camp stitchalot and a little progress

I'm excited to tell you that I am going to be teaching at Camp Stitchalot in August! There will be 3 other teachers that weekend: Jacquie of Tallgrass Prairie Studio, Dan of Piece and Press and Rossie of Fresh Modern Quilts. Brenda of Pink Castle Fabrics is the host for the weekend. I'm excited that I get to teach at camp, but I'm beyond thrilled to be able to learn from the other teachers. What a line up!

For my class I will be teaching how to make a slab (improvisational piecing with scraps) based on the material in Sunday Morning Quilts. It's one thing to make a smaller piece (a single block) from scraps, but how do you take it beyond a block? I'll be covering how to use this technique to make a larger quilt. It's quite fun!!!

The solids above were sent to me so I could make a sample block using the slab technique. I started with Michael Miller Cotton Couture solids in Marine, Turquoise and Luna along with some Kona Cotton in Bone. I added in a few scraps of my own because I needed a bit more variety. (We were allowed to add scraps, so I didn't break the rules. No worries!) It was an interesting exercise to work with a limited color palette, but I also enjoyed the challenge of working within those parameters. It's good to stretch your skills! Speaking of stretching...I had to chop these up to make scraps in order to make my block. THAT was probably the hardest part! :)

This is my final block and it measures 20" square. I rather like it! It was fun to sew with fabrics that someone else selected. This block will go into a sampler quilt along with blocks from each of the teachers. I can't wait to see how they all play together!

 

If you are interested in going to camp, you can find all the details here. I hope to see you in August!

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In other news.....quilting time is hard to come by these days, but I'm trying to be content with the time that I get. I don't always do so well with the contentment piece, but I'm working on it. :)

Currently in my machine....my leftovers quilt. I'm estimating that I have less than an hour of quilting time on this one. It's a big quilt, so I'm excited to have made that much progress. I'm looking forward to picking a binding fabric!

One more bit of progress...while my sewing room is still not organized, I have my cutting table cleared off. Woo-hoo! This piece was formerly an island in our kitchen, now the center of my sewing room. My husband teases me saying that I'm spoiled, but I think it's a dandy fabric holder/cutting station! I'm very thankful to have it! (By the way, gotta LOVE that billiard light above it, no?)

The island turned cutting counter (it's from IKEA) happens to hold a whole lot of fabric! Hurray!

just one slab and a little quilting progress

I don't know if you've heard or not, but my friend Cheryl is heading up a quilt block drive. She is collecting slabs from all who are willing to help and she (and a team of volunteers) will make them into quilts for the people affected by the floods in her area.

If you have an hour, I'd encourage you to dig out your scraps and make a slab or two or three for a good cause. You can read all the details on her post here and you can see some photos of the after affects here. The photos are hard to look at, but it's nice to be able to help in some small way.

After 4 bouts of stippling gone bad, (ugh!) I finally abandoned the idea of free motion quilting this quilt. (You can see the full shot of the quilt here.)

I switched gears, set up the Janome and started straight line quilting. It's SO much easier.

I only had to mark one line with chalk (so far) and I'm using the guide bar to echo the subsequent lines. It's slick! If you look closely at the photo, you will see that I'm actually using the bar upside down. I do not know why they put the guide bar to the right of the walking foot. The more lines you quilt the more bulk you have between the needle and the machine. That is not very helpful at all! But, if you use the guide bar to the left of the walking foot the bulk of the quilt pools to the left of the machine, making it much easier to manage. I figured this out on my last project that I did grid quilting on. Flipping the guide bar has made things so much easier! It feels so good to see progress on this quilt. Finally!

Happy Wednesday to you!

retreat sewing

I spent the weekend at a retreat near Walker, Minnesota with a lovely group of women. I made/worked on a bunch of little projects throughout the weekend....I may have had project ADD! I was one of three teachers at the retreat. I love teaching, but I love to learn new things, too. It's fun when I can do both!

Jen taught an English paper piecing hexagon class. I've made a few hexis in the past, but it was nice to learn some tips and tricks. This was my first time using the pre-cut paper pieces and I really liked them! I used part of a mini charm pack in 30s prints...a perfect match for this pattern. I love it and I will probably turn it into a pin cushion. Shocker, I know!

Kandi taught a few classes....one of them was a fabric painting class. We painted Osnaburg (a linen-like fabric) with fabric dyes. The next step will be free motion quilting to add the finer details. That will be a stretch for me, but I'm hoping for the best! It was fun to get out of my comfort zone and try something new and completely different.

I taught scrap management and I turned the slab that I demoed at class into a mini mat almost right away...binding and all. Finishing feels good! I usually make mono chromatic slabs, or full on scrappy slabs, so this two toned slab was a fun departure. The quilting is a concentric squared off spiral. Quick and easy!

I did a little sewing for fun, too. It's been awhile since I made a thread catcher and I love the patchwork version. I used a Carolyn Friedlander's favorites mini charm pack (are you sensing a theme here?) that I was hoarding for this project. Felt great to use it!

It was nice to have this on my desk while I was sewing. It was a good place to collect those tiny scraps and triangles that I should throw away, but I keep them anyway!

One more mini charm pack project...I started making a small baggy pouch, pattern by Aneela Hoey. I LOVE these little pouches. So cute and such a great size. It was nice to get the patchwork pieced and quilted. Whenever I get back to this project, the assembly should be quick. Perfect for a last minute gift!

And one last thing to share. My table mate gave me this portion of a vintage quilt top. Isn't it gorgeous? It's plenty wonky, but it needs to be used. Perhaps I could turn it into throw pillows? I'm not sure. If you have any ideas, I'd love to hear them!

Retreat sewing is fun, but at the end of the day, it's all about the people. I'm so thankful that I was able to be a part of a wonderful weekend with such lovely women! A big thanks to Rhende for all her hard work to make it happen! And of course, it's always good to be home. Sick kids and all.

Happy Monday to you!

quilt surgery

This quilt has been in progress for a few years, quite literally, but this is the first time I've shared it here. Over a month ago, I pieced the back, and since I liked that so much, I decided to rework the front, which I wasn't completely sold on. And this is how it goes in my world!

This is the top, before. The green and red (bottom) sections were bothering me. Some of the green fabrics were too drab for my liking. Some of the red fabrics weren't red enough for me. Since I had gone to the trouble of adding the borders already, the last thing I wanted to do was to chop it all apart and reconstruct it. I decided to do a little quilt surgery instead.

I got out my stitch ripper and carefully removed the green section. (This was very nerve wracking, by the way!) I made a green slab of fabric to replace it and used the original green section for a cutting guide. I carefully pinned and sewed the new section into the gaping hole in my quilt top. I did the two ends first, then each of the sides, pinning each step of the way. It came back together really, really well! I was surprised, delighted, thrilled. So, I decided to do the same for the red section. It worked equally well the second time, which, quite frankly, surprised me. I thought it was a one time shot. So glad that it wasn't!

This is what the quilt top looks like now. Last night when I was looking at these photos I had to wonder if it did any good? Or if I took one step forward and two steps back? Today, I think it DID improve the quilt top. (Feeling kinda wishy washy, I guess!) I love the fabrics now, and I'm curious to see how it looks all quilted up.

Speaking of the quilting...I'm "straight" line quilting with my free motion foot. Seems counter intuitive, doesn't it? I'm finding that it gives a wonderful "organic" feeling that I can't seem to achieve with a walking foot. It's been a fun experiment that is yielding great results. Love it when that happens!

I'm linking up with Lee of Freshly Pieced for WIP Wednesday.

low volume is fun! and some randomness

After weeks of mental preparing myself for the challenge, I started a low volume quilt. I'm using Cheryl's fabulous Sunday Morning pattern from the book. (I can't tell you how fun it is to use patterns from your own book. Eeee!) Anyway, I don't know why I thought low volume would be so hard, but it really intimidated me for some reason. Now that I've jumped in, I'm smitten!

Last week before retreat I made a TV tray ironing board. I think I first saw the idea here, but I've seen several versions since. I've been using it to press my strips. It's so nice to have a little table set up rather than the big ironing board taking up all kinds of space in my messy small-ish craft room. It was totally handy to have at retreat, too. (Right Terri?) If you haven't made one yet, I'd highly recommend it!

Here are a few random happenings/thoughts from my daily life........(key word...random!)

I finished my daughter's hello kitty slab and made it into a little doll quilt. I LOVE IT!

Better yet, she does, too! She was so excited to be able to play with it. I am excited to have one less WIP sitting around. :)

(She so badly needs a haircut. sheesh!)

SOMEONE put the wrong dish soap in the dishwasher last night. It's the first time that has happened at my house. I actually thought it was pretty funny! Has that ever happened to you? Seems like something out of a movie....doesn't it?

This is what my son was doing at breakfast this morning. Did I mention that he's only 9? Man, that kid can spell! He amazes me. I sure do love my kids!!!

This is a little pin cushion that I made for a friend over the weekend. I feel a serious pin cushion addiction coming on! (there ARE worse things, right???)

This post only took me just over an hour to write. Woohoo! That is quick for me. How long does it usually take YOU to write a blog post? I'm super curious to know, if you care to share. (see, I told you it was gonna be random. hee. hee.)

Hope you are having a fabulous Wednesday!

courtyard-a completed quilt

Welcome to finish it up Friday!

I'm calling this the courtyard quilt. It's just a slab of fabric scraps (all solids!) surrounded by Essex linen in flax. I love the simplicity and I think I actually prefer the scraps floating on a solid background rather than an entire quilt made from scraps. The negative space highlights the patchwork quite nicely. It was pieced very much like my scrap vortex quilts. (Those tutorials can be found here, if you scroll to the bottom of the page.)

On quilts like this I enjoy mixing up the quilting. For the patchwork, I quilted it with straight lines 1/2" apart. The background is quilted with a loopy swirl. Both types of quilting were done on my domestic machines. The free motion quilting was done on my Juki and the straight line quilting was done on my Janome. I used Auriful thread in the color 2600.

For the back, I used this cute firefly print by Sarah Jane for Michael Miller from her Wee Wander line. I love this print so much! The binding fabric is a Denyse Schmidt plaid (from JoAnn's, several years ago). I love that it's printed on the bias...such visual appeal without having to make bias binding. The colors and design are the perfect finish for this quilt. All of this fabric came from the stash or the scrap bins. That's extremely satisfying!

 The quilt measures about 48" x 64". It's scrap project #193.

Now, it's your turn! Do you have a finish to share? If so, please link up! Thank you, as always, for joining me for finish it up Friday!

porthole pillow

Welcome to finish it up Friday!
Can I just say, I love finishing?
I really do.

I made this block at Camp Stitch A Lot last month, and I turned it into a pillow cover yesterday. One less thing hanging out on the design wall. Hurray!

The patchwork center was made using the slab technique in Sunday Morning Quilts and the circle was made using a reverse applique technique that Rossie taught at camp. I really liked the process of making circles this way. Furthermore, I LOVE how the two techniques work together.

For quilting, I cross hatched the background using a 2" grid in red thread. The center is pebble quilted in white thread. I considered doing a spiral quilting on the background, or perhaps even concentric circles, but cross hatching won out at the last minute. I am happy I chose that route.

I made an envelope backing so that cover is washable. This ADORABLE Riley Blake print from my stash is a lovely compliment to the front, I think. My daughter squealed with delight when she saw it on the back. (Apparently she agreed.) Man, it's fun to have a girl to share cuteness overload with.

I'm so glad that I made this block larger enough to turn into a pillow (it's 22" square), because the last thing I need is another orphan block hanging around. I can always use another pillow to add to my growing collection. :)

This is scrappy project 10/101. Almost a tenth of way there!

Now it's your turn. Please link up your finishes! Thanks, as always, for joining me for finish it up Friday!

choose joy

This move (or impending move, I should say) has been extremely difficult. There have been many tears, lots of stress, and  more exhaustion than I thought possible. Let's not forget sleepless nights. I'm a bit ashamed to admit this part, but it all has been accompanied by lots of moping around on my part. So, when the idea for this pillow popped into my head (in the middle of the night, as most great ideas do), I knew I couldn't let this one go by. I pieced the low volume slab the very next day. I finished up the details and made it into a pillow a few days after that. I finished it within a week of inspiration. That never happens! I absolutely love how it turned out! I am not saying that it has been a magic wand on my attitude or anything, but it's a tiny step in the right direction.

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Thanks for all your thoughtful comments in the previous post about fabric usage. I appreciate those of you who took the time to weigh in and join in the discussion. If you are a fabric hoarder (like me!) there are a few comments that might encourage you to use your pretties...and that's a very good thing!

oatmeal quilt and retreat signup deadline

I started yet another quilt....the third start in one week's time. Sheesh! I'm using my neutral scraps and sewing them together using the slab technique, as shown in my book Sunday Morning Quilts. (yay!!!) I bet I run out of steam on this project before I run out of scraps! :)

On another note....

If you are interested in the Mother's Day Quilt Retreat, in Dodgeville, Wisconsin, there are still spots available. The deadline for signing up is March 28, so in one week from today. It's only $250 for the entire weekend, including meals, lodging and the classes. I will be teaching my machine quilting sampler class, which covers free motion quilting, quilting with a walking foot and a quilt as you go technique. I hope you can join me there! You can read all the details here. Feel free to email me with any questions you may have.

camp stitch a lot

Camp stitch a lot was a blast! Brenda did a great job at organizing the retreat and I am so happy that I got to be a part of it! I didn't take nearly enough photos, but that was because I was too busy taking it all in. That's a good sign, right?

I taught a slab class at camp. Each and every person did a fantastic job at building their slabs. There was no shortage of scraps to be sewn up, which was awesome! I loved seeing the different color schemes emerge.

Rossie taught a reverse applique method that I absolutely loved. It played well with slabs I had already pieced, so I combined the two. Adding red and white polka dots never hurts.

Jacquie taught a slice and insert class. I loved using 1" strips for piecing. They finish at 1/2", which is such a great size. Of course I had to add a strip of scraps in the piece because I LOVE tiny scraps! Did you know that?

Dan taught a curves class and I struggled with it quite a bit. Not so much with the curves, but because I used colors SO very far from my comfort zone. It took me a long time to get it to this point, where I actually kind of like it. I'm certainly not giving up on this piece. I will continue to persevere! I should have just stayed in my comfort zone and went with some great colors like he did in his class sample. I love that quilt!



It was a treat to see quilts in real life that I had only seen on line. Rossie made this one back in 2009. I remember reading about it on her blog when she made it. Seeing it in real life was fantastic, because photos just don't do a quilt justice. Rossie's outfits matched her quilts all weekend and I may have teased her about it. Just a little bit.

Dan brought his fabulous and famous dinosaur quilt. It is an AMAZING quilt. There are really no words to describe it. I'm pondering how I can use this technique to make a quilt and make it mine. So much potential in a single idea.



Friday afternoon the weather was gorgeous so we took a few of my quilts out on the lawn and worked on our bindings. It was every bit idyllic as it looks. Perfection.



Of course I had to do a little shopping at Pink Castle Fabrics. Don't be fooled, this isn't all of it. :)

Many thanks to Brenda for hosting such a great weekend!

scrap giveaway

First off, THANK YOU for all your kind comments about my scrap vortex quilt! Since there were so many questions about the construction, I thought I would answer those here. I used the slab technique, as found in Sunday Morning Quilts. I made several irregular sized slabs and joined them together like a puzzle. It takes a lot of rearranging and tweaking as you go, but it's so worth it! Just keep making slabs and joining them together until the quilt is as large as you want. And to answer another question that came up several times, YES, I still have scraps left. Always, always, always!

Since scraps are the subject of the day (and every day...ha ha!), I have this pile of Denyse Schmidt Ansonia scraps to give away. The fabric isn't due to release until first quarter of 2014, according to the free spirit website. I have these leftover from making the scrap happy purse that I sewed up for market. (Pattern is available here.) I have a small priority mail box FULL of scraps, ready to mail. (International entries welcome, as long as you are willing to pay the shipping overages if sent outside the US.) Please leave a comment on this post to be entered in the draw. The question of the day? If you could take a workshop from anyone, who would it be? Vicky asked me that question at retreat a few weeks ago and I thought that was a great question! I think it would be amazing to learn from Gwen Marston. A few more things...one comment per person, please. I'll pick a winner sometime on Wednesday. Phew! I think that's all.

Happy Monday to you!