July goals met... and teaching my niece to make a quilt!

July seems to have zoomed by in the heat and humidity of summer. Somehow... I managed to stay on track though.

I entered my "Frantic at 40" in to the IQA "Life begins at 40 exhibit".

AND

I created a "star" themed block from fabric selvages and mailed it in to IQA for the Nasa Astronomical Quilts block challenge.

The Tyler Museum of Art exhibiting my quilt "At The Vantage Point" closed the exhibit it was part of this week. It was exciting to see it behind plexiglass the past 4 months!

I did spend some time going "dotty". (I think this quilt is starting to give me nightmares!)... But I am determined not to let it become a UFO! I have begun to pull further away from the pattern & am beginning to put my own "spin" on things.

I am proud to have met my goals for July... 

BUT

the best thing I did this month, 

that makes me gleeful & proud:

On a week long family visit-I taught my (just turned) 10 year old niece how to make her first quilt. 

We used the sewing machine I sent my Mom the Mother's day before last... it was nice to see it actually get used!

It was intense, and at times frustrating. 

We took lot's of breaks and only worked a few hours a day. But she was determined... and so was I. 

I gave her 2 packs of 5X5" charms as a reward for sewing on "the line' after a half hour or so on a paper towel 

& putting up with the "how to use a sewing machine" video on Craftsy. 

I wasn't sure we would ever get past her deciding what blocks should go where... but eventually... we were ready to start to sew. 

We sat hip to hip with me initially guiding her guiding the fabric... frequently repeating: "Slow down... not so much peddle pressure"! "Watch out for the pin"!

but soon she was like a biker balancing a bit wobbley without her training wheels- but ready to go. 

And by the last binding stitch- 

she knew how to thread the machine, wind a bobbin, and pin & piece quilt charms. 

She learned her grandmother actually owned an iron & ironing board! 

And she had no choice but to accept the fact that sometimes she had to use the seam ripper. (She really resented that one!)

Meet Kimberly & her first ever quilt:

And the final thing I taught her...

Always be proud & sign your quilt!

Setting goals in the July Swelter

June was a great month for quilting!  I spent most of it creating a quilt that emphasized my take on my own life at the age of 40... & it became my own take- 
on living life as a member of the sandwich generation. 
None of us would choose to be members... it just happens. How we live it... now that is a whole other thing. 
If I could do it over... I would ABSOLUTELY do it differently! But we don't get that option. 
For me my forties were a living HELL!
I was sandwiched between my teenagers, who assured me I knew nothing... but needed me for everything!- And my live in MIL, who assured me I knew nothing- but needed me for absolutely everything! 
I was trapped in an endless cycle of frustration, exhaustion, and desperation. 
I spent more time driving through the car wash so I could scream at the top of my lungs than my already overused car required!
So here it is, finished just a few hours ago!
I am titling it:  Frantic at Forty!

Setting June Goals:

#1: to enter the quilt in IQA “Life Begins at 40!”exhibit

#2: The creation of a star block for Nasa Astronomical Quilts block challenge

#3: Making sure going dotty doesn't become a UFO!

Quiltcon Brain! & June's: A Lovely Year of Finishes

I have Quiltcon brain! It is leaving me little focus to think of much else!
Perhaps it is because the air conditioning here at home is on the fritz & it is HOT in Texas.
but far more likely,
because registration opens Tuesday and there are wayyyyy more workshops I would like to participate in than time would allow.

In case you are wondering... the printout of the online catalogue is over 40 pages! I had a great time at the very first one & my friend Trish & I started our countdown for the next- months ago!

Sooooo, as the workers sweated it out in the attic trying to remove the dead a/c so they can install the new one tomorrow... I visited EVERY website &/or blog of those folks teaching & lecturing! So much talent. (And so many are sooooo young--- quite impressive).

I have narrowed it down to 2 each day. Of course, that means committing to which of the 2 is really my "first choice".
And then there is the reality I can't do everything & need shopping and viewing time.
Decisions... decisions...

I think the Quiltcon folks are marketing geniuses! All MQG member registrations next week occur before IQA has even released their convention book.
Between FB postings and e-mails it is a media blitz.

And... ode to my Quiltcon brain, I designed & created my very first completely modern quilt.
I am calling it Cello & Keys.

As for my other projects... well... July awaits...

Are you planning to attend Quiltcon 2015? It sounds fantastical!

Blog Post Update on 6/24:
It is embarrassing the anxiety I built up choosing workshops & then finally successfully registering for Quiltcon.
I sat there with my laptop & table top computers side by side ready to enter info.
The registration site moved soooooo slow & it was obvious lots of other modern quilters had set their alarms & were signing up at the same time.
But... in the end... thank goodness it paid off.
Registration opened 10AM and by 10:30 when I checked back to add add an event- more than 1/2 the workshops were already wait listed!
And while I did miss out on two of my initial first choices on set days...
I am excited to have successfully registered for:
A Bias Strip Curves class with Sherri Lynn Wood
Strings of florid Blooms Mega Double Wedding Ring with Victoria Finlay Wolfe
& Off the Grid: Creating Alternate Layouts with Lee Heinrich

Let the further countdown to Quiltcon in February 2015 begin!

Quilting Goals for June

June means birthdays at our place. Four in one week to be exact. As soon as we celebrate one, we awaken to celebrate the next. 

Somehow, in between the festivities, 

I still managed to make some time for me & quilting!

Since my last quilt was very intense and I felt a lot of pressure to meet the goals I had set for myself... 

I was ready for a lighthearted happy quilt.

Sometimes....

I just need to laugh out the stress & create!

So far, I have finished the sketch and made a color map.

I have most of the face fused in place awaiting applique (& a body)!

June Goals:

My goal is to attend my guild meeting next week & learn the next phase of our "dots" quilt.

AND

to continue the transition of my drawing to a quilt!

because sometimes... you just need to take a break from the rulers & quilt to laugh!

"THE" quilt... and ALYOF May

It is hard to put into words the way it feels for me to finally finish "THE" quilt.
After so much time... & so much work... From the planning to the prepping to the creating.

The highs of finding that perfect fabric... and the lows when that rats nest surfaces & you are forced to invite the seam ripper to the party.
Turning those doodles into a free motion pattern and then free motion quilting it with far less uneven stitches & hand tension than ever before.
Only another quilter can truly understand the joy of that very last binding stitch!
And the satisfaction of meeting a quilting goal you set for yourself.

I was determined (for the very first time) to enter my quilt in the IQA Houston show. (Thus no pics posted).
And while my DH stood by supportively & was very patient with me about the neglected house and uncooked meals... I know in my heart he could not truly understand why it mattered to me so much... and why I had been quilting nearly nonstop to meet tomorrows submission deadline...
Because, when I told him I was entering just to enter- he thought I was crazy!
How could I not be entering it to win the show?
Win?
I already did. It is my finest work... and while it certainly is not up to the standards expected by the quilt police... (Although the repeated finger pressure needle pricks from hand sewing that darn binding elevate it that direction I suppose)...
Entering was my goal.
A promise not to be yet another UFO.
A forced time commitment.
A submission that helps define me as a quilter.

Now I know what he must have been thinking... all this fabric cluttering things up & you need to fed-ex out an application for a show you don't expect to be a part of?
I could try again to explain that it wasn't about earning a ribbon.
But why bother... As I said... For me, that last stitch WAS my WIN!

OK, so back to my monthly goal. I actually completed 80- 1/4 circles towards my "Dotty" quilt and am ready to attend my June guild meeting to learn the next technique at our guilds newcomers meeting.

Spring is in the air & I find myself spending far more time in the garden than in the sewing room. I am still going dotty & have strip pieced 18 "arcs". At 4 "arcs" per circle... I will need a total of 80 to create a 4X5 squares quilt. (Or perhaps I shall make placemats or a table runner requiring far less... I'll see how long my enthusiasm for dots lasts).

Spring is my favorite time of year, but it also means my time in my quilting room is greatly reduced... 
Spring cleaning here is perhaps far more demanding outdoors than it is indoors. 
At this point, most of the annuals in my gardens are planted & today I hope to finish planting everything else.

I made it through my first month of "A Lovely Year of Finishes". Thankfully, I set my goal low... so I actually completed my task & then some!


I have a nasty past with a rotary cutter, as the ER & person who had the joy of stitching my left pointer back together will tell you. So I gloved up, used a fresh blade, ruler, and mat...
and committed to a long weekend of cutting.

Success: I cut 253 dark blocks & 259 lights of assorted dotted fabrics... woooohooo!

Proudly- I marched with my project box to my quilt guild newcomers bee ready to sew them all back together...

SIX! 

We paper pieced 6 of those precut rectangles into narrow strips to complete ONE part of a block!!! AND it would take 4 of those plus 5 other pieces to actually complete one full block!

My friend Trish was stuck teaching & reteaching me paper piecing until FINALLY it clicked. 
But I actually left her that day ready to piece on my own.

I am in the middle of another major quilting project, but have managed to complete 16 "block" pieces. 
I have a long way to go... but am proud to have met this first goal.

TY to all for adding the motivation.

It has been a hectic month. Someone very dear to me had a double lung transplant 4 weeks ago today! She is amazing and gets a bit stronger each day! I made her a special pillow to cough in to (a part of recovery exercises). It can also act as

protection from her seatbelt. I sewed in a ribbon so it could hang on her shoulder like a purse.
Hang in there Jodi... every day will get a bit better... so just breathe...

A month of rectangles...

Quilting is my passion. Alas, time commitments & other distractions often limit my time for it. I am joining a group called "Fiber of all sorts". (I am already 4 months late for their "Loverly Year of Finishes- Goal Setting Party")
My friend Tricia recommended it as a good way to make both short and long term quilting goals. (I have an absurd stack of UFO's).

So here goes. My very first blog post.

My quilt guild is beginning a new project called "Completely Dotty". I adore the bright colors and opportunity to learn a new skill (paper piecing). It gave me an excuse to shop for lots of new fabric.

But the very first task is to cut 250 light & 250 dark 3 X 6" rectangles. It is daunting!
So I have set my goal for the month of April as just that.

By May 1st I will have cut 500 rectangles and begin going dotty!