I am so pleased to relay Linda’s good news about her upcoming fabric line for Avlyn. She also gives me / Artquiltmaker.com some kudos, which I also appreciate.
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Month: September 2009
Grab Bag
This was another pattern from All People Quilt called Grab Bag. We were invited to a party on Sunday night. I whipped one up to bring to the guest of honor. I have wanted to test this pattern, so it seemed like a good opportunity.
I struggled a bit with some of the directions, especially the last few dealing with the handle finishing. Eventually I figured out what they were trying to tell me, but not without a fair amount of ripping. It was a good exercise in patience for me. I am sure companies like All People Quilt struggle with making the directions short AND easy to understand. For my part, I am glad for some of these free patterns.
I used an old large flower print for the outside and a Marimekko for the lining.
There are two major changes, and one minor change, that I would make on future Grab Bags:
- I used regular batting like I use for quilts. I wouldn’t do that again. It makes it puffy, which is sort of cool, but I don’t like the fact that it doesn’t drape very well. I would like to try an interfacing to see how that drapes. I see experimentation with interfacing in my future. My other idea is to only put the batting on the bag part.
- I would also make the inside just a bit smaller than the outside. The directions say to use the same pattern piece. It is fine (and much easier to write a pattern, I am guessing), but the bottom of the lining bunches up inside the bag. Not much, but enough to not look very professional.
- The pockets are an odd size as well. I would make them a tiny bit larger, heightwise.
Above is a view of the inside. You can see a bit of the pockets and the Marimekko print.
I am pleased to have tried two new bag patterns. I think it has allowed me to feel sufficiently successful and warmed up to try the Anna Maria Horner Multi-tasker tote, I discussed in yesterday’s post.
Whipped Cream
I’d like to baste the Tarts at the next CQFA meeting on Saturday. In order to accomplish that goal, I need to get the whipped cream on the pie. I made the pattern and have been auditioning it in slightly varied locations all over the pie.
The above photo shows the crust stitching (see below), but I still don’t like the placement.
The above shows the whipped cream on the pie from a little further back, so it can be seen in context. It does look better from this distance.
The above location does not work. I am rather proud of that crust and the location of the whipped cream covers up my lovely stitching.
I am thinking that the ultimate problem is that I made the pattern too big and it should be a smaller mound of whipped cream, like on the cupcake. I am also thinking about adding a cherry instead of whipped cream.
Indulgence / Retail Therapy
I spent last week in SoCal doing a little bit of Grama wrangling/triage with my mom. If it isn’t abundantly clear, I was away from my sewing machine. The only fiber work I did was work on a bit of the hand stitching of Beach Town. After thinking about it, I may pull out what I did and redo it. We’ll see.
I was able to visit two quilt shops and a Borders. I don’t usually buy the Where Women Create magazine, but I am a Mary Engelbreit sucker and love her stuff, so I couldn’t resist. The editor’s note in this issue is WONDERFUL! I am going to send a copy to some of my good friends. I think they will appreciate it. I also really liked the quotes included with each artists’ piece.
Usually I prefer to buy magazines at local shops, but Borders really does have the BEST selection I have seen lately. I was able to look through 5-7 quilt magazines there as well as a plethora of other art and craft related magazines. I wasn’t enamored with the current Quilts and More mag, sadly. Very dull colors and uninspiring projects.
I also found that the two quilt shops I visited no longer carried magazines. Both owners said magazines just weren’t selling there. Sad. I would like it if Amazon sold just issues of mags rather than subscriptions. I would buy an issue or two of various mags once in a while if it weren’t such a pain to do so. I am thinking I need a subscription to a house magazine. I really mis House and Garden. House Beautiful seems to have improved somewhat.
One of my favorite shops is called Treasure Hunt in Carpinteria. It is located at 919 Maple Ave in a little house. The decorations are fun, cheerful and adorable. They have fun and cheerful fabric, a nice staff and other craft related items, like Collage Pauge from Traci Bautista. They have a room full of yarn for you knitting types, kid craft items (more Crayola brand stuff than I have ever seen in my life!) and a room of supplies needed to finish your works like frames, etc.
The red dot fabric and the cherry fabric with the yellow background will be an Anna Maria Horner Multi-tasker tote. I plan to do a trial run with some Denyse Schmidt Flea Market Fancy fabric first, though. I want to see how the pattern works before I use my precious combo. If the pattern doesn’t work for me, I will make another one of the Eco Market totes. Stay tuned for that project.
Sketching #30
There are a couple of different points in this picture. Most are subtle.
Creative Prompt #30: Points
Good point.
Focal point.
Bullet points.
Put a fine point on it.
Basis point.
Access points.
Knitting needles.
Witch shoes.
The point of a pen.
Keeping score in a game.
Pointing at someone.
Mortgage points, origination points.
Hound dogs pointing.
All points bulletin.
Talking points.
The Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell.
Acupuncture points.
Acupressure points.
Points of light.
Did you ever have a family gathering point at an amusement park or museum?
Sharp points.
West Point.
Brownie Points.
Points on a compass, orienteering, Mariner’s Compass.
Weight Watcher Points.
Powerpoint.
President Wilson’s 14 Points.
See the Creative Prompt page if you have questions about this project.
Post the direct URL where your drawing, doodle, artwork is posted (e.g. your blog, Flickr) in the comments area of this post. It will keep all the artwork together.
The Creative Prompt Project, also, now, has a Flickr group, which you can join and where you can post your responses.
There is more information on the recently updated Creative Prompt Page.
Sorbet Blocks
The above blocks are the blocks I made over the weekend. Except for the one in the lower left hand corner, which I made last week. I put it in to make the photo square and so you wouldn’t see my ugly carpet.
Last week I made two blocks for the Sorbet quilt (left). They sat on my design wall all week and as I looked at them a new idea formed in my head: a baby.
When I made these, I just wanted to make some of the quickest blocks to cut and sew. I wanted to get some endorphins going and some quick satisfaction.
What I didn’t realize was that these two could be merged to make yet another block. I didn’t need to make a pattern, which is part of the fun and joy of this quilt.
I can’t shake the idea that these two blocks got together and had a baby!
Silly, I know, but it is what it is.
The others I made were from the patterns I already designed in EQ6. I think this quilt will be one that I can longarm myself.
Not really sure why the above block is called Four Patch Corner. I didn’t make up the name, it was in EQ6.
Regular old 9 Patch fits the size and shape requirements. Easy to make and I think it looks great.
Sorbet Color
In a recent post, I posted a partially colored view of the patterns I had created in EQ6 for the Quilt Sorbet Quilt (not sure whether I will call it Sorbet or Quilt Sorbet or something else). Here is a fully colored rendering.
Some of the blocks are pretty obvious, but others kind of blend together.
My other thought was to create an EQ6 rendering where I color the blocks as I sew them. That might make my life too complicated, but we will see. It might, on the other hand, make it easy for me to keep track of blocks I have made.
Inspiration Tuesday
There were two estate sales in our neighborhood over the weekend so we went and took a look. I think estate sales are incredibly sad. These were especially so. We saw piles of photographs of the people living their lives. There was a pile of scrapbook pages. One of the pages held a portrait of a handsome young man with the handwritten caption “almost married him.” What a story that must be! Yet there they were in boxes being sold for whatever the family could get. Very sad.
I really like the shapes and the stylized indentations.
I was pleased to see, and buy, these ornaments, though. My grandmother had a tree full of them when I was a kid and I loved them. She also had strings of metallic beads she used as garland. She got rid of them all in a frenzy of cleaning because they were too old. It made me sad. I have been collecting old fashioned looking ornaments, like the Christopher Radko type ornaments. These are the first I have of this type.