Handerpants

I recently discovered the most amazingly hilarious product: Handerpants.  Yes, that's right, underpants for your hands.  Watch their incredibly informative video for more information...

I did what any normal person would do, purchased a pair of Handerpants.  Sadly, I did not keep them for myself, but passed them on as an engagement present to my good friend Kristen.  It seemed like a very "Maid of Honor" thing to do...

As it turns out, there are countless activities that are heightened by wearing Handerpants.  The activities pictured below were all at a quilt show, which is already pretty cool, but was further enhanced with Handerpants.  See for yourself...

Ohh my, how cute...

Driving a longarm is so much cooler with Handerpants

Embellish all your projects and keep your hands clean!

Good idea to have more than one pair...

Add interest and intrigue to any demo

LIfe in Ohio...

Hello blog.  It's been a while...

I moved to Ohio.

I started a new job.

REPEAT is over.

I am not quilting quite as much as I was a few months ago, but getting into the groove of life post-grad school has been less painful than imagined.  For example, I actually am capable of waking up at a normal hour, staying awake all day, and not sewing every few hours.  Sigh...

Turns out Maybe and Also got a bit spoiled with their momma home being a sewing slob for two years.  They HATE spending the day alone.  So much so that Also spends her days at doggie daycare bonding with her manny and the other pups.  Maybe whines at home all day.  They need to get real.   

I have done some sewing.  Had to break in the old sewing room...I've had two awesome quilt finishes since I got to Ohio.  First off, I finished a quilt that my grandma and I pieced last summer.  Grandma just recently celebrated her 90th b-day, so she deserved a quilt, and then some!  This massive chevron monster is hopefully keeping her warm as she watches Dancing with the Stars.  She may be 90, but this lady knows what is up in the world of celebrity gossip.  My classy brother and sister got her a subscription to US Weekly, so she can read that from under her quilt.  BONUS - It has 90 quilting lines to match her 90 years...cliche! 

The next big finish was my Backbone quilt.  A Carolyn Friedlander quilt, this bad boy is one of my favorite quilts I've ever made. 

 

Too many quilts, not enough space.  Hence the quilt ladder.  I've always wanted one, but the reality of this one isn't quite right...

And here are the little pups.  I haven't had a couch in two years, and while I may have one, I usually don't get a spot on it.  

Some More Finished Quilts!

Since school let out, actually since much before that point, I have been quilting away.  Piecing is my go to activity, however I lit a fire under my ass and SWORE I would finish many quilts since I didn't have a job.  There are two positives here.  First, I did finish many quilts, the two from the last post and four more highlighted below!  Second, I got a job...like a real job.  I am in the process of relocating to Lakewood, Ohio!

I made this quilt while studying abroad in England.  Ironically, most of the fabrics in the quilt are historic reproductions, a genre of fabric I am most definitely over at this point...

Except that one tan, pink, and black bit that looks like some sort of brain/root combination.  In an attempt to make the quilt somewhat more exciting to make up for what it lacks in color, pattern, etc., I used a bright yellow for the binding.  I actually love it, however certain members of my sewing club questioned the collision of modern and traditional:)

Right before my house was warm enough to spend time outside of my quilting/homeworking/sleeping room, I started making a postage stamp quilt. Using the amazing tutorial from Rita at Red Pepper Quilts, the process was actually painless.  Postage Stamp quilts are my new go to mindless sewing activity...

Many thanks to Natalie for giving me this awesome resist printed denim from her surface design class.  It worked perfectly as the backing for the postage stamp!  Well, visually it worked perfecting, in terms of sewing through it with my dull needle, it was a bit of a struggle!

Another quilt from another time.  This is the third quilt I ever made...during what I called my "Black, White, and Bright" phase.  I hand pieced this in England too, and it has graced the walls of each of my apartments since. Threads 'a hanging, just the top, velcroed to the wall.  Classy.  It is finally quilted, and ready to hang in my next home...

The Swoon Quilt.  Probably my favorite quilt I've ever made.  I am in love with the color combination.  It might be too much for some, but it's just right for me:)

Detail of the Swoon center.  This will be the first quilt I've made myself for my bed!

Here's the new place in Lakewood...after two years without my furniture, I am very excited to have a couch, bed on a frame, and more than four forks.  The blog will probably soon be inundated with nerdy home decorating photos.  And hopefully more finished quilts...

Someone has been busy...

I have been in some sort of post-graduate school haze.  Quilting, quilting, quilting...I literally can't stop.  Here's a snippet of what I have been working on...

This was a super fun quilt to make.  In fact, this was my piecing obsession for most of the winter.  It was so fun...that I have all the blocks pieced for another one!  The pattern and tutorial is generously provided on Oh Fransson!  This quilt was a gift for Mary, the amazingly talented superstar who spends her days at the front desk of the International Quilt Study Center and Museum. 

Another quilt I have been working on is below.  Mary and Deb were extremely generous and got me a Go! cutting system by AccuQuilt for graduation...It took me about ten minutes to cut all those little triangles, AMAZING!  While I am not generally a huge user of solids, I really like the effect of the flying geese floating in a plane of gray...This quilt is on its way to Deb!

I have several other quilts that are in varying stages of completion, from binding to a little bit more quilting, many more finished quilt reveals are coming!

Also, REPEAT continues to roll on!  Lots of excitement on the blog today...

Umbrella Prints: Trimmings

My trimmings spoke for themselves...The colors, prints, and scale worked perfectly, so I pretty much just sewed the scrappy pieces together and added some embroidered embellishment.  The resulting object could be a mini pillow, a giant pin cushion, or just a cheerful pop of color.

Thanks to Umbrella Prints for hosting this fun competition! 

Quilt Tops

I am a piecer.  I rarely actually quilt things.  But, like last summer, I am challenging myself to get real and finish some quilts. 

So, I hit the Joann's Memorial Day sale hard today, my batting stash equals my fabric stash (well, not quite, but closer...)

I have been doing some pattern testing for Carolyn Friedlander, and I just finished piecing together my Palmetto blocks today!  I LOVE this pattern.  It was really fun to work in a smaller scale, and I am in love with the perks of paper piecing. 

Lovely

I think they look like origami birds...flying away...

THESIS COMPLETED!

Modern Quilting: DIY Discourse is finished!

I've spent the last year and a half researching and writing my thesis on the Modern Quilt Guild!  It has been a really fun experience - I got to meet 26 pretty cool ladies who told me all about their experiences as members of the MQG.  Mega-thanks to everyone who was part of this journey.  From the participants, to my committee, to the dogs, and to those who encouraged me to keep on trucking, it's much appreciated!

Huge thanks extended to the University of Nebraska, who in addition to my degree (fingers crossed, I guess since I haven't technically graduated yet), provided me with this token of their appreciation:

And all sarcasm aside, this thrilled me.  I saw Ms. Madeleine's pin last year and knew that nothing could stop me...It's the simple things in life (two years of work = pin = happy)...


If you are so inclined, feel free to read the beast HERE.

Swooning

The weather in Lincoln has been to die for lately.  If 90 degrees in March doesn't mean global warming is happening, I am not sure what does.  Regardless, the warm weather has been a welcome change for residents of Lincoln living in quarters without insulation (me). 

je t'aime

 I finished the Swoon quilt the other day.  I LOVE IT.  The colors are pretty rad and the design is a cross between vintage and today.  I am petrified to quilt it because my usual wobbly lines don't seem like they will do it justice.  I am going to practice free motion quilting and hopefully tackle this bad boy sometime over the summer. 

Tiny squares, coming right up...

 Since I am scared of quilting, I started another piecing adventure today.  I am making a legitimate postage stamp quilt.  I generally refer to any quilt made of squares, regardless of size, to be a postage stamp quilt.  This is simply not true.  But, following in the footsteps of Rita over at Red Pepper Quilts, I am going for it!  This is a small sample of my fabric for the quilt...

Pretty fabric

Everything over at The Printed Bolt is still in full swing.  We just got our yardage of Michele Rosenboom's fabric the other day, and it's gorgeous. 

Quilt Retreat

Many thanks to Susan Brown of TQM Products for welcoming me and Madeleine to her quilt retreat in Okoboji, Iowa!  'Boji as it is referred to by those in the know, is a vacation lake spot in Northeast Iowa.  We stayed at the Okoboji Lutheran Bible Camp (my first bible camp experience). 

Packing up all my supplies was pretty stressful. Even for a quilter like me who tends to avoid a lot of tools, knick, knacks, etc, but the time you get your machine, cutting supplies, ironing stuff, and fabric together, it's enough to pretty much fill the Prius.  Especially combined with Madeleine's sewing accoutrements. 

ready to sew!

We arrived ready to roll.  After setting up our gear, we went to bed.  Nothing could prepare us for the reality of quilt retreat...

In the zone.

We got right to work on Friday morning.  As our fellow sewists arrived, we remained focused, not yet disrupting the quiet peace.  Slowly, as we became accustomed to our new environment, we let loose and chattered the rest of the weekend.  Surprise, surprise...

Swooning

Little did we know, but at quilt retreats people stay up sewing all night.  Literally all night.  The champion quilter stayed up until 5am and was back at it at 8am.  Whoa.  Madeleine and I created unattainable goals the first night and stayed up until 4am, however we slept in.  The Swoon block above was my goal for the 4am night. 

Also is very helpful

The Six Swoons

 The following day at retreat, I continued to pound out the Swoon blocks.  All the cool kids have been making this quilt for months, so I figured I should too.  I used to be one of those quilters who proudly proclaimed "I do NOT use patterns."  I was a graph paper snob, but realistically my creations for variations on incredibly common pieced quilt patterns.  That said, the lack of patterns in my quilting life was a point of pride (wow, I am so LAME).  Over the last few months, as I continued to perfect my procrastination skills through the thesis writing process, I began to gravitate towards quilt patterns.  It was easier to have mindless sewing while watching trashy TV to distract myself rather than have to pretend to exert creative energy while reinventing the nine patch again and again.  I started with some free patterns on blogs, and luckily I found one that I LOVED which resulted in me mass producing the blocks for it.  Due the the unfinished gift nature of one of these quilts, I cannot reveal the pattern.

Another step in my new found love of patterns was helping Carolyn Friedlander by testing one of her new patterns.  Again, no pictures or identifying information, but it was super fun, and I learned a new skill, paper piecing!   

So, that gets me to Swoon.  In order to become complete social media junkies, Madeleine and I got a Twitter account for The Printed Bolt.  Like quilt patterns, I used to be against Twitter.  Well, I pretty much still am against Twitter, however, I have found both a sociological crater and some quilting inspiration on Twitter.  Although, I do feel like a bit of an outsider looking in to all these weird personal conversations, but in a sort of Nancy Drew/Carmen San Diego investigator sort of way...Anyway, someone had a link to a Swoon quilt with something other than a white background, it was a black newsprint.  Since I don't really understand Twitter and just click around, I have not been able to relocate said image.  I was determined to make the Swoon quilt and not do the whimpy shabby chic color combination in the picture for the pattern.   

I bought the pattern online, and I'm sorry, but even in my limited pattern experience, I was not impressed.  Yes, I did figure it out, and yes it is super EASY, but there were a few fatal flaws that caused me to almost drop F-bombs every ten seconds at Lutheran Bible Camp.  Not a good situation.  For example, there are two square sizes that you need to cut out, however they are both the same size in the drawings, WTF?  Second, there are two colors used in addition to the background.  Color 1 refers to the secondary color with fewer pieces.  That does not make sense.  Color 2 is the main color, but it is second.  There is a giant 1 floating above something that is supposed to go with Color 2, FML.  Let's just say it's a good thing I wasn't using the minimum fabric requirements since I effed up cutting a million times. 

Many of the ladies questioned my color scheme for the Swoon, but as I had already named it the Greatest Color Combination in All of Quilt History, there was no turning back.  And I am glad I didn't!  I LOVE IT! 

Many thanks to the sewing crew around me for literally swooning over the quilt, motivating me to stay up too late, and keep going.  We met a fellow quilt blogger, Tasha from Ric Rac and Ribbons, who kept us laughing all weekend.  She's going to start her own Swoon soon, so I am anxious to see another interpretation!  While the quilt was originally going to just be four blocks, I increased it to six, and then after careful consultation with Rita, she convinced me to go for it and make three more blocks to balance out the colors. 

Really bad picture of the fabric that will help me make three more Swoons.

Momma Rushman was in town the last few day with her dog Lola.  Fortunately Maybe and Also were good hosts in the sense that they didn't eat Lola.  Maybe almost accidentally ate Also though...I think she mistook her for a bunny, but she definitely scared Also.  Maybe *might* be showing some signs of aging...

Modern Quilt Relish at the IQSC

The IQSC is housed in a ten million dollar modern masterpiece.  I jokingly call it MOMA of the Midwest, however there is an odd disconnect for me between the architecture of the building and the presentation of historic quilts.

Museum = art.
Quilts in a museum = art.
Art = visual experience.
Visual experience = look at quilts.

Sometimes I feel like all the other material in the galleries gets in the way of the visual experience...which is why I LOVE the modern quilts from Modern Quilt Relish that are hanging in the atrium right now.

Modern building = modern quilts = perfection.

Modern Quilt Relish Quilts

LOVE, LOVE, LOVE!

Color!

REPEAT: TOP TEN

Happenings...

The submission deadline for REPEAT has come and gone...The TOP TEN designers will be revealed throughout the day on Saturday March 10th!

On Friday I presented my thesis project to the Lincoln Quilters Guild who generously provided me with a scholarship that literally made the whole project possible...THANK YOU!  There were a several modern quilts on display at my presentation made by Marny and Jill from Modern Quilt Relish.  Sheila Green, organizer extraordinaire, was kind enough to coordinate the quilts coming to Nebraska!

You can see Modern Quilt Relish's quilts on display at the IQSC from March 17 to April 1st!  Admission to the museum is free on Saturday March 17th in observance of St. Patrick's Day...just kidding, its National Quilting Day.  No green beer, but lots of free, fun activities...

work, work, work

So much to do, so little time.

Important upcoming events:

March 1st - I-Make/U-Buy: Textiles in the Electronic Retail Age - Check out the details here.  The Printed Bolt will be sharing the story of how we began...

March 2nd - Modern Quilting: DIY Discourse - In return for their generous scholarship, I am presenting my research findings to the Lincoln Quilters Guild.  5:30 PM at the IQSCM.

March 3rd - DEADLINE FOR SUBMISSIONS TO REPEAT. You should probably enter...

March 19th - The old thesis MUST be turned into my committee

March 22-25 - My first quilt retreat in Okoboji, Iowa...Yahoo!

April 2nd - Thesis Defense

(there will probably be things of note between these two dates)

February 2013 - QUILTCON!  The Modern Quilt Guild is hosting a conference in Austin, Texas.  I will be presenting my thesis and curating a show of Modern Historical Quilts.  Denyse Schmidt, Bill Kerr/Weeks Ringle, Anna Maria Horner, and more will be lecturing/hosting workshops.  There's going to be a quilt show with cash prizes and a vendor fair so everyone can bring home something special!  Check out all the details here! 

Sadly, I have no photos of my neurotic quilting I have been obsessing over of late.  But, the dogs are as photogenic as ever...

Also wrapped herself up in my scarf to stay warm.  Its been around 40-50 degrees during the day, so we have pretty much turned the heat off.  Momma can't handle another gas bill over $100...Good thing the dogs are resourceful.

Maybe just woke up from a whole day nap.  Rough life.  Also likes to eat Maybe's collars, so she got a really intimidating leather collar with metal embellishments to ward off her little friend.  Seems to be working...

*Original post had all the above dates listed in May...what the hell is wrong with me...?

Busy Bee

Between The Printed Bolt/REPEAT, school, and work, it would seem I might not have time to quilt.  Thankfully this has not been the case...However, for many reasons, my quilting pursuits of late are top secret.  Here are some hints...

Lincoln was graced with A LOT of snow last Saturday.  The desert dogs were pissed, but I was thankful I had power to fuel the Bernette for the day...

If this is any measure of my productivity, I threw away three grocery bags filled with these little guys.  Sadly I didn't bag them up before the dogs distributed them throughout the house...

Also's ear is finally (knock on wood) better!  She has been bandage free for almost two weeks.  Her recovery also means that her mischievous streak is back with a vengeance.  And for unknown reasons she has started humping.  A lot. 

TPB/REPEAT is hosting a launch party at my ghetto fabulous home.  In an attempt to make up for its nasty interior and somewhat haunted aura, I cleaned up my sewing area.  WOW. 

THE PRINTED BOLT!!!

For the last few months, my friend Madeleine and I have been working on a super awesome secret project!

We've launched a small company, The Printed Bolt, and we are hosting a fabric design competition.  The competition will be held entirely online with monthly challenges from March to August of this year!

Check it out here!