Dear Jane

Life...it seems to always get in the way of crafting and blogging! It's been a horrible week for me (a horrible few months actually--thanks, Saturn, can't wait to see what the next year and a half brings) with the kicker being a dead car on Wednesday (can't afford another). But things are starting to look up, even if just in small ways. Here's a block I finished on 10/9, the day before I saw the actual quilt in person. I followed the photo of Jane's block and pieced the square from four triangles before appliquéing on the teardrop shapes. I also cut out the fabric behind the teardrops when I finished--I usually leave the background in my appliqués, but this was showing through and I wanted to get rid of it. I was very careful about it, but I could certainly use a small pair of appliqué scissors for Christmas (Mom? Are you reading?)

Hope everyone has a happy Halloween! I know it'll be an insane weekend in Witch City, where I live.

Tethered Threads: October

Not sure if I've really talked about this here yet, but I joined a block party called Tethered Threads. Our first month was October, and we had to make two 12.5" blocks for mommymae. She is making a quilt for her daughter and had requested modern piecing, along with a little bit of something different, like appliqué or embroidery.

I like the first block better, but I guess I'm pleased with how both of these turned out. The recipient is, so that's great! For both blocks I did some improvisational piecing (stitch, press, trim, stitch, press, trim...) and I added a bit of fabrics from my stash to fill them out. I was happy to see those Anna Maria Horner prints, as I still have bits of those Garden Party fabrics in my scrap pile. For the block above, I didn't want to chop up that lovely print in the middle, so I appliquéd those Good Folks circle flowers to add a little more interest to the block.

You can see the group's Flickr page HERE. I'm excited to see what everyone in the group can do! My month is March and I'm spending a LOT of time thinking about what to request... And what fabrics to buy!

STUD October sent

I heard from my partner Ryan today that the STUD "anything goes" mini-quilt I sent him has been received, so here it is! I used a new (to me) quilt-as-you-go technique from Patchwork Style to piece this one and the twin for me directly to the batting. Then I backed it, and did a squared spiral stitch-in-the-ditch to hold it all together.

Both of these quilts were made entirely from scraps in my stash! That definitely felt good, though I don't think I even made a dent. These came together really easily and quickly. I cut the pieces a lot smaller for Ryan's quilt (I made mine first as a test-drive) so that it would take longer and be more complicated. I have plans to use this technique again soon!

Finished: 2 Yellow Brick Roads

These have actually been finished for weeks now, but my gramma just got hers yesterday (hand-delivered by my mom), so I'd been waiting to post until we each had one! These are the quilts I've blogged about before here and here.

I am quite pleased with how they turned out. And I think it's so interesting that they look so different, since the centers are the same. My quilt is bordered in the blue and bound in the light green, and my gramma's is the reverse. We also chose different backings. Still, I really like that they're the same but different.

I took these photos a couple of weeks ago, when my parents were visiting and I still had both quilts in my possession. My dad was helping me hold them both up, and then this photo of Iris and me happened while he was holding my quilt in the background. I love it. She's sniffing my nose. She always makes me melt when she does that--it was the first thing she did when we opened her cage to meet her at the shelter: sniff and then rub my nose. How can you not love it?!?

Dear Jane!

The other day I mentioned that I'd seen something very special in Vermont, and here it is! We decided months ago to take a trip to Vermont when my folks made their yearly visit, and it just so happened that the Jane Stickle quilt was on display at the Bennington Museum in Bennington, VT at the same time! The quilt is only on display for a limited time each year, so it was fabulous (for me) that it coincided with our trip. (NOTE: They had it turned 90* clockwise from how it's shown in the book.)

When I first saw it, I was struck by how small the quilt looked. It's 80" square, which is the same size as this quilt of mine, but for whatever reason it looked small to me. And flat, laid out on a sloped display board (but not under glass). The colors are pretty amazing (still!), but they only allow photography in the museum if you don't use a flash, so the lighting is low and I haven't done any retouching to my photos because I don't want to mess with the colors.

It was pretty amazing to be in the presence of something like that--so old, and inspirational, and beautiful. I don't think the experience has really sunken in yet. I did do some work on my own Dear Jane quilt over the weekend--one block done, another started. I hope to have pictures of those up here soon. In the meantime, for more of my Dear Jane pictures, check my Flickr page HERE. Special thanks to my parents for driving us there and back, and to my brother, for being patient. He actually took a few photos of it, including one of the signature block. I gave him a *look*, and he said, "What? It's in the book!" So, there you go.

A hippo for me!

I've finally gotten around to making another hippo, and this one I get to keep! It's made of a 30s reproduction fabric and a sweet polka dot that just seemed perfect. I love it. I have one more cut out that I need to stitch up. That one might stay with me, too. One for home and one for the office? That sounds about right to me.

I mean, how can you NOT love this face?!?

A crafty swap

Apologies for the radio silence! It was unintended. My parents and brother have been visiting from Wisconsin and Ohio, respectively, and we all spent the long weekend in Vermont. They're all gone now *sniff* and I'm getting back into the swing of things. So, apron! This was a request from my friend Hilary, a super awesome artist. She asked for an apron for her new waitressing job in exchange for some art. How could I refuse?? The apron is thigh-length with large pleated pockets to hold everything a pink-haired waitress needs. It turned out really well (if I do say so myself!)

I also made one of these little letter needle books following this tutorial. It's pretty adorable and fabulous! And quite easy, so I'm sure I'll be making more in the near future.

And these are the little houses I received in exchange! I am SO in love with them. They are so well made and cute and just really really fabulous. I have been staring at them for a week, but I think I'll be taking them to my office so I can see them 40 hours/week.

More TK about other recent crafting (block party! mini-quilt swap!) and something very special I saw in Vermont...