Kept In Stitches

Improv Techniques

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March 16, 2016

Recently, I attended the Glendale Quilt Guild’s monthly meeting. Their speaker was Mike McNamara, He is a California resident living in the Bay area. Mike gave a terrific presentation and showed us so many quilts. The stories about each of the quilts kept us in stitches. I volunteered to help hold up quilts as he shared the story of each quilt. The construction of these quilts was impressive. Many times a picture can hide many sins and this was not the case with his quilts. Some of the backs were just as great as the top side.

Following the lecture, there was a Saturday class teaching the techniques he uses when creating each of these works of art. I’ve found that it is easy to follow a pattern and can be very challenging for some quilters to think outside the box and be creative. I came home with several samples on curved improv piecing and now I’m faced with the decision of incorporating them into a quilt. I love the creative process of not following a pattern and creating a one-of-a-kind piece. A huge thanks to Mike (Mac) for all his inspiration and patience with the Glendale Quilt Guild.

Fancy Forest, Chapter 1

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March 8, 2016

FirstFourOwls_FancyForest

In February, I started a block of the month (BOM) called Fancy Forest with the Quilt Emporium in Woodland Hills. I’m not really sure why I keep adding more to my plate, but this BOM is so cute. The directions are very well written and I’ve finished my first four owls…March is bunny time. It is a year long program, so wish me luck staying caught up with all of these projects!

QuiltCon 2016

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February 22, 2016

Dowie, Emily Cier

Reflection, Nancy Purvis

The Color of Squares, Juli Smith

The Five, Krista Hennebury

Every Little Hungry Schoolgirl’s Pride and Joy, Rebecca Burnett

Geometric Text, Nicole Daksiewicz

Graphics 1, Kerri Green

Embers, Stephanie Ruyle

Score for Showing Up—Disco, Sherri Lynn Wood

F*ck the Quilt Police, Nancy Purvis

Line Study #1, Andrew Steinbrecher

Vortex Redux, Jackie Benedetti

Horseshoes & Hand Grenades, Rebecca Burnett

35 Sisters, Pittsburgh Modern Quilt Guild

Intermingle, North Jersey Modern Quilt Guild

This Quilt is Our Quilt, Tulsa Modern Quilt Guild

Twisted Tulips, Jacquie Gering

Pickled Beets, Latifah Saafir

Songs of a Distant Lancaster, Tami Levin

Tessellation 4, Nydia Kehnle

Diamonds Quilt #2, Tara Faughnan

Phyllo, Scott Griffin

Honestly, I was overwhelmed by the beauty of this show…definitely one of the best quilt shows I’ve ever been to! I volunteered at the California MQG membership booth all four days, enjoyed the show with Greg and our friend Nancy King on Saturday, and went back with Greg on Sunday…there was just so much to see and be inspired by. There were too many quilts to show them all, so here are just a few that really got my creativity flowing. And, did you notice that one of my quilts was there? I was honored to be included in such an incredibly talented group of quilters. Thank you to all the people at the MQG for everything they’ve done…it was truly outstanding. I can’t wait for the next show!

Something Fun

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February 6, 2016

My friend Nancy King gave me this cute little bag she made. It’s perfect to keep my binding supplies in and each time I look at it makes me smile. I would much rather receive a gift that someone has made rather than one that has been purchased. It is so easy to get caught up with how fast-paced life can be. It is wonderful to slow down and enjoy some of simple beauty that is all around us. Nancy hand dyed the fabric used on the bags. The closure of the bag utilizes a metal piece from a tape measure. I love it!!!

Road to California, 2016

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January 24, 2016

Silk Road Sampler, Melissa Sobotka

Optical Illusion, Nancy King

Modern Medallion, Rebecca L. Smith

Grandpa’s Model Twenty #1, Jodi Robinson

Hillside Houses, D. Schmidt, D. Brennan, S. Garmston, P. Hanscom, D. Cashatt, G. Simpson

The Botanical Gardens of Balboa Park, Bobbin Buddies Friendship Group

Guardian Spirits, Joy A. Hegglund

Persimmons, Maren J. Johnston

Spring Storm, Beth Markel

Hexagon Quilt “La Passion”, Grit Kovacs

Hexagon Quilt “La Passion”, Detail

Charming Bow Ties, Ardie L. Skjod

Charming Bow Ties, Detial

Winter Fields, Cynthia L. Vogt

Technicolor Deco, Shirley Gisi

I spent the day, with Greg Palmer and Nancy King, at Road to California. Wow, the show was incredible and we had such a great time. There were so many inspiring quilts that I couldn’t wait to come home and play with some fabric. Why am I on the computer?

Unknown Treasures

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January 19, 2016

I really do take it for granted that I live in an incredible city. We’re always on the lookout for new and different things to do in our free time. Recently, I was headed into downtown LA to submit my quilt for Quiltcon West. As I was driving there, I come upon an architectural salvage business. My car honestly pulled towards this business. But, I had to get my quilt turned in and it would have to wait. Fast forward to Sunday…Greg and I decided to go back to ‘the place’ and check it out. We were joined by another friend and ended up going to a second salvage place, also. Wow…some incredible finds and a ton of treasures! At the end of the day my “gotta have it” find was a knob. Not really sure what I will do with it. Perhaps that inspiration will come another day.

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010e23e6f1b23df689c7f0a8172186c690164055ae

014c9deddd53fe6aebf92ae0e8c34c7a4d21a1160c

010eafb20624a799ef8f3a5cc756d4dab4fc8153b9

010d9ae711bcfdc5cebbd009ebfc97c518c14426a3

013998711c68b35e552dd1e9982c480853387fb501

365 Challenge—The Ultimate Sampler Quilt, Keeping Productive

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January 11, 2016

It has been refreshing just sitting down and sewing a block each day. Not overthinking the end result…not spending time deciding color placement…not worrying about the overall composition of the block. Just sew the block and be done with it! I enjoyed seeing all the different blocks that everyone is creating for this challenge. You should join the fun…

Make a quilt block every day for a year.
Click here to learn more The Ultimate Quilt Sampler

365 Challenge—The Ultimate Sampler Quilt, Chapter 1

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January 4, 2016

I am well aware of how full my plate is and yet I keep adding more. I ran across this on Facebook and it really caught my eye. A block a day doesn’t seem like too much, right? Since It started a few days late into the challenge, I had some catching up to do. You can find more about the challenge by clicking the highlighted link below. The challenge is to complete the blocks every day, and build a stunning 90″ square sampler quilt! Most of the blocks are 3″ and 6″. It is a new year so why not a new challenge. I don’t think that it is likely that I post the blocks that I’ve made daily but I will try to group them in an occasional photograph and keep it updated.

Make a quilt block every day for a year.
Click here to learn more The Ultimate Quilt Sampler

A Little Rain…

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December 9, 2015

I’ve been using Inktense by Derwent colored pencils for several years now. Many years back I had tried the crayon method on fabric and I found that it faded and didn’t get the look that I had desired. The Inktense pencils are easy to use and give a great result no matter what your level of artistic creativity. When I had first purchased the 24 pencil set I had set out to see for myself if indeed these were a permanent coloring method. No heat setting or textile medium necessary for pleasing results. So, I colored a flower on a scrap piece of fabric and started sending it through the wash with all my clothes for almost a month. Great results and I am impressed with this product.

Last Christmas Greg bought me the 72 pencil set and…WOW! So many more colors to choose from. I’m always drawn to blues and I pulled out all the blues from the set and started playing. Rain drops were quick and easy. The quilt is approximately 24″ X 24″ and it was quilted on Johnny with diagonal cables to create even more movement. It has been so long since we have seen any rain here in California I had to do create my own.

The pencils are a bit pricey (use that Joann coupon) but they last a very long time and I can’t imagine ever needing to replace a color. They can be purchased in a set or a few art supply stores here sell them individually. I will post a link where you can find them.

http://www.dickblick.com/products/derwent-inktense-pencils/
http://www.joann.com/search?q=inktense
http://www.michaels.com/search?q=inktense

Feeling Hexy

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November 20, 2015

I’ve been a little overwhelmed this past 2 weeks with all that life places upon us. Now I’m doing my best to get caught up with everything I’ve been putting off. Our next monthly challenge with Valley Modern Quilt Guild is to create a project with the ‘fire’ theme. It can be a block or an entire quilt. You know me…’go big or go home’, and my project keeps growing. Basting these hexies tends to go fast….after an evening of TV viewing I was able to get 104 hexagons basted and ready for my project. It will take much more time to applique them in place. It’s a start and I still have over a week before Show-N-Tell….wish me luck!