Quilt finishes at the end of 2013 and start of 2014

For the last couple of months in 2013, I had two quilts hanging over my head and stuck under my sewing machines. Both of the quilts were for my husband and were gifts. I finally found some quilting mojo in December and finished them.

This was his Valentine 2013 quilt gift - the color choices were based upon a single Michael Miller fabric I found. I loved the sweet fishing motif and the cheerful colors.

My husband's favorite part of the quilt? He loves the single block on the back. My quilt backs are usually very boring and I'm happy that this small departure is appreciated.

The second quilt was from Luke Haynes' QAL at WeAllSew.  The QAL is for a wall hanging, but I've made so many deer art quilts for my husband, I felt the need to break away. I pulled from a collection of his old jeans and created a small lap quilt. It's the prefect size for him while he relaxes in the recliner with a beer.

He loves it and doesn't share it often with anyone else. I'll take that as a compliment!

One of my first quilts for 2014 is inspired by a line from a poem..
"I've loved the stars too fondly to be fearful of the night."
It will be another liberated quilt in dark shades of black with a pop of a white star here and there. I'm very excited and always looking for time to sneak off and sew a bit more on it.

I'm still enjoying my Paperclay as much as ever. I have two figures under contruction right now. I'm almost done with this piece - The Hand Quilter. It was fun to blend my two favorite past times..

Have you started any projects yet?

XO,
Jenny

Liberated Fall Quilt Process and Other Halloween Fun

One of the all time favorite quilts in our home is the Halloween one I created last year. Regardless of the time of the year, that one gets pulled out a lot. And as a Halloween nut, I figured I should make some more fall quilts to enjoy. I decided to shelve all those WIPS I've been trying to finish and dive into some liberated quilting fun! Here is a bit of my process..

 Lots of yummy orange scraps..

The makings of the first liberated pumpkin quilt block..

A little trial and error. I hated that stem.. thought it made my pumpkin look like a orange..

Playing with the idea of stripe borders..

More blocks done.. Filling in with improv cream blocks that I started months ago..

Inspired by the Modern Maples on my Instagram feed and decided to try a few liberated ones..

And it's coming together.. Almost done. Just need to finish the bottom row of piecing, quilting and binding. Hoping to add it to the Etsy store before the end of September. It will be a smallish quilt - perfect wall hanging or the autumn baby due any day.

Now that my parents have moved here, it is such a treat to have crafty nights with my Mum. She treated me to this gorgeous wreath class at Thanksgiving Pointe. So much fun and I love having new decor on our front door. The technique was super easy and wouldn't this be in great in other motifs? Maybe a creamy, vintage Christmas?


I've been busy working on the liberated fall quilt and a number of projects for a book due out next year. The kiddos have grown tired of hearing about how none of it was for them. This past week I surprised the girls with some new fun skirts..

And a pattern I used online had some very off measurements, sadly I had to scrap one of the skirts and try something new. I love this little liberated piecing in the skirt and it makes my kiddo smile. Make lemonade, people, especially when it's designer fabric that is at stake!

I hope it is cooling down where you are and your thoughts are full of pumpkin spice lattes, jumps through crunchy leaves and enjoying the start of the holidays..

XO,
Jennifer

Little Man's Nursery Projects - #1 Gone Fishing Improv Baby Quilt

My sweet Little Man's nursery theme is "Gone Fishing". My husband wanted a fishing motif, I wanted nautical and neither of us liked the typical colors.. What did we end up with? A fishing motif in sweet, soft oceanic color tones. Lots of cool blues, clementine orange, sandy browns and a touch of light green. The nursery is serene and the whole family enjoys being in there.

I wanted to create a number of items just for him, like I did with the girls, even though my time is honestly more stretched now. I wanted to create a couple pieces of art for his room that would be meaningful. At the top of list of thing I wanted to create was a large quilt piece to be focal in the nursery. And I had no ideas. Inspiration would just not come and I was getting sick with it. I wanted it to be more art than traditional, but I wanted it to be pieced. And I have come to accept that I really, really don't like creating realistic or literal pieces. I gave up and created a pretty simple modern quilt.. and hated making it. There was no connection, no piece of me in this other quilt. Finally a good friend told me to trash it and start over. Ugh! Really? I could never do that.. and so that quilt has become a carseat cover, a much more functional and adorable use for a quilt that held little meaning.

What to do? I'm still a novice at improv piecing, I can count on one hand the number of projects I've created in that style. However, I'm always happy when I create in that fashion. I decided that I would do an impressionist piece with a single fish that was not too abstract, but not too cutesy. I loved the process, I was eager to work on it and it felt right.. I finally found the quilt that gave my son a piece of me.

The details of the quilt..

It is 22"x30" - I had originally envisioned a very large piece, but we ended up having less wall space and I had to par it down.

It is completely pieced - no applique or fusing at all. This is huge for me. Of course for bed quilts, I've always pieced, but it when it comes to art pieces, I've run from piecing. I always felt like the precision of piecing would somehow kill the spontaneity of the art. I never had that feeling with this quilt I think because it was improv pieced with a very vague plan. This is also the very first time I used curved piecing as well.. It was not that scary and the gentle waves were perfect for this piece.

I quilted it on my domestic machine. Given its smaller size and that I learned how to FMQ on my domestic, it made the most sense. Maybe one day I'll enjoy quilting art pieces on my mid-arm, but um..yeah not yet. The majority of the quilt has 2 motifs - white waves and blue bubbles. The little bit of white sky has fluffy clouds and I left the fish unquilted.

My single goldfish swimming in a sea of blue. Looking for new adventures and eager to see the world. My sweet Little Man, that is my wish for you.

*****
I am linking up this post to Amy's fabulous Blogger Quilt Festival.
I heartily encourage you to visit and dive into all the amazing quilts that have been posted.

Christmas Tree Skirt Tutorials

Last year I designed two tree skirt tutorials, one for a Christmas tree and one for a table top tree. In case you are looking for some inspiration, I thought I would repost the tutorial links!

This is my Ribbon Candy tree skirt that I designed for Moda. You could easily change the serger thread or jelly roll fabric to any desired color for a different colored "candy".

And this is my paper pieced skirt for a table top tree that I designed for Riley Blake. If that much paper piecing gives you the shivers, you can easily replace those panels with coordinating fabric.

I have both of these skirts on our trees now and love the quilted touch. If you can believe it, I still have not made stockings for my family - we use store bought ones (boo!) That will be on my to-do list next summer.

What are your favorite holiday tutorials?

WIPS this week

Near the end of last month it dawned on me that in the space of two weeks I had Baby's 2nd birthday, Sewing Summit, and a big Disney trip. All wonderful! Except I'm that crazy loon that thinks each event needs all kinds of handcrafted items. Gah!

So here are my WIPS for the week, note I have not even started on the Disney stuff ( don't mind me hyperventilating over here..)

For Sewing Summit.. I made my Weekender bag..

My zipped pouch for the swap and my nametag..

What's left? Well I have two days to finish a camera strap and some fun clothes. We'll see what is accomplished..

I've been slowly working on this quilt for a bit. Playing with string blocks and the idea of a deconstructed chevron. In the interest of time though this may end up being a runner or a quilt with *lots* of negative space..

Working on my next collage, which will actually be a series of sugar skulls. P.S. If the skull theme is not your taste, have no fears.. I'll be moving on to my next series in November ;o) I know it's not for everyone, but it is something I've wanted to play with for awhile now..

And lastly, working on completing my second table runner for the holidays made with circle appliques. The ornaments were fun and I love their whimsy.

Starting to wonder how many seasonal runners I will be able to design with just the circles!

What are you working on?

Kiddo's Quilt

I love reading posts and going to lectures on how to be inspired. The one key point I hear a lot, is that you must be in the moment and truly see what surrounds you. It's easy to go in to auto pilot most days and miss the beauty in our lives. I'm guilty of auto pilot most days..heck, I'm happy if my teeth are brushed and I am ready for the day before noon; that's life with two wee ones. However, these two angels also inspire a lot of my work.

In the past couple months, Kiddo has developed a very distinctive way of painting. She will paint the entire space with blocks of different colors, she often calls them her "quilts". She is very methodical in where the painting starts and what colors are to be used. I wonder if in her mind that is how she sees my quilts - blocks of color, artfully arranged. I have to tell you, I can not wait till she is just a bit older and can sew her first quilt. I have a feeling she will far surpass my talent and I'm very excited about watching that unfold.

For now I think I will imitate life that may have been imitating art. I have seen a number of postage stamp quilts popping up in the blogsphere. Michele created a beautiful one on Quilting Gallery and I have seen a few more in my Google Reader. I think it's a great way to use up my scrap stash that is on the brink of being uncontrollable. This week I'm cutting out little squares and will try to make a quilt for the girls that resembles one of Kiddo's paintings.

Have you made a postage stamp quilt? Any tips or want to share a photo?

You Know You're A Die Hard Free Motion Quilter When..

When you free motion in and out of your thumb..twice..
break the needle and then have push it on the other side of the finger.
All the while your toddler screams and is in awe of the ordeal.

In a word.. ouch.

My original post will be delayed a day or so. Have no fear, I'll be back to quilting tonight and will have a fun inspiration piece for you..

In the mean time, want to play my game?

Feel free to finish the line..

"You know you're a die hard free motion quilter when..."

Quilting Gallery - Mini Quilt Exchange

I am a huge fan of the Quilting Gallery. Michele works very hard to promote other quilters, create fun activities that involve the blogging community, and swaps. For this last swap, our task was to create a mini quilt. I have been intrigued by the granny pattern that Blue Elephant Stitches created. I didn't quilt mine following her tutorial, mainly because I created them at my quilt guild Sewing Saturday and my tablet died before I could see the tutorial. I think I may even try to this foundation pieced next time and see if I like that better..

 I desperately wanted to crochet around the colored blocks as a fun spin on the "granny" motif, but I ran out of time. Later this month I am hoping to make this block again and try it with my running stitch crochet technique.

I really like the final mini quilt and was so happy to hear that my swap receiver loved it too. Have you tried the granny block yet? I'd love to see your pics!

Quiet But Busy..

I know my blog has been awfully quiet this past week. My husband has been gone hunting this week (the first time in a couple years), so my mom came out for a girls only weekend! We had lots of fun creating a "movie house" in my studio with candy, popcorn, and pillows. We of course are eager to have Daddy back home, but it was a very fun distraction!

I've also been working on a quilt & two pillows for Kiddo's school fundraiser. I had a great time making these and I hope that they find a special home. I would love more than anything for it to find its way to her teacher, but we shall see..

There is my Kiddo's sweet, colorful hand print. To see her little hand in her finger painting always brings up a ton of emotions for me; I'm literally swept off my feet sometimes. I'm so proud she accepts her difference with grace and beauty. I love to see her shine and hope that amazing confidence is something that stays with her always. What makes us different from other people can be sometimes hard to accept, but she embraces her little hand without any qualms. Love my sweet girl..

How To Soothe The Soul

This past week we had a sudden death in our family on my husband's side. It was a shock that I think we are still reeling from. I am quite the emotional sponge - I stopped reading and listening to the news back when I was pregnant with our second daughter. It's very hard for me to disengage my emotions and carry on. However, when my husband rushed to his hometown with our eldest daughter, the house was TOO quiet at night. I decided that "working" may be the best for me.. so I completed my quilt for Project Quilting. Our theme was a tool prompt, and we had to incorporate 4 pieces of inspiration.

I present "And Sew It Begins.." I depicted the sewing machine and scissors in a literal format. I crocheted on the bottom of the machine (my third tool) and lots of free motion stitching (my fourth tool). It's a cheery little piece. I'm debating if I want to display it my studio as a reminder that art is a great way to work through my emotions.

In my opinion the best & worst thing about life, is that it goes on. The sun comes up, the children need to be fed, and our lives continue.. The loss of Darlene is deeply felt in our home and we wish peace to all who knew and loved her..

Learning From Jenny

A few weeks ago, I saw Jenny Doh post about her publishing class. I told myself I couldn't afford another class that month. Then I reminded myself that I've had one book deal fall through  and had yet to finalize the two that are under review.. I wondered if there was something that I was missing.

There was..

I remember when I first presented my super secret book idea to the first publisher. I was excited, I had a book outline, I had project instructions.. I didn't have completed samples, I didn't have evidence of it on my blog. It was a secret! I couldn't share it online. What if someone saw it and ran with the idea before I could? What if someone could get it published before I could? What if the publisher thought there would be no reason to create a book of projects that I had already shown the world? What if, what if, what if?? And so I didn't share on my blog. And so I didn't  show evidence of an art that I'm passionate about. And so the book deal was dropped. Maybe the publisher was concerned that I didn't have enough experience. How could they know if I didn't give them reason to believe?

I accept that my worse fears may still come true, but I also believe that unless I take that chance, my art is without purpose. I truly want to inspire others and help break ground on a new genre of mixed media. I hope you will take that journey with me.

So what is at the heart of this secret. my super cool book idea? Well I've become passionate about mixing the art of crochet with quilting and sewing projects. I have researched and developed methods of incorporating the two art forms. Below is a picture of my homework assignment from the fabulous Jenny. It is a quilt square with an appliqued heart and crocheted trim. The crochet is done actually on the quilt square! 

Do you like it? Do you want to learn more? I sure hope so.. This week I'll show to create this project as an adorable Valentine shirt! I hope my tutorial will be something you want to make. I hope you DO make it and show me.. I hope I can get you excited about this...

Whew.. see that wasn't so hard. It's amazing to me that I thought I had truly learned the lesson to create with my hand open. To share, share, share.. And last night I realized my fingers were still slightly clenched.. Thank you Jenny Doh for helping me relax and enjoy this crazy journey..

Feature & Giveaway

I'm so excited that this Friday I've been featured by the amazing Where Women Create.

I'm sharing a tutorial on how to use the Accuquilt system to create this fun

diamond quilt using Riley Blake fabric.

Be sure to stop by because...

they are giving ANOTHER Accuquilt GO! Baby away with 3 dies.

Good luck!

Paper Pieced Snack Mat

I made this adorable little snack mat for Kiddo.

Sorry I don't have a picture after I bound it - she was eager to use it..

in fact it already has a sour cream stain..

Want the pattern?

Come visit Craizee Corners today - I'm guesting posting!

The Giving Tree

Do you love my little tree design? Did you know you can get the pattern for free? Did you know it's over at Quilting Gallery?

Would love to see if you make one!

Did you know I have a Flickr group for pictures of your projects using my patterns? Check it out!

Guest Posting At Mauby's Today!

Want to learn how to paper piece?? You can make this heart so quick with my tutorial. Come on over to Mauby's, where I am guest posting for the day!

Quilting Gallery

If you quilt or have any interest in it, I highly recommend the website Quilting Gallery. There are so many excellent resources. As soon as I joined, I signed up for the basket swap. My partner had similar taste to me, so it wasn't all the hard to make an adorable bag for her. I hope she loves it! Here are some detail pictures..

The fabric is from Riley Blake. I tucked in a few extra fat quarters for her..
Lots of free motion quilting in the main blue areas. I tried my hand at meandering daisy. It doesn't show up too much in the pictures, but it is really sweet.

Can't wait for my next swap!