Perspective - Bloggers Quilt Festival Entry

Perspective 

Perspective's Glam Shot

According to the eye candy on IG the past few days, it's Quilt Market time again and that also means it's time for linking up an entry (and more importantly - browsing around) over at Amy's Creative Side Blogger's Quilt Festival 

FMQ detail sparkles

I chose "Perspective" for the Small Quilt Category measuring 48"x60".   You can nominate it for viewer's choice - open until Oct 29  here, I'd sure appreciate that! 

AMH and I at QuiltCon 2015

I pretty much adore anything Anna Maria Horner and was tickled when she shared my quilt on her Facebook page  and used all caps to describe it as GORGEOUS (such a fangirl moment) 

posing with my quilt on Display

The fussy cutting and fussy quilting was well worth the extra effort and honestly what made it more fun to make.  Stripes can be tricky and rewarding when used strategically. 

Shopping Tower of Bolts 

I had to laugh at myself for titling the blog post "Loominous - slow progress" considering the entire quilt took 10 days start to finish.  The renaming of the quilt to Perspective had to do party with the vista view looking down on Capitola Village but also applies to the way we view time - task - life.   You can read more backstory  here and here.

Auditioning Aurifil

Having my quilt hang at the store display was really nice - and since our MQG chapter holds their monthly meetings at Hart's, I just had to point to it for show and tell. 

Stash Backing

Fall 2015 Blogger's Quilt Festival Entry 
Perspective - Small Quilts Category 
48"x60"
Started May 15, bound May 25, 2015
Fabric Line: Loominous by Anna Maria Horner, Binding Kona Pansy
Purchased from Hart's Fabric 
Backing: Moda Botany and Fig Tree from my Stash
Pieced with Aurifil 50wt #2325, quilted with 40wt #2515
Batting: Winline Bamboo 
Designed using Pay Crafts tool Equal
all on done by me on my Babylock Symphony 
Given as a gift to a very special and well deserving young lady 

Other Festival Entry this year: Castles in the Sand - Original Design 

My Previous Blogger's Quilt Festival Entries: 

Spring 2015

Goats Askew - Original Design 
IG Mini - Mini 

Fall 2014

Capitola Crossing - Modern

Look Who's Walking - Small Quilt

Spring 2014

Giant X-Plus  - Scrappy

Rip Tide - ROYGBIV

Fall 2013

Tassels - Group/Bee

Ring Around the Briar Rosies - Baby Quilt

Fall 2012

Old Italian Block - Scrap/ROYGBIV/Bed

Spring 2012

Catalyst (aka Mod Mosaic) - my first time to participate 

Much Ado - to do

Scraps.  Oh how I do love my scraps.  That part is easy.  Leaving negative space alone, well let's just say I am working on it.  Earlier this month,  I was fortunate to have attended a workshop led by our very own Tina ( little blue cottage), the talented founder of our local MQG chapter.  

center four blocks

This is my center of the Much Ado About Nothing quilt.  Those little bits are not in the pattern although Tina teaches it as an approach or guideline subject to personal twists so in that sense it's not breaking any "rules".

scraps and scraps

When I got home, I kept at it.  The quilt is for a wedding in January and I wanted it to be a Couple-size Throw rather than a bed quilt.  With that in mind, I opted to reshape the parts into rectangles rather than leave them as squares.

workshop to work at home

Sixteen large blocks and I will be done.  It will be very different from Tina's (check it out here) Overall, I believe the minimalistic design of the quilt will still be felt despite my kitchen sink attack.  We will see. 

Linking up to Scraptastic Tuesday for October with Leanne at She Can Quilt. 

I'm honored to have had my x-plus quilt post chosen by Sara Lawson's Scrappy Quilt category on IG for the #SewcialChallenge.  The projects are so much fun to check out and I've found a lot of new people to follow.  She's currently doing a Purse Palooza on her blog that is a wonderful resource, reviews, tips and a linky party too.  

a Girls Best Friend(s)

This beautiful quilt in loving memory of Dottie arrived unexpectedly in the mail yesterday from Anne  Sullivan - well I say unexpected because it was a surprise but anyone who knows her also knows that such an act of kindness is no surprise at all.  Read all about the back story and details of how she created this original design with her mad skills on todays Play Crafts post. 

I immediately handed my phone to hubby and said "here take a picture of us" - so although it looks as though Chase is photo bombing this is actually his attempt to pose.   There are a few folds from shipping which I will press out before hanging it proudly.  

It's been two weeks since we said good bye and we are all adjusting slowing to life without her.  Even though she was 14, she acted like she was two.   Chase continues to struggle with being alone - here's a photo of them together - they were very different personalities but soulmates for nearly their entire lives. 

This is another favorite picture - Dottie was not a shy snuggler and could not get close enough her her humans.  Being surrounded by guys, she and I stuck together and I called her my Dot-ter (pronounced daughter).   You can tell it's an old photo because none of us were grey! 

If you are going to QuiltCon West 2016 in Pasadena, Anne will be one of the lecturers!  I've signed up for her newsletters because as much as I'd like to keep up on my blog reading it's tough to fit it all in - this way I won't miss a beat. 

I should be packing the car to head out to our Retreat this morning but I just had to stop what I'm doing and share a quick post.  Proof positive that Quilty Friends are truly the best - not there was ever a doubt. 

FAL Q4 2015 - Goals

High Hopes FAL Q4 Goals

A girl can hope.

Last quarter I missed the linky party deadline and am determined to make some of these goals a reality.  Honestly, I don't expect to finish them all.

1. Greek Plus Puss Quilt.  I love this one and it made an appearance in Q3 of 2014 on the to finish list - how sad it that?!

2. AMH Prism-along Quilt.  This one goes way back and I've got all or most of the triangles cut.  I was reminded how awesome the project is when Tina shared hers in the display at Harts.

3. Giant Clams.  After the workshop with Latifa last September I whipped this massive top together and even took it on a photo shoot.  Hasn't been touched since and the plan was to have been sleeping under it all summer long.

4. Jacquie Gering Workshop Quilt.  This one too has been trapped in a bag for way too long.  I'm ready to tackle the negative space alternative grid layout now that I'm a little more experienced with the concepts she taught.

5. AMH QuiltCon Class.  These flower parts from the workshop and so promising I had to include them in my goals.

6. Belated B'day.  OK. For the record - this goal is my #1 priority.  Delectable Mountain 21st Birthday quilt for my son who has not been 21 for a couple of years.

7.  BeeSewcial Reflection Quilt.  All of my blocks have arrived although they aren't all shown here.  I'm taking this with me to the retreat tomorrow so I can at least see them on a big design wall and mull over the puzzle before me.  It may take more brain power than the sleep-eat-quilt-retreat routine to actually do something worthy with them.

8.  Much Ado Quilt.  Although this is the newest WIP it has a good shot at being finished because I've got a deadline to give it as a wedding gift.

There you have it.  Linking up with Adrianne at On the Windy Side - be sure to check out everyone who does and cheer them on.

Here's my unofficial add ons that don't qualify because I have not started them or they are a secret and I can't share:

9. Glampstitchaswap bag.  Don't worry partner, I'll be taking it with me fully finished to deliver in person next month but haven't committed to the fabric/pattern quite yet.

One Idea for the bag

10. SBA MQG Logo Challenge.  Mini due at the November guild meeting. "High contrast and graphic areas of solid color" is my charge.  I'm thinking of bringing a QDAD to life.

11. Pillow Talk IG Edition.  My partner has a very specific thing in mind and if I share it will spoil the surprise but let's just say that I'm super excited and nervous about who it is for.

12. Baby Boy Quilt for a special little one.  Thrilled to have the need for another baby quilt in our lives for a dear couple who will be amazing parents.

Minimalism with Meaning -BeeSewcial September

Read all about the BeeSewcial September block assignment on Hillarys post,  here,  "Some things are better left Unsaid".  If you are not already following entropyalwayswinsblog.com you should - she's amazing.

Rear View 10"x10.75"

It may not surprise you that the idea came to me while I was driving to work and contemplating what symbolism I wanted to use for my block.   My car choice is full of irony since I don't like to drive.  I will admit (as would anyone who knows me) I do however prefer the drivers seat as a symbolic role.  Not that I can't also be an effective worker bee too but taking lead is more my comfort zone.

The meaning behind the design is all about the balance of keeping focus - looking ahead in life instead of behind- but also being aware of your surroundings in a broader sense.   It's important to acknowledge how occasionally glancing back is a good and necessary thing.  

original sketch 

This one I sketched out (shocker) but because I didn't also do the quilt math, the scale ended as a closer view in order to keep within the requested block size.  I am still pleased with the result and feel that the imagery is captured.

Perceive 10.5"x10.5"

For my second block I wanted it to be about how situations are not black and white.  Time, outside influence and other factors cause a change and progression of the way we see the same thing and how it does not always remain the same.  What starts out simple can become complicated given more thought.  In turn, something that initially feels overwhelming can end up being very basic once broken down.  

Another interpretation has to do with how differently the same experience can vary between two people.  You know, when you think to yourself - "what just happened" and you wonder if it's you or if it's them. 

Here is what I said on IG: This represents the way in which we perceive and how it can distort from clean crisp well defined to jagged uncertainty or vise versa depending. This was also to emphasize the palette of black and white as a concept.

Less minimal and more abstract than the first, it is also kind of a heavy message - which led me to block #3

Be a Duck 9"x10"

It takes me a bit to warm up when I'm working on my BeeSewcials since they aren't a typical "make this pattern for me" swap block.  They are very challenging and rewarding.  Getting ideas from my head to the fabric doesn't always happen with just two (rarely in fact).    

The final one is called "Be a Duck".   It's about letting life's annoyances roll off your back - it's my newest favorite saying and I've been trying to see challenging moments this way ever since I heard it.  Like #2, it's all about how you choose to look at things.  The secondary pattern of an eye (pun intended) is a little added whimsy.   

An early version - too literal 

Here are a couple of pictures to show the evolution.  The version above was way too much like a logo and did not seem very "me". 

Minimal - not enough message

I think if I had stopped here I would have been happy with the minimalism and modern aesthetic of the block.  The whole story wasn't represented - the actual meaning - so I kept going. 

Some people are naturally a duck - I am very much not a duck and am striving to be one.   How about you?

Cat masks 

Given the BeeSewcial September palette, this post seems like the perfect place to also share pictures of the cat masks made last week for my granddaughter's 2nd birthday party.  There had been a dry spell with my quilting mojo and although they were cut and glued rather than sewn, crafting these little guys helped break the spell.

3 in 1 Betsy Bag - zipped up!

zippered front

Do you ever start a project and hit pause for no good reason?   My 3 in 1 Betsy Bag sat in the same state as shown on my "travel handmade to be" blog post until now.  Thanks to #fridaynightsewalong for boosting me to finish.

recessed zipper top

At our August guild meeting I purchased the zipper with the intention of bringing it for show and tell last Tuesday.  Oh well, it's done in time for stuffing it full of supplies for our SBAMQG Quilt Retreat in October so that counts. 

hardware detail

The recessed zipper (my first) was a modification from the drawstring in the pattern because I knew I  couldn't stand the thought of squishing my bugs.  

back

Kraftex, was easy to use (also a first) and will be great for the base of more bag projects.   Because this one is so deep I used a shoe box wrapped in fabric as a support to iron out the wrinkles created when flipping the bag inside out after attaching the lining.  I also sprayed with Best Press.

folded option

The bag design cleverly folds inside itself to convert to a briefcase size with an outside zipper becoming an inside zipper.  The interior also features one entire side of divided pockets.

pretty in pink deatils

For a pop of color I used a solid pink for the lining and also added another pink pocket inside with a key clip.  Now that it's all sewn together it's near impossible to photograph so here's a shot I shared on IG when I was auditioning topstitch thread colors. 

recessed zipper parts

I was wanting to make sure change I made wasn't going to be hindered by the opening while unzipped and overestimated the space. I can trim and redo the end tabs easily.

stitching down the rings

Reinforcing the straps strength by leaving a wide turndown and lots - lots - of stitching should make it hold up.  The fussy cut on the straps was worth the effort but these are covered up.  

Excited to have it done and to add a travel handmade to my collection.  Linking to the party at Crazy Mom Quilts for Finish it up Friday

Started: July 6, finished Sept 6, 2015

Pattern: 3 in 1 Besty Bag by Betsy La Honta for Stash Books/C&T Publishing

Fabrics: Tokyo Trainride by Sarah Watts,  Flora& Fauna by Patty Young,  Kona solid and Kraftex in Stone. Thread: Aurifil #2325 50wt and #5014 40wt.  Interfacing: Pellon 808 and Shape-flex Hardware (need to look this up)