As usual, I started my Fabric of the Year 2011. I made good progress, but I did not finish.
Before I left for the Retreat, I spent time organizing the patches into color families and then from light to dark. Normally, I figure out the size of the finished piece and do more organizational stuff. No time this year and it was fine.
Once at the Retreat, I spent a lot of time – all day Friday – arranging the color gradations. I got opinions from others about the placement of certain patches. I used my camera to look at the patches in a different way and it was a useful tool in my arsenal of work. Above you can see the progression. The top left is pretty soon after I put all the patches on the wall. The last photo, bottom left, is, basically, what I took home.
I had to pin and wrap the pieces in the portable design wall. I set it up in my workroom and am working on it.
I am glad of the progress I made it on it at the Retreat, but I prefer to work in my workroom. As I started work on Monday, I felt an ease come over me and the work began to go very well. I hope to be done sooner rather than later. Stay tuned.
The CQFA Retreat was over the weekend. It was a relatively quiet retreat. Several people had to cancel at the last moment, which was a shame. Still, we had a good time and people made good progress on their various progress.
My spot with Julie
We were in the same location as last year, which has a separate building in which we are able to sew.
Other sewing space
This was my view as I sewed. Reva does wonderful work and it was wonderful to watch her, Sue and Robin’s work evolve.
Reva’s Black & White Piece
The black and white piece is made from the fat quarter bundle Reva won from the prizes we got from Fabricworm.
Robin’s Blooming 9 Patch
Robin’s Blooming 9 Patch was made from Kaffe Fassett fabrics. I liked looking at it. I like the pink.
Robin’s Blooming 9 Patch 2
Robin added some 4 patches on the ends to make the piece a bit longer.
Sue’s Scrap Quilt
Sue half square triangle scrap quilt is the kind of project I like to do on the Retreat. Sue had the blocks done and thought to do the rest at home. We encouraged her to use Robin’s design wall to finish the piece. She did so and made good progress. She wanted to use up as many scraps as she could and I think that she did well. Sue is making this quilt for her bed.
Maureen’s work
I think the pink fabric in the middle left looks like the leaves a tree with the trunk being the piece right below. I mentioned it and Maureen said that we all see what we want to see.
Julie made a lot of progress on various pieces. She started some and made progress on others. I was very impressed with her progress.
The Baggo piece is from a challenge where each person receives a bag of supplies from another and makes something out of it. I was particularly taken with the Baggo piece’s eye stamps. I was even more impressed when Julie told me she carved them herself. I really like the images and encouraged her to make more and sell them. I would be first in line for a set although I don’t do much stamping.
She quilted and bound this piece. She was irritated at the binding, which tinkled every time she worked on it, because of the bells she had added. I told her to stop and do something else in between. By the end of the weekend, the binding was done and Julie was not gnashing her teeth.
Julie
We went out to dinner on Saturday night together, which was fun. We had the most wonderful waiter who was kind, didn’t complain about any special requests and gave us each individual bills.
This is similar to a nine patch, but split with rectangles in four of the blocks. You must use two different fabrics in the split patches and they two fabrics should have a lot of contrast.
If you have made blocks or a quilt from these patterns, please post a link in the comments section of the relevant block or on the AQ Block-a-Long Flickr group. I would love to see what you have made.
I like to think that I am writing a story with my drawings and, as such, one drawing is sometimes not enough for a scene. This response is related to #131: Hills.
I used the Inktense pencils my mom gave me. I thought about add a bit of water to make the sunrise more watercolor-y, but didn’t want to chance it with the kind of paper in the drawing book.
When I decided on this word for the week, I was thinking of the New Year and how it is often depicted as a baby. When I went to respond to the prompt, I could only think of the large prams that one sees in London. Mine looks large enough for quintuplets, but perhaps they will bring use a good year.
Definition: Fish are a paraphyletic group of organisms that consist of all gill-bearing aquaticvertebrate (or craniate) animals that lack limbs with digits. Included in this definition are the living hagfish, lampreys, and cartilaginous and bony fish, as well as various extinct related groups. Most fish are ectothermic (“cold-blooded”), allowing their body temperatures to vary as ambient temperatures change, though some of the large active swimmers like white shark and tuna can hold a higher core temperature.[1][2] Fish are abundant in most bodies of water. They can be found in nearly all aquatic environments, from high mountain streams (e.g., char and gudgeon) to the abyssal and even hadal depths of the deepest oceans (e.g., gulpers and anglerfish). At 32,000 species, fish exhibit greater species diversity than any other class of vertebrates.[3]
aquarium
fish tank
fish sandwich
freshwater fish
plenty of fish
fishy
fish recipes
fish species
fish games
San Francisco Fish Company
clown fish
Fly fishing
Babelfish
Mary Poppins: Close your mouth, please, Michael. We are not a codfish. (quote)
Did you add links to your art? Contributed to the Flickr Group? Have fun and link to your responses! Ask a friend to join, too! You can do the prompts together.
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, and how your work relates to the other responses.
The Creative Prompt Project, also, has a Flickr group, which you can join to post your responses. Are you already a member? I created that spot so those of you without blogs and websites would have a place to post your responses. Please join and look at all of the great artwork that people have posted. Post yours and get kudos!
In responding to this prompt it occurred to me that just drawing something was not the point and that I needed to, in fact yearned to, immerse myself in the drawing. I found that drawing the details of the cake took my mind away from the place I sat.
I took myself off, with TFQ, to Road to California this past weekend, which is in Ontario, California. I have never been to this show before and it is touted as one of the largest quilt events on the West Coast. I am spoiled by having PIQF in my backyard.
Front of Show
Road to California is a nice comfy sort of show, but more like a large guild show than “one of the largest quilt events on the West Coast”. Also, there were a lot of vendors. I would say 2/3s of the space was for vendors.
Eleanor Burns
Speaking of vendors, Eleanor Burns was there. I actually saw her doing her demonstrations! I chatted with her a little bit in the course of a humming bird demo she was doing. She is not the stereotypical haughty celebrity. She was very nice, smiled for everyone who wanted to take a photo and chatted amiably. She is obviously well schooled to being ‘on’, because I saw her continue to smile and demonstrate while listening to someone who whispered a question into her ear.
Quiltin' Cousins
The majority of the floor space was given over to vendors and the vendor representation was very good. Not only were there vendors I hadn’t seen before, but the vendors were cheerful. I find the vendors at PIQF to be quite surly, so this was a nice change. I was pleased to see Quiltin’ Cousins from Pismo Beach. Shawn, the owner, was really nice and friendly and we went back to her booth a few times to look at everything. We met her at Long Beach in 2010.
Licorice Allsorts
I saw a 1930s book that included a pattern called Cowboy Stars (on that table with the pastel quilt on it), but I didn’t buy it. I hope to find it at the library or find the pattern in one of the Kansas City Star books or in EQ7. It has some nasty diamonds and triangles, so I don’t plan on starting it anytime soon.
TFQ bought a pattern she called “not a pineapple” that was really called Licorice Allsorts (the black background quilt on the left). It does look like a baby Pineapple and I am eager to see how it is constructed.
The quilts were good. Different types and styles than I normally see. TFQ pointed out to me, quite rightly, that the fabrics being snapped up from the vendors – yards of Kaffe Fassett and Philip Jacobs blooms, Moda charm packs and Jelly Rolls, lines of 1930s fabrics – were not represented in 90% of the quilts we saw. We walked back through the show and found the quilts made from solids, tone-on-tones, and batiks predominantly. See if you agree from the photos I took. Yes, there were a few quilts with prints, but very few. What are you doing with those lines of fabric you buy? Do you buy fabrics to collect? What are you using for your current quilt?
There was virtually no representation of Modern Quiltmakers at the show. I have to say that I have used a couple of ‘modern’ lines lately and those quilts will probably never see a show. I am, frankly, too lazy to do the paperwork to enter quilts into shows. I used to do it all the time, but the things they ask seem to pointless and a recent entry found the sponsoring organization to be so disorganized I had to essentially send my materials in twice. Still, I am not seeing the quilts like I make, so perhaps I should carve out some time to enter shows?
Road 2 Calif. Purchases
I bought a few little trinkets. I don’t buy many patterns, so that cut out a whole shopping niche. There were books in which I was really interested, but want to check out from the Library first to see if I REALLY need to add them to my collection. The fabric was a free gift from Quilt in a Day and I think the ruler will be good for making scrap blocks. TFQ bought me a bottle of buttons to replace those I have been using to embellish card holders and Christmas stockings. She said it was part of my birthday gift.
Now for the sentimental drivel. You can stop reading now if you are only interested in quilting. The show was great. Getting away was great, but I was very pleased to come to my dear DH, who picked us up from the train, had dinner ready and made a birthday cake (yes, my birthday was Friday, in case you missed it). I have been sick on and off for a month and am still hacking up a lung. If the trip hadn’t involved reservations and flights, I probably would have cancelled and stayed home. I enjoyed myself, loved the quilts, enjoyed the vendors but was very pleased to come home to my house and my family.
In cleaning up the fabric avalanche, I found a piece of marginally Christmas fabric. It is a little pale to be a gift bag, because eager eyes can see through it, but I made a gift bag anyway.
This made me think about my Christmas fabric and after looking through all that I had, I decided I needed to make bags out of it. My ribbon can is also overflowing. I don’t need anymore gift bags and the family is pretty well set, so I decided to try and encourage YOU to start using gift bags for your holidays. To encourage you, I will offer a prize of a variety of gift bags in November for anyone who participates. Most of them will be Christmas bags, because that is the fabric I have.
In order to participate you must:
sew gift bags. No tape, staples or glue. Any fabric works
post a photo to your blog or Flickr (or other easily accessible web space) of the gift bags you made
put a comment with a link to the photo of your bag or bags in this post or a post related to the gift bag challenge. Each gift bag challenge post will say something like gift bag challenge
I will:
keep track of participants
post a tutorial and ideas for making gift bags
on or around November 15, I will draw a name or names (depending on the number of gift bags I have to give away) of the winners
You may:
enter more than once, but the limit is 10 times, which is about the number of months until November
embellish, embroider to your heart’s content
use any pattern you want including my tutorial
Rules subject to change without notice and my discretion.
If you have made blocks or a quilt from these patterns, please post a link in the comments section of the relevant block or on the AQ Block-a-Long Flickr group. I would love to see what you have made.
Here is another small project FINISHED!I don’t buy much conversational fabrics, so I knew this was slated for a pillowcase.
I really liked the Sweet Dreams pillowcase I made for my mom. This fabric is from the same line and made me smile every time I looked at it.
The problem for me with pillowcases is finding the cuff and trim fabric. While I was tidying up the fabric avalanche, I sorted fabric and found this chocolate dot. I seem to be buying a few chocolate fabrics (I will not say brown) now and again, but not using them. The dot fabric gave me the idea for using a strip of one of the Pat Bravo solids for the trim and within a few minutes I was on my way to having a new pillowcase.
Chocolate Pillowcase - detail
I read about a Grandma who made a fun pillowcase for her granddaughter every month during the first year she was at college. I can’t commit to that with all of the nieces and nephews who are in college at the moment. I can come up with a pillowcase or two every now and then, though. I think this will be sent off to one of the nieces as a little treat. I have a couple more fabrics for one of the other nieces and just have to find the cuff and trim fabrics. Soon.
I know that I am going to start the FOTY 2011 quilt next week, so I have been working on smaller projects. I have, either, been finishing projects in process or making items I have had on my mind.
Here is the Blue Belle Fleur journal cover that I finished this week. I started it some time ago and the pieces ended up in a pile on my old cutting table while I worked on the Stepping Stones quilt.
I set up my new cutting table and found them in the process.
For this journal cover, I worked on putting pieces of the fabric (stamps, postmarks, writing) that I liked where I could see them. You can see, in the top photo, left, where I have done that.
Belle Fleur Journal Cover - inside
The inside ended up with a really nice full piece of the Belle Fleur fabric. I am not much of a butterfly person beyond the norm, but in this context, they look really nice.
I am not sure why I decided to pair this fabric with black. I think the black works well with the Belle Fleur, but I don’t remember why I chose it. Perhaps it was handy. I was using those black fabrics for the Food Quilt, so I have a feeling there strips available.
Belle Fleur Journal Cover - outside
The only part of the fabric I didn’t get was a bird head. Oh, well. I have some bits and pieces of the fabric left, so I will keep trying.
You can make your own journal cover by checking out the tutorial. If you are not using the Miquelrius journals, you will need to adjust the size to the size of your journal.
Frustratingly, I had trouble with the size. The size of the journals hasn’t changed so I don’t know what the issue is. Perhaps not measuring? I had trouble getting the cover to fit the journal. I think this is why I want to finish a project rather than leaving it lie for a long time.
Yes, today is my birthday, thus the CPP was obvious –at least to me!
cake
birthday wishes
gifts
birthday cards
All the world is birthday cake, so take a piece, but not too much. George Harrison
Today is your birthday!
Happy Birthday
“A friend never defends a husband who gets his wife an electric skillet for her birthday.” Erma Bombeck
Definition: A birthday is a day or anniversary where a person celebrates his or her date of birth.
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, and how your work relates to the other responses.
The Creative Prompt Project, also, has a Flickr group, which you can join to post your responses. Are you already a member? I created that spot so those of you without blogs and websites would have a place to post your responses. Please join and look at all of the great artwork that people have posted.
Fabric – I use either a half yard, a yard or a fat quarter. If you use a yard you can make 4 smallish bags, two medium bags or one large bag. You can make bags with any size piece of fabric and you can make a specially sized bag for a special gift.
thread
ribbon
Sewing machine
basic sewing kit
For this tutorial, we will use a fat quarter of fabric
1. If your fat quarter does not have a selvedge, create a hem using two folds so there are no raw edges. If your fat quarter has a selvedge, use the selvedge for the top. It won’t unravel.
2. Press hem in place.
3. Sew hem with a decorative stitch, if you have it, a zigzag or straight stitch work fine as well.
Optional: If you have stitch letters on your sewing machine, stitch your name and the year so you know when you made the bag.
4. Fold hemmed bag in half RIGHT SIDES TOGETHER so that half of the hem is underneath itself towards the top and the fold is on the left. You will be making a French seam.
5. Fold a piece of ribbon about 1.5 feet long in half. You can adjust the size of ribbon you use depending on how much ribbon you need to tie.
6. Place the folded ribbon in the open side of the bag about 4″ from the top edge/hem.
7. Pin ribbon in place.
8. Pin rest of the right side and bottom closed.
Use an 1/8″ seam allowance or as small as you can.
9. Starting from the top, sew down the right side, backstitching at the beginning and over the ribbon 2-3 times. You want to backstitch at stress points to keep the bag from ripping apart.
10. Turn at the corner and continue across the bottom, backstitching at the end.
11. Turn the bag inside out, so the right sides are together and the ribbon is out of the way of the seam (It will be inside the bag, but I put mine as straight as possible towards the opposite side of the bag.
12. Press seams, taking care to push them as far out as possible so there is no extra fabric near the seams.
Use a 1/2″ or 5/8″ seam allowance.
13. Starting at the top, sew down the side and across the bottom again to finish the seam.
14. Open bag to make sure the raw edge is hidden inside the seam.
15. Turn bag inside out and press.
Voila! Your bag is really to use!
Please come back and check this tutorial out as I may update it.
