I am so excited! It is only one more sleep until I leave for Salt Lake City to attend HMQS. HMQS is a machine quilting conference and show. It is absolutely wonderful! This is the third time I've been able to attend. For me it is a week full of learning, a wonderful quilt show and merchants with every quilting supply you will ever need. To me it is almost heaven.
This year I signed up to take classes with Dustin, Farrel, Irena Bluhm, Mary Anne Ciccotelli, and Carmen Geddes, Vicki Shetter. I love learning new things!
Each time I go I am so amazed at the talented people there are. I love looking their work. Several years ago there was a quilt made by Sue McCarty that honored J.R.R. Tolkien (the author of Lord of the Rings series) It was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen. And the design was only thread. It was the show winner that year. Here is a picture of it.
Last year there was a display of quilts made by David Taylor. I just love his work.
I think it is wonderful that we have conferences like this that get the best teachers in the quilting world together to share their talents. It allows a quilter like me to learn from the best.
I also like spending this week with two very good friends. Stephanie and Laurie are the best! We have so much fun laughing, quilting and site seeing, Oh did I mention we talk? Boy do we talk! It starts the minute we get in the car and doesn't stop until we hit the pillow at the end of the day. Good friends are the best!
I don't know whether I'll sleep tonight or not. I'm so excited!
A distressed tag with vintage image, lace, paperflower and a sprinkle of sunshine. I went to several yard sales this morning. I found about 8 books, newer ones for 50 cents each. However no one had any craft supplies. What?! I think there are alot of new mothers in this area at least according to what they have for sale in the yard sales. Anyhow, I was very pleased with my purchases. I hope you did something fun on this lovely Saturday.
9 This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. 10 This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.
I mentioned in my post the other day that I was working on another painted quilt. The photo below shows the quilt at the stage I'm at with it now. It is painted, that's it! Next I want to layer it and quilt it. I'm hoping to work on that this week.
The quilt design above was inspired by the work of Magaly Ohika. Her blog, The Itsy Bitsy Spill, is a wonder to scroll through and if you have time, I urge you to grab a cup of coffee and spend some time there and drink in the color and design.
I don't recall how long I've been following Magaly and her colorful, whimsical art. But I do know that I'm so glad I found her and her cheerful creations. Recently I purchased the following little pouch from her etsy shop. She called it a coin purse, but it really could be used for anything.
Here is the back side. I'm not sure but I think I may just prop this little cutie up in my studio somewhere where I can see it every day. It makes me happy!
Whohoo! The Double Irish Chain quilt that I started a few weeks ago is now complete. Just in time... my niece's baby is due any day now. I wish I could be there when she opens the package. I am very very pleased with it considering it is my first time doing any machine quilting on a quilt. I love the way it feels so soft. I doubled the batting. I was a chicken and didn't do any fancy free-motion quilting. I just echo stitched the blocks. This is also my first time with machine applique. The little flowers are so cute! If I were to name the quilt I could call it "Field of Dreams" (I'm sure somebody already did a quilt like that.) The quilt is so much better in person, but here it is:
The little white take to the right at the end of the name is my signature block. It says "Double Irish Chain -- From Great Aunt Kathy -- 2011"
For a great scrap giveaway with the cutest scraps ever, go to:
I won this wonderful giveaway from Shabby Lane Shops. Shabby Lane Shops is a wonderful group of many different shops. If you havent been you need to check it out. They have a blog too, you can find it HERE.
In this wonderful giveaway were several maagazines, beautiful tags, postcards, earrings, and it was all wrapped in sheer plastic with a lovely pink sheer ribbon. DELIGHTFUL!!!
I am going back to work on Monday. I'm so sad because I love holidays. In a frenzy of, 'I must make more before I go back,' I started working on a quilt. I wanted it to be quick and I wanted to use up some of my old fabric and combine it with some beautiful stripy fabric I bought on sale.
In about four hours I had it all pieced together but it ended up being totally warped! (Excuse the concrete background). I know in photos the base always looks wider but this base really is wider, about 8 inches on each side. I have never made this style of quilt before so I am not sure if it was the stripy fabric, which is not standard cotton and a bit stretchy, or the style of the quilt that has made it sag in the middle.
I took a photo of it upside down and the shape is perfect - no distortion despite the angle.
My sons think it's awful. "Sorry Mum, but it's not one of my favourite ones."
It feels really soft and cuddly and I used up some really lovely linen fabric.
I am going through a phase of not trying to be so exact in my work and enjoying the liberty.
I'm over here as a guest, talking a little bit about thread, needles and pins. I wasn't planning on doing another giveaway so soon after Sherbet Pips, but this one was actually in the works for quite awhile, and Pips was definitely a spur-of-the-moment giveaway.
Do you remember when I wrote about buying fabric strictly for one word on the selvage? Well, now you know the secret word: "chasing"!!I wanted to make Rebecca a customized pincushion plus another one for this great series she is conducting.
This is her pincushion. I know she loves lavender, paisley, and mentioned being a "girly girl".
But wait! That's not all (said in my best "as seen on TV voice"....). If you call before midnight tonight leave a comment by Monday noon, you'll have a chance to win this pincushion:
I hope you check out Rebecca's great series, Quilting 101. And don't forget to leave your comment. Happy sewing!
I made these two crazy quilt blocks to embellish. I follow Pams blog, Kittyandmedesigns blog, and she is such a sweet person and a big inspiration for me. Pam has years of experience and makes the most beautiful crazy quilt blocks. I could only hope to make something as pretty as those. Here are my blocks prior to embellishment. I wasnt going to post them until I had finished with the embellishment but my mom said go ahead and post. So here are my crazy quilt blocks:
Anyways, if you are a crazy quilter, and reading my blog, you know who you are, please tell me, what do you do next???? Thats all for today. Thank you for dropping by! Living in God's Graces, Kim B
For some reason, I found this week's journal quilt a struggle to create. Perhaps my muse was on a coffee break when I was trying to be creative. I will have to have a talk with her. Any way, here it is...
Springing Out (Journal Quilt #15)
Mistyfused cotton fabrics, free-motion quilting, decorative stitching around outer edges
I've started quilting on the doodle flower quilt and I'm almost done. All I have left is to figure out how I want to quilt the black and white squares along the bottom. Here is a detail photo on how I quited the background.
This is a new-to-me quilting design and I absolutely loved stitching it out. I learned this one from Patsy Thompson. It is a great filler design and very fun to stitch. I was sort of sad when I ran out of background to quilt.
And I'm not talking about the world ending on May 21. Actually I have way too many quilts that need to be completed so I'm hoping we're all around for a while longer.
First of all, I was amazed and touched at the number of comments you all left on my post about not apologizing for who we are as quilters and our personal creative journeys. The message left by so many of you is that whatever is right for each of us should also be alright with anyone else. We don't know what is happening in the real lives on the other side of the computer, the parts that don't get written about, the things we don't know as we look at the quilt pictures and read the posts. Kindness is not a trend and respect never goes out of style.
The amazing Random Number Generator chose comment #18 (which I'm personally thrilled with, because after my great blog makeover, somehow my comment numbering html code disappeared and I haven't had time to search for it--have you ever tried to search for something specific in your html code? Daunting task, I'm telling you!)
So anyway...#18 is Diane H, who said:
I have sewed, crafted and used my imagination with my creations since I was a child - before the internet, designers and blogs told us how things 'should be done'. And I will continue to do so, like you, with no apologies. Thanks for such a wonderful post.
Now on to new business. I'm really excited to be starting a new series in May, just around the corner, called The Name Game. Do you ever wonder how a blogger chose the name for her blog? Did she have other names she considered? Is she still happy with the name she chose? The answers to things like "Is 'Crazy Mom Quilts' really crazy?" I assure you she is not, but she'll be one of the first to share how she chose that name for her blog.
I'll be spotlighting bloggers, who will be answering just those very questions, and sharing some pictures of their work with us as well.
There are already some really interesting bloggers in the lineup. Would you like to be spotlighted? Is there a blog name you have always wondered about? Email me, because I'd love to hear from you. Nominate yourself or someone else. I think this will be interesting, and who knows what secrets we'll learn?
When I first started to try papercrafting a friend sent me a few things she didnt use. I realize now they are not really my style however I made this cute little Happy Birthday Card just for fun. I am sure I could give it to a relative for their birthday. It just seems there is always something new I want so I just feel like I need to use some of the old stuff. So what do you do with your old stuff? Also, what is your favorite online store to shop at?
Thanks for dropping by.
Living in God's Graces,
Kim B
Psalm 71:6
From birth I have relied on you; you brought me forth from my mother's womb. I will ever praise you. (NIV)
Horrible storms came through Alabama and Georgia, and apparently 4 other states causing tons of damage and many lives lost. Prayers going out to everyone who lost anyone or had any damage.
Last night, my husband worked; and they keep taking the employees to the storm area. So, I decided my son and I would be safer in the hall. Thank goodness all the tornados and bad thunderstorms missed us.
So last month I was hanging out with my BFF, Koni, on a Friday night. We were out hearing a live band at a night club and having a good time. At about midnight we decided to call it a night and I was driving her home since I drove us to the club. We were in A-Town, Aurora to the non-Colorado folks, which is where I grew up but not my favorite part of the Metro Aea anymore. I was pulled over unexpectedly because I was not speeding (for once) and we had been great at the club and had nothing to drink except water and Diet Coke. The young (he looked 12) officer came to my window and told me that he had pulled me over because my license plate lights were burned out. WHAT?? REALLY?? I didn't even know I had lights that illuminated my license plate. How the hell would I know they were burned out! Then he decided to test the darkness of my window tint, that is too dark, who knew? Finally, he decided to give me a ticket for my out of date insurance card. I did have insurance on my car at the time, I just did not have the correct card in my car. Well, actually the card was in my car, it was just buried under all the other paperwork in my glove box and it is dark at midnight which makes it hard to search for paperwork.
So I get the damn ticket and it is a mandatory court appearance. Today was my court date. Since my last name is near the beginning of the alphabet, my time is 8:00 am. I show up right at 8:00 am and wait my turn to talk to the DA. Luckily for me, I had called earlier, trying to find out if I could just mail something in and not appear in court, and was told I needed a letter from my insurance company proving I was insured at the time of the ticket. I am there for 20 min, after driving there for 45 min. I was told that my ticket would be dismissed due to the letter I brought with me. However, I would have to pay $30 for court fees. What the hell, I could have mailed my letter and a check in weeks ago and avoided the waste of my time. I have to say I think the legal system is a bit messy and backwards. There are so many offenses that you can just mail in your fine that are much worse than having an expired insurance card, but NO, they feel the need to waste people's time!
The one on the left is a black fruit cake, the other a vanilla cake with lemon curd buttercream filling. Both are covered in fondant. The flowers are tiny sugar gumpast roses and rosebuds with silver sugar leaves.
I was so lucky to win an adorable matchbox created by the talented Cindy Adkins of Cindy Adkins Whimsical Musings Blog. Blog friends are so sweet!!!!
I took a picture of my win next to an old Avon Blue Bird so I could end my week of Birds of Passage , yet highlight my new adorable matchbox. It is so cute and filled with fanciful hearts.
Hope you are having a great week so far. I have met some wonderful people through blogging. I hope you have too!
Friends Shape and Sharpen One Another
Proverbs 27:17
As iron sharpens iron, so a friend sharpens a friend. (NLT)
I'm not really sure how I will finally quilt this but I just couldn't resist doing a bit of hand stitching.
I used my new marking tool to trace out the leaf shapes.
And I used lots of different Perle cottons because I couldn't decide which one I like best.
Maybe I'll just hand quilt in the ditch around all the window panes. Winter is coming and hand stitching will keep me warm. If anyone has any good ideas, please let me know what you would do.
I've also been busy painting on the doodle flower quilt. And I think I might be done. I will probably think on it for a day or two and if I deem it ready, I'll get it sandwiched up and start quilting on it.
I've also been painting on another new quilt. I'll share that one with you soon.
Whohoo! Even though it was a rough week and I was missing my old Viking sewing machine (which is now retired), I managed to finish the Supernova quilt along quilt. I did change the design a little and finished the blocks with star points instead of the straight line coming from the center of each block. I just had to "make it my own" like they do on Idol and couldn't leave a star unfinished. I like it; it is bright! Luckily the sun came out long enough this morning so that I could snap a quick photo. It started raining as I was trying to take a photo. The clotheseline almost wasn't high enough for this one.
Just remember, when there's rain there's still room for fun. Yesterday my son and I put on our Crocs and went outside and jumped in every puddle on our property. What fun!
...and remember to take some time to smell the flowers along the way...
I grew up listening to classical music. I think the best composer ever was Sergei Rachmaninoff and the best thing ever composed is Variations on a Theme by Paganini. Paganini wrote something called Caprice No. 24 in A minor, probably his most well-known composition. Rachmaninoff then wrote twenty-four variations on this theme, probably the most well known of which is Variation 18. Why I am telling you all this?
Well, because there has been a lot of talk recently about the "dumbing down" of quilting. I'm not going to link to any of the original posts, but last week both Jennifer of That Girl, That Quilt and Rachel of Stitched in Color had very interesting posts, and it led to a lot of introspection on my part.
Questions like why do I quilt? Why do I blog about it? And why am I letting anyone I haven't even met make the decisions on what is appropriate or inappropriate for my personal quilting journey?
Case in point. I frequently go through my fabric stash. I came across this piece of fabric and my first thought was "I should probably put this in the donation pile because a 'modern' quilter would never put this in a quilt." I stopped myself right there and thought, "But I still like this fabric. And why do I even care whether or not someone else would put it in a quilt?"
Quilting has gotten me through the loss of a my first grandchild six years ago and the loss of one of my best friends last year.
(a "family tree" quilt with signature of parents, grandparents and great-grandparents made for our first grandchild)
It has sustained me through times when I needed to be alone, and it has cheered me up when I have been surrounded by my quilting friends.
When I think of the debate between modern and traditional, between acceptable levels of creativity and "dumbing down," it just makes me sad. And two phrases keep going through my mind: If you can't say something nice, then don't say anything at all, and can't we all just get along?
Everything comes and goes in cycles. It's like that in every aspect of art. There are new ways of interpretation, new methods, new supplies at our fingertips. But when you think about it honestly, there are very few things that are actually original. Nearly everything is just a "variation on a theme."
One of my first quilts was this kaleidoscope quilt. I "borrowed" it from a little 3-inch picture in a quilting magazine.
This is my newest variation on a kaleidoscope theme. It will have narrow sashing between each block (not sure what color yet--I was just had this blue strip handy) and the Kona snow should form a secondary pattern.
It's a combination of a quilt I saw in a quilting magazine from 2004
(from QNM, 9/2004, "Sashed Batik Kaleidoscope" by Addy Harkavy and Sandi McCann)
I'm not the person who designed the kaleidoscope block, nor was the designer of the 2004 quilt or even Kathy Doughty. But good for all of us to come up with our own unique variations.
So my point (and I do have one) is that we should never have to apologize to ourselves or anyone else for what we create. And we should be kind and considerate when viewing what someone else has created. Because most of it is just another variation on a theme.
Things I'm not apologizing for:
*Not being able to complete a quilt in a week...or a month. I'm doing everything at my own pace and I'll be okay with that.
*Not participating in any more quilt block swaps after my current quarter of 3x6 swap is completed. I will have 12 orange, grey and white blocks by then. I already have six that I'm really happy with,
but I have a lot of ideas in my head and I don't want to be distracted by time obligations.
*Still really liking Sherbet Pips,even though due to the blogging frenzy before it was available, I preordered, forgot how much I preordered, and over-purchased (see below).
*Still loving the first pattern I designed and published, Charm Parade. At times, it seems that nearly everyone (but me...) makes a certain quilt once, and then never wants to make it again. So far I have made this quilt at least seven times, each one a little different from the others.
I still have more variations I want to try. For example, what would it look like done in all solids? I won't know until I try it. Who knows? Maybe I'll be like Rachmaninoff and make 24 variations of this theme.
*For loving Flea Market Fancy and paying some outrageous prices to add it to my stash.
*For being glad I'm in the Single Girl Quiltalong because I've learned a lot, from making way too many templates to increasing my skill at curved piecing.
*Keeping my stash of batiks (gasp) because they are bright. And I like them.
*Keeping that weird piece of green fabric. I may never use it. But then again, it might be the perfect fabric in some yet-to-be-designed quilt.
*For finding inspiration from the many quilters who are generous with their ideas, designs, where they find their inspiration, and are willing to share it with others. *Writing my blog the way I want to write it and not comparing myself with anyone else (which isn't always easy). Many times I have said I write, but I'm not a writer. Whatever. Turns out I enjoy documenting my quilting journey, along with a few other things along the way. And I hope you'll be along for the ride because you want to be, not just because you want to win a giveaway (see below).
What? You're still here?
Well, then... I love Charm Parade. I have three charm packs of Sherbet Pips, and I only need one for the quilt I'm planning. Yeah, I know. Pre-ordering frenzy. For a copy of Charm Parade and two charm packs of Sherbet Pips, leave a comment before Thursday at 6 p.m. PDT about whatever you feel like commenting on--the weather, something that inspires you, a favorite color, a flower that poked through the snow. And if you are so done with Sherbet Pips, no apologies needed, we can substitute something else. I have lots of charm packs hanging around. And I'm not really feeling the need to apologize for the size of my stash...
