Two Finishes: Baskets and a Halloween Quilt for 2016

December 2, 2015December 1, 2015 Elizabeth E.10 Comments

NOTE: Please forgive the blog gremlins who used to work here. To quote Monty Python, they have been sacked.Quilt Number 154
Spooky Action at a Distance

Construction began October 2015 • Finished November 2015

I began saving Polaroid blocks for this quilt two years ago, and purchased the fabric about the same time. I thought it was time to push it over to the “done” side of the ledger, given my last post. Label’s not yet finished–coming soon. The title is taken from one of Einstein’s scoffing statements over the idea that that one particle can have an effect on another particle which might be some distance away. He thought is was not possible. Modern physics has proved him wrong, and scads of poems have been written about this, so I thought, why not a quilt title for a spooky quilt?

Howard Levy’s poem, of the same name, notes that those who snuggle under quilts can experience this effect:

It is this way: men and women
spin. Hundreds of miles apart, thousands
of miles, the speed of light, it will make no difference….

And Einstein, could he admit
that love would be fast enough,
that this “spooky action at a distance”
is not necessarily paradox,
that these two influence simply in their being,
taken in to each other and separate,
separate and taken in.

Quilt Number 155
I carried quilt and basket through whispering grass

Made the first basket in May 2015 • Finished November 2015

This was a fun quilt to make, a really great one to do with large scraps. I have a tutorial •here• for cutting up the baskets quickly, and the how-to for the handle is *here.* Just go go go, trying not to think about it too much, and have fun while you cut and sew. The title is taken from “The Picnic,” a poem by Maylee Bossy, about an outing after her husband has passed away. My husband is still very much here, but the poem involved a quilt and a basket — how could I pass it up?

So I guess that deadline thing is working for me, right? A Halloween quilt finished in November? A Spring quilt finished in autumn? Let’s just say we’re EARLY, and leave it at that.

Quilts

Mini-Quilt Swapping

July 7, 2015July 7, 2015 Elizabeth E.7 Comments

I know I’m late to this particular party on Instagram, but I have recently jumped right in and signed up for three swaps. These are little groups of crazy people who have more than enough to work on but think it would be fun to make a gift for some unknown person, include a boatload of treats in addition to the mini and send it off, hoping it arrives.

So here they are:

Mini-house Swap. This was started because the Denise, the organizer was moving and wanted to do a swap around the idea of a new house (blog post showing general info is *here*). I like house quilts, and had never tried a swap, so decided to try it. Then all these terms started floating around like Swap Mama, Swap Angel, Swap Moderator (which I think is the same as a Swap Mama). I thought I would just sort of play along and pretend I knew what they were talking about. Since I’m such a non-shopper, I’ve been taking screenshots of people’s “other extra items,” and will try to head out and find some since I’m such a newbie at this. For this swap, we have an organizer, and a Swap Mama, who has sent out emails letting us know what’s up.

The first picture (above) is the confirmation I received after I signed up, then the logo for the main swap, then the logo for the group with our own “Swap Mama.” Believe me, the State Department has more code words than these do, but we do come close.

Kaffe Fasset Swap. How can you pass up something like this? The sign-ups closed July 5th, with partners posted on July 13th, so I haven’t heard anything from Leslie Piper, who is the organizer. Here’s their Facebook page, though.

Simply Mini Swap. This may turn out to be my favorite because all we can send is a mini quilt and a hand-written note to the recipient. Brianna, the organizer has already sent out guidelines, and I love everything she is doing. We have three check-in dates, a request to post a Mosaic, and shipping dates. Above you see the interest post, then the IG post that the swap was a go, and the rest of the images are pretty self-explanatory.

She also gave us a link to a fine post about Rules for Swapping from Karri Garza. Loved it. If you click on Karri’s “swapping” hashtag on the bottom of that post, there are a few other posts she’s written about swapping. From this I learned that some people sign up their dogs. (!!) And their children. (!) Hmmmm. I’m hoping I’m on the receiving end from another grown-up human quilter, and that all these turn out to be a cool way to meet new people and create something fun.

If you want to try a swap, Amanda of Openquiltswap on Instagram has started a clearing house of swaps–such a great idea to help people like me find their way. I did a search on other “swap rules” posts. Here are some:

Katie Bastie on 52 Quilters

Schnitzel & Boo, who I think kind of pioneered this whole swap thing on Instagram

A Pinterest Board of mini quilt ideas from the New Jersey MQGuild

I also found out that there is an informal Black List that circulates among the swap organizers of flakey quilters who receive a mini quilt, but never send one out. I’ve been in block bees like that, or have received quilt blocks that were at best questionable and at the worst, hideous. So maybe being in a swap is like a big fun roll of the dice.

Are you in any swaps? Have you thought about being in a swap? Any interesting stories to share?

Quilts

Happy Fourth of July!

July 4, 2015 Elizabeth E.5 Comments

America Is a Tune: It Must Be Sung Together
Happy Fourth of July, everyone! Here’s a little patriotic quilty eye candy for you, plus a mural that is on the hallway ceiling in the United States Capitol Building in Washington, DC.

(Back of the quilt that uses a tea towel showing lot’s DC’s Memorials.)

The boys and I hope you have an outstanding Fourth of July!

Quilts

Ready, Set, Begin: Summer Fun 2015

June 25, 2015July 12, 2015 Elizabeth E.14 Comments

To truly begin summer off correctly in Southern California, you need a fire, and we have a doozy of one going on right now, only a few miles from my house. The above map, from today, shows 21% containment, and I could see clouds of billowing smoke yesterday when I went to the grocery store. Usually we like to END our summers with a fire, but not this year, the fourth year of the drought.

So my friend and I decided to hit the road this morning, in order to recover from the ardor of Registering for QuiltCon 2016 (no, I didn’t get the Gwen Marston class), and visit the newest shop not too far from our town in the neighboring city of Temecula: Needle in a Fabric Stash.

Our only other dedicated-modern-shop is in Los Angeles, way too far away for a casual stop, so it was nice to find out about this place.

Sue Stone, the owner, has a well-curated selection of fabrics, from Alison Glass to Cotton and Steele to Dear Stella, and isn’t locked into one line too heavily, but instead displays them to encourage mixing between the designers.

Some fun displays and stacks of fabrics.

The displays and patterns are well organized and encourage browsing.

Here Sue is helping a young customer choose fabrics for a quilt.

A nice selection of solids, plus more lines.

Needle in a Fabric Stash is owned and managed by Sue (above).

She’s been in operation about 7 months, and has already set up some great classes.

We grabbed some lunch and kept going. . . over to Primitive Gatherings Quilt Shop, not located in Wisconsin (that would have been QUITE a road trip) but in the next town up, in Murrieta.

This friendly fellow, an import from Wisconsin, helped us get signed up in their store system, and showed us around. Since I used to live in Wisconsin, we traded that old joke about there being two seasons in Wisconsin: Construction and Winter. I knew the one about three seasons: June, July and Winter. He admitted that he would like to be back there during summer, but come winter. . . he was happy to be in California, where the car doors didn’t freeze shut.