Cirrus Solids at Play

It is a very good day when new fabric arrives. It is especially good when that fabric is the new organic solid range from Cloud 9 Fabrics.

When Cloud 9 contacted me and asked me if I wanted a bundle to play with I totally hesitated. With so many quilts under construction I didn't exactly need more fabric, nor the obligation to make something. But I was intensely curious and I've always been quite impressed with Cloud 9's fabrics. At worst, I thought, I can add them to my Solid Sunday Morning.

Then the fabrics arrived. What glorious colours. Some great greys and neutrals and those deep blues and turquoises. I was smitten. And I had an idea percolating in my head after teaching a Values class in September. The only thing that stopped me from cutting into them right away was my trip to Alabama.

As soon as I could, though, I started sorting piles. Lights and darks, darks and lights, darks and lights and medium. I used the black and white feature on the camera to really get a good handle on the distinctions. My plan was based on the Pinwheel quilt from A Month of Sundays, with a twist. Value distinctions were going to be very important. Instead of the big swath of white triangles as in the original, I wanted more pieced HSTs. But if those didn't look different than the pinwheel section the design would be lost.

In the end, I made all my half square triangle blocks based on the piles above. Just random HSTs. Some with light/dark, most with dark/dark. I grabbed whatever came next and didn't worry at all about the combinations other than my values.

And, it didn't work. There were just too many medium values muddying things up. If I had kept them out it might have worked. The quilt would have been small in that case and that's just not how I work. I'm going to keep the concept out there and maybe play with it again at some point over the winter.

For now, however, it is still fall. A glorious fall. And in the last few days I played with all my HST blocks made for the original idea. The pinwheel concept stayed, but it looks radically different. I shared a few layout options via Instagram and received some great feedback. My initial pinwheels were the typical four patch pinwheel block, but that smart lady Victoria Gertenbach suggested some scale changes. I tried it and it was perfect. Thanks Victoria!

The Cirrus Solids were great to work with. They frayed no more than any other solid, which was nice. The hand on them is amazing! So soft cut right from the bolt. This quilt is going to be a dream to cuddle with when it is all done.

Right now Cirrus Solids are available in these 21 colours. All are cross-weaves, which means it is two different colour threads that make up the fabric. But they aren't obvious cross weaves like the kinds where two very different colours are used. Subtle, but the texture of a cross weave is definitely there.

I do not know what Cloud 9's plans are for these, but I hope they take off at Quilt Market so that more colours arrive. Personally, I would love to see oranges, more lemony/buttery yellows, and grassy/minty greens. Solids aren't generally my thing, but I can definitely see these becoming a go-to source for me.

A Canadian Quilter Visits Gee's Bend

As a Canadian of a certain age (39) I must admit to a pretty good life. I grew up with a pride in multiculturalism, with a side of Eastern European bigotry. Most of my friends growing up were first generation Canadians, so when we asked what you were we didn't mean if you played hockey or  soccer or worked at the convenience store, we meant what country is your family from? Mine was a suburban life, an educated one.

It was not a sheltered life. I was able to ask questions, explore, and investigate. I switched to a different high school for a richer experience. I went away to University - all the way across the country to see more, do more. But it was a Canadian experience.

I know the basics of US history, globalization has taught me just a little, and I rely on the stories of friends and the media to teach me more. I consider myself engaged, but I've recently realized that it is a sheltered intelligence.

Last week I had the experience of 4 days in Alabama. I went there with all the preconceived notions of a visit to the Deep South - there would be grits and good ol' boys and racism and hospitality and narrow minds and nice people. I expected little in the way of enlightenment, a lot in the way of a break from my real life. I got more, so much more.

We spent one day exploring downtown Birmingham. Our day took an unexpected turn when the Monday museum closures thwarted our plans for the Civil Rights Institute. As we stood outside the doors and regrouped for our plans we were enthralled by the sculptures in the park across the street. A short walk through the park and its powerful art led us across the street to the 16th Street Baptist Church. The neon sign competing with the stained glass. Then we embarked on the Birmingham Civil Rights Heritage Trail. Hours later we stopped, drained, and feeling a little awed.

My experience with the history of the Civil Rights Movement is fixed on Martin Luther King Jr. speeches, photos of students going into desegregated schools, and a vague recollection of bus bombings. We simply aren't taught it growing up in Canada (well, I wasn't). And not because of a racism at home (although that is there) but because it wasn't our history.

Here we were, honestly blown away by the stories, by the bloodshed on the streets we were standing on, the relatively recent history of this, and the fact that we simply didn't have a clue about any of it. It was humbling, enlightening, powerful.

Yet while we walked the colour of our skin became an issue for others. We were called "you people" by one man. Another accused us of not giving him money as he begged on the street because he was black (not true, sir). I'll be the first to concede to a white privilege, but no one should make assumptions based on the colour of skin (and more). Those moments were equally powerful.

The next day my SIL and I set out on an Alabama Road Trip to Gee's Bend. We took the scenic route, made even more scenic when we took a wrong turn or two. We found catfish farms, main streets, community gathering spots, and saw as many taxidermists as baptist churches. We eventually found our way South, through Alberta to Gee's Bend.

It was a pilgrimage of sorts. THE famous Gee's Bend. Home to the quilters that have inspired a new generation. There we were, two white women in the most ridiculous rental car to have in Alabama, and we couldn't have been more welcome. Quilters are quilters and that was the common factor.

Upon arrival in Gee's Bend we went to the Ferry Terminal. As the only the only public building it seemed like the place to go. Two gorgeous women sat outside, working on one's hair weave. We started chatting to them, but before we got very far or even stated our goal for the visit another woman came out and asked if we wanted to meet the quilters. Why yes, we did. So she asked us us to follow her.

When we arrived at the Gee's Bend Quilters Collective the welcome was so warm, and not just because of the southern heat! Mary Ann and China Pettway sat inside, one quilting, the other working on a brand new quilt. Immediately we started chatting and sharing work. It was late in the day for them - they were close to packing up so they could catch the afternoon ferry across the river to Camden. China had a block that looked a lot like my scrappy round and round blocks, but much, much smaller. Mary Ann was repairing some hand quilting on someone else's quilt. My intention was sit and sew with them, but our timing was poor. So they looked at my work as closely as I looked at theirs.

After the fact my SIL said that I was showing off, as I brought my Circle Lattice appliqué. Yes, most definitely this project is of a very different style than the Gee's Bend work, but I disagreed with her. We looked at each other's work intently and with admiration for different styles. I was blown away by their hand stitching and tiny piecing, and they were impressed with my basting stitches and circle work. It was mutual respect.

My respect for them increased four fold when we were given the chance to pull quilts off the tables and shelves to admire and hear more stories. Wow. It is always one thing to see a picture, another thing entirely to feel the quilts.

There was all denim, all corduroy, all cotton, and a good dose of polyester quilts. Some were very recent - completed within the last month - and some so old they were threadbare and stained. All were made by Gee's Bend Collective Quilters.

The Collective now contains about 70 or more quilters. Women who came back to quilting because of the profile and success of Gee's Bend quilts, some that have been quilting for decades. They sell their quilts, as well as potholders, mini quilts, videos, postcards, and placemats. The quilter receives a percentage and the rest of the proceeds goes to the Collective. It is a financial model that helps all the quilters and the community.

Gee's Bend is a community founded on the backs of slaves. And most of the people who live there now are descendants of slaves. During the Civil Rights movement residents were punished for their involvement in protests, bus trips, and demonstrations. The ferry service was cut off, isolating the community even more. That their quilt tradition did not die is a testament to need, but to the craft even more.

As we examined the quilts we spoke with Nancy Pettway (no relation to Mary Ann and China) about the Civil Rights Movement - she wasn't able to participate in bus trips and demonstrations because she had to work the night shift at a sewing factory - the quilts, life in Gee's Bend. I wish we had hours to talk. I'm home now and I have so many more questions, more stories I want to hear, more quilting to be done. We spoke about the Collective and the response to their fame.

When you walk into the room where the quilts are stored you can sense the history. But you can also sense the future. The influence on so many current and modern quilters is evident. The quilts may be machine pieced, but they are hand quilted. In fact, they had the frame for a long arm machine in the room, but they've been advised against using it in order to maintain their brand reputation.

The quilts are evident of the time and place and history. They aren't squared up like I might do it. Binding techniques vary. The hand quilting is lovely and provides another improvised flair to most of the quilts. There is a lot of polyester batting used. Are they the quilts I make? Nope, not at all.

My SIL and I purchased some quilts. I've only ever purchased a quilt once before, as a charity fundraiser. I will totally admit to feeling odd at buying a quilt. I mean, I have dozens floating around the house and tonnes waiting to be made. But I couldn't help but be a part of this history.

Another confession is that I felt that white privilege again in purchasing a quilt. Because I can afford to bring these quilts home there was a little bit of guilt. I'm not over it yet either.

That being said, to know my one tiny piece of this story now, my single day experience, is profound to me. Art has its many purposes, and someone does buy the art at some point. So I can look at my small quilts and have the memory of the day, the reminder that there is so much history I've yet to learn, and the beauty of my conversations with some wonderfully kind women.

As we left that day Mary Ann, China, and Nancy gave us big, deep hugs. The hugs you give people you love, the hugs that make you feel like the other person's arms are 10 feet wide and filled with warmth. When I look at my quilts that is what I will most remember. That I met some women, that we shared only a few hours, and that we are all quilters. And for us, all of us, the colour of our skin did not matter one bit.

A Giant Hexagon Top

Ever so slowly I am making my way through the stack of unfinished projects in the studio. I like having multiple things on the go, it means I can do whatever, whenever, the mood strikes. And that's what happened when I decided to get these old bee blocks out of the back of the closet. I'd put them up on the wall months ago, got excited, then never did anything.

In part, I needed to find, then order the extra fabric I wanted to finish it off. Initially I thought I would use a mix of whites to fill in the blank hexagons. But of the fabrics I purchased to do just this one was a woven hexagon pattern. Frankly, it was pretty awesome, so I decided to use only that fabric. Could I find more locally? No, of course not. Was there info on the selvage? Nope.

Thanks to Instagram, however, and online sales I found more of the fabric.  (It is Kona Dimensions, in case you were wondering.)

Unfortunately, as you may be aware, when your fabric comes from different bolts the same colour isn't always the same colour. I ordered white, but they aren't exactly the same. I suspect that the first one I bought was actually Prepared For Dying White. So I sat on it until I could decide what to do.

In the end, I decided I didn't care for the small variation in whites. In fact, I would embrace it and mix things up. It isn't a look that everyone will like, but that's okay. Not everyone will be staying on my guest bed in my sewing studio - where this quilt is destined to be placed.

The original blocks came from my Unscripted Bee. Blocks I got two years ago.  I made a handful more, completely improvised, hexagons using the same template. Then I cut white hexagons and half hexagons. The whole thing kept falling off the design wall and overflowed on to the floor. While I had it up on the design wall we got a dog. A big, black dog. He was banned from the studio until I got this quilt top done. Talk about extra motivation to get it together!

The entire quilt top is machine pieced. Machine piecing hexagons is not difficult. There are tutorials out there and I looked at them all. In the end, I took advice from Rossie. She does not have a tutorial on her blog, but I conveniently had access to an upcoming pattern of hers in a special project. I promise it will break the process down so nicely. (And I will let you know when that project comes out, have no doubt about that!)

Also, I promise that the quilt top lies flat and was pressed at one point. Let's just say I had some frustrations in trying to photograph it.

Now I just need to figure out how to quilt it. I'm open to suggestions.

Round and Round

Okay, so I didn't get rid of ALL of my scraps. I did hold on to the two big glass jars of strips and strings holding court in the studio. They were overflowing with leftovers from projects, binding, and backing. Augmented by a bag of scraps my students in Nova Scotia gave me last year and a shipment of Botanics strips from Carolyn Friedlander, they were in danger of taking over a certain corner of the studio.

Then I saw this quilt.

It hung out in the recesses of my brain for a few weeks, taunting me with its movement, tempting me to test its construction. I tried to make it go away, to convince it that I had other projects to finish. But it wouldn't listen. And a listless and stressful end to summer for me brought on a need to play. So I decided to make just one block, just to see what happened.

Well, like it is a physical impossibility for me to eat just one cookie or have just one piece of chocolate, I couldn't make just one block. The movement, the energy, the use of these scraps. They all add up to a heck of a lot of fun.

Each block measures 16.5'' square. I probably should have made them on a foundation, but I didn't. So I'm treating them carefully and only making more to add to the design wall. I've started with 4, 5, and 6 sides polygons. Maybe even 7 sides. It goes together, roughly, like a log cabin. Adding one side at a time. Sometimes I add a small bit, sometimes a long strip. Eventually they have to be squared up so I'm getting some odd bits at the end. I'm learning to keep at eye on the edges before I get up to size. Doing so saves me sewing things I will end up cutting off, as well as avoiding skinny bits along the edges.

Round and round I go, where I'll stop nobody knows.

Excuse the horrible photos. It is snowing today. No light in the studio.

Abstract Painting with Kids

While many of my American friends are seeing the end of summer, and the return to school for their kids, we've still got 3 more weeks of summer vacation. I've been trying to make the most of it. For both myself and the kids. Field trips, swimming, lazy days, and new creative activities.

Last week we started abstract painting. To be fair, I think the kids have been doing this for a while! But this time we did a bit of research on abstract painting, discussed emotions and their expression, and I used real, ADULT acrylic paints on canvas. Having fancy supplies goes a long way.

To start with, the girls picked colours to express an emotion. Our first emotion was happy. Yellows, oranges, red, pink, turquoise, and silver. Bright, shiny colours. My only bit of control over the project was that I doled out the colours on the canvas. So I dotted it where they told me. Then they went to town.

They ground the paint into the canvas, they gingerly spread the paint, they used broad strokes. They played. And I resisted - badly - all attempts to direct their activities. That was very, very difficult. In part I wanted to participate. I also wanted to interrupt and give directions constantly. But I held off and only spoke when adding more paint or to emphasize the emotion they were conveying.

They filled the canvas, making sure no white spots remained. They touched it up with silver. And then, because they didn't quite get the notion of abstract, they added some lettering.

You know what? They were happy doing it. And I was happy watching them. It was a new form of creativity in this house. I think my oldest, especially, loved the idea of expressing something without having to be literal in her art. Because when you are 8 you are usually literal. This gave her an unexpected freedom.

The whole idea for the project came through Pinterest. Yes, I've finally joined Pinterest. And lo and behold, I saw this idea on a random pin one of the first days I was on there. No instructions, just the image of the paint dots, painting, and the canvas. Because Pinterest is still new for me I actually acted  on the inspiration!

To start with we looked up some abstract painters, classic and current. Like Kandisky, Lisa Congdon, and Marissa Anne from Creative Thursday. We talked about what one can do with just paint and about expressing feelings or ideas. It all felt rather liberating.

We've since done more canvases. (A friend of mine gave me the tip that we could buy small canvases at the dollar store. That certainly cuts down on the cost once we invested in the paints.) I still police the paint use as a certain Evil Genius has a tendency to want to use ALL the paint. I do not, however, paint myself with them. I find my kids compare my work with theirs and I don't think that is fair to them at all. They skip the adult versus kid part of that and get deflated because they perceive mine as better. So I let them be and wander around their own creativity.

If you are on Pinterest, you can follow me. I am trying to fill my boards with all sorts of inspiration. More pins daily. And let me know if you are on there too.

Mountain Meadows Quilt Top

This is Mountain Meadows. A loverly quilt top finally finished. I had to go in the Way, Way Back machine to figure out when I started it. My initial sketch and images were made 3 years ago. And I collected the fabric over 2 years ago to make a few blocks. Then it sat and sat and sat. We had the great fortune of a handful of mountain trips this spring and summer and the original inspiration of the mountain meadows was on my mind.

When The Modern Quilt Guild asked me to do a Webinar this quilt popped into my head. Pulling it out and working on it helped me formulate the presentation: Improv With Intention. So I worked hard to get it done in time for the Webinar. It was well worth the effort.

(It measures roughly 55'' x 75''.)

These were my original inspiration images. Hikes in the mountains on sunny days. Meadows filled with small, colourful flowers. Expanses of grass and weeds and plants in varying shades of green. Vistas so beautiful but little tiny bits of life stealing attention. Just how to capture that in a quilt?

In the Webinar I discuss the process of making the quilt - from inspiration to the final top. It isn't as straightforward as one might think. If you are a Modern Quilt Guild Member you can access the Webinar for free now, even if you didn't join me last week. To access it make sure you log in and join the Community site. Then click under Resources and there it is. Not only do you get to see more images and learn about my process, you get to hear my awesome Canadian accent.

It was actually quite appropriate that this quilt was revealed through The Modern Quilt Guild. All of the green fabric in this quilt was generously given to me by quilters, readers of this blog. I knew I wanted green solid scraps and I had absolutely no green solids. To buy them all would have been impossible. So, thanks to the internet I just asked if anyone was willing to share, and boy did you! Packages arrived for weeks and I had a lot of fun sorting through and organizing by value. Some of you sent pieces larger than 1/2 yard cuts! It was so generous and shows exactly how the spirit and kindness of quilters, not to mention the creativity, is fuelled on line. Exactly what comes to mind, for me, when I think of the Modern Quilt Guild.

Thank you to everyone who contributed. I truly appreciate it.

Sewing Machine Quilt Reveal!

Sewing Machine Quilt 

50'' x 50''

It feels like I should have a more creative name for this quilt, but that's exactly what it is. Truth in Advertising. I'm so excited to share this with you. And the news that the pattern for this quilt should be coming in the next month, if all goes well with pattern testing and printing. The pattern will have both improv and precision piecing instructions.

I owe a lot of credit to this quilt for bringing me out of a long slump. For months I was down and not terribly excited about sewing. Sure, I was still sewing, but it was like going through the motions rather than fun. I met my deadlines and plugged away at projects, but I wasn't feeling a lot of joy. But with this quilt I felt joy and excitement. I may have jumped up and down a little even.

A friend of mine pointed out that it was telling that it was quilted sewing machines that got me excited again. You know, I never thought of that! It's so true though. I'm not generally one for symbolism, but this can't be ignored. The sewing machine is how we do our work, where so many of us find peace, and the main tool of our craft. For me to get my mojo back via a sewing machine is about as perfect as it gets.

I revealed this quilt in The Modern Quilt Guild's Webinar I delivered: Improv With Intent. In the presentation I went into great detail about the process for creating this particular quilt (and another one I'll share next week). Look for the Webinar to be posted for Modern Quilt Guild Members on their site later this week.

This quilt was done quite quickly for me. From start to finish in a month. I can't remember the last time I worked so fast! But when that inspiration takes over you have to run with it. It helps that I had long arm time booked and a desire to play with that new tool. It also helps that Le Tour was on when I had hand stitching on the binding to do.

Because this is an improv quilt each sewing machine is a bit different. That's the joy! But it does become a challenge to make them all still look like sewing machines and to solve any little glitches on the fly. Perhaps that's why it got me so jazzed, the little blips in sewing that improv provides are tiny little hills that you have to push yourself just a little bit more to get over. They aren't frustrating, only motivating. And you are always rewarded with the results!

The block below is one of my favourites. Most of the fabrics I chose are favourites, but this one especially so. I've got quite a bit of it hoarded and pull it out often. So glad it is in here.

Don't be afraid to tackle a new idea. Get your fabric out, sketch out the idea, cut and get to sewing. Even if you never make more than the one block you will be rewarded!

Sewing Machine Quilt

Well this was a fun finish!

It took 50 different fabrics. Some hours... One day I should actually track how long things take me. And a whole lot of fun. It has been a long time since I had this much fun sewing.

Making this quilt really just started with an idea. I wanted to simply see if it would work. One block led to another and another and then there were 25. I played around with different sizes of the final block. I started with 12.5'' squares but the sewing machine got lost in it. Now each block finishes at 10.5'' square. It is a great size now and makes a much easier cutting job.

Now I want to play with this concept a bit more. This includes working on some different sizes and a precision pieced option. And, I think a new pattern may emerge from this. What do you think?

It's amazing to be so excited again.

It's Over?

Yes, it is a question. But my slump may be over. And I have to give all the credit to my students at the recent Quilt Canada workshops.

A few weeks ago I had the pleasure of attending Quilt Canada in St. Catherines, Ontario. This is the annual big deal in Canada, hosted by the Canadian Quilters' Association and put on by a different local organizing committee. It includes the National Juried Show (which had a modern category this year) and 4 days of workshops, on top of the fun things like banquets, merchant malls, and challenges. I had three days of classes, two days being an Improv workshop.

In our small, ridiculously hot classroom we played and played with fabric. When I teach Improv I like to teach a series of basic techniques via blocks. For an audience used to more traditional piecing I find it to be a good foray into the world of Improv. When I get multi-day workshops we then get more time to play.

And oh, did the ladies in this class play. They all embraced improv with open hearts and sharp rotary cutters. As we taped blocks to the wall, brainstormed possibilities, drew out more and more inspiration, and laughed a lot the excitement grew. I was completely caught up in the energy and inspiration. I'm not going to lie, I may have even jumped up and down a little.

At the end of it I was desperate to sew myself. But I had to rush off on a plane to be home for The Monster's 8th birthday. So I found some time in the following week to play. And when I did play I felt all the same excitement in my own little basement studio that I felt in that room. I felt grounded, I felt energized, I felt creative again.

Thank-you so much ladies, I owe you so much.

Here is what I played with. In the class we covered how to take an idea, and image, and translate it into an improv pieced block. Houses, letters, numbers, mountains, diamonds, they all came out that day. We also brainstormed other shapes and one of them happened to be a sewing machine. That idea planted itself into my head.

I think I may turn this into a full pattern as my mind is spinning with possibilities. And if it wasn't the last day of school I could tell you for sure that I would be sewing more of these every day. Yup, the slump just may be over.

Hot, Awesome Mess

Look at that quilt top, floating in a snow globe. Oh wait, that's only half the quilt. Do you know how hard it is to photograph a king size quilt top?

Yes, I made another king size quilt. I couldn't help myself. Last week I needed to flex my improv muscles. Not that I needed practice at improv. No, I needed the therapy of just sewing for the sake of sewing. Mindless, no planning play. It did wonders for my mood (and my cold). And before I knew it I had enough blocks to more than fill my design wall.

Once the blocks were up on the wall I started the puzzle piecing to get it all together. I only went by size, filling in gaps and squaring up as I went. I paid no attention to colour or direction. In fact, the only design decision I made was to make sure the feature fabric was on each corner of the finished top.

Then I made it bigger. At first, it came out to about 83'' by 103''. It seemed like such a funny size, and a few more inches meant it would cover our king size bed nicely, with extra quilt for snuggling. So I added another 11'' on one short end. It seemed totally crazy to make it even bigger, but felt right. And seeing as making this was a form of therapy it only made sense to make it the way that felt right.

This quilt began at Quilt Con last year. I was lucky enough to get a spot in Denyse Schmidt's Improv class. See more about that experience here.

About 6 months ago I made some more blocks with the scraps I had from the class and new fabrics I added at home. Then I packed them all up and they joined my WIPs. My thirty something WIPs. It was such a thrill to pull them out and put them upon the design wall. More of a thrill to get to playing again. Every night last week, after the kidlets were in bed, I entered my studio and exhaled.

Play, play, and more play. Then I totally took advantage of my time with a part time babysitter. Deadlines met for the week, I took a whole day to get the top together. Another couple of hours at night and it was done. Then another hour to add that final strip. 

Sometimes I look at the top and think it is a hot mess. And other times I get giddy with all the little bits that pop out at me. It may be a king size quilt, but there are so many tiny scraps in there. Big and small, they all play together. I do love the way it looks, but I think this quilt's value to me is definitely in the process.

Now, hopefully I can find that value when it comes to basting it.

Giant Hexagons Update

In need of some mindless sewing and a real break from work - yes, even I go to quilting when I need a break from the work of quilting - I pulled out these old blocks. With a million (or 40) WIPs sitting in my sewing room it only made sense to grab one of those projects instead of starting something new. I'd always had it in my head to add a coral block to these giant hexagons so I went ahead and did it. Then I added that low volume grey, and a yellow one. 

You can see more of these in my interview with Alex Anderson.

When it came time to playing with layouts I tried something new. There is a lot of bias in these blocks and I didn't want to handle them that much. Plus, as you can see, there is also some other work on my design wall that a certain five year old is not ready to remove. Needless to say, I was quite excited to find some hexagon graph paper!

The internet is a wonderful thing. Sure you can make it yourself, but the chances are someone has probably already done it for you. That was the case when I typed in a few choice words into the search engine the other night. And up pops a PDF of graph paper that is exactly what I need. A little more digging and there are sites where you can create and print your own graph paper in many shapes and sizes. It is a quilter with a penchant for colouring's dream!

http://www.freeprintableonline.com/categories/graphs
http://www.printablepaper.net

Have fun!

Now, I'm only waiting for the rest of my perfect background fabric for these to arrive. Then I can add this to the pile of quilt tops ready for attention.

Good Times with Alex Anderson

Last week I had the pleasure of chatting with Alex Anderson about my books, quilts, non-obligation sewing and finding the pleasure in quilting and the craziness of life. This first bit includes a lot about how I like to slow down and sew, and how you can too. Not to mention some gorgeousness and advice from the book.

Check it out here! And stay tuned for the second part.

Just Playing

Sometimes you just need to play. Start with something, anything, and see what happens.

In this case. I started with a jelly roll and some charms, serious temptation from two lovely designers.  When I was head down on that king sized quilt and buried under slabs I caved at some point in August to play. I sliced the charms in half and cut pieces of the jelly roll down to match. Then it was a matter of sewing pairs together. A lot of chain piecing and pressing. Then rows, then chunks like this. There are more chunks to go as there is more fabric to be used, but I am liking this so far. I have yardage of a subtle text print that will serve as background. You can just see bits of it used on the edges of this chunk.

No, if only I could find more time to play again.

Snippets on Dates

For the last two or three years I've kept this bin of fabrics scraps by my side while I sew. It sits next to one of my big glass jars full of seemingly useless snippets of scraps. Tiny pieces, big pieces, odd pieces. They all live together in the hopes of becoming something more.

Slowly, slowly, they are indeed doing that.

As I sew, particularly improv sewing, I use these little bits as leaders and enders. That is, instead of having dangling threads on every single seam I often grab two snippets and sew them together. At the end of a moment of sewing I have a new collection of pairs.

Some pairs are small, some a bit larger, and some teeny tiny. Eventually, they will all get sewn together into some kind of crazy, hot, scrappy mess. And I will love it. For now, however, they are still sitting in pairs, like some sort of speed dating event.

On the weekend I wasn't in the mood to sit while we watched UFC and Le Tour at the end of the night. So I set up my iron and finally tackled the pressing of these lonely dates longing to be part of the crowd. And three hours later I wasn't quite done, but I made a good dent.

Now it is time to create a new set, by sewing these piles together. And so on, and so on... It really is going to be chaotic when done, but I'm pretty sure I'll love it. How can I not, when I have these little precious combos littered throughout?

Keep these leaders and enders in mind when you're making your slabs. Makes the process faster and neater.

Girlie Quilt

Girlie

38'' by 38''

Just a simple, pretty, girlie quilt.

It started as an improv block, waiting for a home and some inspiration. I sent it off to a guild member for the next go at a round robin. She asked if I wanted to keep it all black and white or if I wanted any specific colour. I gave her free reign, waiting for the surprise at the end. Once everyone else did their thing. Can't say I imagined baby pink!

When it came back to me I decided I couldn't let it linger  - I'm all about finishing these days! I went back and forth on some options and this is where I landed. I basted it and then it sat... One quiet Saturday with no kids in the house it got quilted. A basic stipple in Aurifil 50wt in white took me an hour. So, why did I wait so long?

But now it is done, bound in a sunny yellow for contrast and to coordinate with the backing. It sits packed by the door, ready to send off to a cousin and his adorable baby girl.

Not before my baby girl snuck in for a snuggle and photo op!

Improv and Intentions

One of the workshops at QuiltCon I was lucky to get into was Denyse Schmidt's Improv workshop. It was a hot commodity and I had just the right timing when doing my registration. To be honest, I took it out of curiosity more than anything. I'm quite comfortable with improv work, even teaching it myself! But I wanted to see how Denyse taught it and see how people responded.

Frankly, I really enjoyed the class. It may have been the opportunity of just free sewing/playtime after weeks of prep for my own classes at QuiltCon. But it was also a great environment. The other students ranged from improv virgins to the old hats at the technique like me. Denyse is a good teacher, clear on the approach, and extremely encouraging. For the students who'd never done improv it was a challenge at the beginning but they all seemed to really embrace things at the end.

Denyse's technique involves true randomness. Three bags of fabric bits in different sizes. Close your eyes and reach in! At home I do almost the same thing, but I keep my eyes open. Denyse's goal is to get the students to see the beauty in the randomness; beauty in seemingly clashing bits of fabric and blocks that don't lay flat. And it is most definitely there.

After each exercise we reviewed all the blocks and discussed our responses. I loved this part as too often in classes we don't get see what other people make or hear about what people experienced as they worked. The last part was a big eyeopener as a teacher. Well worth the class for me.

In the morning we worked solely with Denyse's scraps. In the afternoon we got to add our own fabric and a randomly chosen solid (Confession: my solid may have been placed in my hand by my very awesome Aussie volunteer and friend). Having seen reports of this class before I chose my fabric to bring with great intention. The blocks from one of these classes can start to all look the same so I chose my fabric to stand out a bit. Plus, it is one of my all-time favourite fabrics.

I didn't expect to care much for my blocks, I prefer a bit more control in my colour schemes. But I LOVE my blocks. So much so that I've got plans for a lot more and a finished quilt. I think I lucked out  with the fabric I picked out of the bags and the colours that came up.  Or it was just all serendipity... In the end I took a handful of orphan blocks from the morning exercises and I have another plan for them too.

Again, I was totally reminded that we need to remain open to experiences. I went into the class all cocky about my improv ability and thinking I wouldn't learn anything. And I came out with a bit of a gut check, new ideas, and an appreciation for the approach of others. Plus some rather cool quilt blocks.

Just Sit Down

There are times in life when we need to push ourselves, when the teacher becomes a student, when the one who can't top talking needs to shut up and sew. This pillow serves a reminder to me to do all of that.

After my two days of teaching at QuiltCon I had the pleasure to take some classes. The pillow is the end result of my class with Yoshiko Jinjenzi. I jumped at the chance to take a class with her, even though I wasn't thrilled about making a pillow with sheer fabric. Whatever, it was Yoshiko Jinjenzi.

Turns out we were making a project from her book, Quilting Line and Color. I have the book, I constantly pull it out and drool, but I've never been inclined to make anything. The instructions seem fussy and overly complex. Well, this pillow was actually dead easy to make. We had a total of 5 minutes of instruction from Yoshiko and then we set to making.

As our first step we got to go and dig through scraps to create our own bits and bobs to highlight on the pillow. Every single person in the class had to resist the urge to squirrel away extra fabric. We were cutting little bits so it was quite fun to think about this fabrics on a very small scale.

After we picked our fabric, cut them to whatever size and shape we wanted, and laid them out on this gold fabric she provided we layered it with a sheer gauze. Some basting stitches to hold everything in place then we set to quilting the heck out of that sandwich.

That is, when we weren't crowded around her fondling the quilts she shared. It was half pillow class, half trunk show. But it was when she was showing her quilts that you saw the potential of this layering technique. Something I was quite easily dismissing at the beginning of the class suddenly provided inspiration. Of course, the intricacy of her work and the extreme attention to finishing details might have also had something to do with it.

In the end, I did get my pillow almost done. Despite the distractions of the quilts and my neighbours Marianne and Leanne and my SIL (way to represent Alberta in Austin!) All but the actually turning it into a pillow. Just as soon as I could I turned it into a finished project, minus the tassels. I knew that if I let it sit it would never get done.

This pillow is so far removed from anything I would normally make, from something I would likely every make again. Gold? Sheer? A Pillow? But it serves as a good reminder for me to just shut and sew sometimes. And for that reason it will keep a place of honour in my heart, if not my room.

Had To

It had been weeks since I sewed. All invigorated from vacation and bursting with inspiration and one of those pesky ideas that just won't go away I had to get in my sewing room and sew. With just a cutting table and a couch I piled, cut, and started sewing. A few days later I had a sewing table and a design wall and three helpers constantly underfoot.

More on the sewing room next time.

For now, let's focus on my current obsession. An obsession it is. A million WIPS to finish, looming deadlines for articles, quilts, and more, and a house that still hasn't fully recovered from the holiday season. All of it thrown aside to work on this quilt.

It started with the Architextures line, a wonderful fat quarter bundle that Carolyn Friedlander herself sent me herself (she is such an awesome friend!) I had a concept in my head for some text letters too. Instead of using the whole line I decided to focus on a few specific colours: pink, navy, and orange.

A note on the colour focus. It wasn't until I was putting away our vacation laundry that I realized why I focused on these colours. Those were the colours I also packed for the trip. Seriously, all my clothes were navy, pink, or coral with neutrals thrown in. Funny.

So I shopped my stash for more low volume prints and a few darks. Then the rotary cutter came out and I started to hack it all up. This is both the terrifying and exciting part. I LOVE this line of fabric and it would be easy to hoard it. But I was giddy with my idea and wanted to get going.

And go I did. In between school pick-ups, swim lessons, play dates, construction, and interruptions I managed to get some letters pieced. And then some!

Giant Hexies

In looking at my inventory a few weeks ago I realized there are projects there I haven't shared. And some I never shared progress for. I must rectify that, starting today.

These are my bee blocks from the Unscripted Bee. It is a group of Canadian ladies with a love for all things improv and modern.

I asked for giant, giant hexagon blocks. Each friend was sent a a stack of fabrics and a template for the hexagon. It was up to them how they would actually put the block together. They all finish at 16.5'' across, on the flat sides. And, as you can see, they got very creative in how they did it. So much fun!

There are two outstanding blocks, plus my own to make. I do want to make it with straight edges so then I need to finish off with all the outside pieces. Now that I have these out I want to play!

Wine Gums Top

Well, I'm managing to sneak in bits of sewing here and there. The baby is napping well and my little girl loves to putter around the house on her own, when we aren't having tea parties. Phew.

It didn't take much to finish this top. Worked on in snippets (hah, get it Amanda?) it comes together rather easily. I love this top. I love the concept, I love the colours, I love the construction. I'm looking forward to the finished project.

At one point I can grand plans to make 4 square panels of these and use them as quadrants, all in opposing directions for a large quilt. It is SO hard for me to work small. But I decided to stay true to the original pattern size so people can appreciate it for what it is.