real quick-like...

Here's a link to my Spoonflower shop.

Tequila Diamonds Spoonflower Shop

Please go visit and get inspired to make something from one of my fabric collections. They're even offering wallpaper! Be aware that I have not approved all of my designs for use as a wallpaper. In fact, I have some public designs that are not yet for sale but will be in the near future. I'm such a tease.

On the other hand, I have purchased some yardage of a fabric that I intend to keep private and use for my clothing line. I'm almost done with the first dress. I just need to hem that baby and I'll show it off in class tomorrow! I'll post pix of it, too, I'm sure...

Yesterday was the Mid-term exam for class and I think I did alright. I know I'm currently getting an "A", so I'm not too worried. I'm pretty much the Hermione Granger of Textiles 1433. Can't help it. I find the subject matter interesting. I also turned in my first term paper regarding the labeling of "green" fabrics. I hope that one came out alright. I'm never sure about papers. I tend to use big words and I'm afraid they'll think I'm being pretentious. I just like to write well and use the lexicon to my fullest capabilities. Gee whiz!

I have nearly all the additional hexies for the baby quilt cut. I had to run out for some additional fabric but found some that matches what I already have. I thought about intentionally choosing a slightly different shade, but went with the match. Baby Claire was born 11-3-12 at 12:03 a.m. My goal is to have the top done by Thanksgiving and the full quilt by Christmas. Not a lot of time, so I'm going to get off the computer and sew!

Happy creating!

Hey, I really like camping!

I feel kind of bad for having not wanted to go camping last weekend, but it was really relaxing and refreshing. 

I was really inspired by all the colors around me. Vivid greens and blues of the trees and the lake, sun-bleached stones and wood. Everything has a special sparkle in the woods. 

I went fishing with my guys and actually caught the first "keeper" of the weekend. The iridescence of the fish is amazing, the sun glittering on the water is, dare I say it, thrilling. Also sunburn-inducing. Note to self: Even thought it's early in the day and you think you'll be back before you're too exposed, put the dang SPF on.

For the first time in ages, and I do mean AGES, I felt relaxed. Calm. Serene. I discovered I'm pretty good at making a campfire. I can bait my own hook (I'm still working on the removal of fish from said hook). I can drive a boat. Last weekend was full of discovery. I did things I've never done before. I even removed a clam from its shell and caught a beautiful Sunfish using it as bait. Of course, the shell is beautiful inside. 

I took photos of textures you don't always see or notice in the city. I've been using them as the basis for some fabric designs. One I'm especially proud of is of some lichens. I played around in photoshop and the effect is one of watercolor impressionism. Like a Monet. I began playing around with pixelation, color fades, adding and subtracting elements. 

I also began to think that the campsite (on Lake Peavey) would be a really beautiful place to photograph my products. We're going back up this weekend, so I'll have a talk with the owners and see if they're cool with that (and I don't know why they wouldn't be). 

I also designed a line of star fabrics for next summer. I normally hate the star shape. It has become trite, in my humble opinion. But I'm hoping my designs will have enough of a spin on the oft misused geometric shape to make it seem exciting. I also based the different color-ways on different American cities. So it's still "All-American" <eye roll>. That part makes me cringe. Not that I'm not patriotic. I'm very much so. I just don't like how some people use that term. 

Anyway...

I really used this weekend to soak in the beauty of nature and my family and to meet new people. I accomplished that and much more. I even got a couple of flowers done for the baby quilt. Then I went off on my design tangent in my journal. Well, that, and I didn't want them to smell like campfire. I love to sit on the smokey side and get the smell in my clothes, but I don't think I should present a gift that smells like campfire. Though nothing would make me prouder than to have my great-niece wrapped up in the blankie I made for her while she's sitting at the fire pit in my sister's backyard.

Kiss my tuchas, spiders!

In yesterday's post I mentioned vacuuming up the spider webs in the basement as I clean up and make room for my new sewing studio. This is not a pleasant thing for most people, but I'm arachnophobic, so it was kind of a big deal. I was worried that I wouldn't be able to empty the canister when it got full. Well, I managed to get the vacuum canister emptied all by my big self without vomiting or so much as a dry heave. I got a little lump in my throat, but I did it. For those of you who understand the psychology of phobias, you should be very proud of me. Just sayin'.

Yesterday afternoon I started to panic as I looked around my would-be studio. I've nearly gotten to the point where I need to start making piles of the things I want to keep. The whole organizing thing. I start off thinking like this:

Tools

Supplies

Fabric

Reference materials.

Then my head starts spinning with all of the subcategories and subcategories of the subcategories...

Tools:

 - for cutting

 - for measuring 

 - for quilting

 - <sigh> cutting for quilting

 - cutting for garments

 - measuring for quilting

 - measuring for garments

 - for tailoring

     - for marking

but I need to mark for quilting, too, and that's a different pile of tools...

 <son of a...>

...aaaand my brain shuts down. That and I don't have a great place to set up the space I'll need for doing all this organizing.

So, I called mom. Sometimes when I'm feeling overwhelmed, I can call mom and the conversation will spin off into an idea. I had been worried about using a table we have that we take camping with us. We're heading out again this weekend and I didn't want to take over the table. Then I remembered that one of the tables I have downstairs is even smaller than the one in the camper. I could set up the camping table, transfer the stuff from the smaller table, and we could take the smaller table with us. We only use it for setting up our Foreman grill. So that's my new plan of attack. It's a start, anyway.

<sigh... of relief>

I got the big table downstairs but needed to clear off some more of the floor and do some more vacuuming. I sucked up a big brown spider. <shudder> But I found my missing yoga toes (I had lost one and had been alternating feet) and now that I'm in a show which requires me to be barefoot and agile, I'm glad I found it. Seriously, that was pretty exciting for me. I have no idea why it was down by the laundry. I must've scooped it up with some clothes I took down to be washed. 

In my paper journal yesterday, I got pretty excited about the basement. I started envisioning what it would be like to have a real work area down there with a proper table for laying out fabric and cutting patterns so I wouldn't have to do it on the floor any more. Storage that is actually organized so I can find things and it all makes sense. I'm good at envisioning organized places, but putting into reality and then keeping it there is the hard part for me (see above). However, if this is going to be a home business, perhaps it'll be easier. When I worked at the fabric store, it drove me nuts if things were put away in the wrong place. I was always reorganizing things that had been just stuck any old where. I enjoyed it, actually. I took pride in it. Then I'd come home and completely shut down. Honestly, I think it's my medication that's helping me. I know it doesn't work for everyone, and I really put it off and made excuses for myself, but I haven't been this motivated in... ever, really. Plus I have the diagnosis, so it helps knowing that I can actually do something about it and it's not entirely my fault. I'm not stupid and lazy. I've just got some farkachte synaptic signals.

I forgot to mention in yesterday's post that I did a burn test on some fabric I had gotten at the thrift store. It's a cute brown and ivory gingham and I thought perhaps I could use it for the backing to the Grandma's Flower Garden baby quilt. I just wasn't sure if it was polyester, rayon... It was hard to tell, but, since the quilt top is 100% cotton, it'd have to be a (mostly) natural fiber to use it. Turns out it's acrylic, probably Orlan. Yeah, can't use it. The cotton will continue to shrink a little for a few more washings and the acrylic isn't going to shrink at all. That will make for some unattractive bubbling in the quilting, so it's out. Oh, well.

I went on line and downloaded a fiber burn test chart.

This one is from Ditsy Prints.

I cut a small swatch from the fold line of the cut edge, held it in a tweezers over the sink and lit the bugger on fire. It was really easy to do. Since I do like to shop at thrift stores, this will be a handy skill to have. You could even do it for clothes if the tags have been removed. That is, if there's a bit of seam allowance you can clip out. Then you'll know how to wash it. There's your thrifty hint for the day!

I also forgot to mention that on our drive home from the air show, I completed 5 more hexagon flowers and started a 6th. I now have 21 complete flowers for my niece's baby's quilt. So I laid them out to see if I need/want more and to sort of figure out how many more I would need. If I but a path of single hexagons between the flowers, I would have a crib sized quilt right now. But I'd really like to make it a throw so it'll last longer as she grows. 

Well, I need to get back downstairs. If you've been feeling stuck in your own studio or organizing your stuff, I hope this will be some inspiration for you to know that you can do it. If I can do it, you can do it. Yes, folks, it can be done!

Lillian...

Finally got over to meet baby Lillian and give her the quilt I made for her. She snuggled right in...

Clockwise from top right, my friend, Laurel, Dutch, Lillian, and me.

"Hmmmm... I think I like this blankie!"

"Yes. Yes, I do!"
Sorry the photos are so blurry. She was in her bouncy seat. 

It felt really great to be able to give her something I made. 

In fact, I think I'm going to see if I can't finish the floor quilt (Scrappy McScrapperton) for our neighbors. They run a day care in their home and they have a couple of little babies. Though I personally think it's fun for everyone. 

I've been battling the good ol' fibromyalgia since last Thursday, and not getting too much done by way of quilting, housework, everything. It's going to set me back a few days. Usually about twice as many days as I'm knocked out. I've tried to keep moving, but the weather has been so oppressive, and it really effects my flare ups. 

On the up side, my husband and I were approved for our RV loan, so we'll be able to travel a bit more with the boys. We pick it up this Thursday, which is also my hubby's birthday. I can't wait to travel the country and see quilts and trinkets from all over. I also can't wait to make quilts for the beds. There's a queen size master bed, queen sofa bed, full size in the dining nook and four bunk beds in the rear. Obviously, we won't need them for all the beds, but I'm looking forward to making them just the same. I'm already planning on taking the machine wherever we go... I hope my husband realizes this...

Well, stay cool, stay hydrated, stay creative! Have a safe and happy Fourth of July!

Needles!!!!!

Mom has needles (not to be confused with measles)! I can finish the Cacophony of Cups aka the batik! Hopefully I won't also need my pliers. I brought them along, but they sure are a pain in the patootie. Then I'll run it through the dryer to give it a nice finish.

Also, between last night and this morning I've finished another hex flower and I'm about 2/3 through another. My niece is expecting a girl, so perhaps that's even more of an impetus for getting the flower garden done. (I was really hoping for a boy, but, oh well.) She's due in November, so that should give me ample time to work on it. As long as I take it with me wherever I go. THAT'S IT! There's my name for it: Anywhere I Wander. It's a song from Danny Kaye's movie, Hans Christian Anderson. Perfect for a baby quilt.

My sister is so excited. She has a lot of step-grandchildren, but this is the first time one of her own kids is having a baby. It's pretty rad. I'll have another grandniece! My brother's daughter has a little girl about the same age as my youngest. Boy, is she a punkin! She's a little bit of a drama queen (must come from my side of the family) who loves ballet and princesses. Very girly girl. We have a picture of our matching shoes from Christmas. Well, our matching slippers. Black sequin ballet slippers. If I was at home I could post it. Maybe next post. I should make something for her, too! OMG! I've got a list a mile long! 

I also have to make those other two my mom commissioned. Also for baby girls. I wonder if any of my friends are having boys? I wanna make something with trucks on it. Or motorcycles. Hmmm... I wonder what I have at home I could use for two little girl quilts? I know I must have something. Or, mom could pick out the fabric. Most of the stuff I have at home has been assigned to a project. That will... someday... get done...

Scrappy McScrapperton aka More, more, more...

How do you like it? How do you like it?

I like it when I'm busy. I also, apparently, like it when my quilts are busy. Like this top I just finished, which I shall call Scrappy McScrapperton.

It was inspired by a few things. First of all, the scrap quilts that my grandma made. Second, a similar quilt top I found in a magazine. Which I promptly lost, so I can't add a pic of that one. Third, recent research suggests that all those pastel baby things we get for newborns, can't actually be seen very well by babies. They develop a sense of contrast first, black and white is best, then the spectrum of colors begins to be processed. Geometric shapes are easier to see than fuzzy blobs, but they eventually register by the time baby is about a year old. 

My Grandma Louise made scrap quilts. She typically used a 9-patch, but I saw a quilt in a magazine (seriously, where did that thing go?!) that made squares within squares. It also had sashing, but I opted to just put the blocks together without it. When my sister's kids were little we'd put my quilt from Grandma Louise on the floor for them to play on. My nephew in particular, enjoyed discovering matching squares throughout the quilt; a bit like the game of Memory, but without the cards being flipped over. Hey, when you're 1 1/2 that's about all you can manage.

So, I put together a bunch of fat quarters with different colors, shapes, and varying degrees of contrast, cut them into strips 2 1/2 inches and 4 inches wide. I didn't worry about the length because I didn't have any idea which ones I was going to use where, though I did have some which were shorter and longer and I made squares of each size. I also used a couple of scraps left over from another quilt. They weren't the right size, but I just worked with them as they were. 

As far as putting the blocks together, it was an exercise in improvisation. I'd pick a center piece, (some were squares, others were rectangles. I like variety.) and then I'd put together the pieces going around the center piece in much the same fashion as you would for a log cabin block, only without the triangular color separation. I trimmed the length of the strips as I went around to square them off. I also didn't want the blocks to be perfectly square. They're 11" x 12". Sometimes, because of the trimming, in order to get the right size, I'd have to add an extra strip to one end. I just played around and had fun.

Once I had 20 blocks, I laid them out and played around with placement, following my instincts with regard to the way the colors made my eyes bounce from one part of it to the next. I also decided I wanted 5 more blocks. It's meant to go on the floor to let your kids play around on it, rather than cover a specific size of bed, but I wanted it to be just a skosch bigger than it was at 20 blocks.

I still have a ton of scraps left over, so I can make similar ones, or pillows. Or something completely different. 

Some of those fabrics were used in Lillian's baby quilt. I took what was left, added some solid batiks and had enough for a twin sized bed runner. Or, as I like to call them, Tootsie Toasters. 

It was pretty windy when I took this one, so I put some rocks on the corners to hold it down. Also, there's some schmutz on the camera lens. I'm just going to pretend it's a fancy schmancy artistic filter, 'kay? I may even have enough of the hot pink flannel I used for the back of Lillian's quilt to back this. I haven't checked yet. What? I've been busy.

Also, today is my little guy's 6th birthday. He's busy playing with his presents, so I thought I'd take this opportunity to add these photos and blog.

Happy birthday, Li'l Pootie Boo!

finis!

Okay, not exactly finis. I need to bind the baby quilt, but the quilting part is done! Yay! I was thinking of using some of the left over flannel from the backing to make a ruffle, but I really should've attached that before I did any quilting, so I set aside the ruffled strip I made. I'll put it on the ends of the bed runner I made from the other scraps!

So, tomorrow, between my son's doctor appointment and my other errands, I'll go pick up some bias tape and I'll finish that sucker off in the evening! Then I'll take pix. And then I'll arrange to meet up with Laurel so I can give it to her and meet baby Lillian. I'm so excited that I've actually finished a quilt. Yeah, okay, a little baby quilt, but it's done! Almost. So close.

I'm a quilter, not just a topper!

Now I'm going to go press the batiks I picked up to make the backing for the batik top I made a while back. They're neutral colors to balance the brightness of the top. I got two different ones. Basically I'm going to make a giant block in the same style as the blocks of the top. I think I'll not quilt this one, but tie it. That's all my grandma ever did was tie quilts. I have a ton of yarn in my workshop in a bajillion colors, so I can have a lot of fun putting that one together! The only thing my grandma had that I don't have is saw horses. She rigged her quilts on them with clamps in order to do the tying. I'll just have to jury rig my own contraption, I guess. Between my husband, the boys and myself, I ought to be able to put something together that'll work.

I'm so happy I got this done. My fibromyalgia was acting up yesterday, so I didn't get down to the machine like I had wanted. I'm still a bit sore and tired from the flare up, but I pushed through it to get the quilt done. I'm on a roll! Nothing is worse than being on a roll and having to stop for something stupid like fibro flare ups.

Hard on myself...

I've been working on the baby blanket for my friend and I began quilting it yesterday. I have one square in the quilt that is all white, so I thought, Wouldn't it be cute to write her name when I'm quilting? Fortunately, her name is Lillian, so it's got a lot of loops. I didn't have quite as good a grasp on it as I'd hoped, and it didn't come out like I wanted. It was too small, wasn't at the right angle (I hadn't been able to find my water soluble pen to write it out first, so it was totally free-hand) and I felt like a dip for even trying it. Then I thought, well, just fill up the square with some more squiggles and blend it in more than making it a feature. That worked! Well, I think it did.

At least I can live with it. Even though I won't actually be the one living with it. You know what I mean.

Anyway, I got that all sorted out when all of a sudden, my tension got all wonky. I tried all sorts of things. I even tried simply stitching over where it was loopy. Then I discovered that somewhere along the line, my thread got taken off the back hook of the line. Hmmm... That's not the technical term for it, but I'm not sure what it's really called. The very first thing I hook my thread around when I'm threading the machine. That's where it got pulled off. I didn't realize, because it didn't really look any different and was still stitching, however sloppily. 

Waaayyyyll, crap. Now I'd done it. This is when my rather unfortunate brain chemistry chirps in and starts telling me all sorts of nasty things, like, "You're an idiot. What made you think you could attempt this? It's just one more thing for you to fail at." No really. She likes to go off the deep end. I should give her a nasty name. Like Chick the Stick. Just so you know it's my evil twin talking down at me, not me. Because she tends to have way worse grammar than I. 

Of course, the other problem is that I didn't get cast in the last of several shows I auditioned for. I got cast in the one non-paying gig I auditioned for, which is way cool, because I'll be working with a really great director and I really wanted the role, but I'd also really like to get paid for what I, frankly, love most and am best at doing. I deserve that paycheck. Hence the severity of the down talk.

Back to the quilt... I was terrified at the prospect of trying to remove the stitches. I'm relatively new to the quilting aspect of this process and I've only ever done free hand. I've also only ever done stuff that's pretty small. Yes, even a baby quilt is huge by comparison. I also don't have a machine specifically for quilting. It doesn't have a particularly long arm, so I have to really make adjustments for that. So, my stitches aren't terribly even and some of them get pretty tight. BLARGH! 

So, thoroughly disgusted with myself, I cut the blanket free and brought it upstairs to sit in my recliner under the good light and try to remove my mess. I must have had quite a look on my face, because my hubby looked really worried. I just muttered about how awful I am and he did his level best to be supportive and soothing. I'm not easy to live with, I grant him that. He has the patience of a saint. More so, probably. 

I started picking away at the threads from the front side because I thought it'd be easier than trying to work with the flannel backing. Then I flipped it over, just to see what kind of a mess I'd made on the back side. It turned out that, since the tension had gone so loose on the top thread, even the tight stitches were easily plucked if I simply made a few slices with my seam ripper. It wasn't an easy task, by any means, but it certainly wasn't as dreadful as I had anticipated. Sure I have a few needle scars, but those will work themselves out in the wash. I did leave it alone for the rest of the evening to let myself cool off and just separate from it for a while, but I'm going to get back to it once I've gotten the boys home from school today. 

I guess the whole point of this entry is to remind you that, even when you make a mistake, whether it's stupid, honest, or both, don't be so hard on yourself. Take a break. You made need only a few minutes or maybe you'll need to really separate yourself from it and move on to the next thing. But don't beat yourself up over it. And if you just can't help it and start to put yourself down, give your evil twin a name (a really awful name) and tell him/her to SHUT UP.

Also, don't forget to check out my Spoonflower shop and the cafepress shop I linked in my previous entry to help kids with autism in June and July. Or just go shopping. I have lots of designs in both places.

Quilty as Charged...

Busy month! Had a table read for a play I wrote (went very well), opened Crimes of the Heart at the Bloomington Civic Theatre on the 18th (Also doing very well, I'm playing Lenny) and last week, through a miserable cold, I went to 6 auditions (and was cast in one of them). Also got my eldest son set up for his IEP at school and found him an amazing therapist. Then our washing machine broke. Tomorrow the new one arrives. I had a load of fabric pre-washing when it went down, so I don't have the backing ready for Lillian's quilt. Needless to say, I didn't get a whole lot done in the quilt department. Quilty as charged.
On the other hand, over the last weekend, I put together the top of the pink quilt and made 26 multi-colored blocks for my niece's baby. I then made a bed runner from the pink/black/grey scraps, organized the other scraps by size and color, cleaned the bathroom, helped my husband replace the mini-split (heating and a/c) units in the boys' rooms, cleaned my eldest son's room and found him a new desk, a table that was made from an old treadle sewing machine stand. It's got a built in fidgit! (He's on the autism spectrum and has a hard time sitting still) I (finally) cleared the gutters, baked meringue cookies for my friend's Memorial day cook-out and designed two full fabric collections for my Spoonflower account. Not bad for someone who "doesn't work" LOL. I guess I really shouldn't beat myself up about not getting on to blog. I still have to take photos of the stuff I did get done, but they are on their way.
For next month, I have to plan my younger son's 6th birthday (Transformer cake - check!) and figure out something special for Father's Day and our 10th Anniversary. And go to two graduation parties. And attend a workshop on how to audition for musical theatre. And have two more weekends of performances. And... <insert exploding head here>

...then I'll have 6 weeks with no shows. Maybe I'll get something done then?

Bad blog! Naughty blog!

I'm probably the worst blogger. I have a hard time sticking to things. However, in my defense, I have been rather busy.
My husband and I took a vacation to Cancun, where I finished my certification for SCUBA diving. Not surprisingly, I found a lot of inspiration while I was under water! The colors, shapes, animals, patterns... all lend themselves to the creative mind.
Before I left for the trip, I prepped several hexagons to take along to work on by hand. It's going to be a long process, since I will probably only work on that while I'm traveling anywhere. However, I have quite a few "flowers" for Grandma's Flower Garden made, so it's a decent start.
My mom took the Dresden top down to her place for storage until I'm ready to put a backing on it. The batik top is draped over the stair rail in my living room. It looks pretty nice, so I'm going to let it live there for a while.
My friends, Laurel and Nathan, had their baby girl and today I finished laying out the squares for the blanket I'm going to make for them. It's several shades of pink, white, gray and black. I read that babies' eyes find the sharp contrasts first, and though it might get to Lillian after her eyes have adjusted, that was my original plan when choosing the colors. It's very simple. I had a 9 inch square of pink gingham from the curtains my mom made for my bedroom when I was around three, so it's 20 - 9 inch squares. I may or may not put a border on it depending on time and money and how it looks when it's done.
I also found out that my niece is going to have a baby in November and I saw a quilt in a magazine that I thought would make a great blanket for her baby. It's squares within squares, again with the contrasting color idea. For mine, I'm going to use a whole bunch of colors and prints (mostly geometric shapes, but some others as well). When I was a kid, my Grandma Louise made scrap quilts and I was always fascinated by all the different colors and patterns. One of those quilts was used when my niece was a baby for her (and her siblings) to play on. We'd ask, "Find blue." or, "Find a flower." It became a game about learning colors and pictures. I'm going to make it unisex and not too baby-ish, since we don't know what she's having and then it's easier to pass along to the next child. I'm going to use a modified log cabin to make the squares. I have quite a few of the strips cut already, but I discovered I hadn't got any yellow for it. The yellows are in the washing machine as I type. I think I'm going to sash the blocks, but, to be honest, I haven't made up my mind as yet.
I have started work on the Fan Dancer quilt, but I've set it aside for now while I work on these other things.
On top of all of that, I've begun rehearsals for the play, Crimes of the Heart. We're into our fourth week of rehearsals. I also sang in a concert piece written by a friend of mine. It was fantabulous! However, as you can see, I've been quite busy, so I hope you'll forgive the lack of blogs.