LOOKING FOR INSPIRATION

Inspiration should come from inward to be expressed outward and I get that.  To fill the inward I look for people, places and experiences that will jolt me into action.  I have belonged to Quiltsittters at my local quilt shop for gosh a really long time and it seems stale now.  I am going to visit the Modern Quilt guild meeting this week to get new input, new people and who knows maybe new inspiration.  I can't decide if I will join my long time group of Quiltsitters (this is renewal month)?  I am inspired in the modern quilt simplicity lately and have enjoyed the clean lines and simple but not boring lines.  I visited the Contemporary Modern Art Museum this last week that I had not been to for several years and it brought back the joy of color, lines and movement rather than complex, color heavy and complex images.  Clean lines, fresh color and ones self interpretation of what you see inspired me to look around and take some renewing breathes of creativity.  I am on the hunt for different experiences this month to see where I might land.  More later on what it means and where I land.  Taking off now....

APRON with a MEXICAN THEME

I work fulltime and we are having our employee campaign to give to United Way.  I get the joy of working every year with the employee campaign committee and it is the best time of the year in our organization.  It is an honor to work in the community and make differences in lives across the community.  We know in this organization that one never knows when it will be us or someone near us that will need help.  Needing help crosses all socio economic status and we can need help as well as anyone.  It is an honor to work to raise money to fund programs that give aid to many in the community.  The theme is one around the Olympics with groups formed to put together "baskets" to raffle.  The baskets are themed by counties that participated in the Olympics  and I am on the Mexico basket team.  I bought a chiminea to use as our "basket" and fill up with goodies.  We are well on our way to a full and fun "basket" with lots of gift cards to Mexican restaurants, Tequila, Mexican beer, books on Mexico, Mexican food items and ingredients to whip up a fiesta.  I have put in a Mexican cook book and thought I needed to add something to dress it up, so why not an apron with a Mexican touch.  I have a great fabric stash which made it no problem to pull from what I have and a couple of hours later...dada.....APRON.

JUST RIGHT SOCKS

This pattern "Just Right Socks" a free download on Ravelry.  I was looking for a "vanilla" sock pattern that would fit and be an easy knit.  I can say this is easy to do, but I am not sure I started with enough cast on stitches.  I would like a little more give in the fit.  It fits me like a glove but is snug.  I also will definately make the top longer if I do this pattern again.  I seem to tend toward the top not long enough issue as I get bored with the top...need to remember bored is OK if I want longer tops.  The thread used is a  Lisa Souza in the Bloojay colorway.The blue is very jean blue and I like it a lot. It is heavier/thicker than I have used in the past, but I like it.  I just hope it will not be too heavy for some of my shoes.  

Curve Master Pressure Foot and Round Alaska

I fell in love with the quilt in the magazine Modern Quilting, the quilt is  Project Curious Nature as it is so simple but so beautiful. I was taken by its use of circles and the math concept that has always intrigued by Pi, that the circle doubles itself as you add outer circles.  This quilt grows very fast into the 64x64 as Pi falls into play with the circle.  I decided it had to be the pattern I use for the "Ugly Fabric" quilt event at my local quilt store Quilters Dream, Colleyville, Texas.   I took the material to Alaska with me to find fabric to make the quilt and had so much fun visiting quilt shops (see previous blog post).  So here is the start of the quilt on the design board ready to sew.  This is after many many material auditions!  The fabric except for the one with the pop of red are all from my trip to Alaska, so I think I will name this quilt Round Alaska...but still auditioning names.

As I thought of sewing all the curves I remembered the Curve Master Pressure Foot  http://www.justcurves.biz  I had bought at the Dallas Quilt Show and knew it would be a perfect time to test it and see just how it works and if it is all it says it is.    I remembered how easy it looked as it was demonstrated, and I was sure that would not be the case, but hey, guess one has to try. OMG, it was like a dream come true, I have never known such ease in joining curves.  This foot works exactly as advertised and better, no pinning, no guessing, no fussing, no problem.  I am sailing along on getting it put together.  When complete I will post the final results.  This foot is amazing and I recommend it highly.

Curve Master Pressure Foot http://www.justcurves.biz  YOU WILL NOT BE LET DOWN!

Alaska Quilt Shops

Morley J. Moose III

Quilted Raven

I got to meet my friend in Anchorage, Alaska for a week of fun.  We have never been to Alaska before and were exited to just be there.  She was judging a dog agility show and while it rained the whole weekend, no one seemed to mind and the dogs cared less--they ran and jumped and had tons of fun.  After the weekend of making new friends and getting to pet lots of dogs we had the next week to explore Anchorage and surrounding area.  My friend and I are both quilters so of course we looked up all the quilt shops in the area, we wanted to visit a few.  The first was downtown Anchorage.  The Quilted Raven was a feast for the eyes and while cozy, it was packed with great Alaska material and locally dyed yarns and other great things.  The pattern Morley J. Moose III was another delight for the eyes and just darn cute. Moose are after all very Alaskan!  Morley J. Moose III  - this is the link to the pattern.



We visited 3 other quilt shops  Quilt Zone, Quilt Tree and Dinas Cozy Cabin Quilts ....   and found a lot.  I bought many cuts for a quilt I am going to do for an "ugly" fabric challenge they are now in  audition status.  But another pattern that really caught our eye was the Labyrinth Maze from the April/May issue of Quilt Magazine.  I will have to order that back issue.   It was so much fun to shop, play tourist and relax.  There is still much to do and see in Alaska....next trip.

Lunch was great...Texas don't have these!  My friends all believe that I did not made Santa happy, but I do not see Santa as a vegetarian.

Owl Quilt for Baby

I love to know that I don't have to do anything with a pattern, I can just imagine the look and then start to create.  I think baby quilts are the perfect way to do this as they are a great size to work with and can be finished in a short period of time and....a baby does not judge so any booboos are never really the focus.  I know parents or others may see them, but I know they are so focused on the baby that they never really look too deeply at anything else.

This quilt was inspired by a picture of owls, so I took off from there.  I remember seeing laser cut owl appliques Hooterville Quilt Pattern by Brandywine Design  on Cabbage Rose Quilt Shop web site Cabbage Rose Fort Worth Texas, so I started there.  Yep just what I wanted to use, so off to the shop.  I purchased the laser cut pieces for the Hootervillle Quilt and was ready to go to step two.  (I now have a lot of owls and trees to use for other projects.)  

I had in my mind a modern quilt with white and a chevron pattern of some sort.  I envisioned a center panel of white with owls and tree and chevrons on either side.  To make the chevrons it only takes half square triangles and the design board to get the lay out.  Keeping the chevron in order when sewing is somewhat the hardest part of the process, but all ended well.

I love the finished results and the  quilting was simple with my Viking Diamond Deluxe machine.  I sewed a broad zig zag decorative stitch in the center of the chevron to mimic the flow of them and echo around the owls and tree.  A little detail quilting on tree and owls made it pop.

One week end and a quilt pattern that goes together very quickly is a perfect duo.  I like the results really well.

First Look on the design board and getting it together

Mini Quilt Packs Meaning

 The hot is on us and the sun is having its party in the sky with 100+.  But I love this time of year to get outside, watch some baseball and chill inside in the sewing studio.  I just completed a mini quilt with a patriotic flair and lots of symbolic meaning.  It is 12" square needle-turn applique with just a simple finish.  The quilting is simple at this point, now just thinking if I need to add some more...I made this simple mini quilt for an internet exchange I will participate in..... but then I made two others that I may use in the exchange.  I had never done a mini quilt ever~and I actually see the fun in doing them.  It has inspired me to think small when I want instant gratification.

Add caption

Flower detail

12 inch mini quilt
blue birds bring happiness
flower brings beauty
trophy brings fortune

FATHER'S DAY 2012

I LOVED MY FATHER SO MUCH.  I was most certainly a daddy's girl.  He was a man who took seriously taking care of his wife and kids and never once made it seem like it was too much or anything but pure joy to do.  My father Max Charles Fisher was a self made man.  He was an engineer for Southwestern Bell Telephone Company and he did not graduated college.  He loved sailing, tinkering with electronics.  He really loved sailing and his Snipe and Lighting sailboats were at the Lake Worth Sailing Club where he enjoyed his passion for sailing.  We were best pals and did so much together like hunting for resisters to use in his electronic tinkering.  He taught me to read the codes and dig in the bins to get the ones he needed for his projects.  He taught me morris code, how to sail, how to use a slide rule, how to drive, how to read graphs, how to love math/algebra, how to never say I can't do that because I was  girl, how to love, how to listen and make critical decisions, and live life to never look back and wonder...should I have?  My dad is always in my heart.  Gosh even after 45 years that he has been gone I still hear his voice and feel his hugs.  My dad ---- not enough words......Thank you God for  letting me be his daughter.

Baby Quilts Fun and Fast

Baby quilts are fun to make and boy quilts make use of those colors that speak soft but tough.  The left over squares are perfect for the accessories....blocks, pillows, toys.  This set is for a friend having a grandchild.  Grand mothers need things for their home too and I love to make a quilt they can throw on the floor and enjoy play time with that special grand.  This pattern is the Magic 9 Patch from Quilters Dream quilt shop in Colleyville, Texas.  See side bar for the link.  I love this pattern as it goes so fast and any colors work like they were made for each other.  The block and pillow pattern are those I just know from memory and can't even remember when I learned to make them.  I know my Mom taught me to make blocks and making pillows, well it is just four seams and stuffing.
Today two of my quilting friends and I are going for Girls Night Out in Granbury, Texas shopping and dinner.  I love these fun girl times as they are filled with laughter.  Everyone should  have good laughter in their life...so find your laughter today.

Knit Hats -- A Quick Gift and Fun to Knit

I think knitting hats are really the ultimate "instant" gratification.  Not "instant" in that they do not take time and they do not just knit up as fast as one ever imagines, but they do knit quickly and take not so much yarn and can use up those left overs that sit waiting to be appreciated.  My latest is a pattern bought on Ravelry.  Two -Way Beanie by Faina Goberstein.  I like its contemporary look and ease of pattern, while being no so fussy.  I really enjoyed this knit and will put another in my que for the right "left over" yarn.