Floating Frames

Are you familiar with Hawthorne Threads? I know I've written about this online shop before, and not to go overboard, but they really are smart about how they present their product. They have the very best newsletter, at least from their point of view. They send me a newsletter via email every week, and every week the photos suck me right in and I start imagining what I will make with some newly arrived fabric line. Isn't it funny how a well designed newsletter can make a product irresistible while poor photographs or a busy, busy newsletter design can turn you off completely?

A couple of months ago a newsletter showed up with pictures of P&B Textiles new design Hello Dahlia. It wasn't a minute before I knew I needed to buy some of it... perhaps even lots of it. I think at first it caught my eye because of the name. My mom grew really pretty deep crimson dahlias and I always loved them. What you don't get from this group photo is the dramatic difference in scale in these prints.

I bought mostly greys and blacks with just a few prints with some red. When the package arrived I was delighted to find that the prints with names like Abstract Floral, Mosaic, and Printed Lines, were quite subtle, but the focus print called Hello Dahlia indeed says HELLO! I still didn't know what the quilt would look like, but I knew I needed a piece of that to focus the design. I also knew that these colors were just right for a woman I was planning to give a quilt for Christmas. And I thought that something rather improvisational would be right for her as well. At first I thought about doing another wonky log cabin, but I thought she deserved an original design - not something I had done before.  

What I ended up with is a collection of frames - some filled with images and some appearing empty - all floating on point in a sea of the black abstract floral. There is a lot going on in this design, but still plenty of neutral space for interesting quilting.

And the back is pieced too, so hopefully it will work as a reversible. Can't wait to get quilting on it. I think I can make some of those frames pop and others recede with some careful free motion quilt work. Once I get it finished I'll write up the pattern and give you a heads up that it is available. That was my finish for the week. How about you?

The Larkspur Quilt Project Continues

What I’m now calling the Larkspur quilt is progressing, though not as fast as I’d like.

Remember the first block?

For a while I wasn’t sleeping well and I now understand what researchers (and new Moms) mean when they talk about sleep deprivation. One day I spent an hour trying to scrounge up enough material to fix a mistake I made in cutting. Funny thing is, it turns out that I never made the mistake in the first place. I just didn't remember that I had already made those blocks and they were sitting in a stack on my cutting table. I’m never sure when people ask how long it took me to make a quilt whether I should include those little side trips in the equation.

Yes, the top was all nicely pressed before assembly.
Afterward I folded it up  and let it sit for a few days.
Looks like a mess but it will be fine.

But alas, the top is pieced, the quilt sandwich is lined up and pinned, and I’m ready to quilt. If I only knew just how to approach all that negative space. Though I couldn’t make it too the Modern Quilt Guild’s QuiltCon event in Austin this year, I have been enjoying hearing some of the talks which Craftsy.com has made available online.

Watching those talks with all the amazing quilts used as examples gave me ideas, but I was especially taken with Angela Walter’s talk about machine quilting of modern quilts. If you aren’t familiar with her work, take a look at her portfolio. The woman is absolutely fearless with a longarm. Now I don’t have a longarm quilting machine or even a great setup for free motion quilting on my home machine, though rearranging some tables might help.

Layering and pin basting on a small table

Like all quilters who work in small spaces carved out of a busy home, I also don't have a great spot for assembling the quilt sandwich for a queen size quilt like this one, so I use Wendy Butler Berns' binder clip method on my cutting table. She explains it in detail in her machine quilting class on Craftsy.com.

Anyway, after looking at some of her designs, I’m determined to be bold. Lots of quilting. Lots of motion. I might even try to work in a few flowers and birds. I’m itching to start, but making myself wait until I can devote a whole day to working on the quilting. I know I won’t get it all done in one day, but starting when I can only spend an hour seems like it would be too frustrating. Soon though, soon.

Celebrating the Online Craft Community

Have you heard about Craftsy? I discovered it a few months ago and it has quickly become my favorite destination on the internet for all things craft. Don't get me wrong. Ravelry is great if you are a knitter or a crocheter, and Sew What's New isn't bad if you like to sew. I love Etsy for selling craft patterns and finding other interesting designers and their products. There are all kinds of online magazines (Crochet! Magazine, and  Quilting Arts)  and their spin-offs like sew daily. Though some of these last are little more than online storefronts for selling their books, magazines, patterns and tools.

Craftsy is something different. It's an extraordinary online learning platform for all types of craft including needle arts like knitting, crochet and quilting as well as food crafts, gardening, paper crafts, jewelry making and more. They offer very reasonably priced online classes in all of these areas, and after taking a class myself (I tried Machine Quilting with Wendy Butler Berns) I have to say it's a great way to learn something new. You can complete the class at your own pace in your own home - no lugging a sewing machine to the craft store. And you can go back to the class for a refresher as often and for as long as you like. Once you purchase access, it's yours forever. 

Members can also post photos and descriptions of projects which is an endless source of inspiration. There are even some free classes, like the Craftsy Block of the Month project being led by Amy Gibson. But enough of the commercial.

Aurora Coffee - Virginia Highland

The best thing Craftsy did was to organize a worldwide Craftsy meetup party. Last Thursday crafters from all over the world met at local destinations and forged new friendships - not online but in person. Eight people signed up for the gathering I set up at a local coffee shop and despite torrential rain and a bad parking situation, all but one made it. What fun. We had knitters, crocheters, sewing enthusiasts and quilters, even a jewelry maker. Several of us were interested in more than one craft which made for a lively "show and tell". We each brought either a current project or something we have made that we are especially proud of. I fully intended to take lots of pictures, but I was so engrossed in our conversation that I completely forgot! You will just have to imagine a big group of women gathered around that farm table. We were having so much fun we even enticed a young women who was in the coffee shop studying for grad school to join us! Hopefully this is just the start of new friendships and craft sharing!

Felted Wool and Fabric Project Bag with Matching Accessories

What could be better? Funny you should ask. Very soon Craftsy will also open an online pattern store where member designers can sell their patterns. And in the spirit of true community, Crafty is not accepting a dime. All sales of patterns go straight to the designer. I can't wait! So check it out and let me know what you think. Have a favorite online craft community you want to share? Post a comment and I will check it out!