Paducah Edyta Immersion

I had an absolutely wonderful time in Paducah last week - a giant step up from last year!  The workshop selection was much better this time around and I was fortunate enough (make that fast enough!) to get into a lecture and two workshops with Edyta Sitar. It was a week of Edyta immersion - so inspirational! All I want to do now is work on Edyta quilts (I already have several in progress not counting the ones I started in her workshops!).  I actually finished a couple of tops prior to heading for Kentucky.  I've been working on piecing the sashing blocks for My Garden Album for the past couple of months and finally finished. I had finished the applique blocks a few years ago. This was a block of the month from Homestead Hearth.  I didn't care for the sashing or border fabrics they provided (multi-colored batiks like on Edyta's original) so I opted for a mix of batiks and reproduction fabrics from my stash and added a Jo Morton border.

I finally finished the applique on my house quilt and got the borders on just before heading to Paducah. I will have to say that appliqueing on a large project is not my idea of a good time...

So back to Paducah.... On Wednesday night I attended Edyta's "Reasons for Quilts" lecture. She is an amazing speaker and it was an incredible presentation!  She brought tons of quilts - many I had not seen before - and did such a nice job sharing the meaning behind each one.

On Thursday afternoon I participated in Edyta's spool quilt workshop.  Her preparation for class and her generosity is amazing. She provided each of us with two pieces of fabric to cut into 24 strips that we then exchanged with each other in order to ensure that everything worked well together and was good quality. Much better than taking whatever people brought from their stash!  We only completed one spool in the class which was fine - the Janome machine I was using was giving me fits so I would much rather work on them at home.

Friday I had an all-day workshop on Stars in Quilts.  It was great!  Edyta started with a lecture detailing 15 different types of stars and how to make them and use them in quilts. She reviewed her technique for piecing 8-pointed stars by machine. I plan to practice that with my Prairie Peony blocks as soon as I get a chance.

After the presentation, Edyta started us on Dresden Stars.  I had no idea we would be making these in class - I have been wanting to do that pattern forever!  Here's Edyta's version:

And here is my first nearly-complete block.  I ended up making two before class ended.

Edyta is such a thorough instructor!  She makes everything seem so easy, from choosing fabrics to sewing complicated pieces.

The other highlight of my week down south was my visit(s) to the Primitive Gatherings booth. Yes, I went more than once.  Almost every day. I couldn't help myself! Lisa gave us a sneak preview of the Summer BOW. She somehow manages to top herself every year - it is beautiful!  I can't wait for it to start.  She also had a project at the booth that completely sucked me in....little bowties.  I couldn't resist!  I bought a bunch of charm packs (the $5 pattern was free if you bought >$200 in fabric - makes perfect sense to everyone, right?!?!) and couldn't wait to get home to start.  I managed to spend a little time in the sewing room yesterday and knocked out 42 bow ties.  They are so much fun!

I was so impressed with my progress....that is, until I took a second look at the pattern and saw that is says "you will need 3,024 bow ties for the quilt". WHAT?????  That's over 18,000 pieces and this thing isn't even bed-sized! This is going to take a while....

Most Productive Retreat Ever!

I'm a little slow with this post - my retreat is really a distant memory after the crazy four day, 60-hour work week that followed it...  The weekend before last I went on a four-day quilting retreat with friends.  It was probably the most productive retreat I have ever had!  I took along multiple projects - a couple of which I never touched - but I did manage to finish one top and nearly finished another.  Both are on my top twelve UFO list so I am off to a strong start for the year.

I originally wasn't in love with the teal cornerstones in the Grand Illusion mystery quilt setting and had started using black instead.  Then a very creative quilter posted a slight variation of the pattern on the Quiltville Facebook page and my mind was changed - the simple addition of a teal inner border completely pulled it together!  She also added a couple of other 2" borders that increased the size to around 96" square which worked better for me.  So, following her lead, here's what I ended up with:

I absolutely LOVE it!  I am very happy with how it turned out, crazy bright colors and all.  I decided that I will use some black batik that I have on hand for backing. Now I just need to find a quilter....

After that top was complete, I moved on to my LeMoyne Stars. I had ordered a couple of pieces of Japanese taupe fabrics from Homestead Hearth as possible sashing and luckily one of them worked out well.  The blocks were a bear to work with!  I have definitely learned an important lesson about hand piecing - cut the outer seam allowances really large!  I will also pay better attention to where the bias falls next time.  After all of the handling in piecing the outer edges were a little off-square and required a lot of finessing to get right.  By the time I got the center together I was too exhausted to deal with the outer borders. It took the better part of two days to get it to this point:

I am very happy with how it is turning out!  I have two more borders to add - a 2" blue one (the same fabric as the sashing) and a wide (6") one of background fabric - and then it will be ready for quilting.

This past weekend was our annual Wool Club Camp at Nola's.  I didn't accomplish much - it was very crowded and just not conducive to working on my giant rug.  I also think I was too exhausted from the week and too distracted by a rescue puppy I fell in love with on Facebook (she's still available and I am trying to control the impulse to call about her....) to do much hooking.  Here's a peek at where it stands currently:

I still have quite a way to go, but I am making progress. I also made some progress on a couple of other projects this week, one which is on my UFO list and one that is not.  I made a bit of progress on the second diamond wedge for my Rising Sun while flying to and from New York this week - it wasn't picture-worthy.  Over the weekend I pulled out a project that has accompanied me to several retreats but returned home untouched - My Garden Album.  I did all of the scrappy cutting for the sashing blocks and even started piecing them.  

At this point they are just a messy pile next to the sewing machine, but it's a start!  Considering I have had all of the applique blocks finished since 2010 or so it's about time to get this thing together.

All things considered, I feel like I am off to a strong start for the year! There are about three new projects calling my name but I have resisted temptation thus far...  And then there's that puppy...Not sure how long I can stay strong!

Another Block and More Quilt Shops

Although lighting has been an issue - I've spent the better part of the last couple of evenings huddled next to a lamp - I did manage to finish block 11 of My Garden Album:

I also managed to make it to the other two quilt shops in town in between visits to the park.  We made it almost to the top of Trail Ridge Road this morning - we decided to turn around at 12,000 ft (just short of the highest point) because my daughter's fear of heights was starting to get to her.  We returned to the park for an awesome hike to a waterfall this afternoon.  Once again, all the photos are on the camera I can't download until we're home. 

The first shop I made it to was Cottage Bliss.  What an adorable shop!  She had all kinds of cute gift items and wonderful displays for everything!  Here are a couple of pics:

The other shop, Maggie Mae's Quilts 'N (that's really the name - it looks like something is missing, doesn't it?) was small and didn't have a lot of fabric, but they did have a really nice selection of 30s fabrics.  They also had several small and very beautiful designs by Columbine Quilts (or something along that line - I can't find the patterns on the internet) but did not have the patterns available.  There is a chance they will have them back in stock before the end of the week - I really hope so, although I am not sure when I will have time to get back there.  Quilt Colorado check-in is tomorrow, and the quilt show preview is tomorrow night.  My classes with Elly begin on Thursday.  I'm very excited, but a little bummed that I will have to miss out on the gorgeous weather to sit in a classroom.  I'll have to try and get my fill tomorrow!

Garage Sale, Excessive Heat, and a Bit of Sewing

This weekend was crazy busy!  My sister and I finally got around to having our garage sale.  It was a popular weekend - several local neighborhoods had sales the same day (a couple because of rain delays), so the competition was stiff.  I'm never sure if all the hard effort is worth it.  It does force me to clean things out (especially the garage!), but it's certainly not much fun!  Now I have all the follow-up to take care of - getting all the leftovers picked up by whoever will take them.

The weather this weekend was wicked-hot!  It  was dry for the first weekend in over a month, but the humidity was oppressive.  Today was ridiculous - over 90 F.  I hiope it cools back down soon.  I'd hate to think we completely skipped spring!  We did have a bit of spring-like weather in April but May was cold and damp, so I'm not at all ready for heat and humidity.

I did manage to squeeze in a bit of sewing this weekend.  I finished block ten of My Garden Album:

I'm really pleased with the way it turned out.  I used the Floriani stabilizer technique that I learned from Mariya Waters in Paducah.  Not bad, but I think I will try the starch technique next.  I still can't find anything that I like working on more than plain-old needle-turn, but it does seem like placement is a bit more accurate when the pieces are prepped ahead of time.

I also managed to do a little more sewing on the Runaway Mystery quilt.  I am definitely not good at "scrappy"!  I'm still working on the February step...I'm a bit behind, but making progress!  I have the most difficult time putting all the different tans/creams together - it just doesn't look like they should be in the same block, but I have seen so many quilts done this way and love them, so I am going to force myself to stick with it.  Here's a shot of all the pieces:

And one of the first blocks (not sewn, but this is the general idea:

Wow...I don't like that one bit!  This is going to be tough!

Off to Rug Camp!

It's finally here!  Tomorrow morning I will be heading off for a week at rug camp.  I am very excited about starting my Bird Party rug.  I hope I can get a lot accomplished this week!

Our weekend retreat was very relaxing and enjoyable.  I spent a little time piecing the large nine patches for my Everything But the Kitchen Sink quilt.  I spent the majority of my time doing applique.  I managed to finish block seven of My Garden Album.  That's one more thing I can cross off my February list!

Brrrr!

I'm already tired of the cold, and it's only going to get worse over the next couple of days. Good time to stay indoors and sew. Too bad I have to work!

I did manage to finish block six of My Garden Album over the weekend. Unfortunately, when I washed out my blue pen, the brown stems bled all over the background. Luckily I was able to get it out - thank goodness for Synthrapol and hot water!













I've made a fair amount of progress on the Everything But the Kitchen Sink quilt, too. I finished all of the nine patches - 150 in all. The next step is to put them into large nine patches. Perhaps I will get a little time to work on that over the weekend.












I hope to purchase a background for the McCall's quilt this afternoon, and perhaps some of the other fabric. Lots of sales at the local quilt shops this weekend! I can't really start on that project, though, until I have my Applique Affair block assignment finished. I traced the pattern last night - 26 pieces! Maybe I won't get back to piecing this weekend!

Block #5 Finished!

I'm excited to report that I have finished block five of My Garden Album with two weeks to spare! Only four left and then the piecing... If I recall correctly, the border is pieced, so it shouldn't be too much work to finish once the applique has been completed. I am in love with these blocks - the colors are beautiful!

I found a suitable yarn to bind my Basketful rug and got a pretty good start on it yesterday. I hope to finish and give it a second steaming by the end of the week. I'm so excited by some of the ideas that Nola threw out for next year's wool club that I know I will be starting new projects at a frightening pace next year. I'd like to get Basketful and the Illinois postcard knocked out before I start my first project of the new year. Can I get that much accomplished by Jan 9?

Beginning my Baltimore

I finally started a "true" Baltimore Album quilt. I have been doing a lot of reading since attending Baltimore on the Prairie. Although I have always loved the album quilts, listening to Jan Carlson's presentation really got me hooked. The more I learned, the more excited I became! So I was particularly excited when Katie and I decided to revive the TAS group with a Baltimore slant...which leads me to starting my first Baltimore Album quilt. The process of getting started was a slow one - prepping the background (Moda's Bella Solid in bleached white), choosing the pattern to start with, tracing the overlay, and selecting fabrics for the first flowers. I originally had planned to do 12" blocks, but after learning that true BA blocks were much larger, I decided to go big. The background fabric looks ridiculously huge at 22" square. I think the finished block will be around 18". I didn't get as far as actually sewing anything today. That will have to wait until tomorrow.

I have managed to keep up with My Garden Album yet again. I finished block four yesterday. I had stopped by Homestead Hearth on my way home from the lake on Monday and was told that the next one had shipped, so I was very anxious to get it done before the mail arrived!

I'm also continuing to work on my baskets. I have six completed, I believe. Only 285 left to go! They are fun to work on and are pretty simple, so they make a good "on-the-go" project.

It's back to the rug for the rest of the night - I'd really rather applique, but I'll never make my self-imposed deadline if I don't get on it!

Keeping Up!

I managed to finish block three of My Garden Album before receiving block four...so far I am keeping up with this one! Who knows how long it can last...I have so many new projects I am aching to start that I am bound to get distracted and lose the race.

I need to choose a 2010 project for my Primitives Yahoo group. I am really interested in beginning an album quilt, and I would also dearly love to reproduce an antique applique project. I also have a burning desire to start at least one of the Nancy Page quilts - I just can't decide whether to start with the leaves, the birds, or the laurel wreath. Of course, none of those are very primitive (although the "rules" don't specify that the project has to be prim), so I am considering a few others that fit the bill a little better. I'd love to get started on Wedding March, and also would like to do the taupe quilt from Homestead Hearth. I also purchased all the fabric to make a log cabin with applique - again, not very primitive, but I'd like to get it done. Decisions, decisions! Thankfully I have a few more weeks to mull it over...

Back from Runaway

Well, I started out with the best of intentions, but completely changed my mind once I finally sat down at the sewing machine! I began working on some of my UFO projects on Tuesday and just couldn't talk myself into moving my machine up to the Mexican Star classroom. So instead I spent the entire retreat in sit & sew and ended up knocking out four of my Sweet Annie's BOM blocks and 26 pages of half-square triangle paper for another project that's been sitting in a pile in the sewing room for longer than I can remember. I didn't end up getting nearly as much handwork done as I had hoped, but I'm not at all surprised. In the end, the Mexican Star pieces came home in a bag in the same state as when they left here. Another UFO, but one I can tackle in the convenience of my sewing room.

Here's the latest Summer's End block:

















I finished my second My Garden Album BOM block before leaving for Runaway but didn't get a chance to post it:















Between BOP, a new Yahoo group I found, Runaway, and a stop at the Cotton Patch quilt shop in Woodlawn, IL, I have been inspired to start numerous new projects. I plan to start at least one new one tomorrow. Now I just have to decide which one!