2015 Quilty Highlights -part One

For me, this year was about Quilty connections and disconnects.   2015 was admittedly an odd year and I don't mean that numerically - it was full of highs and lows throughout.   Being active in a creative community locally and online is partly putting yourself out there which in turn means getting knocked down but it also means being uplifted.  

Focussing on the upside, I was fortunate to have been asked to join BeeSewcial, a unique bee with a group of inspiring and talented women.  Creating these blocks brought out the best in me.   I'm really proud of them.  I also adore every single one they sent me as queen for my Refection theme- (pictured below in the center of my WIP mosaic)  If you are on IG, please sew along with our monthly challenges following the hashtag #inspiredbybeesewcial

BeeSewcial Blocks sent

Compared to previous end of the year recaps, the finished quilt mosaic is dismal in numbers.   

top row L-R: Some firsts for me though include two (Dig Deep and Ripple Strudel) making an appearance at Quilt Market to show off the release of fabric line Luna Lounge  My first mini-mini, a map quilt for Anne who moved far away.  The baby quilt shown directly below was for Marci who I got to meet in person and then brought so many people together hostessing the after-QuiltCon-pin-swap exchange.

Finished Quilts

bottom row L-R: My first QDAD (quilt design a day) brought to life, sewn with a friend, for a friend. This one was much harder than anticipated and took way longer than it should have but was a great excuse for sew dates with my friend Sue and was well received once gifted.  The next, " Castles In The Sand", was nominated for Bloggers Quilt Festival's Best Original Design.  Collaborating with Pam was the opposite timeline - started cutting on a Friday and had a finished top by Sunday.  It has been donated to a local charity from my MQG to be raffled off.

The Year of the Bags

2015 was record breaking bag making for me.  I made gifts, swaps and even a few Travel Handmades for myself.  Itook on a double welted pocket and didn't blink at zippers (well maybe i blinked but at least i didn't hyperventilate) .  

Starts 

I'm sure there are more started WIPs and goodness knows there's plenty that already existed before 2015 but here's the ones that spring to mind.  Workshops were great and I'm hoping to attend even more in the future.

Glamp Stitchalot in Ann Arbor MI with 200 quilters and 6 all-star instructors was a lot to take in - and recover from.  Sewing and chatting with designers I greatly admire was fantastic and I met so many wonderful people.

GlampStitchalot

A Facebook group was created ahead of time and I've been trying to follow attendee on IG.  Especially after seeing the progress of others, my mystery medallion is calling my name! Each designer created a t-shirt and I splurged buying the ones by Tula Pink and Alison Glass.  My sis treated me to the colorful Tula hardware (upper left pic).


Of course we can't forget that it all started with the kick off of the year QuiltCon in Austin Tx which now feels like a lifetime ago as i head to Pasadena for 2016 next month.  I'll be super volunteering and taking workshops again.

QuiltCon 2015

Mid-year, I didn't have to go far to enjoy quilting with my peeps.  A local Retreat in March and Our 4th Annual SBAMQG Retreat in October did not disappoint.  The planning committee and sponsors this year were stellar and we had two gals hostess swag bag sew days who didn't even attend.

Retreat Group Picture 

Having my SIL fully hooked on quilting is icing on the cake.  We get to chat and talk fabric with her stash and WIP list relating to me and mine in a new way.

Me and my SIL 

Blogging has been a little sparse but I try.  Stats tell me I posted 48 in 2015, only down slightly from 51 in 2014.  I've long given up on keeping up with 81 in 2013 or the ridiculous bar of 115 when I started in 2012.  I'm here, that's what counts.  Thanks for being here too!

2015 Recap to be continued. . . 

Glamp Stitchalot Medallion and Memories

Glamp Instructors

Me and my Counselors at GlampStitchalot, Ann Arbor Michigan November 2015:  Jeni Baker, Tula Pink, Alison Glass, Sara Fielke, Violet Craft (not pictured Katy Jones)

Mystery Medallion Progress

Fabric Pull

 Some of My Quilty Friend Selfies

The best part was hanging out with my sis, seeing Quilty friends again and meeting new ones.

Secret Swap Gifted to Leigh Anne

Close up and Extras

Wonderful Swap Received from Amanda

90's Night Photo Booth Fun with roomie Kim, my sis and Nicole

What happened at Glamp did not stay at Glamp  thanks to the photo booth.  The dance videos however are another story.

Film Strip Souvenirs 

A really special and memorable way to spend my birthday - especially when a room full of two hundred people sang to me! Nothing like blending in :)

Glad That I Did 

A Maximalist to follow a Minimalist

Composing in Color

It's no secret that I'm drawn to technique and process more than duplicating a quilt using a published pattern.  This composition measures 11"x22" so far.  

Saturday's "making prints out of solids" South Bay Area MQG workshop with Maria Shell, Tales of a Stitcher was an opportunity to learn to create a huge range of "fabric". It was so engaging and perfect for me.  Well, maybe if it were a 3 or 5 day retreat workshop it could've been more perfect. 

Maria Shell demo and Class Samples

As you can see from her class samples displayed above, Maria embraces a full palette. She did a demo of each method and helped us select colors that could stand on their own.  A favorite phrase that she used and that I whole heartedly relate to was "painting with your rotary".    It's almost as messy! 

My SIL didn't attend so I took my batch of parts with me on Sunday when I visited and snapped this shot while the were on her design wall. 

My collective

A Song and A Dance

November blocks for Leanne 10x17.5 and 7.5x15  Linking up to Scraptastic Tuesday - check it out.

BeeSewcial this month was like candy for my sweet tooth.  I've enjoyed getting outside my comfort zone each challenge and the last two were no exception. 

Conveying a clear message in black and white for Hillary, Entropy Always Wins and then an abstract winter landscape in icy grays for Felicity. (Reveal below)  The absence of color was a stretch. 

When Leanne, She Can Quilt announced that she was making an Improv Sampler, requesting a ruler free saturated medium tone block of any size in colors that make you wanna sing and dance - it was like she served up my favorite dish of confort food. 

Looking for the Glow

There wasn't enough time to try out everything in class especially since I plowed ahead with that first piece combining parts from half circles and curve to explore composition.  

Circles and Half Circles

I came home, stayed up late and got up early - that kind of reaction to a workshop does not happen often. I'll admit more times than not, the bits barely get unpacked and usually sit in my WIP bucket. 

Sunrise Sunday

When I tried to make plaid on my own I ran into some trouble with order getting confused with the rearranging of parts. 

Plaid-ish

I have every intention of trying them all.  Thank you Maria for a wonderful time and permission to share the picture of you and samples and to South Bay Area Modern Quilt Guild for another amazing teacher choice.  The dots and stripes sewn by my friends in class were really fun.  The next guild meeting should be a fun show and tell.  

Winter Wonderland

I think I can count the number of times I've been in the snow on one hand.  Felicity provided an image board and description on her blog post here so although my first hand experience is limited,  The icy starkness of my block, portraying slivers of trees has a lot of parts for minimalism but the limited palette sets the calm mood.  You may recognize the other source of inspiration,  my friend Renee's piece from the retreat.  

Fork in the Road

I joked (not so jokingly) that I'd surely become a shut in if I were to ever live in the snow.  Driving is not my favorite thing in dry weather and it boggles the mind how people manage without visibility on the road which was the spark for this block.

Building 

Busting out the scissors to work not only ruler-less but without my rotary for part of the process has become a little less awkward.

Pardon the fold lines in the picture - I had taken late night poor lighting shots and was in the parking lot of the post office when I remembered that I never took any good ones. So with creases in the trunk of the car was better than nothing.

I'm thrilled to be continuing as a member of BeeSewcial for 2016, making the bitter sweet of sewing the last block of the year easier to handle.

Glampstitchaswap

Finished with a week to spare.  

Bonnie Bucket Bag

What a relief to have been assigned a secret partner for the bag swap at Glamp Stitchalot that has similar likes. 

Instead of two fabrics I used five and had so much fun with the fussy placement. Pat Bravo designs such treasures it feels less invasive cutting them up this was. 

Fussy Details are Fun

The pattern one by Swoon called Bonnie Bucket bag. I was tempted to give it structure with soft and stable but opted to stay with the Pelion 101 with a peltex bottom. 

Welted Zipper pocket success

Having gained confidence from conquering the recessed zipper in my 3-in-1 Betsy bag made tackling the my first double welted zipper a breeze.  Although I pulled fabric from stash the interfacing required 2.5 yards so a trip to my LQS was necessary.  

Initial Fabric Pull

Usually I'd jump at an excuse to ogle bolts on a shelf but let me remind you of the shift in shoppers at craft stores and thrift shops weeks before Halloween.

Fob and Mermaid

At checkout I spotted a small mermaid that color coordinated and couldn't resist.  The fabric for the strap was screaming to become a key fob. 

Pencil Case 

My sister had sent me a book on krafttex so a pencil holder to mark the occasion was a must. 

Personalized 

We were instructed to keep "extras" to a minimum (thankfully - I find them stressful like stocking stuffers).  Three projects for Finish It Up Friday in one post may be a record.

I'm excited and nervous that it is rapidly approaching.  Hanging out with my sister, seeing Quilty friends in real life and meeting new ones - what a great plan for my birthday. 

Just like QuiltCon it's the anticipation of the unknown and the fear the weekend will come and go in a blink. 

I've link up my finish to PursePalooza with Sew Sweetness.  Sara is so sweet to host this hop with countless bag reviews and the Sewcial Challenge on IG is also a favorite.  She picked my scrappy quilt and sent me this amazing prize!

Prize Recieved 

I shared my bag at the last guild meeting and my friend Sharon- who has affectionately earned the nickname Bag Lady was telling me about a bag of the month club she is part of.  No surprise that Sara one of the designers.  When it comes time to sew these patterns I'm definitely bending Sharon's ear.

More Bag News

The Retreat Committee made swag bags this year that are a bit bigger than the pouches of years past and I love it.  During our group sewing session I volunteered to pair and press fabric so I don't actually know how to make one.

Tilt Shift - Challenge Reveal Tonight

Tilt Shift Top Done

Finished Top 27"x27"

When we drew our slips of papers for our Logo color challenge and I read the modern concept "high contrast and graphic areas of solid color",  I knew exactly where to go.  QDAD.  I'll admit that the color Cerise is pretty much my go to palette so it wasn't much of a challenge to work with.

(Full disclosure:  I originally drew "Improv" and my SIL got this one which made her scratch her head - so I swapped with her - which was totally allowed).

I chose the design above and recolored it to meet the guild criteria.  Here are a few earlier designs with similar cropping and positioning concept.    Neither of these have the actual tips cut off though.  Sewing a complete block and then chopping it up sounds like a perfect plan.

Having an idea in the back of my mind is great, but having an actual resource to reference is even better.  Explore and Ditch.  Explore and Make.  Explore and Alter.  Explore and Mock Up!  

Streamline Strips

I brought the project along on a four day retreat.  On the morning of the final day I busted it out and fortunately when I forgot to add seam allowance to my sketch dimensions- right after saying I'd remember to - there were highly qualified quilty-math friends in the room to save me.   

Color Choices

Lots of rulers were involved.  For the setting I did it the hard way instead of the math way - which for me is the easier or at least more enjoyable way!

Critical Crop

Basically,  once I got the square constructed I just added chunks of gray to all the edges and built it out then trimmed it down.  For the actual Critical Crop angle, I sat my phone with the target image on it on the table next to me until it looked right.

My Helper

I'm not one with nimble fingers or an obsession for perfection, so those narrow bits and partial seams got as good as they get.   Makes me really appreciate the #minimini posts I've been seeing on IG. 

Partial Seam

TIP:  Mock Up

So here's something that many people already do - and I'm writing about it mostly to remind myself to do it more often.  MOCK UP.  yup.  If you are visual learner and creator it's a great way to have a virtual reference as a jumping off point.  This doesn't mean you have to actually make your project to match.  There is no obligation - the freedom to deviate is there.

Explored and Ditched

Working out ideas on paper - or computer - is really a wonderful option.  Somethings need to settle in and sort themselves out before taking a rotary to fabric IMO and using a MockUp can serve that purpose.

Sample Fabric photo mock up

I will also use the PhotoGrid app on my phone to see what repeated alterations would look like by duplicating a picture of a sketch or actual block like I've done here.  In the end I thought it was overworked and too complex but may incorporate the idea in other future project.

Taking part in Tips and Tutorials linky party with Stephanie over at Late Night Quilter
and WIP Wednesday with Lee at Freshly Pieced  - now how to quilt it! 

November ALYOF goal

Tick - Tick- No Excuses

If ever there was a project that had absolutely no good reason for taking so long, the one is it.  My son chose the design and approved the fabrics for his bed quilt so long ago I can't even remember.

Progress at October Retreat 

I've worked diligently on it at two retreats and several sessions at home.  The pattern is not too difficult for me, I like the fabric, I really WANT to gift it to him - none of the typical stumbling blocks apply here.

Parts from March Retreat

There has been progress.  It has rolled from month to month and although I feel a little like the quilter who cried wolf,  it is my official ALYOF project for November.  Goal Setting Linky party is open at Fiber of All Sorts and Sew BitterSweet Designs. 

We are after all headed rapidly to a new year and it will NOT be on my 2016 Resolution List.  Yup, you guessed right, it was included in this post from January 2015

Initial Pull

I've decided to keep the fabric almost exclusively Parson Gray, mixing from various lines rather than the scrappier pull shown here.  Framing it in a mid-to-dark border is also on the redesign plans and not just because I want to finish but because I think he will like it that way.

As usual, I'm strategically selecting on item from my 2015 FAL Q4 list as well.

Wish me luck and hop around to cheer on the other participants too!