It's the Small Things

It's been years since I have done any hand-quilting, but I am pleased that my skills are mostly intact. Very satisfied with how this quilting looks.

As of yesterday, I started the last class that will complete my Masters in Accounting (do I know how to party or what?). It's nice to have project to pick up when I can manage a quiet moment. That said, my brain is already clamoring to think up some new project. If I can just keep it from running amok in the next 7 weeks, then.....

Cityscape

After spending months, then years trying to renew my once intense interest in quilting, it was only after giving up on the idea entirely that I now find myself bitten with the art quilting bug. I pulled out a panel that I bought a year ago, and sandwiched it in preparation for hand-quilting.

The strange thing is that I am not really a fan of panels - but something about the colors and design of this one..... It's a Hoffman called Cityscape.

My intent is to hand-quilt so the individual buildings pop. I'm using a dark orange thread.

I've been looking at embellished art quilts online. These inspirations have caused my mind to wander.  A trip to Michael's did not help.

I'm not sure Cityscape will be enhanced with embellishments. It may be prettier without. But I'm thinking about attempting a Day of the Dead quilted skull. Now if I can just get it out of my head and into fabric.....

Around the World Blog Tour

P. at The Way I Sew It, invited me to join in the Around World Blog Tour.  Once an avid quilter, after a long hiatus, I am trying to again give quilting a prominent place in my life.  So I was happy for the opportunity to participate!  Thanks P.!

What am I working on?  The Pansy Quilt - named after the pansy focus fabric.

I'm currently quilting the outer green border and will soon start on the butterfly border.  This quilt was the result of a block exchange.  We sent each participant a piece of our focus fabric - in my case the pansy fabric - and watched as the blocks rolled in.  A block exchange is loads of fun.  First of all, there are blocks in the quilt that I would have never created.  This appliqued and embroidered Sunbonnet Sue is a good example:

Or this paper pieced spiky beauty:

The other fun aspect of a block exchange such as this is it forces you to work outside your color comfort zone when making blocks for the other participants. It also provides a low stress way to try a new technique because you are making only one block, and not committing to a full project.

Why Do I Create?

Interesting question.  Um...., because I enjoy it?  It's fun!  Seriously, I feel like I am supposed to have some deep philosophical answer, kind of like in literature class when the instructor asks you to find the underlying meaning, and I'm wondering what is wrong with the apparent meaning.  :p  Teenage angst?  No, I'm 50, so that won't work.  Because a box of 64 Crayola Crayons wasn't enough for me as a child?  I have at times found quilting a way to relax and decompress, but I enjoy it even if I don't need to decompress.  Heck, I'm going with my original:  Because I enjoy it.

How Does My Work Differ From Others of It's Genre?

Differ?  Not sure my work is all that unique.  My quilts tend to be scrappy - even when color controlled.  Scrappy is kind of my hallmark. I enjoy the tones and textures, and so even if I am making a color controlled quilt, it will sport a lot of different fabrics like this one:

The thing I like most about quilting is the colors and textures.  Fabric is like my paint pallet.  I also enjoy the geometry - which may be why I tend more towards pieced blocks than appliqued.  Applique tends to be more organic.  A beautiful genre - but I only rarely enjoy creating with applique myself.  And since biting the bullet and buying the Juki, I am learning to enjoy the actual quilting.  What a cool way to create texture!  I aspire to these examples from the Common Threads Quilt Show, held every other year in Wichita, KS:

For years, I didn't have a machine that was adequate to the task.  Consequently, I have a backlog of tops waiting to be quilted.

My Creative Process?

It usually starts with, "Ooh! Shiny!  I want to make that."  Unfortunately, I do have a propensity for starting new projects before I get the others done.... Then I reacquaint myself with my stash, piece by piece, as I search for the widest variety of suitable fabrics.  I often find much loved pieces that I forgot about, or revisit a piece that's simply lovely, but has proven to be difficult to incorporate into projects.  This is a much enjoyed ritual.  Then it's on to cutting and piecing. I'm not much for strip piecing, often preferring templates.

Now to pass along the quilting baton to the next round of bloggers!

I have been following Karen of Quilts....etc., for a number of years.  Karen often hand-pieces, and hand-quilts.  The results are nothing short of incredible!  And she's FAST!  I do not know how she manages to get so many projects completed.

Next up, Elzaan of the blog Huisvlyt.  Elzaan lives in Mauritius - making this a truly Around the World Blog Tour - but was born in South Africa.  I like visiting her blog because her work is distinctly different from mine, utilizing techniques that I do not - such as applique and embroidery.  Sometimes she blogs about her part of the world, which I find incredibly interesting.

Lastly, also from Mauritius, but born in Norway is Astrid of Grandma's Red Needle.  Astrid is a woman after my own heart with multiple projects going at the same time.  You can count on her site for some lovely eye candy.  She seems to be in Christmas mode at the moment.  Smart to be working on it now.  I always seem to start with the Christmas theme too late to actually complete it in time for Christmas. (Unfortunately, I have not heard back from Astrid.  I am wondering if I caught her at at time when she is on vacation.  Deciding there were no quilting police, I tagged her anyway, figuring whenever she posted - it would be okay.)

Thanks for including me in the fun P.!

2 Minutes Quilting; 30 Minutes Ripping

I saw a really lovely border design I wanted to try - the one at the bottom of the picture:

(courtesy of Green Fairy Quilts)

(Check out her blog; it's awesome!)

Yeah...., Although I did trying drawing it on paper first, and really wasn't able to consistently emulate her beautiful consistency, I decided to give it a shot.  My quilting didn't look any worse than my drawing, but I discovered my brain really balked - a lot of "duh..., which way now."  Spastic!  I like free motion quilting, but wasn't enjoying trying to make this design.

As with anything, my first thought was to keep going; I'm bound to get better.  But I am working on an outer border.  There is going to be too much time spent finishing it to do a design I don't enjoy.

Next up, the nestled circles above it!  :D

A UFO to the Rescue

The thing of it is, no matter how long it has been since I last quilted - my quilting has been very minimal and sporadic the last several years - there is still that same pile of UFOs that was there when I last looked.  They didn't magically get done in my absence. Overall however, that has been a good thing.  It has been nice to re-acquaint myself with the various project stages by way of those UFO's. So while a part of me is eager to start something brand new, mainly I am glad to simply ease back into the process.

It's not been without its complications.  A few weeks back, I posted about the new sewing room painted in purple and peach.  I was thrilled with the natural light from the big slider.  However, as far as functionality..., well the room simply wasn't big enough.  Too many windows and doors, and not enough wall space.

The sewing room went back to the basement where there is plenty of room for any configuration.  I am really quite pleased.

Sincerely enjoying those purple walls, I decided to move my bedroom into the former sewing room.  I am really liking it.  But I need a new quilt - and like yesterday.  I don't really have anything that coordinates with the purple.

An old UFO came to save the day.

Even better, it was nearly done when I stopped working on it back in 2011.  I am down to quilting the outer green border and the butterflies.

As to the one peach wall in the purple room?  Well, it's soon going to be a lime green.

Dresden Done!

Looks good against the purple wall, doesn't it?

This one was a long time in coming.  P of  The Way I Sew It sent the center Dresden to me in early 2010.  I'd finished the piecing before moving from Nevada in November of 2010.  I got it sandwiched in 2012.  And FINALLY finished quilting it a couple of weeks ago. It measures 23" X 23".  Only 4 years.

My intention was to bind it in black.  But being determined to utilize something from the stash I've been dragging around from place to place - and adding to along the way - black was not an option.  Hence the zebra stripe.  I'm quite pleased with the effect.

The Dresden itself is quilted with stitch in the ditch to make it pop.  The center has an organic spiral (read as imperfect). The black background is stippled.

I've discovered I really do not like stippling. My brain does not do random.  I have to make myself be random.  And if I'm concentrating on making no pattern is that really random?  (There's your philosophical question for the day.)

The wall hanging resides above my computer - the one I use for blogging and gaming.  :)

So for the first time in years....,

I'm linking up on Sarah's blog, Confessions of a Fabric Addict.

Something Wrong With This Picture?

New Sewing Room

When I first moved into my condo, I decided to put the sewing room in the basement.  After all, it was a nice big space; plenty of room to spread out.  Only one problem:  I found I never really wanted to go down there.  It was dark and uninspiring.

After I moved my office out of the small upstairs bedroom on to the indoor balcony (yes, my place is a little quirky), I quickly came to the conclusion that the now empty bedroom would become my sewing room.  But first I needed to take down the ugly curtains and paint:

I rather liked the purple, but was not fond of the tan.  Additionally, the place hasn't seen new paint in awhile, so it was time.  

While logic told me a quilting room ought to have neutral paint, I'm afraid my taste in paint is rather like my taste in fabric:

With the outdoor balcony and the door connecting directly to the bathroom, I believe this is supposed to be the master bedroom.  However, it is rather small.  The place was built in 1973.  And if you look at the bathtub, you'll soon realize it still sports the original harvest gold that was such a popular color at that time.  Not my favorite.

Finally got the sewing essentials moved in:

There is still a lot of fabric to be moved up from the basement, but the room is now functional.

And now I'll leave you with this:

One Thing Leads to Another

So it's like this. I moved into my condo August 1st and started a new job August 5th. There was not a lot of time to commune with the new place and get a feel for it before deciding what would go where. My brain was filled first with tests, and later with learning the job itself.  And yet I became increasingly aware that a couple of rooms just weren't working for me.

The first issue was the room I was using for the office.  It would technically be the master bedroom I suppose as it has a door directly into the bathroom and sports a balcony overlooking the golf course.  But the room is smaller than the secondary bedroom, so I used it for my office.  Beautiful view!  Problem was I have an L shaped desk.  I usually put in a corner.  Oddly this room has no corners with enough wall space to accommodate the desk.  Two corners handle part of the slider leading to the balcony, one is shortened by the presence of the bathroom door, and the other corner leads to the bedroom door.  I boldly put my desk so the neither side sat against any wall.  I had perfect view out of the slider window.

(Please forgive the crappy photo.  It's the only one I have of the office before I moved it.)

Over time, despite the great view, I became disenchanted with this arrangement.  Having my computer cords exposed seemed messy, and it didn't help that the cats found it fun to dive among them.  I was certain that one day I would come home to find my monitor in pieces on the floor.

The condo came with a quirky indoor balcony.  A space less than 5 feet wide that overlooks the living room and has a direct line of sight to a second story picture window.  I have been fascinated with this interesting architectural anomaly, despite having no clue to its purpose - other than the aforementioned quirkiness.  One of my neighbors told me that her condo had no indoor balcony as the previous owner had closed it off, made a bedroom bigger, and added another bathroom.

I began to wonder if my L-shaped desk might fit on the balcony.  The more I pondered it, the more I knew I would have to try it.  I have been thrilled with the results:

The only problem now is that the cats like to walk across the balcony railing between the desk and the filing cabinet, like some high wire act.  I try not to watch.

So what am I going to do with that room now?  Fix another problem area - move my quilting room from the basement.  I need light!  Natural light!

First, I will paint though.

Quick, Fun Gifts

Having only recently returned to quilting with some semi-regularity, and with plenty of UFOs awaiting my attention, needless to say, I had nothing quilty prepared for Christmas.  A Jeep repair took me to the other side of town a couple of weeks back, and with a quilter on my shopping list, I took the opportunity to check out a quilt store that was new to me, Hen Feathers.  (Cute name!) I was prepared to use my fall back plan - fat quarters.  I mean what quilter doesn't like squishies in the mail?  But instead, I was presented with an idea.  Not particularly quilty, but at least something that allowed me to feel I'd put a little extra effort into the gift:

The shop had a nice selection of tea towels and pre-cut border fabric for easy mixing and matching.  

I ended up making two more:

The towels are quick and fun to make up.  The all sport a little quilting, but I didn't do anything overly fancy. I think next time instead of using the pre-cut borders, I'll just pick through my stash.  :)  I may make up a few to just have on hand.

The Dresden Wall-hanging - Need Suggestions.

In May of 2010, P. at The Way I Sew It, gave me the lovely Dresden center below.  She'd been on some kind of Dresden spree and had an extra.  Lucky me!  It took some time to figure out how to best showcase it, but I finally decided to mount it on the black fabric with the ribbon border.

Forgive Max.  He takes his QI duties very seriously.

Then life changed very drastically and I have only recently found a somewhat settled place.  (P. probably thought I'd forgotten about it or lost it since I've made so many moves.)  I began working on it again.  The center is quilted in a spiral and the plate itself is merely outlined so it will pop.  I began quilting the black fabric outside of the Dresden, and decided I didn't like it. No worries, I'd just rip out the quilting in that one corner (the one without pins) and start again.

Except....!  I put a hole in it with the seam ripper.  I am just so not happy about that.

Now, I am left with two choices:  take it apart and try to put it back together with an un-holed piece of black, or applique something on top of the hole.  I am loathe to do either.  I have discovered that dismantling and reassembling rarely results in a satisfactory outcome.  However, I am afraid any applique I could add would take away from the Dresden I was trying so hard to perfectly showcase.

Anyway, quilters, I am open to suggestions.

The Thanksgiving Tie

Eric, my soon to be ex-cousin-in-law, was invited by my grandfather to the Thanksgiving shindig at his assisted living facility, Avita (read: hotel-like elegance).  With this older crowd - my grandfather is 91 - these things tend to be more formal.  As Eric was in management in another life, he has a wide array of ties, but none that were fall-themed.  Unfortunately, a trip to Wichita revealed that none of his usual tie-wear apparel shops were going to be of any assistance.  They had Halloween ties.  They had Christmas ties.  But nothing for Autumn.

Eric related his tale of woe to me as he returned  from Wichita to Newton and I was driving back from a work-related jaunt in Western Kansas.  I told him, "You need to go to Charlotte's.  That quilt store will have a nice variety of Autumn fabric.  I can make you a tie."  (I'd never made a tie in my life.)

As luck would have it, I would drive through Newton on my way back to Wichita, and we would arrive about the same time.  We agreed to meet at Charlottes.  

Charlotte's is a fabulous store!  Any time I am in Newton, I try to make time to stop in.  And as predicted, the shop had a lovely array of Fall fabrics.  It quickly became apparent that the question wasn't IF there would be an appropriate fabric, but which one to choose.  

As we were both pressed for time, Eric quickly made his selection, paid for the 3/4 yards of the Hoffman (yeah, he has good taste), handed it to me, and we hurried off - me hoping that I wasn't blowing smoke about being able to make a tie.

My first step in the project was to take apart a tie I had to use for a pattern.  We had bought some interfacing, but inside the original tie, I found a rather substantial thickness of..., I hesitate to use the word fabric, because it is far too thick for that.  (If anyone knows what this is called, please let me know.)  In any case, I decided my tie-making life would be much easier if I used it inside the new tie.  It was already cut to the right size and length.  Plus, I rather liked the weight of it.

As usual, Max helped.  Eric said Max was imbuing the tie with kitty magic.

Eventually, we arrived at this:

After sewing the three lengths together, putting in the linings at either end (in the original tie, the linings were made from a different fabric than the outside of the tie, but I chose to do the simplest thing and use the same fabric), and pressing in the raw edges, I laid in the thickness that would give the tie its shape and weight.

After that, it was just a matter of hand-stitching it closed.

Oh, and I learned something very valuable for any future tie-making endeavors I might have.  The tag I took off the back of original tie that I thought was well, just a tag?  No, it has a dual purpose.  It is used to tuck in the skinny end of the tie, so it all hangs nicely.  After Eric and I both laughed at my lack of tie knowledge, I hurriedly sewed it on, so he could be perfectly attired for the Thanksgiving shindig with my Grandpa.

If you want to read Eric's version of events, go here.

Spicy Spiral

A lot has happened since I last posted.

In 2013, I did my best to live up to the Jypsy Quilter name.  I have changed residences twice AND changed jobs twice - both times within the same week.  (Both times I doubted my sanity.)  However with this last move, I bought my new residence - a somewhat dated condo from the 70's with some quirky features that I love.  I won't be moving again any time soon.  And I really like my new job as a financial consultant with AXA Financial.  The work is both interesting and challenging.

Despite the Jypsy Quilter name, which I took on after leaving Nevada and becoming somewhat of a nomad, I find it very difficult to focus on quilting when I'm not feeling settled.  For the last three years, I have very little show to in the way of quilting - although my beloved tubs of fabric have moved with me each time.

Now, having been in my new place a little over three months, it is time to quilt!

My mom and I signed up for a class called Spicy Spiral Table Runner at one of our local quilt stores, The Picket Fence.  It was the first quilting class I have ever taken, and the first time I've used a wedge ruler.  On both counts, I'm hooked!  I had a blast!

After you pick 8 colors, your first step is to cut them into strips (the strips are different widths) and sew them together.  We did this part at home before the class.

Max helped

Next, cutting using the wedge ruler.  While not difficult once you get going, it was immensely helpful to have a quilt teacher at this juncture. The wedges get increasingly shorter.

Eventually, you end up with a pile of wedges like this:

Then we started sewing.  I'm guessing it took us about an hour and a half to sew this:

The points still need to be trimmed to make a smooth edge before adding the batting and backing.  The teacher recommended that instead of binding the edges, we treat it like a pillow and turn it.  As I am not eager to do a curved bias binding, I am going to try the teacher's suggestion.

Hoping to eke out some time soon to finish it.

Walking & Urban Wildlife

My quilting project is out and I enjoy looking at the parade of color draped across the sewing desk.  That said, adding to that parade has been a bit elusive the last couple of weeks.  No worries.  Progress is being made in other avenues.

In addition to the desire to bring quilting back into my life, I also have wanted to resume my long absent exercise.  Finally, the last couple of weeks, the weather has been cooperative enough to allow me to start walking.  I'm not doing too badly.  If I do miss a day, I don't let it cost me momentum - as such interruptions have done in the past - I just keep at it, resuming the next day.

I live in an apartment complex, in a group of apartment complexes.  The landscape set up between them makes it easy and enjoyable to get out and walk - a meandering path around this large water feature.  The pond comes complete ducks and geese - and much to my surprise, these baby goslings.

The mother wasn't overly perturbed at my picture-taking.  No squawking or flapping of wings.  Just a warning hiss, that seemed like a fair deal in exchange for my proximity. 

Actually, the wild birds here seem almost completely lackadaisical about the human presence.

A Little Bit at a Time

I did manage an hour's worth of cutting this week, between work and school. At this point if I can manage an hour in the quilt room once per week, I will be a happy camper.

Quick recap: I started my MBA in January, moved March 11th, and started a new job March 25th.

The MBA was initiated because my former employer was strongly encouraging instructors to get our Master's degrees. Ironically, I left that job due to the long hours (I taught morning and evening classes three days per week - three 14 hour days in row), but kept the Master's. I will be done December 2014.

I moved because I was paying a lot of rent for a house so I could have a garage, only to have my car hailed on while at work. My apartment is significantly less expensive.

And the new job? I am selling life insurance. I get to set much of my own schedule, which is nice. But I am still trying to get a handle on it - and getting used to working on commission. 

So what is the nature of my new project?  I am making a wall-hanging from the same braid pattern from which my mom made an entire quilt.  I'll make one braid.  One.

In the meantime, Max's quilt inspecting duties appear to have him all tuckered out.

Shhhh!

Every time I have tried to re-commence quilting in earnest the last couple of years, sooner rather than later The Fates intervene, and I get derailed, the quilting mojo slipping through my fingers like so much sand.  This time..., this time will be different.  I'm trying to sneak up on it.  Oh sure, I've got full sized quilt tops that need quilting.  I've got a small wall-hanging that I've bound and begun to quilt.  Just one problem, I haven't yet located it since the move.  I know it's here somewhere....  (Yes, I moved again - but that's another story.)

So the plan is to start with something completely brand new and small - so as not to attract the The Fates' attention.  Shhh.

Max is helping.  He's hiding the cutting mat.

Those teals are a pretty start aren't they?  



Common Threads Quilt Show Continued

While I don't dislike my job by any means, I have discovered that leaving the house at 8:30AM and not returning until 11PM, three days per week, cuts in to my quilting time, blogging time, and blog reading time.  It appears I'm destined to be a weekend blogger for the foreseeable future ~ unless I can get far more organized.

To continue with the Common Threads Quilt Show photos from last week, I bring you these:

I found the color scheme in this quilt rather unique.  Not sure how much I like it, but I don't dislike it.  The feature that drew me to it is the setting of the appliqued flower blocks.  The dark sashing around those blogs really makes them pop.  They look almost 3-D

There were two heavily embellished wall-hangings.  Fascinatingly ornate!  I tried to get overall pictures of them, but if I got back far enough get the entire wall-hanging, the dainty embellishments were lost.

I stared at this wall-hanging for a long time, trying to figure out how it was made.  The swirls appeared to be folded fabric, but I'm not really sure.  How this was done remains a mystery to me, despite having the opportunity to stand before it and study it.  One of the most enticing pieces of the show, in my opinion.

But this is not all!  More to come.