Kitten Reflections

I am love, love, loving my new "day of rest" each weekend!  My plan is to turn off everything from 6 pm Saturday to 6 pm Sunday and just do quiet activities like hand work along with some meditation.  By Friday last week I was already looking forward to it!  I am now wondering about adding a half day on Wednesday - I will think about that!

With this weekend's hand sewing I was finally able to finish this cross stitch kit from Dimensions Gold Petites, Kitten Reflections:

Kitten Reflections

This was intended to be a quick, two month project, but instead it took me five full months.  Although it is only 5" x 7", it is 18 count aida and there is a lot of stitching.  It's true that I was distracted by the yoyos, but also, I think I have had my fill of cross stitch for a while.  For the past year and a half I have been cross stitching almost continuously, but now I really want to be quilting.

I promised myself that I would take a break from cross stitch for a while after I finished the kittens. Just this week, though, I decided to take down some old bookshelves, and it occured to me that my lighthouse cross stitches would look great on that wall.  The catch is that only one is done:

Cliffside Beacon

The lighthouses are also Dimensions Gold Petites, and this one did go faster than the kittens, but I am still not sure if I want to commit to them now.  There would be two more.  It used to be that when I finished a cross stitch project I would have the next one on the frame within an hour, but for now I am going to take a breather.  It may be a while before I get rid of those shelves any way!

Choosing Colours for Sedona Star

You may be wondering, when I keep talking about how inspired I was by my hand-coloured copy of the blank Sedona Star pdf that took me two days to do, why I have not posted this work of art yet!  I admit that I am hoping to create a bit of mystery about my design.  But I will talk about how I chose the colours.

I had two main principles in mind when I started.  The first, from various art classes over the years, was to put high contrast around the features that you want to stand out.  The second, and more important one, from interior designer Ray Staples, who always tells it like it is, that not every piece in the room (or in this case, quilt) can be the star.  She compares it to a Broadway show, with one or two stars, one or two supporting actors, and the chorus.

I was very struck by this when I heard it, because until then my philosophy had always been "more is more" -- more fabrics, more patterns, more colours.  I realized that too much noise can reduce the clarity of the message, and I wanted my Sedona Star to have a strong message.

I sat down with the uncoloured page and asked myself what the story was here.  What elements do I want to make stand out?  For me, it was the heart appliques first, and the nine Mariner's Compass blocks second.  So, the heart appliques will all be the same fabric, and that will be the only place I use that fabric.  To tie them all together so they tell a consistent story, my plan now is to do the Mariner's Compass blocks with just a few fabrics in a high contrast palette.  I say "my plan now," because this the area where I have the most doubt at the moment.  Will it be too boring?  The only way to know for sure will be to stick to my guns until the end.  I'll try to be strong!

Everything else followed on from that start.  I noticed the repetition of "nines" throughout the quilt.  I know nine is a significant number in many mystical traditions, so I'm hoping designer Sarah Vedeler will share more background on her inspiration.  I usually think of the nine planets in the solar system (if you still count Pluto). If you are a science nerd (which I kind of am), you know that the number nine has many interesting properties. Are there nine energy vortices around Sedona? 

This colour-enhanced image of the moon is not my palette, but it is kind of pretty, isn't it?  Anyway, most of the features on my quilt will be done with solid colours, a combination of Kaffe Fassett Shot Cottons and Kaufman Kona Solids.  The parts that I want to blend together will be prints.

I can't wait to show you my fabrics and get started!  If only they would get here!

Washing Fabric

I am still waiting for my fabric for Sedona Star to arrive, which is just as well, because I still have lots of organizing to do.  I think I mentioned earlier that I recently committed to washing all my fabric before I use it.  Even though I once saw cheap unwashed fabric shrink under the iron right before my eyes, I couldn't get over the hurdle to start washing it.  Now the hurdle is very high, because my stash is over 20 years old, but I am slogging through it a few loads at a time!

In the back is the washed and waiting to be sorted by colour pile, and the bins in front are waiting to be washed.  You can see I am getting down to the older fabric now!

It was Becky Goldsmith who changed my mind about washing fabric, at a workshop she did last spring for my second guild, York Heritage.  I learned a lot at that workshop!  Becky recommends that you put your fabrics in the washer AND DRYER, which is something I hadn't done before.  I thought the dryer would tangle it even more than the washer did, but I was thrilled to find out that it doesn't tangle at all.  Because she mainly teaches applique, her argument is that even cotton fabric will felt a little in the dryer, so it frays less and is easier to applique.  I also really like the feel of the fluffier fabric.

How many of you have had a good look at your stash recently?  I've been opening boxes I haven't opened in years!  There have been many pleasant surprises, and also a few "what was I thinking" moments.  Sky blue is not really my favourite colour any more!  I also found a whole series of pinks and reds, and I had no idea what they were for.  Then yesterday I remembered my plan to make heart-shaped log cabins.  I still like that idea enough that I have added it to my to do list!  So it's kind of a dangerous process as well!  Especially given that I had to buy new background fabric last night...

Quiltmania No. 85

Although it is published in France, Quiltmania has been written in English for several years now, and the instructions are in both metric and imperial.  It is reliably one of my favourite magazines.  Quiltmania publishes two separate series - the numbered series is in English and comes out six times a year.  This series has articles as well as some projects.  They also produce a quarterly series, the "Special Editions," which are just projects and written in French, with metric measurements.

The one I bought this weekend was No. 85, September/October 2011.  Because they are imported the news stands in Canada are generally behind with this magazine.  You can also buy back issues (and many tempting but expensive books) at the Quiltmania website. 

Quiltmania goes to all the international quilt shows and prints good photos of the highlights.  This issue has quilts from Europe, Australia and Japan.  The focus is mainly on traditional quilts this time, with some really stunning efforts in both Australia and Europe.  Here are some more ideas for your half square triangles!

While it is not the most impressive quilt in the magazine, I was also struck by this one:

I thought this was a great way to set a sampler quilt.  The blocks are well unified, and it has good graphic punch.  I rarely like sampler quilts, most of them look too random and unbalanced to me, even with a limited palette.  So this is a great setting to keep in mind!  I noticed one of the shop ads in the back of the magazine has already used this idea for one of their kits.

There are a few photos from an exhibit of Reiko Kato and her students' latest quilts.  I just love the Japanese taupe quilts, and all the little accessories they make.  The fabrics are completely different than North American fabrics though, so for now I am just buying books rather than fabric.  I am SO tempted by Kato's latest - Garden Party.  If only I didn't have to import it from France!

Quiltmania is another great magazine for fairly simple quilt patterns with good design value.  Even though there are a number of American designers featured, the designs are a little different than those you find in American magazines.  There is a really gorgeous design, Eldon, from Edyta Sitar, with log cabin stars that you must see if you like her work.  I'm not sure if it was previously published, sometimes Quiltmania projects have been.  This one is not for beginners, though, the piecing has to be very accurate.

The cover project is called Ryokan, after the Japanese guest houses, although the designer Joe Wood is also American.  I think it is another great way to incorporate sampler blocks in an overall design!  The instructions for this project will be continued in the next magazine, No. 86.  It makes me think of all the barns in Pennsylvania with quilts painted on the sides - I'm sure there is a good quilt idea in there somewhere too!

Both this magazine and the one I reviewed yesterday, Sew Scrappy, had quilts featuring churn dash blocks, which was kind of interesting.  I guess it is a nice, simple block.

Finally, there is a very impressive design, Fontainebleau Forest, for an English paper pieced quilt that combines diamonds and hexagons in a pinwheel motif.  I already have an English paper pieced project in the wings, but I will keep this one in the back of my mind.  It is all fall-coloured batiks in greens, oranges and browns, and just gorgeous!

Sew Scrappy

I bought a couple of quilt magazines this weekend, and I thought I would add magazine and book reviews to my offerings here.  I used to buy a LOT of books and magazines, but this past year I've been trying to cut back, because I already have plenty of project ideas and the last thing I really need is more!  But there is something very pleasant about sitting back and looking at a lot of nice colour pictures, so I still cave once in a while.

You will find that most of my reviews are positive, because I try not to buy anything unless I'm pretty sure I'll like it.  But if I do buy a dog I will tell you!

First up is Sew Scrappy, volume two, from Better Homes and Gardens:

As a rule I usually like magazines from Better Homes and Gardens - I think it is because all their products lean towards a warmer palette, which is my strong preference as well.  This magazine is $16 here in Canada, but for me it was well worth it.  It is 128 pages and there are no ads and no articles, it is almost all quilts.  There are not even any totes or bags, just quilts ranging from simple minis to table toppers to throws and bed quilts.  And one small fused greeting card project.  As the title suggests, they all assume you have a pretty big stash! 

Even better, they are all easy projects suitable for confident beginners, but with enough design value to be appealing to more advanced quilters.  The rotary cutting and quick-piecing instructions are good.  They are almost all pieced quilts, with very little applique. 

The only slight quibble I would have is that there is not a lot of advice on choosing fabrics.  The advice is usually confined to "sort scraps into lights, mediums and darks."  I know that many quilters lack confidence in choosing fabric, so this could be an area for improvement.  The up side is that with a scrap quilt a little bit of imperfection adds to the charm.

There were three projects that gave me ideas for the future.  The hourglass quilt on the cover is quite striking, and I probably have enough scraps to do it right now.  It uses a more "country" palette with brown undertones, and I have a lot of older fabrics in these colours.  I find myself preferring clearer colours in the new fabrics I buy, so this could be a good way to use up that older fabric.  The fun thing about this quilt is that there are a couple of surprises in it - can you see the nine patch block in the cover photo?

I also like the quilt in the bottom right hand corner of the cover.  It is made of nine patch blocks with white centres and sashing.  White makes a quilt look very modern and fresh to me.  It is not just white in the borders, there is also a lot of white in the fabric prints that tie it all together.  It was fun to see some of the same fabrics in this quilt that I used in my yoyos!

There is also a low-contrast snowball block quilt in the magazine that got me thinking about a project that's been in the back of my mind for a while now.  I've seen snowball blocks all over lately and liked them, but never seriously thought about making any.  But this time it clicked.

My mother collects chicken-themed things, so I've been collecting chicken-themed fabrics for a couple of years now with the intention of making a throw quilt.  You need a block with a simple design to show off all those fabrics, and a snowball block would be ideal!  I can make the corners in solid black and white to unify the quilt and give it some graphic punch.  Perfect!

The chicken fabrics are in the unwashed part of my stash, and it was all I could do to not immediately throw them all in the washing machine.  But I was observing my first day of rest, and laundry didn't seem to fit with that, so I am still waiting.  Anyway, you already know that I have plenty on the go!

Finally, another quilt I really liked in the magazine but am unlikely to make, now anyway, was a design by Valori Wells, whose designs are always very fresh.  It is all machine-appliqued concentric circles, done in bright, solid colours.  I think this is the big new trend in quilting, solid fabrics, and we will start seeing more of them.

Gosh, I have gone on at length here!  I will review the second magazine, Quiltmania #85, tomorrow.

Sedona Star - Reading Month 1

The instructions for the first month of the 2012 BOM Sedona Star were posted on The Quilt Show website yesterday.  After giving them a quick read I proceeded to think hard for several hours!  I knew I was going to have issues just from reading the Introduction last month, but I wanted to wait and read the first month before I finalized my plans.

The thing is that I have very basic equipment.  Nothing will be done "in the hoop" on my twentysomething Janome that even then was marketed as a basic machine.  It does eight stitches.  But I don't mean to complain about my machine, because it does very well.  For me it all comes down to designer Sarah Vedeler's coy instruction to "applique using your preferred method."  My preferred method is needleturn by hand.

Given that one of Sarah's other key instructions was to leave the paper in the quilt until the end (there is a lot of paper piecing), this created a challenge.  Hence the several hours of deep thought:

• I don't want to use fusibles at all.  I am vain enough to want my quilt to have longevity - at a minimum the 50 years that could be left in my own lifetime.
• I could give up the hand applique and instead use Beth Ferrier's instructions for turned applique by machine.  I pulled out her book - More Hand Applique by Machine.
• Beth's method would still involve some glue, as well as TWO layers of paper to take out at the end.
• I could use wash-away applique paper and leave it in.
• But how will I machine quilt an 88" quilt on my little Janome with its 7" throat if the paper is still in the appliques?
• Then, a new issue occured to me.  Where will I keep the paper lined quilt for the whole year it is in progress?  I don't have a studio where I can leave it on the wall for a year.
• I could keep it in pieces until the end.
• But even then it would be a couple of weeks to assemble it.  Plus, the satisfaction of monthly progress will be greatly reduced, possible jeopardizing the whole project.  I have to be able to put it away each day.
• If I take the paper out I can hand applique, but how will I keep the big pieces accurate enough to sew together neatly?
• When I used to sew a dress or jacket I had big curved pieces that still fit together accurately.  How?  I cut a wider seam allowance and marked and pinned the matching points carefully.
• AHA!  I will make it like a dress and just give myself nice wide seam allowances.

Problems solved.

Happy New Year!

Do you make resolutions for the new year?  Sometimes I do, sometimes I don't.  For the past few years I have been, and for the most part they have been helpful.  Even if I don't finish them, I usually will have a lot more clarity on the issue by the end of the year, and therefore be feeling better about it overall.  For me 2011 was about UFOs, and even though I only finished three, I also threw away several and considerably reduced the mental load associated with all those unfinished projects.

Rather than "making resolutions," I usually "set intentions," which feels less restrictive and more fun.  It's not just semantics when you think about how the two phrases feel.

Intentions for 2012

1. Finish a quilt.  OK, this has actually been on my list for at least three years now, but I really think 2012 will be the year!  I'm much closer than I ever have been before.
2. Keep on track with Sedona Star.  I'll be starting it late, because I can't order the fabrics until I get paid next week, but my goal is to never get more than a month behind with the top.  Quilting it will probably be on the list for 2013!
3. Observe a weekly day of rest.  I don't follow a traditional religion, but lately I have been seeing a lot of value in observing a regular Sabbath or day of rest.  My plan is to switch off the computer, tv, sewing machine, etc., for a full 24 hours, and spend the time quietly with hand work and a decent chunk of meditation time.  I have a habit now of not taking time out until I get sick, so my hope is that more time outs will result in less sick time.

How about you?  What are your intentions for 2012?