::Go East::

It must have been about 9 months or so ago that Laurel from the Tri-Cities Guild contacted me to asked if I would come over the Cascades to be the featured artist at their annual show.

The day had finally come, so Sandie and I hit the road on Thursday in her new Suburu.  We certainly had packed a blanket or two.

My last trip over the pass was the day I arrived in Seattle nine years ago.  I was six months pregnant and had driven through a snowstorm at dusk the evening before only to wake up that morning and do it again under the same conditions.

I can say two things for sure, I don’t miss snow, but I do like hanging out with my awesome friend Sandie, especially when she drives me places in her car with heated seats.

Her car truly looked like it could be in a Subaru commercial when we got through.  Though it wasn’t bad for us, the pass was apparently closed right after we made it through.  

Just like Austin, we stayed at a Hilton Garden Inn.  They had a great lounge with a separate area on the other side of a fireplace in which we made ourselves instantly comfortable every night.  We cracked up because the second morning they moved in “our” new furniture.  I loved these lights in the lobby.

Those Tri-City ladies worked their butts off and every single one of them made Sandie and I feel nothing but welcome.

We set up a table to sew and demo the techniques from Quilting Modern, but most of the time we spent talking with the attendees who were really interested in trying some new designs.

This lady is Miz Millie.  She is 97 and a half and had a quilt design in the show.  Her tribe had recreated the design in many different color combos for the show.

She already owned a copy of Quilting Modern and brought it over for me to sign.  When I asked her how long she’s been quilting, she responded with a chuckle, “Awhile.”

I enjoyed my time there and thank them for being such gracious hosts.  With over 400 quilts on display it was a pretty amazing show.  I meet some wonderful guild members and shop owners that invited me to come do workshops and trunk shows around the state.

I even managed to stitch down the binding on a quilt and finish the hand-stitching on three infinity scarves on the way home.

Now back to business.  I’ve got a lot on the class books this week.  Open studio on Wednesday at Drygoods and Friday at Island Quilter.

I’m itching to get a Value Quilt together as another sample for a class next week and some binding on another quilt for my Whole Cloth Quilt Class this week.  Invisible zipper pillows and zip pouch are Saturday!

Hope you’re getting your sewing in, looks like it will be a full week for me!

::Hello there Quilt Sandwich::

I’m sure most of you are familiar with Etsy.  My friend Becca has an awesome shop on Etsy called Quilt Sandwich that she runs with her sister.

I originally got to know Becca through her involvement with the Seattle Modern Quilt Guild.  We are both on the SMQG’s Board of Directors (she’s our secretary), so we spend a fair amount of time together.  Of course there is the diversion of quilt/fabric talk at every board meeting in between the business at hand.

Becca and her sister stock Quilt Sandwich with a great mix of fabrics, from the newest designer fabrics on the market to must have solids that make it all work.  I ever spied some Charolina Chambray there!

It was difficult to narrow down my selections, but the Modern Mecca has been on my radar.  It is incredibly difficult for me to pass up an Alexander Henry print that might disappear.

I built my selections around the Modern Mecca fabric.  Some shot cottons, a pearl bracelet and that great zig zag by Dear Stella.

I found the Erin McMorris print that I needed for my Nicquelle Quilt at Quilt Sandwich too.  Now I have a hand project for my drive to the Tri-Cities show.  Love that!

::Night Owl Quilt::

Oh, “Hi Night Owl!”  Did anyone have a baby that was a night owl?

The blue colorway and theme of Lizzy House’s Constellations line was perfect for a remake of the Supernova quilt from the book.

I searched through the stash for the focus fabric to be placed in the center.

Since I sized down the squares to four and a half inches this fabric needed to be small scale and “Not purple,” Jefe said (I still snuck some in).  I went with this cute owl print that Alexander Henry came up with some years ago.  I thought it fit the night time theme.  From there I started thinking about the color development for the rest of the quilt.

I was inspired by the colorway in this encaustic piece by Christine Terrell of Tincaustics that I picked up while in Austin.  This citron or chartruse color has taken me over.  I certainly need more fabric right?  So I moved onto hunting for some more of this color for the quilt and my stash.  My excuse was that they would help blend the lighter greens.

I did a few block alterations from the original book pattern to make it a little less square and more explosive.  Pulling a multitude of fabrics from the stash for all the different rounds was a fun way to use up a few smaller pieces that have been around.

This pattern is loose, fun and FAST!  I pulled it together in a few days.

I’d love to have this quilted for class tomorrow night in a woodgrain pattern, but need to pack up and get my lecture fine tuned for the Tri-Cities show this weekend.

I hope to meet you Friday or Saturday if you are on the east side of the state!

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::Supernove Workshop::

Tuesdays, March 19th and 26th from 6-9pm at Drygood Designs in Ballard.

This class will be a great opportunity to learn new techniques without intimidation. Play will both the shape and value in this class where you’ll take wonky star blocks to a whole new level with the Supernova Block.  The Supernova Block adds an improvisational triangle onto a traditional square block to create its swirling effect.  Your block design can go Supernova by creating one large block or multiple small blocks can create your quilt.

::Constellations::

I can’t get enough of this Lizzy House Constellations, so when I walked into The West Seattle Fabric Company and saw it, I knew it was coming home with me.

I truly think Lizzy’s designs are some of my favorite currently on the market.

Her hit of whimsy is just the right amount and her colorways are always dead on in my book.

Behold, purple!  I love purple.

Genies, hedgehogs, cats…it’s all there.  Plus, I certainly can not have enough Pearl Bracelet in my stash.  This active solid makes blending other prints in a dream.

I’ve been itching to make a Supernova Quilt from the book with this line and with a class next week on it I’ve finally stepped into action.

Here’s the starts of my Night Owl quilt.  I’m fond of this owl fabric, especially this little guy.  Thought I would try my hand at some woodgrain quilting when I’ve logged some practice in.

It took great restraint to not add purple.

Quick, make a trip over before I go buy it all up!

::Finally, a Finish::

It may be small, but it’s grand to finish something.

A little sample for my Psychedelic Baby Block Class at Make*Do*Mend.  I’ve got two other samples up on the design wall surrounded by a million other things that I hope to get to.  This list includes a Supernova quilt for next weeks class that will later be gifted to a new neighbor baby.

My next post should really be a compilation of all the UFOs around here.

Half way through the week!

::New Colorways::

You owe yourself a trip into Drygoods Designs immediately if you are feeling an itch for Spring.  The fabrics flowing in are so inspiring.  Fresh for Spring and hopefully swooning me away from the colorway I seem to be stuck on.

That orange Cloud 9 is so rich in color and the secondary designs of the birds so subtle I didn’t notice it at first!

Pearl Bracelet…need I say more?

Do I see a replacement for Heath here?  Carolyn Friedlander’s Architextures is perfect and the value such a soft look.

It all created a little play for today inspired by my Improvisational String Block Workshop yesterday.  Now I’m on the look out for another coral orange-red to add into the mix.

Happy Monday!

p.s. did you see this Living Social deal from Bernina NW?  Great little machine to take to classes!

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Supernova block Workshop Tuesdays, March 19th and 26th from 6-9pm.

::In A Bind::

I honestly thought upon my return from Quiltcon that I would have a hard time sitting down to more traditional quilts, but the reality is that I love improvisational modern quilts AND simple shapes of traditional quilts.

I think I’ve explained this back and forth process before.  Traditional is just easy on the design brain and helps me hone my value and coordination skills, while improvisational does overtime.

As soon as I walked back into the Livudio and laid my eyes on my Mendocino triangle quilt up on the design wall I wanted to set to work, but first needed to push some others to the top of the list.

Nicquelle’s Quilt needed to be quilted.

Now it just needs binding.

I did construct the backing improvisationally.  As usual I went with a vertical design. The little “kites” I cut from the sides of the quilt top were too cute to not be placed somewhere.

I’ve also become pretty set over the years in my mind that I prefer an allover quilting design.  I knew the spirals were it from the beginning and enlisted Sandie’s help for that.

We had an afternoon of free-motion play at her long arm after I finally got over my initial ohhing and awwing at how much I love this little quilt.

Here’s a question for you.  Why is it that I always want to bind a quilt in a fabric that I have extinguished from my stash?  Does that happen to anyone else?

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Wanna double trouble,

or strip tease this weekend?  Classes available.