Finish it Friday

I actually have finishes this week!!! Yippee!!

It was busy around here all week, mainly working on Osprey's Nest and doing the standard business work (filling orders, accounting, etc). Busy but good. I got to hang out with Shawn and Kelly on Thursday and work on some new patterns for market, and that was really fun. It had been a while since we sewed together, with crazy schedules and the Puyallap show, we just hadn't had time....but we remedied that, and had an all together great day of chatting and snacking and sewing and apron making.

Today's FIF's are just the kind I like. Totally done! Quilted, bound and ready to go to their new homes. It's a gorgeous day here in Southern California, so the pics are not great, it's super bright and in the low 70's, an absolutely perfect day, which means pics are much too contrasts, but for now, they will do.

First up....a baseball quilt for Holden. The baseball maniac. It's almost double size, big enough for a super generous picnic, or a double wrap on a cold practice night. As you know, I like my quilts to be used. Really, what's the point in show pieces? And how many walls do most people really have? So most of my quilts are bed sized, with cotton batting for washability.

The second finish this week, comes in the form of Meandering Star, which was on my goals for 2014 list. It was on a field trip to Ms. Carrie for some lovely long arm quilting. I got it back on Monday and got it bound on Tuesday, and I love it. The quilting is superb, and really let's the pattern and fabrics sing. Plus it has feathers, and you know how I feel about feathers.

So, here she is : Meandering Stars.

Hope everyone is getting some sewing time in this weekend. What are you working on?

Happy Quilting!

Catherine

Friday Finishes on Wednesday....

Well, I had big plans to write half a dozen posts, about various classes, and student projects (the finishes this month have been lively), and goals and dreams and all the current and future happenings around here....I even took pictures.

For now, here's a quick look at the finishes from Cotton and Chocolate in Thousand Oaks. These ladies have been busy working on various projects....and had a couple of finishes to share during show and tell this month.

Jonette's Glacier Star

Lorna's Glacier Star

Lorna's Feathered Goose

Debbie's Feathered Goose

Aren't they great? Super excited to see them during show and tell, as we build our Mariner's Compass blocks in this quarter's series.

Celtic Wave - Fabric Selection

A couple of people have messaged me asking for additional information on the layout for Celtic Wave, since I changed some elements....

Here's the working picture --I hang them on the wall above my cutting table for reference -- It has 3 color families ..... black, teal and green. I used 4 : navy, red, gold and cream. A tribute of sorts......

And the fabrics I chose for mine.....

Lets start with Bag #1 - the spikes

In the original they are black, various prints, but all black. Mine are Reds...it calls for 4 prints, but I added some additionals, since I worked from stash, and you needed 7" strips, I just added until I had enough to make the master number of segments.

Here is an up cose of the reds....they aren"t quite as pink as they appear on screen, they are true Christmas reds....all but one have some texture: pebbles, dots, clouds, flowers, etc.

The rest of the blacks in the original made up the geese units....I chose 4 navy fabrics for my geese. Again, all dark, but with texture, some stars, some swirls and a damask print. I will also use these for the dark background around the center.

And finally, the golds. I replaced the teals with golds, one just darker than the background (for the light teal replacement) and one significantly darker (for the dark teal replacement). As I mentiooned last week I wasn't 100% on these golds, so I made some sample blocks to make sure that I liked them, and so far I do.

That leaves just the background, NC-28 from Island Batiks, a warm cream with tiny little dots in a circular pattern. A nice subtle cream. I must admit this is one of my favorite backgrounds, I buy it by the bolt because it's just the perfect cream. Not too pink, and not to yellow, and not grey/blue. Just the perfect cream. 

In the original, there are two background (it's hard to see, but believe me, there are). One is used for the background of the center blocks and the corner blocks, the other for the rest. Since I wanted the red, white and blue to really show up, I used only 1 for all of the backgrounds. And I think I am going to like it in the end, even if it is a little boring during piecing.....

And not back to regularly scheduled sewing....Bag #1 is calling my name.

 

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

Glacier Star Weekend at Memory Lane

I spent the weekend down south in San Diego teaching Glacier Star.....I forgot my camera, so no pics from class....but here's what I managed to get done Saturday during my off time....

All of the units for Compass Rose are prepped and ready to go! 

Mariner's Compass

Is....done!!!!

I've had all of the pieces together for ages, but I couldn't seem to find the time or inclination to sew the inal seams.....which is strange, that isn't usually as issue. I think part of it was the unsurety (is that even a word) of the rings....I made them 4 different times, and eventually went back to version 2. I'm not crazy about them.....but at some point you have to move on and get it done.

So, here she is in all of her glory!

Glacier Star

Here she is in her glory....sorry the pics aren't great, i was in such a rush i sent her off without taking any real pics...

Golden Harvest

Golden Harvest might be one of my favorite Judy Niemeyer patterns, most notably because it has all of the techniques -- stacking, curved piecing, piped binding, mariner's star, etc, BUT it's a small investment. At 56 x 56, it is about 25 hours worth of piecing, and is a great retreat quilt. I worked on mine while I was at Quiltique in Henderson, NV (they have a fabulous shop, full of batiks, notions, and a Bernina dealership). I saw Judy there last July for a week long workshop, and I got this done, and my Bali Bedrunner finished in a week. I've been holding onto the top unquilted since last July due to my teaching schedule (it is very helpful to have a sample of the quilt you are teaching, just saying). So, once the show and teaching schedule calmed down after Halloween, I sent this one off to Montana for some quilty love. Tammy Deshayes did the quilting, and it is fabulous! So fabulous in fact that I sent her a new box of quilts for quilting!!!!  I love the feather work (aren't you surprised) and the negative space she left which makes the points pop!!! Here's some pics for your enjoyment!

The overall -- can you find the blocks???

The quilted feathers on the background of the points. The points themselves have a simple pointed loop in them, so fresh and simple!

A loose boxed feather in the center corners (before the borders).

The boxed feather (sort of a wreath shape) is repeated on the background as well but in a smaller size....

And more of the simple loops in the background of the border (teal). You can also see hints of the large spined feather that is in the border. She matched thread throughout the quilt, and she did such a good job that the camera couldn't really pick up the quilting (of course, that is partially the light this time of year and the busyness of the striped border).

Stay tuned for another update once the binding goes on, and the sun comes out for good pictures!

The Sweat Shop

So, have you ever had that list of things that HAD to be done? That list with way too many items on it? And impending deadlines? On a Holiday weekend? And the last thing that you wanted to do was work? Well, that was me this weekend, and what I affectionately call the sweat shop. The petal to the metal sewing like crazy, while running errands, doing laundry and attempting to get all of my chaotic life under control all at once (what was I thinking?). Seriously, it was that weekend. Really, all I WANTED to do was eat, hang out, eat some more, avoid the football madness on TV, just a snack this time, avoid the mall (and Walmart/target/best buy), and maybe catch a showing of twilight. I was ready for a relaxing weekend, and yet I found myself in that inspired place, where you can literally get a million things done -- somehow. Affectionately termed the sweat shop. So in sweat shop fashion (with a little quilt OCD thrown in just for fun)......I.....

*finished arcs for my Forever Yours tablerunner. All of them. All 6 sets. Seriously excited about working on this one more this week. This is made out of the V&Co. line -- super modern printed cotton from Moda. Not my usual style, but the gray prints really spoke to me.  Loving it!!!

*did 6 loads of laundry -- all the tablecloths, curtains (shower and otherwise), in addition to the regular laundry.

*assembled and organized a new secretary (SO CUTE!!!). I really should have taken an interior pic, since I spent most of my time on that part -- but alas, I forgot!

*bought supplies at Staples (ok, so perhaps I didn't actually NEED them, but they were so cute, and necessary?). Yes, it is a sickness, but I don't want the cure, I love me some school supplies.

*sewed all of the rows on my 3 Ducks in a Row. Super bright! Love it! Now just need to sew the rows together and add the borders and it is ready to go!

*worked on my second Mariner's Compass (finally got papers). It is working out okay -- I'm not crazy about it yet, but we'll see. In this pic the pieces look red, in real life, they are shades of pink. Hot pink, but pink.

*uploaded new fabrics into the shop that came in last week (seriously, why did I get new fabrics the week of THANKSGIVING). What was I thinking? On a separate note, the new Bali Pops are fabulous. Tiramisu might be my favorite -- and completely out of my comfort zone, so we'll have to see what happens.

*Finished the placemats for my Cappuccino Party for 4 (the tablerunner has been done for months). These are all now basted and ready for me to get brave and quilt them. Myself. On my domestic machine. This totally scares me, but I need to get out of my comfort zone. Plus, I have had the walking foot for 6+ months and it is still in the box, and has started to mock me every time I open the drawer.

*ordered new stuff for the shop from Moda (yes, I ordered from Moda, strange isn't it), Robert Kauffman, Hoffman, Island Batiks, Judy Niemeyer, Thimbleblossoms, and CWI. My own little mini-market, at the house, in my pjs.

*Finished piecing Mini-Stars, and prepped it for quilting on my domestic machine, see note above. Perhaps I will do this one first, it seems more forgiving.

*Generally got life in order for the week -- you know, regular cleaning, picking outfits for the week, checking the schedule so I don't have an EMERGENCY POT LUCK. Yes, I had an emergency pot luck last week at work, because I completely forgot about it until I arrived at work. Thanks Pinterest for saving my life!!!!

So, that's the extent of the weekend....though I did manage to have a massive amount of turkey, dressing, cranberries, and pumpkin crumble at Shawn's on Thursday and saw Twilight on Friday night with the girls, so all in all, a productive and fun Sweat Shop Weekend.

Happy Quilting!

Dallas, here I come, and there I go

It has been a world wind around here, lately. Craziness at home, craziness at work, a big move coming up, new patterns for market, and a general insanity feeling going on, but i was lucky enough to get away for a week. I visited some friends (both old and new), met some new people, and spent some quality time working on things I love. It's not too often that I get a chance to really devote large amounts of time to sewing (or if I do, I'm giving up sleep and cheerfulness), but I was lucky enough to spend a couple of relaxing days working/playing in the Dallas area.

I visited a friend that I hadn't seen since high school. Rhonda and I were best of friends in elementary school, and her family moved away after 6th grade, so I didn't see her much during middle and high school and not at all after that, but we reconnected again through facebook last summer, and since I was going to be in Dallas anyway, we got together. I must admit I was a little nervous after 15+ years, but it was pointless, we might as well have seen each other last week, it was that easy and simple. It was also that reminder that Southern Hospitality and life-long friendships aren't just fairytales, they are actually quite real, and incredibly awesome. So, Rhonda if you are reading this, we must get together again SOON. So excited that my business will bring me to Dallas quite often. Kinda feels like a fate thing, as corny as that sounds.

On the other side of the fate thing is a relatively new friendship -- she and I met at a retreat in Montana two years ago. We're both Judy Niemeyer stalkers (yes, I admit it, no, I will NOT join a support groups, I am perfectly happy with my addiction). We've both made 10+ Judy quilts, and you can never learn too much, so we agreed to meet up for a class at Stitchin' Heaven in Quiltman, just an hour from Terri's home. I got to meet her family, and take a tour of a catfish processing plant (that was interesting, seriously, it's hard work), and visit a little east Texas town, population 600+. I hadn't been in the rural south in quite a while, and I had forgotten how friendly people are, how noone is a stranger (or they won't be for long) and how everyone has manners (and all the kids have chores). It was totally refreshing and a great visit. Reminded me to be proud of being raised in the south, of my old fashioned southern values.

And just like that the visit was over -- 9 days gone in a flash -- and as soon as I figure out ICloud, I'll show some pics -- until then you'll have to imagine it all.....and if anyone has any pointers on ICloud -- send them my way.

The one where I just show a picture

Touch of Spring