BAMQG will be selling Opportunity quilt tickets at the San Mateo County Fair June 6-7 from 11-8 both days. Come and get a ticket and buy some for your friends. We use the money for charity and guild activities. Oh, you can see me as well, if you come on Saturday.
Take a look at my Cafe Press Shop. There might be something that you need for summer!
Websites Articles & Information
This blog post neatly recaps a great article is about the beneficial effects of crafting. I love the list, because I have thought it a zillion times and I love the neat way in which it outlines my thoughts. The result? Go craft something!
Guy’s guide to hanging out in fabric stores and shopping for fabric with your wife/girlfriend/S.O.
Have you seen that Gretchen has a companion Facebook page to her website? I didn’t know either. Go like it and show Gretchen some love.
I made the Fair Vendor Paper.li paper, because I retweeted a Daily Deal from the Missouri Star Quilt Company. It is kind of sad for that to be my claim to fame after all the other writing I have done here.
From the inspiration department, check out Eleanor’s Walks. Eleanor is a client of mine and she has started a blog on walking San Francisco city streets. She has about 5 posts so far, including an About Me post and is going great guns. Her posts are illustrated by digital images at the moment, but she is a watercolorist and draws, so some of her drawings will color the blog as well. I think it s a great project and glad to be helping out. Go take a look and leave a comment.
Fabric, Tools, Shops, Supplies & Embellishments
I was fascinated by this blog post about how a fabric order gets processed and delivered. the comments are interesting as well.
Color theory class review by your fave and mine, Carol Wool!
Exhibits, Tutorials & Events
Have you seen Linda Gass’ work? She does aerial views of the San Francisco Bay Area using quiltmaking as a medium. Take a look at her work from a recent exhibit.
The San Jose Museum of Quilts & Textiles has acquired part of Penny Nii’s collection including pieces from Libby Lehman, Michael James and Jonathan Shannon. Take a look at the press release.
Sew Sweetness is have a Dress Up Party as well. People are reviewing different patterns on her blog. There are a lot of dresses, but other patterns as well. Check it out.
Receiving Blankets in Use
Remember the receiving blankets I talked about making last month? Here they are in use, cute baby not included. I am very pleased that the new mom likes them and they are in use.
Have you joined the Dresden Plate QAL? SherriD is putting it on and Frances, of The Off Kilter Quilt fame, is joining in as well. Check out Sherri’s ‘Have a Plate of Goodness’ post for directions. In a recent post she talks about inspiration. Check out the Quilt Index and search for Dresden Plate under the pattern option in the Advanced Search screen. I am not doing the QAL, but it was fun to look at the DPs in their collection. If you don’t know how to make a Dresden Plate, check out my tutorial.
Other Artists
If you haven’t taken a look at Daisy W’s Escape Velocity piece, you must go RIGHT NOW and do so. I love stitching and embroidery and this one is very appealing. I love the color and the spiral design as well the way the ends trail off into, what looks like, a fun tangle. If this piece doesn’t make you wish you had joined the Valdani drop on Massdrop, I don’t know what will. 😉
Diana Leone died recently of cancer. She was a quintessential quilt artist and owned the Quilting Bee in downtown Mountain View for years. She had the same birthday as me (a few years older, though) and founded CQFA. She also wrote the book used in the Sampler class I took to learn to quilt. I still use it, mostly because of the annotations made over the years, to make binding. Her obituary is available in the Mercury News.
Books, Patterns, Magazines & Projects
I am blowing through Marie Bostwick’s Second Sister. This is her most recent release and not part of the Cobbled Court series. I thought I would be resentful, because I really want to know what happens in new Bern. I was pleased to find that I really like the characters, the premise and the story in Second Sister. I was kind of annoyed at myself for not giving this new book a chance right off the bat, but I am over it. As soon as I started reading, I was all in. This is a well written, modern book that I think many women who work at demanding jobs and have family life intervene can relate to.
I found a leaders and enders Linky party over at A Quilting Chick. I don’t really think of my leaders and enders in the same way she does, but I added my most recent O9P post to the Linky party to 1) get more traffic and 2) acknowledge that the progress I am making is all because of leaders and enders. I wonder what my life would be like if I only worked on one project at a time?
I have always been interested in casserole carriers and other things like that. I thought they would be good gifts, especially for a shower. “The Casserole Carrier measures 9-1/2″W x 14-1/2″L x 4″H and transports a standard 9″ x 13″ casserole dish. Zippered pockets on top and bottom will hold utensils, napkins, a cutting board, and more. There’s even an inner mesh slip pocket for a hot/cold pack. Measuring 11-1/2″D x 3″H, the Pie Carrier is perfect for pies (even deep dish!) or cupcakes.” My only concern is whether the casserole would get on the inside top of the carrier. I saw an interesting pattern in the May 1 ByAnnie newsletter. You might also need a shower gift or a room parent gift.
In the same newsletter, I also saw a baby travel accessories pattern that would make great baby shower gifts. I especially like the pacifier carrier.
The Lindy Petal Skirt is a free pattern from Itch to Stitch. I love the petal look and the designers says you should be able to sew it in an hour. (Not me, but you)
Other Artists
During Ricky Tims’ concert at the Paducah show, he got on FaceTime with Libby Lehman and the brief conversation was projected on the screen for the whole audience to see. Libby was also able to interact with the audience. She has come such a long way from the aneurysm and stroke she suffered a few years ago.
Nancy Zieman is a giant in the world of sewing. In recent years, she has also jumped into the quilt world and produced some great projects and products. Now she has been diagnosed with cancer and it is time for us to give back. All of us have cancer somewhere in our families. Some of us, sadly, know better than others the day to day worries and emotions that engulf a patient and a family. I saw an article recently about Emily McDowell, an artist and cancer survivor, who has produced a line of cards to send to someone with cancer. I am not saying to go buy one of these cards, but go read the blog post about why she produced this line before you write to Nancy or anyone else you know who has cancer. It will change the way you phrase your words. At least it did for me.
Weeks Ringle posted on her blog about this and Nancy also has a video posted explaining what is going on. You may not be a fan of Nancy Zieman, but she has, no doubt, worked hard in this profession and contributed.
Websites, Articles and Information
Mandy Applebee of Yellow House Quilts wrote a great blog post about encouraging others and not breaking them down. One quote was “I am instead asking that we take a moment to BUILD OTHERS UP, speak up, stand up and ENCOURAGE others to create their best work right now, encourage them to TRY, practice and create whatever makes their hearts happy. Support others, it doesn’t take anymore time to build another person up instead of breaking them down. ENCOURAGE, ENCOURAGE, ENCOURAGE and help build others up!! This industry is big enough for everyone no matter their level of skills and training, so help and support others whenever you are able. Be a builder and take a stand against the bullies!! PLEASE!!”
I am not diminished in my own process or projects if you sew up a storm. I find joy and inspiration in what you do. I want everyone to share the excitement and challenge I feel in quiltmaking. Why are there quilt bullies? What is the point? Is it the same reasoning as for other bullies? Thanks to Ms. Lottie for sharing.
Gretchen was kind enough to point out an article on pre-washing in a recent blog post. What was interesting was the shrinkage. I would have thought bleeding would be the issue, but shrinkage was much more noticeable. I was surprised to see that one fabric shrank 1/2″ on the weft side. The article is well organized by fabric manufacturer. (As an FYI: I wash all of my fabrics in hot water with Retayne and dry them on low).
12 revealing facts about rulers (not the Queen Elizabeth kind) is an informative and entertaining look at rulers. It mostly has history, but a few bits about quiltmaking rulers as well and the history gives an interesting foundation to the tasks we perform with our rulers.
Rock Baby Scissors has an interesting Etsy shop full of bags. If you need some quick gifts for Comicon fans, this is your shop.
Exhibits, Tutorials and Events
“Kevin Kosbab, who wrote the popular book, Quilter’s Appliqué Workshop, is dedicated to helping other quilt artists use appliqué easily and creatively, using his tips, tricks, and techniques.
Here are some of his suggestions for success:
1. In general, for both hand and machine appliqué, start sewing an appliqué along a straight or gently curved edge rather than a corner or point. The corners look neater this way.
2. To reduce stiffness from fusible web, cut the center away from your fusible shape, leaving a border of about 1/4″ inside the traced outline.
3. Try different types, sizes, and brands of hand needles to find the best one for you. I use a size 11 sharps for hand appliqué, but you might find it easier to manipulate fabric edges with a longer milliners needle. Ask for recommendations from friends or quilt shops, but ultimately it’s a personal decision.
4. Cross-wound spools of thread generally feed better on your machine’s horizontal spool pin, while stacked (parallel-wound) spools work best on a vertical pin. If your machine doesn’t have a vertical spool pin, try a thread stand-also a good idea if you find monofilament thread tangling when sewing invisible appliqué.
5. When combining piecing with appliqué, press the pieced seams in the direction that makes sense pictorially-that is, press seams away from whichever fabric is supposed to be the “background.” When pre-piecing fabrics to sew down as a single appliqué shape, press the seam allowances open to reduce bulk in the turned edges.
Kevin has many more tips, techniques, and patterns for creative, stress-free quilt appliqué, and he shares them all with you in Quilter’s Appliqué Workshop.”
Stay tuned for a special event coming on the blog on May 9.
Purchase some gifts for Mom at my Cafe Press Shop. Cafe Press is having a 20% off sale April 19-23 with the coupon code, MOMSROCK. Restrictions apply. Thanks for your support!
Success!
I finally found instructions for the folded Starburst Wreath. I made a large one a long time ago with a friend and several smaller ones as gifts thereafter, but time goes by and I sewed more than I folded. I kept looking at the large one I have in my workroom and decided I wanted to make another one. I am no longer able to contact the friend, so I started looking on the web. My first search terms were not finding what I needed and I gave up, but the other morning I tried again on Pinterest. After a couple of tries, I was successful and now have the directions again. Hooray!!! Look for some folded paper stars coming to a blog near you!
Other Artists
I love the pattern/block design Bonnie Hunter showed on Instagram recently for Four Patches. These aren’t my colors, but I can easily imagine it in brighter colors.
SherriD reviews a recipe on her blog for a breakfast treat. The review was really great and made me think of quiltmaking patterns and how some of us need more direction in our patterns than others.
Patterns, Magazines, Books & Projects
If you have been following along with the Twilter Round Robin, you will be interested in Molly’s finished-or almost finished- top. I also love the word Rosevale which is mentioned on her blog. It reminds me of Anne’s, of Anne of Green Gables, imagination.
I just love this chicken imagery. I am not much of a chicken-as-decorative-image person, but this one is bright and cheerful.
Exhibits, Tutorials and Events
Quilting Daily had an article about using MistyFuse.
“Not Fade Away: Sharing Quilt Stories in the Digital Age is a two-day conference presented by the nonprofit Quilt Alliance. This biennnial educational event is for all who care about documenting, preserving and sharing the stories of quilts and their makers. Come meet filmmakers, artists, curators, historians, educators and fellow quilt afficionados. Enjoy a power-packed weekend of learning, socializing and sharing at the Not Fade AwayConference in conjunction with the Sacred Threads Exhibition in our shared venue, Floris United Methodist Church in Herndon, Virginia. ”
I wonder if this applies to the general quiltmaker, someone like you who just makes quilts?
Judy Martin will be giving the keynote address at this June’s NQA show in Little Rock, Arkansas. She says she has long had respect for the National Quilting Association and all they do to promote quilting. You can read more about the show and the NQA at http://www.nqaquilts.org/quiltshow/site/2015/ In addition to the keynote address, she’ll also be doing a lecture the next day.
July 17-18 in Floris United Methodist Church in Herndon, Virginia and take a look at the full information.
The International Quilt Study Center & Museum’s April 2015 Quilt of the Month is Hexagon Mosaic by Grace McCance Snyder. One of Nebraska’s most famous quiltmakers, Snyder has been recognized for the technical complexity and quality of her quilts.
Kathy Matthews put up a Double Churn Dash block tutorial. Those tiny Churn Dashes are pretty cute!
Websites, Articles and Information Quilting Focus is a new website for quiltmakers in NZ. Our own, Ms. Lottie of The Slightly Mad Quilt Lady fame is one of the teachers (owners??).
Article about Why Thread Matters from Jillily Studios.
Perhaps you have the Apple watch on your ‘must have’ list. Not me as I cannot see the screen, but if you are on the fence, take a look at the quiltmaker’s version. I don’t know if it means anything that it was posted on April 1, 2015….
Kitty has some brief reviews of apps to help you draft quilt blocks.
I have been thinking about tools lately. I have had a number of my tools since I started quilting back in the Dark Ages. My mat is most on my mind. With these thoughts swirling around my mind, I came across this article about ruler inaccuracy from the Badass Quilters Society.
I was VERY disappointed in the recent Jo-ann fabric Daffodil Dash. I was so excited to get some 50% off coupons and it turned out I was unable to use any of them. Everything I wanted and needed was already on sale for a much lower percentage off. I guess the coupon did the job, because it got me in the store and I did buy a few things, but not everything. I have always been skeptical of Jo-ann’s coupons and their real value, but I have been sucked in recently. I am back on the skepticism bandwagon.
I love the way that this fabric is organized! I would need a much larger closet, though.
I was dying to buy fabric last week, so I washed some of the Great Unwashed and that helped to make me feel like I had some new pretties to pet.
Ruler Recall: Marsha McCloskey sells rulers on her site that make cutting and sewing her Feathered Star blocks easier. She wrote about the ruler recall in her most recent newsletter: “Recently, I learned, much to my dismay, that my last shipment of Precision Trimmer 3 rulers contained defective rulers. Truly, I didn’t know. Rulersmith has produced perfect rulers for me for 15 years. When these rulers were delivered in February 2014, I didn’t check them. My Mom had just passed away and my mind was not on quality control. The ruler problem is in the placement of the locator hole at the ¼” seam allowance at the corner of the ruler. This hole is used to locate the start and stop point for set-in seams. On the defective rulers, the hole is placed slightly to the right. Not acceptable. I have no idea if all the rulers sold in the last year were made this way or only a portion. Rulersmith has replaced the entire print run with accurate rulers and I will replace your ruler if it is defective. I will be contacting people who bought the PT3 ruler through my website, but I have no way to identify who might have bought a PT3 from a shop or from me in a class. You will need to identify yourself, so I can replace the defective ruler with a good one. Please, go to the special PT3 RECALL page on my website and follow the directions if you want your ruler replaced. There is a special page for this issue. You can now use PayPal on her site and a lot of her fabrics are on sale for $6/yard.
These notebooks are clever and creative. I love them except for the part about kids using them in school!
Are you a Frixon pens fan? I found a new product that provides another use for those pens. “Rocketbook, designed by startup Rocket Innovations, looks and feels like a traditional paper notebook and pen combination, but it uses heat-sensitive ink and is paired with a smart app. (The pens, FriXion ballpoints by Pilot, are cheap and easy to find at places like Staples.) When you stick the 8.5-inch-by-11-inch notebook in the microwave for 30 seconds, all 100 of its pages are cleared, so it’s infinitely reusable. Its paper features a dot grid pattern that makes it a good sketchbook for designers, typographers, and architects.
Before you erase your most brilliant doodles, Rocketbook will convert them into digital documents. Lots of artists and designers find sketching by hand, not just on the computer, a crucial part of the creative process, but scanning can be a pain. When you want to save your writing or sketches, the Rocketbook app will upload them to the cloud. The app takes photos of the notebook, two pages at a time, and automatically sends these digitized documents to folders in your Google Drive, Dropbox, Evernote, or email account. Seven icon buttons are on the bottom of each page, and you can assign them to various locations to determine where the document will be sent. For example, pressing the airplane button might automatically send your pages to Evernote.” Interesting idea for your quilt sketches and notes to self.
Websites, Articles and Information
This is a very short article about the Missouri Star Quilt Company without a lot of details. It leaves me wanting more. Where did they live in California? When did MSQC start? Perhaps, it will spur others (DO YOU HEAR PODCASTERS???) on to find out more.
Jackie is starting a series on sewing with children on her blog. She has posted random bits about sewing with children so I am looking forward to this organized series.
Modern Quilts Illustrated issue #10 is available. Weeks Ringle and Bill Kerr at the Modern Quilt Studio have gone to a 2x/year publication schedule. There are no more subscriptions, but you can order it on their website.
The International Quilt Study Center quilt of the month is Oil Rigg by Jo Budd.
We all receive poorly written, flame sounding emails. Sometimes I can’t believe the email I receive because the writer sounds so angry just because s/he signed up to receive a notice of my blog posts. Ms. Lottie, who has the fabulous NZ based podcast and blog, posted a reminder from another artist, Dena Crain, about some tricks on how to avoid and respond to less than clam emails. One thing that spoke to me was the paragraph “Truly, our success at accomplishing all of our life goals has to do with how we approach other people. Give everyone the benefit of the doubt, and trust that most people really do want to do the right thing, even you!” Dena also has a tutorial on making a mosquito netting. I think that is the first tutorial of that kind I have seen.
The Home Machine Quilting Show will be in Salt Lake City May 7-9, 2015.
Charlotte of the Slightly Mad Quilt Lady Blog and Podcast has a tutorial on tying a knot for hand sewing. The thing I like about this tutorial is that it is short, gets down to business right away, tells you what you need to know and doesn’t have a lot of distractions.
Projects, Magazines, Books and Patterns
Philippa, AKA OzzyPip has been posting a series of animal blocks to Twitter. I love this little bird.
I know you NEED a cactus pin cushion. 😉 I saw a pattern posted on the Sewing Lab blog and thought you would like it. I know you could make some creative changes to put your own mark on it. If you make one, post a picture to the AQ Facebook page. I’d love to see your work.
A new issue of Through Our Hands magazine from Laura Kemshall is out: http://issuu.com/laurakemshall/docs/throughourhandsmagazinefeb2015/7?e=3297033/11588949
I was excited to see the Bag of the Month club bag over at Sew Sweetness. It is almost the perfect bag. The Hyacinth Bag is great for a purse and place to store a few things you might need at a quilt show. It is almost the perfect work bag for me, but just a tad bit too small. Still, she is getting closer.
I love the use of text fabrics in the quilt by Magnolia by the Bay.
Other Artists
I know that the New Year is long in the past, but I came across this 2014 Year in Review by Sara over at Sew Sweetness. The visuals add interest. I really like the gallery of photos and will see about doing some similar at the end of this year. I love the apron her friend is wearing towards the end of the post and I do kind of like that Rockstar Bag. I didn’t see it when it came out and I’ll have go and check it out. It has possibilities for a “take my stuff and lunch to work on the train” bag. You might see one that I made pretty soon. We’ll see.
It took me over a year to get up to 100 followers on the AQ Facebook page (check the sidebar for a link). In the past few weeks, I have gotten 30+. I guess this is what pundits mean by reaching critical mass. Thanks, everyone!
I received an envelope from my dad the other day with a brochure and a page of photos from the Tillamook County Quilt Trails. I looked on the web and found they have a web page! This trail debuted at the Tillamook County Fair in August 2009 with 13 quilt blocks. There are now 101 blocks included along the trail map. I was thrilled to learn that my dad had chased around the county to see these colorful quilt blocks. He has started living life out loud a little more, which really makes me happy. Quilts are everywhere!
Projects, Patterns, Tutorials & Classes
Katie of Katie’s Quilting Corner has posted a tutorial for the QuiltSmart Gadget Cushion. I might need one to keep my phone handy when I am trying to participate in a Google Hangout with the other Twilters.
I saw this GREAT free motion quilting project via a tweet from Elly at Aurifil. I love it. It isn’t cutesy and looks small enough to be a good practice piece.
Little Bluebell has put up a tutorial on HRTs. “HRTs?, you say” Half Rectangle Triangles. I don’t know if that is the correct name, but you get the idea. It makes me want to pull out my BiRangle and find the book I bought with it back in the last century and make some rectangle quilts.
Your path to a new bag is here! Sara of Sew Sweetness has a new bag pattern called the Holland Bag. I like that she shows so many fabric options and lots of inside bag photos in her post.
The newest Snapshots block is out and it is a sewing machine! This QAL is a fundraiser for St. Jude’s Research Hospital. The goal of $10,000 was reached in a month, which means that 2000 of you sent in the requested $5! They have upped the FQS goal to $20,000! The suggestion is that you donate $5 for each block pattern downloaded. Wouldn’t it be great if the total donation was $10,000 per block pattern??
Need some organization? Want to make a matching set? A recent post shows 12 patterns for organizing your workroom.
American Patchwork and Quilting has a four patch quilt-a-long as well. There is a link to a number of designers who are in on the QAL and the hashtag for Twitter and Instagram is #APQquiltalong. I like April Rosenthal’s ‘Buried Treasure.’ I am sure her block has been around, but I didn’t take the time to look it up. Using Corner Store blocks to connect the four patches is a great idea!
Carol, the art quilt queen turned me on to the Rainbow Challenge. This month’s color is yellow. The main challenge page talks a little about the challenge, which has the main point of using up scraps.
Enrollment now open for EQU online classes. the following classes were advertised in the latest EQ newsletter:
I saw looking at the AQS catalog. I saw a task lamp called the Stella Task LED Lamp (item #6289). It has a flexible arm and has a special type of bulb to make it convenient to transport, because it won’t break. The ad claims that it still be working after 12 years. This looks great, but I am concerned that the bulbs will not last for 12 years and will be quite expensive.
Katie has a beautiful way of storing scraps. Not only do they look good, but you can enjoy the colors of the scraps as well.
Articles & Information
Someone pointed me in the direction of the American Craft Council article called The Healing Powers of Craft by Monica Moses. It is less an article that a catalog of the health benefits pointing to the beneficial effects while pointing the reader to the articles that discuss the point. I wonder if the converse is true. Will I not be as healthy if I work instead of sew when I am under a deadline? Are people, in general, less healthy if they do not make or repair?
Jennifer Ackermann-Haywood is ending her stint with mlive and focusing on CraftSanity again. Read her last article for mlive.com.
Sonoma Museum of Art: Unconventional and Unexpected: American Quilts Below the Radar, 1950-2000, February 14-May 17, 2015
Other Artists
I not always a fan of the quilts that look like they were made from the Stack ‘n Whack technique. The name bugs me. Still, this quilt by Hilda is wonderful. I don’t know if it is the red or the gradation.
OMG! Frances did a video of her Mosaic quilt. Amazing!
NQR
In case you want to catch up with Outlander before the new season comes out in April, the Star series version is now on Blu-ray and DVD.
Frances had a podcast episode sometime ago about what we call ourselves. Barbara Brackman has some fun on her blog about that as well.
Have you looked at the glossary lately? I updated it after writing the Maryland posts.
If you would like to provide input on creativity and your habits around creativity, fill out the questionnaire.
Projects, Patterns and Tutorials
Have you seen the Pile O’ Fabric BOM? Katie, of Katie’s Quilting Corner turned me ton to it and it looks like a great skillbuilder. Take a look. You haven’t missed too many lessons.
Aneela Hoey has a new pattern for little pouches. They aren’t what I would call pouches, but, regardless of the name, they are cute. Take a look at the blog post where Aneela shows a lot of pictures.
I know you have seen the Twiddletails tutorial for pillowcases and my changes to it. NoScrapTooSmall notes some changes as well, mostly interms of cutting sizes, which gives you a variety of perspectives on pillowcase making.
Some of the Twilters are working on the Jinny Beyer Block of the Month on Craftsy. One of the efforts is shown on Sandy’s blog.
I really like the recent top from Fluffy Sheep Quilting. the pattern is simple, but the combination of fabrics and the way the artist put it together makes it interesting.
Need a design wall tutorial. Nadine Ruggles has one.
Have you made the Let Them Eat Cake block for the FQS Snapshots BOM? This is a Fat Quarter Shop block of the month project that benefits St. Jude’s Hospital. They are requesting a $5 donation for each block you download. Kimberly of FQS, along with Bonnie and Camille, for moral support, provide a video tutorial on putting the cake block together. You can download the free pattern and go to FQS on February 15 for the next pattern. Remember to hashtag your blocks and photos as #FQSSnapshots
Janeen van Niekerk was featured in the EQ newsletter as a person who offers free paper pieced block patterns for EQ. I visited her blog and found that she is starting a new paper pieced QaL.
Cora Village Fete Dress
Need some Downton Abbey dresses? Here is a magazine full of patterns that Friend Julie shared with me. I am torn, because I don’t know if my favorite dress is in there. The one I like is the one Mama wore to the county fair where she looked at the flowers. I’ll post a link if I can find one.
I have been admiring the bucket bags that BAMQGers received as part of their Retreat kit a few years ago. The other day I saw a tutorial for the bucket bag. The post on elvie’s studio blog just shows the bag and talks about it a little then links to a free Craftsy class. Elvie‘s fabric choices are better than the one shown in the class IMO. I like the combination of dots and the big flower print. If I make this I will do something like that as well.
If you aren’t using the Wing Clipper ruler by Deb Tucker to make your Flying Geese, here is a tutorial by HoneyBearLane that is the same principle, but without the ruler. She also gives a formula for resizing your pieces to make the Flying Geese the size you need.
I haven’t made this yet, but I do like the idea of it. Perhaps I will use this pattern instead of creating my own (remember the caddy on my To Do List?).
Supplies, Fabric and Tools
I bought a Sew Together Bag pattern and needed a bunch of zippers. I found them at Sew True.
SIL and I were talking about her Snails Trail block and that reminded me of the Big Little Book of Die Cutting I bought last year. In it is a reference and explanation to the EDeN die notation system. This is a system to allow you to translate patterns with rotary cutting instructions into use of your Accuquilt dies. Take a look at the chart provided. This system truly makes the dies widely useful, not just useful with patterns from Accuquilt.
If you weren’t aware, Hawthorne Threads now has the capability to print fabric. They are creating their own collections and printing them on demand. This is a great idea, because it means that fabric will, theoretically, always be available. To that end, they have produced a line of Marsala fabric. Marsala, for those of you who have been avoiding Pantone, is the Pantone color of the year.
I saw a tweet about Stash Fabrics and went to their site to take a look at their fabric. I really like it. It is very hard not to buy some, especially some of the sale fabrics they have. Their monthly bundles seem like a package that would arrive and make my day.
Did you know that Zazzle sells fabric? Unique designs. Go buy some.
By now you have bought a subscription to the Missouri Star Quilt Company magazine,r ight? I, just, this minute, found out about another magazine (? I think) they are publishing (also at an easy on the wallet $5.99) called ModBlock, focused on color. Molli Sparkles is in the first issue.
Other Artists
I talked a little about words of the year. Nadine Ruggles has some thoughts about her words and her life as well.
Marie Bostwick bought a….go to her blog to read all about her new purchase.
Did you see Tanesha’s low volume quilt? She also shared some of her ‘duds’, which is a part of creativity. I applaud Tanesha for admitting that not all of her work is perfect. She talks a little about our meetup, but focuses on my SIL’s Swoon quilt, which was a big hit. You can see the Flipagram from our event.
I thought the mini quilt Amy made was a nice tribute to her grandmother. Something about the clothesline evokes grandmothers, I think. Mine as well.
I know I have mentioned the Year of Making before in reference to the NoScrapTooSmall blog, however I went back and read the post again, which is really worth reading again. I also clicked on the links to other posts, including one from 2013, which actually has resolutions. In the latter post, Marion Felton mentions play. That hits home, especially in reading what she writes about it: “So in the playing vein, I have plans to read all (and most likely swatch through) Principles of Knitting and a couple other books with really intriguing techniques with which I want to play around…”. I plan to do this regularly and never do. I don’t know why, but I don’t. I suppose if I had a studio and dedicated time to go there where I was allowed to go there without guilt, I might play more. I suppose if I had a space in which to read, where I could pile up books and have a stack of pens and post-it notes and paper, I might play more. A lot of ifs….Go read the NoScrapTooSmall post and let me know what you think.
I can’t believe I missed him, but the god from Mollie Sparkles was in California! He went to the Intrepid Thread, which is not far from my house. Sigh. I was out of town. I love his color sense. He showed the fabrics he bought and I am in love with the pink-blue-orange group in one of the photos. I am tempted to run out and buy some. The sensible, Use-Your-Stash VIMH is saying to walk into the fabric closet and pull out those colors. The voice continues that I must have them somewhere. He is a total temptor as well, asking us (the Glitterati) to link up our purchases with his every Sunday. It is almost like he is giving permission for me to go buy fabric. Sigh.
Exhibits, Shows and Events
The WWII Home Front Challenge exhibit has traveled to the Vallejo Naval and Historical Museum and will be there until April 4. Mark your calendars. There will be an Artists’ Reception on Saturday, February 28, 2015, from 2:00 to 4:00 p.m. at the Vallejo Naval and Historical Museum, Marin Street, Vallejo, California. Meet the artists and hear the stories behind the quilts they made. For more information and directions, visit the museum’s web site or call 707-643-0077. To learn more about the WWII Home Front Quilt Challenge visit their Web site at http://www.wwiihomefrontquilts.com/.
Roderick Kiracofe, quilt collector, historian and aficionado has an exhibit of quilts from his recent book at the Sonoma Valley Museum of Art. The newspaper article says “…and running through May 16, the Sonoma Valley Museum of Art presents ‘Unconventional and Unexpected, Quilts Below the Radar, 1950-2000’…”
Articles and Information
Why am I involved in topics and organizations that are constantly having to prove the value of their work? It is getting old and I would like someone just to say “Oh My God you are a ______________?!? My company cannot live without the services your profession provides!” Here is a recent blog post about a quilt on the front of a Decemberists album (is that the right word?
NoScrapTooSmall talks about her year of making. I am fascinated by the post she wrote on January 1 and have read it several times. I might be trying to get it to sink in. I might be trying to wrap my head around it. I don’t know. Go read it and tell me what you think.
Dierdre pointed out Fit2Stitch to me. They are a show on PBS and have a search feature that tells you when the show is playing in your area.
Off Topic
None of us like to think about exercise. I’d rather be in front of my machine than on the elliptical, but Danny Gregory talks about his experience with exercise, which is similar to my experience and he does so in a human way. Your body is not just a couple of hundred pounds of meet you have to carry around. [paraphrased from the post]
Valerie over at Evening in the Garden blog made some packs of gifts that included tissue holders. I decided to try making one. I have some of those small packs of tissues and thought they would make nice small gifts. I ended up making only a couple, but they are on my list for this year for gifts on hand. Valerie used a YouTube video tutorial to make them and they are unbelievably fast. If you have a serger, they are even faster.
If you are following along with the Grand Illusion 2014 Mystery Quilt by Bonnie Hunter, she revealed her finished quilt on New Year’s Day. I like the block, but am kind of glad I didn’t do the project as the finished piece looks really busy. I would not have wanted to pick out fabrics for the piece. I think it would have been more frustrating than challenging doing so without knowing what the quilt would look like.
Nonnie tweeted about a free BOM from Craftsy designed by Jinny Beyer. Yes, FREE! the basic design is a basket sampler. I didn’t buy the kit (have plenty of fabric, thanks!), but there is a kit that goes with the BOM, which you can buy. Even if you have no interest in making the blocks, you might want to ‘enroll’ in the class and listen to Jinny’s color theories. While there are many, many color theories out there, hers is interesting and well thought out. I am not sure I agree with all of her points – the jury is still out – but I like hearing what she has to say. Her theory interests me, especially the part about shading, in terms of my FOTY quilts.
I really liked Polka Dot Finale, a tree made from wool with polka dot leaves.
Articles & Information
There is so much out there on why crafting/making is good for you. Here is another article from CNN. I like this quote “Crafting can help those who suffer from anxiety, depression or chronic pain, experts say. It may also ease stress, increase happiness and protect the brain from damage caused by aging.” The article also mentions flow, which I knew, but had a hard time describing beyond ‘ getting into the zone’ until I read a quote in the article from Psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, who first described this phenomenon as flow: a few moments in time when you are so completely absorbed by an activity that nothing else seems to matter. Flow, Csikszentmihalyi says, is the secret to happiness — a statement he supports with decades of research.” I like that. Flow. There is also some discussion about “a nonpharmaceutical way to regulate strong emotions such as anger or prevent irrational thoughts. “Flow could potentially help patients to dampen internal chaos”. “
The article includes a video about making electronic gadgets, which was interesting, because it provided an option for those who may not want to glue or sew or stitch.
I can’t help but be a fan of having a hobby and making. This article is really well done, supported by some research as well as anecdotes. I really like it.
Fabric, Tools & Supplies
For those of you who listen to the Hip to be a Square podcast, you know that Pam, the hostess, tracks her fabric usage. She recently posted her year end review and made a few comments on her usage over the three years she has been tracking. Pam has shared a copy of the blank spreadsheet she uses to track her usage, so you can track as well.
Marsha McCloskey is the Feathered Star Queen (I made that up). It is a block that I have always wanted to make and really think it is doable now that I have figured out the Triangle Technique. She talks also about Bernina no longer producing her favorite presser foot for piecing, the #13. I do not have a Bernina and have not tried this foot, but if you want one, now is the time to scrounge around and see if there are any left waiting to be sold. McCloskey also talks about the ultra fine 70/10 Schmetz Microtex (Sharp) Needles. If you use them on your sewing machine, the needle threader may not work. She was told by a nice lady at Paramount Sewing & Vacuum that a 75/11 is as small as you can go for most automatic needle threaders. Haven’t tested this, but will put it on my to do list.
If you have not perused Marsha’s site, now is the time as there are a lot of specials going on. Until January 30, she’s offering newsletter (click to get to the newsletter on Yahoogroups) readers 10% off on all orders over $25 placed at the website. To receive the discount, just type BLUE2 in the space for Coupon Code when you place the order at: http://www.marshamccloskey.com/ Her newsletter is interesting. You can also join by searching for Marsha McCloskey on Yahoogroups.
Sandy found the Inspira Studio by ClosetMaid. Would this studio work for you as your ultimate-the only-studio-you-get-in-your-lifetime studio?
Organization
There are different types of organization, but mostly they fall into two categories: mental and physical. I find that I need to get into the mental frame of mind before I can start to tackle the physical. GoGoKim has made it past the mental and is on to the physical with some good techniques and tips for organizing her workroom.
NoScrapTooSmall is also back on the blogging bandwagon, talking about her Year of Making. She has some interesting links to others doing their Years of Making as well. I am interested in the words that people pick for their year, but have never been able to make it work for myself. I think that something like NoScrapTooSmall’s Year of Making would be a better method for me. I have been swamped so I haven’t been able to follow all the links, but that is high on my priority list.
Nadine Ruggles talks about her Word of the Year and discusses a little of how I feel about words of the year.
Quilt World News
There is a project going on to underwrite the funding needed to update the IQSC space into a special gallery. Linda Pumphrey is launching this campaign to raise funding to pay for the lighting and hanging system in the new ground floor gallery at the International Quilt Study Center & Museum in Lincoln, NE. The gallery will be used to showcase work from contemporary quilt makers, regional quilt groups and special selections from the IQSC&M collection.
Classes
The class registration for Sisters, Oregon show is open.
EQ‘s first online class sessions begin January 9th! Learn EQ on your own time, from esteemed EQ teachers. They have one or a few free classes as well.
The International Quilt Study Center’s monthly quilt intrigued me, because of the name: Scherrenschnitte. I took notice for a number of reasons. I have been fascinated by this paper cutting technique for awhile. I also like what Quilt Rat has done with the technique. I always think I will do this technique when I am old and can’t move around.
“Primal Green 2”, a show of CQFA member quilts, is up at the San Francisco Public Library Main Branch through April. It is available to view during regular library hours.
“Most Modern”, a show of BAMQG member quilts, is up the Los Altos Public Library through the end of December. It is available to view during regular library hours.
Other Artists
I took the opportunity to skim the blog of an AQ reader and Canadian quiltmaker, Colleen. Take a look at her blog, Colleen Quilts Too. I saw a Scrapitude quilt, which was very pretty. She has also been doing some hand embroidery lately, which is near to my heart and listens to audiobooks. We must have been separated at birth!
Kathy, a latin teacher in middle school as well as quiltmaker and blogger, commented here, which spurred me on to go take a look at her blog. Her blog is more diverse than AQ including life and work and family posts as well as quilts. She has made a Jack’s Chain, which is a pattern also on my Dream Projects list (though I don’t think actually written down!). See her version and her tutorial (!!!) by taking a look at her blog. The tutorial includes some photos from the book I reviewed recently 1001 Patchwork Designs by Maggie Malone. The 9 patches would be a GREAT leaders and enders projects. Perhaps I’ll move this project farther up my To Do List! 😉
Did you see the oral history by the Quilt Alliance featuring Barbara Brackman? I want someone to do one about me. I suppose I have to be more important. Thanks to Frances for pointing this out.
I have talked about Linda and Laura Kemshall before. If you haven’t taken a look at Linda’s blog lately, go take a look. I love the feathers she has stenciled on her most recent quilt top.
Media
Michelle has a blog. It is interesting and very true to her actual voice.
Craft Daily sent me an email about Mark Lipinski’s Sensational Bindings video. I did not, yet, buy it, but the preview makes it look interesting.
Annie, the creator of Soft & Stable was interviewed by Pat Sloan on the American Patchwork & Quilting podcast about the development of Soft and Stable and other topics related to bag making
Doing Good
Remember the Stars for San Bruno Project that I did a few years ago? Daisy has a series of raffles going on to raise money for medical expenses for her Dad. See all the info about the project at the dedicated page. Listen to her podcast episode #54 to hear more about it.
QUICK! SHORT DEADLINE! There is a project going on the Mollie Sparkles blog to make quilts for the victims families affected by the shootings in Sydney. The block is a hashtag block, The blog has a tutorial for the block as well. I think is kind of fitting, since this was all posted on Instagram and the Mollie Sparkles blog. There is a FAQ available. I am going to help for the same reasons I worked on the Stars for San Bruno quilt, but also because I like being called one of the Glitterati.
Carol, one of the Twilters, shared a story about ‘fidget quilts’ that are donated to a retirement community centered on working with Alzheimers sufferers. I think that Super G would have loved this type of quilt even though she was not as far gone as some (and I am convinced had dementia as a result of overmedication not Alzheimers or some other illness). She was a really busy person and this could have stilled her somewhat.
Products, Fabric & Supplies
Have you seen Moleskine’s new Smart Notebook? I think it is an interesting start to moving drawings to digital files. The video says that it is rough, but what a great start! It would be so much better for my biographer if all of my journals went immediately to digital files rather than having to be scanned when I am dead. 😉
The list of EQ classes is out for January. The classes are online. The access to class materials is forever, though class forum access is limited. No more waiting to IQF for classes!
Projects
Are you doing Grand Illusion, the 2014 mystery quilt, with Bonnie Hunter? Here is part 3 of the directions for your downloading convenience. I am not doing it in time with everyone else, but I am downloading the pattern. You just never know when I might decide to make 210 (or so) checkerboards.
Need some last minute gifts? Here is a video tutorial for a tissue holder given to me by Valerie of Evening in the Garden blog.
Have you seen Michelle’s Plus Quilt? I love the piecing she has done. She has been auditioning backgrounds and asked for my opinion. Silly girl! Of course my opinion was very different from everyone elses. Oh well. We’ll see what she goes with and I am sure it will be beautiful.
Valerie has been making boxy bags. I came across a pattern, project post from Hawthorne Threads, though they use a tutorial from another blog. Will you make one?
Check out the Christmas tree quilt Frances is making with her son. I have always liked that pattern and really like how she is using fabric.
By the way, I found the pattern for the Amanda Jane 7 Pocket Work Apron. It was stuck in between some fabric on one of the shelves. I now remember putting it there, but don’t remember why. It is going in the folder for future use.
Camille Roskelly posted about Market and included some info about a new Scraps Inc book. She contributed a quilt, parts of which look like inside out Flying Geese.
EQ held a BlockBase Sew-along back in 2012. In writing a review for you, I found it and thought I would share. I would probably get overly ambitious and do something like make all the blocks in a smaller size a la Dear Jane, but this Sew-along is a good start.
BAMQG members have quilts inspired by Amish quilts at the San Jose Museum of Quilts & Textiles. There is a recent, interesting article in the San Jose Mercury News, which a friend from Chicago sent me!
Primal Green 2 is on at the San Francisco Public Library. This is the main branch and the exhibit is on the 5th floor. I have three quilts, Beach Town, Flower Garden and the Whole Cloth Quilt in the show.
Social Media
This is such a tough time of year to write a blog. I sometimes wonder why I do it and I realized that I wonder that more during this time of year than other times. I get myself back in a right place in my head and remind myself that I do this writing for myself and my blog has become a great resource for myself! I know you are busy, but take a moment to comment on the blog. I get a lot out of your comments and am glad you are reading.
Tools, Supplies and Fabric
I found out from Alyssa Lichner that she has updatedthe Kona® Cotton to Aurifil Thread Conversion Chart and you can find it by going to her site.
Fabric, Thread and Supplies
Need some discount fabrics? I mean full quality fabric for less? Check out this post on The Stitches Swap. Just go look. You know you want to go and look.
Hawthorne Threads has now produced its own fabric line. I saw it the other day while I was browsing their shop and didn’t quite understand what I was seeing. Fabric Worm / Birch Fabrics did this a few years as the modern movement was getting off the ground. I guess Hawthorne Threads thought it was a good idea. If you click on Hawthorne Threads as a designer you will see their three collections, Fair Isle, Bengal and Calliope. they have a pattern for an apron using the Calliope line on their blog. Need a gift? There are similarities in the designs even though the collections are different. Glad to see they are reaching beyond just being an online fabric shop.
Patterns and Projects
Moda has their Modern Building Blocks quilt project, which I really like. Not sure how old it is, because I can’t find the original post. Still here are the directions for putting all of the blocks together.
I know Thanksgiving is first, but I love this poinsettia table runner, even though I don’t love table runners. I love the colors (not screamy Christmas) and the design (Drunkard’s Path). Thanks to Mark Lipinski.
Tanesha has been working on art journaling pages and she did one recently that I really like. Check it out on her page.
Moda has a post on their blog about quilt math, Bake Shop Basics: Quick Quilt Math by Oda May, using their precuts. They had to make some assumptions, but I think it is a good post to add to your toolkit.
Media
Weeks Ringle posted about a subject near and dear to my heart. I call it “…but I am not creative”, which is similar to the title of her blog post. while I am fortunate to come from a family with a long tradition of needlework and a mother who encouraged (and paid for) a lot of our crazy creative ideas, not all of my quilts are perfect. I cut off points, my borders don’t fit, I can’t draw a human face. For me, creativity in my chosen medium is about getting better. Every quilt I make and technique I try further my knowledge. It also keeps my brain active and keeps me interested. What I would like to say is “banish the phrase (and related sentences) ‘…but I am not creative’ forever.” Don’t acknowledge the concept, don’t think about it. Everyone is creative, but you have to nurture and practice creativity, just like everything else.
Did you know that Abby Glassenberg has a podcast? No? Me either. There is a link on her blog. She is up to episode 32. Does this mean I am not paying as much attention as I should to new media or does it mean I am part of an insular little community that only talks to itself? I might think about that.
Judy Martin writes “Regardless of your skill or experience level, you can win the coveted Best of Show just by playing my new game, Quilt Show. It is out and available. The game retails for $34.95. It is for 2-4 players. You can read more about it or order it at: http://judymartin.com/products.cfm?action=detail&prod=60&CatID=4 (no affiliation)
If you’re curious about the game but want to see how it plays, I have some short videos you can watch. Richard Ham has a series of videos where he plays games and explains what he is doing as he does it. It’s a great way to follow along and tell if a game is right for you. I’ve added his three Quilt Show videos to my Video page. And Dan King, the Game Boy Geek, does a video review of Quilt Show, explaining how to play. I’ve added his video, too.
There is an Amish Quilt Exhibit at the San Jose Museum of Quilts & Textiles. Read the article and go see it if you get the chance. I was disappointed that none of the modern inspirations were shown in the paper.
Features
I was featured on the Quilty Therapy blog in her healthy sewist lifestyles series.
If you want a good bio of Judy Martin, she was a Battgirl recently and you can read all about her. Yes, I am an inveterate Judy Martin fan. I love her original blocks, her newsletter and her quilts. The follow-up post on Judy’s quilter, Lana talks about Quilter’s Dream Batting in such a way that it makes me want to try it. Have you used that batting?
Thoughts and Ideas
The Badass Quilters’ Society had this “To be a BadAss Quilter is to be confident enough to embrace your own style without the need to mock the style of others. To at least aspire to fearlessness in your craft as well as authentic, compassionate and ethical treatment of each other. To be generally opposed to dumb-ass behavior that separates, denigrates or makes light of another’s work, style or lifestyle. In short, we are opposed to being a jerk about most things and about quilting most of all.” to say on a post that I marked to share back in April. Regardless of whether you want to call yourself ‘badass’ or not, the sentiment is really good. What is wrong with your style that you are embarrassed to own it? Why are you reluctant to make a change to a pattern that would clearly be better with your change? Why do you make fun of someone else’s work? The article goes on to discuss all the different types of quiltmakers out there. Go forth and embrace your quilt-i-ness!
Abby Glassenberg wrote a blog post on whether money trickles down to fabric designers. The Bad Ass Quilt Society wrote a follow-up post to Glassenberg’s post. I think it was an excellent example of how our expectations of pricing are way off. I don’t buy kits, but I have run my own business and I know everyone is looking for a discount. One of the things I like about the quilt industry is that it is still filled with a lot of small businesses and women owned businesses. Do you really need a discount?
Other Artists
Next week is the American Thanksgiving, one of my favorite holidays. Perusing some of my favorite sites (see link list on the right hand side), I saw that Quilt Rat had posted a turkey that is perfect for coloring. Print out a few copies, buy some new boxes of crayons and set the kids to work while you cook.
I heard Kevin Kosbab speak the other day at the Bay Area Modern Quilt Guild. He has a really interesting lecture on Mid Century Modern. Look for a more detailed post about him later. See his work and buy his stuff at: Feed Dog Designs
Looking for a key to acronyms I use? Check the AQ Glossary.
News
My camera broke a few weeks ago, thus the weird photos I have been posting. I haven’t bought a new one yet, but am planning to do so. It is kind of a pain, because I wasn’t planning on learning something new just now. I had a good rhythm with my old camera and liked the photos it produced. I guess we don’t get to choose these things. I’ll probably borrow my son’s camera for awhile since I would like to figure out what I want and try some out. I don’t want to rush into a purchase. What kind of camera do you have?
Results of the 2014 Quilting in America survey, the 7th conducted since 1994, were announced at Quilt Market. Some key highlights:
Quiltmakers in the US spent $3.76 billion on their passion
1 out of every 20 Americans makes quilts, though there was a decrease
“Dedicated Quilters” (spend more than $500 per year-how many of YOU qualify?) represent 12.2% of all quilting households, and account for 60.4%
of the total industry expenditures, or about $2.27 billion
CHA, the Craft & Hobby Association, has a new Blogger membership. This should make it a lot more affordable to attend, however there are some limitations. The blog post says “The criteria for membership were established to attract established bloggers that do this as a business versus individuals who are blogging to support their love for crafting.” I know that many of you qualify, so go to the show.
Products, Thread and Fabric
Need help matching thread and fabric? PlayCrafts has a new app out just for that. Now you can match your Kona solids to your Aurifil.
Michael Miller has something in the works for Janome Sewing machines and their fabric. They put up a sneak peek.
Patagonia Quilt
Patagonia, the outerwear maker has a cool Twitter feed (@patagonia). It is not just filled with ‘buy this’ and “look at how awesome we are”. They are awesome, because they engage with their readers in their area of expertise. They have beautiful pictures of nature, they show recycled and upcycled products, including a quilt made from old down jackets. I never knew what happened to those down jackets that no longer fit or …. whatever. Now I know one thing. My dad would love this! I was alerted to Patagonia’s down recycling project and went on to read a blog post by Alabama Chanin, which tells more about Patagonia’s relationship with their garment during the entire life cycle of the garment. There is a video that talks about one aspect of the project. This is such a novel and exciting concept. It really makes me want to buy Patagonia products.
Red Pepper Quilts does a Sunday Stash Report and recently she posted about Mimosa by Another Point of View. I thought that I really liked the fabric when I saw a little sliver in a picture of a stack, but I drew back, because a little sliver is a lot different than an 10″x10″ or half yard piece. She posted larger pieces of the blue colorway and I definitely like them. I am not so sure about the red colorway. I also noticed that a couple of the prints look a LOT like Some Denyse Schmidt prints from Flea Market Fancy. Hhhmmm.
What about Charolotte’s Scrapitude blocks? They are very different than the others I saw, but also uniquely her. Charlotte also writes about the comfort of stitching and her words are exactly how I feel. I love her posts and her work.
Bonnie Christine have two new lines. I like Cultivate. Enough to buy? I don’t know.
Timeless Treasures talks about what they are introducing, which you should have seen by now. They also sort of explain the Judy/Judel Niemeyer confusion.
Julie, over at the Intrepid Thread, talks about her wardrobe for Market, which is always of interest to me.
Barbara Brackman has a new reproduction line coming out. She is not going to Market, so has created a virtual booth.
Have you taken a look at the tutorials page lately? There are a lot of great step-by-step directions on various quiltmaking techniques and I have made some updates lately.
Exhibits, Websites and Blogs
I have a quilt in an exhibit at the San Francisco Public Library. The exhibit, Primal Green 2, started on October 11 and will end in April 2015. This is a kind of follow up to our Primal Green exhibit from a few years ago. Read all about it in a recent newsletter.
Modern Quilts Illustrated will no longer have subscriptions. Read all about it on the Craft Nectar website.
Marie Bostwick has new shop on CafePress! This is something she has been working on “for some time. The shop features unique Cobbled Court themed merchandise including t-shirt, tote bags, coffee mugs and more, souvenirs of your armchair travels to the fictional village of New Bern, home of the Cobbled Court Quilt Shop.”
100% of profits from purchases will be donated to charity! Proceeds will be shared equally among The National Down Syndrome Society, Quilts for Kids, The Freedom Service Dogs Foundation, and The National Domestic Violence Hotline.
Banned Books Week passed and Tanesha and Sandy did their excellent work encouraging art quilts again using BBW as the theme. Tanesha has a comprehensive list of BBW links on her blog, Crafty Garden Mom. Take a look at the Flickr group for all of the entries, including past entries. I saw a post on a blog by a woman whose mother tried to alter school district reading list because of the content of the books. One thing that I notice when I read a book that someone somewhere has tried to ban is that the books seem really tame to us, especially those that are older. I also saw a post that discusses the 10 more popular reasons for banning books and gives examples of books that were banned. A great reading list, if you ask me.
Antonia left a comment on the Triangle Technique post and left her URL. I went to take a look and found a quilting search engine, Quilting Hub. I didn’t have a lot of time to explore, but there was a pretty comprehensive list of quilt related stores, guilds and other organizations when I put in my zip code.
I really like Jackie’s blog and I thought her recent Week in Review post was particularly good. I am amazed at how much she gets done in a week and I read her post wanting more info about all of her projects. I love the photos in her post as well.
TFQ sent me a link to a site that shows how to make a Pineapple block with no paper piecing and no special rulers. I really think this is similar to the way the Possibilities ladies show how to make a Pineapple Block. I don’t know how I feel about it since I just bought the special Creative Grids Pineapple Trim Ruler.
Fabric, Tools, Books & Supplies
I saw a whole bunch of posts for the new Konas. finally I got to see them all on Pinterest. I am probably late to the party. My favorites are Jamaica and Heliotrope. What are yours?
Modern Stitch Holidays is available for purchase at the Interweave site. I haven’t been to any stores to see if it is available elsewhere. I love the colors and the pillow design is luscious. You know I am a sucker for turquoise! Still, I probably won’t buy this magazine as I rarely, if ever, make holiday projects. $14.99 is too pricey for eye candy right now.
Are you afraid you are a fabri-holic even though nobody is being injured or going hungry because of your fabric ‘habit’? Do you go on regular fabric diets? Read this post and give up those nasty habits. Enjoy your fabric!
Party Favor
Peggy gave these fabrics out as party favors when we did the Charity Sew Day. They are a little different for me, but I like them and it was fun to get a gift as a small thank you.
Projects
Aneela Hoey has a great post about foldover pouches. There are a couple of different styles and they look like they would be great gifts for friends. The larger pouch is about $9 and the smaller is about $7, both are for patterns only. While I was there I saw her book pouch as well. That is also a fun project.
I do believe that story quiltmakers tell about the ugly fabric making the fabulous fabric look even more fabulous. Ugly fabric is ugly and I am not using it. You can’t make me. 😉 Then I saw Jackie’s Ugly Quilt. The Jacob’s Ladder one. I really like it. I don’t want it, but I really like the way it came out. Jacob’s Ladder is a fabulous pattern regardless, but this quilt is not what I would consider ugly. There is a lot of interest, the eye moves around the piece and it is interesting. Good work, Jackie.
I made a bag for all of my cables and cords for traveling. I like it, but it is big. I have a lot of cords, so it has to be. I saw another version and like it very much. Free PDF pattern download.
The colors and yardage requirements for Bonnie Hunter’s Winter mystery quilt are posted (Posts will be retired on June 1, 2015, so print now). Is it that time of year already? No, I am probably not doing it, but I really like the colors. I have been thinking about color stories lately and Bonnie’s explanation of her choice of colors is a great story, though I am not a fan of her actual fabric choices- mauvey in the pink realm for me. You know I like BRIGHT and to each her own. I saw an article in House Beautiful with great colors. Since I am thinking of color stories there may be a blog post about it.
NQR
The Smithsonian is out of beta for their transcription project. They are crowdsourcing the transcription of hand written diaries that have been digitized. The examples aren’t really enticing for me, because they are famous people everyone knows a lot about already. I will be more interested when they start transcribing diaries of normal women who had ‘normal’ or ‘everyday’ lives – people like you and me who went to work, picked the kids up from school and made quilts. If you want to help, take a look at the instructions.
Road Show
Marie Bostwick is on the road again signing books. She had an event on September 26 and the subsequent dates are:
October 20 York County Quilters Guild, Rock Hill, SC
October 21 Greater Columbia Quilters, Columbia, SC
October 23 Florida Writer’s Foundation, Lake Mary, FL
October 29-31 Houston International Quilt Festival, Houston, TX
*Marie will be signing at The Craftsman’s Touch booth in the vendor mall on Wednesday during Preview, Thursday all day, and Friday morning.
*Marie will be teaching a day-long workshop for aspiring writers, “Conception to Completion: A Bestselling Author’s Guide to Writing.” See her website for more information. Visit her online calendar for more details or go to her website.
Timeless Treasures had a Sew-a-thon to make pillowcases for the Conn-Kerr Cancer Center and the Million Pillowcase challenge. Not only did they make pillowcases, but there are a lot of resources on the post for patterns and other resources.
There is (or was, maybe) an Aurifil Designer challenge. I happened to pop by Quilt Jane and see Pat Wys’s block. It is another great use of baby Friendship Stars. Remember the Friendship Star block, designed by Camille Roskelley, that I used for Kelly’s Round Robin? I really like that block and the work I did on Kelly’s Round Robin. I might have to make another one. 😉 BTW, if you make one Pat’s blocks (pattern on Auribuzz post) and post it to their Flickr group, you could win a prize.
Remember Scrapitude? Well, Charlotte is at it again with a new mystery quilt. Sandy announced it on her blog this week. The cutting directions are out now and there is no sewing until January. I have been thinking about making another Scrapitude quilt, mostly to tweak the colors that I used in Scrapitude Carnavale. I like that quilt a lot, but there are few things I would do differently. Perhaps this version would be a good design with which to to play with color and fabrics. Still ….mystery quilts. Hhmm. The BAMQG mystery quilt did not work out so well for me, so I am sort of off mystery quilts.Will you play this time?
Kati had some top finishes recently and showed them off. Great work. The Lucky Stars quilt is especially awesome.
Books
STC Craft has a new book, Unconventional & Unexpected: American Quilts Below the Radar 1950-2000, out by ROCK STAR quilt history person, Rod Kiracofe. He used to be involved with the Quilt Digest and has written other books. The awesome part of this book is the dates. It covers some of my own quilt life and that of my friends. Perhaps I’ll see one of my quilts in it. (HA!!) The book is mentioned on a recent blog post on the STC Craft blog. The book also has its own page on the Abrams site. Let’s all buy it and make it a success!
Media
This quilt caught my attention when it was posted to the guild’s group.
I bought a subscription to Quilt Now! I think I like Love of Patchwork and Quilting better, but they sent me a ruler and you know how I love rulers! You can subscribe to Quilt Now! through Pink Castle fabrics, if you live in the US. If you live in the UK, you can subscribe directly.
Melody Johnson has a new blog. You can read about why on her old blog, which will stay as is for the time being, but not be updated.
Color
I was going through the magazines stacked up next to my bed the other day and found a quote I wanted to share with you. In the January/February 2014 issue of Fons & Porter: Love of Quilting (pg.13), there is an article about two color quilts. In it the author writes “There is a tendency for white to dominate since it has a great degree of reflectivity than most other colors in the spectrum. The quilt designs that are the most successful are those that utilize the two colors in equal quantities.” Part of me wants to believe this, because it is Fons and Porter, after all, and they do their research, right? I haven’t done a test, but I do think that ratios are really important and that using a little less white, even a VERY little and a little more color might be a better way to go.
Thinking
I am a little hard pressed to figure out where to put this article about thinking like an entrepreneur. Now you are thinking “WTH, Jaye, why should I think like an entrepreneur?”. The article quickly morphs into a way to develop a vision for yourself as an artist and a vision for your work. It is interesting. Who wants to start?
Knitting Request
If you are willing to knit or crochet a hat for a man going through chemotherapy, contact me privately. Hats for work especially needed. Thanks.
Projects
I am so lucky that people share their work with me.
Gretchen’s BOM Block
Gretchen shared a block from Fat Quarter Shop BOM. I love this block design and think I will make a block like this. It has a lot of pieces so I am not sure it would work for a donation quilt, but in the Star Sampler (or a similar type of project) it would have shone!
I have never done a BOM and am not sure I will, though I never thought I would do a mystery quilt and look at Scrapitude! I love the dots in this block, of course, but am not so fond of the overall look of the fabric. I wonder if you can just buy the block patterns and make the quilt in your own fabric.
Gretchen says that this is block 2, so I assume it is a 2014 BOM, but I can’t see which one it is on the Fat Quarter Shop BOM page. Try them all! 😉
I like the style of this eReader cover. The fact that it has some style is awesome! Yes, part of the style is the fabric, but there is also that curve on the foldover cover. Very nice. [The nagging back part of my mind wonders if that curved pointy part would get caught on other stuff when you stuffed it into a bag?] There are some tips on the Whistlepig blog, but you can buy the pattern from Whistlepig Creek Productions. I saw it first on Pinterest.
Mrs. K”s Quilt Back
Mrs. K has also been hard at work on her project, which I wrote about in a previous post. She shared a picture of her back with me and I love the back as much as the front. I feel so fortunate to have friends who will share their projects with me.
Fabric and Thread
Have you seen Leah Duncan’s fabric? It reminds me of Marrimeko. I like the colors of her Aurifil thread as well.
I am just amazed at the variety of thread boxes that Auriful is putting out lately.
Media
I saw this site posted on FB. If you need a bit of eye candy, take a look at Quilt Inspiration.
I happened across the blog post on La Vie en Rose. I love reading about why people make, what they make and how they make. No matter how much we love the rooms in House Beautiful and Elle Decor, I think we all feel compelled to put our own stamp on our surroundings as well as to leave a legacy.
As you might remember, I linked up to Design Wall Monday on the Patchwork Times last week. It was a whim. I don’t know if I’ll do it again. I probably won’t do it every week. I decided to go back and look at some of the other design walls. I was actually kind of disappointed, because the first several I clicked on were beautiful finished projects not design wall. I felt like the one person who showed up to the party wearing a costume only to find that nobody else wore costumes. I really put myself out there and others didn’t seem to. In all fairness, I may not understand the rules.
The Rosie’s Quilt Cupboard blog got questions from the The Quilting Life and answered them in a recent blog post. The writer is funny, though the jokes are subtle. I especially liked her cave drawing comment. 😉 I also liked her comment about not annoying women with sharp pointy things. I’ll have to use that line sometime. It is amusing to read her answers to the questions and think about my own. I followed along with Weeks Ringle on her Modern Quilt Studio Homework that . These questions are a good opportunity to get the brain working again. I am considering answering these questions as well, but we will see. Thanks to Sandy for tweeting it.
You know I love leaders and enders. Great news for those of you who don’t know what to do with those leaders and enders you have made into blocks: Bonnie Hunter’s new book, More Adventures with Leaders and Enders is out. Take a look at her blog for more details. I like the cover.
I like the tips in this TextileArtist.org post on keeping an art blog. You might have wondered why my posts don’t have a lot of different topics in one post. This post explains it very well.
Want to make a coffee cozy? Here is a Fat Quarter shop Tutorial via I’m A Ginger Monkey. I know there are thousands of coffee cozy tutorials out there. Perhaps this one will work for you?
Around and About in QuiltLandia
Want to enter a contest? This one is about animals.
I heard there is a Bainbridge Quilt Festival! Go visit Bainbridge Island Saturday Sept 13th.
I found a great post from Weeks Ringle about their participation in the Million Pillowcase Challenge. I liked it that she was able to find out about the recipients and make some pillowcases that might go with their decor. She has some good tips about making them to fit into a decor about which you don’t know much.
Something Completely Different
Better LivingThrough Sewing
This was a ‘cheap date’ ad on Google. Yes! Isn’t this a great line? Isn’t it true?
I love to read and periodically I subject you to lists of books I am reading, which I am not going to do today. I did want to point you to a really interesting discussion of what people should read and who is an arbiter of reading/literature. If you have a chance, listen to Books on the Nightstand #286.
Tutorials
Jeni Baker of In Color Order and Love of Patchwork & Quilting magazine has a tutorial on machine binding a quilt. Her machine binding looks really good. she also shows how to put the ends together with the Fons & Porter ruler, so if you don’t want to buy a specialty ruler check out this tutorial. She makes me actually want to try to machine bind a quilt.
You have heard me swoon over process. A recent post over at Be*mused blog is another commentary that makes me swoon. It is all about choosing background. Some of you might say “kill me now” and just pick a fabric, but this detailed description of picking a background denotes that it is an important part of the process of getting the quilt right.
Do you want to know the impact that quiltmakers have in the economy. 13 Spools has an infographic and commentary (over a couple of posts) on the astounding amount of money quiltmakers spend, which contributes to the economy, job creation not to mention all the quilts that get made. It occurred to me that they (whoever ‘they’ is) could have added a question about the respondent’s own perception of his/her dedication to quiltmaking. Those answers would have added a whole layer of meaning that could have been reported to the data.
Tweet about creative work
One of the things I love about Twitter is the random gems that arrive in my Inbox. I love this one, because I believe that creativity has an element of work – a joyous element of work, but work nonetheless.
Mark’s Slow Stitching Movement got a mention on the DMC website. Check out the article and let him know you saw a mention here!
A recent Modern Sewciety podcast (#35) has a FANTASTIC interview with Weeks Ringle and Bill Kerr. It is one I will listen to over and over, because their philosophy is so sensible. I also enjoyd the interview with Malka Dubrowsky. Go listen to it as soon as you are done commenting here. 😉
Tina (WeezyWorks) has a new podcast. It is available on iTunes, so go check it out.
Judy Martin’s Quilt Show game is now available on her site.
Fabric and Supplies
I am not sure if I like the range of colors together or if I like the individual dots. I haven’t seen these to purchase anywhere, but I keep seeing them on Instagram and on various blogs.
Field Day
Field Day. Hhm. I like it, but it has so much brown. I want it, or at least I think I do, but it has so much brown. Are you buying it? There is something rich about the overall look of the colors.
Other Artists
Libby Lehman continues to improve. The classes that I have taken from her were some of the best I ever took and hope she will be able to quilt and teach again.
Rhonda’s House Block Quilt detail
I couldn’t help, after posting about the Charity Sew Day, showing you a close-up of Rhonda’s house in her House Block Quilt. I love the way the door opens. It would have been cool to put a novelty fabric in there.
Projects
Are you going to do the Banned Books Week challenge this year? I wasn’t planning on it, but I got some new fabric, then was listening to BOTNS and got an idea. Perhaps I will! Regardless, I always enjoy the interpretations!
