Stashbusting News and Other News Fit to Print!

First and most important news is that I am going to be a Grandma again.   BOTH daughters are pregnant and due later this fall.  Bad news is that they did not consult my schedule and older daugher is having hers mid Oct in Atlanta, while youngest daughter is having her first child the first week of November.  Guess when Quilt Market and Quilt Festival occur?  That's OK, I know my priorities..  Those grandbabies - both are girls by the way - are most important.  They have sent pictures of the ultrasounds but I promised not to post them anywhere  :(

Have taken 2 workshops since I last posted.  Karen Stone and Gyleen Fitzgerald.  Both were awesome classes.  Karens' workshop was on the New York Beauty block, which I've done several, but the first half of the day was spent working on selecting fabrics.  Scrappy fabrics galore.  You know what the best part of the workshop was?  Permission to mix regular fabrics with Batiks!   OMG..  I always thought it should be OK, but many people that I swap with (and shall remain nameless) think that is sacreligious.  The supply list said to bring lots of scraps.  I brought a bundle of batik fat quarters.  (Moda Montego Bay - scrumptuous) , but we spent the morning going through SCRAPS and deciding what plays well together and what doesn't.  Sometimes it is starting with a colorful fabric and pulling lots of fabrics in that works with it.  I had a serious urge t just go shopping for fat quarters to expand my scrappy selections!  Not like I don't have enough fabrics, but including some brighter colors that I might be missing.  Great workshop.

The other workshop was with Gyleen.  Making pineapple blocks without paper piecing.   This workshop was using SCRAPS again (my favorite).  Made several pineapple blocks using Christmas strips.  I already had 1.5 inch strips cut because I've been wanting to make a Log Cabin quilt using 1.5 inch strips.  Was lots of fun.  I showed Gyleen my block and mentioned that I wasn't happy with those teensie tiny corners.  She very casually replied that with more experience I would become more accurate with my 1/4 inch seam allowance and those corners would be larger.   (I've only been quilting since 1978).   Again, though, got that "permission" to mix regular fabrics and batiks. 

Not sure I'll finish this quilt.  That's OK, I still  think I would prefer to do the Log Cabin.  Nita and I have been collecting/sharing strips for about a year now.  We both have plenty to make BOTH quilts!  LOL.

Skyrockets Workshop

Went to a workshop an all day last week, Sally Schneider taught us about making Skyrockets. This was a pretty good workshop, I even managed to get 5 blocks done. I don't have pictures of MY blocks, they are in the car already so I don't forget to take them to the day guild meeting tomorrow.  

However, I did take a picture of the wall where everyone was putting their finished blocks. I love it when the students hang their blocks. With all the different fabric choices, the blocks always seem to look good together. 

 

There were batiks, 30's prints, random fabrics and so on. The success of the block is due to paying attention to the placement of the value in the block. Darks, mediums and lights. The Rocket part was supposed to the bold or dark part. Now the picture on the left uses a few different backgrounds to give the light effect in the center. This is one project that I do plan to finish. Guess I better go add it to my UFO list.

Beyond The Borders - Adventures in Dyeing Coffee Filters

Joined a new group yesterday that I have wanted to join for quite some time. I know that there is a lot of creative 'stuff' floating around in my head that I just need to let out. Beyond the Borders (BTB) is a contemporary art quilt group they encourage everyone to "embrace creativity while coloring outside the lines of traditional quilting".

I was especially inspired by the coffee filters that Liz produced and immediatly tried to dye some coffee filters myself! Well, first of all I took the coffee filter out of the coffee pot from this morning, thinking that was a good start. I proceded to dump the grounds out of the filter and rinsed it. Duh, all the dark colors came out. I put the filter in a plastic container, and poured a little bit of the leftover coffee from the pot on the filter. I let that soak over night. Nothing. Same off white color as when I rinsed it.

To make a long story short, after checking the internet, maybe I should be using 'Instant coffee' . The other tip I found was that the dark the roast, the darker the stain. (I'm using HEB San Antonio blend- should that give a red cast?? LOL) .

Today, I went over to Wally world and bought a small jar of instant coffee. Tomorrow, we are going to try the spritzing method. I found this recipe at this Folk Art blog:

mix 5 tablespoons of instant coffee crystals in half a cup of hot water.
Add a few drops of vanilla extract to for a great scent
Using an old sponge, blot the dye on the fabric, adding more until you get the desired look.
She will then put in a 200 degree oven for about 10 minutes to facilitate drying.

At The Movies! Another UFO Completed!

This is one of 6 quilts that my friend Linda G and I designed and put together. We found this cool movie fabric at Quakertown Quilt Shop in Friendswood TX last summer. We used that in the center, and there are paper pieced boxes of popcorn in the corners. There are markee lights running around the movie fabric. Cool huh! Didn't get it done in time for Christmas (Although Linda got 4 done). This will be a birthday present for a lucky son-in-law in June!

This is me showing it for Show and Tell at the Greater Houston Quilt Guild meeing in January.


Oh, the gal that was going to buy the whole of pantos backed out. Now I've got to list them again. Bummer....

UFO's and Stashbusting

OK, it is after Christmas, I have a few days before the new year, and it is time to start considering goals and objectives for next year. I have had a huge list of UFO's and Ready to quilt items listed on the side. How many new projects will I start? How many projects have I comitted to? Oh, and the block exchanges and Mystery quilts !!

Right off the bat, my Monday Bee is doing a Charity Challenge where everyone gets a yard of the same fabric and the challenge is to complete a charity quilt by a certain date, and we all turn them in a future guild meeting. They have also discovered Dear Jane. Mine has been sitting since 2005 (see http://www.shady-wood.com/quilts/dearjane/index.htm for my DJ Journey).

I've joined a BlockBuilders Bee with Greater Houston Guild. They do 4 block exchanges each year. My Thursday Bee (original name huh- we meet on Thursdays!!) will probably do several exchanges and quite a few charity projects, not to mention road trips and retreats!

So, the question really comes down to, do I WANT to finish those UFO's? Do I just need to prioritize the list? Do I just need to cull out that list and just give in to the fact that I may never get them done?

With the new studio, I actually have room to get projects out. The ones that I really want to complete, I will set up a 15 minutes a day type of commitment to work on them. I find that actually works, and it is amazing what you can complete.

Phil Beaver Workshop

Those of you that know me, know that I don't 'need' to start any more projects. But OMG, I have found a new calling. I took a 2 day workshop with Phil Beaver through the Greater Houston Quilt Guild last week.

Picture to the left is Phil in front of some of his pieces. He's telling us that WE are going to be able to make these beautiful sunflowers and poinsettias! Yeah right!




Here we are 'watching paint dry' literally! We laid out the class' painted fabric edge to edge, sprinkled rock salt over them, spritzed them with water again, and now waiting for them to dry. We did all of this BEFORE lunch the first day. These were absolutely gorgeous. As they dried, they got better and better.


This orange one is one that I made so I could do pumpkins! I was able to get two sunflowers cut out and laid out before I had to leave to go to the West Houston guild meeting that night.

Phil is looking at Mary Jo's layout. She did sunflowers and several pumpkins. Can'twait to see how these turn out.

A couple of my friends that WEREN'T in the workshop want to try this, so look for more to come!!