Quilt Faster, Quilt Faster!

And, it's done.  This was my entry into our guilds "Song Challenge."  Can you guess my song?  It was "Under the Sea."

 I originally made this little portion, with just the pieced blue with green seaweed (no fish).  When I measured it, it was much too small to meet the challenge 80" minimum perimeter rule.

 I thought a border or two might bring it to size, so I pulled out my tropical UFO box.

Do you remember this image from light years ago?  It was taken in 2008.  Notice the turquoise pretties on the wall?

 Here they are again, in 2009.  I never could seem to get them together in a satisfactory arrangement.

The blocks were stuffed back into the box, to percolate.  I know I've taken them out since then.  Surely it hasn't been 5 years?  Where does the time go?  Apparently that box has been generating blocks for close to 16 years.

It started with leftovers from this quilt:

"The Wowie Gazowie Quilt"

Suzanne Kistler 1998?

umm, yeah.  I don't think I'll ever make it to the bottom of the Turquoise Treasure Box, but I am going to cross off  "Turquoise Tropical Medley", #17 of my 2014 UFO List, as "finished."  After all, I did use up the majority of the pieced blocks for my Underwater Adventure quilt.

huh.  That might just be the name for this new little gem.  Whatever.  Quilts in these colors always make me smile!

*Groan*

As you know, because I keep telling you, it's been a full week since the carpet layers left.  You would think I would have the house reclaimed by now, but no.  I've earned a great big FAIL in that department.  I've been working diligently, but visible results are minimal, at best.

I've been pleased with my fabric stash.  I reorganized much of it, putting the things I use the most in more easily accessible places.  It's looking lovely, don't you think?  This cabinet is still in the bedroom, but it's now acting as "art" rather than a barrier in the room, as you can see it from the doorway.  The top two shelves hold my batiks, the third has fruit & vegetable fabric.

 Sorry about the flash.  This is the bulk of my stash.  I've unloaded all of the totebags and bins.

Or at least I thought I had.  But when we moved a bookshelf to the back bedroom, what should be hiding behind it but this:

oh dear.  I thought I was low on yellows and pinks on the shelves.  But I'd convinced myself that they were "in the other room," depending upon which room I was in.  I guess I'm going to have to cull through much more aggressively, to see if I can find space to stash these favorites.

The good news is that I sold a lot of quilt accessories at guild last Thursday, so I don't have quite so many things to try to set up in the studio.

The bad news is that the spare room is still full of studio contents, and the bed is still buried. 

I think I had my dread/panic focused on the wrong end of the carpeting project.  Yes, it was difficult to move everything out of every room, even though we did it in waves.  But I'm finding it even more difficult to organize it and put it back once the project was "done."  Apparently, I've run out of steam.  And that's not good news.

How Fun!

Here's something fun and exciting that's come about because of the upheaval.  My design wall now looks like this:

 It is pristine and clean.  Since it was down and empty, I thought it would be a good idea to wash the flannel.  I believe it's a queen-sized flannel sheet, although it might be a king.  I've attached it to two hinged pieces of foam sheathing from Home Depot.  The sheathing is hinged with duct tape, which is also how I've attached the flannel.  I believe this is the third time I've washed the flannel and taped it back on.  The sheathing comes in 8' x 4' pieces.  I cut mine to 7', so that it will fit against the wall.  Eight feet would also fit, but I can't reach that high, so it would be wasted space.  I made a traveling/folding design wall with the extra pieces.

 With all of that design area available, what will I put on the wall?  Inspiration is everywhere.  Tonight I tried to capture the crazy colors of the sky as the sun began setting behind the camphor tree.  I'm not sure you can see it, but it was beautiful.

In other news, I was thrilled to see my name on the winner's list at the Pennsylvania National Quilt Extravaganza.  woohoo!  What a great way to start the day!

On Tour

This morning I had a nice surprise when I got to guild. Instead of a speaker, our scheduled program was a studio tour. Apparently in my focus on the quilt show, I totally missed that this month we had the opportunity to visit the studios of three local quilters. So much fun!!

Our first visit was to Jan's house. Her studio is quite small, proving that you don't need a lot of space to accomplish great things. Her custom-made sewing table is 6' wide, and has a folding back that opens out to support a very large quilt.

Here is the room from another angle. A lovely view seems to be the unifying theme in all three studios.

This is what Jan calls her stash. Stash? Really? She tends to buy for her projects, apparently she's not a collector.

(Actually, when you look out the window, I think she's a plant collector! Her yard is lovely.)

For those of you who love dogs, I thought you might like to see Annie. Her hair has more personality than any hair I've seen in a long time. Unfortunately she decided to be shy.

Oh wait! Here are some eyes! (She's 13, and Heinz 57...)

As we drove to the next house, we passed this wild display. Click on the picture, and look at the signs! There are so many, it was hard to take them all in. I made sure we backtracked, so I could snap this shot.

Our next stop was Diane's studio. Wow. Large and spacious, she has a wonderful workspace.

Again, her stash is, shall I say, meager. She only buys for projects, and doesn't have a lot of leftovers.

Isn't this a great idea for a potting table?

How about this collection of 30's fabrics?

Her sewing table boasts a lovely view of her back yard.

How about lovely lined baskets and fancy boxes to hold UFO's or projects in progress? A bit easier on the eye than my rubbermaid containers, don't you think?

This colorful display holds leftovers from projects, not lunch. All of the scraps are color-coordinated, so if she needs a small this or that, the fabrics are already stored together, just waiting for her attention.

The last house we visited was Judy's. Her studio is on the second floor, and the room has a lot of personality. The closet in the wall holds her stash. Now that's more like it. ;)

The little nook behind the cutting table holds her paints and trims and other (nonquilting) craft supplies.

Her sewing machine looks out the window. She says she can 'Keep an eye on the neighbors.' ;) (Judging by her work, I think she's really focused on her quilting, not her neighbors!)

I love the rocking chair in the corner...and the Civil War era project on the wall... I think it's a nice combo to have the 1800's nestled right there with the computer and printer along the other wall. You didn't even notice them, did you? They blend right in...

And that's how we spent our morning. I should have been doing quilt show wrap-up, but it will keep. The break was lovely, and other than folding drape, it will extend throughout the weekend. On Monday, I will be back at it, wrapping up our 2011 show and getting started on 2012. Have a great weekend!!!

Still Cleaning...

Part of cleaning means "finishing" before stashing away. My machine stitched out three labels yesterday, I sewed them on last night while watching "Gentlemen Prefer Blondes."

I cleaned more today...Here's the quilter's view...

I think the cat's eye view is better. See that nicely vacuumed carpet? There's a lot of it now visible. Two days ago, you never would have known it was there.

I spent a few hours out at the NussHaus (Nut House) with a plumber. drip, drip, drip is now not. Well, there are still two drips that require special parts, but they won't be dripping for much longer.

I paid the first installment today. Now it REALLY feels like ours. :)

Happy New Year!!

A Bit of Busy-ness

My Studio has been a disastrous mess for much too long. Things have piled up as I spent time on my Hoffman and ignored all else. I've been trying to restore some sort of order, but real progress has been slow. Most of the "progress" is due to moving the big things into another room.

I know. That's cheating. But my son got a job and moved to Santa Monica and I couldn't let that lovely space go to waste. :)

Here is the current status of my sewing surface. There's almost room to sew.

That rolled up quilt in the background is my whitewater rafting quilt. It's waiting for me to add beads before I call it Completely Finished.

I sewed together another quilt for Komforters for Kids, our guild philanthropic project. It will end up with a community service officer, to be given to a child in distress.

And finally, I put together some postcards for a Postmark'd Art exchange. I'm new to this sort of thing, and had a bit of a challenge trying to get the post office to actually accept one for mailing.


I've only mailed one of the cards, I'm waiting to hear if it arrives before I mail the others.

These cards measure 4" x 6", which is considerably smaller than the 5" x 7" quilted cards that are my usual MO. It's called moving out of my comfort zone. It's a challenge to pull together an idea in such a small space.

And I think that's it for now. My BOTV bookmarks are ready to pick up. Yes, it's time to remind everyone about our upcoming April 2011 show...Let the publicity begin!

Quilt Studio Tour!

Wow. Does that sum it up? Wow.

Today I went on a Quilt Studio Tour, touring studios in Visalia, Hanford and Kingsburg, CA. Nine studios were included on the tour. I made it to eight. The one I missed was Country Manor, which I was told to be sure NOT to miss. I missed it. It is a place where many local quilters congregate for retreats and classes, but I've never been there. I can't find a weblink to get a peek. Sorry about that.

I loaded fairly large photo files, so if you want to see details, be sure to click on the photo. :)

The first house I went to was Debbie Van Fossen's. ooh aaah. I stopped dead in the living room, not needing to go further. It was like walking into the pages of Country Living magazine, when they're all dressed up for Christmas. Debbie has an artist's eye, and it's not limited to her quilts. It is on display in every corner of her home.

There were quilts on the railings outside the house:

Here is Debbie, in her Studio. Notice the piece of furniture her hand is resting on. This is a popular piece, available from Ikea. You will see it in a few more of the studios on tour. Each quilter is thrilled with it. Her walls are painted with pale pink and white vertical stripes. Very happy!

The second house was that of Barbara Sindlinger. Here it is from the outside, and again, there is a quilt on the bench near the front door.

Of all the Studios, Barbara's was the most like mine. I say that because I suspect she needs to be able to see what she wants to work on, just as I do. Then again, I was told that she finishes a project before beginning a new one. hmmm. The two shelves below the shelf of books are completely filled with finished quilts.

Next on my list was the home of Kathy Veltkamp. I loved the quilt hanging outside, signaling that yes, indeed, I was at the right place.

This is Kathy's Studio. (See the Ikea storage to her right?) Her Studio is immaculate. And I know it's ALWAYS like this. :) Kathy oozes with organization. I wish it would spill over and infect me! Oh! And see the quilt to the left of her head? The one with the Log Cabin border? I made that quilt for her a few years ago. I was THRILLED to see it hanging on her wall. The center is machine quilted with a wreath of cherries. Kathy is the one who taught me to machine quilt and gave me the confidence boost that I so sorely needed. I am honored to have a quilt hanging on her wall. Thank you, Kathy! :)

I don't remember if I saw this license plate in her driveway or at the next house. I kept running into it for the remainder of the tour.

Next stop, Hanford, and the home of Anna Koelewyn. She's the Featured Artist for our 2010 Best of the Valley show.

Here's Anna, in her Studio. (See the Ikea piece under the window? It has glass panels in the drawers, and hers are filled with fabric.)

I wanted a second shot of Anna and her Studio, to show you her new baby (on the table) and the sign on her door.

From Anna's, I went to the home of Sara Kelly. Her husband is a photographer, she is an artist, and the home is just what you might imagine the home of two artists to be. Every nook and cranny has something of interest, and I could have poked around there all day. But that would have been nosy and presumptuous of me.

Here is Sara's Studio. She (and several of the others) is working through the book to the right, on the table. Many of the completed assignments are behind her, on the design wall.

Next on the list, Grace Hoya.

I wanted to show you the fantastic natural lighting in her Studio, unfortunately it backlit everything and you see no detail. (If you click on the picture, it looks better bigger.)

Here she is, from the other direction. Do you see that black storage on the left? She's the only quilter I know of who has a wine collection (labeled and catalogued) in her Studio.

From Hanford, I traveled to Kingsburg, and the home of Becky Karlie. I LOVED Becky's home. If I thought I had a lot of Christmas ornaments, I was mistaken. Becky has all kinds of Christmas decorations FILLING her home. It is beautiful!

Here is Becky's Studio. For the past several months, she's been saying she couldn't find the floor. Doggone! I should have gotten a picture of the floor! It's a beautiful wood floor, with plenty of walking around space. She says it took her days to find. Well, Becky? It was worth looking for! :)

The last house I visited was that of Linda Blassingame. Even the leaves dropping from the tree outside were artistically arranged. I'd been told that Linda could be an interior decorator, and her home certainly displayed a lot of flair! It is beautifully decorated - ALL of the homes were beautifully decorated! But Linda even had a runner on her washer/dryer and Christmas decorations in her laundry room. I have to admit, that never would have occurred to me!!

This last picture is Linda, in her Studio. She asked where I wanted her, I requested the rocking chair. It was my favorite piece in the room, and looked so welcoming. (Do you see to the right of her elbow? There's that piece from Ikea again. Linda says she had hers first.) How about the CD tower on the left, filled with fat quarters?

So wow. What do you think? Are you inspired?

I came home feeling a bit inadequate. My Studio is the only part of my home that I would show to anyone. However today, it looks like a tornado has gone through it. The rest of my house? It's done in early garage sale. It would never stand up to the scrutiny of curious quilters. I now have new goals for 2010, and they're not quilting goals.