Deep sewing roots

My mom was looking through some old photos recently and stumbled across this one.  This is me with my first sewing machine shortly after Christmas the year I was seven.

I have to say I don't remember a lot about this little machine specifically, but I do remember making all kinds of things when I was young.  I got serious about sewing when I was in junior high.  Smock tops were big fashion back then and I made a few of those.  My Dad wouldn't let me take Home Ec ("Your mother can teach you all those things"), but did let me take "Clothing" in 8th grade.  I made a full length lined dress which I think I wore once.  When I was in ninth grade, I was a cheerleader for the basketball team and made the uniforms for myself and many of my cheerleading friends.  I was in the orchestra during those years too and we had to wear a white blouse and a long black skirt for concerts and I remember making my black skirt.

In high school, I continued to make tops and skirts and made both my graduation and prom dresses.  I thought about making my wedding dress and bridesmaids dresses but decided against it.  I was still in college at the time and only would have had a few weeks at the beginning of the summer to complete the dresses.

During my working years pre-children, I made lots of my work clothes and later my maternity clothes.  Once I had children, I focused on making things for them for a few years.  Then I discovered quilting.  The only garment sewing I have done since then is Halloween costumes and nightgowns (you can't beat a flannel nightgown in the winter)!

I hope you don't all find this too boring and think I am older than dirt, but it is fun to be reminded sometimes of where you've been and how the direction you are going can seem so obvious in retrospect.

Cincinnati in April

Some of us from the Ann Arbor Modern Quilt Guild are planning to go to the Quilts Inc, International Quilt Festival Show in Cincinnati in April.  I am so excited!  I haven't been to a large quilt show like this in years.  But, this year, I am going.  If you aren't familiar with Quilts, Inc and the International Quilt Festival, they are the ones that put on the huge show in Houston every Fall attended by something like 60,000 people.  Their midwest Spring show was in Chicago for years and moved to Cincinnati last year.

I went to the show when it was in Chicago twice, but the last time was at least four years ago and I was only there for a few hours that time.  Going to an international quilt show like this is a great way to see what is new and exciting in the quilt world.  Of course, I try to keep up on the internet and that works pretty well, but there is nothing like seeing several hundred quilts in person.

And... the vendors!  The amazing number and variety of vendors you find at these kinds of shows is worth the trip by itself.  So many fabrics and products to see and try (and maybe a few to buy).

I also understand that the Cincinnati Modern Quilt Guild will have an exhibit at the show so I'm really looking forward to seeing their quilts.

This may be the year of the quilt show for me too (in addition to being the Year of the Swap).  The other major American international quilt organization, the American Quilter's Society, is having one of their big shows in Grand Rapids, MI in August (about 2 hours away from me).  This show has been held previously in Nashville, but will be in Grand Rapids this year.  I don't know if this is a long term change or a temporary one, but I'm going to try to get to that show too.  AQS's main show is the big one in Paducah, Kentucky every April.  I went to that show back in 2005 and have been hoping to get back every year since.  I almost went last year since I had a quilt in the show (it won a prize!), but the logistics didn't work out.

Are you planning any big quilting related trips this year?

The Year of the Swap

There are so many great ways to mix quilting and community out there these days.

My Pillow Talk Swap mosaic

In 2010, I joined my first two virtual quilting bees.  They were very different; one fairly traditional and one modern and improv.  My Warm Winter Night quilt was the result of The Bee's Knees VQB and I just love the way it turned out.  Unfortunately, my Mid Mod Bee quilt is still in blocks.  I really do want to get this put together as my bee buddies made amazing blocks for me.

In 2011, I participated in my first quilt along and took an online class.  I made Cherri House's Socken in the quilt along and Rachel Griffith's Facade in the online class.

My For The Love of Solids mosaic

In 2012, I have signed up for three swaps.  My participation in the Pillow Talk Swap has not yet been confirmed, but I am in on the Valentine swap from GenerationQ magazine and the For the Love of Solids Swap on Flickr.  I've been having a lot of fun reading (and answering) all the questions from members of the FTLOS group.  There are so many fun decisions ahead.  Swappers in the FTLOS group post mosaics and answer a questionnaire as to the things they like.  Now I get to "stalk" my partner and see how she answers the various questions so I can try to make something she will love.

Are you trying anything new that mixes quilting and community this year?

WIP Wednesday

I feel like I have a bit of quilting ADD lately.  It's not that I get bored with projects, but it seems like another challenge or opportunity that I can't resist pops up in the middle of one project and leads me to start another.  Sometimes, that one gets set aside too.  So I've decided to link up to Lee at Freshly Pieced's WIP Wednesday in an effort to keep me a little more accountable for what I start.

The project I started most recently (after my last post) is my modern floral vine project.  I'm not really sure if I'm going to like where this is going yet, so I'm just showing a tiny peek.

Next is a half square triangle project with some of Malka's fabulous fabric.  This one is my highest priority as it is the closest to being done.  I have about 3/4 of the blocks pieced.

This poor half square triangle project has been sitting around waiting for me to get back to it for I don't remember how long!  I sold the original version of "Spell It Out" so I'm making another one.  As you can see, I have a ways to go on this one.

I don't usually consider stacks of fabric to be WIPs, but this pile of three groups of fat quarters is patiently waiting for me to get to it.  I washed them all and it took me FOR-EVER to flatten them out and trim most of the frayed threads.  I did not iron them.  The full fat quarter set of Reunion is on the top and Half Moon Modern on the bottom, with some Echo in between.  (Sorry, but my lighting really washed out the color on the top Reunion fabric - it is a very pretty spring green).

Wish me luck!  Maybe one of these won't still be a WIP next week.

A new quilt?

This drawing has been taped to the wall behind my computer for several years now.  I drew it way back in 2006 or 2007 as part of a series of row robin quilts my Colorful Scrunchers group was doing.  (An amazingly creative experience!)  Back then, I did it as a traditional machine applique project.

I've always wanted to do something more with it.  My style has changed quite a bit since then, but I would still like to adapt the idea to a new quilt.  One of the ideas I have is speaking to me much louder than the others, so I think I'll try to work out that design first and see if it works.

What do you think?  Does it say anything to you?

Facade

My first completed quilt of 2012 is a Christmas quilt.  Does that mean I'm really early or really late?  I bet you can guess which one.  Good thing Christmas comes along every year.

Back in early October I stumbled across Rachel Griffith's (p.s. i quilt) Build A Quilt Workshop: Facade class.  Several things appealed to me about the class right away:  first, I really liked the quilt; second, it used pre-cuts which were something I hadn't really worked with before; third, it was an online class which is a new format for me; fourth, it only cost $10!  What have you got to lose there!  (Sorry if you are getting a sense of deja vu - I wrote about the class back here).  If that sounds appealing to you, Rachel is starting a new Cascade class soon.

I finished the top in early December and it has been waiting patiently for me to get it quilted.  I opted for fairly simple quilt in the ditch quilting as the fabrics are pretty busy.  I quilted along the horizontal and vertical block lines and then along the angle of the half square triangles.  The red and white strip for the binding just begged to be cut on the bias for a candy cane effect.

I have to say that I just love the colors in this fabric line - Countdown to Christmas by Sweetwater.  The olivey (springy?) green, the deep red, the lovely cream and the crisp black just work for me.

Being a dedicated prewasher of all my fabric, I was a little nervous about not being able to wash the precuts before I started.  To be consistent, I didn't wash any of the yardage I used for this quilt either.  I heaved quite a sigh of relief when I took the quilt out of the dryer and there was absolutely no bleeding at all.  My husband and I are using this quilt to keep us warm while we watch TV.  Christmas can hang around our house for a little longer this year.

Edited to add: I'm linking up to Amanda Jean's Finish It Up Friday.

Colorful!

I've been keeping busy with a layer cake of Malka Dubrawsky's A Stitch In Color.  Yum!

Some handwork

My handwork group (Seven Sisters) meets every two weeks.  After I finished the appliqué on my Very Long Term Project, I didn't want to jump into a new long term project just to have something to do.  Given the time of the year, snowflake designs were on my mind.  I'd thought about piecing some, but wasn't in the mood for fussing with the diamonds (too much holiday craziness filling my mind!).

So my thoughts turned to appliqué .  Usually, I would just cut out the shape I wanted and sew it down onto the background.  But, with this particular shape, I thought reverse appliqué would work too and decided to do it that way.  I haven't done much non-bias appliqué in a while, so I'm a little rusty and some of my diamonds are a bit wobbly.  However, it was a fun little project and reminds me how soothing this kind of work is.  And it provided me with a project for my Seven Sisters meetings.  I haven't made a final decision as to my next longer term handwork project (hopefully, not as long term as the last one), but I have a couple of ideas and am narrowing it down.


If you aren't familiar with reverse appliqué , you put the fabric underneath the background instead of on top.  Then you cut away the top (background) fabric to show the fabric underneath.  In this case, I basted the white fabric behind the red.  I drew my design on the red fabric.  Then I cut down the center of what became the white snowflake lines and needle turned the red fabric under.

2012 here we come!

There are so many posts in blogland over the last few days about everyone's amazing accomplishments for 2011 and goals for 2012.  I find these posts so inspiring!

As I look back to my goals for 2011, I did pretty well on the sewing and time goals I had for myself but not as well on the business goals.  It is so much more fun to design and sew quilts than it is to work on the business part :)

Unrelated picture of the duvet cover I made for my niece.

I've been working on my list of goals for 2012.  At this point it is ridiculously long!  I have goals for the number of new patterns to design, charity quilts to make, tutorials or free patterns to release and projects to submit to magazines.  If I add up all these quilts it comes out to about forty!  Not very realistic for me if I ever want to get any of the business goals accomplished too.

I could eliminate some of the goals, but I'll probably just leave them and not meet them all.  That's OK with me.  It is the working toward the goals that is the most important activity.  For instance, I'd like to have six new patterns designed and published by Spring.  Six isn't really a magic number, so if I get four or five done, I'll still be satisfied as long as I'm making progress on other fronts too.

Another one of the things I'd really like to do this year is to host a quilt along.  I participated in two last year and it was so much fun.  I have a few possible ideas running around in my head, but haven't worked them into just the right project yet.  If you have any ideas about what would be a fun quilt along I'd love to hear them!