Color inspiration

I'm still working on quilt backs for old projects.  Or at least I'm still thinking about quilt backs.  In the last week I've mostly been pulling fabrics and calculating yardage to buy.  

I love this stack of Jennifer Paganelli fabrics for the back of my Mod Valentine quilt. 

Just looking at the gorgeous colors and mix of prints inspires me to get this quilt finished!

  

I'm also still swooning. 

Slow and steady.  Slow and steady.

This is Swoon block #4, made at a Portland Modern Quilt Guild sew day at Fabric Depot last Saturday.

 

And this is Swoon block #5, made at my sewing circle.  I just kept my head down and soldiered on while hilarity ensued all around me.  

Nothing is more entertaining than the shenanigans that take place at sewing circle.

 

My Swoon blocks so far....

 

The Swoon colors are so soft and lovely.  Peaceful and springlike.

However, as we start to see a little more sunshine each week in the Portland area, I am starting to really enjoy and crave color.  Rich, saturated color.  

No one enjoys the sun more than Portlanders.  Yesterday we had a real variety pack -- rain, hail, and sun.  As soon as a few rays would break through the clouds, everyone was outside and in high spirits. 

I love the colors of these Kaufman Pure Organics!

 

 

"Oh, did you not want me to sit on this stool where you so carefully placed your Swoon blocks and Pure Organics to avoid cat hair?"

 

 

 A friend is planning on making her daughter's wedding invitations, including some stitching and decorating with fabric flowers.  I pulled a few fabrics from my stash and now can't stop looking at the beautiful color combinations.  I'm not planning on using the Paradise Gardens on any particular project in the near future (at least not until I finish those UFOs), but I'm really enjoying the colors and prints.

My collection of red and white prints for my Christmas in July quilt is really growing now.  You may remember that I started collecting them for my Swoon quilt, but couldn't wait and went a different direction with fabrics and colors.  I'm still planning on my red and white Christmas in July quilt; however, now I can't decide if I want to make another Swoon quilt (which I think would look fabulous) or go with another pattern.

The red and white idea came from Christmas 2010 when my daughter bought all red and white paper for gifts.  It looked beautiful!

In the meantime, I'm going to enjoy a variety of other colors

 

 and beautifully cut and stacked fabrics all tied up with a bow. 

I just love it when fabric stores take such obvious thought and care when cutting and packaging fabrics.  This stack was purchased from Sew, Mama, Sew, and they always do an exceptional job.

Sometimes I have to just leave these pretty little stacks all around in the sewing studio for inspiration.

With wishes, true and kind -- Joan

Like a cool summer breeze

Last winter I invested in some of Jennifer Paganelli's Queen Street fabrics at Sew, Mama, Sew and lovingly added them to my Sis Boom stash.  

I placed them all together right by the door of the office 

(which was my makeshift sewing studio at the time).

 I LOVE cool colors, so every time I walked by I eyed the blues and greens and purples.  Sigh.

But I had a wedding to work on.

Then the wedding came and went and summer rolled around.  

August was my month for the Twice Around the Block Virtual Quilting Bee on Flickr,
and I suddenly knew just which fabrics I wanted to use.  

 I chose primarily from the Queen Street line + a few other Sis Boom fabrics and others in my stash,
then threw in a few coordinating solids which were mostly leftovers from other projects.

 The TATB VQB has been a pretty relaxed group.
The blocks get done - eventually - which has been perfect for me and my very busy 2011. 

And so -- the blocks began to trickle in.

I just can't get enough of these gorgeous prints

and beautiful colors.

This lovely block on the top of the stack was made by Terri Harlan (Sew Fantastic).

And suddenly, summer doesn't seem that far off.

Thank you, Jennifer, for beautiful fabrics and quilty inspiration, 

and for featuring me on your blog earlier today!  

With wishes, true and kind -- Joan

What's cooking?

I decided to cook up a few more gathered clutches.  

I prepped to make five, 

but only had enough interfacing to finish three of them -- for now.

It's fun picking out the fabrics for the bands,

and linings.

and choosing fun colors for the zippers.

Zippers, as it turns out, are not that difficult after all.

The free tutorial for the gathered clutch pattern is here.

I also recently got to learn how to cook up some deliciousness in the kitchen.
Every year for a Father's Day gift, my sister and I treat our father to a cooking class.  The class can take place at any time of the year, we just all have to be available and interested in the menu.  It is always a very special evening, and Tuesday night's class was no exception.

Chef Dave Martin, Top Chef Season One

The class was End of Summer Entertaining, taught by Dave Martin, who graciously provided lots of interesting tips and techniques as he demonstrated the recipes.  The class was held at In Good Taste, a wonderful cooking store and cooking school.

In Good Taste (Pearl District location)

You may remember my class celebrating Julia Child back in March.  Well, Cindy (Live A Colorful Life) did and reminded me to show up at the right location this time and to enjoy wine after my "home invasion" Wednesday morning.  I can happily say I accomplished both of those tasks. and learned to make some tasty dishes.  I can't wait to try these myself.

White Bean, Poblano Chile and Artichoke Spread

served with homemade Crispy Pita Chips

Asian Chicken Salad with

Dave's Killer Ginger & Sesame Vinaigrette

Coconut Curry Chicken Skewers 

with Sweet Chili Sauce

Pan Roasted Shrimp wrapped with

Prosciutto, Basil and Gorgonzola

served with Sherry Cream Sauce

For a simple dessert Dave made fabulous shortbread cookies and some old-fashioned peanut butter cookies.  

Say what you will about the quality of the iPhone camera pictures, but the discreetness can't be beat -- photos to share without disrupting the flow of the demonstration.

And then there were wines....

Louis Perdrier Sparkling Wine

Arancio 2007 Grillo

Les Jamelle 2009 Cinsault Rose'

With wishes, true and kind -- Joan

We have a winner -- and I can't believe it!!!

When I think of other Sis Boom fanatics, one name immediately comes to mind -- KT. 

Yes, KT, you REALLY are the winner of the Sis Boom charm squares and the Charm Bracelet pattern from 

Kate Conklin Designs!  

Would someone please revive, KT?  She needs to get up off the floor so she can send me her address.

The next giveaway starts tomorrow -- another set of charm squares (what will they be?) and another chance to win a Charm Bracelet (or other) pattern from Kate Conklin.  On with the fun! 

With wishes, true and kind -- Joan 

Feeling thankful...

For the opportunity to interact with, be inspired by, and learn from 

an amazing group of local quilters:

Last night was the first official (non-meeting) event of the Portland Modern Quilt Guild.  We shopped at Bolt Neighborhood Fabric Boutique and then met at Modern Domestic for the rest of the evening. The staff at each business could not have treated us better, and in between accomplishing a lot of cutting, sewing, quilting, and binding, we got to know each other as Portland Modern Quilters just a little better.

I sat in the chair in the lower right corner of the picture to bind a quilt.  Hmmmm.  What is the one thing missing from this picture?

Oh, never mind.

I got an impromptu private lesson in English paper piecing from Tania (who made these little cuties).

I discussed binding techniques with Elizabeth  (this is the quilt she was working on) 

and Jen (attaching her binding by machine before finishing it by hand).

Lots of hard work and creativity going on....

For wonderful online friends who support and encourage me:

I am still amazed by the friendliness and generosity of spirit of so many online quilters.  Just two examples from this past week include Jackie, who wrote me a congratulatory email (as so many others did soon after) to tell me that my blog had been mentioned in Quilter's Home Magazine (I am still amazed and surprised by this)

and Jennifer (whose blog is also mentioned in the above magazine), who sent me this gorgeous fabric from her new So St. Croix line.

Thank you so much, Jennifer!  I'm just thrilled with it!

For finally finishing a fairly old UFO:

My daughter picked out the shoe and handbag fabric back when she was probably in middle school (she's a junior in college now), and I call it "Molly's Closet" because of that very fabric.  It's not the prettiest quilt I've ever made, and Molly and I both agree that we would never pick out many of these fabrics today, but there is something so special about it to me.  Ever since she was in preschool, I would let Molly pick out a fat quarter or two (or three or four or...) whenever I was buying fabric.  She loved them, admired and petted them, and occasionally used them in her many art projects.  We raided some of those FQs for this quilt, so it reminds me of tiny Molly as well as preteen Molly.  

Long arm quilting by Karen Walker.

This pink block in the corner is my favorite.  It may not photograph well, but the pink fabric that reads as a solid has little flecks of silver in it.  I usually have zero tolerance for any sort of glitter, glitz, or sparkles in fabric, but little Molly loved it!  I was mentioning to some of the Portland Modern Quilters last night that when she was quite small, Molly thought that children had different names when they grew up, and she frequently played around with ideas for her grown-up name.  The one that I remember most fondly is Sparkle Rose (and, yes, I know that sounds like a stripper name, but the girl is excelling at Bible College, so I think we're okay).  At any rate, I look at that sparkling pink fabric and I think of Sparkle Rose.  I have other UFOs that I will never finish because I just don't like them at all any more (which would be fun to poll quilters about, and perhaps I will in a future post), but this one is a keeper.  I'm glad it's finished.

For the love and appreciation of my sweet family:

A husband who tried to hunt down a copy of Quilter's Home magazine for me when we were out of town and was so happy for me that I got to spend last evening sewing with other quilters.

A daughter who shared my glee at opening the package and finding the beautiful Sis Boom fabric.

A son who gave me that patented quiet grin from ear to ear when he heard that I was mentioned in the magazine.  You'd think I'd cured cancer.

With wishes, true and kind -- Joan