miscellaneous Monday

Last Thursday & Friday I had the chance to visit Stitch Supply Co. in Altoona, Wisconsin. The store has been open for just over a year and this was my first visit. (For shame!) While I was there, I had the chance to take part in a retreat with a few good friends. The retreat space is AMAZING!!! (I failed to take photos, but you can see some here.) The store is quite lovely, too! Lots of amazing fabric, which made it overwhelming....but in a good way!

The first thing that you see when you walk in the front door is this amazing paper pieced elephant quilt that Ann made. Isn't it beautiful? (Pattern is by Violet Craft.)

There is a lot of gorgeous yarn at the shop, too. Everything is as cute as can be! The staff was wonderful and helpful! If you ever get a chance to stop by the shop, DO IT! :)

I took a bunch of tiny scraps to play with while I was there. They were literally flying. Hahaha! I did some tiny piecing.... I can't wait to get back to these scraps and do some more!

This mini is a brighter version of my remainders quilt (pattern is in No Scrap Left Behind). The mini measures about 10" x 12 1/2" and it took me all afternoon and evening to make it. It was totally worth it, though! I am planning on making a bright & white lap size version of this quilt sometime soon. Can't get enough of those tiny triangles!

I also made a 9 patch mini quilt, which took slightly less time. The squares in the 9 patch blocks finish at 1". That feels big to me....which is actually quite disturbing. Ha! The mini is about 15" square.

I immediately used the binding triangles from the mini above to make a little star pincushion. (Pattern for the pincushion can be found here.) The background fabric is a lovely chambray by Andover, which I also used in the mini. It's such a great fabric, so I bought a yard of it. It will be fun to incorporate into all kind of projects! I already gifted the pincushion. I LOVE giving them away!

On Saturday, I did my first trunk show and class from my new book at Gruber's Quilt Shop. Many thanks to the wonderful women who attended! It was a great day! It was awesome to finally show all the quilts that I worked on in secret in my basement for 6 months! It was also inspiring to see how the students dove into their scrap piles. Lots of fun, lots of progress!

I've been doing some stash enhancing lately.... these goodies below were purchased at quilt con, actually, from Cassie of Sew Stitching Happy. She makes the cutest bundles!

I finally broke down and bought an Uppercase fabric bundle while I was at Stitch Supply....such great colors. Such good blenders! My daughter squealed when she saw it. She wanted to claim it for her very own. I think we will be sharing it. Maybe.

I also purchased a quilt kit.... my first one ever! The fabric is Tag, by Cheryl Arkison for Connecting Threads. The pattern is Arithmetic by Jeni Baker. I'm super excited about this quilt!

One last thing for the day....

While I was at quilt con, I was on a panel about stash management, which was a lot of fun! When they showed this photo (above), there were several audible groans from the audience. Well, just to set the record straight, here's the rest of the story....

 ...this is the other side of the room. It needs a good cleaning!

And here's the reality of my cutting table today. See, I'm a normal quilter, after all!

Happy Monday to you!

dot your i's quilt top

Welcome to finish it up Friday!

This weekend I'm hanging out and sewing with my friends for our annual Gruber's quilt retreat. This is year 7 (!!!) and it keeps getting better and better. I've appreciated having the time to sew and laugh with my friends and sew some more. I'm super excited, because it gave me time to finish up my "dot your i's" quilt top! I started this project exactly one year ago. I'm thrilled to have it in quilt top form. Already!

There are a total of 396 hand stitched squircles in this quilt. I used Carolyn Friedlander's needle turn applique method that she shares in her book Savor Each Stitch. I thoroughly enjoyed the process of making this quilt! It measures about 63" x 77". It's an instant favorite! I'm looking forward to spending more time with it (hahaha!) as I hand quilt it. I do love a good long term project!

Now, it's your turn! Please link up your finishes for the week. Thank you for joining me for finish it up Friday!

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!

home again

I went on my 5th annual Gruber's Retreat last weekend and it was awesome!!!! I thought it was a good time to start a few new projects, since I've been so good at trimming down my WIP list lately.

I started another (this is my 3rd) Little Connections quilt using the fabric line Dreamin' Vintage by Jeni Baker. I added a bunch of fabrics from my stash and a few from the store, too. It's an easy pattern that I like to sew up because the blocks allow the pretty fabrics to shine. It goes together quite quickly and that's always a bonus!

I'm adding a bunch of blocks from the blue and green color way, too. It'll be interesting to see how this one comes together. I was thinking of making 2 separate quilts, but I think it might be one big (bright) quilt. We shall see!

We had some samples of flatter by soak at the retreat (thanks Jacqueline!) and it was fun to try them out in real life. I've seen a bunch of people talking about this spray starch alternative on Instagram, so I was curious to try it firsthand. I have to say, it was wonderful to work with! It's very light (starch wise) but it still did a great job of pressing the fabric. It smells amazing! I liked it a lot. Some of my friends may or may not have used it as body spray as well. Yes, it's that good. I think I would have a difficult time buying this for myself for everyday use (because I just can't get the frugal out of this girl), but I can see buying it for my friends as gifts. Funny how that works, huh?

Every year we exchange happies. This year there was a wonderful batch of goodies from my amazing friends. There is SO much talent in this group. And thoughtfulness, too!
edited to add: the tutorial for the bottom pouch, which is called the sleeping bag pouch, is here.

A mega pin cushion was also one of the happies, but it's so large it needed it's own photo! A pin cushion with pockets? Genius!
edited to add: this one is called the mega pinnie by bluepatchquilter

This was our group this year:
Front Row, L to R: Cindy, me
Back Row, L to R: Rene, Doris, Toni, Mary, Terri, Stephanie
I'm so thankful to call these ladies my friends!!!
Only 347 days until next year's retreat! :)

When I got home, I walked in the door to my sweet husband cooking my favorite dinner. My kids were happy. He had bought me a present....AND the house was clean, which is probably the best present of all! (I think I need to go away more often. Ha!) I have a lot to be thankful for. I am so very blessed!

 

Happy Monday to you!

home again

I'm happy to be home after a wonderful weekend retreat in Colorado. A huge thank you goes to Tara, for working her fingers to the bone to make this retreat happen, and for doing it so well!

There was a lot of prep involved before the retreat...but it's all worth it. I made these name tags at the last minute. Each one represents a wonderful lady that attended. We had such a great group this year, as always.

The subject of the retreat was a new class called "Make Good Choices: a color and fabric selection workshop." I was more than nervous (felt unqualified) to teach it, but I'm relieved that it went very well and everyone seemed to learn something. (phew!) I'm excited to have the first run of the class behind me and I'm looking forward to teaching it again, because it was a BLAST!

One of the activities at the retreat was making a ticker tape on canvas. No class of mine is complete without scraps! This is the smallest ticker tape I've made to date. I put the spool and thimble in the photo for scale purposes. It's so tiny and cute and squeal worthy. Since it's 3D the sides got patches, too. There is a tutorial if you would like to make one of your own. (I think you should!)

Angela of Mama Said Sew was kind enough to let us use her shop for a portion of the workshop. We had fun doing different fabric pulls. Combining fabrics is one of my FAVORITE things to do, and helping others get over their fears of doing so was extremely satisfying.

I started a new little scrap project during open sewing time. I'm excited to turn this into a sew together bag. Eeeee!

Since there was much ramp up before the retreat, one of my goals this week is to hang out on my couch to do a little decompressing this week, because I am completely beat. We shall see how THAT goes. It's good to have goals, right?

Directly opposing that goal, but also on the list for this week, I plan to clean up my craft room. We've lived here for 6 months now, it's time to set up my space properly. Maybe after I take another nap.

 

Happy Monday to you!

upcoming workshop

Tara and I are gearing up for our 5th annual (!!!) Quilt Retreat in November. I'm introducing a brand new workshop called "Make Good Choices". It's all about COLOR and FABRIC selection. It will be a mix of mini lectures followed by exercises to apply what you've learned. There will be free sewing time and lots of great food to keep you nourished. I bet there will be plenty of laughter, too! Sounds like a lovely way to spend the weekend, doesn't it?

Dates: November 8-10, 2013

Location: Inn at City Park, Fort Collins, Colorado

Cost: $375 includes workshops and all meals

         (The inn is fully booked, so you will need to find your own sleeping accommodations.)

Registration: Call Tara at the Inn at City Park  

Phone: 970-672-4725

 

We have 3 spots available at this time. I hope you can join us!

 

If you have questions, feel free to email me at crazymomquilts@yahoo.com.

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!

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!