When the quilting community where is you live is so small, it makes it worth your while to take the extra effort to make real connections happen. I think that it's safe to say, that the majority of my quilting friends and connections have come via the Internet. The even more exciting part of that, is that I've had the opportunity to turn many of those online connections to real life ones.
I have actually followed Rachel's blog, Stitched in Color for quite some time now... falling into the all too common "silent reader" category, and only later on Instagram commenting back and forth more frequently. Since she has recently moved to Europe, we now have the commonality of both being American expats. I have to admit, that I am really glad that I have some of those challenges of living in a foreign country already behind me. Each step was a process, and I know exactly what she is going through having made the brave leap.
Recently my husband and I traveled to the Netherlands for our anniversary. In the days before our trip, it dawned on me that Rachel could be somewhere close by... when I googled it, I realized it was only about an hour from where we were staying!?!
Since I had been mulling it over in my mind for months to send her one of my quilts, I decided that our travels would take us too close to not see if an in-person hand over would be possible (how awesome is that, that your husband takes a detour to listen to you "talk shop" on your anniversary trip?!?)
I found her to be very warm and pleasant, exactly as she comes across on her blog. I got the feeling that she really cared about the quilting that she was doing... especially since she knew that this was to be a very personal quilt, and planned to be used frequently in our living room!
Needless to say, I am super over the top excited about how the quilt turned out. Since I am more into organic and natural shapes, the plumage design was my first pick. I had the idea to make the design a bit bigger to give it a more modern feel. It was actually very helpful for me to talk it over in person, not to mention that we had some other fun quilty conversations too.
Welcome to this small, but open quilting community here... you might have to dig deep to find them, but when you do, you'll find that they are gold!
... and if you happen to be in Europe, Rachel is offering a €20 discount on her quilting services this week! Just use the code: jumpstart.
I recently had a visit from a quilty friend for the weekend, and it seemed as if I was all over the place with my projects... somehow, I wasn't really motivated to work on the things that I was "supposed" to work on... and I actually pulled out a project that had been a long time in the works... for a long time.
When I first started this Brimfield block, I didn't have a specific plan, but had thought to possibly make a little pillow for my living room. Since I already have several quilted pillows, I quickly concluded that it was perhaps a little predictable... and even overdone. By the time I had decided to turn this single block into a stool, the next step was to actually find a stool.
Anyone who is keen on vintage shopping or furniture refurbishing knows that you might have a general idea of what you are looking for, but may not find it on the first couple excursions. Sometimes you find the most when you are not looking for something specific.
Last year on the way home from Nadelwelt, I made a spontaneous stop at a little antique place that was on the side of the road. I was excited to find some comic books for my boys, a few vintage cigar items for my husband, and yes, you guessed... a stool for me!
But as you can imagine, my block had been basted, half quilted, and put on the back burner by then. It's not always easy to pick up a project that has been packed away for so long, dust it off, and jump back in.
Because I had to custom fit the block to the stool, you can probably imagine how nerve wracking it was to cut this block into a circle... if the measurements slightly off, then I would have to scrap the whole thing - only one-chance-cutting here. Sewing the inset circle was nothing new to me, because I did it often from my purse-making days... and give me a staple gun, and I am a happy girl.
... and just like that, to my surprise, I was stapling away for a weekend finish!?! I was super please how well the upholstery fit. So the only thing left for me to do now, is kick back and really put my feet up.
Pattern: Brimfield Block, from Brimfield Awaking
Fabrics: Anna Maria Horner, Alison Glass, Heather Baily
Background: Essex Linen
Have you ever had to take the backseat to let someone else shine? Let them demand all the glory and attention of the center stage? Whirly Girl was actually intended to be my third pattern release, but in order to work on my Lovebirds' Garden pattern, allowing enough time for testers, she had to graciously step aside. Then a small window opened up only to have Home Sweet Home quietly tiptoe right past her... yet again!?!
... but now she has dusted herself off and is ready for the limelight!
Perhaps you might even recognize her from behind?
Do you remember me mentioning going through my "purple phase"?... well, if we are giving credit where credit is due, then Whrily Girl most likely takes the blame for starting that trend.
Whirly Girl will be my first pattern without applique!?! I know, hard to believe, but I decided that I had to make up for it some way... so she is my first pattern sporting partial (or inset seams) Once you realize how easy partial seams are, you'll think that someone should feel guilty for having given them a bad rap.
Be looking to hear more about her in the weeks to come. Right now she is in good hands with my pattern testers now, but you don't have to wait much longer to have her in yours... Whirly Girl is scheduled for a March 14th release! If you just can't wait to see more, then be sure to check out what my pattern testers are up to on Instagram #whirlygirlquilt.
Quilt: Pattern: Whirly Girl, Campbell Soup Diary - scheduled March 14th, 2019 release
Started: October 2016
Fabrics: Alison Glass, Anna Maria Horner, Carolyn Friedlander, Cotton & Steel, various other designers.
Finished quilt size: ca. 60" x 75" in. (ca. 152 x 190 cm)
Even though I'm usually quite the chatty gal when it comes to writing, today is about short and sweet... I really should be quilting right now to meet my Nadelwelt deadline, but not without stopping in and saying hello first.
... and like I shared last week, felt is the flavor of the month (at least for me it is), but this week it's about mixing mediums. I love combining fabric and paper, and kraft paper is usually my paper of choice - it's natural, it's simple, and it's not fussy. I love adding little decorative stitches to paper too, and this little awl has been a must in my sewing bag for quite some time now.
How about a closer look? Once I finished the applique and hand stitching, I sewed it onto the front of a simple journal... so fun, don't you think?
... and of course I just had to add a few Alison Glass sun print fabrics to give it that strong pop of color... I suppose once a color girl, always a color girl, right?
I've had several questions about how I made and finished this, and I had thought about putting together a little video series after the dust settles... how would you like to join me?
When I was a little girl, I would take a peanut butter sandwich in my school lunch everyday... and I really mean EVERY day. No jelly, just peanut butter. I suppose this went on for years, and I have to admit that I smile inwardly when my littlest asks for a cream cheese sandwich, yup, you guessed it... EVERY day.
While I no longer eat peanut butter sandwiches on a daily basis, I do notice that I have a tendency that when I get in a phase, that I stick with for a while... just like my peanut butter sandwiches. I suppose that the need to get it fully out of my system sometimes doesn't just stop with the first project. And it would appear that felt applique is the current flavor of the month.
I had shared little sneak peeks of my washing symbols project last week, but now they are finished up and ready to go to Nadelwelt. I really wanted to focus on more detailed quilting, and love the way these turned out once they were framed... see, I don't always make just pillows ; )
But as you can imagine, one project snowballs into another, and then into the next... like a potato chip, I couldn't stop with just one, right?!? I shared this sneak peak on Instagram this week of yet another felt applique project that I am working on... quilted up and ready to be turned into? what else...
... another peanut butter sandwich. You can see it coming now, can't you?
Do you have a tendency to get stuck on one favorite technique, pattern, favorite fabric pull like a favorite sandwich?
You have noticed that last week I was MIA... March has been just one big whirlwind in our family with two birthdays literally days apart, the release of my Lovbirds' Garden pattern, and Easter break sandwiched in between it all. Needless to say after all that I simply did not have the energy to write about it, but that's ok because all work and no play makes Jane a dull girl, right?
But now my focus has fully shifted towards the final push until Nadelwelt.... on my to-do list I "just" have to:
- finish quilting & bind Home Sweet Home applique sampler
- finish pattern/corrections for Home Sweet Home
- have my patterns printed out
- finish show presentations
- and too many other things that should be on my list, but I just don't know what they are yet
that's not so much... well, at least that what I keep telling myself.
Before any kind of show, I like to do a little mock set-up just to make sure that I've thought the layout through, and figure what needs to be tweaked. I've been busy finishing up a few felt applique samples for one of my classes.
I'm over the moon thrilled that Alison Glass made up two template pages that I will be sharing with my class participants... these are exclusives from her Applique book, and what I used for this first pillow.
Remember those washing symbols that I was working on a while back?... well, they were perfect little free-motion quilting practice and are all framed up. More on those later...
Keep your fingers crossed for me... so much to do, so little time. What's keeping you busy these days?
Almost a year ago this month, I sat in a quaint little restaurant with my husband for a birthday breakfast, soaking in all the charm of the centuries old building. The fact that we often don't take the time to treat ourselves, made the day even more special. As I sat across from my husband, my gaze kept falling on the cross stitch piece that was behind him... which ended up being the inspiration for my latest quilt pattern Lovebirds' Garden, to be released next week, March 15th!
I could not have finished the quilt as quickly had it not been for a little help from Iva. She did the amazing quilting while I have been busy working on other upcoming patterns. She actually joined us this fall for our quilting retreat, and she found this perfect little spot on the grounds for a nice background... isn't it fun how the green in the quilt is picked up by the moss covered doors in the background?
It was at the retreat that we were able to coordinate quilting plans... I just love how she framed the center medallion, really making it the focal point of the quilt. I love the simple shadowing of the leaves and orange peel accents throughout.
Does this couch look familiar? Well, it should... somehow this blue keeps following me despite not being a blue fan.
I have to admit that this had to be the hardest quilt photo shooting that I've done... remember all those weather shows that were talking about the "beast from the east" cold weather front that swept across Europe? Yep, that was our photo shooting day!?! My hands were so cold that I could barely hold the camera, and the wind gusts kept us from taking more shots.
I'll be sharing more next week with the pattern release, so be sure to check back in... just in case you happened to miss the full story about the Lovebirds' Garden quilt?... then you can find it here.
Quilt: Pattern: Lovebirds' Garden Applique Medallion Quilt from Allison Richter for Campbell Soup Diary, releases March 15th 2018
Started: March 2017
Fabrics: Alison Glass, Basic Grey Grunge, Carolyn Friedlander, 1 Canoe 2. Various Low Volume backgrounds
Finished quilt size: ca. 82" x 82" in. (208 x 208 cm)
Linking up for the 2018 Finish-A-Long!
