Good Fortune

Look what was buried in my mailbox yesterday! Vickie made some really need mixed media postcards the other day, and she was nice enough to send me this Fortune card. Isn't it yummy? There's stuff in there I can't identify, other than to say I like it! (She says cheesecloth, silk fibers, yarns, angelina, tulle and then metallic thread for quilting/finishing.)

Thanks, Vickie!

Week #2 Challenge -- part 1

Christmas ornament
Originally uploaded by AJB30

If you didn't know it already, you're going to see that I'm very eclectic in my quilting tastes... wool felt, holidays, traditional patterns and color combinations, fun art pieces, postcards, well, you get the idea.

I pulled the wool felt last night for a pair of Christmas ornaments (and felted two small pieces in hot water in a mixing bowl!). I cut everything tonight, but have to find a way to mark the embroidery on the other piece. Maybe tomorrow... After looking at this, I emailed my mom and sister with an addition to my Christmas list -- a circle cutter!

(Photo slightly overexposed -- the inner circle is cream.)

Oh -- this is done because I ran out of thread on the other piece. When you see how close to finished I was... well, let's just say I wasn't very happy! Again, not a great photo -- I suspect the piece isn't really square, but it's showing particularly badly because I'm just tossing it on a quilt rack and hoping for the best!

Project Runway Challenge - WEEK 1

Yeah, I'm still behind on the week #1 challenge... but making progress again! I think I mentioned I had an orphan feathered star block that I was thinking about using. I still can't quite believe I cut it for this project, but what the heck -- it wasn't perfect and it doesn't go with anything else, so why was I saving it?

The block must be around 15.5 or 16". I overlapped the block with a piece of the background fabric, both right sides up, and cut a nice gentle curve. After piecing the new plain fabric to the block, it was (sadly) a little out of square, but I persevered. I first quilted the straight lines, where the pieces would have been if I hadn't cut the block.

I had first thought to quilt inside the lines, making the plain side look more like the pieced side. I started that the other night, and ended up picking it all out. In the process of doing that, I decided it was too obvious to quilt it that way -- it would be more interesting to quilt outside the lines. Of course, if I was going to all that work, I wanted the quilting to show.

Be careful what you wish for... I also really wanted to try a new-to-me background filler I learned in a class with Carol Taylor earlier this year. For the first ten minutes, I hate-hate-hated it. The quilting lines looked like blood and it was completely horrible. I decided I would keep going (there was enough done that ripping it out again was NOT an option!) and if nothing else, one of the cats could have a new little quilt. (One of my mom's cats -- George is much too big for this little quiltlet!)

Luckily, the more I quilt it, the better I like it. It's still a little odd, but I'm OK with that, at least at the moment. The photo above is the result of a little more than an hour's worth of quilting. About three more hours of that (I'll have that filler in my muscles by then, I hope), then finishing.

Don't ask about week 2 (the diptych)... I think I've decided to make a pair of Christmas ornaments (yup, taking the easy way out!), but I'm not really in the mood today.

Here's a closer view of one corner. Do you think I should go back after the filler is done and try to "darken" the straight lines that represent the pieces?

Holy cow -- I just clicked the close up image to be sure it would get bigger -- and it does. Don't say I didn't warn you! I almost deleted it after that, since the quilting isn't really that great, but I decided to be a big girl and leave it for your viewing pleasure. I think this filler at this (small) size is better suited for a much thinner thread. See, I did learn something...

Two pieces. $15 and a dose of style (of course!)

This week's challenge, should you choose to accept it, is a diptych. And on the cheap. Two pieces that work together, total raw material cost not to exceed $15 -- and should reflect fall or winter in some way. That price includes any batting, backing, thread, interfacing, fusible, embellishments, etc. And yes, stuff from your stash counts against your total. I'm definitely thinking smaller is better this week!

Last week's challenge has turned out to be a bit bigger than I first thought. Not physically -- it's probably 16" square -- but the ripping last night really took the wind out of my sails. Well, that and last night's bedtime adventure...

For those of you who have been reading for any length of time, you know that my house seems to be a hotel for wayward bats. Yes, another little brown fuzzy one dropped in unexpectedly last night, looking for milk and cookies, I guess. I finally was able to throw him out the window (literally).

VERY high on today's to-do list was to call The Batman. Seriously. That's his name.

In the meantime... maybe tomorrow will bring the opportunity to finish last weeks challenge piece.

Project Runway Challenge

Ah... a new start to Project Runway. Are you watching?

There are three tents, all white. They look like cheap white plastic from the outside... but are filled with thousands of dollars worth of yummy fine textiles on the inside. The designers had 10 minutes to choose fabric and then 13 hours to make an outfit that expresses their point of view.

Wow -- one of the designers (Elisa) is grass staining one of her fabrics. Not sure what that will lead to... I'm typing this in real time ;) 10:35p update -- she's nuts -- Stacy and Clinton would call her "hippy-dippy-trippy" for sure!

OK, here's the challenge, should you choose to accept it:

• Dive into your stash for not more than 15 minutes.
• Choose fabrics, trims, papers, whatever strikes your fancy.
• Whatever you pull out during this 15 minutes is all you have to work with -- no return trips to the bottom of the scrap basket!
• You'll have to be on the honor system, unless you have an inside track to Heidi Klum or Tim Gunn!

Create something that expresses your point of view -- you might think of it as a journal, a postcard, a bigger art expression, or whatever works for you. The goal is to show yourself -- your personality -- through what you create.

Meet me back here anytime before next Wednesday at 10 p.m. to show your stuff -- comments with links to your work are great; you can also email me at amyquilts (at) gmail (dot) com and I'll upload your pics/descriptions. (Replace with symbols as needed) Let's keep this "loosey-goosey" -- your piece doesn't have to be finished, you don't have to play every week and no one goes out of style at the end of the week!

Here's what I'm thinking about... My quilting "personality" is very fractured -- I love traditional quilts, difficult blocks like feathered stars, classic color combos like red and white, but I also love bright colors, artsy quilts, and trying new things. My life right now is also very fractured -- I'm completely stressed at work, exhausted at home and feeling rather uncreative. I'm not sure how this will play out in my piece, but there's a point of view buried in there somewhere...

What are YOU thinking about? How can you (or do you) express your point of view through your quiltmaking (or crafting or art or whatever)? Or do you do that with every piece you make? Take a leap with me, especially if this is a little outside your usual box.

Wow -- the editing pace of these outfits on the runway is insane -- I can't hardly take in the work beyond initial impact. I hope that doesn't continue.

Dresden Plate for Faye

Here's the latest block for the Birthday Block Swap on quilting.about.com. I seem to have cropped the photo unevenly, but it is 12" finished. Miss November (also known as Faye) requested 6", 9" or 12" blocks in 30s prints on a white-on-white background. Although 30s fabrics are not really my cup of tea, I wanted to make a block that would be typical of quilts of the time.

I was going to print templates from EQ6, but the 16-blade pattern gave three different templates to be used in each quarter of the plate. Since I've never made a block like this before, that didn't seem like a recipe for success! I ended up buying a template set a Joann (making me glad all the fabric was stashed!) to make this block. I wanted to make it smaller, but the only templates they had make this 12" version.

(The block is lying atop my Melody Johnson quilt, so there's a little bright show-through on the white background.)

Reassigned...

OK, I'm *still* excited, but as it turns out, "The Ties That Bind" is not going to Houston. Instead, it's up for auction in October!

The auction runs from October 1-10. Bid early and often for #1550 -- or any other little quilt that catches your eye! ;)

Houston Bound!

The Ties That Bind is going to Houston! (Probably the only time I'll ever have a quilt shown there, too!) It moved from "Quilts Waiting Assignment" to "Quilts Going to IQF." There are some fabulous quilts in both categories -- take a look the next time you need a little inspiration. I'm loving 1634-1637 this morning, in the waiting category.

I read that Ami Simms has approximately 700 of these Priority: Alzheimer's quilts going to Houston -- a little short of her 1000 quilt goal, but frankly, amazing to me nonetheless!

Did YOUR WIP Win?

First, I loved reading about all of your projects in process, and it made me feel better about some of mine ;)

My co-worker Sara randomly drew three names from the box top (a hat wasn't handy), and the winners of the postcards are (in alphabetical order):

• Christine in Florida
• Kate
• Sophie

Congrats to all -- and to everyone who's working on and finishing a WIP!

#1550

That's my number, and I'm sticking with it ;)

#1550 is the registration number for my Priority: Alzheimer's quilt, "The Ties That Bind." I dropped it in the mail to Ami Simms today, and will be watching my USPS confirmation number to be sure it arrives safely! (Funny thing -- there weren't any Priority FREs out at PO, so I had to ask the clerk when my turn came. She didn't know what the acronym stood for -- is that more an online shorthand for those handy envelopes? Or was she having a blonde moment?)

Anywho, I'm going to miss that little quilt, but I'm proud to be part of something bigger and better.

The Ties That Bind

Here it is -- The Ties That Bind. This little quilt was made for Ami Simms' Alzheimer's Art Quilt Initiative (AAQI). One of the gals at quilting.about.com challenged the members to make a quilt this fall, as Ami is trying to collect 1000 quilts to take to International Quilt Festival in Houston and sell. I'm thrilled to be able to participate, and would be honored if my contribution went to Houston.

The parameters for the little quilts are pretty straightforward -- each donation must fit in a 9x12 USPS priority mail envelope. Ami auctions off a bunch of quilts each month and gives the money to the Alzheimer's Association. This is a great opportunity to try something new AND make a difference.

A little more about the quilt... anyone who's read anything I've had to say in the last 24 hours or so will recognize the components of this piece. When I trimmed the center panel of my beach quilt, I had some leftovers. Three of the pieces became postcards (those are done, too, waiting for you to tell me about your WIPs), and the rest became this little quilt. Each unit is about 3x4.5, and the total size is about 8.5" square. I put in what felt like 8 million eyelets, then tied the pieces together with a darker brown, nubby yarn.

This piece is made in honor of Laurel G., who has early onset Alzheimer's.