The Evolution of a Quilt

Do you ever have an idea for a quilt and then just never get it started? I'm talking years here. Maybe it's a rough sketch. Maybe it's just in your head. Or maybe you actually start the project and it evolves into something completely different? That's how I feel about my current project. It sat around forever and then evolved. For the better.

The initial idea sat around for years in the form of these leafy fabrics in my stash and this sketch. I don't buy traditional fabrics like this anymore but I still love their leafy goodness. After all, I love all things leafy.   : )

My intention was to make a wall quilt to use in the family room during the winter months when my decor goes mostly white with a touch of green. See my white post for more on that. I planned to use my leafy print collection including these great large scale leaf prints that I've saved just for this project. I love them!

I've also had another idea tucked away that was inspired by a lovely blue and white checkerboard quilt in a home decorating magazine I saw years ago. One of those images that's makes an impression and stays with you. It was so simple. So clean and crisp. I thought one day I'd make a checkerboard quilt with white and one additional color.

Then along came the scrappy trip quilts everyone was making not all that long ago. I learned Bonnie Hunter's clever technique for making these blocks. Love the technique. Love the look. Here are a few blocks made for a baby quilt.

After seeing numerous lovely Scrappy Trip quilts online, I had an aha moment. Why not use this technique to make the checkerboard blocks. Instead of a random placement of leafy prints they would appear somewhat clustered and create movement within the checkerboard look. I liked how it looked.

I started making blocks for the wall hanging and the idea evolved into a quilt for our master bedroom instead. True confessions . . . I call myself a quilter but I don't actually have a quilt on any of the beds in my house. Go figure. I think it's finally about time I make a quilt for a bed. Since leaves play a role in my bedroom decor, this idea was the perfect fit. Here are some of the blocks laid out on the bed. Checkerboard look I feel in love with. Leafy prints I love. Perfect.

I've been making these blocks on and off now for months, mostly at various guild sew days. I need about 68 give or take. Truth be told, I'm really tired of taking the same thing to sew day over and over, month after month.

This past weekend was the last time I'll be doing these at a sew day. Yeah! I spent the day cutting the final batch of strip sets into segments and then unsewing as the tutorial calls for. Here's a batch of them all ready for the next step.

See this post for my tips on how to keep the segments organized so you unsew the correct seams. Believe me . . . it's quite easy to make a mistake.

As I worked on the blocks for my bed quilt I had another aha moment. I should just bust out the wall quilt too. I only needed 9 more blocks plus some strips for the checkered edge. Why not make both? It seems like a no brainer and yet I hadn't seriously considered it once my thinking shifted to making a quilt for the bed.

Now I'm well on my way to having the wall quilt almost done and the bed quilt is getting closer and closer to completion too. All the blocks should be done by the end of the week. Then I just need to sew them into rows. WaHoo!!! It feels like two quilts in one.

Next month I hope to have two finished quilts to share. Two projects that have been on my to do list for way way too long. That's a really good way to start the year.

Do you have projects that you've wanted to make for a long time?
Why not move forward on just one of them this year?

Linking up with a few parties this week. Another of my 2016 goals.
Let's Bee Social, WIP Wednesday and Needle and Thread Thursday.

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Pattern Writing Series

Cheryl over at Meadow Mist Designs just started a new blog series about how to write a quilt pattern. She'll be covering all you need to know over the next several weeks concluding with a free pattern and some great pattern giveaways.

If you've ever thought about writing your own pattern or are just curious about how it's done I hope you'll follow along with Cheryl. It's going to be an excellent series. You can find the posts here.

As part of the event, Cheryl invited 6 other pattern designers, including yours truly, to weigh in on various topics each week. We'll be discussing things like inspiration, design tools and software programs as well as many other topics. Next week I'll be writing a special post for the series on which comes first, the fabric or the design. I hope you'll join me. Hop over now and learn more about the panelists. Meadow Mist Designs.

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White: A Good Place to Begin

White brings to mind gentleness, softness, purity, cleanliness, innocence, perfection. White feels fresh. White is considered the opposite of black or darkness. It represents light and all that is good and pure in the world. We can always use more good in the world.

White also marks new beginnings and it's where I'm beginning 2016.

I like to think of white as a clean blank canvas . . . a perfect place to start the new year. Here's my design wall, all cleared and ready for new quilty goodness to develop . . .

I especially identify with white in winter, but not for the obvious reasons of it being the color of snow. Although living in Colorado we do get our fair share of white stuff in the winter. Thankfully our house doesn't look like this very often . . .

During the Christmas season, my home is decked out in holiday decorations. It's colorful and full. Very full. But with the start of the new year I enjoy putting all those decorations away and being left with a simplified space. A clean slate.

White frees my mind from the clutter and distraction of all the color I usually surround myself with. White calms, refreshes, and renews my soul.

For years I have replaced all the colorful holiday decor with simple white dishes. They have a calm, quietness about them.

I also have other white-scapes throughout my home, like this collection of white pitchers . . .

And these vintage collections . . .

The glass vases below are filled with mementos of my Mom. Her white lacy blouses. Her white gloves. Strands of her pearls.

My husband used white for his sculptures titled "Together Again" that pays homage to his parents.

This a Chihuly glass piece from the Denver Botanical Gardens show.

White is readily found in nature too. Besides snow, there are fluffy white clouds . . . next time you look at the sky take notice of all the colors in the 'white' clouds. Grays, blues, yellows . . .

White sandy beaches . . . and some pale white skin to match.

We may not have white capped waves here in Colorado but we do have plenty of white water in our rushing mountain streams . . .

There are beautiful white blooming trees and flowers in spring . . .

Spring also brings plenty of fluffy white dandelion seed pods . . .

I realized I have always had gray and white kitties. Both Opal and Leo have white paws, chins and bellies. I almost tripped over this one as I headed down the stairs. It's not his usual spot and he had no intention of moving . . .

White comes in many colors. If you've ever tried to choose white paint you know what I mean. Warm whites. Cool whites. Bright white. Antique white. Whites with a touch of blue, pink, yellow, green.

Whether you think of white as a color or not, no one would deny it certainly is associated with many positive qualities. If you care to learn more about whether white is even considered a color or not this article looks at both sides of the argument and is worth a read.

Here's to my clean slate. It's time to begin . . .

When I started this color series, my intention was to really look for the color in my own personal world. To see the color around me in my house, my environment and my experiences. For that reason I've chosen to use my own photos rather than rely on the abundance of beautiful photos and color schemes available through sites like Pinterest and Design Seeds. These sites are wonderful places for inspiration on color but I want my series to be personal . . . representative of the color I see around me. You can see all my other color stories under the Color Inspiration tab at the top of my blog. If you'd like to see additional beautiful color images, you can follow my Pinterest color boards here. Just look for the specific color boards or my Color Scheme board.

I challenge you to look around your home, your neighborhood, your work and really see the colors in your world. Go look for some White in your life. Thanks for reading.

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Reality Check . . . Starting with a Clean Slate

2015 was a year of purging at my house and while I still have a ways to go I got a good start. It feels sooo good to simplify and actually have less.

However having less in my studio is entirely another matter. I've been quilting for nearly 20 years so there's a lot of fabric in my stash. Too much. Much too much. It's been quite a reality check to acknowledge just how much fabric I own. And I'm finding it hard to let go.

During December, I scheduled in time to go through my stash with the intention of sorting, reorganizing, and purging. In an attempt to regain control, I spent time clearing things I knew I wouldn't use and it was much harder than I imagined. The frugal side of me kept saying, "but I could make a charity quilt or some placemats or or or . . . "   You get the picture. Bet you've even had the same experience.

These are just 2 of 4 tubs of floral fabrics. I love flowers. Would I buy these now? Probably not. Can I part with them? Not yet. I'm hoping to make a scrappy trip quilt and perhaps one or two other quilts with them. Then maybe I'll be able to let go of what's left.

Below are mostly realistic leafy prints and fruit/veggie prints. Can't part with these yet either. I'm using a lot of the leafy prints in this quilt. And I'm thinking napkins and/or placements with the fruit/veggie prints will go nicely with my fruit/veggie dishes.

In the end, I managed to fill a couple of boxes with fabric. Not as much as I had hoped but at least it's a start. Some I will sell at a local resale shop that buys by the pound. Other stuff I'm giving away.

I also spent time ironing and refolding pieces so they would fit into the cubbies or cabinets I use for storage. Over time I had shoved a lot of stuff in here and there and it didn't fit. The edges were being smashed. Not good for the fabric. It might seem like a waste of time to iron and refold but I actually found the process very therapeutic.

In some cases, opening up a bigger cut and seeing the entire piece was totally inspiring. When you only see a little edge you can forget how beautiful the fabric really is.

I found new groupings that got me excited. I even took quick photos of some of them for future quilts.

Sadly, I also found a piece here and there that had faded along the fold lines. No rhyme or reason. They weren't in direct light. They weren't all stored in the same location. Thankfully this didn't happen too much.

The biggest benefit to handling most of my fabric was the conviction it gave me to use it. That's why I bought it in the first place, right? All that handling also strengthened my conviction not to buy anymore in 2016. I simply do not need another piece of fabric added to my stash. With the money I save from not buying more fabric I'll be able to send more quilts out to be quilted. That means more finished projects and that's a very very good thing.   : )

So today I am formally putting it out there that one of my 2016 goals is to use my stash. To make those quilts I've had in mind for ages using as much of this glorious stash as I can.

Granted I have more ideas and more fabric than I have time to make in a single year but at least I can make a dedicated start.

I have unsubscribed to most online shops. Not because I don't love what they offer, but simply because I don't need the temptation.

I vow to only buy the occasional fabric absolutely necessary to complete a project. Binding, backing, or enough yardage to make a design work. I know myself well enough to admit that I won't be satisfied with a binding or backing that isn't just right. But I will always try to find it in the stash first.

What's the condition of your stash? Overflowing or under control? Full of what you love or things you're clinging to from another time?

When making decisions about what to keep, I tried to come back to the question of whether keeping it was worth my time and effort. Am I keeping it out of guilt over spending money on something I haven't used? Yes. Does it still inspire me? Sort of. Is it really where my heart is? Not really.

When I step back and think about where I really want to go with my quilting, a lot of the older stash simply has no part to play. The time it would take to use it would be time I could spend making all those ideas that are filling my brain and inspiring me.

But for now, I'll settle for baby steps. The things I want to use are right here in front of me. All organized. Awaiting the projects they are meant to become.

Here's my newly cleaned stash . . . I'm ready to go.
Just need my sewing machine. It's out being serviced.

Wishing you happy times in your sewing room playing with your stash.
Anne

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My Best of 2015

If you haven't seen it yet, Cheryl of Meadow Mist Designs is hosting a Best of 2015 Linky Party for everyone to share their 5 best blog posts of 2015.

The criteria is up to you. Most views, most comments, best finishes, best tutorials or simply your favorites. I decided to go with the posts that marked an accomplishment for me in one way or another. So here they are in no specific order . . . my best posts of 2015.

1.  I started and ended my year with this quilt.
A new Christmas quilt as part of the Drunkard's Path QAL.

It's the end result of hosting my first ever quilt along. You can find links to all the posts here plus you can do it anytime. It doesn't have to be for Christmas either.

A more accurate description might be a block a month plan because, from January through September, I made one block each month. Then I moved on to borders and finishing in October and November. Thanks to the commitment of monthly blog posts I was able to keep up and finish up.
A new Christmas quilt on my wall for 2015. WaHoo!!!

2.  Next up in 2015 came QuiltCon. I can't even express how rewarding it was to attend, meet online quilty friends in person for the first time, meet even more brand new people and make new online connections . . . and last but not least get to see two of my quilts hanging in the show. The first was Matrix Blooming, a quilt from my Matrix pattern made specifically to enter into the show.

The second was our guild charity quilt based on my design and put together by the Boulder Modern Quilt Guild. Great job ladies!

3 and 4.  Next up on my list are these two posts in July, Matrix and Offset. Each marked the release of a new pattern. Designs that were a long time in the making and big accomplishment to finally wrap up.

 


5.  The final post on my list is not really a single post but a series of posts on Color Inspiration.

So far I've done six individual colors plus analogous and complementary color schemes. I will be continuing these posts in 2016 as well as adding some other design topics so stay tuned. You can get to all the color links from here.

January 2nd is the last day to link up so don't wait a moment longer. Show us your best posts of 2015?

Happy New Year.
Here's to a fabulous and productive 2016!

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