QuiltCon

Three quilts entered.
Two quilts accepted !
One quilt wins an award ! ! !

Rhythm & Blues won 3rd Place in the Use of Negative Space category sponsored by Michael Miller Fabrics!  I can't begin to tell you how excited I am.

I've seen lots of pictures on Instgram and there are some amazing quilts in the show. I don't really have a lot of quilt show credentials under my belt so this is all rather new and most definitely an honor considering all the great talent out there.   : )

If only I was in Austin right now to see them in person.  : (  
I didn't even know which quilt won what award until just now when the winners were finally posted online. For a complete listing of the winners go here.

I made 2 new quilts to enter in QuilCon. Both were based on concepts that had been in my sketchbook for ages. Seemed like a great opportunity to finally bring those concepts to life.

The first quilt was "Rhythm & Blues".
The inspiration for this quilt initially came from studying the design elements in woven interior decorating fabrics. I was interested in the interweave of colors that occur within the strong horizontal format of the weave. As the idea progressed, I became more intrigued with the vertical movement that could be created as different colored groups of lines interact with each other. The quilt morphed into a graphic representation of the sound bars that move up and down on digital recording equipment and "Rhythm & Blues" was born. I have plans to explore other versions of this basic design later this year.

I quilted it with horizontal lines. A single line in the white bars, double lines in most of the blues and triple lines in the darkest blue. It made for a lot of starting and stopping, which is an area where my skills need improvement.

The second quilt I made was "Mondrian Unleashed".
"Mondrian Unleashed" was inspired by the paintings of Piet Mondrian, an important contributor to the De Stijl art movement of the early 1900's. He simplified compositions into vertical and horizontal lines and used primary colors plus black and white. I was intrigued by his compositions and the limited placement of color and initially planned to reproduce this structure using print fabrics in place of solid colors. As the concept evolved though, I broke free of the rigid horizontal and vertical structure in favor of diagonal lines. The placement of color within the spaces created by the intersection of lines falls in a way that intentionally leads your eye through the quilt.  I have other color options I'd like to explore with this one as well.

I quilted random diagonal lines all over the surface that echo the randomness of the quilt design.

The third quilt I entered was "Zebras in My Garden" made using my Facets pattern. While this quilt wasn't accepted, it's actually my favorite in many ways simply because of the use of color and Kaffe prints.

Making these quilts was a great learning experience. One of the main things I realized about my personal quilt journey is that the design process is what I love the most. Guess that's why I have so many sketches and so many "yet to be made" quilts. I really enjoy the compositional aspect of designing and working with color. And while it was a lot of fun to work with mostly solids, I realize my first love is prints and riots of color. I'll still design and use solids frequently because there are just so many delicious colors available, but I'll never give up on prints . . . especially Kaffe.

I encourage all of you to go out on a limb and enter a competition this year. If you aren't accepted into one show it certainly doesn't mean you won't be accepted into a different show. Sometimes it just means finding the right fit for your work. Be confident in your ideas, improve the skills that need work and let the rest of the world see what you do.

I hope QuiltCon is a grand success. I can't imagine that it won't be. 
To all of you lucky enough to go, I'm quite jealous but hope you had a blast!!

WPI Wednesday

Do Wednesdays come up way to quickly for anyone besides me? I want to post every Wednesday but before I know it, it's Thursday. I really am getting lots of quilty things started and some of them even get finished. They just don't make it into blog posts. Got to work on that.

I 'm sharing my latest bee block for the Mid Century Modern Bee group this week. Cindy requested a winged square block based on this tutorial. It's been a fun block to make. Since the block reminded me of a butterfly, I pulled out my only butterfly fabric. A fun fat quarter of Jane Sassman fabric from awhile ago. There have already been several blocks made that include orange so I went with yellow instead. Orange would look really good too. Hope Cindy likes it.

For me, the hardest part of making a bee block is deciding which fabrics to use. I think choosing fabric for just a single block is harder than for a whole quilt. At least with a whole quilt you can spread the love of all your fabrics around by using lots and lots of them. But a single block . . . it's just hard to settle on which fabrics to use. Probably why it takes me till the end of the month to get my block done. Anyone else have that problem?

Emerald Green paint chips

I've also been seeking as many emerald green fabrics as I can find for a new pattern I'm planning. Green has always been one of my favorite colors. However my green stash leans more toward the yellow end so finding emeralds has given me an excuse to go fabric shopping.  : ) Not sure I've found all the right greens yet. The second and third from the left are definitely in question. Maybe too dark, maybe too olive. Wish there were a few more emerald choices in the modern style.

Emerald Fabric Swatches

Stay tuned for what I hope will be a nice take on the Pantone year of Emerald Green.

And to all you lucky quilters going to QuiltCon  . . . I'm so jealous. Have FUN!!!

WIP Wednesday

It's been awhile since I've posted for WIP Wednesday at Freshly Pieced but it doesn't mean I haven't been doing any sewing.

I've been trying out a new machine-quilting style for one of the projects I decided to tackle as part of the Finish-A-Long with Leanne. I chose just 2 projects to finish for this quarter that have been sitting around FOREVER and thought it about time I made a dent in the UFO's. Of course I plan to work on far more than just these 2 quilts but this will at least get me finishing those projects that get set aside and sometimes forgotten.

The current quilt under progress right now is one of the smaller samples I made as part of my first pattern "Facets". I've really admired the circular quilting done so beautifully by people like Karen at Blooming Poppies and have always wanted to give it a try. (Check out her tutorial for circular quilting here.) This quilt seemed like a good choice to try the circular quilting on because it's always reminded me of ripples of color expanding outward just like the ripples of quilting expanding out from the center. I'm so glad it's small because I don't know if I could handle a larger quilt with the small arm space on my machine. Not a lot of progress yet but I plan to work on it more this week.

In an effort to get more involved this year, I'm taking part in my very first quilting bee. The Mid Century Modern Bee put together by Cindy at Live A Colorful Life. You can read more about the bee and see my first block here.

I'm also joining the newly formed Boulder Modern Quilt Guild which will have their first meeting in March. I've been a bit isolated here in my studio and look forward to getting out and making new quilty friends in person. If you live in the Boulder CO area and are interested check out the Facebook page.

My new year also started off with a project I was asked to do for a magazine. All I can show for now is this sneak peek.

One last note, I'm curious as to what you think about fusible batting. Has anyone used it for lap size quilts and does it stay fused while you work without shifting from all the manhandling? What brand do you use?
Connecting Threads has batting on sale through mid February and I thought I might give it a try.

Hope you are having fun stitching away into the new year.

I've Been Published!

Pardon my excitement but this is the first big project I've had published and as you can tell, I'm thrilled! I have a sewing project in the current issue of Stitch magazine (p 43) on newsstands now.

In an August post, I alluded to a project I was working on involving these lovely Amy Butler fabrics.

I am pleased to finally be able to show you the final project. It's a set of custom light shades that slip over a strand of little twinkle lights.

There are so many different applications for these cute little shades. You can make them to match the decor in any room of your house, porch or garden. A fusible vinyl makes them usable outdoors as well as inside.

I think they would be lovely for a garden wedding or special occasion party. I'm sure you could come up with all kinds of ideas where this handmade project would add just the right touch of ambience to your special occasion.

Outer shade features the Amy Butler print
combined with 4 different solids for the inner shade.

Close up of the shade.

Tucked in a tree along the front sidewalk of our home.

Hanging under a vine covered arch in the backyard.

I had so much fun making these and hope you'll consider giving it a try yourself. You can find the directions in the Spring 2013 issue of Stitch magazine published by Interweave Press. If you make any I would really love to see them. Post them on my Flickr account here.

Hope your new year is full of stitchy goodness.

Old and Precious . . . New and Adorable

Many of you know my quilty kitty Shadow and all the fun and frustration she managed to provide in my studio while I worked. I even blamed her ("It's the Cat's fault") for one of my more challenging quilting experiences. Shadow always found every quilt I was working on no matter where it happened to be and made herself at home. Every quilt was Shadow approved. She sat on top of my laptop, on the keyboard (her typing skills were questionable), on the ironing board, on the cutting mat, on the fabric, and would have sat on top of the sewing machine if she could. Sometimes I was afraid her tail would flip under my rotary cutter or under the needle while I sewed like you'd expect on some silly cartoon . . .  thankfully it never did. She kept me company in my studio by day and on my lap in the evening while I read or sketched new quilt designs. I think she probably dreamed quilting along with me while she slept on my head by night.

Shadow . . . my precious baby!

On her last day with us, we were able to love and comfort her into her final sleep. Sad for us but a real blessing for her to be at home surrounded by love. This all happened in November and over Thanksgiving when our kids were home from college which was another blessing as well. It's taken me some time to be able to post about her. We had her for 15 wonderful years. She was and always will be my precious quilty kitty.

Needless to say there was a sadness around the house and we thought maybe by spring we might be ready for a new cat. School finished up and kids were once again home for Christmas break. Then out of the blue, I came home from the grocery store in mid December with loads of groceries and a brown paper bag full of not one but two little kittens. So very unlike me and so unplanned that it just had to be right.

Now a new saga begins and new challenges arise. Kittens like to play, and chew, and climb, and claw, and run, and eventually sleep. I see my studio now through cat eyes. How much fabric might be clawed. How many spools of thread might be unwound, how much batting might be batted about, will the quilt top on the design wall be pulled down, will a nose be burned on the iron or a pin swallowed? Yes, I've had to kitten proof my studio as best I can while still trying to be productive. And just when I think I have it safe for them and my quilting, they find something new to get into. I don't dare leave them alone in here . . .  who knows what would happen. I might even sit on them one day as they have taken to sleeping under the throw that covers my ugly studio chair instead of on top of it where Shadow liked to hang out.

They have won my heart. They are adorable. I'd like to introduce you to LuLu and Opal . . . my newest quilty kitties. I'm sure you'll get to know them as they learn the ways of becoming quilty kitties too. May they too live a long and purrrfect life.

LuLu (white face) and Opal (dark face) . . .
my adorable new babies!!

First Bee, First Block

I'm so excited to be participating in my very first quilting bee. The Mid Century Modern Bee was pulled together by Cindy over at Live A Colorful Life and I'm thrilled that she invited me. She brought together 13 talented quilters that I really look forward to working with. The mid century reference has a little something to do with our ages . . . enough said.  : )

We started off the year with a great little scrappy pink, orange, white, red block requested by Carla at Lollyquiltz. Here's my block. It was fun to make with a nice clear tutorial from Carla. I just love this color scheme. I actually have a couple of quilts in the design/planning stage that use the same general scheme so it was fun to pick the fabrics for this block and explore the colors a bit.

All the other blocks are really nice so I think Carla's quilt is going to be one hot little number when she gets done. Can't wait to see her finished quilt.

2013 Finish-A-Long 1st Quarter

I just happened upon Leanne's post about the Finish-A-Long a couple of days ago. Yes, I'm very behind in my blog reading. What can I say. It's another of my many New Years resolutions . . . getting better at blogging. Anyway, it seemed like the perfect time to commit to actually finishing a few things so I'm jumping in at the last minute.

To get a handle on my finished vs unfinished projects, I finally took an inventory last week as part of my big plan to get more organized and more accomplished in 2013. I really had no idea how many quilts I'd made over the years. I just knew there were far far too many unfinished ones. I'm embarrassed to admit just how many . . . maybe one of these days I'll confess.

So to start off the Finish-A-Long, I'm selecting just 2 of the many projects patiently awaiting completion.

The first is a small quilt inspired by a Valori Wells quilt a few years ago. I didn't like the direction it was taking and just kind of put it aside. But I do have a plan for finishing the top and it will be the perfect opportunity to try out a new machine quilting pattern that I'm thinking of using on another quilt. Good practice if nothing else.

The second, is a top I did back when I was first designing my pattern Facets. I've never gotten it quilted  and would really like to wrap it up. This too will be a good practice top for improving my free motion skills.

It's late so I'll figure out the button another time. Look forward to seeing what everyone else gets accomplished this quarter. Good luck to all.