Mini-Giveaway

Thank you to Danielle, Gail and Dawn for playing along and sharing photos from their visit to Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show last weekend. You can see some additional photos from the quilt show on their blogs:
Gail at I Think Sew
Dawn at First Light Designs

I put Mr. RNG to some heavy-duty mathematics, and he came back to me with the big Numero Uno, indicating Danielle's comment:
I didn't see Reflections, or surely I'd have photographed it! I only got one shot including your first entry, with the PMQG sign as well. http://www.flickr.com/photos/jujucabra/7576816622/in/set-72157630590973452

As first place prize, I've put together a group of 8 quarter yard cuts of some lovely B/W fabrics

plus a full yard of a coordinating bonus fabric!

AND NOW... since it seems silly to not acknowledge the efforts of our 2 other fellow PMQG members with so few responses, I've selected a little token gift for both Gail and Dawn to show my appreciation. It's not 3 yards worth of fabric, mind you, but hopefully they'll enjoy their gifts.

Coming up later this week I'll introduce some new progress on the July blocks for both the Design Camp [think outside the block] 2 Bee and the F+F Modern Scrap Bee.

Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show - and a giveaway opportunity

I have had the honor of having one of my quilts accepted to the special exhibit area for the Portland Modern Quilt Guild at this year's Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show in Sisters, OR.

(Lock 'n' Bolt)

I'm excited! And then I figured, well as long as I'm sending this one out for display, maybe I should take this opportunity and submit a couple more, in the hopes that I'd make my first trip out there for the show.

(Jewel of Friendship)

(Reflections)

But alas, that was not to be - no traveling the 4 or so hours from Portland for what I understand to be an awesome and overwhelming day. Not this year at least. Which puts me in a position to ask a favor and combine it into a giveaway (or two, maybe?). I know I'm putting this out there rather last minute (it's been a heck of a week!) and possibly most of you lucky ducks who will be at the show are already in the depths of central Oregon soaking up the sun and sights, having left the online community back at home for the weekend.

**GIVEAWAY DETAILS HERE**
BUT, if anyone who happens to be going to the show sees this post and is so inclined, here's my thinking... as you're wandering around looking at the beauties on display, if you HAPPEN to see any of these 3 quilts on display, I would LOVE to get a link to a photo! SOooo, if you leave a comment with either a link to a flickr or blog photo, or even with the photo included in the comment, you will be entered into a drawing for a giveaway. One entry per photo of each quilt (max 3 per person). I'll keep this open until next Friday, July 20th as I know it often takes me a few days to go through my photos after a trip or an event. Have fun at the show, folks!

I know this is kind of limiting, so I promise that in the next week or two I will find another fun giveaway that will be open to all readers!
P.S. If you are a no-reply blogger, please leave your email address in the message so I can get back to you. Thanks!

WIP Wed - a month of Sundays

Wow, it's been quite a while. But what better way to reintroduce myself to the blogging world than to do a WIP Wednesday entry and link it to Kati's guest post at Freshly Pieced?


In mid-June I made a point of finishing up some big projects in order to get ready to leave town for a few weeks. I had some quilts to complete and pack off to send to Sisters, OR (more on that in a later post) as well as fulfill some Etsy orders.

A good chunk of my trip away from home was spent taking an amazing 5 day workshop from Jane Sassaman. I got the pleasure of not only meeting and learning from this lovely, down-to-earth, creative powerhouse, but also met some wonderful ladies from around the world (there was one woman in from Sydney!) and best of all, hanging out with my mom! The workshop is entitled Abstracting From Nature, and though Jane adeptly describes her techniques and freely gives input on compositional and creative choices, each student's piece had a very different style and feel. Some examples:

Pixie's anemone

Cindy V.'s crocuses

Kim's chicory flowers

Donna's (my mommy!) kaffir lily

Judy's peonies

and I suppose I should show some of what I was working on too...

I still have lots of work yet to do on this puppy (or rather poppy), but am happy with the progress I made while in Greenville, NY.

And coming back to reality, my only time in the sewing studio since returning home was dedicated to finishing my June bee blocks for Eileen, in the Friends + Fabric Bee. She chose a paper piecingtutorial from Nydia who blogs at The ADD Crafter, Basketweave Braid Star Block.

Though not complex, this block is definitely a time-sucker. But on the plus side, it was TRULY a scrap-buster as well - I could work exclusively from my basket of strips up until adding the white background pieces.

So, I feel like I've been taking a summer hiatus which began about a month before summer. And it may continue longer than I'd like, but 'tis the season for family visits, gardening, cycling, and making up for a Vitamin D deficiency from the last 8 or 9 months! But do please bear with me and I promise to get back into the swing of things and hopefully find new inspiration to share soon!

Robot Invasion, pt. 2

Well, I can't say that he's any closer to being a "standard model" but at least he's got all the important parts (I think).

started by attaching the head and body.

and played with the idea of a gear...

...though in the initial placement it looked more like a sun.


So we had to move it.


And hopefully when this guy is pieced together with some of the other blocks that Tiff gets he'll look a little more at home. Big ears and little feet and all.

A Robot Invasion, pt. 1

This month for the Design Camp [Think Outside the Block] 2 bee Tiffany chose a nice little challenge - improv robots and gears. She posted a mock-up of her idea here and her sample block here. I thought her sample guy is just the cutest thing ever, and a good inspiration for playing around with her idea.

So on Sunday I ventured into the baggie of fabrics she sent out and started cutting in.


I then chose the basic shapes to start with: body, head and neck.


Next come the features...






I'm afraid that my guy might be turning out to be something of a robot-Frankenstein amalgam, a reject from the factory floor, but he'll have personality! I'll be playing more in a couple of days and will share how he turns out.

Another task on my agenda is gathering supplies for a workshop with Jane Sassaman on the opposite side of the country. This is definitely more of a challenge than I could have imagined. How will I know what fabrics I will want, especially since this isn't necessarily a literal interpretation of my inspiration photos?




I guess I'm sticking pretty close to true colors, but it's still stacking up!

Yikes! Does anyone have any tips for the traveling quilter??

I think I really mean "Never Again"!

Okay, so I think I ought to begin this post by saying I mean no disrespect. However, for the first time since I began doing the online bees I was presented with a block that kicked my butt!! And by that I mean it tried my patience more than I can say, and by the second one (which took me a week and a half just to decide on the fabrics) I really was chanting the "Never Again!!" mantra.

For our May blocks in the Bliss circle of do. Good Stitches Carol chose to go with a block tutorial that Elizabeth Hartman posted for the Modern Quilt Guild – Octagonal Orb Block.




Now don't get me wrong... the tutorial is EXCELLENT! Like every single one of Elizabeth's patterns I've tried out, which can be found at her blog Oh, Fransson or at Sew, Mama, Sew!, it is written impeccably, is as clear as can be and is very well organized. However, this one block just calls for too many fabrics, too many pieces, too much precise cutting, and let me just say right now that if you ask me to press my seams open in the future, I may just ignore the request. And I LOVE scrappy quilts! Perhaps if we had gone with the scrappier option of the block construction I wouldn't have had so much difficulty. Who knows.

And though I didn't mind cutting from the template, this felt SO GOOD...


But now I can say I gave it a shot, and am looking forward to packaging them up and sending them on their way (which I am sure will also please Carol). And I'll likely think a bit more about what to choose next time it's my turn as a Queen Bee.

Finding new goodies!

Okay, so this past week I've been putting in a lot of hours over at Cool Cottons. Unfortunately it's because Marie injured her knee and has been holed up with a full leg brace and crutches since last Thursday :-( Hopefully she'll be mobile again (maybe even sans crutches??) before the end of the week.

This does mean that I've had the unique pleasure of unpacking boxes of fabric and finding homes for some fun new stuff! I almost feel as though I should offer to do a guest post on the Cool Cottons blog so that Marie and Alyssa can see some of the goodies we have here.

My FAVORITE so far is:

"Eerie Alley" from Robert Kaufman (designed by Karen Foster Designs, Inc... is this just a coincidence or is there a career I don't know about, Karen??)

And for those of you who have heard me talk about and/or promote my brother's S.O. Glenn who is in the horror film and entertainment industry, you'll understand my wanting to make pillow cases or something along those lines for them!

The other new project I just couldn't resist (and this isn't so new to Cool Cottons, but something I've been eyeing and could put off no longer) is to make a sundress. I was thinking about my wardrobe the other day and the fact that I never wear any of my dresses - and then I remembered that all of my dresses are semi or entirely formal! I have ONE go-to cotton sundress that has been my fallback for the past several years and I think it is time to add to that! So today I picked up one of the many cute dress patterns that Marie caries and picked out some fabric to start with.

The pattern is from Jamie Christina, called "Sunny Day Dress & Skirt". The photo is super cute, and the pattern appears to be relatively simple, the hardest looking part being a heavy gather or smocking along the back. We'll see how it works out. I'm hoping to get this sewn up before my trip east next month! Not that I have ANYTHING to finish up in the mean time...

A decision has been made (sort of)!

First of all, I want to heartily thank all of you who threw in your 2 cents and gave me some good food for thought regarding the backing fabrics for the Jewel of Friendship quilt! It did help me come to my ultimate solution.

So, in typical Linda fashion, I just couldn't bear to NOT go with either of the two front-runners, so instead I combined them.

(PLEASE excuse the horrible photo! My camera lens is in dire need of cleaning, or possibly replacing, and I just couldn't get a well framed shot here either)

I knew I did not want a scrappy backing for this project. And those of you who voted for the stripe are darn right, it carries the feeling of the quilt so well! But as I kept looking at that shot cotton, I knew I would kick myself if I didn't try it out!

So, there you have it! The quilt sandwich is now basted and I'll hopefully be able to start quilting it either Monday or, if not, later next week.

WIP Wednesday - Getting back in line

This has definitely been a "continuing on" sort of week which is just fine by me! As anyone who's seen my UFO / WIP list can guess, I certainly don't need to start any new projects! But there are plenty of other folks who do have new projects they're sharing, linked up to Lee's blog Freshly Pieced, for WIP Wednesday!


Making Progress
Lock 'n' Bolt
In the process of getting the binding on my Lock 'n' Bolt quilt.

Jewel of Friendship
Quilt top is complete, just need to get to the next step!

(talked about in much more detail in this post.

placemats
FINALLY stitched up this second set of placemats left over from a project I did last summer. Now it's just a matter of binding.

(please excuse poor quality photo, taken by the light of the TV and maybe a second glass of wine was involved, too).

Completed
another pot holder pair

I'm slowly restocking these guys

Friends + Fabric bee blocks

Spiderweb blocks for Lee, using Heather's tutorial at {House} of A La Mode.
(though admittedly, I still have to package and mail these off! On my list for Thursday, I promise!)

No Progress
Quilting the Nubees quilt
Batik W/C QAL
Medallion quilt
Could be a Quilt...
Purple/Green Asian sampler
Seams Perfect Sampler
Lee & Glenn's quilt
red/brown/green I-Spy
girly hourglass
Judy Neimeyer double wedding ring
broken dishes
Trip Around the 9-Patch
Halloween Stack 'n Whack
leftover I-spys from Hopman quilt
tote bags

So, the final tally estimate (I always write these posts when I am actually at work and have no access to my sewing projects!)
New - 0
In Progress - 17
Completed - 2
Tops awaiting quilting - approx. 16 give or take

Making the same decision twice... or thrice?

Sometimes it's MUCH easier to piece together a quilt backing from random scraps, bits and pieces left behind, rather than try and find that PERFECT backing. For example, I have a quilt that I pieced, oh I don't know, about 5 or 6 years ago:

From a pattern in a Judy Hopkins book, Big 'n' Easy: Super Sized Quilts for Queen Beds

and it took me another 3-4 years and at least 2 false-start purchases to find what I believe to be just the right backing:

tents, by Brandon Mably (available at The Quilter's Studio)

Now that THAT'S off my chest (but still on the shelf!!), I'm going through something a little different. Thank goodness for deadlines! I finally got all of my Friends + Fabric blocks pieced into a stunning quilt top. Just under the wire for the Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show submission.

However I now need to figure out what to use as the backing... within the next day and a half!
HELP!!!

My first gut feeling:

an Anna Maria Horner print... lovely color match and complimentary motif, but generally a bit more purple than I prefer...

My first fabric purchase:

a PERFECT compliment with all the right colors and energy, by Terrie Mangat for Free Spirit, but I'm wondering if it's just a bit too busy?

Some Kaffe Fassett shot cotton possibilities (because the quilt top is so darn busy already, and I do love how those guys quilt up):
within comfort zone for Linda:

and then...
not so much one of my go-to colors, but ruled the WOW factor next to the quilt top, don't you think?

Will I regret going with the Wow, but using a basically solid fabric in a color that doesn't exist anywhere in my world?? I welcome any input, but the prewashing must begin by this Thursday...

Sewing with Friends!

With the exception of the group sewing day at Fabric Depot with the Portland Modern Quilt Guild a few weeks ago, it has been one LONG, LONG time since I've spent an afternoon or evening sewing in the company of another (sitting on the couch doing handwork while watching TV with the boyfriend doesn't quite count).

But then, last Thursday night at the PMQG meeting, my friend Maria turned to me and suggested a sewing day soon. We were in craft school together, both studying photography at the time, several years ago, and back in the day there were a few of us who thrived on each others' creative energy and worked really well together in the studios and darkroom.

Yay! Someone joining me in my sewing studio!

Hopefully this will be an ongoing trend. We had a good afternoon, and admittedly both ended up with seam rippers in hand since we were getting so chatty — sadly leading to some carelessness at the sewing machine. Do you have any regular crafty get-togethers with friends? Do you find it helps productivity, or hinders due to the socializing going on?

F+F Bee Blocks

All of you who check in here from time to time have no doubt seen mention of one of the Flickr bees I have the honor of being a part of - the Friends + Fabric [A Modern Stash Bee] . It is made up of 11 thoroughly talented and inspiring quilters, plus myself, gathered together by our hive mama, Jenn (a.k.a. Sunny in Cal).

This month Lee requested spiderweb blocks using red, pink, aqua and B/W prints. We all know I do like the spider web design, since that was MY choice for the Seams Perfect Bee, the previous bee I did organized by Jenn last year!

Lee's colors are quite different than mine, however, and what a different effect it has! I went from a pile of this:

to this:

and this:

which go together to look like this:

Hopefully these will work with the other blocks popping up on the group page. I'm a little uncertain about that Kaffe Fassett I used in the center of the darker block, but we'll see.

I also got a chance to play around on the design wall with the blocks from MY month for the Friends + Fabric bee, now that I have them all in my little hands. I think I might have actually made a change or two after I took this shot, but essentially this is the layout I think I'll be going with.

And I'd better decide soon, since I committed this quilt to go to the Sister's Outdoor Quilt Show in just over a month or so!

WIP Wed - abridged

My blogging has suffered in the last few weeks. Perhaps my sewing has as well, since I've noticed my skin is starting to tan - a good indication that I am taking as much advantage of the gorgeous weather as I am able!

However, I HAVE been working on a few things, just nothing very update-worthy. But, in the spirit of the WIP Wednesday, here is a look at a couple of things on my list:

New pot holders
(available in my Etsy shop, hint, hint... ;-)

I've also been trying to get my Lock 'n' Bolt quilt quilted. Making progress, but had to bring the operation home since I've not been able to spend much time at the studio since last week...

I've begun playing with Lee's spiderweb blocks for the Friends + Fabric Bee, but haven't gotten enough done on them to take photos. I'll hopefully have more to share on that front next week! This weekend is going to be all about the catch-up!

Sorry for the lackluster (and long overdue) post, but hopefully someone will find something fun.
I'm linking up over at Freshly Pieced for

Enjoy!

Playing freestyle-like

Friday's theme turned out to be "improv." I ticked 2 small projects off the list, though it took several hours to do so, much of that time just pressing and cutting up little bits of fabric.

1.) The May block for Design Camp 2 [Think outside the block] swap.

The packet of fabrics I received from Mims contained beautiful warm cinnamon tones with a hint of yellow.

2.) The improv challenge block for PMQG.

When we received the cotton couture samples from Kathy Miller of Michael Miller Fabrics we were given 2 separate challenge options - making a block of an original design which will potentially be included in a quilt at the Michael Miller booth at quilt market this spring (being this month!); and/or making an improv block to go into a quilt that the guild will be constructing. This is my improv block (which I have to admit I had sketched out as an idea last month, but I did in fact construct it improvisationally!)

I think I needed a day of working intuitively. I might need one or two more days like that, but even more importantly, I think I need to get back to making lists, since today I spent a few hours just catching up on pressing fabric and didn't touch a sewing machine or cutting table at all. Tomorrow, tomorrow, tomorrow.

An overdue WIP Wednesday

It has been quite a while since I've contributed to Lee's link-up for WIP Wednesday, but I finally feel that I am back on track with work and other endeavors.

So, not to dilly-dally:

New Projects:

more lattice baby quilts

after getting the first of them quilted and bound last week (of course I haven't taken a photo of this FINISHED yet)

Lock 'n' Bolt
Came to fruition from a sketch in my sketchbook, with a kick in the pants from PMQG (indirectly). This was in response to the call for submissions for our guild's special exhibition at Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show this summer, and I am pleased to share that this was also among the quilts selected to be a part of that! Thank you to the lovely judges (Michelle, Gail, Ale and I believe Heather too)!!

Continuing Progress
Nubees Sampler Quilt
I did finally start quilting this guy this week, and am optimistic that it will go relatively quickly.

of course I especially need to make a dent in this since I used up almost all of my basting pins and will need them to quilt Lock 'n' Bolt next!

Friends + Fabric blocks
I made 3 more blocks in preparation for just one more row on this quilt top:

And not in the last week, but since my last update:
Batik Warm/Cool QAL
I have the top 1/3 of the quilt pieced.

Flannel Throw
Nothing spectacular, just a fun little project that is making me happy:-)

No Progress
Medallion quilt
Could be a Quilt...
Purple/Green Asian sampler
Seams Perfect Sampler
Lee & Glenn's quilt
red/brown/green I-Spy
girly hourglass
Judy Neimeyer double wedding ring
broken dishes
Trip Around the 9-Patch
Halloween Stack 'n Whack
leftover I-spys from Hopman quilt
tote bags
blue/green place mats


My brain can't work out the subtotal, but I'm happy with the last week or so, and that's what's important, right? Thanks so much for visiting, and be sure to check out the other updates at

McCall's Quilt Design Star... about to roll

Submissions have been closed, and voting begins tomorrow May 1. There were 147 submissions in the amateur category for this contest, and in the voting pages, my quilt is currently listed at #144 (page 24 of the gallery view, I think).

I encourage y'all to go to the main page for the amateur contest and check out all of the entrants and vote for your fave(s). For more information about rules and to view entries in the professional category as well, visit the contest home page.

Fat Quarter Idol at Sew, Mama, Sew!

So, a little respite here. Have you all seen the weekly contests going on over on the Sew, Mama, Sew! blog?? This is one of those contests that is purely FUN. No putting your own creations on the line, no crazy deadlines, just playing with fabric swatches within a stated theme. And isn't that one of the things that drives us quilters to the medium?

This week's theme is "Meet me at the Picnic." I had fun choosing my 12 prints from their fabric selections. All you have to do to participate is create a Pinterest board (according to their specifications) and post to their blog page for that week's theme.

Since I can't seem to figure out how to create a mosaic of my pinterest board, if you're curious about my picks, you can see them here: http://pinterest.com/lindabeth/sew-mama-sew-fatquarteridol-meet-me-at-the-picnic-/. (and if anyone has tips on doing that mosaic, I would much appreciate any help for future use!) But here are a couple sneak peeks

I know I haven't been a very good participant of blogland lately. Not sure what to say about that, or if I just pick up the reins and go from here.

(my comfort quilt right now)

(one new design that inspired me earlier this week. The scale on this can be deceiving... this is 40"x40".)

This evening I came across a blog post by Rachel at Stitched in Color that really resonated with me. She was talking about a certain hesitation AND at the same time desire to bring one's personal life into light in a crafting blog. She also addressed a hiccup in confidence when considering getting into the ring on some of the contests and juried shows in the field.

Both of those themes have been weighing on me lately, too, which I think might explain at least some of my "radio silence." And inevitably they are intertwined, am I wrong? I don't want this to turn into a pity party, or a list of complaints and shortfalls, and I am sure no one reading this wants that either, but sometimes it's hard to talk about what I AM accomplishing without addressing what might have driven me in that direction.

That said, my focus this week has been dedicated primarily to a couple of competitive endeavors whose deadlines are fast-approaching – like in two days, approaching.

At the end of March I saw a call for entries from McCall's Quilting, looking for submissions for a contest they're holding, "Quilt Design Star, 2012." Now, I don't expect I have a chance in a million to get anywhere in this one, but I am trying to embrace the idea of putting myself out there and working toward specific goals, and, well, this qualifies as both, right? And we as artists and creators have to take these chances to make more chances for ourselves. It can be a huge challenge and often ends in disappointment (at least for me), but there is a passion and love for the process that keeps us at it.

And then there's the Portland Modern Quilt Guild's special exhibition at Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show this summer. I decided months ago that I wanted to submit one or two quilts for consideration, but with no information forthcoming I didn't keep a specific target. Then at last week's meeting we got the low-down, including our submission deadline, just 10 days later (which will be this Saturday). I'm kind of excited about what I have in mind to submit, and they are being quite lenient on what stage your quilt is currently in, thankfully, but the news came to me on a day when my ego was feeling a bit bruised. Let's just say that the last week has been full of indecision, uncertainty, some self-deprication, and ultimately getting down to business.

Making a decision

and getting down to business

(blocks were made by the members of Friends + Fabric = A Modern Stash Bee group on Flickr. This is missing blocks from one of the members, so hopefully they'll arrive before I need to finish piecing this, on the off chance I DO get into the show.)

I feel like I have so much more I want to share from the last week or so, but now maybe isn't the time. And by "now" I mean this late at night after I've been at the studio all day and can hardly keep my eyes open, not necessarily the more general idea of this juncture of time and experience. (see, I'm starting to totally babble and lose coherence.)

So goodnight for now, and thank you for sticking with me.

Running Warm and Cool

Some of you may remember seeing my finished top from the Warm / Cool Quilt Along hosted by Jeni at In Color Order during 2011.

Well, it's taken me a while, but I finally threw together a backing and picked up some batting, and hope to get this puppy quilted in the next couple of weeks. I'd been looking for an excuse to buy something from Malka Dubrawksy's "A Stitch in Color" fabric line, and here was the perfect piece and the perfect use, as far as I could tell.

I also returned to my all-batik version from the same QAL. I needed some completely mindless work on Thursday (it was just one of those days), and I had the first 6 rows of HSTs arranged and stacked in order, so it was just a matter of chain piecing.

Which leaves me with about 2/3s of the quilt top to put together... including figuring out layout from this point down. Thankfully I've already sewn all of the HSTs, so I can go straight to the fun part!

Hope everyone's having a splendid weekend! Portland is swimming in sunlight this weekend, and I'm looking forward to joining a friend for a bike ride and margaritas later on! But first, the back yard is in desperate need of some mower action. And off I go.

More photos from Montana

It might not seem so, but I didn't get nearly as many photos while on our trip as I would have liked. And one photo opportunity that we ALL missed was taking any shots of the family when everyone was all together (I think there ended up being 12 of us in all). Do any of you all have a similar story of getting a group together after many years and getting so caught up in the moment forgetting to document?

However, the next day I did manage to get one people shot

(From right to left: J making one of his "I'm on the wrong side of the camera" faces, J's brother Ned, Ned's girlfriend Addie, and Laura - J and Ned's awesomely sweet mom!)

And then back to shots around "town"...
On a visit to Missoula's carousel, which I'm told is made from all hand-carved and hand-painted wood for the horses. It's my understanding (though I could be wrong on this one) that they were each done by local artists.

So, can you see what I saw in this sign, which put a smile on my face and my camera to my eye?? (and I'll say it's pretty true, from our assessment)

The giant chess set on the patio of Bayern brewery - one of Ned's hobbies.

And back to the scenery shots:
First thing in the morning from the back door of the neighbors' garage apartment where J and I were staying

As the light begins to change...

Becoming a gorgeous day!

The still partially frozen Seeley Lake

And I'll end this post with the few shots I got of the herd of elk we saw on our way back to the homestead. Being the city girl that I am, I apparently scared them off before we got a good shot, but maybe I'll know for next time (and thankfully the only things with which we were shooting were cameras... if it had been hunting season the response to my scaring them off would have been VERY DIFFERENT, I am sure)!