2014 – Page 2 – Artquiltmaker Blog

Various & Sundry #15 – End of December

Quilts, Exhibits and Shows

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.

Sign up for the International Quilt Study Center & Museum’s 2015 Symposium, “Making and Mending: Quilts for Causes and Commemoration”. I want to go. Will you sponsor me? 😉

“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.

Creative Prompt #289: Snow

Snow Leopard Trust

Darrin Kenneth O’Brien (born October 30, 1969), better known by his stage name Snow, is a Canadian reggae musician.

Poem 39 of the Library of Congress Poetry 180 Project: Snow.

National Snow & Ice Center

snow day

snow tires

snow forecast

snow minecraft

Snow Report

Snow and company

Snow blower

Snow conditions

Snowboard

Snow Plow Map

Snow Day Calculator

Definition – “Snow is precipitation in the form of flakes of crystalline water ice that falls from clouds. Since snow is composed of small ice particles, it is a granular material. It has an open and therefore soft, white, and fluffy structure, unless subjected to external pressure. Snowflakes come in a variety of sizes and shapes. Types that fall in the form of a ball due to melting and refreezing, rather than a flake, are known as hail, ice pellets or snow grains.

The process of precipitating snow is called snowfall. Snowfall tends to form within regions of upward movement of air around a type of low-pressure system known as an extratropical cyclone. Snow can fall poleward of these systems’ associated warm fronts and within their comma head precipitation patterns (called such due to the comma-like shape of the cloud and precipitation pattern around the poleward and west sides of extratropical cyclones). Where relatively warm water bodies are present, for example because of water evaporation from lakes, lake-effect snowfall becomes a concern downwind of the warm lakes within the cold cyclonic flow around the backside of extratropical cyclones. Lake-effect snowfall can be heavy locally. Thundersnow is possible within a cyclone’s comma head and within lake effect precipitation bands. In mountainous areas, heavy snow is possible where upslope flow is maximized within windward sides of the terrain at elevation, if the atmosphere is cold enough. Snowfall amount and its related liquid equivalent precipitation amount are measured using a variety of different rain gauges.” (Wikipedia)

Post the direct URL (link) where your drawing, doodle, artwork is posted (e.g. your blog, Flickr) in the comments area of this post. I would really like to keep all the artwork together and provide a way for others to see your work and/or your blog.

We are also talking about this on Twitter. Use the hashtag #CPP

The Creative Prompt Project, also, has a Flickr group, which you can join to post your responses. I created this spot so those of you without blogs and websites would have a place to post your responses.

Don’t Should on Yourself

During the storm last week I should have sewn more.

Over the weekend I should have made progress on the Field Day Zipper.

When I have a spare moment, I should be working on the Teenaged Boy Black & Grey Donation Quilt.

I should be farther along sewing triangles to the leftover octagons.

These are words going through my head recently. Finally, I sat myself down and we talked.

I DO want to sew. Really. There is no reason I shouldn’t be sewing. I feel like I want to work on a project about which I am really excited. The problem is that I have a couple of other projects I also really want to get done, mostly to get the off my plate. I am not excited about them, so creative things kind of bog down.

I have to figure out what will get me out of this mood. Am I in a rut? Did I should badly on some projects that are not exciting me? Are projects not moving off my design wall fast enough? I don’t know.

My mom always says I shouldn’t ‘should’ on myself. I do a lot and I get stuff done. beating myself up about sewing is stupid. Yes, I want to finish projects, but clearly there is something else going on. Life is taking up space in my head and that is a thing that sometimes happens. Other stuff I enjoy is getting shoved aside for a lot of things I feel I ‘should’ do.

Multiple Projects

Thanks to Angela, who passed along this blog post on Sew Mama Sew by Cheryl Arkison about having multiple projects going at once. Even though I have cleared out a lot of UFOs recently, I still have multiple projects going at once. The most important point she makes is that having multiple projects allows you to perform a quilting step/task that fits in with the time you have. Cheryl writes:

“With each moment in the studio I eke out what can be done. Impromptu playdate in the backyard? Let’s cut fabric! Extra long nap for the little guy? Pedal to the metal at the sewing machine. Hubby away and trashy TV? Pressing leaders and enders.

If I was only working on one project at a time I would spend more time waiting than working. Waiting for just the right moment of alertness to cut fabric. Waiting for quiet afternoons to sew. Waiting for the kids to go to bed so I can wash the floor and baste. Waiting for inspiration to hit when I get blocked. So much waiting.

Instead of waiting I can hit the ground running on any project when time and energy allow. Less waiting, more working. Even if the work takes a long time to become a quilt. I can make progress because progress is always happening. It just isn’t always on the same project.”

And Cheryl’s points don’t even start talking about how we feel. We might feel like cutting during one nap time or auditioning fabric while Grandma watches the kids. All of these factors point to success by having multiple projects going.

Her last point in the excerpt is especiallly important to me. I work with demanding people in a high stress environment. Sewing and quiltmaking calms me down and takes me away from the crazy when I have had a stressful day, week, month. It doesn’t matter if I am finishing something every week or month. It matters that I am sewing – pushing fabric through the machine. That quilts eventually come out is an added bonus.

You might be remembering the project I did to clear out UFOs and wondering how Cheryl’s points fit together. I needed to clear out the “old junk” from my UFO piles to make space for new fabrics and new ideas. Having a project sit around for years, I don’t think is the point. It wasn’t the point for me. Even though I cleared out a lot of UFOs in a kind of binge, I still am trying to be process oriented rather than product oriented. That big push really cleared out the cobwebs that the old projects were making in my brain. Not having many old projects doesn’t mean that I don’t have multiple projects. I do – just fewer and newer and really and truly in progress. The difference is that they are not sitting on a shelf forgotten with no progress happening.

Mark Lipinski is also part of the Slow Stitching Movement. Sandy talks about the same concept on her blog. The interesting part is that this new version doesn’t make us all do handwork. We can still use modern technology.

I don’t know what will happen when I get stuck on a project. I’ll cross that bridge when I get to it.

Non-Christmas Gift Bags

What the heck? I know you are wondering. Christmas is exploding all over and I am making birthday and Mother’s Day bags? Huh?

A week or so ago, I did some cleaning and clearing. Nothing crazy, just a bit. I found these fabrics and was about to get rid of them when we had to wrap gifts for the Young Man’s birthday. I used the same gift bags I always use. I don’t know what happens to them all, but they disappear except for the few that I snatch out of people’s hands as soon as they remove the gift, so they don’t walk off. I also love them and am not giving them up.

I thought that these fabrics would make nice additional gift bags, so I sewed for about 20 minutes and have 3 new gift bags. I had four, but one piece of fabric disappeared. I am sure it will turn up, but I didn’t take the time to look for it.

Need to make gift bags to save trees and save wrapping time. I have a tutorial. Now go make some gift bags!

FOTY 2014 Returns

FOTY 2014 - December — FOTY 2014 – December

Like a bad penny the pieces for this quilt just keep turning up. I purposefully did a load of fabric laundry on Wednesday, even though I was enjoying my unpressed fabric free space, just so I could add some more pieces to FOTY 2014.

I did a load of turquoise/aqua so I could also cut some patches from that color for another project.

The last time I had enough rectangles to show you was in early November. I feel like I am not cutting enough pieces for this project (within the parameters, of course), which makes me feel like it will be 8″x10″. I know it won’t be that small, but I want it to be a nice sized wall hanging.

Also, I look at the fabrics and think they are not that interesting. Of course, I have to remember that they will be completely rearranged and their individual motifs will be lost in the overall layout.

I think I might be experiencing a bit of a creative block. I need to find some rote sewing to do.

Off to cut those rectangles from the fabric I just washed.

Black & Grey Gets Time in the Sun

Like the Field Day Zipper, the Black & Grey Teenaged Boy Donation Quilt had to wait its turn for the design wall. There is just not enough design wall space in this workroom.

The space where Field Day Zipper is sitting is awaiting some blocks I am using for a tutorial on the other design wall.

This will be a big quilt and there are a few more blocks I am not using (aside from the tutorial blocks). Teenaged Boys are big, though.

I pulled out the big stack of blocks and slapped them up on the wall. I have done a bit, a tiny bit, of rearranging of the blocks, but not much. I’ll do more and test the extra blocks to see if I want to replace any. As I mentioned previously, Jackie and Cheryl sent me some blocks and those are interspersed with mine. I am glad they were willing to contribute as their fabrics add some interest to mine.

I am going to use red for sashing and grey, like the PIQF Crosses grey, for the cornerstones. Stay tuned for more on that.

I haven’t made a ton of progress on this, but I am determined to make some progress soon.

Opportunity Blocks

I forgot to take these quilt blocks to the meeting on Saturday, but that gives me the opportunity to show them to you.

They are the regular postage stamp block pattern the guild does. Even though I am working on the Teenage Boy Black & Grey Donation Quilt, I took the kits for these two blocks at the November meeting and just sewed them up as leaders and enders.

Peggy the Awesome puts them together and I just love these. I know a couple of the fabrics came from my scraps, but it is fun to see them again. I really like the scrappiness of the blocks.

Cheryl's Donation Quilt — Cheryl’s Donation Quilt

Similar blocks were turned into a quilt by Cheryl. I really like her border treatment. Isn’t it a cheerful quilt? These blocks are great.

Creative Prompt #288: Robin

Robin’s egg blue

Robin Williams

Red Robin

Robin is your voice assistant on the road, bringing you texting by voice, local information, GPS navigation and even jokes, while keeping your eyes on the road.

Robin Sloan, a writer in California. I’m the author of Mr. Penumbra’s 24-Hour Bookstore, a novel published by FSG and Picador in the United States.

Robin Hood

Hello Robin Cookies

Batman’s sidekick

Definition #1 – “Robin is the name of several fictional characters appearing in comic books published by DC Comics, originally created by Bob Kane, Bill Finger and Jerry Robinson, as a junior counterpart to DC Comics superhero Batman. The team of Batman and Robin is commonly referred to as the Dynamic Duo or the Caped Crusaders. The character’s first incarnation Dick Grayson debuted in Detective Comics #38 (April 1940). Conceived as a vehicle to attract young readership, Robin garnered overwhelmingly positive critical reception, doubling the sales of the Batman related comic books.^[1] The early adventures of Robin included Star Spangled Comics #65–130 (1947–1952), which was the character’s first solo feature. Robin made regular appearances in Batman related comic books and other DC Comics publications from 1940 through the early 1980s until the character set aside the Robin identity and became the independent superhero Nightwing.

The character’s second incarnation Jason Todd debuted in Batman #357 (1983). This Robin made regular appearances in Batman related comic books until 1988, when the character was murdered by the Joker in the storyline “A Death in the Family” (1989). Jason would later find himself alive after a reality changing incident, eventually becoming the Red Hood. The premiere Robin limited series was published in 1991 which featured the character’s third incarnation Tim Drake training to earn the role of Batman’s junior partner. Following two successful sequels, the monthly Robin ongoing series began in 1993 and ended in early 2009, which also helped his transition from sidekick to a superhero in his own right. In 2004 storylines, established DC Comics character Stephanie Brown became the fourth Robin for a short while before the role reverted to Tim Drake. Batman’s son Damian Wayne then succeeds Drake as Robin in the 2009 story arc “Battle for the Cowl“, until his death in 2013 story. Following the 2011 continuity reboot “The New 52“, Tim Drake is revised as having assumed the title Red Robin out of deference to the deceased Jason Todd; Jason Todd, as he exists today, operates as the Red Hood and has been slowly repairing his relationship with Batman; Dick Grayson is Nightwing, and later fakes his death to become an undercover operative; and Stephanie Brown is introduced anew as Spoiler once again in the pages of Batman Eternal (2014).

Robins have also been featured throughout stories set in parallel worlds, owing to DC’s longstanding “Multiverse” conceit. For example, in the original Earth-Two, Dick Grayson never adopted the name Nightwing, and continues operating as Robin into adulthood. In The New 52’s new “Earth-2” continuity, Robin is Helena Wayne, daughter of Batman and Catwoman, who was stranded in the Earth of the main continuity following her father’s death at the hands of an alien invasion. Operating alongside Power Girl on Prime Earth, she takes the name Huntress.^[2]” (Wikipedia)

We are also talking about this on Twitter. Use the hashtag #CPP

Robin Thicke

Definition #2 – American Robin – “The American robin (Turdus migratorius) is a migratory songbird of the thrush family. It is named after the European robin^[2] because of its reddish-orange breast, though the two species are not closely related, with the European robin belonging to the Old World flycatcher family. The American robin is widely distributed throughout North America, wintering from southern Canada to central Mexico and along the Pacific Coast. It is the state bird of Connecticut, Michigan, and Wisconsin.^[3] According to some sources, the American robin ranks behind only the red-winged blackbird (and just ahead of the introduced European starling and the not-always-naturally occurring house finch) as the most abundant, extant land bird in North America.^[4] It has seven subspecies, but only T. m. confinis of Baja California Sur is particularly distinctive, with pale gray-brown underparts.

The American robin is active mostly during the day and assembles in large flocks at night. Its diet consists of invertebrates (such as beetle grubs, earthworms, and caterpillars), fruits, and berries. It is one of the earliest bird species to lay eggs, beginning to breed shortly after returning to its summer range from its winter range. Its nest consists of long coarse grass, twigs, paper, and feathers, and is smeared with mud and often cushioned with grass or other soft materials. It is among the first birds to sing at dawn, and its song consists of several discrete units that are repeated.

The adult robin is preyed upon by hawks, cats, and larger snakes, but when feeding in flocks, it can be vigilant and watch other birds for reactions to predators. Brown-headed cowbirds lay eggs in robin nests (see brood parasite), but robins usually reject the cowbird eggs.” (Wikipedia)

Field Day Zipper

I haven’t fully committed to this quilt by not really sewing on it very regulary. Part of my ambivalence was that I hadn’t looked at it on the design wall, because I wasn’t really able to find a spare spot on the design wall for it. The other thing I have to admit to is not liking the colors very much. I don’t hate them and they look much better all together than one at a time. I have to admit that I succumbed to a whim and the result was some fabrics whose colors I don’t like much. I am not saying I don’t plan on NOT committing; I just haven’t done it yet.

As part of the process, I put it up on the design wall once I took the Russian Rubix off . I had a nice blank space to put something on, so I split it between the Zipper and the Teenaged Boy Black & Grey Donation Quilt. I had some space leftover so I put up the Zipper to see what I had.Clearly this piece needs some room to breath, so I will do it as a kind of Chinese Coins layout and make sure I put something in between. Perhaps the Goldenrod (gold/sunshiney yellow) I bought with the Sangria.

The other thing that worries me is that I sewed a bunch of pieces and now I don’t know where they are. They could be included in the pieces I have in the photo, but it seems like so much more I’ll have to look around.

Finished: Green T Quilt

I don’t really know if I should count this as a finished project as:

It is a ‘doing good’ quilt
I pieced some and bound it. Gerre did the quilting and Peggy did the choosing of fabrics and the cutting

I suppose that #2 is kind of irrelevant since I don’t quilt my own quilts anyway.

I don’t know. Somehow I just don’t feel like I did much on this quilt.

I really want to work with Gerre again. I think we made a good team. I am tempted to cut up some fabrics to make another T quilt, but I need to finish the Teenaged Boy Black & Grey Donation Quilt. I do think I would like this quilt better if the greens weren’t so dull. Still someone will love it.

Still, it is done and someone will enjoy it. I hope.

Pam, over at Hip to be a Square, was saying on a recent podcast, that we aren’t supposed to call donation quilts or charity programs ‘charity’ anymore. It is too offensive to those who are financially challenged. I suppose I can understand that, but I hope the quilts the guild makes are still appreciated.

BAMQG Quilt Show

Peggy the Fantastic Energizer (TM) Bunny and pals hung the BAMQG quilt show on Monday and we were all able to view it at the meeting/Holiday Extravaganza on Saturday. Jim, one of our members, was kind enough to stand in as an interested viewer for me. 😉

The show is not your regular quilt show, which was nice as it really gets quilts out to the public.

No, I did not enter one. I think the patrons seem good about touching, but I wasn’t sure at the time and didn’t make the time. Maybe next year.

I thought it was a little strange that some of the quilts were hung so low, but then I realized what a great view I would get of them if I sat in the chairs. And I would get a sore neck. Win-win!

There certainly is a wide variety of quilts. I don’t know if they are all modern, but I guess they are now!

I really like Nicki’s quilt, which is the turquoise quilt on the left. Are you surprised? 😉

Color Stories

I don’t know when I first saw the term “color stories.” In one way, the phrase sounds a little bit like keeping up with the Joneses – everyone is saying it, so you might as well say it, too. But after sitting with the words and rolling them around on my tongue and through my head for awhile, I decided that I like what they imply. I like the two words together. I like the pictures they create in my head.

In thinking about the words in our society, it seems to me that there are ‘standard color’ stories that we all understand*. Red and Green generally implies Christmas. Pink and blue denote girls and boys. Red, white and blue usually means patriotic in the US. The French, UK and Australia flags are red, white and blue as well, but I don’t know how they feel about the color combo. Red, orange, brown, when combined, tell us Autumn is upon us. Avocado green, gold and orange [shag carpeting] tell us the story of 1970s remodels. Black represents death here and white represents death in China. Barbie’s color story is pink even with Barbie showing up in stores dressed as a doctor, astronaut and other professionals to counterbalance all drama about her bust size and high heel shoe feet. Apparently, wedding planning includes developing a color story rather than just picking your colors. Seems like a lot of extra pressure. There are other standard color stories that we understand in our society. Which come to mind for you?

To me, color stories mean a group of colors that are saying something (ahem, telling a story). I have always made up stories, so if I let my mind go, what colors say becomes a story. In my head, the story may have characters, plot, the whole 9 yards. If I don’t take the time I just get an impression of a story that can become more later.

I wonder what happens when standard color stories are disrupted? For example, I have seen Christmas change to turquoise, silver and pink in some circles. Does that mean those still using the standard red and green are old fuddy-duddies or will they be laughing when the turquoise, silver and pink color scheme goes out of fashion and looks dated?

If you look around there are color stories everywhere. That is one of the reasons I like Instagram. Joyce and Phoebe posted a picture of bowls that I saved, because of the sunshiny-ness of those yellow-orange bowls. They say happy, sunshiny weather to me.

One of the easiest color stories is the rainbow, like the Confetti Dots that Quilting Adventures posted the other day. Rainbows are, basically, easy to use as a color scheme. Perhaps they are not as challenging, because we can get gradations of fabrics, like the Confetti Dots, and we don’t have to put a color story together ourselves

I also think that we have vague color stories to which we default. Bright or reproduction, for example. You know me, I am always encouraging you to make cheerful quilts. What kind of color story is ‘cheerful’? The word makes me think of bright and happy. I never really set down on paper what I thought about making cheerful quilts, beyond no brown and not depressing. I can see that it might be time to move on to more of a story because of some of the questions running through my mind.

House Beautiful, yes the magazine, has a small feature called “This Month’s Paint Index”. It is a thin visual list of the colors used in the month’s issue. Looking at that tells the color story of the issue. The November 2014 issue has bright lime yellow-green upholstered chairs set on a bold Blue-Green-Teal cover. It is eye-catching to say the least, but these colors are meant to attract a potential reader’s attention. The colors in “This Month’s Paint Index” seem to be much more subtle, more realistic for use in a real person’s house.

When I see blue and gold, I think of my alma mater, UC Berkeley. When I see red, green and yellow, I think of summer and picnics. When I see pink and white, I immediately think of the colors of my sorority.

In the end, for us quiltmakers, I think that ‘color stories’ are no different than color schemes or a color palette or anything that denotes the interplay of colors in our quilts. The phrase does go a bit farther, though, if we want to add plot, characters and scenery.

*Nota bene: ‘understanding’ is different than agreeing with. Also, color stories may be understood by many people, but not universally. Also, color combinations vary by culture.

BAMQG Meeting – Holiday Extravaganza!

I am really scraping the bottom of the barrel for posts and I don’t know why. Too many demands on my time, perhaps? I suspect not enough sewing, but this means you get the BAMQG report ASAP! Aren’t you excited?

Claire told us that the 501(c)(3) paperwork has been put in. That is a ton of work and GREAT news.

Quilty Happenings

Amish Exhibit at San Jose Museum Quilts & Textiles. Reception is on 12/7/2014 from 2-4, though SJMQT members and the artists are welcome to a walk through starting at 1pm.
BAMQG members have a show up at the Los Altos Public Library through December 31, 2014. It is open during library hours
CQFA Members have a show at the Main Branch of the San Francisco Public Library in the Wallace Stegner Environmental Center. I have 3 quilts there! Through April.
Santa Clara Valley Quilt Association show will be in March or April and the BAMQG will have a big presence, both in quilts and helping out.

Meetings

The meetings in 2015 are all scheduled to be at the Redwood City Public Library Community Room. The one that might change is the December Holiday Extravaganza because of the Redwood City parade that usually coincides with our meeting. Stay tuned on the BAMQG blog for updates.
Sew Day: January 3, 2015 at Los Altos Public Library
Charity Sew Day: February 2015 at Los Altos Public Library. Probably the first Saturday. Stay tuned on the BAMQG blog for updates.

Events

There will be three speakers next year, Stacy Lynn Wood, the lady from Peppermint Pinwheel and another, as yet to be named, national speaker. Buy or renew your membership to join that fun.

There was a prize drawing for the UFO Challenge and I won a spool of Aurifil thread! Yay! I can totally use that. There is a super prize in January and I can’t wait to see what that is. I hope I don’t have to be present to win as I can’t make that meeting.

The Holiday Swap was awesome. I didn’t participate beyond admiring all the gifties.

I didn’t take a picture of the food, but the committee did an awesome job. There are now five of us who eat a GF diet, so there were plenty of GF goodies of which to partake. I had some yummy chocolate thing that Claire made. Yay for chocolate!

After that I just chatted with people. I found out that Michelle S has a blog. I had never spent time talking with her, but we were sitting next to each other and just got to talking. She does a lot of handquilting and doesn’t have many UFOs, which is quite envious, I have to say. She is also using the Hoffman Challenge fabric to make her City Sampler/Tula Pink blocks. I have to say that Michelle’s blocks made mine look terrible. 🙁

I also had the chance to discuss bindings with Annemarie. She has a large hexie made from Kaffe Fassett (and friends) fabric. She was thinking of cutting off the outer hexies and I encouraged her to either fill in the edges with triangles to make them square a la the Eye Spy or to bind them around the outer hexies, leaving them in tact like I did, sort of, with Flower Sugar. I really wish these designers would stop telling people to cut off their hexies.

Russian Rubix Big Steps

I was making a trip to see my quilter yesterday so all week I made a huge effort to get the piece done. I had to put on the last border, make a binding, and make the back. I slowly made may way through all the steps a few seams at a time and was able to get the quilt to a place where it was ready to quilt.

The first thing I accomplished was the final border. I am pretty proud of these borders. I did have put a spacer in on two sides to make two sides fit, but I really feel like, as April Rosenthal said, I have mad math skills. Really, I don’t but it was nice of her to say and it is a nice thought to consider since nobody who knows me would say math is a strong point for me. 😉

In the process of the last border, I did have to make more blocks. I forgot to make the last two corner blocks when I was making the last border blocks last weekend (I think??). I think I was distracted by the Black Friday Sew-in Google Hangout. I was trying to do something rather rote so I could pay attention to what the others were doing, but apparently I can’t count, sew and Hang Out all at once.

The back and top are too large for me to photograph on my design wall, so Friend Julie and Colleen were kind enough to hold both up when we brought it over to Colleen’s to be quilted.

I was really pleased with the photo (despite being taken on my phone), but also with the way the quilt came out. The spacers don’t really show up much and I think the top looks really great.

We talked a lot about the quilting. It will be quilted in Signature Thread in the Cotton Candy colorway, which is a variegated that gets used on my quilts a lot, because it blends with my fabric color palette pretty well. I also chose bamboo batting this time, because Colleen said regardless of the density of the quilting, the quilt will still be drapable. This might be a bed quilt, so drapability is good. Also, I have been wanting to try bamboo.

The back went really well. I used a big piece of IKEA fabric that Kelly got for me. I thought I had 6 yards, but think I ended up with three, thus the piecing of the other part of the back. I used up the background fabric and most of a half yard of the barcode fabric, plus the stitch purple to add a little width and provide some distinction between the two halves of the quilt.

The stitch purple is a bit of a precious fabric and I was reluctant to use it lest I need it for a ‘better’ project, but I decided I didn’t want to use ‘bad’ or ‘ugly’ fabrics for the back because I still have to look at the back and I want the back to be nice, too. And, of course, there is always more fabric.

This is a big project and it is finally finished. WHEW!