A Brief Respite

It's been a long time since I posted on this blog. The summer has already gotten away from me due to work obligations. I feel like I've missed out on so much including time to sew because it's been so busy. I need to work on that work/play balance to make time for things that give me pleasure like sewing.

I do have a few items I'm working on including my Stash Bee hive blocks quilt and some mini quilts for the American Made Brand (AMB) challenge. I can't post images of the later since one of the rules is to not post to any social media or blog.

AMB Mini Quilts

To know me is to guess that my AMB minis will involve rainbows of some sort. Over the years, I've bought various shades I thought were pretty and now I have over 40 different shades of AMB colors to choose from. I plan to use as many as I can. (Plus, I'll have the excuse to buy more next year when the "fabric fast" is over.)

A little bit of everything going in my AMB quilt.

Stash Bee

I had my hivemates make paper pieced economy blocks so I would have uniform blocks to make something fun for myself. Here are a few my friend, Julia, sent over:

She used her precious Tula Pink fabrics because she knows I love them, too.
Quilty friends are fantastic!

I have faithfully made blocks for my Stash Bee hivemates that I'd love to share with you.

June's block were envelopes for a love letter my hivemate is
quilting for her husband.
It's a giant 16in block and pretty genius design!

July's Union Jack were a fun challenge.
(I didn't like having to unpick on the first one, but the second one was a snap.)

IG Swaps

My next challenge has been to take a break from Instagram Swaps. They are SO addictive! I completed the last of my swaps in June and couldn't be more thrilled.

Here is what I sent out to my partners:

Nerds Craft It Better Swap:
I was paired with someone who loves Wonder Woman as much as I do!

Paper pieced Wonder Woman logo

Wonder Woman logo then made into the
front of a pouch.

Inside is super fun!

Back of pouch has a little
Wonder Woman flavor, too.

Here's what I received from my partner:

Simple treats, a homemade HP wand and Aurifil.
So perfect!

I unwrapped the rolls above to find these!
Three mini quilts that I can hang together or separately.
They already have a place of honor in my room.
(Plus, mini pins were tucked inside!)

Cotton+Steel Mini Swap:
Deciding on a design and cutting up the precious fabrics I've hoarded took some doing but I am very pleased with the results. (My partner is pleased, too.)

I enlarged the Julie Hirt Mercury block
pattern to make my partner a playful star.
I added in some shot cottons to add subtle color.

For the back, I used "Games we play" because it's so fun!

Check out what I was given in return:

A viewfinder mini quilt! It's so wonderful!
Plus, a cute wristlet pouch and a fist full of C+S selvages.

Can you understand my addiction now? I mean, really? Getting back some great projects from folks that put in time and love the same way I do makes me smile each time I see them.

Rescued:

In May, we said goodbye to our little dog, Evie, who provided us with 16 years of joy. That took its toll and I've had a hard time getting over that loss. (It's been a hard year with so many losses in my family.) I certainly didn't feel ready for a new pet any time soon. Fate had other plans.

Here is the newest addition to our family:

Meet Artemis!

Arti is such a cutie!

This photo of her at the shelter stole our hearts and we had to go meet her. She was scheduled to be put down the next day due to lack of space.  Just as expected when we arrived, she was sweet and playful. We were able to take her home that same day.

[This gorgeous photo is courtesy of Pawsitive Shelter Photography. This non-profit group works tirelessly to get tons of photos of pets available in Central Florida for adoption.  Please consider purchasing a calendar from their campaign HERE. Our very own Artemis happens to be on the cover and is featured as Miss September!]

She's loves a good belly rub!

At a hefty 50 pounds, she is the biggest dog we've ever owned and has kept me sane in the last few weeks. Although we rescued her from a high-kill shelter just before her time was up, I think she also rescued me this summer.

What have you been up to this summer so far?

Blogger's Quilt Festival - Spring 2015

Hi Everyone!

It's that time of year to celebrate what I love most: Quilting! I love participating in the Blogger's Quilt Festival and seeing all of the creativity.

This is my third time entering a quilt in the show and this Spring, I decided to share one of my favorite quilts created in the winter.

"I Love My Hair"
10"x 11"
December 2014

My mini quilt is made with shot cottons, black cotton and is quilted with Aurifil thread.

This quilt represents me and makes me smile each time I walk into my sewing room. I so rarely get to see myself in art, fabric, or quilts that I wanted to capture the Afro that I currently have. I've since started a series of profiles that will be added to my wall art over the next year.

Be sure to visit the festival and see all of the amazing talent for yourself!

Down But NOT Out!

Where have I been? That question has been asked a lot lately because I took a big step back from a lot of things: quilting, technology, my friends and family. I am a pretty private person and over the years the friends I've chosen to keep close know how important that is to me. I do want to share something that is not often discussed: my battle with depression.

I do my best to keep it at bay most of the time because I have learned lots of coping skills since the age of 12. (My father passed away that year and needless to say my life was never the same.) The recent passing of a loved one took me to that dark place and I struggled to get back to the light. The one thing I have a hard time remembering when I travel down that rabbit hole is that I need to stop isolating myself from the world. I do tend to hide my sadness because I don't want others to see my weakness. I also prefer being alone when I'm not in a happy place because I think it might bring others down with me.

The reality is that my friends and family are always the ones who bring me back out of my depressed state and I need to ask for help more. When you haven't seen me for a while or notice that I've withdrawn from activities, remind me that I need to get out of my own head. I need to get out of the house, spend time with family/friends, get crafty and sew/quilt again. It's the little things that bring me back to reality and remind me that my life is quite wonderful.

My blog was started as a place to share the sewing and quilty things I like working on each week but I needed to share this with you. There is a catharsis in releasing this "secret" with the world and I want to be held accountable for my inaction.

I finally feel like sewing again and being creative so I'll post images and notes soon. Thank you to those who have put up with me over the last few weeks and for those of you who have reached out to check on me.

16 different shot cottons and
1 landscape fabric I think looked like
wood grain.

I finished this mini quilt last week for someone and it brought back that fire in my belly to get creative and make more art. I'm not religious but there was something soothing in the creative process of designing it and quilting it that I can't explain in words. I used 18 different color threads and put love into each line as I stitched. (I'll post a tutorial on how I designed it and put it together as soon as I am able.)

I plan to fan those flames and get to work on some projects I've put off. (First, I have to clean out my craft room a bit since it looks like a Tasmanian devil came through it recently.)

Thank you for reading this!

Blogger's Quilt Festival Love

Hello All!
I am excited to post in another finished piece in this fall's Blogger's Quilt Festival.

This is my first attempt at a mini quilt and I think I might have a new little addiction.

I am calling this mini: Junctions.

It's made with 21 different shot cotton colors, a neutral gray background and a simple black back/binding. I wanted the colors give the appearance of crossing over and under each other. I hoped it resembled the blended look that shot cottons provide up close when the different colors meet.

I also used 8 different color threads to highlight the rainbow of colors used to intersect each other. I used 6 colored bobbins for the main lines and a black bobbin for the grid work design that fills the negative space on the front. (Hip hip hooray for Aurifil!)

Here's how it was made:

I drew a design with a pencil, a ruler, and freezer paper. Then once I liked the way they crossed, I made it permanent with a marker. (I also made a copy, just in case I messed something up.)

I pulled out my shot cotton collection to decide which colors would be placed where and used markers to represent each color. Post it notes saved the day and kept me pretty organized.

Next comes part when you have to decide how to cut out the paper into strips that can be used to paper piece my design.

My new best quilting friend: the Add-A-Quarter ruler!

I really like the colors on this strip just by itself.

Putting the strips back together now.

Slowly getting there.

The struggle was real to make these line up.
(I made peace with my seam ripper.)

Now the part most paper piecers love: ripping the paper off of the back.
(Stress relief after a long day!)

Quilting Time!

Made good use of my washi tape.
(Thanks Stashbee Hive mate!)

Quilting Complete!

Put a black binding on it because I can!

Rainbow binder clips for binding.
And *gasp*...

I finished the binding by hand!

Those of you who know me well, know that binding my hand is not something I prefer to do. Since this one was so tiny and cute, I decided to make her pretty by finishing her the right way.

Here she is all dolled up and ready for her debut at the Blogger's Quilt Festival:

Junctions

(Close up of the woven shot cotton colors.)

The back is pretty fun, too.

This mini quilt measures 16.5 by 20.5. It was made with various shot cottons and quilted using various Aurifil colored threads.

I already have some ideas for my next project and am thrilled that I still have a lot of shot cotton colors to use! Stay tuned.

Thanks for stopping by!