A Link Share: ArtSmartTalk: Quilting Women and Tibetan Monks

I wanted to share this article by Marilyn of ArtSmartTalk. I love the connection she makes between the creation of quilts and the creation of mandalas. This is a connect I have felt in my own work as a quilter. You can read her article by clicking here: ArtSmartTalk: Quilting Women and Tibetan Monks

Forget Me Not Sew Along First Rounds Done

A nice road trip to Disneyland and back gave me the opportunity to work on the next two rows of the Forget Me Not Sew Along pattern. (Add yes, I did do a bit of sewing inside the park as well). I love how scrappy this piece is turning out to be.

Now it is time for me to add the points that will turn this flower into a star. I'm not sure how big Sue Daley has planned for this quilt to be, but I plan to stop once we get around a baby size blanket. 

Joining In On The Forget Me Not Sew Along

Here is my starting hexagon flower for the Forget Me Not Sew Along hosted by Sue Daley.

I decided to use some vintage fabric. The fabric is from the stash of the Prayers & Squares chapter at Pacific Beach United Methodist Church. I had intended to use the fabric for a simple patchwork baby quilt. But why settle for the quick and easy when you can take the time to do much more!

I'll continue to keep you posted on my progress. I'm a bit behind in starting but I plan to catch up.

How Do You Baste Your EPP?

(photo credit: Quilt Now)

The good people over at Quilt Now showed off their love of EPP in their magazine issue #13. Now they are curious to know how to do baste your EPP? Some people are die-hard thread basters. There are those who are prefer glue basting and then their are people who do both.

(photo credit: Quilt Now)

You may not know, but there are actually two ways of thread basting- one is where you baste through the paper and fabric; the other you baste through the fabric only. I am a thread baster and I only baste through the fabric.

So what sort of baster are you? Go head on over to Quilt Now and let them know. And while you're there, grab on of their cute images like the one above and show off your basting pride. 

Forget Me Not Sew Along

Have you heard that Sue Daley over at Sue Daley Designs is doing an English paper pieced sew along? It is called the "Forget Me Not Sew Along". I found out about it through a link someone shared on Instagram. After a quick hashtag search with the words, 'forgetmenotfabricsewalong' I was able to see the growing list of individuals that have joined the sew along.

Well, I've decided to join in the fun too! Is it any surprise? Really, how can a English paper piecing girl and lover of hexies  like me resist a quilt along like this? There is still time for you to join in as well. You can find the links on Sue's website to help get you started. Keep up to date with each new installment on her blog and then post pictures of your progress on Instagram. Make sure to use the hastag: #forgetmenotfabricsewalong when posting your pictures. I would love to see your progress. I'll be sharing my pictures on Instagram and here on the blog.

Dritz Is Down With EPP

Have you seen these babies popping up in your local quilt or craft store?

I know, right?! Cute paper piecing shapes from Dritz Quilting. I was checking out the "Take & Teach" classes being offered at the upcoming Quilt Market in Houston, when I saw that Dritz was offering a class on English Paper Piecing with their notions. Well, needless to say, I hopped on over to their website to have a look. I found six different pre-cuts offered on their website.

Dritz also offers instructions on three different ways to English paper piece using their pre-cuts. You can find that tutorial HERE.

I am Jealous of You

(photo credit: www.siasat.pk)

Cheryl Sleboda of Muppin.com wrote an article last month on her blog about quilting jealousy. I know I have been the green-eyes monster on many occasions. I can publicly pretend all I want that the work of others doesn't effect me. I could sit on my high horse and blab on about how self-righteously above jealously I am. But the truth is, I am human, so it goes without saying that I will (and should) experience normal human emotions. Jealously is a normal human emotion.

Those show-stopping quilts and acceptance letters into quilt shows. Teaching gigs, book deals and conventions. Fabric companies sending free bundles of fabric and patterns being published in major quilt magazines. Social media is filled with quilters toting their accomplishments. And as proud as I am for their individual success, I wish so desperately that their success was mine.

We all find ourselves at times envious of what others have or what others have created for themselves. That is emotion is completely natural. It is what we do with that feeling that is the real concern.

I have seen people throw in the towel and give up because they saw someone excel at something and just didn't think they could ever come close to making something that good. They give up on their dreams because they don't think they are smart enough or as talent enough as the person/people they admire. Or they think they have to win the lottery to ever have that lifestyle they see others have.

I was this way when I first started quilting. In my own little bubble I would quilt in the privacy of my little bedroom. I sewed what I saw in my mind made quilts the way I wanted to make them. I made things that pleased me. I was happy and content. But then I ventured out of my happy bubble to meet other quilters and see the works of others. It was during a quilt, sewing and craft show in Phoenix, Arizona that my happy bubble popped. I saw quilts that looked nothing like mine. But instead of being inspired, I was disappointed. My construction was different, my fabrics were not 100% cotton and my designs were nothing like what was being made. Frankly my work looked like a pile of preschool shit next to the quilts I was seeing. Even when I tried to describe and show my quilts to others I just got my work ripped apart. I was told my quilts weren't even quilts. They were more like empty duvet covers or a bunch of stitched up rags.

So I did what I thought at the time was the best course of action. I put away all my quilts and went on with my life.  It would be ten years before I found my way back to quilting again.

It took life changing events for me to gain the greatest insight in my life. I learned that I had wasted so much of my time being jealous over the work of others and comparing myself to them. Two quotes have rang true in helping me to get back on the path I'm suppose to be on and not get distracted by envy and comparison-

Mother Teresa:
"It was never between you and them. It was always between you and God." (paraphrased)

Montgomery Gentry:
"You do your thing, I'll do mine."

Do I still get jealous when other quilters get awards and opportunities that I don't have? Yes. Am I envious at times of the quilts and quilting achievements of others? Yup. But now I don't let it stop me. I pause, acknowledge the emotion and then I remember that I am not in competition with these quilters. My work is in service to God. As long as God is happy with what I am doing, I'm happy.

Paws, Health and Hexies

This is about as much as I've gotten done on the bear paw block. I know, I should be done with that block by now. I was able to draw on the lines to make my half square triangles before my quilting was put on hold. I had all of Sunday to myself while my hubby took our daughter to spend the day at Magic Mountain with his uncle and his family. The plan was to complete the bear paw block, start on a new quilt for the church group I just joined  and maybe even get the bow tie quilt top basted. Alas, the rainy weather and the stress I put myself under getting the house cleaned before their weekend stay with us, caused my health to go down hill.

My ankles swelled and that along with a slitting headache saw me quickly abandoning my quilting for two aspirins and trip to the couch to keep my feet propped up. Even today, I'm still not back to myself and I have my in-laws coming to visit this weekend.

On a positive note, I did manage to make nine hexie flowers over this past week. All my Instagram #Hexiefreinds will be seeing hexies in the mail from me this week.

Hopefully my health will pick up before the in-laws come knocking at the door.

Throw Back Thursday: Solar Wind Roses

I love this quilt, 'Solar Wind Roses', by Janet Cook of Great Britain. The varied shades of deep blues and purples are what first caught my attention.

The various 'roses' in their orange and yellow tones are awesome. I would be interested to see the process she used in creating them.

This quilt was part of the Made in Britain exhibit from the World Quilt & Textile international show 1997, that took place in Pasadena, California.

Ask Joi: It's Salvaged. Now What?

Rachel F. sent me this email:

I've heard about quilters making things with the salvaged end of their fabrics. Exactly how do you do it and what do you make with them?

Oh, Rachel,  I just love the idea of using every little scrap in quilting. And quilting with salvaged edges is one very creative way of using up everything you've got. 

For those who don't know, a salvaged edge is that piece of the fabric that sports the designer name, fabric company, those little color dots, and whatever else fabric companies like to put on there. It's the part of the fabric that most people would just cut off and toss. But quilters- being the clever bunch that they are- found a way to use these fabrics ends to create their own stylish fabrics for use in a variety of things.

Craftsy and Quilting with Nancy both offer great tips on how to save and sew your salvaged ends

(photo credit: busybean)

There are many quilters out there in love with using the salvaged ends of fabric. And lucky for us, they are not afraid to share their passion. Diana Weirich is one such person with a lovely collection of salvaged edge projects that she has gathered on Pinterest. This is where I discovered this cute little pincushion by AngelaGreenwald on Flickr

The Salvage Edge Boutique is an entire blog dedicated to the fashionable use of salvaged pieces. Just look at this cute tote from their site:

In working with salvaged ends, you are basically creating your own fabric, so you can use it an any way that you would normally use fabric. The creative uses are really only limited to how much you have saved ans how much you are willing to save.

Salvaged Hexagons (photo credit: salvage blog)

Making a Mug Rug

The Modern Quilt Guild Individual Members group put on a pretty cool swap recently. The group decided to do a mug rug swap. Several of us participated in the swap, me included. I had never made a mug rug before and wasn't even really sure what they were. But I love the challenge of making something I've never made before.

So, from my understanding a mug rug is simply a drink coaster on Viagra. Bigger then a normal coaster, but not fully a placemat, a mug rug holds not only your coffee/tea mug, but also has room for the spoon and some cookies or other small treats.

Mug rugs vary in shape and sizes, making each one an individual miniature quilting work of art.

I decided to make mine in a more traditional slightly rectangle shape. I used fabric from a pre-cut pack that I purchased at Hobby Lobby in Arizona.

The colors of brown, green and orange, along with the patterns gave the mug rug a very 1960's feel.

Since the piece was machine sewn, I decided that I hand to add some hand sewing to it. So I hand quilted the piece with a simple grip pattern.

I think I did pretty good considering I didn't use anything to mark my lines. I just eyeballed the whole thing.

Next was adding the binding. I choose a fabric in a darker green that was the same pattern as the green I used for the backing.

This was only the second time that I have ever made binding. Usually I just fold over the edges of the backing to the front of the quilt in order to create the binding.

Not too bad of a job if I do say so myself.

Here is the full back view of the mug rug, showing off my lovely hand quilting.

And here is the full front view of the mug rug. The rug is now at home with it's new owner enjoying what I hope will be many wonderful mornings of coffee, tea and sweet treats.

Ask Joi: Is Quilting a Luxury for the Rich?

To a newbee, quilting can seem like more of an expense then it's really worth.
 (photo credit Color Me Quilty)

This question came in from Sara:

OMG! Why is quilting so expensive? I thought this was something our poor great grandmothers did? How did it get to be so expensive? Fabric cost $10+ a yard and I saw a sewing machine that cost more then the first car I owned in college. Who can even afford such an expensive hobby? I feel like I have to get a second job just to make a baby quilt!


Hey Sara,

Trust me I feel where you are coming from. Yes, quilting CAN be expensive, but only if you CHOOSE to make it that way. Noticed I capitalized those words? Because the expense is a choice. Yes, this was what our poor grandmothers did back in the day and they did a damn good job without all the bells and whistles that we have today.

I tend to look at the quilting industry the same way I look at the wedding industry. How much does it really cost to get married? Do you need a 1.5 million dollar wedding ring? Do you have to have a custom made Vera Wang wedding dress in order to say 'I Do"? No, you don't. You can get away with just going down to the court house and getting married for under sixty bucks. A wedding can be that simple. But as you know, there is an industry built around feeding our need to be bigger and better then the next person. This holds true to quilting.

Really all you need to start quilting are some scissors that can cut fabric, needle, thread and fabric. The fabric can simply be from old clothes you already have in your house. An old blanket and sheet can serve the job of being your batting and backing.

I think we forget that for someone starting out in the craft, quilting can seem like a luxury only for the rich. Social media is filled with quilters bragging about getting the latest designer fabrics, showing off their $2,000 sewing machines and having discussions about remodeling their homes just to make room for their new longarm. You can see how this would give the wrong impression to most quilters just entering the craft.

Please Sara, don't be discouraged by what you see. We are human and as such many of us do fall pray to 'keeping up with the Jones'. Now, it would be foolish not to recognize that there is a small few of us who have the lifestyle to support high-end everything. But for the majority of us, we are modest people doing the best we can with what we can afford.

Right now their is someone in a third-world country sewing a quilt out of fabric salvaged from a nearby landfill, using an old rusty needle and some recycled thread. Yet that quilt is no less beautiful and no less special then the one made by someone who buys nothing but top designer fabrics and has a sewing room set up with all the latest quilting tools and technology.

You do not need to be financially rich to make a quilt. You'll just feel rich in love after making one.

Spring Clean Your Studio Blog Hop: Stitches of Joi

I discovered Cheryl Sleboda (aka Muppin) on Instagram earlier this year. It was her sewing skull that caught my attention. (I have a thing for cool looking skulls.) When I saw that she was looking for some folks to join her in blog hop, I jumped at the chance. Little did I realize at the time that this blog hop meant that I would actually need to clean you studio.

Spring Clean Your Studio Blog Hop

For those of you who don't know, my little studio is nestled inside the guest bedroom. In a perfect world, I do all my sewing in there and I always remember to put everything away at the end of the day. This way, when guest arrive, it still looks clean, neat and ready for company.

The reality is that the room becomes a catch-all for everything. Over the last few months, stuff has gotten dumped into the room on a regular bases. When guest do come over, all the crap gets stuffed into boxes and hid in the garage. When guest leave it all comes back into the room.

I've gotten pretty tired of this back and fourth dumping and decided it was high time I actually clean my work space.

Here is what should be a well organized work table. Believe it or not, there is actually a cutting mat and two rotary cutters under all this mess.

When not in use, the guest bed acts as my design board. Right now in this picture its hard to even tell their's a bed there. I don't even know where half of this stuff came from. I swear stuff multiplies when I'm asleep. 

It took a couple of days of locking myself in the room and only coming out for bathroom breaks and to refill my green tea in order to get the place looking decent. 

Now this is what a proper work desk should look like. See, I told you there was a mat and rotary cutters under all that junk. Look, there were even some rulers under there too! The little bird in the corner is my sewing needle holder. I seriously thought I had lost him. But nope, he was just buried alive.

And here is the guest bed / design board. All decorated with a quilt I'm currently working on, with fabric for another quilt waiting in the corner.

It was a cleaning that was well overdue. Next on my list to tackle are all my little scrap pieces. I need to find a good way to organize them for quick find and use. Anyone out there got any good suggestions?

With all that cleaning, I actually found space in the room to lay down my new little rug I purchased recently. I think every sewing/craft room should have a skull somewhere in it. Don't you?

Thank you Cheryl for giving me a good excuse to clean up my studio!

Please check out the other cool cats on the list and see how they cleaned up their studios too.

May 7 Kathy Matthews http://www.chicagonow.com/quilting-sewing-creating/ May 8 Misty Cole Http://www.dailydesignwall.blogspot.com May 9 Heather Kinion http://heatherkinion.com/ May 10 Jessica Darling http://jessicakdarling.com/ May 11 Lisa Blevis Filion http://upstatelisa.blogspot.com/ May 12 Peta Minerof-Bartos http://www.thenotsewguiltyquilter.blogspot.com/ May 13 Mandy Leins http://mandalei.com/ May 14 Amalia Teresa Parra Morusiewicz http://funfromatoz.com/ May 15 Sam Hunter http://huntersdesignstudio.com/ May 16 Debby Ritenbaugh Brown http://higheredhands.blogspot.com/ May 17 Debbie Kleve Berkebile http://www.mountaintrailquilttreasure.blogspot.com/ May 18 Michelle Mattingly http://stitchesofjoi.blogspot.com/ May 19 Cheryl Sleboda http://blog.muppin.com

Couch Potato Quilt Market

The 2015 Spring International Quilt Market is in full swing right now. My Instagram feed is blowing up with pictures of beautiful quilts, must-have fabrics and quilters having just way too much fun.

If you weren't able to make it to Minneapolis this year or would rather enjoy Quilt Market from the comfort of your couch, then you're in luck. The lovely people over at Quilt Market set up a TINT (a virtual Twitter/Instagram wall). You can click on the link HERE. 

If you happen to be hanging out on Facebook be sure to check out their Facebook Page.

For those of you out there enjoying all that is Quilt Market, please keep those pictures coming in. The quilters are watching!

QuiltAlong.net

With so many quilting blogs and so much quilting information online, it can seem overwhelming. I love it when someone comes up with a way to help me quickly find what I am looking for.

One thing that has been of interest to me lately are all the quilt alongs, block of the months and link parties going on. There seem to be so many fun things happening, but by the time I find out about them it's usually too late.

Terri Ann of Childlike Fascination was obviously feeling the same way and decided to create a website where you could find, "links to all the best quilting community online parties".   QuiltAlong.net lists information on all the quilt alongs, block of the months, link parties and other happening in the online quilting community.

The site is still fairly new, but it is growing fast. Terri Ann hopes to expand the sight in the future to include quilting bees and quilt swaps.

I already have the sight bookmarked. I also signed up for the newsletter to get updates on when new information is added to the sight.

If you plan on hosting a quilt along or have your ow link parties, contact Terri Ann to have your event listed on the sight.

Free Quilting eGuides from Craftsy

In case you haven't been over at Craftsy for awhile, wanted to let you know that they have eGuides! You can download these PDF's for free and even print them out.

Below are a couple of the eGuides that I thought you might be interested in. You can find these and more HERE.

Free Craftsy eGuild: "Save Those Scraps" A Scrap Quilting Book

Free Craftsy eGuide: Genius Hacks Every Quilter Should Know

Nine Patch In Pink

Near the beginning of the year I joined a block swap on the Quilters Club of America quilting forum. My reason behind joining the swap was that I wanted to challenge myself in accurate hand piecing and add to my goal of quilting everyday.

This swap consisted of making 12 nine patch blocks in the colors of white and pink. The blocks measure 6 1/2 inches.

I purchased my pink fabric at the local Jo-Ann's. It's a fun looking fabric and I really like the non-uniform white polka dots scattered across it. The white fabric I already owned. I did not pre-wash my fabric. (Yup, I'm one of those quilters).

My blocks have now been shipped off. Within a couple of weeks I should be receiving 12 different blocks in the mail. It makes me smile to think of getting fabric in the mail.

Flower Quilt Complete

Last Thursday, I was able to finish the binding on the flower quilt right before my daughter got out of school. She was able to show off the quilt to her friends and teacher. When we got home I took advantage of the sunny weather by getting a few pictures of her with her new quilt in our backyard.

I adore the pattern and the way it came out. The quilt is tied down rather then quilted down. I like the look of tie downed quilts. Something about the look speaks to me.

The section of blue adds a nice pop of color and some contrast to all that pink and purple.

I'm pretty proud of my first  all hand pieced quilt.

Can you tell she really loves her quilt?

From Shirt To Quilt

Most of my quilt tops are made using old clothes. This is how my mom use to make quilts. She would keep every torn up, worn out piece of clothing and use it either as a quilt or as dust cloths.

 Even though I have access to great fabrics I still find myself drawn to using old clothes and thrift store finds. There is no law stating that you must only use 100% cotton designer fabric in order to quilt. Sometimes the best quilts are created by just using what you have. Don't believe me? Go take a look at the quilts of Gee's Bend if you need proof.

Now, how would one turn an old work shirt or an outdated blouse into usable fabric for quilting? Well, I'm glad you asked. Luke Haynes did a tutorial awhile back showing how to deconstruct clothing to use in a quilt. Check it out here at Deconstructing a Shirt. When you get some time, make sure to check out the work of Luke Haynes. He is an incredible fabric artist.

Judging and Validation

For the last couple of days I've been thinking about the juried quilt shows and why we enter them. I'v been thinking about this need we sometimes have for public validation of our work.

Source: The Quilter's Guild of NSW Inc.

Talking to a few people who quilt,  it is interesting to me how quick they are to announce that they don't enter their quilts into shows. I wonder if it is because they entered one of their quilts into a show in the past and was either rejected or received harsh criticism for their work? There are those who have entered shows and because they didn't bring home any ribbons, felt rejected and refused to ever enter another show. As if our work required a ribbon in order to be validated.

These thoughts occurred to me as I work on pieces that I hope to start entering in upcoming shows. I already mentioned that I plan to enter my quilts for consideration into the Quiltcon show. There is also the local San Diego Quilt show that I plan to enter as well. But why?

Source: From The Blue Chair

The thought of rejection doesn't scare me. Being picked on and teased all my life, I've grown a thick enough skin that a bit of harsh criticism from some judge wouldn't phase me at all.

But why do it at all? Why put yourself through such an unnecessary emotional roller coaster?

I read Angela Pingel's blog posting of when she entered her work into the first Quiltcon show and the criticism she received from the judges for her work. Reading this made me realize just how an experience like this could jade someone into never entering a show again. This is sad because although  the judgement was a bit harsh, the public exposure her quilts received has done a great deal in making her and her work more well-known. And who knows the countless number of people who have now been inspired by seeing her work?

I think before anyone enter's their quilt into a show they should read Bill Volkening's and Victoria Gertenbach's take on juried shows to help put things in perspective.

Source: Built by Briick

My plans to enter juried shows this year has not changed. But my reason is different then what you may think. I see these shows not as a way to validate myself as a quilter, but as a possible avenue to put my work in front of others. The idea that some stranger may see my quilt and be inspired to create something beautiful themselves is what motivates me to enter.

Don't get me wrong, I wouldn't mind getting a lovely ribbon or two attached to my work, but not getting any ribbons would in no way diminish the value of my quilts. My work is validated by the very fact that my own two hands created it. And that is all the validation that I need.