Quilting | Designing Patterns

Have you ever tried collage quilting? I haven't, not yet.  I am going to try it with the number four design I made in the #30quiltdesigns2018 challenge being hosted by mmmquilts

Lady Luck Quilts is hosting a class on collage quilting in March, and I thought it would be an excellent place to start.



I was playing around with my scraps looking for ways to use them up and I combined them with a New York Beauty block by using foundation paper piecing. I sort of had a hard time finding a free pattern for this block. It probably shouldn't have been hard to find but, there it is.

I ended up copying this jpg. and pasting into word then dragging the corners until it was the size I wanted. I printed it on regular printer paper and watched a quick youtube tute on how to paper piece, and I was off to the races! 

The NY NY pieces turned into an inspiration for the #7 quilt design called NY Mandala 

I am learning so much through this design challenge about myself and how the art world works.

For example; A couple of days ago I was furious that someone "stole" one of my design elements. There are so many quilters and artists out there that there is a high degree of repetition that I need to chill out about. It is part of the learning process of getting your work out there. Don't get me wrong I am still going to do what feels right for me at the time, but I am going to sit back a little more, be a little more humble, and enjoy the process for myself.

If you want to watch follow me on Instagram or join in yourself! It is a really good challenge.


Untuil next time my friends, stay humble


Sarah

Linking with Off the Wall Friday, Can I get a Whoop Whoop, Finished or Not Friday

Quilting | Grannies Around the World

I made this quilt for my mom for Christmas. I have started many things for family members and not always gotten them finished. This one I crammed until Christmas Eve!

This is the first time I have tried anything fancy for a quilting motif. It is not an all over design and the batting is fairly puffy so I didn't want to quilt too dense. This quilt is wondrously heavy and snuggly at the same time. :) 

I was laughing with a new friend I made at my first quilt guild meeting, about being so bone tired and bleary-eyed trying to meet a deadline and how we keep going. Perseverance my friends, that is the stuff that quilters are made of.

My mom  helped me choose the sashing fabric and the widths for this quilt. I spent a lot of my childhood in my mom's sewing room playing with scraps of fabric and rummaging and admiring her stash.

I am pretty grateful to of had that experience and I will always cherish the 70's inspired fabrics and caftans that I subsequently stole and ruined as a teenager.


I owe my mom some crochet shawls too that I wore everywhere as an "outspoken fashion plate teen" I used to wear the craziest of stuff!


Where are all the freaks? Where are all my fearless brothers and sisters?






No matter; I am tamer but still not trusted to dress myself to "fit in" I do get the "you are wearing that?" or the "you cant come with me if you are wearing that!".

I think that shall be my new aim. more of that.

Here is a song that really perked me up today on CBC Radio Two this morning. I am going to try and keep this jive mojo through the day to inspire me.

Until next time friends, stay fearless.



Sarah




Linking to the following linky parties that are super fun!

Finish it up Friday    and:

Quilting | AHIQ Playing With Scale

Hi All, I have joined the 30 quilt designs by April challenge by mmmquilts! it really helped me get my ideas for the AHIQ playing with scale quilt moving along.

I have created several of the elements I want to put together in this quilt. I am getting pretty nervous to see if they do go together 

I knew what I wanted to do (mostly) and I had some bits started so I put them together in design entry #1

This past weekend I cut and sewed neutrals for the background with some vertical diamonds. And I resized all of the extra hexies to 3" hexies for the skirt. It was too hard to combine different sizes of hexies, that's an EPP game I am not ready to play yet.  

I can't wait to show you all of the pieces together. I think the next step will be drafting a paper pattern for the dress and body and hair. Hello, pencil and scotch tape!

Until next time stay hopeful my friends,

Sarah

Linking to

Quilting | Wild Child

I am starting a new Quilt!

I love working with clients; they inspire me to do things I would not initially consider doing. Because the Mnoster Mash and the Flying Geese both left my sewing room this week, I felt like I could take on something new.






















I have taken on the 30 quilt designs challenge in 2018 It prompted me to plan this one out a little bit. I usually draw out my designs like this early in the quilt stage. Sometimes after large pieces of it have been completed and sometimes before the fabric pull. In this case, It was done after the fabric pull but before any sewing began.

This bear panel is the top part of a larger panel that I think I am going to cut in half to be able to make the quilt more scrappy. It is so beautiful though.

   

I wanted to find some more animals to go with the bear motif. I saw these darling wolves! I have a thing for wolves right now, but it is true I cannot deny it. This year being the year of the dog I think it is entirely en vogue! 

I think I will fussy cut some of these pretty darlings into some squares. 

This is the beginning of something pretty cool I think! I am really starting to love the quilts I make. I might have to make one for myself soon.

Until next time my friends,

Stay Wild!


Sarah


Linking to

Quilting | Over the Rainbow "There's no place like home"

I am quilting on the Over the Rainbow Quilt!. I needed something that would be good for solid squares, something that could be done in a row, and something fun and cute that would challenge me. I hit my Pinterest FMQ board to see what types of ideas I had stored there my Alice in Wonderland-like rabbit hole search landed me at Lori Kennedy's Inbox Jaunt blog  I scrolled down all the impossibly cute designs and said yes to the first one that squeaked "do it!"

This is what happened after!

Pretty cute hey! This quilt is for a lovely lady in Kansas! how appropriate!

In other news, I have a position on the board of my local rug hooking guild as outreach coordinator. Because I had no idea what I was supposed to do I attended a local Focus on the Fiber Arts Anual General Meeting. After learning about budgets, grants, and events, there was a needlework class!  I did a pretty crappy job I am NOT good at needlework. I am not even going to show you a picture! lol. 

I was so stressed out with needlework which is strange because I love EPP and hand sewing. The above picture is an English Paper Piecing project I picked up on a road trip across the prairies in October to keep me busy. I won't give up on needlepoint totally.... but I am confident that I can cross it off the list for now. 

Until next time, Stay cute my friends! hehe

Sarah

Linking with Moving it Forward Monday at Em's Scrap Bag

and Monday Making 

Quilting | Monster Mash is Done!

I was working in the lab late one night
When my eyes beheld an eerie sight

For my monster from his slab began to rise
And suddenly to my surprise

I did the mash! I did the monster mash!




The lil monster mash (I call it)







This cute scrappy quilt was sent off this week to a little girl in South Carolina :) on a Simbi trade. I can't bear to sell my quilts yet. They take so much time and thought I would never recover my effort. It feels better to give them away and count them as part of my creative process.












There are so many pieces of different textiles in this quilt. Some are designer fat quarters, some African prints, leftover pieces of clothing, pillowcases, I even see one of my old favorite shirts in there. (the blue pink and grey plaid)

In on of Kaja's latest blog posts (Partial Seams for Total Satisfaction) she talked about being so impatient for the quilt to come together there were pieces missing from the top. In the top right-hand picture, I was so impatient to do some quilting on the top that I left out a few pieces until the very end as well. I wonder how many of us do this? lol!

 I bound this with a 5" folded machine stitched binding. I quilted it with an x through each 3.5" square (3" finished)




I used a batting that was fluffy! this thing is cuddly! I really loved having this on my lap while I was quilting it.




The backing is an upcycled duvet cover and it had a rip in it! I put the cutest 6X6 castle patch on it from STOF  fabric sweet princess line. I didn't take a picture of it, which makes it a bit of a little treasure.






I can't believe that this started as a couple of scraps and a request. I love the productive magic that comes from quilting from scraps. I pride myself on making something from nothing; my husband recently declared to me "you know what is cool hun, we are makers! we make things that weren't there before, and that is amazing. I am proud to be that"

So am I my love, so am I.

Until next time, stay magical my friends


Sarah




Linking up to finished or not Friday