April Sample 2012 block-- Single Wedding star

1. #080 Single Wedding Star, 2. 80 | Single Wedding Star, 3. Single Wedding Star, 4. #80 Single Wedding Star, 5. 80, 6. Farmer's Wife # 80, "Single Wedding Star", 7. block 80 single wedding star, 8. Block 80 - Single Wedding Star, 9. # 80 Single Wedding Star, 10. fwqa block 80 - single wedding star, 11. [80] Single Wedding Star, 12. Single Wedding Star #80 


Skillz learned/re-learned/re-enforced - Paper piecing

Hi all--
If you have been anywhere in the quilting "internet" world-- you will have seen blocks from this book popping up everywhere on blogs and flickr.  (Just another example of "everything old is new again!") I saw a quilt at a show a few years ago made entirely of this block-- so it is on MY list of quilts to make. I just love when straight lines give the illusion of a circle!  AND we just learned about paper-pieceing from Kathleen... and then I saw this--- KISMET!!  This is the tutorial I will be using on Saturday --TOMORROW!- for making our block!  As you can see there are many ways you can change your colors around to give different effects.  I will bring enough papers for everyone, so you just need to bring yourself and your fabric! Please go to Elizabeth's (Don't call her Betsy!!!) tutorial for the fabric requirements.  If you want to read ahead, she has a cool way of doing her colors!!

See you tomorrow at 10 (or whenever you can make it!)  at Our Sewing Room.  We probably will do the Sample block around 11:30(?). See you then!

--Jessica

April 18th! What FUN!

Oh what a night!!  There were so many new faces that it seemed appropriate to just have a little mixer activity to go around the room and share our name and how long we had been quilting... we discovered a something special!!  It just happens that we have a bunch of toddlers here!!  Aren't they sweet!  We have a strong group of quilters that just started GOING FOR IT! 2 years ago.  We all thought of what might of happened around that time to "birth" all these new quilters-- NO one is saying anything BUT it just SEW happens that a little shop that we all know and LOVE started around then-- Piece by Piece Fabrics!!!  Thanks Becky for helping birth to quilting, our toddlers!!

This night was also fun because Denise gave us a demo on how to "Quilt as you Go, " because REALLY, who likes to shove a Queen size quilt through that tiny throat area on the average home sewing machine?

Denise used this method to finish her 2011 Bee quilt last year.  She showed us quite a few different methods, thinking that certain ones might be more appropriate for different projects.  She made the mystery of joining the backing from the different sections MUCH more clear and I am SO intrigued by the method she used for this CUTE table runner.

I bet that there are some instances where you could combine a few of these methods and get your quilt done and "out the door" SUPER quick! Here are some of the great links she was talking about:

1. Quilt as you go process tutorial 1
2. Short and Sweet QAYG tutorial
3. QAYG joining blocks...good visual here
4. http://www.diaryofaquilter.com/2010/08/table-runner-tutorial.html

If you finish a quilt of your own using one of these techniques OR you come up with one of you own, bring it to Show and Tell and then we can all learn!  Thanks Denise!  You provided GREAT visuals and are always a fabric inspiration!!

Our "Something Green Swap" was SO fun, I am glad that so many people didn't let the snow day last month freeze their swapping spirit!

"Something Grey" was the swap theme for April-- you know how it is here in Oregon--- RAIN RAIN RAIN, and then 80 degrees for two days just to make everything nice and STEAMY!

Denise and I thought that maybe our G blocks would be sample loners-- but NO!!

Agnes got in on the fun!

As did Nelda, she made a whole bunch and is making quilt in honor of Donate Life.

I can't wait to see that quilt, it is going to be beautiful. Stay tuned for the latest block later this week!

Agnes also brought in HER FINISHED 2011 Bee quilt (will mine be done by May??  I have my fingers crossed!!)  She had asked for stars and pinwheels.  I love the way they all are floating on the white.  Agnes said that the Synthropol SAVED her again! (With a color bleeding issue)

Kathy finished 2 quilts that we all saw some progress on last year at a Sew Day.  They are so fun.  She made sure that each pot was different.

Kim was busy this past month tackling some paper-piecing on phonebook paper!!!  She made this beautiful block and said that she got the template from Quiltville, a great site with all sorts of free scrap quilt patterns.

Karen made some beautiful spring themed postcards.  What a fun way to show off some of the seasonal prints!

Virgina "busted" this one out in a fun class at Piece by Piece with Kelly!

Nancy is BACK!  With a baby-themed vengeance! (is that too strong a word?) Her little "Bapron" SLAYED us with cuteness!!

She is bringing sweet and strong back to baby quilts with this one for a little boy.

Springy freshness with this lil' twister quilt.

And just all around sweetness with this HST beauty for Mackenzie. (font found here.)

Thanks EVERYONE for such a fun meeting.  Next month we are swapping "Something Pink! (get out your toothbrush, it is going to be SaaaaaWHeet!) Also, think of something you might like to give a demo on or something that you might like to see in a demo.  Send me a note!  We have a Sew Day Saturday April 28th (this week!!)-- weather site says it is going to be partly cloudy-- you should come and sew with  me!!

--Jessica

Miss Bee APRIL - Denise

The bee month when YOU get to choose the block!  Yes...YOU!

Last summer I joined the 4x5 Bee on Flickr...in this bee you pick your colors, post a mosaic of the colors and everyone in your bee makes a block of THEIR choice for you in your colors.  It was quite fun to see what I received in the mail. 

It was also kind of funny because my colors somehow got interpreted from aqua/red/pink to aqua/red/ORANGE, but only to some of the ladies.  In the end, I ended up with a really cool color combo though and want to continue with it to finish off a quilt. 

Here are the blocks I have so far from the 4X5 Bee:

See how the orange seems to fit in?  It really seems to work, so I am going with it.

For my month, I am turning to you my fellow bee ladies to see what you come up with!  On Wednesday I will give you each a bundle and you can make whatever block you choose as long as it is 12.5".  It can be your favorite block.  It can be one you have wanted to try.   Or just pick a random block and make it.  Anything goes!

I do ask that you sign your name to the block however you want...ink, embroidery, etc.  A fun memory of this bee!

Ok, now I am told I have to share some Q&A, I can't just blab on about my blocks : )  Here goes...

A little bit of your quilting history and experience:

I made my first quilt for my husband when he was away in the 1st Gulf War in 1991.  My mom had bought rulers, rotary cutter and a pattern, made a quilt...hated (GASP!!) the entire process of quilting and passed her supplies off to me.  The rest, as they say, is history! 

The only time I have stopped was when my kiddos were really little and I literally had no time to get dressed much less quilt! LOL

The quilt I made for my husband is a favorite in our house.  I wanted to make it look "quilted" but didn't know how to actually quilt so I cheated and bought the prequilted fabric for some of the blocks!  Makes me laugh now!  I tied the quilt and have had to retie it a number of times over the years.  It has tears and rips, but it is soft and comfy and well loved (aka looking shabby). 

I was totally self-taught until taking a class a few years ago (hubs bought it for me for Christmas...little did he know where that would take me!).  I learned a ton of shortcuts and handy tricks that really changed how I quilted and looked at quilts.  I highly recommend taking a class! 

And then the internet and quilting blogs came in to my life...well now quilting has become a bit of an obsession.  There is so much "out there" to learn and do with quilting I don't think I will ever get tired of it or stop learning. 

What quilting means to you:

Hmmm...to me quilting is a creative outlet and a sanity keeper.  I like to sew, but I love to quilt.  I like to make things with my hands and quilting is a perfect outlet for that.  I suck a painting, but love color and quilting is a way for me to create with color.   Sitting down to quilt is something that I do "just for me" even when half of the things I make I give away or make for someone else.   Getting to spend a little bit of time each day (if I can squeeze it in) makes me a happier person...just ask my family : )

Why you wanted to join a bee?

Bees are FUN!  I love to see how others can be creative using my color or block choices.

The reasons or thoughts behind your choice of block/design/project for the bee:

As above!  I want to finish up this quilt!!! Plus, I could not settle on a block choice for you all to make and these blocks on my wall just kept staring at me....

Kesch Rocks TP! Something Grey! Sample Time!

1. Grey Zipper Pouch-Inside, 2. i love gray, 3. Pillows, 4. Grey Classic Moustache, 5. Patton, 6. mini-zip grey, 7. Grey Anti-Valentine, 8. Three White Flowers on Gray Wool Felt Pincushion, 9. red dots pouch, 10. Basic Tote FO1, 11. Bird pillow, 12. elephant, 13. Potholder in grey, 14. baby Ross looking to the balloon with new details, 15. Teal, Orange, Purple and Gray Embroidered Flower by Sarah Hennessey 2, 16. 'Edith' vintage leather and lace cuff 

I see you Virginia!!!  I see you cringing from the grey--- but really, by this time of the "rainy" season in Oregon, aren't we all CRINGING from all the grey.  Be the master of grey this month!!!  Make it your bi---tty little friend!

We are embracing the colors this year in our swaps-- ALL OF THEM!!!  Experiment and see what grey does to your usual combo of aqua and tangerine-- what does it do to your reds??  HAVE FUN!  Bring your swap item to group on Wednesday April 18.  Make something that you, yourself, would like to receive, wrap it in a nondescript paper bag, and we will all go home with a nice little something!

I hear you too Wanda!  YES! We will also be swapping our GREEN swap from last month.  Too bad we got snowed out-- but those are the breaks!

I did have an awesome time sewing on the last sew day... not much accomplished-- but I did finish a NON-granny square block with Denise.  I wonder what block I will come up with for April??   Something paper-pieced perhaps??  Maybe I am getting ahead of myself...   To give some background, this past summer I started a this-- and then realized that Denise was doing it too (except she finished!)  It was a fun sampler series to stretch your piecing chops and have fun--- things I like.  Don't you?!  Well then the wheels in my head were turning....

crank

crank

whirrr


crank

And the inaugural "Eugene Modern Sample 2012" was born...

Goals:
1) Have Fun

2) learn new things with friendly help, in person and online

3) Have Fun

4) Make a quilt.

I want quilters of all skill levels to be able to make one, should they choose.  You can make one at home using the posted tutorials, or you can come to the sew day and make one with Denise and I (one or the other of us will be there.)  People learn things in different ways, I want to help you become a better quilter and become a better one myself-- Let's get together, it's Sample time!

We had a soft start with March's block--

It goes together quickly!!  I used scraps and Denise fussy-cut her centers from some cute fabric from Aneela Hoey, for Moda. (the little foxes are SO CUTE!!! I got some the other day at Piece by Piece!)  If you made one, bring it for Show and Tell on Wednesday-- if you haven't yet--- MAKE one and then bring it for show and tell!  By the end of the year we can get together and talk about different layouts-- and we will be SUCH confident piecers by then!!  SO CONFIDENT!

Speaking of confident... I figured out how to load something to youtube... and you can't be more confident about your binding with this handy tip from Kesch!



Drop me a line if you have any questions!
--Jessica

Modern Quilting... the discussion continues

Hi all!

Due to snow last month,  we were not able to have a Eugene-centered discussion on what "Modern Quilting" is.  I thought I might post the current thoughts from the Modern Quilt Guild web site. 

"What is modern quilting?

Modern quilting is a new and rapidly growing movement in the quilting world. A group of quilters applied their current tastes and points of view to this traditional craft and shared their work online.  Their fresh approach and new designs attracted sewers and quilters and the modern quilting movement was born.

Modern quilting, like all art, changes, grows and adapts from quilter to quilter as they find their own voice. Modern quilts reflect each quilter’s personality and personal style, and as the movement has grown, a modern quilt aesthetic, a set of principles that define and guide the movement, is beginning to emerge.

Modern quilts and quilters:

• Make primarily functional rather than decorative quilts

• Use asymmetry in quilt design

• Rely less on repetition and on the interaction of quilt block motifs

• Contain reinterpreted traditional blocks

• Embrace simplicity and minimalism

• Utilize alternative block structures or lack of visible block structure

• Incorporate increased use of negative space

• Are inspired by modern art and architecture

• Frequently use improvisational piecing

• Contain bold colors, on trend color combinations and graphic prints

• Often use gray and white as neutrals

• Reflect an increased use of solid fabrics

• Focus on finishing quilts on home sewing machines

Modern quilting has its roots in rebellion, in our desire to do something different, but simultaneously its feet are firmly planted in the field of tradition.  Modern quilting is our response to what has come before.  We are quilters first, modern quilters second. There are however, characteristics that set modern quilters apart from our traditional and art quilting friends.
Modern quilters are a diverse group of woman and men, young and old, experienced and novice, yet each of us feels the need to differentiate ourselves as modern quilters by how we work, the fabrics we choose, and the aesthetic of our quilts. We create in a way that supports our individual creative needs and our lifestyle preferences.  Modern quilters resist the imposition of hard and fast rules for making a quilt.  We pick and choose traditional techniques and methods that work for us and at the same time feel free to redefine or reinvent what is possible and allowable in making quilts.
Modern quilters have embraced the new options available in textiles: bold colors, graphic prints, larger scale prints, and Japanese fabrics.  Much like the Amish quilting tradition, many modern quilters are also exploring quilt designs made exclusively with solid fabrics or with just a hint of print.
The Internet has played an integral role in the development of modern quilting.  Through blogs, online tutorials and social media the modern quilting community interacts, providing inspiration and friendship for each other.  This has helped the community grow at an astounding pace, providing feedback and support at a moment’s notice.

In many ways, modern quilting has taken us back to the basics of the early quilters, when women of the day used the colors and styles of their time to express themselves creatively while finding friendship and community along the way.  Welcome to modern quilting!"

What do YOU think?

Personally, I am a quilter, a fabric-a-holic, and maker.  I like what I have access to visually and inspirationally via the internet.  The connections that I have made with people this way has changed my life.  Additionally, I would like to continue to invite all quilting perspectives to our group because you never know where inspiration is going to come from.  I am sparked creatively by different interpretations of things that are AGES OLD all the time.  It has all been done before.  Many of the "new" looks in quilting today are just current interpretations of Amish (and others) quilting sensibilities from the last century.  Thank goodness there are enough viewpoints out there to keep me in fabric and ideas for the next century.

What is your take?

--Jessica

Threadbias is LIVE! It's a party and EVERYONE is invited!

Hey guys! I just got some exciting news I wanted to share with you... (and remember our meeting is the 3rd Wednesday, the 18th) (I have been getting ahead of myself and planning on meeting next week.) On to Amanda from the PMQG and Threadbias.com...


To the Eugene Modern Quilt Guild:

Hi,  I’m a mom who likes to make things and I'm a member of the Portland Modern Quilt Guild. I hope this isn’t unwelcome (and apologies if it is!), but I’ve been working on a project I thought you and the members of your guild might be interested in.

An idea hatched among a pair of quilter-sewists, Amanda and Rebecca, and a web developer, Alex; we created Threadbias.com to be a gathering site for people having fun with fabric.  We’re looking forward to fostering the conversation and providing a place to share ideas and be inspired.

After a more than a year in the works, Threadbias.com is live. We are ready to help build and support the online sewing community. We’d love for you to visit, let us know what you think, and, if you like it, please share the site with your members.

The site is robust with a variety of free features for posting photos of projects, sharing ideas, and finding inspiration. As you look around you’ll see lots of places where we could feature projects and patterns, highlight contributors, and host sew alongs, swaps, and bees, so if you’re interested in that, let me know!

We'll be kicking off our "official" launch with a week of giveaways (starting April 9), and we'll be doing more fun contest-y things and giveaways on the site. There are some exciting additional features we’re working on (including tools to help you plan and design your sewing projects!) but I wanted to start getting the word out and would love to hear what you think.

This week we are also doing a giveaway of fat eighths in Michael Miller Cotton Couture Solids in the QuiltCon colors. These are great for anyone wanting to get started on the QuiltCon Block Challenge.

Thanks so much,
Amanda
Threadbias.com Founder
amanda@threadbias.com