Something...Someone's Missing

With all the work and organizing of the new studio something has been missing...I couldn't put my finger on it.
sewing machine - check
fabric stash - check
cutting table - check
tools - check
music - check
thread - check
What else do I need? What else does a quilt studio need? For goodness sake, QUILTS!

My show at the gallery has now officially ended and Monday I picked up the remainder of my quilts. I missed them. After months in the gallery they needed some tender loving care. Everything needed to be washed. So I washed and dried and folded and hung. It was quilty therapy.
I needed a little therapy. We've spent the last week or so helping my oldest son get ready for his new job. The experience of a lifetime. He quit his full time job (with health benefits), postponed his education (which is a mom's euphemism for quit school) and took a new job. He's employed by a record company and will be the drum technician and monitor engineer for the band 'The Devil Wears Prada.' I put him on the plane this morning. It's been hard not to think of it as a trip. It's his job. He'll be on the road with the band. The tour starts in Europe, their first overseas tour...so my European friends...wave to him for me. Europe first, then a tour in the states, home for a short bit, then Australia, New Zealand. That's the itinerary I know for now. I've bragged that we've been enjoying our empty nest, but the boys have both been just an hour away, a phone call away. This feels VERY far away. But isn't that what we've worked toward as parents...a confident, independent child willing to take risks and be open to adventure?

He's started a blog to chronicle his life on the road and help us stay connected. Wouldn't it be cool if some of my friends popped over to wish him luck! Good effort, Ben...you're going to be FABULOUS!

A Working Weekend

I created chaos again.
I've been fussing for weeks about what colors to paint the studio. Look to what you love to find colors you love. So, I made a choice. I'd call it 'Flea Market Fancy' green though it's actually Lime Rickey...and the lighter color is Citrine.
I made a new bulletin board to keep my reminders.
And I painted the accent wall....pretty bold for me, but I want the studio to be a bright, happy place.
I made a new design wall. I use foam core presentation boards, the kind you get at office supply stores. Last time I covered each with flannel individually and then put them on the wall. This time I taped 9 of them together into one big board, covered the whole thing with flannel and then attached it to the wall. Can't wait to fill it up!
Things got put back together. I still have a ceiling to paint, woodwork to paint and the rest of the walls. They'll be a much lighter shade of the green. You can tell, I like to work in phases. It will all be done eventually.
I've had a few wonderful surprises come in the mail. I won a giveaway on Nicolette's blog, Dutch Comfort. She sent me this gorgeous bag and some fab fabric. I love the bag so much...it's made with beautiful Dutch fabric...and it's the perfect size for me. Thanks Nicolette!
I also won a giveaway at Sheree's blog, Sheree's Alchemy. There is so much here I could barely fit it all in one picture. It's a quilter's dream and look at that fabric spilling out of the box. I can't wait to sort through it. Thanks Sheree! You know I will use it all.

'on the line at ray and joan's' ... The Debut

In all its glory...
The clothes...
Another angle just because...
Can you see the puffy sun? Love that!

This piece is 36 x36...much larger than I usually make these quilts. I had to create a new method to make it work on this large a scale. I have to say I like them even better this way. I'm making one for myself for sure.

Ray and Joan can't take delivery for a few more days. It has to hang around at my house. This one will be hard to let go. I wish you could see it in person....the pictures don't do it justice.

I Can't Make Just One

I made one for Amandajean in my Sew Connected virtual quilting bee, but once you get started, one is not enough. I was inspired by my little house for her and by her inspiration quilt. I made these to celebrate two commissions completed!
They're all free pieced. Each one unique. I want to keep mine simple and let the shapes and the fabric take center stage. I'd love this to be a bed sized quilt. I don't think that's going to be a problem.
If you've never made free pieced houses before, Tonya, of Lazy Gal Quilting is the queen and her tutorial for 'wonky' and 'wacky' houses will teach you everything you need to know. (Look in her sidebar under houses.)
Here is a mini tutorial for one way that I do a little house. Cut a square for the body of the house and a rectangle for the roof. Sizes aren't that important, but you might want your roof to extend over the sides of the house so keep that in mind. Cut pieces of background fabric the same width as your house. Cut two squares of background fabric the same width of the roof piece. For example, if the rectangle is 2" wide, cut 2" squares.
Sew the background pieces to each side of the house and place the squares on the roof rectangle as shown, sew diagonally from the centers to the outside corners.
Cut off the outer triangles leaving a quarter inch seam.
Press the background triangles up and you've got a roof!
Add some background fabric and sew the roof to the body of the house and you're done. With the basics of Tonya's instructions you can add doors, windows, tilt the roof, add chimneys...the sky is the limit. I bet you can't make just one!
For those of you who asked...this is the commission spiderweb quilt. It's 63 x 95 and will be used primarily as a tablecloth. It's going to a lovely home, one of those houses that you might find in Country Living magazine. The house has exposed wood beams and is filled with unique, beautiful antique furniture and country decor. My client chose the fabrics to coordinate perfectly with her room. It's going to be beautiful in her house. My favorite part is the scrappy binding.

On The Line Again

I'm working on a new "on the line" quilt for a friend's laundry room. She wanted it 36 x 36 which is way bigger than I usually make these quilts. I had to change my method a bit to work in such a large scale.
It's so much fun to customize it for their activities and family. They've got these cats...
The husband is a fly fisherman...aren't these the cutest waders and I adore that union suit.
I'm still playing with the layout, but I can't wait to start the applique and add details.

Finished the largest commission piece, a 60 x 90 spiderweb quilt. Off to deliver that and hopefully some sewing time tonight.

Easing In

I'm easing back into the sewing groove. There's definitely a learning curve with a new machine.
I made a bunch of pincushion pillows. I saw these on someone's blog, but I can't find the link for the life of me. I love the idea of a LONG pincushion. I just sewed a bunch of 1 inch strips and with the leftovers made one with little log cabin blocks. Mine measures 4 x 9. I'm keeping one (maybe 2) and the rest are thank you gifts. (It was Sherri's blog...thanks Michelle for jogging my brain!)
I finished this little doll quilt for a friend's son. The back is all Heather Ross dogs...he loves animals. Another thank you gift. I'm REALLY behind in my thank you's...hoping to be caught up soon. I'm in the middle of 5 commission pieces, so those are taking priority. Hope to be doing my own thing again soon.

Making Room

I took a break, though maybe not a break in the traditional sense.

I'm a compulsive mover and rearranger. It's one of the ways I exercise my creativity and fill those empty nights when my hubby is away. I decided the bedroom that I designated my studio was too small. Our lower level has two bedrooms, a bathroom, a storage area and a playroom (at least that's what it was when the kids were little.) I've been coveting that playroom since we moved back. The kids are gone, the legos are stored away, so what was stopping me. Not a thing. So, I moved the bedroom into my studio, the playroom furniture into the other bedroom and the studio into the playroom. I'm an expert at moving things alone...been doing it for years.

And...if a large room is good, bigger is even better. That required just a bit of demolition. I tore out a wall of cabinets, counter and bookshelves. One thing about demolition, you never know what you might find. In this case mold behind the cabinets...took a bit more demolition, more repair, but I made it happen. In the middle of all of this chaos I took a small detour and painted the bathroom. I had some leftover paint from the other house, mixed it all together (pretty good recycling, don't you think) painted the walls, got a cute new shower curtain, hung a few pictures and presto...nice, new fresh bathroom. It's hard to take a picture in a bathroom...maybe I'll figure it out so I can show you.
There's a reason I got so motivated to get my space in order....I had a birthday last week. I'm also celebrating Arbor day, Christmas, Valentine's Day and Mother's day (in advance) for the next couple of years with this present. I wanted to welcome it with a nice, new space.
The studio is getting there. The walls are only primed at this point, but I couldn't wait another minute to take that machine out of the box. Curtains and painted walls will happen eventually.
I did a tiny bit of sewing over Labor Day. I started cutting my Scraps to Treasure scraps into strips. My youngest son was with me in the sewing room and as I cut, he sorted. He's a bit compulsive about organization. While we talked late into the night, I cut and he sorted. He even drew a design for me...you can see it on the table between his piles. Jon inspires me again.
Here's the first panel from one (out of 20) of his piles. It's 30 x 48. I may have to make a couple of pieces from these. We'll see where it goes from here.
It's great to be back. I'm itching to sew. I have so many ideas, I'm almost ready to burst. I have a few commissions to finish first and then...who knows.

The Summer That Never Was

It's been a whirlwind for sure. Friday was the last big night for my gallery show. It was a wonderful way to wind down and end my summer. Here are the few pictures I managed to take during the evening.
'Quiet Power', my quilt with the Yoshiko Jinzenji fabric. I'm not sure you can see the quilting. It was very different that any other piece in the room.
A wall of illuminated quilts.
A place for smaller pieces.
A magical atmosphere courtesy of Tommy and his classical guitar.
Opportunities to connect with old and new friends and to talk about my work.
A few more sales to cap off the night.
A good time was had by all, especially me.
Thanks to everyone who has attended and supported me in this venture. I'm hoping that it won't be a once in a lifetime experience. I'm applying for a new show at a local art center. Keep your fingers crossed for me.

I'm taking a little break...I need to do some catching up around here...cleaning...finishing commission work, thank you gifts, blog reading...I'm behind in so many things. See you soon!

Settling In...The Bruno Chronicles

I decided to start my day over again, delete the last post, and count my blessings. Thanks for all the kind words. Life is too good to dwell on ugly things.
As you can see, Bruno is making himself at home. He's taken a liking to Fudge's bed. Fudge would be happy about that.

Bruno is quite a dog. He was a trooper at the vet and everyone fell in love with him, no surprise there. He has a few minor medical issues, but nothing that we can't deal with. The vet did feel like he was much older than the shelter had indicated to us. Doesn't matter to us a bit, he may be older, but the vet also said he was in fabulous shape and had fantastic joints and flexibility. That's pretty rare in an old lab. I can tell you that he has the heart of a puppy.

He follows me from room to room just like Fudge did. Does my heart good. He sleeps under the sewing table or under my feet when I'm working. When it's time for a break he comes and puts his head on my knee, I melt. He loves to play...especially fetch...again, and again, and again and again.

He's definitely a city dog. He doesn't understand the country life. Next installment...learning to be a 'country boy'.

Something Different

I finished another quilt this morning. Sorry, no reveal yet. My last First Friday at the gallery is this Friday and it's going in the show. I wanted the folks who come to see something that hasn't already been shown here. There are a few more new items for the show as well. If you're in my neighborhood and have some free time Friday, I'd love to see you there. Just email me for details.
I'm particularly excited about this quilt. It may be a new direction for me.

I bought a piece of Yoshiko Jinzenji's fabric a few months ago. It was so different, I had to live with it for awhile before it became a quilt in my head. I did some reading about her. She's quite an inspiration and I found we have a connection.
Part of the fabric I purchased has writing from the preface of her book, Quilt Artistry. It seems that she was inspired by Canadian Mennonite quilts. My family are Mennonites who came from Europe and settled in Canada.

I was also inspired by Malka's article in Quilting Arts magazine on using 'low volume' fabrics. Malka has a post about it on her blog Stitchindye if you'd like to know more.
I finished up a tutorial for some simple gifts. That'll be shared later in the month. Christmas is around the corner, you know. I need to get started to avoid that "unfinished project wrapped in a pretty box" thing that I did last year.