Market Madness Has Begun

Officially.

It technically started a while back, but I am really feeling the pressure the last few days, as the fabrics come in, need cutting, samples being made, and bound and generally requiring lots of hours of dedicated sewing/quilting/writing all at once.

Not sure how much time I will have here on the blog, since I have 3 teaching weekends in the midst of the run up to market, and am still proofing patterns, and doing bindings (and one or two late designed quilts that I HAD to make).....you know what they same about inspiration??? Grab it while you can, so I did. Love the result but not the drama of getting in pieced, quilted, bound, written, proofed, photographed and printed in just over 3 weeks!!! Oh Vey!!! One day I will learn!!! (Didn't I say that last year???).

Maybe I should write books instead, you have to turn them in ages before the come out in print, perhaps I should change my approach??? Or maybe I should publish patterns as they get pieced, quilted and bound and not "save them" for market??? But then they would be in last season's fabrics, and that's no fun!!! Oh, the options to think about when you are procrastinating!!!! I need to go make dinner and do laundry, and to be honest I am sewed out for the day, but cleaning doesn't seem like fun either!!!!

Since I am going to be a little less bloggy due to my schedule, make sure you are following me on twitter (@queeniequilts), instagram (@queeniequilts) and on facebook, as I do update those more frequently.

Happy Quilting....

Catherine

Procrastinating

I should be beavering away on quilts for market...it's just a few weeks from now!

Instead, tonight I am procrastisewing. That is procrastinating on the items you should be sewing but still sewing....

I did some fiddly super precise work earlier this evening, so I wanted something mindless, so I turned on an old rerun of Bonnie Hunter's Quilt-Cam, pulled out an old easy-peazy UFO and got to work.

This project is at least 10 years old. At least....I remember buying the fabric as a bundle at the Quilt Room in Dorking, Surrey, U.K. while I lived abroad, and I have been back in the states for 9 years.....(hard to believe, but we'll leave that or another post!). 

Anyway, it is called Giselle, and I think it is Robyn Pandolph while she was at South Seas, but I'm not sure, and there is no selvedge, so no evidence. I remember that it came as fat quarter meters. And I know that I had to buy multiples to get all of the prints, so they must have been store made FQ packs.....there are 8 prints, and I planned a simple 4inch square random placement, very shabby chic look. Which became very boring.....big wide strips, and just piece them into paired strips, and then pairs of pairs, etc, etc, etc.

I only got to the pairs of pairs part before I gave up the ghost and moved on to something else. Giselle has been a UFO ever sense. She is not the only 1, in fact there are about 40 in the quilting closet that are partially finished. And I am on a mission o reorganize, declutter and simplify, and that has meant evaluating all the UFOs.....giving away pieces and parts, redeploying fabrics to the stash that I no longer like in the pairing, and prioritizing the list. That prioritization started in early August, since I knew I wanted all UFOs completed by December 2014. I sorted and rated and ordered all 43 projects, with a plan to blog through the UFO destruction process as part of the 2014 plan of events.

So, back to Giselle....here she is as I pulled her out of the box. 48 combos of 4 - 4 inch strips. In desperate need of pressing. 

I pressed and subcut them, and the started pairing the pieces.....

So they look like this....

Next up......pairs of pairs. And sleep, lots of sleep, because Giselle is kinda boring sewing folks. But good procrastination.

Happy Quilting!

Catherine

Glacier Star - class 4

We had our 4th Glacier Star session this week at Cotton and Chocolate in Thousand Oaks. Fun was had by all.....we worked on the snowflake center, which is by far the hardest segment in the quilt. And now we are masters of the snowflake. Looking forward to next month and getting started on assembly of the curved piecing.....

Just a few teaser pics from class....

Pam's version....we did the alternate to put the green one on the top point. Love it!

Patty's laid out on the table....love this colorway!

Wendy's version.....We are doing a different alternate for hers.... Alternating the center star with 2 greens, one print, one solid.

Vicki's version.... This one reminds me of Oregon.....lush greens and pristine blue skies.

That's all the pics I managed to take....though most people finished their snowflakes, I was obviously a bag class historian this month. I promised to be better next month!

Happy Quilting!

Catherine

Spotlight : Celebration Tree skirt

Warning ---- picture heavy post.....

Since I started seeing Christmas decorations in the store over the weekend, I thought I would give you a glimpse at the Celebration Tree Skirt....I love this pattern because it is fast!!! The pieces are big, the curves are soft, and it goes together very quickly. I also love it for its versatility. Whether you stick with a traditional color scheme, or go with something totally wild, it works!! Check out the examples of different color schemes.

Here's my version and some close up shots of it......

You will notice mine does not have a hole in it for the tree,  I could not bring myself to but into it, I loved it so much......You can't see in these pictures, but it has an exquisite poinsettia quilted in the middle of it, and I couldn't bring myself to cut it.

Here are some other versions that I found out in internet land.....

a fancy dancy one, with gold and silver and sparkles!!!!!

Traditional, with a hole and a slit to get around the tree....

This one is used as a wallhanging...I need to know how she did that....

Super modern color and fabric choices....

This one is pretty similar to mine....

Purple anyone??? why didn't I do purple???

Classic Christmas in Christmas prints

super brights for a mermaid christmas theme.

Kaffe to the rescue.....this one reminds me of Easter?

This combo is from a CI -- each blade in this one is from a different student in class....so varied!!!

And this one might be my favorite.....not sure what it is about this one, perhaps it is the light center, but the feathered star really jumps out in this one.....

Spotlight : Golden Harvest

Golden Harvest is a great beginner Judy pattern....when you don't want a huge investment, but you want to learn the techniques.......It has 6 of the 12 techniques, and best of all, the curves are nice and soft, so they are easy to piece!!!

Here's my version....are you seeing a pattern of purple and turquoise, yet. I have to admit they are my favorite, so they are in lots of my quilts.....

before quilting....

and once it was quilted. 

It's not very clean in the pics, but the boarder is pieced as well, which I love. It also makes it really easy to assemble, which is always a plus!!!

Here are a few of my other favorite versions....

A red, white and blue version that shoes off the pieced border and sawtooth inner border.

A blue and brown version that makes a great wall hanging!!! Love the stripey border look.

This one belongs to one of the other CI's -- I love the darker purple wrapper that she used.

A three fabric version. Easy, simple and striking.

A Kaffe Version -- click and look at the fabrics on this one, the stripes are really subtly striking.

Happy Quilting!!!!


Catherine

Progress....

So, we are five days into September....and I have managed to get a couple of my To Do's to DONE.

1. Hang the new sign in the bedroom - done.
2. Update the pictures on the mantle
3. Rearrange the pantry
4. Purge the closet #1
5. Purge the closet #2
6. Purge the closet #3
7. Binding on Summer Solstice (because I will feel finished with it then) - done
8. Reorganize the pattern drawer - done
9. organize the cutting table drawers (2) - done
10. reorganize the under sink cabinet in the guest bath
11. label all of the projects in the sewing room - done
12. Paint and install the peg boards that have been in the garage since April (yes, sad).
13. Unpack the box that has been on top of the dryer since I moved in 15 months ago.
14. Sort the knitting stash - done
15. Make a crochet and knitting stick organizer
16. Make zippy strippy bags - 6.


Do you think anyone will notice that all the fun ones got done first???


Happy quilting -- or organizing?!!!


Catherine

Hello Tuesday

So, most people do hello Monday -- but I was busy hibernating this weekend in the quilt room, and didn't come out until late Monday and realized that it wasn't Sunday.....

so, instead we are having Hello Tuesday --

Hello, Fall??? -- where are you??? -- it is still super hot here. It was 101 on Monday, and humid. And the forecast looks like more of the same. Super jealous of everyone who is seeing those cool nights return.

Hello new peeps -- welcome to the family. I have new people joining me on this journey, helping me with the office things and order fulfillment. So happy to have you on board!!!!

Hello board meetings and finance meetings and meetings meetings meetings -- I have something going on every night this week -- crazy schedule!!!

Hello healthy breakfast and dinners planned -- spent some time this weekend getting it all ready for the week. Have crock pot meals all ready to go for the week, and the breakfasts all sorted out. Fall always makes me want to get organized, including my diet.

Hello new tea and water hydration plan. I read a really disturbing article about diet coke over the weekend and I have been trying to give it up for a while, but this FREAKED me out!!!! SO, going cold turkey.

Hello organized desk -- it is nice to see you, wish you would stick around!!!! Seriously, at least for a little while......

A Must DO

So, I'm working away on market stuff (though I did do some sewing for me on Saturday)....so I was browsing around facebook and the blogosphere (you know procrasticleaning).......and I came upon this, and well, it just spoke to me.....not that I have 5 kids (like the adorable Abbie), or the adorable house, or husband. Nor in any way does her life really resemble mine (seriously, she has had 5 kids and looks like a million bucks, and I have zero babies and could stand to lose more than a few). But I totally get that feeling that I am always behind, and yet still procrastinating on doing things (although I think she has a few more valid distractions (at least 5 that I have seen in pics)).....Needless to say, I still found her idea refreshing, and needed in my life at the moment, when it is easy to get overwhelmed with the deadlines of life. As we approach regular job budget season, and quilt market, which coincide every year, I tend to get a little over-committed and totally overwhelmed, and then I just get frustrated....

So, I am taking on the elephant challenge...starting on Monday. Do something daily to improve life. Just a few minutes of realignment. In hopes that I can keep my sanity (by making more commitments, yes, this is slightly crazy, but you know me right???)....These should also take less that 15 minutes, so it's no real time commitment (though I admit that doing them all in order on the last day of the month (which might or not be a common occurrence in my household) would be a big commitment). So, here's the list of items to work on....

1. Hang the new sign in the bedroom
2. Update the pictures on the mantle
3. Rearrange the pantry
4. Purge the closet #1
5. Purge the closet #2
6. Purge the closet #3
7. Binding on Summer Solstice (because I will feel finished with it then)
8. Reorganize the pattern drawer
9. organize the cutting table drawers (2)
10. reorganize the under sink cabinet in the guest bath
11. label all of the projects in the sewing room
12. Paint and install the peg boards that have been in the garage since April (yes, sad).
13. Unpack the box that has been on top of the dryer since I moved in 15 months ago.
14. Sort the knitting stash
15. Make a crochet and knitting stick organizer
16. Make zippy strippy bags - 6.

So, I only picked 16 activities, because I have having a real vacation this month. Yippee. Don't worry, it's a quilt retreat and I will be posting while I am there and having tons of fun with the ladies in Montana.

And on that note, I leave you with a finish from the weekend.....

 

Meandering Star