Someone said that there is also a Kaffe Fassett pattern in one of his early books that looks similar. If I have time, I’ll look for it and let you know. I like the color and the different sized blocks used in one quilt. I also enjoy Kathleen’s work, because she uses similar colors to the colors I use.
I brought the Black Jane Market Tote and everyone admired it, but I was busy doing something else while Kathleen was taking photos, so no photo. You have seen it anyway!
Adrianne's Hexagons
Adrianne’s hexagons are quite large. She used a special cutting technique by Kay Wood, which is described on her (Adrianne’s) blog. I tried this and had some problems. Adrianne and I worked together at the meeting to figure out the problem. What we surmise is that you must have a 60 degree triangle with the tip. I was using my new favorite ruler, the Fons and Porter Pyramid ruler. I love that ruler, but the top is blunted and, while, it works great for the Twirling Triangles, but creates oblongs instead of hexagons when using Adrianne’s/Kay’s technique.
Adrianne used Innocent Crush in her piece and machine pieced the hexagons in rows. I am not sure if the Innocent Crush is in a particular colorway. I saw a number of different colors of the various designs.
Julie‘s show and tell was her cool beginner sampler. It is so fresh and fun! I haven’t counted up my requirements for techniques to learn when doing a beginning class, but Julie’s piece hits most of the high points. Her really good news was that she is opening an LQS!!! I was so excited until I heard it will be in San Jose. 🙁 She will have an online store as well, though, so I can buy from there. She is planning to open after Spring Market.
I am really hoping that an LQS will open in my neighborhood. I am in an LQS wasteland! I’ll keep you posted on Julie’s store developments.
Kathleen's String Blocks
Kathleen has been busy. She is making string blocks as well as well as the Square in a Square and the Mod Mosaics. They remind me, a bit, of Pineapples. I believe this is also a swap on Flickr. Again, I love her colors. I am so glad someone else is working in brights and dots. Kathleen said that she is working on so many swaps that she hasn’t had a chance to work on her own projects!
It is interesting to see these swaps going on. I remember back in the quiltmaking dark ages when people did swaps and they went awry or people received blocks that were less than stellar in workmanship. I am glad there are people who aren’t as jaded as I am.
February Block Challenge
Everyone brought their blocks from the 2.5″ strip swap. I was amazed at the variety of blocks. I think they will go nicely together. Adrianne and Kathleen put names into a bag to draw for all of the blocks. Chris of Quilt Bits won! I can’t wait to see what she makes.
Block Swap
For this month’s challenge, Adrianne and Kathleen brought Joel Dewberry’s Modern Meadow fat quarters. The idea is that people took the FQs and will bring back blocks to the next meeting. The theme is to make blocks with squares: log cabin, 9patch, 4patch, etc. Like last month, we will either make a quilt and someone who worked on it will win or we will draw for the blocks. Almost everyone wanted to participate, which I thought was great! I guess this is me sticking my toe back into the swap waters.
My fabric: Acorn Chain in a Lake
The photo to the left shows the fabric I chose. The colorway is Pond. It is called Acorn Chain in a Lake, which I find very entertaining. I have been trying to think of what block to make and, especially, how far I can stretch the definition of ‘square.’ 😉 At the moment the top contender is Block # 9 from the Layer Cake Quilt Challenge. I am pretty in love with 4 patches right now, though and am trying to think of something interesting to do with a 4patch (e.g. 9patch with 4patch corners??) . Adrianne posted some fun options from Flickr. I am reserving judgment as I have not yet looked through any of my block dictionaries. I am sure I can make more than one block from the fabric I have. I just hope I find some time to sew!
I chose this fabric because it looks like dots. Also, that lighter blue looks like aqua and I think I might use some of the aqua dandelion fabric I got from FabricWorm/Birch Fabrics. It is called Dandelion by Michael Miller.
Dandelion by Michael Miller
It looks like they would go together. We are also supposed to use Kona white if we plan to use a white in the block. I have Kona Snow, but not Kona White, so I will have to get some or not use white. I keep thinking that a bit of orange would be nice, but I’ll have to see when I lay out the block.
What is your favorite square block?
I only brought projects to cut out: Jane Market Totes from Martha Negley fabric, Multi-tasker Tote from Michael Miller’s Ironwork fabric, another quilt like Michaela’s quilt, but using fabrics from one of the Birch Bundles I got last summer. I thought I would get a lot of cutting done. It turns out that I was Miss Social Butterfly, As I mentioned, I really enjoy the women there and took advantage of the opportunity to talk quilts, guild activities and life. Who knew I wouldn’t just stand in the corner by myself?
Jane Market Totes to be
The left photo shows all I got done; cut out 2 Jane Market totes. That’s it. C’est tout. I am happy I got these pieces cut as the table was nice and big, but I really wish I had gotten more done. I blame Adrianne and Kathleen for doing such a great job organizing the meeting and being such nice people. 😉
Kathleen prepared the demo. The demo was the Mod Mosaic technique by Elizabeth Hartman of Oh Fransson fame. She has a pattern for a floor pillow using the technique. She talks about the blocks here and shows different ideas for settings.
Kathleen is in a swap group and they are swapping these types of blocks so a tutorial/demo on how to make the blocks seemed a good idea. It was a huge success!
Mod Mosaic Tutorial
Kathleen’s blocks are gorgeous! I watched and listened as I did my own stuff. I looked at the pattern later and I get it. I think this would make good use of scraps. Just what I need: another project in process!
Peggy's Mod Mosaic
Peggy got on board right away. She came with fabrics for a bargello quilt and, instead, used them to make Mod Mosaic blocks!
Lisa's Mod Mosaic
Lisa’s blocks (right) looked like circus blocks. I loved their bright cheerfulness. Kathleen also showed some of her blocks in detail.
Kathleen's Mod Mosaic
Looking at the black and red blocks makes me think of my new scrap organization system and how that system would lend itself to be picking scraps out of the drawer and sewing them into these types of blocks.
On my way home from the meeting, I wondered about my interest in the Modern Quilt Movement and it occurred to me that I have been, at least mentally or intellectually, struggling with categorizing my own style of quiltmaking.
What style of quilts do I make?
They aren’t really traditional, though have classic elements and are often block based. I don’t really dye or paint or engage much in surface design, so they aren’t art quilts, really, either. Perhaps I am exploring modern quilts to determine whether these types of designs are that fine line between the art and classic quilts?
I really enjoyed the meeting and can’t wait to go again….even if I don’t get anything done. 😉
Want to come to a meeting or join? Take a look at the:
Thanks to Kathleen for allowing me to use her photos!
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3/10/2011 Update: Kathleen said that Square in a Square pattern to which I referred above is called Outside the Box by Rose Mason of Wilsonville, Oregon.
Here are the blocks I made from the strips we exchanged at the Bay Area Modern Quilt Guild Meeting last time. I am not a big fan of the colors I picked. You know I don’t like working with lumpy colors. I think the blocks turned out well. I did my best sewing.
Yesterday, as I mentioned, I went to CQFA AND the Bay Area Modern Quilt Guild Meeting. I was a little concerned about spending so much time away from home, because I had hurt myself earlier in the week and wasn’t sure how my body would handle it. It turns out that I was fine. I wasn’t 100%, but I had healed enough not to be cranky and miserable.
I headed down to CQFA after performing some family duties at the crack of dawn. I was a bit early so I stopped at Starbuck’s and caught up on a few things. The meeting wasn’t as serious and busy as the last one, which was nice. We organized the meetings for the year and will have a social/big show and tell in July. We were able to spend a lot more time on Show and Tell, too, which is my favorite part. People at CQFA do the most unbelievable work. I wish I had taken a picture of Dolores’ quilt as it was GORGEOUS. She made a sun out of silk tie fabric. The sun was yellow, but then the piecing was a colorwash from green to purple radiating out from the sun. It was beautiful from close up and far away. A real stunner.
This was but one of a number of gorgeous quilts. I brought the Zig Zaggy top and the Flea Market Bag since I haven’t really finished anything else that wasn’t given away. I was also really busy last week and even though I started getting ready early I was still racing around at the last minute trying to get stuff together.
I didn’t get to go to lunch with everyone, because I wanted to attend the Bay Area Modern Quilt Guild Meeting. Yesterday was the first time the meeting was on Saturday. The President jumped through whatever hoops she needed to jump through to get the community room for us on weekend days, so we were able to have a sew day. It is a nice room – big, has power, good lighting and some space for food items.
I didn’t want to bring my sewing machine, but I brought my FOTY 2010 project so that I could work on the side and bottom/top triangles. Sadly, I forgot the actual diamonds, so I had to improvise with a paper pattern. I’ll write a separate blog post about cutting the triangles.
It was very informal so people walked around and looked at what everyone else’s projects. The projects are really different than the CQFA projects and it was good to see a different side of quiltmaking.
I brought the Stars for San Bruno to show everyone and people pledged to make some. They were also interested in my FOTY project so I talked to people who stopped by my table.
Angela's Shoulder Bag
Angela had a nice bag. She made it from a pattern in the book from That Patchwork Place,The New Handmade.
New Handmade Book
I have a vague memory of hearing about this book, but don’t remember seeing it. I looked through it briefly and found the bag pattern Angela made to be best one. There were a few others that were interesting, but wouldn’t be on the top of my radar. They don’t have it at my Library, so I will have to see if I can find it at another one. I am interested in making a bag like Angela made.
Angela's Bag - detailAngela's Bag - detail
First, it is a good size.
Second, the pockets are great. Angela had her actual small, leather purse in the top, large pocket, but her cell phone and other devices are in the front pockets for easy access.
Third, I like the way it stands up.
Fourth, the design had a long enough strap to wear across her body.
Fifth, I really like the shape, because it is a useful shape! While I still want to remake the leather, saddlebag style handbag I curently, this pattern has some possibilities for interim hauling.
Finally, Angela used a great combination of fabrics. This has nothing to do with the pattern, but I think that is part of the reason I looked at it twice.
There were a lot of other projects going on. Lynnette was making whirligig blocks and I got a little lesson in how she was doing that. Angela was in the process of getting ready to quilt a 9 patch she had just finished basting, so we chatted about quilting it. She had also made a Little Wallet, but she put a loop with a clip on the outside so it could be clipped to a larger bag. GREAT idea! Joylily was working on samples for a book. Julie had a Sizzix machine and was telling us about the variations between the Sizzix, Go and one other brand of cutting machines. Ruth was combining some embroideries she and her sisters had done with some quarter log cabins she had gotten from a swap. She found some out of copyright designs on Flickr. Another great idea! Someone was basting a table runner. People brought books so others could look at them. Lynette did a 10 minute demo on the tube method of making bias binding. She made me want to try it again.
One great thing about watching these folks work is that they use all sorts of tools I haven’t used. Ruth was using one of those square rulers with the slices in it to make strips. I had never seen anyone use it, though I have looked at it in shops numerous times. Julie uses the Sizzix to cut appliques and other shapes quickly.
Aside from feeling like a complete geezer at the meeting, that group is a real working group with a nice feel to it. And nobody calls me a geezer! 😉
I went to the Bay Area Modern Quilt Guild Meeting on Monday night. It was a perfect confluence of events that allowed me to go. Thanks to DH who picked up the slack at home!
We did show and tell. The quilts were very modern, for the most part, and there was a wide range of experience and styles. I should have brought the Zig Zaggy top. It would have fit right in. I want to quilt it or get it quilted before I drag it out into the world. I don’t want people to be sick of seeing it. I brought It’s a Merry & Bright Wrap, because I wanted to work on the sleeve. I think I put in about 2 stitches. People admired it.
Mostly, the members seemed like people who had just started sewing again after a hiatus or were new to sewing/quiltmaking. There was some discussion of the tube method of binding and various shops – two I hadn’t heard of! One is along my beaten path, so I will have to check it out and take TFQ there when she visits again. It was a great group. I really enjoyed the people.
Someone brought some great books. I was able to take a look at the new Amy Butler bag book, Style Stitches, which is a beautiful book. There were two bags in it that sorely tempt me, though I am a bit scared to take on another Amy Butler pattern after the Sweet Harmony bag. I was also able to look at Elizabeth Hartman’s new book, The Practical Guide to Patchwork: New Basics for the Modern Quiltmaker (yay! quiltmaker in a title!). I liked the look of it and found some tips and tricks that might make it worth a purchase. I also took a quick look at I {heart} Patchwork, which I had never heard of. There was so much going on that I really only had a minute to look at it. I don’t know what Zakka is, but what I saw was interesting and worth another look.
Everyone was really friendly and welcoming. One person, Adrianne of Little Bluebell, went to Quilt Market! She has great pictures on her blog about the experience. I can’t believe that they accept bloggers as press! You have to show some effort at a business, but she said it wasn’t that hard to register. WOW! A whole new door has opened to me!
I saw Chris, again, and still didn’t get much of a chance to talk with her in person! I hope to see her again!
There was a guy there! George magically appeared at the beginning of the fabric exercise. I don’t know if I just didn’t see him or if he came in late. I liked hearing his perspective, partially because of all the press about guys and lately, but also because I am never around quiltmaking guys. He talked about his experiences in fabric stores. As a result, we asked him what fabrics he gravitated towards, which spawned an interesting discussion.
We did a GREAT fabric exercise. Ruth, who is the owner/convener/president/quilt maven of the group asked everyone to bring 20 pieces of fabric. She promised we would get them all back unscathed. I was reluctant, but threw a stack of reds and aquas into the bag just before I left.
BAMQG Fabric Selection
There were a huge variety of fabrics. Laying on the tables, a lot of the fabrics looked like the old Hoffmans. As people started digging around, I could see that they were what people consider to be modern. Without the Kona Snow, they look really different.
The first exercise was to pick one fabric, get together with someone (great ice breaker as well) and pick 6-8 additional fabrics for a quilt. Subsequent versions of the exercise ensued.
There were a number of great things about these exercises:
no cutting = no fear. We weren’t actually going to make the quilt.
working with fabrics that weren’t mine opened my eyes to different possibilities.
working with someone gave me different ways to look at fabric combinations and learn from them.
reminded me that a fabric avalanche might be an opportunity to see fabrics in a new way.
there is always more fabric, so put the fabrics together in interesting ways.
Fabric Combo
Above is the last group I put together with another quiltmaker. The grey is something I never would have added, but the exercise was to pick two fabrics and they had to be touching each other. I picked that lovely turquoise/aqua and white in the upper right hand corner next to the red/white plaid. It was touching a grey. I picked a couple of other greys and more red and aqua and I think the group works.
I think this is a group I could really feel comfortable with. The meetings are not convenient, which is a real shame. I am going to try and go again and see where my attendance and participation on the Ning part of the guild lead.
Here are the fabrics donated by the FABULOUS Birch Fabrics/FabricWorm for the CQFA ATC Raffle prize. I was so pleased that Cynthia agreed to donate a prize and even more pleased when I saw the grouping.
I didn’t know what to suggest she send, so the black and whites will be perfect for such an artsy group. I wouldn’t like to presume to know the colors that everyone likes. Black and whites will go with any other fabrics that people enjoy.
People really came through and we collected at least 30 ATCs, as well as a few postcards, for the show. I was so pleased.
This drawing, which I thought would be the highlight, turned into a minor detail at the meeting. The meeting was completely action packed. Nancy moved things along. We did get to do regular show and tell, which I always enjoy. C&T Publishing Marketing Manager, Lisa Fulmer, came and brought a bunch of prizes as well. It was a wonderful meeting and I was so pleased to see new faces and so pleased that everyone stepped up to support the show.
The past weekend seems like a zillion years ago. I have been across the country and back for work, had so many meetings, I had to arrange for my mom to attend one of them since I can’t be in two places at once. I know some of you think I can and I hope I haven’t shattered your illusions.
Frances, of the Off Kilter Quilt, talked about the first week of school and how exhausted she was. Our Young Man has been in school since August 25 and I feel like I live there, in addition to my work and quilt life. There isn’t enough of me to go around. Bleah.
CQFA is usually a great break with wonderful women, fabulous show and tell inspiration and, lately, great workshops. We are organizing a quilt show (~March 5-July 7, 2011) and I am the instigator of this endeavor, so how I feel is ALL MY FAULT. I started it. This is a professional event with a curatorial staff, professional signage, artists reception and symposium to go with the show. We spent a good portion of the meeting talking about the various committees, names for the show, copyright, lawyers and all other ephemera associated with a quilt show. I am thankful that everyone is interested and I am not alone in the organization, but the whole presentation sucked what little life there was left in me out.
The meeting didn’t give me the boost that it normally does and it wasn’t because of the show organization. It was me and the crazy schedule I had last weekend: CQFA, soccer, dinner, various school related functions. It was too much and I couldn’t get out of any of it.
My great sadness of CQFA was that the awesome Sonja was signed up to give a class and I had to leave part way through it. 🙁 She had me get out my kid watercolors and paint, which was fun and may have broken some barrier I had about using those watercolors. They are Crayola watercolors for kids, so I should have no hang ups, but I do.
I signed up for Carla Sonheim’s Drawing Silliness class (not sure of the exact name) and was pleased to find out that Sonja signed up for it as well. Perhaps I am not a complete lunatic.
We traded ATCs and mine were the last men standing. I have to admit that I liked the process when I did it at A Work of Heart, but they weren’t very successful in general. Oh well, not every piece can be a masterpiece. I have photos of the others, but I haven’t done anything with them yet, so look for a post on them later.
The CQFA meeting was Saturday. We had two new people and that was GREAT. The whole meeting, actually, was great. There was LOTS of laughter. People who came late said that they could hear the laughter out in the parking lot. I need to attend more meetings where everyone is laughing.
As usual, show and tell was excellent. Everyone is really churning out the work and being inspired by each other. It was great. I showed Passionate Purple, the Chocolate Box and FOTY 2009. I also showed some books, talked about the Dale Fleming class and traded ATCs.
My ATCs
ATCs
People did really nice work for this round of ATCs. I was really pleased with the ATCs I chose. My score were the pears! I love them all though.
NancyBron
Bron used FabMo fabrics for her ATCs. She is on the board and finds all the good stuff there!
Maureen
Maureen has a new blog, Flies in a Cathedral. She only promises to post once a week. I look forward to hearing about the flies.
DebbieAmy
I wasn’t fortunate enough to get one of Amy’s cards, but I loved the texture.
JulieDiane
Diane is a very accomplished silk painter. When I saw those pears I knew I had to have them. I wasn’t the first person to choose either, so I feel very lucky to get that card.
My ATCs were really fun to make. I haven’t had much fun making them in the past. I am working on a series of ATCs and I may have to rethink that as it seems like a chore — until this go ’round.
QA Article by Cindi Huss, Apr/May 2010
I was reading Quilting Arts magazine last Thursday night and saw a picture of a leaf in an article about wool felting or something I wasn’t interested in. The article was by Cindi Huss I was interested in the image and the technique.
April ATCs in Progress
From what I could see in the picture, the author stitched zigzag lines three times with different threads. I did that in the picture above. One of the great things about my machine is that it has a very precise stitch. I can stitch over the same line and the needle will land in the same hole. That wasn’t what I wanted to for this. I wanted the zigzag to be a bit messy. I wanted the colors to blend. I had to readjust the needle to get it out of sync with the previous line of stitching.
Because of the Dale Fleming class, I was no longer hampered by changing the foot. I know it sounds silly, but sometimes taking off the foot holder is just too much of a hassle. I think I am over it now. I put on the darning/free motion foot and created the circles. I drew them lightly with a white pencil first so I had something to follow. I also slowed down the machine and that helped make the stitches show. After doing all of the circles. I went over some of them with two different colors of thread. Using Aurifil means that the stitched area does not get too bulky.
My idea was to make one piece and then cut it up. I had planned to try this technique in paper, but was inspired by the QA picture that I decided to go for it. I did make the background larger, but if I do this again, I would make it even larger and the ATCs were a bit small this time.
April ATCs cut
I have never made one piece and cut it up. I didn’t think people would like the right and left bottoms, but those were the first to go, actually. After cutting, I took apart a necklace Lil Sissy brought me from the Carribean and used the hearts for embellishment.
April ATCs finished
Here is the piece (minus the middle) embellished and finished and ready to be distributed. I was really pleased that they were so popular this time.
The CQFA meeting last Saturday went really well. We laughed a lot. Nancy, one of the members, is on a quest to improve her art. She took a long course (certificate program??) in Seattle that ended last year and is diligent. When she comes to the meeting she brings works that are very different from what the rest of bring. She often has interesting construction problems that make us think outside of the box. We were helping give her ideas about what she could use as a form and that led to extreme silliness as many great ideas were generated.
Everyone looked at the two Lark Books I received last Friday thoroughly and Terri said that she thinks Lark sold at least 10 copies by sending me those books. 😉
Maureen’s ATC exchange was a raging success. I showed mine last week in the Saturday post. I liked them, but they didn’t seem to be that popular. People made wonderful pieces, so perhaps it was just hard to choose.
March ATCsThe ATCS I Received
Below are the others that members brought. The lower left is one of Sonja’s. Originally I picked a different one, but when I saw the chair, I switched!
Maureen’s
I didn’t get one of Maureen’s. I did get one of hers last time that I keep where I can see it all the time.
Bron’s
Bron’s have a very New Zealand look to them. She doesn’t do a lot of fiber, so I was glad I chose one of hers.
Caroline’s
Caroline’s jacket was in these same colors. I think she works in them a lot.
Dolores’
I was also sorry not to get one of Dolores’. She did a great quilt at the retreat in January and I admire her dedication to her work. How do you like that one curved corner? Clever, don’t you think?
Sonja’s
Sonja’s are very subtle this time.
Diane’sRobin’sSue’s
I think this is the first time that Sue has participated. I didn’t get one of hers either. The flowers really attracted me.
Debbie’s
Debbie hasn’t been to a meeting in a long time, so I was pleased to see that she brought ATCs. I was also pleased to see that she used her signature style on them.
I found this guild via FB. I liked the site, because it pointed me right away to a local group. The local group has a Ning with photos, discussions. I joined right away and found that people are trying to organize meetings in my area. YAY!
Check out the site and see if there is a group in your area.
Yesterday I drove to Monterey to attend a Kaffe Fassett lecture. It was put on by Back Porch Fabrics, a local Pacific Grove/Monterey quilt shop. I have written about that shop a couple of times, most recently on November 4, 2009 after my late October visit.
During my last visit, I saw that they were selling tickets to a lecture by KF. I decided to buy 2 tickets and just go. I knew it would be after a 2 or 3 day holiday extravaganza, but I decided the opportunity was too good to pass up and that I would worry about who to take later.
Signed Books
I left in time to arrive before 2pm, which is when the book signing started. I got about 6 of his books signed and he didn’t mind. He said that I was supporting him and he was glad to sign. 😉 I don’t know why getting books signed thrills me so much, but it does.
Quilt Road Signed
My SIL went with me and she was pleased to see and shop at Back Porch Fabrics. She bought a few fabrics for another Infinity block project she is working on. I bought a few of the Lonni Rossi fabrics so I could make another bag. I bought some FQs there in October and used them all up on Marilyn’s Multi-tasker.
The lecture wasn’t until 7pm, so we had time to hang around Pacific Grove a little bit. We spent a fair amount of time in the shop, partially because it was REALLY crowded and the lines were long. One thing I love about my SIL is that she makes me slow down in quilt shops. She really looks at things, which is a good reminder for me to do the same. Not much else in PG was open, so we went out to eat and then to Home Depot to find some paint colors for MIL, and to Borders to look at books.
After some technical difficulties with the projector and the Powerpoint, the lecture got started at about 7:30. Things I didn’t know about Kaffe Fassett:
He found the name Kaffe in a children’s book about an Egyptian boy he thought looked like him. He took it to replace his boring given name, which he is trying to forget. He refused to tell us the boring given name. I imagine it is Joe or Rod.
He was born in San Francisco, grew up in Big Sur and is now living near the Camden and West Hampton (Hampshire??) sections of London in Kilburn.
He went to a museum studies program in Boston
He learned to knit and purl in 20 minutes on a train, which was followed, later, by another 20 minute lesson from his cleaning lady on weaving in the ends and casting off.
He feels that color is in instinctive, that people have to work hard at conquering their fear of color and to learn to listen to their instincts. He enjoys going to places where there is intense color such as South Africa, India and Guatemala. He feels that color is life enhancing; it can make something elegant. He finds color to be a gift that people can give to themselves every day for a very low cost.
He thinks that there is a lot of visual pollution in the US, such as concrete parking garages, and hideous buildings. He thinks that the buildings in the US are very drab. Every morning I go to a horrifyingly ugly concrete parking garage and wish that someone would add some color to it or embellish it with tiles or mosaics or something, so I have to agree with him. He finds developing countries o be filled with intense color, which he calls visual poetry. He showed a number of slides of buildings in various countries, which were painted and embellished in a different ways.
As you may know, Kaffe started as a knitter. He said that knitters are never bored, are happy in their own company and make things that are very personal. He also said that anyone who says they can’t do what he does hasn’t tried. This is the point where he said he learned to knit in 20 minutes on a train. His point was that people certainly cannot make what he makes if they sit and whine. People have to go to their knitting needles or sewing machine and try, then try again. He said that he makes simple things and spices them up with glorious color. I am not sure his needlepoints are simple, but I get his point, which echoes one that TFQ says:
Go to Your Studio and Make Stuff!
InKaffe’s career trajectory, he moved on to needlepoint after knitting. Some of the chair covers and cushions are just wonderful. I love his vegetable cushion and chair covers. He also create rugs and does quite a bit of needlepoint commission work.
He finds knitting and needlepoint to be slow, so was amazed when he discovered patchwork and saw how fast quiltmakers can cut up fabric and put a piece together. He loves teaching quiltmakers and commented several times on how he loves seeing how people put his fabrics together in new ways.
His adjectives of choice were ”thrilling and ‘exciting’. He uses those two terms a lot when he talked about fabric. He said that making books and fabric allowed him to give part of his creative mind to others and he commented again on how thrilling it is for him to see how people put his fabrics together.
For him, the different media are all about manipulating color and the knitting, needlepoint, fabric design and patchwork all are ways that he can work with color. He said that he painted white on white still lives for a long time, because he was also afraid of color. He continues to be fascinated by neutrals. He talked about how he enjoys putting colors and textures together so they almost merge (you can see what he is talking about in some of his vegetable needlepoint works, in the shading, especially the Lichen Auriculas at Ehrman Tapestry, which is part of the needlepoint slide show). He showed the Vegetable Rug Border Pack in the rug form and also made into cushions. He makes me want to take up needlepoint!
He got around to talking about stripes as well. He said that he is thrilled by stripes and finds that lots of ordinary stripes put together become extraordinary.
He talked about hanging an exhibit of his quilts in France, where he was thrilled to find that the quilt stands had shocking pink background drapes/curtains. He was thrilled and said that he would never find such an occurrence in the US. He finds mostly black and, the most ghastly color against which to hang quilts, white in the US. “Ghastly” was his description and I immediately thought of TFQ.
Philip Jacobs and Kaffe Fassett are now working together. Apparently, Philip Jacobs does large realistic paintings, which Kaffe then recolors in different colorways. One of the recent collections includes some very large sea shells.
Someone asked about creative waxing and waning. He said that life serves up the rhythm and since he travels quite a bit he gets quite hungry to get back to his studio and work, especially when he has been surrounded by inspiring views. He often will see something and go to his studio and make something from the inspiration. This is a piece of advice that I also like.
He hangs up projects which have gotten stale and works on something else. Leaving the stale project around so he can see it affords him the opportunity to be reinspired.
He doesn’t usually plan his projects from beginning to end, but makes the color combination up as he goes along. He also keeps looking at it from different views and angles to see what the piece needs.
Kaffe’s theory about fabric design is that he is working with a palette of color and continually works with those ranges so that newer fabrics work with some of his older fabrics. He is also working on keeping fabrics in print for longer by recoloring them and adding older designs to new collections. He doesn’t want to create a line that is in today and “so yesterday” tomorrow. I completely appreciate this and whish more fabric companies would take this advice. He seems to be going for more of a classic look/feel. I am not sure if that is the right description, because I am not sure I would characterize his fabrics as having a classic look. Perhaps they are the ‘new’ classic?
He said that he is basically a shallow person who likes pretty things. He claims not to have much depth. I think he was saying that we should make things that we like, things with which we want to surround ourselves and I think that is wonderful advice. He encouraged people to just start playing and put something into repeat to see how it looks. He also reminded us to work with simple shapes.
Kaffe finds inspiration everywhere and said that in England the gardens are where the passion is hidden. Aside from this, I think the best advice he gave was that ‘manifesting’ was vitally important and that having the confidence to make the statment [with your work] and enough energy to make the thing in the first place are the most important parts of the battle. Finally, he said it is important to surround myself with other positive people. This advice is stuck in my head and I think the confidence part is particularly pertinent.
His next book will be out in the spring of 2010 and will be called Simple Shapes, Spectacular Quilts.
It was 2 hours each way and I didn’t get home until 11:30 pm, but it was totally worth it and I am glad I went. I am now very interested in taking a class from him.
, which is part of the needlepoint slide show). He showed the Vegetable Rug Border Pack in the rug form and also made into cushions. He makes me want to take up needlepoint!