Moments in time

The days are going by in a whirlwind of activities and preparations.  I try to enjoy every special moment, but they come and go so quickly!

Another lovely wedding shower.

A gorgeous tea at the home of beautiful bridesmaid Brittany.

 A pinwheel party to make hundreds of pinwheel/rosettes for the reception.

 Moving Molly out of her dorm room at Multnomah Bible College.

 (I loved following Molly's car and seeing a stack of three quilts in the back window.)

Trying out the wedding hairstyle.

 (Hair by Melissa at Bombshells, Beaverton, Oregon.)

Attending and celebrating Peter's graduation.

And in between it all --

sewing 

and shooing away a pesky cat.

 Fifty wonky log cabin blocks.

Smile.

And a big bag of leftovers for another project....

With wishes, true and kind -- Joan

Wordless Wednesday: Wonky Wedding Quilt Edition

With wishes, true and kind -- Joan

Blogger's Quilt Festival - Spring 2010

Molly's Wonky Log Cabin

If you have followed my blog for more than a nano second, you know that my ratio of quilt tops to finished quilts is about 10:1.  And that is why I am choosing a quilt that was finished last September for the Blogger's Quilt Festival (Spring 2010).

This quilt started -- like so many of my other quilts -- as a whim.  I noticed the John (aka Quilt Dad) was leading a wonky log cabin quilt-along on Flickr for the Old Red Barn Company, and I thought it looked like a lot of fun.   So I jumped right in with both feet and began cutting and organizing strings and combining them with strings that I already had in a couple of baskets. 

Samantha and I frequently differ on the proper use of strings and baskets.

This was a good start, but I ended up needing more fabric and had to order some online.  I had a lot to do while I waited for the fabric to arrive.

My first wonky block!

The blocks were so fun to make and began to multiply quickly.  My son walked by at one point, watched me carefully place my ruler just so, and then angle it and make my cut.  He smiled and commented that I was really having fun making things crooked.  Oh, yes I was!

I made several blocks at one time (assembly line style), choosing several centers, then adding the first log to each, then a second log to each, etc.  It went pretty quickly that way.  I made the mistake of stacking some of the blocks on top of a string basket and look who re-purposed it!

I don't remember when exactly, but at some point in this early process, Molly asked if the quilt could be for her, and I agreed -- as long as she could sneak it away from Sammy.

I added four final logs in white to each of the 25 blocks to function as wonky sashing.

The quilt was machine quilted by Karen Walker (Stitches).  

When I posted a picture of the finished quilt on Facebook, a friend teased that I should send it to her, prompting Molly to post this on my FB wall:

"... Also, some woman named "Brigitte" (if that is her real name ;)) is trying to steal my quilt! You will have to tell her how precious your quilts are and that if she wants to get her hands on one she has to call dibs long before there are pictures of it up on facebook. I have found the most effective time to snag one is during the piecing stage. I love you!"

So true!  For me, making the quilt is all about the design process, with very little thought as to the purpose or destination of  the finished product.  Clever girl!

This is a close-up of the back.  It's hard to tell, but notice the little bits of turquoise in the leaves that coordinate with the turquoise on the front.

I think this is Molly's favorite quilt.  And this is why I so enjoy making quilts for her -- because she truly loves, values, and appreciates them.  And I know that because of her handmade quilts, her dorm room looks a little homier, she stays a little warmer, and she sleeps wrapped in her mother's love every night.  

With wishes, true and kind -- Joan

Making it up as you go (aka, A pattern is a suggestion)

Here are my bee blocks for Carla (aka Lollyquiltz), who requested 12.5 inch wonky log cabins made from the Nicey Jane strips she prepared and sent to us:

I always have fun making wonky log cabin blocks!  Carla prepared the strips for the block party, but whenever I'm cutting fabric, I always cut extra strips (or strings) to set aside for string blocks.  I love having them ready and then grabbing them and designing as I go.

I also recently received two wonderful books of beautiful colors, quilts, and inspiration:

I love Gwen Marston's no rules approach to quilt making, but even more, I love her acknowledgement that free-form, improvisational, and make-it-up/change-it-up as you go quilt making is not just a new phenomenon, but is something we share with our sister quilters from many years past. I love looking at antique quilts from different eras and different parts of the country and world.  What a legacy of inspiration!   

When I recently took my "Celebrating Julia" cooking class, many of us questioned the chef/instructor carefully about how much of a particular ingredient should be used or exactly when and how an ingredient should be added.  She always smiled patiently and responded, "A recipe is a suggestion" and encouraged us to feel free to deviate from recipes or use whatever methods work best for us.  That is how I think of quilt patterns -- as suggestions.  AND -- it is oh, so important to enjoy the process.

LOL -- my son is playing a video game in the same room, and the music playing in the background is this: Rules Don't Stop Me.  Perfect.

I recently signed on to participate in the Lazy Gal Liberated Amish 2010 Get Together.  For this "challenge" we are making quilts meeting these 4 criteria:  (1) choosing a quilt from the Faith and Stephen Brown Collection (see above book), (2) using solid fabrics, (3) making the quilt "liberated" (see Gwen Marton's book), and (4) using some liberated letters or numbers on the front of the quilt.  

The Faith and Stephen Brown Collection is currently on exhibition at the de Young Museum in San Francisco, and there is a pretty good chance that I may fly down for an overnight in April to see the exhibition in person! More later if this -- hopefully -- works out.

If you want to see some gorgeous Amish quilt eye candy, but don't want to buy the book and can't get to San Francisco, you can see them at the website here.  

This is my year to explore and experiment with solids in a variety of projects.  Sound good?  Then hop on over the Sew Fantastic for a chance to win a giant fat quarter pack of the 25 most popular Kona Cotton colors!  Good luck!

With wishes, true and kind -- Joan

Two things checked off my list....

While I didn't get any sewing done over Christmas and New Years, I spent some time this weekend sewing a pieced binding on the wonky log cabin quilt.  I can't believe the weekend is over, but at least I have this to show for it:

The long arm quilting is by my friend, Karen Walker.  Karen finally started her own blog, chezstitches.  Karen is a wonderful person, and she does beautiful work!  Her quilt-filled home always inspires me!

I adore the back of the quilt!  My first pieced backing: a pink stripe down the center, with this gorgeous flower in the center of it:

Look how pretty with the new dining room chair upholstery:

My lovely and talented daughter recovered the dining room chairs in time for family guests on Christmas Day and in-laws visiting from California after Christmas.  Here is an example of an old chair seat with damage compliments of one sleek black cat and one fluffy white cat:

And a chair with the new green (excuse me, pistachio) fabric:

They are beautiful!  Molly deserves the credit for choosing the fabric (I just couldn't make up my mind) and for getting the job done.  But I was a pretty good assistant (meaning I knew when to hand needed tools and when to stay out of the way).  

Now that I have the wonky log cabin quilt and the dining room chairs finished, I feel ready for anything!  Stay tuned!

With wishes true and kind for many fabulous finishes in 2010 -- Joan