Firefly Quilt With a Fluttering Start (Via Pattern Drop)

Even though improv is my mother tongue, sometimes I crave a little precision piecing. It gets my brain working in a slightly different way. Yay for firing the neurons! (Does this mean I won't get dementia in later life?)

I made a single Firefly block to help my friend Katie launch a Quilt Along through her company, Pattern Drop. It was a pleasant way to spend an hour in the afternoon, digging through the scrap bin of solids. But hmm, that was a really nice way to spend the afternoon. Of course I started another block. Then I ran out of the backing fabric (before the block was finished).

Darn it, I wanted to finish that block and make more! And usually I would just dig through the stash and keep going but I really, really liked the look with the Essex Linen (in the sparkle variety and regular) and didn't want to change that. That meant convincing myself to order some because no local stores had the regular Essex in Indigo like I needed. Then waiting for the order. And now I just need the time!

The original pattern calls for 16 Firefly blocks. Lindsey Neill from Pen and Paper Patterns did a great job of drafting this block. There are some piecing options plus a bee version (I think mine lands somewhere in between bee and firefly). The pattern reads for the whole quilt, with options. I won't lie, read that way it scared me with the cutting instructions. That's because I never cut all at once. I can cut one block at a time and feel good. Less efficient, but suits my time allowed and available brain space. Plus, I have a think a bit more so more neurons fired!

Shark Fin Block Tutorial Live!

The Shark Fin Block Tutorial is here!

So glad to have this done and ready for all your ocean loving delights. Let's celebrate these apex predators. Because, after all, who wouldn't want to sleep under a Shiver of Sharks?

The block is super easy - only 3 seams. Yes, two of them are slight curves. Don't let that stop you. The curves are so gentle that they sew up wonderfully. The video tutorial walks you through cutting and sewing these curves.

This is improv sewing so each block is unique. You can square them up to the same size in the end, or embrace the unique qualities of each block. I do recommend not laying them out in a straight line, however, with all the shark bodies lined up though. The effect won't be as strong. I made my quilt in columns, not rows, to manage that. By changing the colour of the background and spending time on final layout I was able to get the ombre effect you see in the finished quilt.

I promise you that these are addictive. I doubt you will be able to make only one. Although, a really big single fin would also make a cool quilt. Hmm...

They only take a few minutes to make, so you will have a healthy Shiver in no time! 

Quilts for Broncos Finish and Delivery

It seemed totally appropriate to deliver a load of donated quilts, quilt tops, and blocks for the Humboldt Broncos in a hockey bag. Confession: no great symbolism though, it's the bag I had that they all fit in. And don't worry, it has never been used for hockey gear!

I was flying out to Saskatoon over the weekend so offered to take Calgary area donations with me, so people didn't have to ship them on their own. Save the expense, after all. The wonderful folks at My Sewing Room volunteered to hold them for me too. Between those donations and the ones quilters dropped off at my house I delivered 20 finished quilts, 3 quilt tops, and a enough blocks for another quilt top to Periwinkle Quilting and Beyond in Saskatoon! 

My own top was finished in time too. With great thanks to Lee Dueck at Quilting by Lee for volunteering to quilt this on her long arm. Can you see the hockey sticks she added?

The block design was picked by Haus of Stitches, the local store in Humboldt. It was a great block to choose because it went together so quickly. So instead of people making one block, they made many. Instead of making just a quilt top, people finished their quilts. I've never seen so many finished quilts donated to a drive like this! And I've heard of many people learning to quilt because they wanted to make one of these quilts.

Me, being me, had to play around with the suggested layout though. I did not do conventional borders too. I might have skipped borders all together, but I didn't have enough good greens in the stash to simply make more blocks. The hashtag effect was unintentional though. Totally appropriate, however, considering the spread of the news and support via social media. 

The original goal was 200 quilts. Last count is about 700 and the deadline is still a few days away. 

Quilters are amazing people. The global response to this horrific tragedy is beautiful and almost overwhelming. This, simply, is what quilters do. We take our desire to create beautiful things and spread love and comfort through the quilts. It often feels like the least we can do when we aren't able to bring meals, provide shoulders to cry on, make people laugh, and look people in the eye with love. It often doesn't feel like enough, but it does help. 

In Saskatoon my friend, another synchro mom, drove me to the store. Her cousin's son was on the bus and the entire family is in awe and so appreciative of the support everyone is getting. Recovery for everyone is going to be a long, long road. These quilts will be one small thing in that journey

Adventure - A Quilt for Not a Book

Adventure

36'' x 42''

My husband defines the distinction between an excursion and an adventure as this: When you go on an excursion everyone makes it back. When you go on an adventure, somebody or something doesn't survive the trip. He is morbid and sarcastic, that man. 

This quilt is definitely an adventure.

A few years ago I had an idea for a book. I was fresh off the publication of You Inspire Me to Quilt, still riding high. Over bourbon on the best patio over I sat down with an industry friend, a good colleague, and we were brainstorming ideas for my next book. We both got really excited about one particular idea. It was stellar. Or maybe it was the bourbon talking?

Nope, it's still a pretty good idea. Unfortunately, my publisher did not necessarily agree. Even though I've published three books I can't just throw an idea at them and have them send a contract my way immediately. So I took a few months to flesh it out. Because of the nature of the concept this required more time than I usually need at this stage. A book proposal is necessarily detailed as it is - table of contents, sample chapter, and quilt examples all required - but this one needed even more to get the concept across. I got all this together and then they came back with a request for an actual quilt to see the concept in action.

Sigh. 

Sure, okay. I went right to it. Got the quilt top all made, got it basted, then stopped. Life got busy. And it's never really stopped. No excuse, because I've made other quilts in the meantime. But the mojo slipped away after the initial burst of work. Then the reality of whether I truly had the time to actually write another book sunk in. I did not. Not for about 2 years there. I so desperately wanted to, but unless I became both a) suddenly flush with cash and b) able to function on zero sleep for months at a time it wasn't going to happen.

I won't lie, I shed some tears over this. Frustrated and annoyed at the position I was in - even though I put myself in that exact position - I wallowed for a bit. I got depressed seeing the success of others in the industry via social media, jealous even. It was ugly and mean spirited on my part, to be perfectly honest. And that is before I beat myself up on the regular about it all.

Not sure how exactly, but gaining some perspective changed everything. At some point I took stock of my own successes and felt proud. I started to play my own game. I saw all the freelance, short burst writing I was doing as practice for everything else. My schedule, or at least my approach to it, allowed for more time. So I re-pitched the book concept. 

Shot down again.

This time though I decided the quilt I'd started needed to not languish on the closet shelf. Up there it mocked me, made me feel like a failure. It was time to reclaim that part of my creative history. At worst, it becomes another story to tell at a trunk show (or on a blog). At best, it becomes a cool quilt gifted to a beautiful baby. So here it is. 

This quilt went on a creative adventure. The book never came back alive, but that's okay. The journey was still worth it. And who knows, that concept hasn't died entirely...

Quilt Details:

-  Fabric is a couple of Mini Charm packs of Carolyn Friedlander Doe mixed with her curated selection of Kona cottons. It was a give away from Quilt Market a few years back. The background is Essex Linen.

- Backing is also from Doe.

- Binding is Carolyn's crosshatch in this amazing green. I wish I could find more.

- Quilted with a pale yellow from Aurifil in straight lines changing directions. There were a million knots to bury with the quilting pattern I chose, but I do love the end result.