Is it still September?

Whew! Just barely. So, I still have time to sneak in my September mini needlepoint teapot. Please notice the sad little bouquet of pencils. I would have sharpened them, but I'm already doing several things at once and running out of time.

New Amy Butler reinforcements arrived last week. I finished all of my wonky log cabin blocks (25 in all) and am currently working on adding the white sashing.

I also received some lovely Heather Bailey Fresh Cut.

Yesterday morning I went to the NW Quilting Expo in Portland. I have never gone to this particular event before and was really looking forward to it. However, I have to say that all-in-all; it was a bit of a disappointment for me. Maybe it was my mood – I don’t know – and it may have been what many others wanted or needed, but there was very little that truly inspired me in the way of color, fabric, or design. As far as technical skill – there was some fabulous and very impressive quilting and piecing, but I just didn’t get my usual “fix.” I think I was looking for traditional quilts with a modern twist (ala Material Obsession), simple, clean, and modern quilts (ala Fresh Modern Quilts Flickr group), or bold use of color (ala Kaffe Fassett Collective). Even in looking over the fabrics and patterns available from the vendors, I just felt like I was seeing the same things I have been seeing for the past decade or more. I would say that many of the vendors catered to a country or primitive style, but I also saw 30’s reproductions and civil war reproductions. And batiks everywhere. I mean, EVERYWHERE. Nothing is wrong with any of these, but I wanted more variety. There were only about 3 vendors carrying any KF fabrics, and I didn’t see any fabrics from designers like Anna Maria Horner, Jennifer Paganelli, Amy Butler, Tanya Whelan, Sandi Henderson, Tina Givens, Heather Bailey, Heather Ross, etc. So, apparently, this particular show and it's vendors didn’t cater specifically to me and my tastes or introduce anything that would convince me to try a new look or style. If only they would have consulted me (tongue in cheek). That said, there were some standouts (in my book) for various reasons.

I loved the colors in this one and the fact that it is very Gee's Bend-like:

Lovely appliqué:

This quilt looked like a painting or photograph. Amazing!

Inspired by Jane Sassaman:

This one was made from fabrics from Guatemala.

I like the blocks on this one:

I thought this was an interesting pattern, and reminds me of one I have tagged to do in the Fall/Winter 2009 Quilt Sample magazine: Out-of-the-box Argyle.

I have started working my way through block one of the Material Obsession/Sue Ross BOM. I haven’t done very much curved piecing, and not for a long time. I almost quit before I got started – in fact, I have almost quit several times. Curved piecing – you want me to do what??? But, with pins galore and careful machine sewing, so far so good. Breathe.

And Dear Readers, I can’t believe how many of you seemed to take Samantha’s side and only see her playfulness and cuteness. I can see I will get no sympathy from any of you. But if you send me your address, there are days when I just might pack her up and send her off to sleep on your fabric, play with your strips, and plop herself down in the middle of your cutting mat.

With wishes, true and kind (even for sweet Sammy) -- Joan