Just Checking In...

Not much new to show you right now.  I'm busy printing patterns and getting ready for the quilt show this weekend.  This quilt is called "Midnight Dance" and is one of the quilts I had in our last quilt show two years ago.  It is big at 88" x 97".  I often listen to books on tape (CD/Ipod) while I am sewing and this quilt will forever make me think of "The Secret Life of Bees".

Other random things in my mind are:
1) my older daughter gets home from Mexico tomorrow night!
2) next week I must get caught up on bee blocks!
3) must clean the house!
4) looking forward to a couple of long weekends away in August

For those of you who are local, the quilt show is put on by the Greater Ann Arbor Quilt Guild and will be at the Morris Lawrence building at Washtenaw Community College in Ann Arbor from 9-5 on Saturday and 11-5 on Sunday.  Hope to see you there!

Ann Arbor Art Fairs

Ann Arbor, MI (where I live) is in the midst of annual Art Fair craziness!  If you aren't familiar with the Ann Arbor Art Fairs, there are four of them that run at the same time for four days every July.  We expect approximately half a million visitors to our town from Wednesday to Saturday this week.  The work shown at the fairs runs the gamut from stuff for decorating kids' rooms and pottery mugs to amazing paintings and sculptures that would be at home in any high end gallery.

The Art Fairs basically take over the entire center of town from the southeast end of the main University of Michigan campus to the western end of the Main Street area.  People who live here tend to either love them or avoid them.  Of course, I definitely fall into the "love them" camp!  Here are a few pictures I took on Wednesday morning.   (For those of you who know Ann Arbor, these were taken near State and William Sts.)   I made a quick tour around the block before I went to work saw lots of great art. 

I never used to like anything made with metal, but there are some amazing metal artists out there and I have been converted over the past few years.  There are very few, if any, quilt artists at the fairs.  The one or two I have seen in recent years have moved more into the fiber art area where they frame what might be called a quilt top.  Perhaps the work sells better this way, but it doesn't make me want to reach out and touch it the way quilts usually do.

We went to the Fairs with a friend last night, but ended up cutting the trip short due to rain.  I probably won't be able to make it there today, but I am hoping to visit tomorrow morning before it all closes down for another year.

Traffic Pattern

You know how every project you work on is your favorite at the time?  Well, this quilt, Traffic Pattern, has remained a favorite even as I have worked on others. 

It started quite some time ago when I began noticing bird images everywhere.  Something about the silhouette of a bird really speaks to me and I began to muse about a quilt with birds.  Several weeks later, this flock coming towards me popped into my mind.  At first I envisioned this as a black and white quilt, but decided that would be too stark.  Besides, black birds in this quantity had the potential to look slightly sinister.  I rejected a light blue background as I did not want a realistic look to the quilt.  I eventually settled on this grey/yellow/white combination.

The thin yellow strips are flanges that are sewn in between the blocks.  I think they added just the right amount of definition to the "edges" of the quilt.

Here is the original sketch of my idea - don't laugh too hard at my "drawing" ability. I cannot draw for beans. When I was young, I really thought I wasn't at all artistic or creative because I can't draw. I'm so glad I found another way to express myself!


This quilt is a pattern in my Etsy shop.

July's color is red

Maria Peagler, who wrote "Color Mastery:  10 Principles for Creating Stunning Quilts", has been featuring a color of the month slideshow with quilts and tips from various quilt designers. 

July's color is red and my quilt "Bold" is included in the slideshow.  Check out Maria's blog for a link to the other colors of the month (tab on top right) and lots of great info.

Thanks, Maria, for such a fun idea and for including me in this month's show!

The Bee's Knees block for Jessica

Jessica designed a terrific quilt for our Bee's Knees VQB.  The quilt is a maze with a blue background and the maze "path" being assorted scraps.  She assigned each of us a part of the quilt and told us which spot the path had to begin and where it had to end.  How the maze gets from the beginning to the end was up to each of us.

I had so much fun drawing maze ideas.  You can see some of the ones I considered above.  The top right and middle right had path lines that ran next to each other resulting in a block of scraps that confused the path.  I ruled those out.  The left and center ones on the middle row looked too much like hearts.  Of the four remaining, I liked the top center and bottom center best and decided to go with the bottom center because I thought the loops looked more interesting.

Usually when people ask me what I like about quilting I focus on the color, the fabric and the graphic impact of the quilt.  But, the decision making process is also a big part of what I like.  It feels good to explore ideas and then decide which ones to pursue further - especially when you are happy with the outcome.  Even if the outcome doesn't match what was in your head, you've still learned some things for next time.

Amy and the Blogger's Quilt Festival

I love looking at all the gorgeous quilts when Amy does her Blogger's Quilt Festival.  This time I thought I should join the fun.  I hesitated for a few days, though, because I thought it might be complicated.  Once I sat down to actually sign up, it was so fast and easy I had to laugh at myself!

Last Friday, Amy featured me on her blog.  Thanks Amy!  Here is the link if you didn't see it.  Welcome to those of you who followed the link from Amy's blog.

July is going to be a crazy month!  Our local quilt guild, the Greater Ann Arbor Quilt Guild, is having their biannual quilt show.  That in itself always leads to a lot of last minute sewing, but this year, I will be a vendor at the show.  This will be the first show that I have done as Esch House Quilts.  I am both excited and nervous.  There is so much to do!  Several designs are working their way toward full fledged pattern status, so I should have some new patterns to show you soon.  "Check Out These Daisies" will be the first new pattern this month.  It should be available in about a week is available now in my Etsy shop!

If you are in southeastern Michigan, quilt show details are here.  Admission is $5.  Stop by my booth and say hi!

I hope you all have a wonderful holiday weekend.  The weather here looks like it is going to be great!