WIP WEDNESDAY #8

Its really been awhile since I did a WIP WED post. I saw Faiths great Fall quilt top and was so inspired! Really pretty and beautiful. I am going to have some dental work done tomorrow and have been having quite a bit of anxiety brewing up and needed to keep my mind occupied. I am the kind of patient that needs lots of drugs to get and stay in the chair. Seriously bad patient. To distract myself I decided to work on a tut I have been working on in my head. It's up there swimming around and I need to get it out but I also need a sample.
First step:
I started pulling fabric like a crazy woman.

These are my final choices.
Step Two:
I cut 3" strips of the colors or coins and 2.5 inch strips of the background.
when I did the math I figured out I needed twice as much background as colors.
I used 20" of color and 40" background for each block.

I'm going to put a tutorial on Flickr of the steps needed to make the blocks and put together. But it's not finished yet.. so a couple more days...
see you next week!

Fall Top

Fall Top
Originally uploaded by Fresh Lemons : Faith

So inspiring by a lady named Faith in Chicago!
check out her blog over here.
Im full of nervous energy about tomorrow so this inspired me to work on a quick little something. Stay tuned.

Thanks Polly and Lauri!

A couple of weeks ago I won this sweet Charm pack and some scraps from Minick and Simpson. Now I LOVE these fabrics but kind of feel like I have enough on my plate right now and thought that the truly traditional quilters at my guild would swoon. Every month we have a mini raffle for a couple of 10$ ish items and try and raise some coin for the guild. I gave my charm pack to the guild to raffle and we doubled our normal takings! The ladies actually "ohhh"ed when the raffle leader said "this is not due out till Febuary". I am so thankful to M&S for the charm pack!
Thanks Ladies!

In other news, Im having a dental extraction in a couple of days and expect to be out of commission for a couple of days. I am getting my swap blocks finished and sent. That little martian is supposed to be a trick or treater. Thats my September block which is Halloween themed. I own zero Halloween fabrics so it was a struggle. I hope she likes it.

This is my October block which is already done and ready to be sent. Her theme is "Fall" and I think she is doing a D9P.
Quilters Rock!

Before and After

While I have been sick my husband has recovered my design wall with plain white. I got diaper flannel at 27" wide which fit perfect over my 2 foot wide panels. I think it makes a huge difference visually. I don't know how folks work without a design wall. If you don't have room for a permanent one, try a temporary one:
sew dowel pockets on both edges of flannel.
Stick dowels thru
tie string to the 2 ends of top dowel and hang.
roll up to store when not in use.

being able to stand back and see your work will change your life! I swear!
Quilters Rock!

Horn Tooting!

Capitol Quilts is teaching a class today based on this design today! So, if your in the DC area ... .

see a similar one here.

the tutorial is here and here.

Maybe Next Week

Abscessed, in pain, on drugs... out of it... talk to you later next week...

A Day Off

Some one wrote me that they didn't have hardly any Flea Market Fancy except dotted leaves. I thought what? thats not right! So we're swapping .. here is my swap . great right?
I put it on my new grey. Grey Stone by RJR. Now I love kona like everybody else its awesome. but ash is well, a little ashy. (if you watch Flipping Out you'll think thats funny) I think it has yellow in it, ewww. So I have been on the hunt for a great grey that is light and bright and not Kona Ash. light grey is not easy to find. I am hoping Kona upgrades its selection of greys in the next couple years. Do you use grey? which one do you use? let me know ...

Today I am dilly dallying around and taking some time to play in the studio. Monday is traditionally my day off, and I would love to get back on schedule. I closed the store and am back focused on making something.

The 2 longest blocks are blocks I made in the Summer of Making workshop with Denyse Schmidt. As much as I love the DS style I really don't want to be making/doing copies of her style. I wanted to get from the class a plan for developing my own blocks or working style. The oppurtunity to be around other artists, work, get feedback, and develop a "veiw".
Im using Munki, Liberty, Konas, shot cottons, and of course DS FMF.. Willy- Nilly sent me some charms to go in this quilt top I am developing for my step son. He is working on his masters in fine art (painting) at the Art Institute in Chicago.

Im going to be teaching a new project and need some samples. It takes 2 FQ and two 2.5" strips and either another FQ or batting for the sandwich center. That's what I did in the center there.
Flannel on the back and batting in the center.
Sandwich it together and quilt as desired. In my case I wanted to play and practice with machine quilting on a stationary machine. The ladies I will be teaching will be dropping their feed dogs and free quilting. It takes about 15 minutes to quilt a FQ and 20 minutes to bind. I think they could do something a bit larger maybe with half yards...
I need to crank out a few more samples.
The two on the side are quilts that I was just playing when I made or quilted. That ZigZag was a quilting experiement that for me didn't work but is still a good quilt that could be used. The one on the right was left over blocks...
I think I found them good homes... more on that later.
Quilter Rock!

Blonde Fundus! How would you know?

I have really blonde fundus... The doctor said it was the lightest he has ever seen.
He was really excited!
Blonde fundus is describing the amount of pigment in the fundus. It is sort of common in caucasions. It is of no real concern.
This means I probably need to take good care of my eyes by wearing sun glasses, since I lack pigmentation in the fundus . The fundus of the eye is the interior surface of the eye, opposite the lens, and includes the retina, optic disc, macula and fovea, and posterior pole.

Babies I think, are born with no pigment and then the fundus fills in. Mine never did. I am extremely sensitive to light and get headaches... the Doctor said it was interesting and healthy. I bought some sunglasses and took some Ib after being blasted with the lights. Im good.
Aren't these pictures neat? That's my eyeball!
Weird right?
QR!

Another One?

This time in brights. I made this from the scraps of vintage sheets. I think it is much different in feeling than yesterdays. The pastel version is really pretty in person and I think photos don't capture that delicacy. This one is bright and saucy and one could say it lacks subtlety. Either way I am kinda in love...

Here is the binding which is a Micheal Miller print. On the Pastel Version I used a vintage sheet. It worked fine but for this brights version I didn't want a solid binding and the vintage sheets are far too valuable to use as binding. I think its a good fit.

Look how nicely it plays with the other prints? Funny, how something unimportant makes me so happy.

Here is a shot of the back, I used the same back as the pastel quilt. My girlfriend hated the back and didn't want to use the sheet in our bundles, but I loved it and wanted to use it somehow.
In other news.... My husband passed his Kidney Stone with no more pain. Hooray!
I need new glasses like nobodies business and just endured the worst customer service from Costco in recorded history. Apparently, being a unholy bitch is a prerequisite at the Hillsboro Costco Optical Department. My bad luck that they sell contacts cheaper than everybody else.
Somebody asked me what constituted a "Loser" in my fabric stash. I think this is personal to each stash ... for me it is Marbles instead of Konas... Burgundy anything... thimbleberries ...
traditional small geos overprinted with black and brown ... the list goes on...
Stuff that eyes tell me is "not working".

I love these uneven dots from Paula Prass, the orange stripe, dots and print from Heather Ross.
That strong aqua and pink print from Micheal Miller these work for me in a way that's good graphically in photos and also in person. Close up and far away.. Hopefully my work will start looking like what's in my head. who knows.
Quilters Rock!

Something Bound, Something Bound to be Beautiful, and Something Bound for Someone Else

I finished my pastel upcycled bed linen quilt. Its quilted, bound and finally finished. Dreamy, modern, pastel and its so soft. Really soft! Like Heather Ross poplin might feel after 20 years!

I quilted a wreathy like flowery thing with a flamey type fill. I wanted to practice my flames. I think it will crinkle up nicely. This is unwashed. All of the linen were washed by me before I (let them in my house) started. It should only soften a bit but not shink too badly.

This huge tulip print from the 80's is the backing. omg, that's totally awesome.

The Etsy store is still open but has moved way off the front burner. I have no intension of being a fabric store. Thanks for shopping with me if you did. I still have quite a selection of Flea Market Fancy and will be having sales to move them out. I will announce here first.
Since I went to the Denyse Schmidt Workshop at PNCA I have had to face the fact that I have purchased some losers in the fabric department. I am moving in a new direction, a new style and need the tools to do that. Buying or refocusing my stash to that end has been helpful. I sent 3 boxes to IBOL on the 16 of August full of stuff I needed to let go. Rather than have a destash sale is was great to be able to give it to some ladies that I'm sure could really use it.
Im going to be starting a new program of recieving blankets soon so stay tuned for that. I've got a plan.
The money I earn helps me to quilt for charity and do vollunteering, so I am really grateful to those who shopped with me. Thank You.

Those Wonky Stars are each actually a stack of wonky stars. August was my month in Stash Busting Bee International, I requested Wonky Stars and when they started to roll in I put some in a pile and the rest I left in each envelope till now. When I get done with my chores and have time to play with these... Im gonna make something great! For me! Thanks ladies!
The other quilt up there is my DQS7 for my partner. Im sending it today. I hope she likes it.
Below that you can my Pressing Station. The Iron is a Shark Pro something.. . if it was a woman it would be a dominatrix. Fabrics just beg to be pressed into submission.
My shapely water bottle filled with distilled. Behind that is my new binding maker. Which I love beyond normal boundaries. Another item you don't see is my bottle of Best Press. They should pay me, I am a convert.
Quilters Rock!

More Munki More

swap and give away
Originally uploaded by 2ndAveStudio

Zip on over to Repro Depot and get some Munki Yardage!
Fast before its gone!

He Rocks!

My DH husband just called to tell me he found this rollerskate in a store and did I want it?
Cheese and Rice! Awesome!
today:
Quilters Husbands Rock!

City Blocks front

City Blocks front
Originally uploaded by onepotato

okay vision this! ... light gray back ground or white.
pastels as the big squares like she has and then Muni munki as the charms squares..
OnePotato over at flickr made/posted this marvel and I swear I have been drawing something similar for months but thought it too complicated and here this simple version is....

In general this would be an awesome charm pack quilt idea!
Quilters Rock!