"Swell" Work in Progress

If you've been hanging around for at least a year or more, then you might remember this stack of fabrics and my original work in progress post... distraction #2,478 (or something like that). I've been asking myself how crazy it is that I have three, yup you heard right... THREE quilts in progress!?! They have all been set to the side for various, but all for very good reasons.

The current quilt that I am working on is Camille Roskelley's "Swell" quilt pattern from her Simply Retro book. The reason I put this one is hold is because of the same dilemma I seem to always run into with every quilt that I start... what size to make it? The finished quilt dimensions are about a large twin maybe full size, but of course we have a queen/king size bed, thus perhaps the expected back and forth... should I make it the same size as in the book? Should I make it bigger? If so, how much do I need to add... the questions got even more overwhelming to me as I considered each one. I finished the blocks to make the quilt as is a LONG time ago, but by the time I had decided to enlarge it, I calculated that I was only half way finished instead of being in the last lap of the home stretch... sigh!

Well, now she's been pulled back out, dusted off, and has been brought to the front burner to be finished off. It really helps a lot to have an actual quilt wall to see it all come together. It's been fun pulling out some of my old favorite Amy's, especially since I haven't seen them in a while... there's a total of five different collections represented here!

Speaking of back and forth debates... another question I've been pondering is whether to move my office and working space downstairs where there is almost triple the space - room for a quilt wall, space to spread out, room for a proper sewing table, storage space, and even a comfy space to relax, but no natural light. Option two is to stay put upstairs with my natural light, and closer to the center of things, but with limited space. Right now projects are always being shifted from one side to the other... any thoughts? 

Well, in any case, it sure is fun to dream... I could so totally see my finished quilt draped over this couch in the comfy corner of a new sewing space... hmmm?

Linking up to WIP Wednesday when all are awake on the other side of the pond!

Read More

Transitioning

My original plan when I started making sewing models for our Kreativ Hamburg stand this fall was to make a mock skirt that I could later transition into something else. It made no sense to me to make something that could only be used for the show.... especially since my model has a (ah hum), slightly "trimmer" waistline than mine. I used this great tutorial here for the arrow blocks... not to fret, no paper piecing involved. So, I thought that simple straight line quilting would show off the off-center design the best... and that's how I ended up with yet another pillow! (much more practical than a skirt that doesn't fit, right?) After having cut my strips for the arrow tail...

Read More

Vogelhochzeit & Lena's Patchwork

Some time back my oldest son started a special tradition with his Omama (grandmother), that each time they would drive somewhere together he would always get a bon-bon and she would play his favorite CD, Vogelhochzeit (Bird Wedding.) The Vogelhochzeit is a sweet musical tale by a well known German composer Rolf Zuckowski. Unlike some other children's music, the whole CD is full from start to finish with melodic surprises that are truly a delight to hear.   The tale starts out with a bird that wanted to have a wedding (Ein Vogel wollte Hochzeit machen)... "what does a bird do, who is alone? Do you all know what I mean? He looks for a spot in a tree, and sings his most beautiful...

Read More

Meet Edyta Sitar

Each person that quilts has their own understanding and definition of what modern quilting is. Although my own personal sewing and creative style tends to lean towards to working with more modern and current fabrics, I deeply appreciate a variety of styles when it comes to quilting, even very traditional. Living on the other side of the pond, but following the American quilting scene quite closely, much of what is necessary for me to keep up on things is done behind the computer screen. So when I get an opportunity to meet a quilting legend in person, it doesn't take much to get me to jump. Since Holland is essentially just at my back door, I decided to travel to the tulip country to meet...

Read More