Teach one, reach one

A fellow quilter and guild member asked me the other day if I was contagious – passing on the quilting bug to all my friends. Well, it certainly seems that way. I am proud to introduce my friend Angela’s amazing Wizard of Oz quilt. She picked up the fabric from the internet and the local quilt shop and had questions about how to put it all together so that the different tones and colors would work well. We had lots of fun going through my extra fat quarters to find colors and prints that played well with the theme fabric.

After that I said, Add pieces until the blocks are all the same size, very vague instructions, I know. But Angela’s an experienced seamstress and crafter and she knew just what I meant, took it and ran with it. The finished top is 66 x 90 and absolutely stunning. I don’t know yet who the lucky recipient will be.

Kaffe Fassett Quilt Along

Do you like Kaffe Fassett's designs? Well, I adore them. Although I don't have all of his books, I have quite a few, including a coveted out-of-print Glorious Color, his home decor book, published before he become a quilt world icon. Kaffe wowed the quilting world with his bold use of color and pattern in ways we quilters hadn't even considered previously. Imagine hanging a patchwork piece without batting or backing in a window just so you could see the play of light through the seam allowances. Imagine putting bright, bold oversized prints all together in large diamonds or squares without sashing or borders. That's Kaffe Fassett and Liza Prior Lucy, his partner in quilting crime.


Back in March, the publisher Melanie Falick Books, in cooperation with numerous quilting blogs started a Quilt Along. Check out the link above. Besides having the contest rules and a free pattern, there are also links to numerous fascinating and fun quilting and craft blogs. Check out the crocheted mini-Yoda and Pac-Man at http://whipup.net/ or see Darling Dolly Dresses at QuiltersBuzz.com.

I haven't crocheted in a long, long time, but that mini Yoda is sooooo tempting. Who's with me?

At Long Last Love

No, I'm not speaking of romance. I'm speaking of a quilt. My life has been so hectic between training my replacement, moving the office, traveling, and setting up my new computer room (purple, natch), that my quilting and blogging has taken a back seat. So today, when I actually had time to go through my backlog of email, I was so excited to find a link to Oh, Fransson!'s Paintbox Quilt

I just love this quilt and I think you will too. Elizabeth of Oh, Fransson! made hers from bright, happy colors, but you could make it from any colors you like. You also don't have to make the squares exactly the same way.  Here's Perry Moffitt's squares, before she has a chance to even them up. They are much more random as you can see, but just as lovely. It will be awhile before she can set them in a quilt as she has a new baby to occupy her arms for a while.

You can look on the Flickr photo pool for over 630 different Paintbox quilts for inspiration. If you're like me, you're already in love and salivating to start a new quilt. Damn the UFOs, full speed ahead!

Crazy Quilt Party Time

I will soon be able to fulfill a dream and become a full-time writer/quilter/artist.  DH has decided that having the business office in our home has been a detriment to our marriage, a sentiment to which I fully agree.  In the next few months, I will be consolidating, organizing, combining and simplifying the way the bookkeeping is run to be able to either pass it to a new employee at a new location, or to a private bookkeeping service.  The day that the office is out of here will be a big happy-dance day. (Photo titled "Crazy Quilt Party")

Rouenneries

Some months ago, while on the Hancock's of Paducah website, I was looking at their pages of fabrics-to-come.  There was an example of a quilt, a very basic quilt, pieced from squares and strips from a line of fabric called Rouenneries, designed by French General, a Soho dry-goods shop specializing in things Francais and printed and distributed by Moda.

Normally, I am a bright, clear color fabric sort of gal.  These muted, antique tones don't really do anything for me.  But I was drawn to the quilt and drawn to the fabric.  And I don't know why.  I had seen other French General items and books, but they did not appeal to my personal sense of design - why this one? Imagine my surprise to read that this line of fabric has been one of the fastest selling lines ever produced by Moda.

The kit to make this quilt was going to sell for around $90.00.  Well, I certainly wasn't going to spend that much on someone else's idea of a quilt.  I would just put my own kit together and make it myself.  So, I started collecting fabric, ordering online, shopping locally and going through my stash.  About half of what I purchased online didn't suit; the fabrics were either too blue or too pink, too gray or too yellow.  I finally collected enough to start the quilt.  Believe me, I had spent well over $90.00 by this time.

I gauged the pattern by looking at the finished measurements, 80x80.  I then calculated where they would have been likely to use 2 1/2" strips, 5" squares or 5" strips.  From there I started cutting, then working row by row using my version of Rouenneries.  In the middle of cutting, I took a trip to a quilt show in Fort Lauderdale.  I had the fantastic luck to find a charm square pack and 5" strip pack of the Rouennerie fabrics for 25% off at a vendors booth.  I brought them home to add in to my quilt.

I am almost done piecing the rows and started piecing row 1 to row 2 last night.  I'm planning on making it larger than the specified 80x80 so that it will fit on my king-size bed.  Then I will dream sweet dreams of Rouen, France under my Rouenneries.

Little House keyholder

keyhanger
Originally uploaded by dutch blue

I just love this little keyholder from Corry's blog at Dutch Blue. I'd want to make it with a wrist strap or some way to attach it to a purse. Check out Dutch Blue's blog at http://dutch-blue.blogspot.com/. She is so creative!

Collection Addiction

After a frenzy of catching up on work, attending meetings, hosting gatherings and cleaning up, I took an hour last night to go upstairs and start cleaning my sewing room. The piles had gotten so bad that I had to take giant steps over them to get to my sewing machine, and the surface of my cutting table was no longer visible. My cleaning method is to put things neatly into boxes and bins to get them out of the way, and then go back through the boxes after I have cleared space for the contents.

I started folding and placing my recent fabric and notion purchases in a large box. The stack just kept growing and growing. I again have more fabric than I have a place to put it. My husband had pointed out to me, upon arrival of yet another carton of fabric by UPS yesterday, that I had told him I would stop buying 'stuff'. I immediately became defensive and made an excuse about having ordered sometime back and I lied about the contents of the box.

Gentle reader, I have fallen back into my Collection Addiction. Look at this quote from eHow.com: "A person will become irritable or defensive when a family member or friend wants to discuss a perceived addictive behavior." I've descended into full-blown addictive behavior.

Those fellow addicts will recognize one of the hallmark symptoms of addiction behavior: "shame for what they're doing and fear of the addiction being taken from them can force people to hide their addiction from friends and family." I'm coming clean on the record. My name is Kim and I'm addicted to collecting fabric.