Thursday, October 29, 2015

Really Random Thursday, 10/29/15

What a week this has been. Several months ago, I received an email from the president of the Central Coast Quilters, Linda Kucera. She invited me to present a trunk show at their monthly guild meeting and teach a class the next day. First let me say that public speaking has always made me really nervous. But Linda was persuasive and Mark was encouraging, and I said yes.

I am SO glad I did. I put together a trunk show that included a power point presentation first showing a picture of my quilt inspiration, and then Mark held up the actual quilt (he was enormously helpful and supportive). I practiced the presentation a couple of times on my family, took their suggestions to heart and made a few changes.

So when the time came for the trunk show, I was actually relaxed and had a great time. I want to say that the women in that guild was so friendly and of course that helped calm my nerves.

You know how you meet someone and from the first time you form a friendship bond? That was how I felt about meeting Linda. Isn't she adorable in her pincushion outfit?
Class was so much fun. I taught my selvage spool quilt (you can see it in the background in the picture above), and again, the women in the class were so nice that they made the experience easy and so much fun. For some of them, sewing with selvages was a new experience. I think they had a good time. There might be some new converts to the world of selvage sewing!
Look how cute the front of this one-hour basket is:
Here are some of Linda's spool blocks:
A funny thing happened, funny because I'm usually the one with this kind of request. One of the woman in class had the coolest bag that she has quilters autograph. The autographs go back to at least 2001. Some absolute quilting legends have signed that bag--it is a treasure. Anyway she asked me (me!!!) to sign the bag. So for fun I decided to sign next to Alex Anderson, who had given me some valuable class teaching advice. Although I turned out to be somewhat spatially challenged. Seriously. Look at all the space to the left of my name. Oops...

I hope I get to sew with these women again. It was the best day!

If any other guilds are interested, I'd love to do it again.

You remember a couple of weeks ago when Mark was on TV when reffing a football game? Well, now he can add the newspaper coverage. His name isn't listed, but we all knew it was him right away:
And because it's only two days away, here is some Halloween randomness.

I now have all my UPS deliveries routed to a UPS store nearby. When I walked in last week to pick up a package, the guy at the counter was on the phone and I heard his part of the conversation: "I'm sorry ma'am. We are definitely open. It was only decoration." Which was confusing to me until I looked at their window on the way out:

Seen in Target:
And I did a little selvage sewing myself:

Have a safe and happy Halloween.

Boo.

Saturday, October 24, 2015

Blogger's Quilt Festival, Fall 2015: Delta Breeze

If you are here from Blogger's Quilt Festival, welcome!

Delta Breeze might be one of my favorite quilts I've made this year.
I received a stack of Soho Solids from Timeless Treasures in a beautiful range of colors, and then added some of their neutrals as well (more details here).

The original inspiration came from pew upholstery in a church Mark and I visited in spring. It might not look too inspiring at first glance, but it reminded me of classic bear paw blocks, two different sizes and turned every which way.
You can even make your own version. There is a tutorial on the Timeless Treasures blog.


Thanks for stopping by. Hope you are enjoying the show.

Quilt name: Delta Breeze
Designed and made by: Cindy Wiens
Quilted by: Darby Myers
Size: 46"x46"
Category: Original design







Blogger's Quilt Festival, Fall 2015: A Day at Disneyland

If you are here from Blogger's Quilt Festival, welcome! If you are a regular reader, I hope you will enjoy A Day at Disneyland once again.
When Jen Kingwell's pattern, "My Small World," took over Instagram by storm, I immediately knew I wanted to make this quilt as well. I wrote about my thought process in this post, but I'll also post close-ups of some of my favorite parts here.

Your day at Disneyland starts at sunrise on Main Street. Mickey and Minnie welcome you into the park.
Be sure to bring lots of money--you're going to need it! If you're lucky, you might see the Disney Princesses walking around.

Head over the Fantasyland. Take a ride on the Teacups. Get a snack.
Say hi to Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. Can you believe how many socks she has to wash?! She hangs them up on the house chimney to dry faster. Watch out, Snow White--don't eat that apple!
Next up is Tomorrowland. Don't forget to search for "hidden Mickeys!"
Don't you just love Star Wars?
One of my favorite rides is Pirates of the Caribbean. If you look closely in this section, you will even see a pirate monkey! Watch out for Captain Hook.
Take a Jungle Cruise.
It's nearly Halloween--don't miss the Haunted Mansion.
It's probably about time to go on Small Small World. It's so fun to watch the characters come out every 15 minutes and march around.
So many different countries represented. You'll be singing the song for the rest of the day...
Finally, the day is coming to an end. Watch the fireworks in front of Sleeping Beauty's Castle. Pay attention--you don't want to miss Tinkerbelle.
It's been a glorious day at the Magic Kingdom. Thanks for stopping by!

Quilt: A Day at Disneyland
Size: 33"x51"
Pieced by: Cindy Wiens
Quilted by: Darby Myers (she used a Mickey Ears pattern!)
Category: Scrappy Quilts


Friday, October 16, 2015

Friday Finish: MCC 2016 quilt

I actually cannot believe I completed a king-sized quilt top in a week. It would never have happened if I hadn't been at a quilt retreat. No distractions like laundry, errands, dinner preparation....you know what I mean, right?

Isn't it amazing what a change in value does to two blocks made from an identical pattern?
I sized the center of the dresden to use Pearl Bracelets by Lizzy House. Can you see those pretty blue dots surrounding the center?

 
So while this is not a completed quilt, it is a major completion for me.
 
It now goes to Mark's cousin for her so-fabulous quilting. Every other year we collaborate to make a king-sized quilt for a charity donation. I'm so thrilled with Moccasin (pattern by Gen X Quilters) and the neutral color scheme that I stole from Kristi Kristi shared with me--giving me the list of each and every fabric she used. She works in a quilt shop near Olympia, Washington, so I was able to purchase some fabrics through her and was able to track down all the others except for one. Check her out on Instagram--@71stitches.  Thanks to you both. I hope it brings lots of money for such a good cause.

I'm linking up with Crazy Mom Quilts, TGIFF and Confessions of a Fabric Addict. Happy weekend.

Thursday, October 15, 2015

Really Random Thursday, 10/15/15

This time last week I was sewing away at a small quilt retreat. It's an annual retreat at Huntington Lake, "lake" being a relative term this year.

There were actually two groups of us and we sewed in separate areas but gathered together for meals. Our group had a smaller turnout than usual--people were traveling, I mean really traveling--Vietnam, East Coast, etc., but it was relaxing and I got a lot done.

We decided it would be fun for both groups to make blocks for a quilt that will be auctioned at the MCC sale, hopefully in April 2016. We were each given a focus fabric and the block pattern. This is my block.
We added completed blocks to the design wall all weekend. I think it will be a fun quilt when it's done.
I worked all weekend on the quilt I will be donating to the MCC sale. I modified the fabulous "Moccasin" block of the month by Anne Marie Chaney of Gen X Quilters by making it larger. The Moccasin blocks are 9" and I scaled them up to 12", and then added another set of blocks all the way around. It required math. Which made my brain hurt at times. Or maybe it was just the altitude of 7,000 feet...

Since I was adding blocks, I also used some of Anne Marie's "Vice Versa" blocks (which were already scaled in both 9" and 12"--hurray!)
 

I got the whole quilt top together yesterday, so come back tomorrow to see how pretty it is. It's big--108" x 108". And I'm glad my part is done--it hurts my hands to juggle such a large piece of fabric!

Kim worked on a sweater all weekend instead of quilting. When she tried this on, there were still several sets of knitting needles in the sweater. Can you see them? Cute sweater, right?

While I was sewing the weekend away, Mark was on TV with Tom Hanks!

Okay, so here's the scoop. Tom Hanks has some kind of connection with someone at Kerman High School where Mark was reffing the Friday night  football game. And each year, the school picks a theme for homecoming and this year they chose Tom Hanks movies.
 The Army soldiers from Toy Story on a float
So they did a social media blitz trying to get him to attend the game. He was away filming a movie, but he made a 7-minute video that they played during halftime.
And see the guy in stripes? Mark. On TV. With Tom Hanks. Kind of...but good enough for me!
 

 What was your week like?

Friday, October 9, 2015

Harvest Spice: From Start to Finish

If you are here from Quilt with Love, the blog of RJR Fabrics, welcome!

The inspiration for Harvest Spice came from two separate sources, which then blended together beautifully.

I have had this gorgeous piece of fabric for years. I loved the rich combination of colors. But then my style kind of changed and I donated it to my church quilting group. Then regretted it, and asked for it back.
I do know that it is called Harvest Spice, and hence the name for the quilt. However, because I have an alternate persona as a collector of selvages, the rest of the information is gone. It could be here.
Or here.
But I digress.

Mark and I went to a home show in July where I took a photograph of this chair upholstery to add to my inspiration file.

A few weeks later I had the opportunity work with Cotton Supreme Solids by RJR. Given free reign, I knew exactly the color palette to choose--Harvest Spice. I chose two different colors of red (222 Redwork and 356 Moulin Rouge), orange (276 Tangerine Dream and 367 Bandana),  gold (92 Goldenrod and 305 Butternut), green (359 Pea in a Pod and 343 Martini Olive), and purple (361 Aubergine and 279 Purple Haze), and added a soft white (364 Kerchief) and deep, dark brown (201 Espresso).
I spent a few days of relaxing and sewing at a cabin and made the first few blocks.
At first I was sure I would be making more of the half stripes/half espresso blocks but the more blocks that were completed, the less I thought they worked. Turns out, what looks good in upholstery where each square is about one inch just didn't translate to a block that is 10 inches.

I had several color combination "recipes" and when I needed five more blocks for the five by five setting, I made monochromatic blocks (one in green and one in purple) and three variations of courthouse steps, randomly choosing scraps from my cutting table.

I had originally planned on using Espresso for the binding. That would have been a "safe" choice for me. But in what now seems like a stroke of luck, I didn't have enough, and went with Moulin Rouge instead. I love it!!
I'm thrilled with the finished quilt.It's a simple square-in-a-square, starting with a center square 2 1/2" x 2 1/2". If you want more info on block construction, don't hesitate to email me.
My quilter extraordinaire, Darby Myers, said it was her favorite of my quilts she has quilted--and she has quilted a lot for me lately!
Cotton Supreme Solids come in many beautiful colors and are a joy to work with. Want to hear the best part? As part of their What Shade R U? campaign, RJR is giving away a fat quarter bundle of the colors used in this quilt. Just perfect for fall sewing! Leave a comment telling me whether you wait for pumpkin spice season (like I do), or if there is something else that says "fall is here" to you. I'll choose a winner on Sunday night, October 11 (giveaway open to US and Canada residents only).

Disclaimer: Disclosure of Material Connection: I received one or more of the products or services mentioned above for free in the hope that I would mention it on my blog. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.