The Windmills of My Mind

You all know QuiltCon is having a quilt show, right? I think it's going to be an amazing showcase of our work. Because I'm on the Board, I can't officially enter, but I can enter a quilt for display only. That's great with me, cause I'm not much for the whole competitive show aspect anyway. I have lots of quilts I could enter, but I wanted one made especially for this show. I don't know if I can get it done in time, but I have hope.

I'm working on my second architecture inspired quilt.  It's an homage to my Dutch heritage and it has a symbolic message as well.  In my research I found that the Dutch millers used the blades of their windmills to send messages.  You'll have to wait for the finished quilt to understand the message of this one.

This quilt has been an exercise in strip piecing...lots of it.  I'm experimenting with some ideas for the background.  Right now...no color again.  I used one of the French General solids (beautiful!) and my favorite brown, Earth from Cloud 9 fabrics.  For some reason I'm really loving the quiet sophistication of neutrals.

Wish me luck in getting this one done with all that is happening around here.  It's been in this state for a couple of months now.

The Granddaughter Star

Over the last couple of months I've been trying to get all my class samples done, handouts ready and class plans written. I'm excited for my new class, Machine Piecing Hexagons. I think I have some good info about cutting and piecing hexes as well as lots of tips to make this technique work smoothly for quilters. I'm rolling out this class in Minneapolis at Sewtropolis on September 15th and I'll also be teaching the 1/2 day version at Quilt Con.

In addition to all the technique info, I want to give folks a bunch of modern hexagon inspiration, so I've been working hard on some modern hexagon designs. I can't wait to show you all of them, but for now, here's one of my favs. I'm calling it "The Granddaughter Star."

I really like this design...lots of graphic punch!

I only have the last 4 columns left to piece, but I don't know when I'll get back to it.  I sure hope to have it finished for the Minneapolis folks!

Good news!  Alissa let me know that the Action Kivu fundraiser has been extended one more day. We've done really well, but haven't reached our goal.  Every dollar counts for this organization, so now is the time to give if you haven't, give a little bit more, or if you happen to know Bill Gates or Warren Buffet, (or anyone else you think might want to support this cause), ask them to click that donate button.

Double Swirling Medallion

The Double Swirling Medallion (a bigger version of the Swirling Medallion quilt in the book) is finally done. Had some quiet time late last night to finish sewing on the binding.

I especially like the overlapping spiraled quilting.

It needs a quick wash and then it's ready to cuddle with on the sofa.  It's not huge, but the perfect cuddle size for a short person like me.

Thanks so much to everyone who has donated to Action Kivu so far.  We're doing great, but not near our goal.  Check out the previous post for more info and please give if you can!

A Magical Weekend

Sorry to have disappeared for a bit, but I've been on the road, teaching and taking care of family things. I wanted to drop in a share a bit about what I've been up to. My trip to Colorado was simply magical. The whole weekend was about quilts and quilters...two of my very favorite things. The trip started out with a visit to the Fancy Tiger in Denver. What a store...beautiful, inspirational and the most fabulous teaching space I've ever seen. It's a must visit if you're in the Denver area.

I did a book signing and trunk show of my quilts.  We spread the quilts on the table, draped them on the floor and hung them on walls.

...and people came and we talked quilts.  Thanks to Jaime, Amber and all the staff of the store.  They were terrific and made me feel like part of the Fancy Tiger family.

I didn't think it could get better than Friday, but then there was Saturday.  Tara, chef, quilter and innkeeper at at bed and breakfast in Fort Collins, and Angela, owner of Mama Said Sew, another amazing fabric store, put on a quilt themed dinner to honor me and celebrate the book, "Quilting Modern."  These women went above and beyond with personal touches and created an extraordinary celebration of the quilting community.

The event was all about thoughtful touches like these....handmade pincushions that were our placecards with the signature line from the book, "Break free, go bold!"  Each made using techniques in the book.

The quilts were on racks and placed on the grass forming a quilty path through the yard.  The trees, flowers, and trickling water created a magical backdrop for the dinner.

and each place had a handmade placemat, again each made using techniques in the book.  We all got to take ours home and not only were they placemats, they were actually place"cases".  At home the placemats turn into pillows.  How creative and cool is that?!

The centerpieces for the table were glass cylinders filled with river rock, topped with succulents.  The rocks represented the pebble quilting on the cover of the book.  Details like that touched my heart and made the evening an event that I will never forget.  The quilt-themed menu (which was creative and delicious), the people, and the atmosphere, made for a nearly perfect evening.  The only thing that would have made the evening perfect is if Katie would have been there.  We missed her!

Tara and Angela even hired a professional photographer to capture the evening.  I hope you will be seeing her pictures soon, so you can get a complete picture of this amazing evening.

If that wasn't enough I spent Sunday and Monday taping "The Quilt Show" in Boulder.  Another experience that I never imagined I would have.  Not only did I get to work with Ricky Tims and Alex Anderson, Jean Wells was taping as well and I had the opportunity to have lunch with her.  Lunch with an idol is a pretty cool thing.  Shelly, the producer, Lilo, Adele....all amazing women (and the great crew) made my experience a positive one.

I wouldn't have had this weekend without my friend Penny.  You may all know her by her blog, Sewtakeahike.  Penny and I have been online friends for years and Penny was the spark that ignited this whole experience.  She connected me with Jaime, Amber, Angela, and Tara and helped make this all happen.  Not only did she make the connections, she graciously invited me to stay with her and she was my chauffeur for the weekend.  It was the first time we'd met in person and I have to say I'm so happy we did.  I think we cemented our friendship in a way that you can't do online.  Penny and I had so much in common it was sort of scary...coffee, collecting Danish modern enamelware...we even have the same galvanized trash cans and now we have matching slippers courtesy of Penny's amazing skill at paper piecing and her creative mind!

I had another blind date in Colorado.  Jenny, another online friend, came to the event at the Fancy Tiger in Denver and when she found out I was going to be in Boulder, suggested that I give her a call.  I did, and like Penny, she made me feel welcome in Boulder and we shared a dinner where we talked quilts and got to know each other better.

The weekend reinforced for me that I joined the right community.  The community of quilters is the place to be and I'm damn proud to be a part of it.

Finding My Voice

This winter I'll mark my 5th year anniversary as a quilter.  In some ways five years seems like a long time and in other ways it seems like I've barely begun.  As I was writing notes today for an upcoming talk I'm going to give in Colorado I started to reminisce a bit.

After I saw the Quilts of Gees Bend, I fell in love with that improvisational spirit, but there was no "how to" in any of their books.  When Denyse Schmidt's first book arrived I thought, she is going to share the process and I was crestfallen to find a book of patterns and no insight into her process.  I've since learned that sharing, documenting and talking about the improvisational process is more complicated and involved than I had imagined.

I remember the day I first thought about what it might take to improvise in quilting.  I didn't know a thing, but I was willing to try and I set out on my own to experiment and figure it out on my own.  That led to the now famous (or so I'm told) wonky log cabin tutorial on this blog.  I wanted to continue to learn and support others who wanted to learn too, and that was the impetus for creating Project Improv in January of 2009.  It was a simple concept with a framework to help us succeed.  We would improvise, but within the structure of the log cabin block.  I've learned over time that many quilters have trouble letting loose and improvising; they need support and a structure or framework in which to work and as they build confidence and skill.  Over time, they become freer and more improvisational.  Project Improv provided many quilters the opportunity to begin an exploration of improvisation.

A few months ago a friend sent me a link to Sherri Lynn Wood's blog.  Sherri did a series of posts on her perspective on 'what is improvisational quilting' in 2011.  Her posts are insightful and recommended reading.  She has added to the conversation and put words to many of the ideas, concepts and actions that have been in my head for years.  I'm looking forward to meeting her and learning from her at QuiltCon in February.

In 2011 Sherri said,

"So I’ve been doing a search on the internet and have discovered a real lack of conversation about the nature of improvisational quilting.

In 2009 Tallgrass Prairie Studio started Project Improv:

The purpose of ‘project improv’, to support each other in our goal to quilt improvisationally, to quilt outside the lines and to find our own voice as quilters.

I applaud the effort, but with what results? If you participated in ‘project improv’ have you found your voice? Two years later I’m mostly seeing posts on ‘wonky’ log cabins."

Her final question in regards to Project Improv has stayed in the back of my mind since I read it..."but with what results...have you found your voice?"  

Today I pondered that question in terms of myself, those who participated in the project and those who have been influenced by those quilters.  

For me, the answer is yes.  I have found my voice and I continue to refine it.  It was a defining moment for me as a quilter.  

I went back on my computer and looked at the list of participants in the project.  Many of those quilters are now authors, designers and leaders in the quilting industry.  I would venture to guess that many of you would name them as your inspirations and even as your quilting idols.  I don't think I can even imagine the scope of influence that that set of quilters has had on the quilting community.

I cruise flickr and blogs and I see a wealth of original, out of the box designs that are being created every day.  I see plenty of wonky log cabins too and that makes me happy.  It is the seminal block, the block that many of us who want to improvise seem to cut our teeth on and there are many quilters who are just discovering that block.  It will always have a special place in my heart and in my quilts.

It was a nice walk down memory lane...

And, so there isn't a post without a picture....here's a couple pics of the Scandia Crush quilt finished.  I quilted it with variegated aurifil thread in all tints and shades of pink...such a pretty touch.  Another class sample into the finished stack.

Stitching and Flipping!

My goals before I left on my travels were to get a few things done that have been languishing in the closet and to get all my class samples finished. Didn't quite achieve both, but I've made progress.  I did finish all my step outs and samples for my Quilt Show Taping in Colorado next week.

I focused next on getting on my class samples done for my Stitch and Flip class.  The Stitch and Flip class is turning into one of my favorites. It always amazes me how creative folks can get with this technique. People keep coming up with new designs and that keeps the class fresh and exciting.

I'm just about finished with this double version of the Swirling Medallion quilt from the book.  I quilted spiraling circles because every time I look at this design I see a rock dropped into a pond and the ripples that extend into the water.

Binding left to go on this one.

I always knew that stitch and flip triangles could form a spiral and before I taught the class in Kansas City, I figured out how to make that happen.  This spiraling version is Fireball.

This spiraling version is Let's Go Fly a Kite.  I love how one is so strong and dramatic and the other is so light and whispy.  I have a couple more class samples for this technique that I need to get finished as well.  At least they are all basted and ready to quilt.

My next Stitch and Flip class is in Chicago with the Chicago Modern Quilt Guild on Saturday, August 11th.  If you're in the area, check it out.  There may be a space or two left.

PS...Margaret is the winner of the pattern.  Congratulations!!

A Little Hiccup in My Plans

It seems whenever I have time to sew, something happens to get in my way. This time it was my beloved Bernina. She decided to have a bad day, be surly and uncooperative, and I was tearing my hair out. Nothing serious, (I hope) but four hours later I made an emergency call to my favorite Bernina technician in Kansas and she talked me down from the ledge. My baby will have to go in for a check up.

I decided I liked Scandia Crush so much I made it bigger.  It was fine for a class sample, but I wanted to be able to give it away as a baby quilt and I don't like tiny baby quilts....bigger ones are useful for so much longer, so I made more blocks until I ran out of the gray Heath fabric.

  My friend Kate brought me over a couple of yards of this Finlandia fabric from her secret stash for the back!  Perfect!

Since I decided to let my Bernie rest, I did a bunch more cutting.  Look at all these hexies....more Stockholm....can't get enough of that fabric!

I basted a couple of quilts from the closet too.  Now I really need my machine!

Stockholm...I have a crush on you!

I've been busy making class samples and step outs for my upcoming appearance on "The Quilt Show." I was only going to make 4 blocks, but I liked it so much, I kept going.  This is "Scandia Crush", a version of the Lilac Crush quilt that's in the book.  It's such a sophisticated look...I'm in love with it.

The background is Alexander Henry's Heath in gray, kona coal and white and the rest of the fabric is Robin Zingone's Stockholm and some of my last scraps of my Finlandia fabric by Free Spirit.  Gotta tell you I'm in love with that Stockholm fabric.  I love when just a touch of prints makes such a big impact! I don't know what took me so long to use it.  I've got a couple hundred hexagons cut from this as well.  Itching to make that quilt!

I bought most of my Stockholm prints from Tammy at Marmalade.  She's about the only one who has it and I think I need to buy more before it's gone.  The orange and lime and blue and brown colorways are pretty great too!

It's Good to Have a Goal

I'm hoping to get some sewing done for myself this week.  I have to finish up my traveling quilts blocks and get them on their way and I'd really like to get some tops out of the closet and get some finishes.

 I tweaked this top a bit and now it's done.  Ready for a good pressing!

 I have a panel done for the back, but it needs a little pizzaz!  I'm thinking maybe this Olivia dot?

I took these 6 quilt tops out of the closet.  I have some backs to make and some basting to do.  I'm going to try table basting as soon as I get this first back made.  I'll let you know how it goes.
Hope you're getting some sewing in too!

Time to Make the Bed

After traveling, the house, the studio and I was (were) a mess.  (too tired to think about grammar!)I had time to put the quilts away, clean and make the bed before packing and heading out again. As you know, making the bed means changing the quilt. This time I chose "Outside In". I designed this quilt as part of an experiment with putting the majority of the design of the quilt on the outer edge...or in the border as some might say. I have another quilt designed like this (hopefully Interweave will release that one some day). It was cut from the book and I'm kinda bummed that I can't show it.

I like the back of this quilt as much as the front.  This is one of the patterns that will be released this fall along with "Broken Cogs."  It's been a long time coming, but it is finally going to happen!

Wish I was sewing...are you?

Dragon Scales on Dragon Tails!

This is a quilt for a special little boy who likes dragons.  I used half square triangles to create this "Dragon Scales on Dragon Tails" design.  I'm hoping it has enough of a "dragon-like" feel for him.  Little guys know what they want and aren't afraid to tell you when you don't hit the mark!

I think the dark background will be perfect as he drags it around and  uses it to make tents in his room.  Maybe mom won't have to wash it all the time! The background is a Cloud 9 Organic solid called Earth.  It's such a wonderful shade of brown.

Today starts a crazy week.  I'm heading back to Kansas City on Thursday to speak at the KCMQG, on Friday I'm teaching a Stitch and Flip triangle class at the Bernina store and Saturday, Harper's Fabrics is having a party for me and and my book, Quilting Modern.  I'm hoping to see and spend time with many of my KC family and friends.  Click the events tab for details of all of these happenings!

Thanks to everyone who came out to The Needle Shop on Saturday.  We had a great time talking quilts and buying fabric!  A special thanks to the staff at the shop for helping out!  The quilts will be on display there through Wednesday, so stop by and take a look and take "Quilting Modern" home with you!

When Quilting Gives You Lemons...

...make a whole bunch of lemonade, and that's what I did with these rejects.

 I hate to call them rejects because I think they're beautiful. They're made using a layer cake of Malka Dubrawsky's A Stitch in Color fabrics which Tammy of Marmalade Fabrics sent me to play with. Malka's line is almost as wonderful as her original hand dyed fabrics. I've bought her hand dyes for years and was thrilled to see this fabric.  I combined Malka's prints with some bright Kona cottons and I think they make magic together.

So what's the reject part?  Well, A couple of months ago, Tammy asked me to design a quilt for her using this fabric and I designed this block which is an adaptation of a block in one of my Japanese quilt block books.  I thought it would make a great tutorial because it uses a partial seam in the construction and this is a simple block to practice that skill.

So far so good and then I started sewing and having a ball making blocks.  I was a happy camper working with fabric I adored and a block that made me happy.  I made a whole big stack and used up almost the whole layer cake and then I noticed something...my stack didn't look right.  It wasn't stacking...you know how blocks that are the same size should stack neatly and all those edges should line up.  Well, they didn't, so I started measuring, a little late now for sure.  For some reason, none of the blocks were the same size and they varied widely.  I measured again, and again...hoping that I was reading the ruler incorrectly.  I kept measuring and I couldn't believe what I saw.  I know I could have framed them all and hidden my error, but it wasn't the look I was going for.  I popped each and every block in the trash...disgusted with myself.

Things sometimes end up in the trash around here, but cooler heads usually prevail and rejects get rescued and made into something else.  These blocks got a couple of layers of batting, some fun quilting, bright binding and my signature large grommet and presto I had loads of potholders.

They're great out by the grill on the balcony...

...hanging in the kitchen ready to keep my fingers from burning...

...and I gave some to my mother for gifts and to my son for his new loft.  Now that's making lemonade from a very lemony quilting day.

Have you gotten some of Malka's fabric?  Tammy can hook you up if you're interested.  It's pretty and fun and hopefully you can do better with it than I did.  I think I need to try again.

You Are My Sunshine

"When my boys were babies I spent much of my day singing to them. Maybe that's why they are both musicians today.

 My favorite song to soothe them to sleep was "You are my Sunshine". You know that song...

"You are my sunshine, my only sunshine,

You make me happy, when skies are gray.

You never know dear, how much i love you,

Please don't take my sunshine away."

I digress into happy memories, but the song inspired the quilt. Now that I look at it I'm wondering if those good drugs I got last week are making me nuts.  The quilt is supposed to be for a friend's new baby.

Why did I think that a round quilt would be a good idea?  She's young, hip and fun and I think she'd like something a little different, but really?  This?

I don't know.  It's 40" in diameter, so it's not tiny, but is it practical, usable?  You young moms out there, could you use this?  I guess I could applique it to something, or take it apart and make templates for the corners....ack...I thought a round quilt would be cool, but now it just seems weird.

I'm spending International Quilting Day (today!!) sewing with no distractions.  My hubby is out of town...a quiet house, a humming sewing machine and my dog.   Maybe today I can get something done!
Oh and good news...according to my SPAM, I won the lottery in the UK.  If only.

House Hunting and Modern Quilting...a Parallel

After we sold our house in Kansas I started cruising houses online.  I would open house even if I wasn't looking for a home.   I thrive on seeing how others decorate, organize and lay out their homes.  It's so great to not have to get dressed or get in a car and still see hundreds of homes. My favorite time to walk Bruno is at dusk when I can see inside people's homes.  It's dark enough to see inside, but right before they need to pull their curtains to get some privacy.  I'm a house peeper.

As I'm looking for a place to live, I have a picture in my mind of the perfect place.  It's modern, minimal, open, but with character.  The more I look, the more I've come to a place where a house carries an aesthetic with it.  Sure the decor makes a difference, but the bones of a house have an aesthetic as well.  Modern is not simply built today, it's a specific, definable aesthetic.

So what does looking for houses have to do with modern quilting?  Maybe it's a stretch, but I think about quilting all the time and there are a couple of things that I hear repeated often in the quilting community that I don't agree with and my house search has clarified a couple of those for me.

"There is nothing new in quilting."
I see this phrase all the time and I think the opposite.  There are new things in quilting all the time and I believe that modern quilting is contributing to the options available to us as quilters.  There are new designs, new techniques, new tools, and new ways to run a guild.  It's like in homes, there are sinks in every kitchen and bathroom, but new shapes, sizes, materials, variations and installations are fresh and add to the "sink culture." It's still a sink, but in its own way it's new.  In every art we borrow from or are inspired by the the past and reinvent, revise or tweek to make something new.  That new ideas are being added to the "culture of quilting" is a wonderful sign that the art and craft of quilting is vital and growing. Quilting has a rich and varied history and tradition and isn't is wonderful that we as modern quilters are a part of that.

"Modern simply means made today."
I looked at a house that is new construction, in fact it wasn't even finished yet, but there was nothing modern about it.  From the layout, to the choice of windows, trim and fixtures, it wasn't the modern aesthetic.  While I'm not sure we are finished defining the modern quilt movement and what a modern quilt is, I do believe modern is an aesthetic.  Some houses have elements of modern combined with elements from other styles.  I think it's the same with our quilts....I believe there is such a thing as a modern quilt.  That doesn't mean a modern quilt can't have a link with the past and that their aren't variations on modern.  It also doesn't mean that one is better than the other...they're different.  It's ok to be different.

Some folks tend to see defining a modern quilt as limiting, I see it as freeing, as an opportunity to push further and explore new ideas. Quilters don't have to identify themselves, I choose to, but that doesn't mean I reject other styles.  My hope is to see quilting continue to evolve and change and develop more styles.  When I read these words I see pictures of each in my mind: Amish quilting, crazy quilting, traditional quilting, modern quilting...the possibilities are endless.

The pictures have nothing to do with this post, but a post without pictures....boring!  I've been doing some experimenting with matchstick quilting trying to develop a method that will work with my home machine on large quilts.  I'll keep you posted on how it's going.

Low Volume

One of the things I learned from Yoshiko Jinzenji's book is that simple shapes and simple piecing can create wonderful quilts. While I'm not close to her exquisite work with simple shapes, I do love creating that way.  This quilt is all about placement of values.  The dark in this quilt is Kona ash, which in many quilts acts as a light.  It also has Kona pale flesh, a subtle gray/white stripe, Kona white and Kona snow which together create this subtle, low volume quilt.

This is one of the quilts that I gave Angela to use for her book on machine quilting and it came back in the mail all quilted up. Genius again!  I can't wait to get my hands on her book.

I haven't seen it for so long, I forgot how much I liked it. So funny that it's so much the same as this quilt...just different shapes.

I'm glad I took the time to do a bias binding.  I love stripes on the bias.

I'm kinda in love with the back as much as the front.

It's that amazing Jay McCarroll Habitat fabric.  I adore that fabric.  My youngest son, Jon, loves the back of this quilt too...and as he told me, "The back is WAY better than the front."

This one will be donated to the BASIC's program as soon as I have a nice full box to send.  I hope some little girl who likes pink gets this one.