New Leaf Block and Blog Hop

Welcome to my stop on the New Leaf Blog Hop. What is New Leaf, you ask? This is the fantastic new line from Jan DiCintio at Daisy Janie. Bright, warm, saturated colours printed on 100% certified GOTS Organic certified fabric. All gorgeous.

I've been blown away by Jan and the rest of the organic fabric designers. Not only are they committed to sourcing and then supplying us quilters and sewists with a product that is more sustainable, they are showcasing beautiful fabric. It is rather like the organic food movement - it isn't just about hemp hearts and granola, but now a colourful array of vegetables and fruits that are readily available.

My previous professional life was focused on environmental issues, climate change and energy efficiency specifically. That background is a part of me and the lessons learned then do translate to what I do now. One of those ways is with the choice for organic fabric. Do I exclusively buy organic fabric? Not yet, but I've been blown away by the designs coming from the organic manufacturers so that day may not be far off.

I believe that every time you make the committed choice for certified organic you are doing a good thing. For the manufacturer, for yourself, for the people working with the fabric, for the recipient of the quilt. It may not be every time you buy fabric, but all movements start with one step. Besides, the fabric is gorgeous!

For this block Jan asked us to be inspired by the concept of Renewal, of Turning Over a New Leaf. Here are my back of the envelope sketches. Like many others on the blog hop, I really wanted to showcase that one large scale print. I had an image of the world unfurling in my head, writ more graphic.

So, I fussy cut from both the large-scale prints and cut the rest into strips. I also made myself the oh-so-fancy paper templates. First I measured how large the center square needed to be, based on the fabric itself. Then I drew the corner templates to get up to a finished size of 12'' by 12''. 

At this point I could have done this by paper piecing, or using a muslin foundation. Both would work quite well. I chose to minimize the amount of materials used and stuck with sewing then trimming to my scrap paper template.

Four corner blocks and a fussy cut center ready to go. Yes, there are Y-seams ahead.

I sewed each side to the center square, making sure to mark and stop at the 1/4'' mark. Then I removed the block from the machine and rejigged the block to sew the short seam from the center out. Scary, on paper, but not that difficult if you slow down.

You can see the finished block is a combination of improv with the random strip piecing and precision with that inset block. The fabric soft and no different to work with than the quilting cottons you may be used to. I do hope it works well with the rest of the blocks Jan receives.

Speaking of the other blocks, this is a blog hop, so make sure you check out all the other stops. So many great ideas for showcasing this gorgeous fabric.

New Leaf Bee Block Blog Hop Schedule

Mon, 1/14 - Becky Moyer, My Fabric Obsession
Tues, 1/15 - Lynn Harris, The Little Red Hen
Wed, 1/16 - Candy Glendening, Candied Fabrics
Thurs, 1/17 - Holly DeGroot, Bijou Lovely
Fri, 1/18 - Melanie Thornton, Melanie Dramatic

Mon, 1/21 - Emily Cier, Carolina Patchworks
Tues, 1/22 - Rachael Gander, Imagine Gnats
Wed, 1/23 - Maureen Cracknell, Maureen Cracknell Handmade
Thurs, 1/24 - Leanne, She Can Quilt
Fri, 1/25 - Cindy Wiens, Live a Colorful Life

Mon 1/28 - Cheryl Arkison, Dining Room Empire
Tues, 1/29 - Jacquie Gering, Tallgrass Prairie Studio
Wed, 1/30 - Shanna Bailey, Fiber of All Sorts
Thurs, 1/31 - Katy Jones, Monkey Do

At each stop on the tour there is a secret letter. Gather all your secret letters For a chance to win a Fat Quarter bundle of New Leaf.

The secret letter today is O.

Visit all the stops on the blog hop, gather the letters, then unscramble the letters to make a word that relates to the inspirational theme of the tour. Email your answer to info {at} daisyjanie {dot} com  for a chance to win.

Thanks for coming by. I do hope you will be inspired.

Pretty Things Too

Yes, Market is all about work, but there are pretty things too. You didn't think I'd not post some of my favourites, did you?

The Rise of Organics

Daisy Janie, Cloud 9, Birch, and some of the major manufacturers, including a line by Betz White with Robert Kaufman are all producing organics. The lines are varied, the colours have a great range and with the solids from Kaufman and the stripes and dots from Birch it is pretty much impossible not to build a solid stash now of just organics. And after seeing the video from Jan during her schoolhouse it makes me want to seek these out even more.

Favourite Fabrics

In two totally different corners I've got my four favourite lines that I saw there. Marcia Derse and Malka Dubrowsky have these intense, rich commercial prints based off of their own hand-dye and batiks. On their own or playing together these are exciting. Very exciting.

In the other corner is Echo by Lotta Jansdotter and Summersville by Lucie Summers. Graphic but soft, quietly bold. I'm in love with both of them (designers and fabric). And Lucie is very lucky I didn't steal one of her mugs. Thankfully I made it out of Market with a bundle of Echo to keep me going.

Somewhere in the middle is Ty Pennington's new line. To be honest, it seems like his fabric doesn't get a lot of attention. He does. But I do like his fabric. I've used a few prints from the first line and I can definitely see myself using some from this one too. And when I stopped in his booth he seemed quite thrilled that I wanted to talk about the fabric and not snap a picture with him. He's quite enthusiastic.

Speaking of Men

It would have been obvious to take photos of the men at Market, but let me tell you, they are there. A lot of the booths are staffed by men and there are definitely a lot of buyers on the floor. This was my first big surprise of Market, the men. Then there are the designers and sherpas that are there. Ty, David Butler, Mark Cesarik (all were conveniently located within steps of each other) showcased very different but equally engaging lines.

And Patterns

There are patterns all over the place at Market. With the quilt stores seeking out the interesting, the pretty, and the sellable, the pattern booths are packed and filled with pretty things. All to different tastes. I neglected to take a picture of her work or booth, but my absolute favourite was Carolyn Friedlander. A former architect turned designer. Her patterns are intense, graphic, and so beautiful. It's almost enough to make this improv girl seek them out. You definitely should.

Finally

Houston itself, while monstrous, is a pretty city. I may have been blinded by weather that made me feel like summer when it was snowing back home. Or it might have been the colour, lights, and personalities of Market. But Houston's downtown was dynamic and captivating. I got a walk or two in. I can see why Cherri House loves her town so much.

Kinda Herringbone

Kinda Herringbone

60'' by 80''

This is my latest finish, my Shades of Grey quilt. And guess what? I'm offering it as a pattern for sale! You can get it at my new Etsy shop.

If you've been reading here for any length of time you know that I will always encourage other quilters to do their own thing. To take an idea, inspiration, or even a pattern and make it their own. This pattern is written that way. It provides the technique and the basics to make a quilt like this, but I also provide tips on making your own size, your own colour, and even with variations in design. Of course, that's not to say you won't make it a way I haven't even thought of! Or that you don't love it as is and want to make it exactly like this quilt.

This quilt and pattern wouldn't exist with the support, inspiration, and work of Jan DeCinto, the force behind Daisy Janie. The design itself was inspired by one of the fabrics in her Shades of Grey line and she helped me tremendously in getting the pattern itself together. To pick up her fabric check out her list of retailers.

A few more details on this particular quilt:

- The top is entirely made from Shades of Grey organic fabrics.

- I used a bamboo batting to try something different.

- The back is made up of wide strips of Kaffe Fassett shot cottons. I chose those intentionally to have a lighter material on the back. With a foundation fabric in the top I wanted to lighten up the quilt overall.

- It is quilted with an organic thread.

- Pieced binding with Kona organic solids.

Thank-you, readers, for continuing to inspire and push me to be a little bit more than I was yesterday.

Crazy Busy

This is a post of random notes.

Thank-you so much for the support for Quilts Recover. I'm seeing posts go up around the blogosphere by friends. Emails are coming in already. If there wasn't this rotating postal strike some quilts might even be on their way already!

There've been a number of suggestions for Quilts Recover. Different chapters, financial donations, and offers of quilting tops sent from far away. I promise you that I'm sorting through all the ideas and figuring out ways to maximize quilts and quilters' generosity. You folks are just awesome.

There wasn't a lot of quilting done in the last week. I was up to my eyeballs in writing deadlines. In one day I interviewed Jennifer Paganelli (Oh, she is so awesome!) and a handful of goat farmers (also awesome). In between butt wiping and baking muffins for preschool. Now that's the life!

Lastly, I'm getting the binding on the Shades of Grey quilt. That's today's task, along with prepping for The Monster's 5th birthday party tomorrow.

Then, on Thursday, I'm having knee surgery. Finally. Just one of my knees, but they will check out the other while I'm down for the count. Needless to say, there won't be a lot of quilty action, aside from handstitching that binding, for the next week or so.

On that note, time to get prepping!