QuiltCon Review

So, QuiltCon is over.  It came and went in a flash, but since I returned home I've found my heart happy with quilting and my brain full of ideas.

Quilting is an activity that lots of people participate in.  So on the level of joining layers of fabric together, I relate to lots of people - like 20 million or something.  Clearly quilting is more than just sewing fabric together.  It's about fabric.  And fabric is about color, pattern, texture, balance, reaching off the shelves and saying "buy me now, or else."  Then, you take those yummy morsels of woven glory and stitch them together in a way that makes the fabric itself infinitely more amazing.  When you boil it down to this, then it really becomes about taste. 

The inner Vermonter in me wants to embrace all quilters and to a point I do.  I have learned a lot over the years from quilters who I do not identify with aesthetically.  They have the skillz and usually I have developed some backwards way of doing something easy.  I have also spent time around people who have a deeply seeded respect for quilts - from a long time ago - but they don't have a love affair with actually making quilts. 

All of this has both strengthened my respect for quilting and frustrated me to no end because sometimes you just want to be around people who love, love, love what you are making.  You want to be around quilts and quilters who give you ideas, challenge your vision, and share their stash (hehehe). 

So, while I want to continue to keep my eyes and ears open to the quiltmaking tradition as it exists in history as well as the variety of different sorts of quilting today (ie. stuff I like and stuff I hate), QuiltCon was like the stars aligned and all the people who I really relate to when it comes to quilting were in the same room.  Yeah, mind blowing.

QuiltCon was the perfect medley of everything that I like to think exists in quiltmaking coming together and being amazing for four days.  Modern quilting is a type of quilt, but it's also a type of person and seeing all those people taking in the quilts, buying fabric, rocking their 80s gear, getting craft tattoos and motivating each other to keep on keeping on was totally great. 

*I took like four pictures at QuiltCon. Oops.

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...