You know what's fun about Valentine's sewing? Being able to completely indulge in the girly pink of it all!
A mini quilt I made for last night's LA Modern Quilt Guild meeting. We had a Valentine Swap and it was a blast!
I had fun using one of my (almost never used) decorative stitches on this...
Otherwise, my post answering the question "What does modern quilting mean to me?" is up over on the guild's blog. Go check it out and maybe you'd like to chime in on the conversation too?
What does modern quilting mean to me? That's the question we'll be answering this week over on the Modern Quilt Guild blog.
It's not easy to define just what modern quilting is so we hope that lots of you will join in the conversation! Check it out over here!
So busy these days that this is my first finish of 2010. A cute and simple baby quilt for some friends who are expecting but don't know if it's a boy or a girl. Their first baby got this quilt, so the idea was that the quilts are different but still sort of match.
I had a great time drawing attention to all of the little critters with the quilting.
The back:
It's so much fun to put together baby quilts quickly. I might have to do that a couple more times before I tackle another bed quilt.
The next block in the Block Party quilt along is up. Check it out!
Put this little house up on Flickr yesterday (for the Bee Imaginative bee) and people seem to like it so I thought I'd pop it up over here on the blog too.
Yes, Mr. Gnome IS off gathering more mushrooms while deer & birdie wait for him at home. He'll be back soon. And then they will all enjoy some mushroom soup.
Recently obsessed with this color combo.
Been trying different things....
...but nothing just right quite yet.
I've been super busy with tons of stuff recently - sorry the ol' blog is feeling the pain!
Otherwise, we're up to TWENTY SEVEN THIRTY branches of the Modern Quilt Guild!! Can you believe it!?! And more are in the works. Amazing stuff! Modern quilters unit!
Jenny's having a bake sale at Home Ec. - all proceeds go to Doctors Without Borders so if you're in LA on Sunday be sure to stop in and buy some delicious baked goods!!
That's how it's been feeling the past week or so. Something about the new year has made people eager to start something new and the Modern Quilt Guild it reaping the benefits!
Here at the LA branch we recently had our first sewing day - six hours of chatting and sewing BLISS!
SO many people out there starting new branches! Check out the new site where you can find out if there's a guild near you to join.
So my sister nominated me for the Poppies over at Poppytalk! So nice of her. Click over and vote for me if you wanna! Thanks!
Got the baby quilt top all finished up. Super simple and quick to put together - all I've had time for recently!
Lots of polka dots and cute animals! Perfect for a baby.
Thanks for all of your kind words about Project Runway. I can't wait to see what the rest of the season holds!
And on a different note, I'm sure you've all already seen the amazing Craft Hope etsy shop that's raising money for Doctors Without Borders in Haiti. Perfect place to go shopping if you want to.
Tonight season 7 of Project Runway, which I cast, premieres!
10 pm on Lifetime. Hope you watch!
Ok now that that's over - a small update for those of you who read me through a reader - loads of new branches of the Modern Quilt Guild are starting up and the list is ever growing! Click through to my last post to see if there's one near you that you can join.
Hi everyone! A few people have contacted me about the fact that they are starting branches of The Modern Quilt Guild in their area! Maybe you live nearby and want to join? Just click on over or send an email to the people listed below.
1/20/10 EDIT: WE NOW HAVE A MAIN WEB SITE. Please click on over there for all of the latest branches and info! Kansas City - Jacquie, Shea, and Jen are getting going! You can join their group, here!
Chicago - Mary is looking for interested people. Click on over to her blog and you can contact her there! Or you can now sign up for their group here.
Austin - Heather is looking for some modern quilters! Join their group here. Or you can email her at heatherlgrant @ gmail . com to get involved.
Seattle - Katie wants to get things going up in Seattle! Drop her a line (her contact info is on her blog) if you're interested or you can sign up to their group here.
La Crosse, WI - Anna wants to meet you! Click over to her blog and contact her that way.
ADDED!
Philadelphia - Julie wants to find you! Her email address is in her profile on her blog so just drop her an email.
Washington DC - Natalie is looking for members and people who would be up for helping her with the organization of getting things started up. Her contact info is on her blog.
Raleigh-Durham/Chapel Hill, NC area - Kat is getting organized! Email her at: orangegiggle @ bellsouth . net if you're interested in joining. You can also sign up to their group, here.
Houston/League City, TX - Rene is interested in helping with getting a branch started. She's looking for anyone interested and also people who would like to help with the initial organizing. Her email address is over on her blog - just drop her a line.
Dallas -Lisa is looking for people in the Dallas area. You can email her at lisa @ sophiaaster . com or sign up to their group - here.
New England - A few people are getting started up in the New England states. Contact Monet at madebymonet @ gmail . com or you can sign up to their group here. Also should numbers be big enough - this branch might split up into different groups.
Portland, OR - Elizabeth would like to hear from interested people. She's just getting started and would like to get a sense of numbers. There's no set plans yet, but let her know if you're in the area and would like to join. You can email her at elizabeth @ ohfransson . com
Indianapolis - Jan is looking for like minded quilters to start a branch! You can email her at janmadethis @ gmail . com
Idaho - Des is looking for you! She's in southeast Idaho. Drop her an email at deslynn @ cableone . net
Birmingham, AL - Drop a note to Cathy if you're in the area! She's looking for you. Can can email her at zetti1 @ charter . net
Knoxville, TN - Get in touch with Mary Beth if you're in the area. You can sign up for their group here and she can be emailed at meadows.marybeth @ gmail . com
Asheville, NC - Amanda is looking for interested people and help with getting things started. You can email her at mandiglia @ gmail . com
Orlando, FL - Rene is looking for people in the area who are interested in joining and she'd also like help with the organizing. You can join their group here. Or drop her an email at renecreates@ me . com to get in touch!
Bay Area/San Jose, CA - Ruth is looking for you! Join the group here. Her email is ircabbit @ gmail . com
Atlanta - Sonya is getting started. Join their group here, or email her at georgiabelleboutique @ yahoo . com
If you don't live in these areas and wish you had somewhere to meet like minded modern quilters, maybe you need to start a branch of your own! Drop me a note if you're interested and we'll all work together to spread the word and get people involved. A national Modern Quilt Guild is a wonderful thing!
The end of 2009 was heavy on the big (take forever to make) bed quilts so I thought it was time to whip up a fun and simple baby quilt. Just getting started!
2009 was good to me. Quilts, quilts & more quilts, a book deal, casting season 7 of Project Runway, starting the L.A. Modern Quilt Guild, plus endless enjoyment and inspiration from all of you in bloggy/flickr land has lead to a wonderful creatively fulfilling year. So thank you!! Happy new year to you all and may 2010 bring us all great things.
Some of my quilts from 2009.
For my sister's Christmas gift, I made her a set of placemats.
I made six of 'em but there were only four of us for Christmas dinner so here's the table at the beginnings of being set. I'd show it to you all set, but then you can't see the placemats! I have to say, I'm very happy with how these came out.
Why is it so hard to photograph dark brown and have it read true? The placemats are 14" x 16" and I did some straight line quilting on them to keep them smooth and modern looking. My sister loves them and they look great in her house!
Hope that you all have a happy and safe New Years Eve!
This will be the last quilt that I finish in 2009. How do I know? I have zero going right now. I'll need to remedy that soon. Been too busy with the holidays to get anything started recently. Meanwhile, the quilt!
It was my Christmas present for my father. All Kona solids this time around and I tried to go for colors he would like. Somehow I didn't think loads of solid white with bright fabrics involving polka dots and/or birds (kinda sums up a lot of the my stash...) was gonna fly for my father. And there's actually no white in this - the light color is a light grey - Ash.
Another shot of it.
This is the first time I've ever put a border on a quilt. I'll be honest. I didn't initially picture it with one but I just could. not. make. one. more. block. I love the results of all solids, but they don't make for exciting piecing. But I do really like the border in the end. And my father loved the quilt!
I did a very simple pieced back:
Can you believe that it's almost 2010?!?
Very little Christmas decorating going on around here. We celebrate at my sister's house and I've been busy with other sewing, so it got left behind this year. Just a photo of festive fabrics for you today!
That and a wish that you all have wonderful holidays this year! I'll be back in a couple of days with some of the presents I've sewn. See you then and meanwhile I hope that you all have great food, fun and family time. Merry Christmas!
Crocheting! I have never been able to tackle crocheting. I've knit a ton, but somehow couldn't get my head around crocheting on my own. But I took a great class with Cheryl Cambras at Home Ec. the other night and for the first time, it clicked! I might be hooked. (Oh what a bad crocheting pun!)
Here's the cute little bird I made! Please forgive those few weird stitches on his belly. I'm not caring seeing as it's the very first time I've ever crocheted. I crochet CRAZY tightly apparently. I literally had to focus on doing it looser. Weird.
Can't wait to start the next little project but meanwhile it's back to quilting all day today. That Christmas deadline is looming! Hope you're all getting your Christmas presents done in time!
I'm finally all caught up on my virtual quilting bees this weekend. Good thing as I've joined two more than start in January. For Nov. of 12 Squared, three little houses! Megan's going to be adding the muslin to the top and bottom of them to square them up.
Then Oct. of Sew Connected 2. The theme was "summer at the beach house" so I attempted a very abstract landscape. Can you see it? Grass, beach, ocean, setting sun and sky. Yeah - well, I tried!
And then finally some fun wonky stars for Nov. of Sew Connected 2.
A happy Monday to you all!
That's what it's going to be around here until after Christmas... You know what happens when you're working on a book and you also are sewing Christmas presents? You have nothing you can blog about! I will show you the Christmas sewing once gifts have been given, but for today, just a picture of some Kona solids. I can't post without photo and they are pretty! Plus, some links to stuff I think you might like!
Leah blogs about machine quilting - not piecing, but specifically machine quilting. Her tips and suggestions are endlessly helpful. This post from yesterday about how to quilt a big quilt is great. I agree with her completely that you CAN quilt big quilts in your home sewing machine! The rest of what you read about it tends to scare you off and I love her "you can do it!" attitude.
Did you see that Rashida, from I heart Linen (and one of the members of the Block Party Bee) has a book that came out? I can't wait to get my hands on it and her blog tour kicks off today! Check it out.
And what? A blog just about what Michelle Obama wears? Love it.
Hope you all have great weekends. It's going to be a rainy one here in L.A. which means lots of sewing!