Progress and a Class

I have been busy working on the Match Box quilt this week.  I actually got a great start on it at the Saturday Sew for the Dallas Modern Quilt Guild.  If you are in the Dallas area, we would love to have you come join us some weekend.  You can check the schedule for the next one here.  So, here is what it looked like on Saturday:

I got quite a bit more done on it today and I hope to be able to show you a completed quilt top in the next few days.  

Sunday I went to the Trinity Valley Quilt Show with some quilty friends from DMQG and we had the best day!  It is so fun to hang out with women that share my interests and passions.  It's such a nice feeling to know I am not the only one always designing a quilt in my head or dreaming about the next line of fabric coming out soon.....and look at my goodies from the show

It's a lovely stack of Kaffe Fasset Shot Cottons that I purchased from Cabbage Rose Quilting.  They had a booth at the show, but they are located over in Fort Worth.  Isn't that the most gorgeous stack you have ever seen?  I am thinking of doing a quilt just using those fabrics, no prints.  They are so soft and drapey, almost like a voile.  The little gray stack are reproduction prints from the Civil War era, but I think they look very modern.  I have been designing an orange and gray quilt in my head for awhile and slowly collecting the fabrics for it.  These will add some nice texture to my current stash.  

I have a very busy week ahead.  I'm teaching a couple of classes at Bernina of Dallas this week.  Saturday is part two of the "I Never Thought I'd be a Quilter" class and next Saturday I will be teaching the Disappearing Nine Patch class again.  Back by popular demand!  Okay, maybe not, but I like saying that phrase.  I did have a couple of requests to offer it again and it felt really nice to know that people enjoyed it enough to tell their friends about it.  Here's a sneak peak at that quilt.

                        

If you aren't doing anything on Saturday, October 9th at 9:30, come join us for some quilty fun.  We would love to see you!

New Projects

I love starting new projects!  It's so exciting!  A fresh beginning, such endless possibilities, anticipation.  I have been working on a couple of projects over the last couple of weeks.  For the first one, I started with this:

My favorite is the bird fabric in the middle, it's Bird Seed by Alexander Henry.  And I ended up with this:

It was way too dark to be trying to take this picture, but you get the general idea.  I'll take better shots after I get it quilted.  I know I should have gone ahead and done that step next, but I was so excited about this fabric I picked up a couple of weeks ago that I couldn't wait to start in on that project...do you ever do that?

This is fabric from several lines, but the bulk of it is from American Jane's Breath of Avignon.  It is not my normal palette or style, but I just love this fabric.  The pattern I am using calls for a layer cake, a charm pack and a jelly roll.  The quilt shop I found this at did not have any of the precuts, so I calculated what I would need in yardage and cut my own.  It didn't take as long as I thought it would, maybe a couple of hours...so now it looks like this:

I'll be posting more shots as I go, but I'm working on MatchBox by Abbey Lane Quilts.  It's an adorable quilt that is sewing up pretty quickly, but I found a pretty big error in the pattern.  It has you cut the strips 1/2" too big.  When you look at the large number of strips in this quilt, that's a lot of fabric waste.  I didn't figure this out until after I had done all of the cutting and started sewing the blocks.  A little frustrating.  I would think that a pattern designer would have someone test these patterns out before publishing?  I do plan to write them and let them know.  I read through the pattern twice to make sure I hadn't missed anything or miscalculated.....Oh well, it's going to be really cute and I have enough fabric to finish the quilt so no great harm.  Stay tuned to see the completed quilt.

A bazillion things

So, I took so long between posts that I am about to burst with things to write about.  I am amazed at how therapeutic blogging is.  It's been several days since I posted and I am feeling all pent up with things to say!  I also have been really busy working on projects....the first one I want to tell you about is a quilt I just finished for a very dear friend.  She moved away recently and I miss her dearly!  This is the kind of friend who know all your deepest, darkest secrets (and loves you anyway).  So, to tell her how very much I love her...I did the only thing I know how to do - I made her a quilt.  It's not a total surprise, I wanted her to love it so I asked for her input on fabric selection.  I think she has been anxiously waiting for a posting about her quilt, so.....S, this is for you!

This is the front of the quilt and this is the back; I can't decide which is my favorite.  Sometimes I like the back better than the front!

As I was working on this quilt, I had the front of the quilt on the design wall and started to play around with the layout of the backing.  This is what I noticed as I stepped back to see how the layout looked.   I think I have a new quilt design in the making...

Today, I decided to start on another project I have had in my mind for awhile.  I wanted a little more pizzaz in the dining room, so the chair started out like this:

Well, it was actually an intact chair but I forgot to take a picture before I tore it all apart.  And now, it looks like this:

There were over 150 staples in the chair holding the old fabric on and by the time I pulled all of those out and stapled the new fabric back on, my fingers were very sore!  So, I'm thinking about one chair every few days.....we should be done in a month.  Okay, there are only four chairs so maybe in a couple of weeks I'll have the rest done.

I taught a beginning quilt class at Bernina of Dallas on Saturday and I have another class tomorrow night.  I will be teaching School House Tunic from Sew Liberated.  I have made this tunic twice now and I just love it.  It's really easy to make and looks so cute.  The possibilities are just endless for personalization.  It looks great with leggings or over jeans.  But above all, I just really love teaching.  It doesn't matter what I'm teaching, it's the act of sharing knowledge and watching the excitement as the project comes together, that I love.  I'm so happy to have found such a great shop that lets me do something I love so much.  The gals at the Bernina store are so helpful and have a wealth of knowledge between them.  And we all know how much I love my new machine!  I am truly grateful to own such an amazing tool.  I have been thinking lately that she really needs a name.....I'm thinking maybe we need to have a name Michelle's Bernina contest.  With a prize for the winner?  Hmm.....I'll come up with the specifics and post the rules in the next couple of days and we'll see if she can't end up with a name finally.

Tools of the Trade

I have most of my sewing/crafting tools in a little white thingy with all of these divided compartments and the whole thing spins.  I have it from back in the days when I sold kitchen tools at home parties.  It's perfect for all of the tools of my trade.  When I look over at the cutting table from my desk that's nearby, it makes me very happy to see all of those wonderful gadgets.  As is so true with any job, the right tool can make everything a little easier.  I have a small addiction to gadgets.  I can't help myself, I just love them!  Don't they all look so happy in their little spinning holder?

I have been busy lately working on a project that may become another class.  I used an Amy Butler pattern, The Domestic Goddess Apron.  There are three different aprons in this pattern and I decided to do the Pleated Bodice Full Apron.  I had never used an Amy Butler pattern before and I was very impressed.  The directions were super easy to understand, very clear and concise.  I'm already planning to make the Half Apron from the same pattern.

There are several pleats in the skirt and the bodice of this apron and I needed to transfer the lines for the pleats from the pattern to the fabric so I could be sure they were evenly spaced and the proper size.  So, I dug out my trusty Tracing Wheel.  I have had this little tool since I began sewing a very long time ago.  (as in almost 40 years ago!!!)  What a handy, dandy tool.  It still works like a charm and I even had the same package of tracing paper and it worked beautifully.

I don't even know if there are still TG&Y stores around.  Are there?  Is there one where you live?  See my pretty little orange lines that show me right where each pleat should go?  I love having the right tool for the job.  This apron came out pretty cute.  Those pleats are really slimming.

G was out of town this past week and couldn't take my picture when I got done.  Rex the Wonder Dog refused to take it because he said he never can figure out the Canon camera, so I took myself up to the Bernina Store where I bought the pattern and fabric and Julie took my picture for me.  I think she took a great picture.

I love being able to sew, really, really love it.  I love the different things I can make, and the freedom it gives me.  I love picking out the materials for a project and then following it through to a finished product.  It is a valuable skill and I am grateful to my mother and grandmother for teaching me.  If you haven't heard about it, head over to Handmade by Alissa and read about Action Kivu.  It's an amazing organization that is teaching women in eastern Congo to sew.  These women have to overcome mind blowing obstacles and this organization is giving them a skill set that will empower them to take control of their lives and to feed themselves and their children.  It makes me very grateful to live in the country that I do and to have had the advantages that I do.  I am so blessed....

Gratitude

Last night I was getting ready to go to bed and as I washed my face, I thought "wow, my cheeks sure are rosy" and then I thought..."man! it's hot in here".  So, I wondered out to the bedroom and asked G if he was hot (I know he's hot, but that wasn't the kind of hot I was thinking of).  I took a gander at the thermostat and it was 85 degrees in the bedroom!  So, at 11:45 on a Saturday night we were up in the attic investigating.  Another 45 minutes later we came to the conclusion that the air conditioner was not working and there was not a damn thing we could do about it at 12:30 at night.  I was very grateful for the ceiling fan and the two oscillating fans we own.  It was a little warm, but we made it through the night.  We were able to locate a repairman and by 1:30 this afternoon we had air conditioning again.  It was not a fun 12 hours, but it made me think about all the people here in Texas that can't afford air conditioning and are having to endure this horrendous heat we're experiencing.  I sometimes forget how very blessed I am and I certainly am guilty of taking all these conveniences for granted.  This is an exceptionally hot August and I am so ready for it to be over.

I mentioned in an earlier post that I had finished a pillow for a friend.  I used this tutorial from Sew4Home to create this for her from fabric left over from the shower curtain I made for her a few months ago.  I can post this picture now, since I gave her the pillow today.  We met for breakfast and while I was extremely pleased to catch up with her, I was ever so grateful for the air conditioned restaurant!  Here's a pic of the pillow (I know it's a bit blurry, but G took the photo for me right before I ran out of the house this morning.)

It was so fun to make.  The back is a Bella Solid green with a covered button that matches the front.  The fabric is Andalucia by Patty Young.  It love how all the little birds form such a cute circle!

I have been very busy lately working on a fun crewel pillow kit that I purchased off eBay recently.  I can occasionally be a little ADD in my crafting.  It's funny though, I always come back to fabric.  It truly is my first love. (in a crafty sort of love)

I can't wait to get it finished and on the sofa!  The kit even came with a lovely green velvet piping and a real metal zipper with cotton twill tape!  The pillow front is a nice heavy natural linen and the yarn is pure wool.  The kits I buy today just don't have that same quality.  Sigh.......

What are you working on?  Are you finding fun ways to stay cool?  I hope so...

A Productive Weekend

Well, I just returned yesterday evening from a four day weekend at a quilt retreat with seven wonderful women!  I have sore cheeks and amazing tight abs from all the laughing we did.  There were many times during the four days that I had tears streaming down my face because I was laughing so hard.  I am not sure there is a drug that can make you feel as good as you do after a good long belly laugh.  It just makes me feel all warm and fuzzy on the inside.  It makes my muscles relax all over and I always end with a very deep satisfying sigh.  I love the feeling and it seems as if it has been quite some time since I laughed that much and that often.  That alone was worth the price of admission, not to mention I got a ton of sewing done.  Funny thing though, my jeans were a little tighter this morning?  Must have shrunk in the wash.....or maybe it was all of the amazing food we ate all weekend.  Gina, one of the gals on the retreat, did all of the menu planning, shopping and cooking!  We will be forever indebted to her.  So will the Gap when I have to go buy new jeans!  Okay, I'm only kidding, I don't think I gained that much.

I quilted a baby quilt, finished a pillow for a dear friend, and got the top and backing pieced for a quilt for another dear friend that recently moved away:(.  I'll post pictures of those projects soon, but I'm waiting until I gift the items before posting those.  In order to not be photo-less( is that a word?), I'm posting a couple of shots of some recent fabric acquisitions.  The first is some fabric I picked up on that recent trip to San Francisco,

One is a feed sack reproduction by Darlene Zimmerman for Robert Kaufman.  The other is also a Robert Kaufman print - Monaluna Mingle.  I bought these at a very cool little shop called Urban Burp.  It is great shop specializing in vintage fabrics.  The owner, Electra Skilandat, was there that day and she was a joy to visit with.  If you are ever in the city, stop by and say hi to her.  Tell her I sent you!

These lovelies are my winnings from Quilt Home that I won for being their Blog of the Week awhile back.
Aren't they gorgeous?  I can't wait to make these into something fun.  Not sure yet what I'm going to make with them, but it will be something fun and it will be soon!

What are you all working on these "dog days of summer"?  Cause I know you are all outside enjoying the 107 degree heat!  Man, I don't like this weather, it just wilts me into a puddle.  I am ever so grateful for air conditioning, aren't you?

Back to Real Life....why do I live here again?

Every time I take a vacation, I spend the whole time there thinking "I could live here, lets get jobs and never go home".  Well, this trip was no exception, in fact I think it was the most intense dose of "lets live here" ever!  What a gorgeous city and so exciting!!  The weather was absolutely perfect the entire week we were there.  Sunny every day and about 60 degrees.  And the food.....divine!  I did not have a bad meal the entire time I was there.

This meal was from The Slanted Door and I think it might win the prize as the best meal of the week.  The restaurant was really cool and modern, but we ate outside on the glassed in patio.  You could see across the bay to Annabel Island and we watched the ferries coming into the harbor.  I can't remember the cool name that my dish had, but G's dish was called Shaking Beef!  YUM.

I had the best latte there at a little shop called Blue Bottle Coffee Company.  And look how cute they made it!

I went to the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art and had a great time looking around!  They had an exhibit there called Calder to Warhol that was fantastic.  And take a look at this display.  It's all picture frames, but I see a quilt in there, do you?  I don't know about having a big hump in the middle of my quilt, but I was definitely inspired.

And I see a quilt in this picture as well.  It would take some definite planning, but I am sketching it out in my head already.  This is actually a chair.  They had a big round circle in the middle of the room all made up of different chairs, very cool.

There is much more to tell you about the trip, but I'll save the rest for another day.  We got off the plane to 107 degrees at 9:00 at night and that's when I asked the question "why do I live here?"  Of course, I ask that question every year in August and then in December I remember why I live here.