October's Festive Goals

My favorite time of year is here!!! Time for the international quilt festival in Houston! It's a full week of workshops, exhibits, shopping, partying, sharing, and laughing. 

My goal for the month was to "be prepared". 

The more workshops you are fortunate enough to take... The more prep you have to do. 

I like to print out my lists, collect all my supplies, and create workshop supply kits that I can have ready for workshop day.

       

The workshops I will be participating in:

COLLAGE CONFETTI HORSE with LAURA HEINE

MY TEXTURED GARDEN with CECILE WHATMAN

RENEGADE THREAD PLAY with MELINDA BULA 

THREAD TOPPINGS with MELODY CRUST

DAISY DELIGHT—MANIPULATED MAGIC with JENNIE RAYMENT

THREAD STORIES with JENNIFER DAY

DYE PAINTED SILK SCARVES with HEATHER THOMAS

Suitcases packed. Let's rock and roll and celebrate 40 years of quilt shows!

I sent in a headshot for the faces of quilters collection. A star block for the NASA challenge. And I have my first quilt accepted for show display!

Houston... Here I come!

October Quilt Show Preparations

Autumn is here.... the air is finally cooling and what little color we get here in Texas is beginning to appear. 

& 

October means it's time for the International Quilt Show in Houston! YESSSSSS!!!

I have been looking forward to it since last years ended & I plan to treasure every moment of it! 

It is my first time having a quilt on display! 

I even sent in a star block for the NASA quilts collective and a head shot for the faces of quilters display!

I lucked out on workshops (although I was so worried about not getting any of my first picks that I am way overbooked). Last year I promised myself I would leave more free time to wander and shop.

OK, so I did not quite achieve that... but I did leave Friday morning free... There are simply too many fun things to experience and so little time.

I am looking forward to participating in the following workshops:

COLLAGE CONFETTI HORSE with LAURA HEINE

MY TEXTURED GARDEN with CECILE WHATMAN

 

RENEGADE THREAD PLAY with MELINDA BULA 

THREAD TOPPINGS with MELODY CRUST

DAISY DELIGHT—MANIPULATED MAGIC with JENNIE RAYMENT

THREAD STORIES with JENNIFER DAY

DYE PAINTED SILK SCARVES with HEATHER THOMAS

All are full day workshops except thread toppings, daisy delight & silk scarves. And ALL have quite the supply lists!

So while I hope to complete the binding on my dotty quilt this month, my primary goal for the month of October is to be prepared. 

To GATHER, To ASSEMBLE & To ORGANIZE all the needed supplies for all those workshops, so I can just grab "that days home assembled kit" and head from our hotel to the workshop. 

Houston... Here we come!

September's Dotty Success

I reluctantly gave in and decided to send my dotty quilt out to a long arm quilter. It ended up just a bit larger than I am comfortable quilting. (56X56). 
But seeing it now... I am so glad I did.
Thank you to Jo Caraway... I love it! Your creativity enhances every dot!
Here are a few pics of the wonderful depth she created by double layering the batting:

and now a few close-ups

you can really appreciate the quilting from the back:

  

A box for Pooh Bear...

My handmade baby shower in a box is on it's way to the mother-to be. In those uncomfortable final anxious days, I hoped to offer a pick me up, so the timing is perfect! 

I pre washed all the fabrics & batting since I wanted them able to handle daily usage. I collected all the Winnie-the Pooh fabrics (to match her classical theme)...  I was ready.

fully pieced & ready for quilting!

Left over fabric allowed for a few extra gifts!

Bibs & Burp cloths

Finished quilt!

(back)

<3

Another UFO... for blessings & sanity's sake.

I love my pieced dotty quilt topper & pieced backing. All that remains to be completed is the actual quilting and a few additional embellishments. (How many of those do we all tend to let pile up.)
Most of the others in my guild send their toppers out to long arm quilters. But I would rather not. It is expensive & I figure it is MY quilt so I want to actually QUILT IT! So I keep my quilts to throw & home quiltable size.
I am thankful I have other projects that currently will require priority, so off to the UFO stack it goes. But only for a while.

So, on to my goals for this September:

My daughters best friend is expecting her first child and she will be my daughters God Child. 

So I have decided to create "a baby shower in a box".

Her nursery has a classical Winnie the Pooh Bear theme. 

So I headed to pinterest for ideas and google for fabric searches.

I was excited to actually find Pooh Bear fabric at Hobby Lobby. (Not my favorite place to buy fabric, but when I did a search on line for the fabrics it sent me there).

So, fabric in hand... I washed it & my batting in detergent from a bottle of baby dreft I found under the laundry room sink. My kids are now 23 & 21, so I would rather not think about its age. (It made suds... so I guess all's good).

I had never washed batting before, but I was worried about shrinkage since I was unsure of fabric quality & the extra lofty batting I bought there. 

Here it is... 4 yards of fabric ready & inviting.

I plan to make a quilt, some burp cloths and bibs... and whatever else I have fabric left for as my September goal. 

Hopefully I will even complete it all and ship it before she delivers. 

(At least there are no dots!) <3

Amid the August swelter....

I broke a needle the end of last month during some overly aggressive, exhausted, & stressed out quilting. 

After all my attempts to retrieve it, I had no choice but to give up and take it in to the shop.

After a 2 week road trip with my husband, I was finally able to retrieve it. 

Dissected, deep cleaned, new bobbin case, cutter & pile, and heaven knows what else their chicken scribble said... $276.02--- holy crap! 

My Babylock Elisimo better purr like a kitten from now on!

I continued piecing my dotty quilt. The blocks are all joined, and I am embellishing with a few more Dresden plates and circles before I make my sandwich. I am still jostling the embellishments and would love some feedback. I am pleased to have met my goal with all the added distractions.

Also, I completed a new name tag as part of a challenge for our new modern quilting group!

The excitement leading to August's goal of the month

Quilting makes me happy. I love the crisp new fabrics... planning out my design... shopping for the supplies. I can lose myself for hours in all of the above...

The goal of creating a quilt for my own purpose- whether it be gift, donation, to snuggle with at home... or proudly display.

This year my friend Tricia encouraged me & "nudged me along" reminding me ... 

"this is our year- to stop worrying about "the quilt police" and bravely enter our quilts in shows and challenges".

I had entered quilts before in our local show... but never beyond my zip code.

Entering a quilt in the IQA 2014 show was a challenge I could not believe I took on. The decision to enter forced me on their timeline and a determination to meet certain requirements I might otherwise have skipped. 

Sealing that envelope containing my entry & fed-exing it out was an accomplishment I was sooooo proud of. And while there is always that mild hope one might actually make it in to the show... I knew my quilting was not ready yet for IQA level competition. 

It felt really good to have the confidence to mail it in!

So- I decided to participate in some of the other show challenges. There were several good ones this year. 

(Were they always there & I never noticed? probably... but this year they called out to me).

One special one this year, was the challenge to create a quilt about life & being 40. For most of my friends... turning 40 was a freeing and perhaps empowering milestone. But for me... it was the most stressful time of my life (as I explained during the quilts creation in previous posts). 

So I was thrilled today to open up an email that began:

"Congratulations! Your quilt Frantic at 40 will be featured in the special exhibit Life Begins at 40."

So.... my goal for August is a simple one (Since I will be gone for half of it).

I need to ready & and then mail in my quilt for the show! It still needs a sleeve and now, more formal labeling. 

Update as of August 6, 2014
My quilt is on its way to IQA. Padded in mounds of tissue paper in hopes of avoiding fold lines and wrinkles. Double bagged to protect from dampness. Labeled several times on bags, on tissue, in box. The envelope and completed paperwork included twice. Bubble wrapped & boxed by UPS with delivery promises & reassurance of my "housewears" arrival. My very first time shipping a quilt... oy vey... I may need chocolate. 

update evening August 8th: 
Sunshine in Texas past 2 days... 
arrival shipment confirmation email just arrived! 
Hopefully there was no sorting damage & they will open asap to limit folds.

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...