Modern Irish Bee: January Blocks

At least I think this is still called a block?  This month in the Modern Irish Bee, the wonderful Fiona of Patchwork Delights sent to us an equilateral triangle template and a pile of her beautiful scraps.  Using this tutorial, we were to paper piece as many little scrappy triangles as we could!

I can not tell you how much I loved making these triangles!  In the end I did make 8 little triangles to send off to Fi. She's going to need a whole lot more if she's going to make a quilt.  With the whole bee chipping in she's well on her way.  Can't wait to see the finished top, Fiona! 

You guys were hilarious yesterday.  I'm so grateful for your help and suggestions.  Because I'm a science nerd, I graphed out your preferences and suggestions in a totally non-scientific way:

From left to right: pin/red, grass, butterscotch, aqua/teal/jade, essex and bone

What cracks me up is that the jade/aqua/teal suggestion was nearly the overall winner (down by 1 vote) and was not even one of the choices!  For the three choices presented (Grass, Butterscotch and Bone) butterscotch was a clear forerunner, but with you all screaming for blues/greens I did have another look at these FQs next to every Kona blue that is available in the shop.  Right now I'm playing with the idea of Kona   Turquoise, Lagoon or Caribbean.  I'm digging the Turquoise with possibly Butterscotch on the back.  We'll see!

Too many beautiful options!

I fell in love with Design Seeds this weekend.   If you have visited for a little color inspiration, I suggest you do so as quickly as possible.  Well, after reading this first...then go to Design Seeds.

Now that we have that sorted, I was wondering which color scheme is your favorite?  I am so wowed by each of these, I just need a little help narrowing down my choices.   Will you just leave a comment below and let me know which you like best?  Or which one you dislike the most?  The names of the combinations are on the photos and in the photo captions.  Thanks, guys!

Arizona Brights

Bottled Brights

Candied Hues

Flora Bright

Pinwheel Dessert

Winter Brights

Wish Brights

Produced Hues

Sequins Brights

Today...I Fell in Love

Oh, no.  I did not meet someone new.  My first Kona Solids color card arrived in the mail from Hancock's of Paducah!  Now, I heard about cards like this from podcasters, but I have never seen one before.  I am swept away.

I have been looking for solids to insert into several quilts I am planning.  I have limited fabric stores near by to browse, so I turn to online vendors for several basics...like solid Konas by Robert Kaufman.  However, when you view fabrics online, you are at the mercy of the vendor.  You never know if their photos are true reflections of the fabric color.  So, a Kona color card seemed like a smart idea.  I absolutely love it, and would suggest anyone in a similar situation pick one up too (unless you're in Galway...then you can borrow mine). 

Do you have a reference like this that you use?  Are there similar products out there that I should also check out?

A Small Preview of 2012?

Are you thinking of coming to Ireland for the quilt festival in 2012? Here is a highlight of what the members of Quilter's Guild of Ireland displayed in their annual exhibit. Will this entice you?


Celebration of Colour by Aibhe O'Callaghan



 




Dreamtime by Beryl Cadman







Irish Celebration by Yvonne McKee







Celebration Star by Robyn Fahy





Lattice Illusions Class

Recently I had the opportunity to take a class with Christine Porter to make a quilt (or wall hanging) based on Italian cathedral floors.  She has translated these 3D illusions into quilt patterns in her book Viva Venezia.  There were several pros and cons to the class, but I am not interested in discussing them here.  What I am interested in discussing is color/fabric choices made by my class mates. 

The success or failure of this pattern is based on the juxtaposition of light and dark fabrics. Some people chose patterned fabrics (vs my solids) and others chose colors (vs my gray, navy, brown).  I tried to take as many photos as possible as a way for me to reflect on fabric choices. Why did some of these work so nicely when others (in my opinion) were a bit flat.  I thought maybe you would like to see the many variations of the same pattern too.

What works to you?  What can be improved? Do you like the patterned fabric or solids?  Batiks vs not.  I'm curious to hear your analysis.

Mail Rarely Makes Me So Happy

I came home from the other day and what did I find?  A little unexpected envelope-packet with my name on it.  Hummm....was I internet shopping at night and forgot?  Oh, no. It's better than that.  This little envelope is filled to the brim with FABRIC! 

I met a lovely woman, named Mary, at a recent guild meeting.  She was showing a spectacular scrappy quilt at show-and-tell that was a white background and a gazillion little 2 inch squares in a sprawling geometric pattern.  I loved it!  She used the Confetti pattern from http://www.teaquilts.com/.  You can view a gallery of finished quilts here. 

Anyway, as part of the pattern you will need (are you ready?) 1,328 little 2 inch squares.  WHAT!?!?  Not to worry!  Mary was kind enough to start me off.  She must have sent a hundred to me in the mail today.  What a fantastic surprise!  Quilters are such nice people, aren't they?

I would be grateful if anyone else was willing to donate a few 2 inch squares to my quilt project. I have been quilting for just over a year now and just do not have a big enough stash...and I am sure you have a stash you want to be rid of. I am looking for brightly colored fabric. Nothing white/beige as it would blend into the background.  If you have a few squares to spare, would you leave a comment below?  I will get in touch with you.

Lecture By Melinda Bula

I had the great pleasure of attending a talk by Melinda Bula in Dublin.  She was giving a workshop at our guild retreat, but I am not skilled enough to keep up with her.  Still, she gave a lecture Saturday evening and it was such a pleasure to have a peek at her quilts! 

The lecutre was very light hearted, fun and chatty.  Since she had to travel internationally, she could "only" bring the quilts in the exhibition and one for the talk, so mostly we saw photos.  Not to worry, you really get the idea of how spectacular they are even in images.  The main take-away points from the lecutre?  First, you are an artist and do not let anyone tell you differently.  Second, do not listen to the quilt police.  It does not matter if your points are perfect if your overall quilt is beautiful.  Finally, just go off and create something beautiful and be happy.

Above all, the thing that will strike you is Melinda's incredible use of fabric, color and very dense quilting.   I tried to photograph as much as I could in the exhibition, but it was hard to hold the quilt back up, keep it steady and take a photo with only two hands :)  Sometimes it worked, other times you'll have to squint to see through the burred image.  Enjoy!

Fresh as a Daisy (2007)
I start with a photo of the entire quilt to give you an idea of the colors and applique used, but then have a image of the violets (or sweet peas?) in the lower right hand corner to show the detail.  Finally, have a close look at the last photo to see the incredible quilting that went into each piece.  Yes, that is the back!

Monterey at Dusk (2007) I was primarily drawn to Melinda's floral quilts, but this a favorite of many at the exhibition.  I tried like crazy to get a photo of the back. She used a blue wavy fabric as backing, compounded with the zillion stitches and my shaky hand, I could only get a blurry image.  Sorry!

Splendor in the Grass (2007) really reminded me of my Mom's lillies by the mail box.  Again, I start with a photo of the entire quilt and then focus on the center of one lilly.    It really looks like a watercolor painting, doesn't it?  Finally, the bottom right photo is of the quilting on the back. 

 

I have many more photos to share from our exhibition; more of Melinda's quilts as well as other spectacular pieces by local quilters. Check back next Tuesday!

Happy quilting.

Oh, It Is Beautiful Outside

Oh, spring is officially here!  I ran to the yard today to hang out a few strips of my sampler quilt for photos.  I have connected my 25 blocks together with cream sashing in 5 strips of 5 blocks...two of which are here on my clothes line.   Lucky for me I had a little helper!  I have to tell you, having pretty colors like this in my back yard made me really happy.

Clarkson, my cat, was out basking in the sun all day today.  I could not resist having a little photo shoot with him as the star.  He was guardian of my first blooming tulip, which I certainly appreciated.

I have a small mistake to correct with the sashing on the bottom row of blocks, but that should be easy enough to fix. The quilt top will be together hopefully by the weekend.  I'm heading to a quilt guild meeting on Saturday so I'd love to show it as part of show and tell.

I hope it is as sunny where you are!  Happy quilting :)

Charm Bag

I recently took an afternoon class with my local Western Branch of the Irish Patchwork Society to make a shoulder bag from 5 inch squares.  I had not made a bag before, but at least had confidence in my beginner's quilting skills to give it a try.  If you haven't taken a class at your local quilt shop or with your local guild before, I would absolutely suggest that you sign up as quickly as possible.  This is a great way to learn a new skill or way of thinking about the skills you already have (as was my case here).  Most importantly, though, this was a great way to meet and interact with other local quilters, share a cup of tea and have a good laugh.  The bag is about 15 inches across and 8-9 inches tall (without the handles) and has a patchwork pocket on the front and two larger patchwork pockets on the lining.  I chose to use a deep brown lining to match the handles.  I am currently using it to cart around my embroidery floss, hoops, etc when traveling and I simply love it.

The fabric is from a spectacular line called Milly by Erin Ries for Clothworks Fabric (available at the Fat Quarter Shop).  I primarily used the bold, dark colors in the charm bag as these are always my favorites, but there are lovely coordinating spring colors and patterns here.  I was thinking of making the wine gift bags from the Moda Bake Shop with the spring fabrics to use over the next few months.  Do you have other suggestions of how to use spring-centric fat quarters?  I have about 6 coordinating patterns that I would like to use together.

Why not me too?

I love spending a bit of time each evening having a quick look at my favorite crafty blogs. Often in the evening I am too tired to craft myself (except for a little embroidery while watching TV) but I love the color, creativity and happiness of crafting each day.  So, I have a peek to see what others have been up to!  Since I find inspiration in viewing your blogs, I thought maybe hosting my own site may motivate me to craft more regularly on the weekend.  We'll give this a try anyway :)

I have always been attracted to color and crafting, but I would not classify myself as creative or artistic.  I know my saying that will bother some of you.  What I mean to say is I am happiest coloring in the picture that someone else drew; I would rather follow a published quilting pattern instead of crating my own; I like to trace an embroidery pattern and then try as best I can to follow the guide. 

That being said, I still love to craft.  I like bold colors and geometric or nature-inspired patterns.  I am primarily a process person, but am certainly happiest when I have a good product at the end of an afternoon.

Hopefully with time I will have a few good stories to share and pretty pictures to post.  Please let's make this an interactive blog - I am curious to hear your thoughts and suggestions on what is posted here, so please do leave comments.  It would be really nice to be part of a community of crafters via this blog, so I will try to post photos and updates often here and I will be peeking at your blogs each evening!

Do you have a blog too?  What made you start writing?  Please leave your link so I can peek at your page too!