Color Inspiration Thursday {40}

March 12, 2015 kittywilkin 2 Comments

It seems the QuiltCon blog posts are starting to slow to a trickle, but the influence of the experience lingers on. Before heading to QuiltCon, I had visions of finding and photographing dozens of fabulously talented quilters in front of their quilts for future people palettes. I didn’t take dozens. In fact, I only took one. But it’s a fabulous one, and of a woman I’m so fortunate to have met. Today’s star is Krista Hennebury, quilter, retreat organizer, and author of her new book Make It, Take It for Martingale, which is meant to feel like a retreat in a book–sewing fun things with friends. I was fortunate enough to meet Krista through our serendipitous pairing in the Schnitzel and Boo Mini Quilt Swap, Round 3 earlier this year. I was tasked with creating a quilt for Krista, and fortunately she has great taste! I had a blast, made this quilt for her, and gained a friend in the process.

Corresponding solids from left to right:
Kona Black, Bella Brick Red, Bella Longhorn, Kona Cedar, Bella Etchings Charcoal, Bella Gray

Corresponding Aurifil thread from left to right:
2692 – Black
2355 – Rust
2350 – Copper
2235 – Orange
5013 – Asphalt
5011 – Rope Beige

This palette features Krista in front of her gorgeous quilt Chess on the Steps, which hung at QuiltCon. I’m intrigued by this quilt, which she calls “improv under the influence”, since it’s a quilt with a very improv feel, but created using traditional chain piecing methods. Those who know me know that I struggle with improv, but I feel like this quilt may be the place to begin! Fortunately, it was the pattern of the month in September 2014 and is available for free for members of the Modern Quilt Guild.

I asked Krista to answer three short questions to help the world get to know the color inspiration star of the week a little more intimately:

Where do you fit into the worldwide family tree of quilting?
I describe my quilting as traditionally-informed modern quilting if someone really needs a description, but really, I just like making quilts. I’ve been blogging over 5 years, teaching for 13, running a day-retreat business for 11. I love my local traditional and modern guilds, where I’m an active member of both.

What is your first memory of being really excited?
The Haunted House at Disneyworld, age 9.

If you could choose anyone, who would you choose as your mentor?
Gwen Marston

Krista actually wrote a really great blog post just the other day about a weekend spent sewing with Gwen Marston, so if you want to hear more about the amazing woman Krista wishes could be her third grandma, read the post here.

You can find Krista in the bloggy quiltiverse here:

Blog
Instagram
Facebook
Flickr
Twitter
or go on a virtual quilt retreat with her by buying her book:*Disclosure: Amazon affiliate link above, which means if you buy the book by clicking through, I receive 4% of the sale.

– – – – – – – – – – – – –

All color palettes are created using Play Crafts’ Palette Builder 2.1 and my photo, taken at QuiltCon 2015.

Hand Stitching, Tutorials

Tutorial: Embroidery Floss Organization Made Easy

March 10, 2015 kittywilkin 16 Comments

In the weeks leading up to QuiltCon (yes, I’m still talking about it), the Instagram hashtag #quiltconprep made it easy to see what others were doing to get ready for the big event. During those mad dash prep days, one of my IG friends posted a picture of a whole bunch of 2.5″ fabric squares of Carolyn Friedlander fabrics that she had cut in preparation for Carolyn’s Aerial Grove class. She noted that all she needed was a few squares of the architextures crosshatch and she’d have enough for a fully-Carolyn Friedlander aerial grove. What does this have to do with embroidery floss? I’m getting there! Long story short, I offered to give some squares to her at QuiltCon, and when she asked what she could give me in return, I said “knowledge.” I asked her to share a tip or trick that she found particularly helpful. It’s such a useful tip that I decided to share it here, with her permission, of course! Today’s tip was taught to me by Rebecca Cleaver (@cleaverr on Instagram), who learned it from Maura Ambrose (@folkfibers).

How to Organize and Store Embroidery Floss
So that it’s super quick and easy to use!

I’ve seen cringe-worthy photos of tangled piles of embroidery floss, and I admit that I am not that person. Even before learning this tip, I stored my floss on a wooden dowel, hanging in its original skein. This looked pretty, but when it was time to actually use a strand, that’s when it became tricky. I’d have to take all of the skeins off the dowel and gently and painstakingly remove a thread a tiny tug at a time (yes, I’m nutty).

Here’s a much better way.

Step 1:

Carefully remove the paper holding the skein together and untwist the skein.

Step 2:

Extend the floss, holding the fully extended loop in your hands.

Step 3:

Cut one end, cutting through all of the embroidery floss strands.

It should now look like this:

Step 4:

Divide the floss into three approximately equal sections. This doesn’t have to be perfect; I didn’t sit and count out the strands to make it perfect. If that’s your thing, then feel free to do so, but just eyeing it will be sufficient.

Step 5:

Loosely braid the three sections together. If you have a willing and capable helper, you could ask them to hold the looped end while you braid. My 2 1/2 year old was not willing today, so I used an “S” hook to hold the looped end while I braided. You can hook the “S” hook on just about anything, but I used the cuff of my jeans. Here’s a behind the scenes peek:

Step 6:

Using a separate, short length of floss, tie a knot around the end of your braid to hold it in place.

Now you have your floss, ready to hang in an aesthetically awesome, organized way, AND ready to go whenever you need a strand.

Here comes the really awesome part!

How To Remove a Strand of Floss from your Braid

Holding the top of your braid, gently pull one strand away from the rest of the loop.

Then, get a bit better grasp on the rest of the braid–no need for a vice grip, just hold it steady as you pull out the single strand–and pull the strand out completely.

The braid will bunch up when you pull, so don’t be alarmed. Once the single strand is out, just smooth out your braid again and you’re ready to go. Your floss is the perfect length for some hand quilting or embroidery, and the rest of your floss is sitting pretty in its braid.

Go ahead and braid all of your other skeins of floss, and you will never have a tangled pile of embroidery floss again!

I think this method is genius, since now not only is my floss gorgeously organized and displayed, but I can get a single strand without even taking the braid off the wooden dowel!

I just hold the braid right below the dowel, separate a single strand, pull, and viola! No muss, no fuss.

Many thanks to Rebecca for sharing this tip, and I hope you find it helpful, too. I’m linking up with Stephanie & Michelle’s Tips & Tutorials Tuesday.

Did you know about this tip? How do you store and organize your embroidery floss?

Hand Stitching

Flowers for Eleni: Pause, Pray, Stitch

March 9, 2015 kittywilkin 7 Comments

I’ve written many times about the amazing online community of quilters and the powerful connections made across the world in this quilting blogosphere. While many times, this community helps us share inspiration and joy, sometimes that close-knit community must play another role: sharing sorrow and hope. Recently, Rachel from Stitched in Color, a fellow quilty blogger, had a much-anticipated baby. While typically the birth of a baby ignites much shared joy, this birth did not go well. I frequent Rachel’s blog, but actually found out about the unexpected complications through Instagram before reading about it on her blog. Jodi from Tales of Cloth has organized a world-wide support for Rachel and her family, in the form of English Paper Pieced hexi flowers. You can read about her plan HERE, where she shares a tutorial on how to make an EPP hexi flower, and explains her plan of expressing all of our support and love. Needless to say, I dropped my to-do list, hugged my kids, and got started on a couple of flowers.

My plan is to make as many of these as I can by the end of the week (I’m aiming for 2-4) and mail them to Jodi in Australia on Saturday.

I am so grateful to Jodi for organizing this effort, since with such a devastating event, one can feel so hopeless. Yet, I fully believe in the power of prayer and positive intention. Call it what you will, but think about this: hundreds of people stitching hexi flowers with Eleni, Rachel, and the rest of their family in mind. Maybe praying, maybe crying, maybe just thinking the most positive, healing, hopeful thoughts they can muster. Each person putting his or her love, hope, prayer, and positive healing intention into every. single. stitch. THAT is powerful.

I’m stitching, praying, sending healing thoughts and energy, and hoping for a miracle. Miracles happen. Sometimes, they appear in very unexpected situations, and sometimes they may not seem like a miracle at first, but miracles happen. If nothing more, we can wrap Rachel and her family in a literal blanket of love with this quilt.

If you would like to join this effort of support, send Jodi a message to find out more information on where to send your flowers. There’s also an Auction for Eleni to raise money to help support the family. Or, you could just pray or send your healing and hopeful energy & intentions their way. Check out the hashtag #flowersforeleni on Instagram to see the flowers in progress so far. For me, I am taking moments throughout the day to pause, pray, and stitch, grateful for the opportunity to show my love, and always, always hoping for a miracle and peace for the family.

Read an update on Eleni here.

I’m linking up with Monday Makers, Design Wall, and Making Monday, since spreading the word never hurts!

Design, Life

Color Inspiration Thursday {39}

March 5, 2015 kittywilkin 6 Comments

Walking around the vendor booths at QuiltCon, there was such a delightful array of color. Color everywhere, as fabric, quilts, notions, signs, or quilts. As I said earlier, I took a surprisingly small number of photographs, but I still have a few colorful ones to share. Color palettes are created using Play Crafts’ Palette Builder 2.1 and my photographs.

Corresponding solids from left to right:
Bella Dark Teal, Bella Turquoise, Kona Bahama Blue, Bella Shocking Pink, Bella Bunny Hill Pink, Bella Home Town Sky

Corresponding Aurifil thread from left to right:
4182 – Med Turquoise
4093 – Jade
1148 – Lt Jade
2215 – Peach
2314 – Beige
2600 – Dove

The Aurifil booth did not disappoint when it comes to color. With this gorgeous display of colorful large spools of Aurifil thread, I had to stop and take a gabillion photos. I am wishing I had a tripod and another 20 minutes, but even with a few quick hold-my-breath-to-steady photos, I was able to get one suitable clear one. That front and center turquoise variegated thread is one I’ve had my eye on for quite some time but haven’t yet used. I think I may have to remedy that soon. Gorgeous colors of this, my favorite silky smooth thread! The palette reminds me of the beach, for some reason. The summery feel is much appreciated this time of year!

Corresponding solids from left to right:
Bella Stone, Bella Sea, Bella Glacier, Bella Sapphire, Kona Regal, Kona Nautical

Corresponding Aurifil thread from left to right:
5011 – Rope Beige
4140 – Wedgewood
5008 – Sugar Paper
1248 – Grey Blue
2581 – Dk Dusty Grape
2785 – V Dk Navy

This palette is created from one of my top favorite quilts at the show, Icy Waters by Amy Garro. The color palette includes a gorgeous range of blues, which could be part of why I am so drawn to this quilt. Icy Waters is from Amy’s new book, Paper Pieced Modern*, which I really can’t wait to get my hands on. I am quite drawn to paper piecing but also to modern style, and Amy’s patterns are SUCH a fabulous melding of the two. I discovered her book during the book release blog hop, and was lucky enough to meet and have dinner with Amy while in Austin. Not only is she a fabulous designer, she’s sweet and fun to hang out with, too.

To share a somewhat unrelated side story from QuiltCon, after an evening of getting appetizers and drinks (for the non preggo ones in attendance) in a typical dimly lit and loud wine bar, Amy did something that really showed what a sincere and thoughtful person she is. As some of you know, I’m severely hard of hearing, so do best face to face where I can “read” lips. In a dark, loud restaurant in a group setting, it is a challenge for me to catch conversation, so I jump in where I can and just deal with missing out on the bulk of conversation. This particular evening, Stephanie was with us, so she took the time to fill me in with a bit of ASL signing here and there so that I could better participate in the conversation. As we were parting ways and hugging as old friends who just met do, Amy signed “Good to meet you” as she said farewell. My response? “Did you just SIGN to me!?” I learned that she had learned sign language quite a number of years ago, but still remembered some. It may seem like a tiny insubstantial thing, but it really stuck with me and made me appreciate my quilty friends more. So yeah, I like Amy 🙂

I will share more reflections about the quilts at QuiltCon in a future post, but Amy’s fabulous Icy Waters is a great example of the innovative, aesthetically flowing, modern quilts that hung in the show. There is SO much talent out there!

* Note: Amazon affiliate link included.

Life, Quilting

When Duty Calls: Dr. Seuss Raffle Quilt

March 4, 2015 kittywilkin 12 Comments

Since returning from QuiltCon, I’ve had so many project ideas that I honestly haven’t known where to begin. There were of course the projects that I had in mind or in progress before leaving for Austin, but there were also new ideas that I wanted to sketch, create, and make happen. As the saying goes: when it rains, it pours; but sometimes it’s hard to find your way when it’s pouring.

Then yesterday, while chatting with my daughter’s preschool teacher at pick-up about a raffle basket they are putting together as a fundraiser, the teacher casually asked if I could make a quilt or blanket for the basket. Each class is putting together a basket to be auctioned off as a fundraiser to help cover the costs of travel for their year-end field trip. The preschool teachers had chosen Dr. Seuss as a theme, thinking that it would be easy to fill a basket with Seussical fun stuff. Parents have been struggling to find anything other than books, one movie, and a package of Dr. Seuss pens for the basket. With only 9 kids in the preschool class, they knew the basket would be smaller than the other classes, but still were a bit bummed at the turnout.

My daughter’s teacher knows that I quilt, and so mentioned that there must be some Dr. Seuss fabric or something, and perhaps I could make a quick blanket? When she said this, I remembered that indeed there was an entire Dr. Seuss fabric line, and what’s more–I have it! I had bought it years ago, when I first started quilting, planning to make a diamond quilt for the kids to drag around the playroom. I had quickly abandoned it, deciding that I really didn’t like it. The last time I pulled it out of its work in progress bin, I had the thought that maybe I’d just sell the fabric and precut diamonds since I wasn’t into the idea of finishing it. Well, duty calls. It looks like this quilt will be finished after all, only a bit smaller than originally planned, and on a high-speed timeline (they need it by next Thursday). The pattern I’m using is a child-sized version of the Must Stash (Diamond Quilt) from the book Modern Designs for Classic Quilts by Kelly Biscopink and Andrea Johnson. *Amazon affiliate link*

While this project doesn’t really fit my aesthetic, I think it will make a wonderful snuggle quilt for a special child to curl up in as (s)he reads his Dr. Seuss (or other) books. How could I resist a chance to make a quilt for a child, while at the same time helping support my daughter’s preschool class?

dr seuss fabric diamonds quilt in progress — I came home, pulled out my long-buried WiP Seuss box, and spread these diamonds out on my fancy design floor.

I plan to use white sashing since that was my original plan years ago and I already have the Kona white yardage. This will be a project entirely pulled from my stash. I’m using only the diamonds that have already been cut for the sake of time, so next up is to sew white sashing until the cows come home. I’ll then square up the quilt and most likely back it with fleece so that it is super snuggly.

I love the black background prints in this fabric line, and if I were to plan out this quilt again, I would probably use the black stars and/or dots as sashing. Many of the other prints are very white-heavy, so the white sashing might make them fade out a bit. But, with a donation project with a timeline of a week and a budget of nil, it is what it is. I have a feeling the recipient will love it anyway.

Just like that, my next project has been chosen for me. I would never have guessed my first big sewing project upon my return home from QuiltCon would be my oldest, long-abandoned work in progress. But when duty calls, Mommy must answer.

I’m linking up with Lee at Freshly Pieced for WiP Wednesday. I thought I might be exhibiting some of the great inspiration and modern quilting knowledge I learned from Lee, but not yet!

I’m also claiming this as my March goal for A Lovely Year of Finishes. I MUST finish it!

Stash Building

Stash Building: Sun Prints

March 3, 2015 kittywilkin 9 Comments

Before heading to QuiltCon, I promised myself I wasn’t going to go crazy with buying tons of fabric and notions, etc. Truly, I stuck to my word–probably more because I simply didn’t have time to browse the vendors as much as I would have liked, but still! The one fabric line that was on my list of “definitely buy” was Alison Glass’s new Sun Prints. I am signed up for the Alison Glass Mini Quilt Swap, so really, I needed to buy some anyway. However, in my mad dash through the vendor booths on Saturday afternoon, I discovered that many booths were getting cleared out. When I arrived at Pile O’ Fabric‘s booth, they had only ONE bundle left of Sun Prints Mercury and Grove, the two that were on my must-buy list. I was planning on seeking out fat eight bundles, but these were, um…. half yard bundles. Close? I bought both, my only non-food purchases the entire trip.

alison glass sun prints fabric rainbow — Grove on top, Mercury on bottom: Half yard bundles of Alison Glass’s newest Sunprints from Pile O’ Fabric.

I love how this gorgeous pile of fabric has a Pile O’ Fabric tag on it. What a great name for a fabric store!

I’ve had my eye on the new Sun Prints since they were released for preorder. The saturated, bright colors and tone on tone nature of this fabric line falls right into the “Kitty ~~must have it~~ loves it” category. I admit I did hesitate before buying both half yard bundles, since it’s the largest one-time fabric purchase I’ve made to date (yes, I’m that frugal when it comes to buying fabric). I KNOW that these fabrics will be loved and used, though, so carpe diem, right?

With all these gorgeous colors, I had to arrange them in a rainbow for some serious photo shoot yumminess. Mercury, meet Grove. Feast your eyes on these beauties!

I had my usual helper during this photo shoot, and I will be astounded the day he doesn’t want to “help” by being right smack dab in the middle of the photos. As per usual during our sunny day playroom photo shoots, Max took turns taking photos and posing in the photos. In my opinion (and I’m sure in Grandma’s opinion, too), his cute mug just makes the photos that much more perfect.

I seriously love this kid!

And I love the rainbow gorgeousness of these fabrics. Here, I’ll take you for a little stroll down Rainbow Way:

Now that these lovelies are officially part of my stash, I just have to figure out the perfect pattern to make for my mini partner. And then decide what to make with the leftovers!

What pattern would you use to let these gorgeous colors shine?

I’m linking up with Molli Sparkles’ Sunday Stash, since if he can be a bit late, I can, too! Tuesday, Sunday… eh, it’s close enough!

Life, Quilting

QuiltCon 2015 Reflection: Learning

March 2, 2015 kittywilkin 13 Comments

The weeks leading up to QuiltCon registration, one suggestion echoed in the blogosphere from people who had attended the previous QuiltCon: don’t pack your schedule too tightly. I decided that I would take two all-day workshops and sign up for three lectures on the other two days, limiting the lectures more because I wasn’t sure how I would do in a lecture with my hearing as it is (I’m severely hard of hearing) and less because I thought I would need more time to see the quilts and visit the vendors and booths. Even still, before heading to QuiltCon, I made all sorts of tentative plans for “down time”–maybe a pedicure? maybe some blogging? Hah! Down time? What is that!? There was none. Zero. Zilch. As I said in my previous post, if there were four of me, maybe there might have been a bit of down time. With just me, myself, and I: no chance. But boy did I learn a LOT. Here is a bit of a synopsis of the classes and lectures I attended.

Value with Cheryl Arkison {Workshop}

I kicked off the entire QuiltCon experience with a full-day workshop on Value with Cheryl Arkison. Since I arrived late Wednesday evening after an entire day of flying, and stayed with my awesome friend Michelle (the other half of the Late Night Quilter blog) about 45 minutes away from the convention center, we decided to register Thursday morning. That means we arrived at around 8:20am, I registered in my first whirlwind flurry of adventure, and then rushed off to find the classroom in time for the 9am start.

Of course I arrived to the class with my required pre cut fabric squares sorted in rainbow order. That’s just how I am. I’m a color girl. But I went to QuiltCon hoping to try new things and stretch out of my comfort zone. Cheryl’s class was the perfect opening.

Cheryl’s class was great. She reviewed the basics of value, and emphasized how value is the *relative* light or darkness of a fabric. This is best seen when it comes to fabrics of medium value: a medium reads as a dark when paired with a very light fabric, but a medium reads as a light when paired with a very dark fabric. It’s all relative. Cheryl showed us the fairly well known and infinitely helpful trick of taking a photo of fabrics and converting it to black and white to see how each fabric “reads” value-wise, and we went to work sorting our fabrics. Here is a portion of my initial sort, with (left to right) lights, mediums, and darks.

As you can see when it is converted to black and white, there are a few fabrics in the medium pile that really belong with the darks, and at least one (maybe two) in the dark pile that would belong better with the mediums. After fixing those fabrics, we were ready to pair. Here’s the key hint for making value work in your quilt: start by pairing the medium pile. If you pair a medium with a really truly dark, or a clearly very light, you’re all good. If you pair all of the darks and lights first, then you are stuck with a bunch of mediums with no clearly value-different pair.

Of course I started pairing my fabrics by color: light blue with dark blue; light pink with dark pink, etc. After a moment, Cheryl said, “Try to pair your fabrics looking at value withOUT thinking about color” with a nice, long, sidelong glance in my direction. Sigh. Okay, okay! It was just the push I needed to really step outside of my comfort zone and (painfully, I might add) I started pairing fabrics trying my hardest not to mind color. It was HARD for me, let me tell you!

But I did it, and after creating half square triangles (HST) out of our pairings and playing with some arrangements, I found one that I was happy with and that is VERY different than anything I would put together by my own forces.

One thing I realized through these exercises, though, is that as much as I liked the look of the quilt in a photograph or from very far away, when I look at it up close, it still grates on me a bit because of the inadvertent color pairings. Cheryl was extremely helpful in helping me overcome my smooth color aesthetic obsession, and gave me some tips on how to focus on value while still maintaining or creating some control of color. I definitely want to play some more with value, maybe with a bit more predetermined organization of color. I would highly recommend Cheryl as a teacher and sharer of inspiration, so if you ever have a chance to learn from her, do it!

I also thought it was awesome that later in the week, after a lecture by Carolyn Friedlander, I was talking with Carolyn and Cheryl and Krista Hennesbury (another awesome quilter blogger and the recipient of my Schnitzel and Boo mini swap a month or so ago) about something Carolyn had said in her lecture–when you try a new skill, sometimes you will love it, but if it doesn’t work for you, feel free to toss it aside and use the techniques that DO work for you. Cheryl brought up my in-person aversion to the value-focused and color-ignored quilt arrangements and said that if I found it didn’t work for me, I could just choose not use it. I’m not ready to give up on value-focused quilts, but it is really interesting to see how different people are aesthetically drawn to different styles, and that’s okay.

Color for the Modern Quilter with Heather Jones {Lecture}

I actually was able to hear much of the lectures, since I made it a point to sit front and center, which was quite exciting for me. Heather Jones‘ lecture on color was a great review of color theory, which is the science of mixing colors. She went over the basics of color (primary, secondary, tertiary colors, shades, tones, hues, saturation, temperature, etc.), shared some actual color theory, and showed some lovely examples and inspiration photos. One tip Heather suggested was to use the color key on the selvedge of the fabric. I had never even thought of using the color key to help find coordinating and complimentary fabrics; I always just thought those colorful dots on the selvedge were there to look pretty and add interest. *mind blown* Another bit I found particularly interesting is that tone on tone fabrics often “read” as solids. That makes a whole lot of sense, since I find myself particularly drawn to solids and tone on tone fabrics. Using tone on tone fabrics is my sneaky way of getting a very solid look while still technically using prints!

How to take Better Quilt Photos with Meg Cox {Lecture}

This lecture was great because it confirmed many of my thoughts on quilt photography, and added a few key tips and bits of new information. Meg Cox‘s impressive background and experience at the Wall Street Journal definitely gave her lecture an extra “wow, she absolutely knows what she’s talking about!”, and it was fun to see examples of both good and not-so-good (okay, horrible) quilt photos. She confirmed that in order for your photos to be stellar, using a camera instead of an iPhone is a must. MUST. (Of course I’m promptly breaking that rule with this post, since many of my lecture and classroom photos were taken with my phone due to lack of light and tripod availability). I had recommitted to using only high quality camera photos for my blog a few months ago, and have been really working at improving my blog photos taken with my Canon Rebel XT.

I went away from this lecture inspired that I’m on the right track, with a list of camera functions I need to better master, and a few indoor photography props I hope to buy. One big tip that I found VERY useful and can’t wait to implement is using Daylight Balanced Compact Fluorescent CFL Bulbs to light indoor photo shoots. Getting sufficient light for indoor photos is something I struggle with, so I’m looking forward to giving these bulbs a try! (Disclosure: Amazon affiliate link above)

Architexture, Quilts, and Us with Carolyn Friedlander {Lecture}

I wasn’t quick enough to register for a full day workshop with Carolyn, so I was excited to get in on this lecture of hers. If you are a regular reader of my blog, my fangirl status of everything Carolyn Friedlander is no secret. I love her work. I love her background. I love her sources of inspiration. I love how real she is. I think part of why I’m so drawn to Carolyn’s work is its simple aesthetic and seemingly mundane source of inspiration. Carolyn studied and worked as an architect before becoming a quilt pattern and fabric designer. I worked as an environmental scientist wetland and land use specialist for 6+ years before becoming a momma (and aspiring quilt designer), so I spent much of that time working closely with landscape architects.

At this lecture, I loved listening to Carolyn talk about architecture and her sources of inspiration, since it all hits so close to home for me. She finds inspiration in the world around her, as do I. She finds hers particularly in architecture; I find mine in the complex architecture of nature. I loved how she explained pattern design as “solving a problem”. Carolyn walked through her design process: think of a design for a finished product, and then solve the problem of finding the best method of obtaining the desired outcome. This is how she got into needle-turn applique, and what sparked the discussion about us quilters seeking new knowledge and techniques, but needing to find the techniques that work for us as individuals in solving our own pattern design “problems”. I am looking forward to hearing more from Carolyn and hope to be able to attend a full class taught by her one day. She’s such a huge inspiration to me!

Off the Grid: Alternate Quilt Layouts with Lee Heinrich {Workshop}

I closed out my first QuiltCon experience with another full day workshop: an alternate layout class taught by Lee Heinrich from Freshly Pieced. Lee is another one of my big quilt inspirations. I love her simple and bold aesthetic, and even during her presentation, I could pick out the sample quilts that she had designed and made since they were always the ones I instinctually reacted to with “Wow, I LOVE that one”. Her workshop was super helpful, finally putting names and technical know-how to my current method of “oh, that looks good” or “oh, that doesn’t look good”. It was fascinating to go through each “alternate layout” method and see how it worked (or didn’t work) with our quilt blocks. Different types of quilt blocks definitely lent themselves to different layout styles. For my blocks, I almost went with a modular layout with variable framing, but because I had very varied sized blocks, I ultimately opted for paneling so as to avoid trapping negative space between the blocks. Imagine the navy blue background extending all the way to the edges of the design board:

I would definitely recommend taking a class with Lee if you get the chance, too. This workshop was very well organized, with an introduction in the beginning, and then a break after each category or style of alternate grid layouts to allow us to try the methods with our own blocks. While we played, we not only had the input of our group members, but Lee would also circle the room providing feedback and suggestions. Next, she would explain and show examples of the next category or style of alternate grid layouts, and then we would again have a chance to try them with our blocks. It was a fantastic way to not only learn about many different layout options, but also see how they worked with a set of our own prepared blocks.

One aspect of Lee’s class that really resonated with me is the idea of going “off the grid” as far as quilt layout, but still using the grid as a guide. It is a much more organized and sense-filled method than my usually slap-blocks-up-on-my-design-wall-until-they-look-good method. The outcome is fresh and modern, yet with that balanced feel that is so difficult to attain without any grid at all. I am very much looking forward to utilizing some of the different layout styles in my future quilts. Lee has a great reflection about the presences of alternate grid layouts in the QuiltCon quilt show that I highly suggest reading HERE.

As you can see, my whirlwind QuiltCon experience included a TON of learning and inspiration. I’m excited to start using this inspiration in future quilt designs and projects and I will be sure to point out aspects of future quilts where the skills and styles I learned are implemented. Now, where to begin?

Free Motion Quilting (FMQ), Quilting

February Finish {ALYoF}: Rainbow Jellyroll Quilt

February 27, 2015 kittywilkin 18 Comments

With one day to go, I did it! I finished my daughter’s first quilt–a Rainbow Jellyroll Quilt! I’m excited on many levels, since not only was this my first finished quilt for an immediate family member, it was also my goal for February in A Lovely Year of Finishes. A late night binding session last night and a specially requested free-motion quilted dedication session this morning were the final touches.

I’m happy with how this quilt turned out, but it was a definite lesson in dealing with and loving imperfection. Mental note: when choosing a backing for a VERY linearly directional quilt top, avoid extremely linearly directional fabrics. Before beginning this quilt, I bought some yardage of “The Dotted Line” by De Leon Design Group for Alexander Henry Fabrics as backing. It really is perfect; I just didn’t PERFECTLY line up the backing with the front before quilting, so it’s a little off kilter. I opted to quilt this before squaring it up, since the edges of the jellyroll strips weren’t perfect, but I think that due to the linear nature of both front and back fabrics, I should have squared up my top before quilting. We’re always learning, right?

I do like how the quilting from the front looks on the back, even though it’s not perfectly parallel to the dots. Maddie certainly doesn’t love it any less due to its off kilter elements.

I quilted this quilt with primarily Aurifil 40wt thread, which worked perfectly. It was enough extra weight to make the quilting visible (especially the free motion quilted dedication: “Made for Madeline Joyce with love from Mommy”).

The 40wt Aurifil really helps the stitches pop!

I decided to machine bind the quilt using Cluck Cluck Sew‘s fabulous Machine binding tutorial, since I’m counting on this quilt getting loved to tatters by my little (big!?) five year old. After sewing the binding to the front, I pressed it out around the edges with a hot iron, and folded and pressed the corners how I wanted them to look. Using this little trick, when sewing the binding to the back, I didn’t sew onto the front binding at all! At least one part turnedy out perfectly!

maddie on her rainbow quilt — Maybe she will share with her little brother… one can hope!

Quilt Stats

Pattern: Inspired by a Rainbow Jellyroll Quilt seen on Creativebug; I simply sewed jellyroll strips together.

Size: 42″x 61″

Fabric:
Front: Andover Fabrics Color Collection jellyroll
Back: “The Dotted Line” by De Leon Design Group for Alexander Henry Fabrics 2012
Binding: Poppy Passion Bead Stripe by Springs Creative Products Group

Batting: 100% cotton Warm & Natural batting

Thread: Aurifil 40wt in coordinating colors (contrasting color used for free motion quilted dedication)

Quilting: Straight line echo quilting 1/4″ from each seam; Free motion quilted dedication: “Made for Madeline Joyce with love from Mommy” “2015”

I’m linking up my finish for A Lovely Year of Finishes February Goals Party, TGIFF & Sew Can She Show off Saturday.

Design, Life

Color Inspiration Thursday {38}

February 26, 2015 kittywilkin 8 Comments

In the spirit of QuiltCon decompression, this week’s color inspiration will feature photos from my travels. To be honest, I took FAR less photos than I typically do (hundreds or thousands less, in reality), since I was so caught up in meeting and conversing with people and seeing everything there was to see. I wish that I could have borrowed a Duplicator from Calvin & Hobbes (or maybe the Transmogrifier if I wanted to be a photographer lizard) to make four of myself: one to meet and converse with people; one to see and fully take in all of the amazing quilts; one to visit the booths and talk with admired fabric and pattern designers, fabric shop owners, and company figureheads; and one to photographically document the entire event. But lo, I am only one person, and one completely gobsmacked, overwhelmed, perma-grinning person at that. So here you go, your color inspiration pulled from the few gems I found in Austin during QuiltCon 2015. But first–did I mention that I got to meet Anne from Play Crafts, the creator of the beloved Palette Builder 2.1!?

kitty nightquilter with anne from playcrafts — Don’t mind the fact that I didn’t figure out where to look on the phone to actually look AT the photo until the very end of QuiltCon. Im not a selfie person!

The following color palettes are created using my (on the right) photographs made into color palettes using Play Craft’s (on the left) Palette Builder 2.1. Now you have a visual of the faces behind these weekly posts!

Corresponding solids from left to right:
Bella Gray, Bella Home Town Sky, Kona Graphite, Bella Leaf, Kona Goldfish, Kona Sangria

Corresponding Aurifil thread from left to right:
2324 – Stone
2847 – Lt Grey Green
1126 – Blue Grey
5018 – Grass Green
2318 – Cachemire
2230 – Med Peony

This lovely stack is my pre-cut 7″ squares for Cheryl Arkison‘s Value class before she kindly suggested that we match value without looking at color at all (followed by a long sidelong glance in my direction–what!? is it that obvious that I’m totally hooked on color in rainbow order!? hah). I’ll talk much more about this in a future post, but Cheryl’s class was fabulous at making me stretch out of my comfort zone. I learned a ton, and am looking forward to playing with value more in coming projects. And color. Of course I can’t let go of color.

Corresponding solids from left to right:
Kona Charcoal, Bella Admiral Blue, Bella French Blue, Bella Rust, Cotton Gold, Bella Tan

Corresponding Aurifil thread from left to right:
2570 – Aubergine
1310 – Med Blue Grey
5008 – Sugar Paper
2385 – Terracotta
2930 – Toast
5010 – Beige

This fabulous structure was right across from the Conference Center hosting QuiltCon. The building is called “Textile”, which is just so appropriate for its gorgeous aesthetic. I could not pass by this terracotta/rust colored door paired with the admiral blue walls with french blue Xs without photographing it profusely. Sure, I may have lost the group of amazing women with whom I was walking, but being left behind for the sake of getting a great photo is nothing new for me–did I ever tell you about the time I almost got left in the Mexican jungle because I was photographing hearts in a palm leaf?–Anyway, this is my favorite photo from Austin (and I was able to finally catch up with and join my friends after snapping it). I only wish I lived nearer to Austin so that this could become a quilt photo backdrop!

If you went to QuiltCon, did you take any stellar photos? I’d love to see them!

Life, Quilting

QuiltCon 2015 Reflection: Friends

February 25, 2015 kittywilkin 14 Comments

There’s a hashtag going around social media that reads #quiltconhangover. Even though I’m with child and didn’t have a single alcoholic drink during my trip (that’s more than I can say for some others, though!) I definitely am feeling the effects of my post-QuiltCon return to reality. After a full 19 hour travel day Monday, I’m exhausted. My head is spinning, too, although not in a dizzy way. The ideas and inspirations from those four whirlwind days have left me on a sleep-deprived “high”, ideas spinning around my brain, leaking out in the form of little sketches of pattern ideas and names. One such pattern idea, as an example, will be entitled “Mind Blown: The Aftermath of QuiltCon”

A couple people have already asked me to tell them about my favorite part of QuiltCon. To be honest, I don’t think it is possible to express in words the vast amazingness of the experience. This was not only my first QuiltCon, but it was also my first quilt show or event of any kind, AND my first time meeting any of my quilty bloggy friends and fiber world heroes. The only word I could use to describe the week was “whirlwind”, but in an absolutely good way. Everywhere I turned, there was another familiar name (usually the blog or internet tag name–I’m so grateful for the huge nametags!), a gorgeous quilt, an admired designer, or a fabulous booth to take in. I was fortunate to attend two uber informative and appropriately comfort-stretching all-day classes, as well as three great lectures. I honestly could talk for days about everything I saw, everything I did, and everyone I met.

For now, though, I will answer the question: what was your favorite part of QuiltCon? You. Over the past year (can you believe I’ve only been blogging for one year!?) I have formed some fabulous friendships with quilty bloggers across the country and world. Even without having met a single one of you in person, I can say that I feel like I am a part of your lives, and you a part of mine. We have swapped ideas, we’ve offered each other encouragement and advice, we’ve shared fears and unexpected pains, all via the reading, commenting, and replying to blogs, Instagram posts, and other online communications. Sure, technology poses new challenges to the balance of life, but boy does it also enrich our lives and create unprecedented opportunities. I’ve said it before–you are my quilt guild. QuiltCon was my first time meeting ANY of you quilting, blogging friends. The experience of walking around, seeing a face I *think* might be familiar, looking down at the name tag to confirm my suspicions, officially introducing myself (“Hi, I’m Kitty Wilkin… aka, Night Quilter”) and then hugging like old friends, was simply amazing. Mind blowing. Whirlwind. Time and time again, meeting up with cherished “old friends” and meeting face to face for the first time ever, hearing voices, taking in mannerisms that are impossible to convey in blogland, firming and reaffirming these friendships–that was my favorite part of QuiltCon. I won’t try to name all the names of the amazing blogger friends I met, so if you’re wondering if I mean you, the answer is YES! You!

new bloggers at quilt con — Here I am with some of my fellow New Quilty Bloggers from Plum & June‘s blog hop this year. L to R: Afton from Quilt Mod, Daisy from Ants to Sugar, Yvonne from Quilting Jetgirl, Anne from Hudson Valley Quilts, and me (and baby belly) in front of the Best in Show quilt, “i Quilt” by Kathy York.

Three quilty bloggers in particular stand out, though, so I’ll do a *little* naming of names. First of all, I was finally able to meet (and stay with!) my sewing soul sister, Stephanie from Late Night Quilter.

Over the past year, Stephanie and I have met, discovered we are totally sewing soul sisters just living across the country from each other (she lives in Austin, TX and I’m in Monroe, ME), decided to start a Late Night Quilters Club facebook group together, watched that group grow to over 2,200 strong in less than 7 months with the help of Michelle & Mandy–and still stay overwhelmingly nice and supportive–, chatted pretty much daily via texts and messages online, and jumped into various other joint ventures, constantly supporting, encouraging, and helping the other. Needless to say, we have become friends. Great friends. And yet, before QuiltCon, we had never met in person. Stephanie is as wonderful in person as she is online, and it was SUCH a treat to meet her, meet her sweet husband and four energetic kids, stay with her, and have her as a steady, friendly, calm, peaceful presence amidst the whirlwind of the week.

Late night sewing session with Stephanie, Late Night Quilter.

The second “meeting” that stood out as epically awesome wasn’t even technically an in-person meeting! Before heading to Austin, I emailed another close bloggy friend, Angie from Gnome Angel, asking if she was headed to Austin. Sadly, living in Australia and having a little one, she wasn’t attending, but said that some of her Aussie quilting friends would be there and told me to hunt them down. When I found Gemma from Pretty Bobbins, and then finally put it all together that she was one of the Aussie quilters Angie had encouraged me to find (I’m slow), I was SO excited! Trying to resist the urge to jump up and down (okay, maybe I did a little bit) I swapped pins AND hugs with Angie all the way in Australia (thank you, Gemma!!), and was able to tell her and share the excitement immediately via Instagram. The world is an amazing place!

Finally, meeting Yvonne from Quilting Jetgirl was another highlight. I first met Yvonne through Beth at Plum and June‘s New Bloggers Blog Hop earlier in the year. I was trying to think of why I feel particularly close to Yvonne since we primarily converse through blog reading and comments, but then I realized that Yvonne not only reads blogs, she is also consistently the first commentator on a post, with a thoroughly thought out and sincere comment. These frequent comments have opened the door to conversations that have built deeper understanding and closeness over the past few months. Yvonne also has been writing more open and reflective posts about the deeper aspects of quilting, self, and community, which really help me to see inside her thought process and quilty soul (in an open and awesome way). I would definitely recommend her recent posts The Four Agreements and Community {Discussion}. Meeting Yvonne in person was such a treat, and I’m so grateful for the time (as sporadic as it may have been) we had to hang out in person. As I told her yesterday via blog comment-conversation, I keep catching myself thinking how I could see us being great friends if we lived nearer to each other. I catch myself because–duh!–we can be great friends even though we live across the country from each other. Just one more amazing aspect of this blogging community and the simple communication allowed through modern technology. Somehow, the only photo I have with Yvonne is the one above, with the other new quilt bloggers, so here she is modeling her Jetgirl flight suit pre-QuiltCon!

Yvonne modeling her QuiltCon Alter Ego flight suit--can you believe we did not get a single photo together in our Alter Ego attire!? — Yvonne modeling her QuiltCon Alter Ego flight suit–can you believe we did not get a single photo together in our Alter Ego attire!?

By highlighting these three wonderful women, I in no way wish to downplay the intense joy and excitement I had in meeting all of you quilty bloggers at QuiltCon. I am overwhelmed with emotion at the sheer number of fabulously talented and sweet people I was fortunate to meet and get to know during my week in Austin. Just look at all of these pins and cards! It’s only the tip of the awesome iceberg.

I also want to share my experiences from the classes and lectures I attended, and share some of my favorites from the amazing collection of quilts displayed at the show. Like I said, I could talk for days about QuiltCon! I plan to share more in the coming weeks, mixing my QuiltCon reflections in with my slow reacclimation to “real” life, as the changed quilter and designer I am. Thank YOU for reading.