Sew Long, Farewell...

I'm leaving today for a quilting retreat up in the mountains. Basically three full days of nonstop sewing Woo-hoo! I can hardly wait.

A couple of years ago, this was our view:

This weekend it is supposed to rain instead of snow.

I'm okay with that.

Because this is where I will be:

I hope to accomplish a lot and pictures will be posted when I return. Have a good weekend, everyone!

Just a little light reading

These have made their way to my doorstep in the last couple of days. Thank you, Amazon. I've glanced through a couple of them, anxious to peruse the rest.

One thing I'm a little concerned about is the Flickr book. It was copyrighted in 2006. Doesn't that make it like 28 in dog computer years?

Mail for Melissa

I just finished the second month of Block Swap. Melissa wanted a "scrap tree." Very cute idea. But...I know virtually nothing about fusibles (Steam a Seam, Lite Steam a Seam, Steam a Seam 2, Lite Steam a Seam 2--really? What's the difference? Which one do I use? So confusing...) and have never done free edge applique. Melissa solved the first part by including the fusible and plenty of really cute scraps. So I sketched my tree stump and leaves, fused them, stitched around all the edges,

and then added some cute little mushrooms and a snail from fabric by Michelle Engel Bencsko's "Shade Garden" collection.

And no matter how I turned this leaf, it just looked like a fish to me. Oh, well. We'll just call it charming and whimsical.

This was fun, Melissa. I've seen some of the other blocks so I know this will be a really fun quilt when you are done!

Friday Philosophy

I read this quote yesterday and have been unable to find the source, but it really crystallizes a lot of what I was thinking when I wrote this.

"It's not who you are that holds you back. It's who you think you're not."

Too often lately I have been comparing myself to quilters who are able to produce so many quilts in such a seemingly short amount of time. Beautiful quilts. They amaze me with their creativity and style. Why can't I make a quilt every week? Why can't I discipline myself to even walk into my sewing room? Why can't I be improvisational and wonky?

It has been making me feel frustrated and guilty because I'm not "measuring up."

Measuring up to what? It's not a contest. There isn't a winner.

Do I want to push my creative boundaries? Of course.  But I want to enjoy the process along the way. There has been a lot of discussion lately about "modern" and "traditional" quilting.  I admire the less rigid quilting style, the kind of design-as-you go. I value the traditional construction techniques, the traditional quilt blocks that I have grown up with. They are the fabric of my heritage. It's possible to embrace both. Thanks, Crystal and Jennifer, for encouraging us to Modify Tradition!

Lately I have spent way too much time concentrating on who I'm not, and beating myself up for it.

From now on, I plan on concentrating on who I am. So far this is what I know: I am someone who adores fabric, takes pleasure in choosing it and playing with color,  enjoys the process of making the blocks, sometimes really detailed blocks, then watching the quilt top come to life by sewing the blocks together, no matter how long it takes.

So no more holding back, not just about quilting but life in general. Who I am may change in the next couple of months. But it's time to embrace that and not worry about who I'm not.

I'm curious. Who are you?

Wonder(s) from Down Under

I became a fan of Saffron Craig, an Australian fabric designer, when I found a shop that carried her fabrics here in the States. The color combinations and her whole design aesthetic were wonderful and different.

And then I discovered Kate Conklin, a fabulous Australian quilter and designer, and she was using Saffron's fabrics.

Dandelion Windows quilt by Kate Conklin

So I ordered all the patterns she had available. Kate makes it easy--they are downloadable for instant gratification. (If only I could get the quilts made that quickly!) 

And then Kate and Saffron combined forces with Saffron's newest line of fabric and offered a kit. What? Saffron's fabric and Kate's quilt designs? I was powerless. It was a must-have.

Fairy Hearts quilt by Kate Conklin

The kit came in the mail yesterday and I can hardly wait to begin making it. And then I will have to find someone who likes pink, brown and pretty little hearts. You know. Maybe someone like this cutie, who seems to like pink and brown.

And don't even get me started on Australian quilter extraordinaire, Rita with Red Pepper Quilts. I am systematically reading through her entire archives and all her Flickr photos. She is amazing! And her latest quilt? Saffron Craig fabrics, of course.

Fantastic Faries quilt by Rita

These Australians are definitely working some magic Down Under. I'm hoping a few sprinkles of it will rub off on me...

You can never have too many sprinkles: Valentine's edition

I saw this picture at Fig and Ruby Sweets the other day (and let me just warn you before you click over to her blog: even her banner will make you hungry...)

Today Aaron and Christa went nearby Yosemite to spend a day snow shoeing, so Levi and Charlotte spent the day with me. Charlotte made her own version of yummy marshmallows this afternoon.

I had definitely planned on tinting the white chocolate pink, but turns out at our grocery store, white melting chocolate is only a seasonal thing. Huh? But no matter. All you really need is sprinkles. Lots.Of.Them.

In an unrelated topic, it could be just me, but I thought the the colors the this luge athlete wore would be gorgeous in a quilt.

They really looked so much brighter on our high-def TV, but I'm definitely putting this in my design file. The limey green/aqua/coral/goldenrod just popped against the black and gray. I give it a perfect score.

Sometimes the World Wide Web is really just a small neighborhood

I read Kerri's blog regularly and I have placed several fabric orders with her (she has an amazing amount of Heather Ross fabric that is hard to find) and lots of great fabric in pink, red and aqua.

The colors in her awesome banner really give a clue as to who she is and what colors she loves. So when I was surfing around etsy the other night, specifically looking for "original fabric," I found Tasha's shop and then her website.

This is Tasha's original fabric, and yes, of course I ordered some. I even broke my self-imposed fabric-buying moratorium to purchase some. (Here's the thing about self-imposed moratoriums: it's really easy to overrule the person who issued the moratorium in the first place...)

All you have to do is look at what she offers for sale in her shop or read her blog so see that Kerri and Tasha needed to "meet" each other online.

So I sent Kerri an email basically saying, "Hey, you have got to check out Tasha and her fabric! You will love the colors..."

And Kerri emailed me back saying, "Thanks for thinking of me, and emailing me!. Yes, Tasha is actually my sister in law! She is very talented!"

It's a small world afterall...(and, yes, I do apologize if you'll be singing that song all day long now).

Let the Games begin!

I love the Olympics, and am much more partial to the Winter Olympics than the Summer Olympics. This year they are even in our neck of the woods. Sort of. Well, straight north of us anyway. And apparently Mother Nature is enjoying the little joke she is playing by dumping too much snow on the Midwest and East Coast, while the Vancouver area is having to truck it in.

(picture by John Thurlow)

I was windowshopping on etsy, and in honor of the Olympics and the Canadian venues, I found these items by amazing Canadian artists, in the five colors of the Olympic rings, of course.

by Minaude

by Mooka Soap

by Wild Woman Jewelry

by Kimberly Jones Designs

by Savage Artwork

by Penny Glass Girl

And because you just never know what will strike your fancy,

by Rock Your Nose

Good luck to all the Canadian etsy artists, and to the athletes from around the world. Let the Games begin!

Someone just needs to tell me what to do...

...and I'll do it. Maybe. After finishing 3460, I have been unable to get started on another project. It's like my creative juices have dried up. So my solution was to sign up for some quilt-alongs. I thought if someone could just say, "This week, your assignment is to...." then I wouldn't even have to think too much. I could just follow along and actually accomplish something.

I signed up for this one. Wanna see my progress? Fabric nicely laid out for picture taking. That's it. That's as far as I have gotten.

I signed up for this one. Wanna see my progress?

I got the paintbox button posted on my blog. That's the extent of my progress. I don't even have my fabrics picked out, although I did purchase a lot of solids in preparation. Does that count?

I plan to make Valentine's pillowcases for my grandkids. Wanna see how far I've gotten on those?

So do any of you have solutions for getting out of the "stalled" mode. This seemingly never happens to some people, like this person and this person. I sure would love to know how they keep their "inspiration and production" mode in full gear. Don't they ever have days weeks where they want to sew, but then just say, nah, I'm just gonna sit on this couch and read a magazine. Any ideas? Really. Feel free to just tell me what to do...

Let it rain,

let it rain, let it rain ( sung to the tune of "let it snow, let it snow, let it snow"), because here in the central valley of California we don't get any snow. But we do get some rain.

You know how sometimes great things all seem to occur at around the same time? Well, this was the chain of events. Anna Maria Horner designs fabulous fabrics, and came out with a new laminated cotton, "baby bouquet berry." I'm also a sucker for polka dots and already had some "polka line raspberry."

And then Cynthia at fabricworm posted this picture on her blog,

along with a link to Meg, who made the raincoat for her. And it was just a matter of time before I got this in the mail Saturday, actually arriving during a downpour.

It's gorgeous. And it fits perfectly. Thanks, Meg!

And this super-cute polka dot mug? Total impulse buy from Barnes & Noble. It will actually live on my sewing table, but would look the best if I always carry it around with me while I'm wearing my new raincoat.

One Year You're In...

...and the next year you're out, to paraphase Project Runway.

Last week I spent a lot of time weeding out fabric that I have been collecting since I started quilting fifteen years ago . It resulted in a couple of giveaways because I kept finding things I had forgotten about (or in one case purchased two of, because my sewing room was that unorganized). And don't think Mark wasn't shocked when he saw all those piles that were being given away donated to our church quilting group.

Just like fashion, the quilting industry has changed tremendously, and I've changed right along with it. Look at all these dark colors that I had purchased in the past:

Lots of Civil War reproductions, darker moodier colors.

They are all gone, given to someone who happily received them, and have been replaced by this

and this

I'm feeling cheerier already, and ready to get busy on a new project.

Here's hoping Hope is happy with her block

Say that three times....really fast.

Before the end of the year, I signed up for a virtual quilting bee. Twelve women. We each have our own month (mine will be in July). When it is our turn, we send fabric and block ideas to each of the other eleven, they usually add some fabric from their own stash, make a block (or two)  and send it back to us. The next month we start over again.

First up was Hope. She sent this fabric and instructions to make a string kaleidoscope block.

These were some of the possibilities from my stash.

And these are the two blocks that I made and sent back to her. I hope Hope likes them.

Now I wait for the next fun package to arrive in my mailbox.