Creating an Outlet

A long overdue update

2013-02-02T17:57:00.002-06:00

In 2012 I didn't quilt & sew a lot of projects, but I started a number, and finished a few. I spent the first quarter of the year working on quilts for the lake house. I've got 3 there so far, but nothing for my bed. This will be resolved in 2013. As soon as I decide what I want to do with our wood-paneled, attic bedroom. Its a spacious room, with a great view, but lacks any sense of comfort and relaxation you should expect from a bedroom, especially one at the lake.

Of the quilts I worked on last year, Laurel's was my favorite. Of all time. I really enjoyed the challenge using my scraps to create this quilt, "Pink Lemonade." Although not difficult to piece, I learned much about color. Laurel's room has some crazy wall paper up, and its going to take me some time to get this updated, so I wanted to craft a quilt that would work with what we had already.

After the summer was over, I started working on an art quilt. One I had started the year before, what I thought was memory of the lake. Now that we have some real memories of Michigan, I free-motioned quilted some of these these memories onto the quilt. But I am a bit stumped on the last 2 panels. Once I got busy with Christmas, I put it aside. But I'm already thinking about how I will finish this wallhanging. I'd like to hang it in my office. Something to inspire me...retirement? Not for some time yet.

Then at the end of the year, I made an attempt at sewing a few presents. Although they turned out pretty well, I made several prototypes and I still owe Laurel a finished product. I made some purse organizers for teachers, and family. I really like the one I made for myself (a prototype) and I learned to sew vinyl - not nearly as hard as I expected. It definately takes a little fussing to get it to not drag on the sewing machine, but it tolerated the push and pull very nicely.

And to start the new year, I decided I wanted a new quilt for myself. This is one of my own designes I'm calling "Under a Starry Night." Its going to be quite large, 114" x 96" - big enough for my king bed. I haven't decided on the back yet, I have all the stars sorted and the binding. Here's the pattern I drew - or half -and a picture of my work so far. At this time, I've got about 20% left to piece for the top. And no really ideas for how to quilt. I'll need to look at the full top before I can decide the quilting. The photo to the right is roughly 1/4 of the quilt top.

A Finish: Scrappy Pinwheels

2012-04-11T06:12:00.001-05:00

The scrappy pinwheel quilt is finished an installed at its destination: the lake guest bedroom. I really enjoyed making this quilt. And was surprised how quickly I completed it, considering I did not work on it as much each week as I would have liked.

Technically, its the best quilt I've constructed thus far. Each block came together perfectly, with all the points matching up. However, it's so colorful, its bland. I learned a lot about color design and now wish I had created monochromatic blocks, instead of distributing the fabric throughout the quilt. It feels really good that this quilt, with the exception of the back, was made entirely from scraps.

I also pieced some pillow case covers. These were fun little projects, to try out some new blocks.

Here's my quilting buddy, Rukia. I love this look - "do I have to get off the quilt now?"

H

Now onto something pink and purple for Miss L.

What a productive weekend

2012-03-04T21:33:00.001-06:00

I had not worked on this quilt in nearly 3 weeks and had forgotten what was left to do. I am so pleased with my progress this weekend...

I didn't really like this quilt, initially. It's so colorful - its bland. But the quilting is bringing it some life.

A finished quilt top.

2012-02-13T22:04:00.001-06:00

Now how to quilt it? Maybe heart shaped leaves?

Progress report

2012-01-31T21:49:00.001-06:00

I'm making progress on this scrappy quilt top. Slowly. Very slowly.

An old finish

2012-01-24T21:45:00.000-06:00

I finished this quilt in May 2011. And just today, I finally got around to taking a photo of my work. Its been washed, loved and washed again, before I ever got it documented.

This is my quilting buddy. She watches over me while I sew and sometimes test drives the final product.

A close up of my favorite block. It was my favorite from the beginning, and stayed that way through the completion.

The final product.

This quilt is on its way to the lake where we will enjoy its warm on cool nights.

You can see more photos of this quilt-a-long here and read about it here.

Sneak peak

2012-01-22T00:28:00.000-06:00

Here's a sneak peak at what I've been working on recently. This scrappy quilt design is close to the final assembly of the quilt top. And I've made a serious dent in my scrap bin doing so. Its a queen-sized quilt, and I have a few extra blocks to play with.

I hope that you are making progress on your projects too!

Back at my sewing table

2012-01-15T14:28:00.000-06:00

Last year turned out to be a productive year - at the office. But not so at home. And when I wasn't working, we traveled. Nearly every weekend from May to September. Not only was my sewing machine left all alone, but I also have lots of chores to catch up on, and my garden was a disaster.

This year will be different. And I hope to sew LOTS more. I am in need of quilts to cover beds and I've gotten a good start. This quilt is from the cover of American Patchwork, January's edition.

And I've aqcuired enough scraps to make the entire top with without a trip to the quilt shop.

I'll keep you posted on my other New Year's resolutions. And I've already got my next quilt picked out. I love all the patterns in this book

I've already got my next quilt picked out. I love all the designs City Quilts, By Cherri House, which I received as a gift for Christmas. And I'm planning on making "City Park" in a queen size.

But I will have to get to the LQS to start that one.

This and that...

2011-08-13T13:49:00.000-05:00

Her first project. We couldn't pass by the princess fabric (and I had a coupon).

My stitching buddy. She likes to watch me sew from this perch.

New acquisitions

from our June vacation in Traverse City.

I don't knit well, but this little shop Wool and Honey was really neat.

Vacation Sewing!

2011-07-03T15:31:00.002-05:00

Been keeping busy..

2011-06-10T21:18:00.000-05:00

Old Red Barn Quilt Along top ready to baste

Bloggers Block-a-palooza quilt along blocks, with some of the sashing on.

More Block-a-palooza...

A new quilt along...

2011-05-26T21:03:00.000-05:00

I've found a new quilt along to join at Old Red Barn. This one is all about machine quilting technique. Our initial instuctions is to craft this basic log cabin block quilt 42" square. You can read more about it here. I enjoy Dana's blog about her family, her home business and life in the Carolina's. But I also share her interest in modering quilting, design and fabrics.

Its been 2 1/2 months since I last journaled here about my fabric and quilt passions. Once again, work gets in the way. But things are smoothing out on that front and I've been back to my spiffy new machine severeal times over the last 10 days.
l

I've finished a quilt-along that was driving me crazy. The Block-a-palooza quilt along was a quilt pattern of 16 blocks that were pretty advances. I started out the quilt-along by keeping pace for the first 4 blocks, and then by the fifth block, things got a little wonky. It was a combination of instructions that I could not understand and my working ahead without completely reading the instructions - that I found myself without much motivation to keep at it. But I did it, and I finished the 16th block last weekend. I'd like to add 4 more blocks to make it a nice sized quilt for Laurel's bed and I was thinking a "follow the geese" sort of block, with a variety of fabric would work well.

And for finishing this quilt top - I think a light grey fabric (that I've already ordered) like Moda Bella, and string piecing the outer border would give the quilt some size and use of some of my scrap bin. Keep checking back, as I will be working on this soon.

Blogger Block-a-palooza

2011-03-08T06:29:00.000-06:00

I've been taking it pretty easy on my machine recently. Only getting to it once or twice a week. Even though its not been a lot of sewing time, I'm still getting something done.

In addition to repairing the dogs toys and collars (she's quite a chewer - but so far kept it to her stuff), I've been participating in the Blogger's Block-a-palooza. You can read about it here at Quilt Dad's blog. You can see all the participants blocks here and my blocks are here.

This particular project was designed around a new fabric line from Moda, Sweetwater's Sunkissed. Very pretty fabric, but I really wanted to challenge myself with fresh color combination's and use fabric from my stash. So I bought on a little of the 45 different prints required and started pulling from my stash. I've been pretty happy with the results so far.

Up until block #5, I had been keeping up. But I had to re-do this block, as mine turned out horribly. The method of creating the flying geese was new to me, and I'm not quite sure where I went off the rails. It took me two weeks of life getting in the way of my creative outlets before I got back to it and now I've fallen 4 blocks behind.

I love the idea of using the traditional block patterns and freshing them up with bright colorful fabrics. This block is my favorite so far...

A new quilt along and other projects...

2011-01-29T21:20:00.000-06:00

I've had a week off of work and I've spent a lot of time with my new sewing machine.

This week I worked on a Gee's Bend quilt kit. I really like the colors and the fabric, but I feel like there is no creative energy with this kit - sort of a paint-by-number type of experience. The kit is easy to construct. The fabrics are nice, and I have full control over quilting. But I don't know what I was thinking. Its not like me to recreate someone else's masterpiece...But if your curious, you can see my progress here.

To compensate, I joined the flickr group, and blogger quilt-along Block-a-palooza. The project is designed around fabric I don't have in my stash, so I challenged myself to come up with at least some of the 44 different fat quarter required from my stash. And I did. You can see the fabric and my first completed block here.

I haven't sew a complex block (at least to me it seemed complex) like this since the last class I took. My stuff tends to be big geometric shapes, and less piecing - this appeals to me. But I really like the way the first block turned out and I'm excited to see what's next.

I also worked on a small project from a new book I received last Christmas, Cozy Modern Quilts. Super easy, lots of ideas in this book. I've got this item ready to quilt when I next feel like doing so.

Finally, I finished my 2011 Angel. This beauty is going to hang in my foyer all year. I really enjoyed the challenge of the metalic threads, and artistry from the quilting design process. I learned much from this project.

I don't mean to complain...

2011-01-16T21:25:00.000-06:00

But my mojo is gone. Or at least laid up with a bad winter cold.

And I shouldn't complain about the day job, because I'm lucky to have employment in this 9+ % unemployment rate (those that are still looking for work, that is). But the job is really sucking the creative energy away from my creative outlet.

And I'm irked by it.

But it should get better. January will pass - and its a tough month for me. January is preceeded by December, a very challenging time of the year with the big holiday/shopping /celebratory preperations going on.

It should come back to me anyday now.

And tonight, I spent some time going through new quilting books and magazines and marking what I liked and why. Maybe the next time I sit down in my work area, I'll feel a project coming.

I suppose it sounds like I haven't been sewing since my last post. Which is not true! I got this amazing new machine for Christmas, and I've been experimenting with metallic threads. And I've even whipped up a project or two. But, blah. I just feel, blah. Ho hum. Here's what I've worked on so far in January.

Its not serious yet, more frustrating. I could really use a creative outlet for my creative outlet right now.

December???

2010-12-12T21:03:00.000-06:00

How did that happen? And its nearly the middle of the month? Yikes.

At least this little elf has been busy, working on Christmas gifts and holiday projects. Here's a sample. And here too.

November WIP

2010-11-07T21:29:00.001-06:00

This block is a sample of a work in progress for November. I've got a stash for 2 quilts using this same block. I love the asymmetry, but my color palate lacked the variety I needed. The, upper and lower block, L & R respectively, are just a little too similar is color and tone. Seems just a little to heavy. However, it did still come together pretty well and now I am considering the quilting pattern - all over, or setting off the blocks.

I finally finished wading through the blogger quilt festival photos on flickr, and I spent a lot of time getting ideas for the quilting pattern for this quilt. Regardless, there is much inspiration to be seen, even if your not looking for something in particular.

Bloggers Quilt Festival

2010-10-31T17:44:00.000-05:00

I'm not participating in the Bloggers Quilt Festival, but I am enjoying the creativity of all the participants. You can see them on Flickr here or go directly to Amy's site here.

So much inspiration. Thanks to Amy Ellis, the blogger, for pulling it all together...

A Finish and a WIP

2010-10-27T22:04:00.000-05:00

I'm excited to have this quilt finished. It reminds me of a watercolor painting. The colors are soft and summer-y and I really branched out with the quilting on this one. You can see more here.

I've also been inspired by nature, as I often am, and these are dry leaves that Laurel brought into the house for fall decorations. We have many trees on the property and this fall table runner is inspired by the fall colors and my improved technique of free-motion quilting. You can see more photos here.

One-block-wonder

2010-10-02T21:17:00.001-05:00

Finally, a new post. I've been trying to post this photo for a week now, via an iphone app, and I have to admit, for once, it did not work. Most disheartening.

But back to the photo, this is image is of the project I'm currently working on, my On-Block-wonder titled "Watercolor". I've moved to the quilting stage and these 4 threads are what I have chosen to quilt it with. Currently, I've got about 40% done. I can't wait to see the finished project. Its very organic and natural, and without a plan. Almost artsy.

This technique is musch easier than it looks. I consider myself a novice/intermediate quilter, and I easily picked up this technique. Give it a try - its fun to see how the colors turn out.

New projects, uninspired...

2010-09-20T21:53:00.000-05:00

Scrappy improve blocks.

One-block wonder, minus 2 more borders. I really like the watercolor effect of this quilt-top.

Above are photos of what I'm working on - its not a thrilling journal entry, but its honest. Its been kind of a quilty-lull, with other things zapping my creative energy. I took a machine quilting class last weekend, and it was nice, but I've spent a lot of time with my Hargrave book and I really have learned a lot from Harriet. So a class was okay. But it was nice to spend a large part of the day with other quilters.

This weekend is the Mississippi Valley Quilt Guild's biennial quilt show. I'll be out of town on Saturday, so I'm going to take some personal time off work on Friday to see the exhibit. I'm pretty excited to see what my local fellow quilters are doing.

Norway Craft finds...

2010-09-04T13:15:00.000-05:00

While on vacation in Norway last month, I did a little bit of shopping at the local quilt shops. I was somewhat disappointed to find the shelves stocked with only American fabric designers, but after talking with the shop owner at Lappedilla I found some patterns by Norwegian designers to bring home. They sell lots of bags, and table runners, but not a lot of quilts. We found that were ever we stayed, down comforters were in use.

The second photo is of some alpaca yarn I purchased. Again, I could probably get alpaca yarn here, but I will enjoy knitting myself a scarf (or 2) as a reminder of our trip to Norway. I love these two shades of green.

By the time I got back from this amazing aventure, I was itching to get back to my Janome (oh how I missed thee). I promptly finished sewing the cozy I had started for it earlier this summer, and dug out a WIP. (Deep sigh). I'll post photos of these soon.

We're having a cool Labor Day weekend, high temps near 70, lows in the 40's. And it makes feel like sewing up a great big comfy quilt to keep warm in.

The gift of a quilt...

2010-08-13T21:24:00.001-05:00

Here's my latest project. Its a gift, so this post will appear after I've presented it.

I sure hope they like it. I really enjoyed making it for them and we even road tested it.

And when we return from our adventure to the Arctic circle, I will have been away from my Janome for 2 whole weeks. I expect to come back itching to sew with lots of inspiration. Until then, check out this album for more photos of Once Upon A Time...

Bloom quilt done...

2010-08-08T21:28:00.000-05:00

Image by Colleenmds via Flickr

Its finally on our bed. And its been so satisfying to know that I did it.

But enough basking in the glow of my most challenging accomplishment, I have work to get done. My next quilt has a deadline, and technically I've been working on for several months, collecting fabrics and planning the project in my head. I spent this last week cutting, arranging the blocks on the design wall, and now I am sewing it together. I've got about 40% of the rows complete.

Photo of the finished Bloom quilt

2010-07-31T21:57:00.000-05:00

Catching up on my blog, I know I am late posting a photo of the finished project. I am so pleased with how it turned out, and I love looking at it.

I'm working on a new project now. I haven't taken many photos of it in construction, but I will post some later. I am working under a deadline for this project and I've not had much time to devote to sharing...