Color and Form Converge in Convergence

 As many of you know, Ricky Tims is one of my favorite humans and quilt makers. One of my favorite Ricky quilt designs is Convergence. I made my first Convergence quilt back probably about 8 years ago (I really need to be better about my quilt documentation). It was so fun to see the magic happen when those strips came together. That magic happens every time! 

Last weekend I taught Convergence at Quilting Bits and Pieces in Eudora. The class was really fun and all the students made magic with their fabric choices.

Of course I made another Convergence for class sample. Totally difference fabric vibes. Different magic.

During class, I used a third set of fabrics as a demonstration. These were Kaffe fabrics I found in my stash. Since you only need a FQ of each fabric, it was easy to find 4 Kaffe Collective fabrics that worked well together.

The Convergence Quilt is really simple to make. Without giving away all of Ricky's secrets (You really should get this book!), Convergence is made by slicing, converging,  and resewing. Twice. The process is simple and what gives each one a unique look is: 1. fabric choices, and 2. border creativity.

My first Convergence featured simple stripes in the borders. Number 3 (with the blue, green, and purple) is going to have some of the blue butterfly print cut on the diagonal with a complementing (maybe the blue) fabric. Sort of like this one I found on Pinterest.

I could make a million of these. And I just might!

Curious about Convergence? Check out Ricky's Convergence book. You'll love it.

 

This BOM, the first by Quiltworx, is Candy Coated Snowflakes. And its really KEWWWWELLLL!

I started this lovely BOM in 2019 or maybe the beginning of 2020. I'm a little  confused because I started making it in 2019 for Mea Bernina in bright batiks, and then started it again in my colorway in 2020. In any case, I have finished the seventh snowflake (I think my favorite) so I can see the end in sight - except for about a million flying geese.

This has been a really fun project, filled with fabrics I don't normally use like sparkly metallics, white tone on tone, and light grey geometrics. I guess mine don't have candy - I wanted them to look more like Snowflakes.  I'm using a rich dark blue from Stof Fabrics for the background. And I added some of the blue background into the snowflake so they look more like flakes than inset circles.

Like all (most?) of the Quiltworx patterns, Candy Coated Snowflake is foundation paper pieced.  The snowflakes look like they are inset circles, but Judy and company (her family) cleverly designed the snowflakes with 6 templates that attach to the 6 flake points, so it all goes together so easy. Then a small-ish circle is appliqued to the center. My seventh snowflake doesn't have the center circle yet. What color should I use? Opinions?

So the next time this comes up on my project rotation, in about a month, I'll start the flying geese border. Fun, Fun, Fun!

Curious about Candy Coated Snowflake (with or without the candy)?  Check out the Quiltworx website. I hope they do another BOM this year,

 

Merrily We Quilt A Long

 Ahhhh, The Quilt A Long or QAL as we aficionados like to call it. Lots of teachers and designers lead these QAL (also CAL and KAL for crocheters and knitters), but so far, my favorite is Gudrun Erla of GE Designs.  I've participated in 2 so far and am about to start my third this week.

What is a QAL? The details vary a bit, but basically a group of people work on the same quilt at the same time. Sometimes its on one day, other times it progresses over several weeks. The quilter usually buys the pattern (or already has it) but uses their own fabric (and sometimes buys new fabric for the QAL - any excuse, right?). The last aspect of a QAL is that the designer or leader shares tips and techniques during the process, these days via Facebooks Live or some other virtual platform.

Wait, isn't that kind of like a Block of the Month? When I think about it, it is. But a QAL usually takes place over a much shorter time span, and except for the pattern, there is usually no charge. Somehow they just feel different. Maybe it is the togetherness feeling of participating in an activity together.

My favorite QAL leader is Gudrun Erla, of GE Designs. She is the force behind the Stripology Rulers and Patterns. She is creative, fun, a great mixologist (a special feature of her QAL and Friday live events), and a great pattern designer.

 The Stripology Rulers come in different sizes and have different markings, but their common characteristic are the slots in which your rotary blade sits to cut straight strips. 

The first QAL I participated in was actually a Strip A Long - Strip to Shore. I was really taken with this pattern and I immediately envisioned a sand and water palette. 

The blocks were easy to make and really lent themselves to the contrast between the "sand" and the "water". I only got a few rows worth of blocks done before another interesting QAL piqued my interest. This quilt is on my UFO list and I'm excited to get it done. 

I hadn't finished Strip to Shore when another GE QAL was offered - Hope. My sweet husband Saul was ill and I saw this as a sign to have hope. Unfortunately, no amount of hope could stop the ravages of Parkinson's Disease and he passed away on the 16th of May. The quilting process was and continues to be a solace for me and my healing. 

For Hope I used a couple of Layer Cakes that I already had. I loved the bold colors. They look really cool with this dark charcoal as the center strip.

There are 2 Hope blocks and they go together so that there is a minimal amount of matching needed.  In the FB group - Gundrun's Quilt Crew, other quilters posted all the different layouts possible with these blocks. I'm still not sure which layout I'm going to use, but I'm leaning towards this one. 

Next week on Gundrun's Tipsy Tuesday, we start Wanda, a wonky 9 patch. The feature that attracted me to this quilt is the use of an interesting strip or plaid in the sashing. I don't know yet about my fabric choices. I plan to dig into my stash of Charm packs (5 inch squares) tomorrow. I'm also considering black and white 9 patches with some red thrown in. Who knows? We'll see what the fabric fairies whisper to me.

There's lots to be curious about in Gundrun's world. Check out her Website and FB groups - it'll be well worth it!

50 Quilts from 50 States - Oklahoma

 I didn't finish as many of my 50/50 quilts as I had planned - life really took a turn in 2020. But I did finish OKIE DOKIE my Oklahoma quilt.

In the past, Oklahoma has been a state I drove through to get somewhere else, or the place I met my kids' Dad for a handoff so that they could visit him in Texas. But as I started to explore different parts of the state I learned there's so much more. I really love the red dirt peaking through the rolling hills. 

Route 66 runs right through the state, so that was the inspiration for the quilt. It was established in 1926 and was one of the original highways in the US Highway system.  I like to imagine a young family driving Route 66 in the 1930's on a little adventure from Chicago to Los Angeles. 

The centerpiece of the quilt is a colorful tea towel I got at an Oklahoma rest stop and information center on Interstate 40 on my way to Arizona a couple of years ago. It lent itself perfectly to a quilt with 30s reproduction fabric. OK, an idea was starting to coalesce.

Traditional quilt blocks, a Route 66 sign, and a sillouette of the End of the Trail statute found in the National Cowboy museum, combined with the Oklahoma tea towel  - this is going to be a cute quilt. 

My friend Patti Pearce makes a lot of quilts with vintage linens, so she was the perfect person to quilt this. She did a fantastic job.

I've written a pattern for OKIE DOKIE and its available in my Etsy Shop. I love that my adventure is continuing state by state. 

Curious about Oklahoma? Check it Out!

Hello 2021 - Quilting and Camping

 I'm Back!

I haven't written a blog post since August 2019. Holy Cow, what a year its been. 2020 is the year of the awful "P" - Politics, Pandemic, and the Passing of my sweet husband Saul.

Quilting was one of the main activities that helped me survive. It has been my life line - creating, making, and friendship with my quilting buddies (virtually in most cases).

So, now like most of my quilty friends, I shop for fabric on-line, attend quilt guild meetings by Zoom, and have plenty of time to finish up quilts and even start a few new ones.

About this time of year, I usually contemplate the past year and develop some quilting goals for the next year. Actually much of this year is a fog. A fog made up of Saul's illness and temporary entry into an assisted living facility, our separation due to Covid, his passing and my grief and loneliness. I'm beginning to emerge from that fog.  

I guess if I had to sum up 2020 in terms of quilting it would be "Finish It Up" and "What do I do now?" What am I going to do now that I have lost the person I most wanted to show my quilts to.  I also lost my part time teaching job at Mea Bernina, which closed its orange doors for good due to tough economic times experienced by many small businesses during the shutdowns caused by Covid.  The country has lost over 300,000 people as of now and a vaccine has just been released. 

The country and I have lost a lot, but we've also gained some things - time with the people who are in our bubble, a slower pace of life, an appreciation of the things we are missing and may have taken for granted.  Personally I have gained an amount of freedom that I have never had in my life before. So with this new freedom, I've been concentrating on finishing up some quilts.

So now my future is basically open to me and my question is "What do I do now?"

I'm going to take some time to figure that out, but I know it will involve quilting, designing quilts, teaching quilting, taking quilting
workshops and going on retreats. 

I've also experimented with camping in my new little trailer Trudy. My sewing machine comes with me and I sew on picnic tables in campgrounds - so far in Kansas, Indiana, and Texas.

So 2021 will be filled with Quilting and Camping. Specifics to be determined.

Curious about my life without Saul . . .

Quilt Shows - A Boost of Inspiration

Quilt shows are one of the most inspiring events a quilter can experience. Quilts, classes, special exhibits, vendors, seeing old friends and meeting new ones - it all comes together at a quilt show. For me recently it was the Kansas City Regional Quilt Festival that meets every two years at the Overland Park Convention Center in Overland Park Kansas.

This show is the result of the combined effort of the members of 18 guilds from the greater Kansas City area. It is organized and run by a board of volunteers from the 18 guilds - each guild having an area of responsibility. This year was the third show and they seem to get better and better every year. I'm already looking forward to 2021!

This year, I viewed (very closely in some cases) the approximately 450 quilts in the guild showcase area, 100 quilts in the judged area, 40 quilts in the special exhibits, and the 7 challenge quilts. I took 4 classes, attended 1 trunk show, entered 1 quilt in the judged portion of the show, had 1 quilt appraised, volunteered twice to be a "White Glove" ambassador, sold opportunity tickets for my guild's raffle quilt, volunteered to support the quilt appraiser, shopped the vendors, and enjoyed the company of 2 good friends at a nearby hotel. I had an awesome time! The only thing I wish I had done now was to attend the Ricky Tims Concert, as Ricky is one of my favorite people, as well as a favorite quilter.

I'll write about my classes in separate posts, suffice it to say, I learned a bunch and met some great and inspiring teachers.

There was inspiration at every turn. One of the most inspiring corners of the show was Cindy Parry's special exhibit.

Cindy's exhibit was called Tohoku Daishinsai which means Tohoku Disaster. Cindy, who was born in Japan, was especially touched by the 2011 Tsunami and decided to translate her anxiety, sorrow, love and worry for the people of Japan into a series of  15 wonderful wall hangings.   
Cindy used multiple techniques in her wall hangings (which always makes my socks go up and down) as well as incorporating images from Japanese newspapers and her personal photographs.

Cindy's work inspired me in several ways - first of all is her technique and workmanship, secondly is that she was inspired by an event and turned her feeling into quilts, thirdly is that she worked in a series - with each wall hanging being different, but around a common theme.                      
 Cindy says that her profound sadness and obsessive thoughts about the devastation have lessened somewhat since she has completed the quilts and traveled twice to the affected area (in addition to her annual trips to Japan). Other quilters have indicated to Cindy that they too have made meaningful quilts that helped them heal from their own private suffering.

A final thought (for now) from Cindy - "I think my best quilts are those that mean something to me. I think that most any subject when carefully considered, has many aspects and angles from which the story can be told. From those, a series can be born." Food for thought as I consider my quilting going forward. I see some series in my future.
   
Didn't see her exhibit at KC Regional Quilt Fest? No worries. Cindy's exhibit will be at the Starlight Quilters Guild on August 27th. Can't make that meeting? Check out the Japan Festival at Johnson County Community College on October 5th.

If you would like to bring Cindy to your guild or organization for a presentation on her quilts, please contact her at idyllways@aol.com. She spoke at our guild and I was riveted. 

Keeping it Curious about my sister quilters and what inspires them.

  

50 Quilts from 50 States - Iowa

Even before I started quilting, I fell in love with the Bridges of Madison County Iowa. I read the book, I watched Meryl Streep and Clint Eastwood fall in love in the movie, I even had a CD with original songs by the book's author Robert James Waller. 

My first trip to Iowa included a visit to Winterset to see the bridges, as well as the birthplace museum of John Wayne. My second trip included a trip to the Iowa Quilt Museum to see an exhibit by MaryAnn Fons.

So, obviously, my inspiration for Iowa has to be the Bridges. Obviously there is lots to see and do in Iowa. Corn, there is corn, lots of corn. A sea of corn - it stretches as far as the eye can see. The Amana Colonies are interesting from a historical and cultural perspective, as is the Mississippi River Museum in Dubuque.

Guilds and Shops in Iowa
Iowa is the home to Fons and Porter, the iconic quilting gurus who have been publishing patterns, magazines and videos for over 20 years.

The Generations Quilt Patterns website has 40 guilds and 132 shops on their list. I've visited a few in Des Moines, the Amana Colonies, and Council Bluffs - where my favorite shop is. Whenever my son AJ and I go to the Omaha Zoo (stay tuned for my Nebraska Quilt), we always stop at Cut Up & Quilt in Council Bluffs. 

The Inspiration
The Bridges - Cedar, Cutler-Donahoe, Hogback, Holliwell, Imes, and Roseman are the remaining bridges in Madison County. But how to incorporate them? I took several pictures on my trip, but they really didn't sing to me.
I did find several fabric panels with covered bridges but a wall hanging with a panel also didn't sing to me. But I was getting closer. 

My friend Liz Granberg-Jerome of Gypsy Dreamer Quilts teaches classes on using panels for One Block Wonder quilts. She calls them Hexified Panels. OK, that's it, the perfect technique for this panel wallhanging!

The Quilt
I found a panel that had good color, looked like the bridges I saw in Madison County and I thought it would be a great candidate for a One Block Wonder. The panel was made from a painting by artist Larry Hersberger.  So I ordered 7 panels (6 to stack and 1 for the focus).

Due to the strong horizontal lines in the roof and tree line, I decided to cut the strips on the diagonal - after starching it 3 times to tame those bias edges. Since the panel is not very large, I cut the strips 2 3/4 inches so I can get the maximum number of hexies from the panel. Now comes the fun, but mindless part - sewing half hexies together and arranging them on the design wall.

Then comes some decision-making. To frame the panel or not? If I frame it, what color for the frame? To set the hexies in straight-edged or allow them to flow into the panel? This is where art and design meet craft and technique.

After trying several layouts, I settled on a small yellow border (to lighten up the dark sections of the panel) and then centered it within the hexies. I arranged the hexies so that they somewhat mimicked the color placement within the panel. A simple batik border finished it off. 

I have to admit, even though I starched the heck out of the strips, it was still somewhat wavy due to the bias edges. I forewarned Lori Kukuk, one of the fantastic long arm quilters with whom I love to work, that it might take some special TLC to help it lay flat. Poor or inaccurate piecing won't always quilt out, but Lori is pretty talented and if anyone can tame those wavy edges, she can. She did not disappoint. I especially love the simple waves in the sky and the continuous curves in the hexies.

Iowa Bridges is the third quilt in my 50/50 series. I've already started on Oklahoma and have plans for about 25 more. Stay tuned!

The pattern is available to order as a hard copy, or as a download from my Etsy Site. So check it out!

I'm Curious about your visit to Iowa. Leave a comment and let me know.