The Curious Cruising Quilter

I am so lucky to be on a cruise with sweetie Saul and 2 of his kids - Dan and Amy. It is a 15 day cruise through the Panama Canal, starting in Long Beach California and disembarking in Ft Lauderdale Florida. I won't bore or tease you with the relaxing in the 82 degree sunshine, the piles of delicious foods, the shopping and activities - suffice it to say I am loving it!  What I do want to think and write about is all the quilting inspiration this trip has provided so far.

Our ports have been Puerta Vallarta and Huatulco in Mexico, San Juan Del Sur Nicaragua, and Putarenas Costa Rica. We are currently on our way to Panama, then on to Cartegena Columbia.

Lots of sights and images that inspire me to think about quilts. Here are a few of the images that I captured that are potential quilts. 
First lets start with the ship itself. We are on the Coral Princess, a 2000 passenger ship (currently with only about 1400 passengers).  It was built specifically to go through the canal locks. I don't know if the ship has a decor theme, but I have taken pictures of several items that I think would make a great quilt or quilting design.

This first pic is of the non-slip flooring product on our balcony. Pretty cool, huh?

Number 2 is a marble tile floor. There are several compass shapes around the decks. 


The third one is a tiled area at the entrance to one of the bars on board. This particular bar also has a tile design above the bar.

Of course, a quilter should always observe the carpet! My friend Kelly Cline uses a patterns similar to this when she does edge to edge long arming for people.  

Our excursions have been filled with color, textures, and patterns. The water, green vegetation, colorful markets, flowers - its seems like it was all staged to inspire quilters.

In Puerta Vallarta:
Tile flooring at disembarkation.
Side walk near the beach front.
Colorful Flags in the pedestrian zone near the church.
A mural near the tequilla tasting.












In Huatulco:

Flowers in a community garden.
Weavings. Gorgeous weavings!

In Nicaragua:
Concrete embossed with leaves.
Volcanic geology.






If you want to make friends on a cruise, just sit out on deck with some hand work and people from all over the world will stop and ask what you are making. Our ship also has a "Knitters and Knatters" group which meets every at sea day. There are quilters in that group as well and we've shared photos of our quilts and exchanged contact info so we can keep in touch. Kindred spirits indeed!

Speaking of cruising and quilting - THAT is on my quilting bucket list - to go on a quilt cruise. I've been keeping my eye out for the perfect combination of itinerary, teacher, and project. I was signed up for one last year, but it was cancelled. If I'm being honest, teaching quilting on a cruise is a secret ambition of mine - if that ever happens I'll know I've arrived in the quilting/teaching world. So if you know of a quilt cruise company that needs a teacher - send them my way. I'll start preparing my workshop (grin).

Keeping it Curious on the Coral Princess!

My Favorite Designers - Chapter 7 Kaffe Fassett and Friends

Yesterday I had the pleasure of attending my second workshop with Kaffe Fassett and Brandon Mably at Sarah's Fabrics here in Lawrence (here is a post about my first workshop at Sarahs). WOW! This was a color class - and man did we do color!

I have also been to two lectures by Kaffe during which he provided some background, experience, previous patchwork, knitting, and needlepoint works, and sources of inspiration. Many of you know him and know about his art. I continue to be impressed by his legacy. I can't even begin to do justice to his body of work. I encourage you to read his biography on his website - you'll be amazed!

Kaffe and Brandon are two-thirds of the Kaffe Fassett Collective - the fabric design company that also includes Philip Jacobs. These three men have totally turned the quilting fabric world on its head (IMHO). Large patterns, rich colors, fanciful scenes - oh my it is glorious - Glorious Color that is!

So, as I have categorized it in my little quilty mind, Kaffe is all about fabric design and color. His quilt patterns are fairly simple in terms of design, what makes them sing is the fabric and the way he puts color and pattern together. So color and pattern is what we learn in his workshops - not color theory or anything so "boring" but working outside our comfort zone with color combinations and wild, daring patterns we wouldn't normally use. 

After a day of cutting hexagons and triangles and putting them up on a gray flannel design wall, Kaffe goes around and "critiques" our work. It was so interesting to see how different setting triangles changes the whole look of a quilt that used the same color hexagons. Here are a few examples of yellow hexagons and the variations in setting triangles. Many thanks to my class mates for their wonderful examples (sorry, I did not get everyone's names).

In order to provide some focus, I choose Moroccan Spice Market as a theme and narrowed by pile of Kaffe Collective fabrics down to paprikas, chili powder, a bit of tumeric, hot red, orange and pink. I wanted the reds to glow and zing, so I choose a dark blacky purply smoky series of 6 fabrics for my triangles. I'm happy with the outcome. I'm planning on making Moroccan Spice Market about twice as large as it is now, so I have lots more hexies and triangles to cut.

This quilt is from Quilts in Moccoco. His books have patterns, but are more like coffee table books with wonderful photography. Check them out, they are gorgeous.

Although I don't feel like I know Kaffe, Brandon, and Philip as well as the other designers in my Favorite Designer series, I know and love their fabrics and look forward to each new release. Sarah's hosts a Kaffe Club which meets monthly to celebrate and challenge ourselves to use Kaffe Fassett Collective fabrics. I have learned so much from and been inspired by these creative ladies in the club. Now I can spot a KFC (not the chicken) fabric at 50 feet.

I've joined the Kaffe Collective on FB and get to see amazing quilts made with amazing fabrics.  I also follow Philip on FB and love seeing how he makes and paints his fabrics  - when he's not scouring the English countryside for old WWII bits and pieces using his metal detector.

I have a few other quilts made from Kaffe Collective fabrics. Some finished, some almost finished, and some in my pile of many UFOs. I have 4 shelves on my FQ storage tower devoted to KFC fabrics. I'm smitten, in love, hooked. 

Curious about KFC? Get a book, follow on FB, get some KFC fabric. Jump into color and pattern. Wallow around in wonderful!

50 Quilts from 50 States - Kansas

My Journey to Kansas

I think it is fitting that my quilting journey through our 50 United States of America should begin in my current home state of Kansas. At this point, I have no idea how long it will take me to make my journey, to design the quilts, to make and photograph them, and write about the journey. But they say that a journey of 1000 miles begins with the first steps. Kansas is the first step.

The first time I came to Kansas was in 1988.I traveled from Germany where I was stationed with the US Army to Fort Leavenworth for a 3 month course. Kansas was not at all what I expected - I guess the Wizard of Oz is not representative on Kansas!

Since it was a long course I got to ship some baggage. I wanted to make something for my young son AJ, so I brought my sewing machine with me. I started an applique transportation quilt - tractors, trains, airplanes, cars, bicycles. I visited the local quilt shop in Leavenworth - which is closed now, and bought fabric. I don't remember where I got the pattern. The result was a disaster. I didn't know to stabilize the fabric when doing satin stitch applique and I couldn't get my stitches even. It was my first UFO - I never did finish it.  But my quilting journey had begun.

Guilds and Shops in Kansas

Kansas is where I was fully launched into the quilting life - helped along by the Kaw Valley Quilters Guild and local shops.  The Generations Quilt Patterns website says there are 33 guilds and 81 shops in Kansas and I happen to belong to one of the best guilds and shop at some of the best shops.

 I live in Lawrence, where we have three great shops: Mea Bernina and Babylock, Stitch On Needlework, and Sarah's Fabrics– each very different from each other. Within an hour’s drive there are 6 more great shops.  I’ve probably been to about 20 shops altogether.

       

Both guilds and shops are great places for information and inspiration. I love taking workshops and closely follow class schedules from nearby guilds and shops.  What a bounty!

The Inspiration
This is my first official foray into quilt designing. For my Kansas quilt I decided to take a bit of a journey back in time and learn a bit about the quilt history of Kansas. While looking through Barbara Brackman's book Encyclopedia of Pieced Quilt Patterns, I noticed that there are several blocks named for Kansas. This encouraged me to dig a little deeper. What about a sampler quilt? Boring. Been there, done that. How about a sampler quilt with a bit of a different setting and up to date fabrics? OK, this is sounding fun.

The Quilt

Kansas Goes Modern – A Modern Sampler. I did this quilt in Grunge by Moda for a modern look. It was beautifully quilted by Sandra Morgan Cockrum, and is  68” x 72”. The pattern is available on my Etsy site.

In addition to learning about and using Kansas Blocks, I wanted to try various techniques in this quilt – piecing, applique, foundation piecing, and English Paper Piecing. I think that makes it a good learning quilt.

Kansas Star

The Kansas Star is a traditional quilt block pattern that's also known as Eight Points Allover.  Quilt historians are not sure, but the name Kansas Star may have been tagged onto the Block by the pattern writers at the Kansas City Star.  What makes it a traditional Kansas Star are the fabric choices and placement.  Traditionally the Kansas Star Block was colored so that an 8 pointed star was clearly visible radiating from the inside of the Block, with a high contrast between the star and the background fabrics adjacent to it.

Kansas Troubles

A bit of History from Barbara Brackman's Blog - http://civilwarquilts.blogspot.com/2011/01/5-kansas-troubles.html

For years the Kansas territory had petitioned Congress for statehood, but Southern politicians refused to add a new free state in the West. After Southern Senators walked out of the Senate Chamber, the remaining majority finally had the votes to create the 34th state of the Union.

In 1861 as Kansas was being admitted into the United States, Kansans (free white men in Kansas) could vote on whether to be slave-state or free-state, a process that encouraged activists on both sides to use voter fraud and terrorism to advance their agendas. The territory became known as Bleeding Kansas.

This quilt block goes back to the time of the Kansas Troubles, but we have no idea what women called the design then. The pattern name appears in print about 1890. It doesn't matter how many little triangles there are; it's the rotational repeat that makes it a Kansas Troubles Block.

Rocky Road to Kansas

Rocky Road to Kansas was published in the Ladies Art Company and was in print in 1895, and possible as early as 1889,

Occasionally, quilt blocks were names after the time or event when they first appeared, I imagine Rocky Road is such a block. Referring to the period on the late 1880's and the difficult traveling conditions women experienced.

Kansas Beauty
In Quilt Kansas! Jean Mitchell writes that this block was designed by Miss Roberta Christy of Scott City for the Kansas City Star and came out February 22, 1936. Fieldguidetoquilts.com indicates that the instructions specified a white center and alternating light and dark colors.

Kansas Beauty is one of those Blocks that creates an interesting secondary pattern when multiple blocks are put together.

Kansas Sunflower

The sunflower (Helianthus) was adopted as the Kansas State Flower by the legislature in 1903. I found several sunflower blocks patterns that had "Kansas" attached to it, but since I want to incorporate several different techniques in this quilt, I decided to use an English Paper Pieced Dresden Plate type sunflower for this block.

Kansas Dugout
This block goes by many names - Xs and Os, Indian Hatchet, Five Crosses, Lattice Block, and Church Windows to name a few that I found.

This block is a very simple one - just an elongated hexagon and 2 triangles. It's one of those blocks that doesn't look like anything until you put a bunch of them together. So this quilt includes 16 Blocks so we can really see what the Kansas Dugout Block can do.

I found pictures of antique quilts made from the Kansas Dugout Block – some had the middle Block all one color, others had the elongated hexagons in one color. You could hardly tell it was the same Block. Also it looks really different if it’s on point.

This Block can be made many ways. Some techniques call for templates, set in seams, making strips and then cutting out the Blocks. The technique that I am using is the “sew and flip” technique. It does waste a little more fabric than some other techniques, but I think it’s the easiest.

Kansas Dust Storm

Kansas Dust Storm is Block #3596 in Barbara Brackman's Encyclopedia of Pieced Quilt Patterns. This pattern designed by Alva Ryan of Scott City was published in the Kansas City Star in December 1935, during the Great Depression  and the Dustbowl was families needed to make use of every scrap of fabric they had. So this Block is representative of an important era in the history of Kansas as well as the history of quilting.

Kansas Twister

This block seems particularly pertinent for Kansas. There were 60 tornadoes in Kansas last year. Luckily here in Lawrence, we usually get passed over. This block has also been called Texas Trellis or whirligig Hexagon. Here we have another block that looks ho-hum singally and fantastic when put together with multiple Twister blocks.

Kansas

The Bill admitting Kansas to the Union was signed by President Buchanan on January 29, 1861. Today we still celebrate January 21 as Kansas Day. Hearth and Home was a popular farm magazine in the early part of the 20^th century. They ran a series of state Blocks between 1907 and 1912. This is the Hearth and Home Kansas Block.

I used Grunge by Moda in the sample quilt, which was beautifully quilted by Sandra Morgan Cockrum. 

This first quilt in my 50 Quilt Journey was educational and fun for me to design and make. I hope you have enjoyed reading about my journey. If you're encouraged to make Kansas Goes Modern, visit my Etsy site to order either a hardcopy of the pattern, or a download. 

Curious about my Journey? Stay tuned for State number 2!

My Favorite Designers - Chapter 6 Jacqueline DeJonge

You probably know by now that I'm in love with intricate, sophisticated, and technically difficult quilts. One of my favorite designers designs quilts that totally fit this description - Jacqueline DeJonge of BeCorlourful Quilts.

Jacqueline lives in Delft in the Netherlands. When I first met her, she was still working a day job as an office manager in a medical practice. Now she is a full time designer, teacher, and quilter. She is very soft spoken, but don't let that fool you - she's got lots to say!

So far I have taken 3 workshops from Jacqueline and hope to take many more. Even before I took workshops, I bought my first BeColourful Pattern - The Colourful Quilt. It was waaaay over my head (6 star difficulty). I still have the pattern and fabric that I started collecting to do it. One day . . . 



So I started a little more realistically - I took a workshop down in Dallas about 5 years ago. I bought the Circle of Life kit (only 4 star difficulty) so I wouldn't have to obsess about getting just the right fabric to achieve the rainbow effect. Unfortunately my hubby had a health incident and I had to rush home on the first day. Obviously I didn't get far on the quilt but I was hooked. 

So, about 3 years ago, I learn Jacqueline is coming to Kansas! WhaHoo! I talk my friend Bobbie into coming to visit from Seattle and take the workshop with me. Quilting on the Square in Holton Kansas is our host.  I decided to keep working on Circle of Life.  I got the center star and spikes done. I picked up a few more tips from Jacqueline. One of the best is her idea of a supplementary quarter inch seam allowance. Her technique is to do the piecing with an extra seam allowance and then when its all together, you trim the piece up to a quarter inch. And, guess what? I added several more patterns to my collection. 

In the last 3 years, my BeColourful Quilts sort of took a back burner. I knew I could do it, but I think I just had a bit of a crises of confidence. I was angsting about how to use the fabrics so that the colors flow. Ok, so no progress, but I did add a few more to my pattern collection (grin).

So, fast forward to June 2018. Jacqueline is back in Holton! My friend Kim and I signed up and this time I decided to do one of Jacqueline's new patterns. Infinity (another 6 star difficulty) is based on her award winning quilt from 2013 quilt called Celtic Fantasy. This one has lots of piecing techniques - matching marks, inset seams, supplementary seam allowance, inset circles and more. I tried a new fabric management system this time - instead of using ziplock bags, I put the 24 color wheel fabrics in hanging file folders in a portable file box. It worked really well for me.

Quilting on the Square in Holton was a great host and has a great classroom space. Of course, I added a few more patterns to my collection. I am hoping Jacqueline comes back to Holton next year. I highly recommend Jacqueline's patterns and workshops. You'll be challenged, but you'll learn a lot and enjoy getting to know Jacqueline. I'm looking forward to the next workshop.

The UFO Queen Gets Rid of a Few Jewels in Her Crown

I am the self-proclaimed Queen of UFOs. A UFO Queen. I even have a program/trunk show called Confessions of a UFO Queen. There are lots of reasons for this - I love starting new projects, I can't say NO to a new BOM, I really enjoy workshops and classes, and so many quilts intrigue me. I am proud to say that I own my queenliness. I'm rockin' this UFO stuff.

But sometimes, ENOUGH is ENOUGH!

I do have a few strategies to reduce my UFOs, and I've been moderately successful using these strategies to reduce my UFOs. And by moderately I mean 3 or 4 out of over a hundred.

I've been doing some clearing and minimalizing thoughout the house and the next logical place was my quilting studio. I've been having a serious discussion with myself about whether a quilter (or any crafter/artist for that matter) can be a minimalist.  

So given the combination of recent minimalistic thinking and doing my UFO program/trunk show a couple of weeks ago at the Maple Leaf Quilters Guild in Baldwin, I guess I've inspired myself to take some major action. I'm clearing books, fabric, UFOs, yarn, cross stitch patterns, spinning wheel and wool, patterns, beading supplies and anything in my studio I can let go of.  I'm planning a yard sale for the middle of September.

First step - look at quilting UFOs and sort into the following categories:
    Keep project to do later
    Liberate fabric back into stash and rehome parts of  the         project that I did complete
    Sell project at yard sale
    Turn a large quilt into a smaller project and call it done. Here are a couple of projects that I decided to turn into smaller projects. They are now in the "finish it up" tote.

I probably reduced my UFOs by about 20 percent. I'd like to think this was a first pass and maybe if I did it again, I could let go of a few more.

Next - books. My tastes and skills have obviously changed. My goal was to let go of a third of my books. I think I got close.



Third step for quilting stuff is fabric. I have a large tub full of potential backing fabric. I was hoping to let go of half, but only was able to let go of 4 pieces out of 12 (only 1 of these is going away). I still have to go through 1 yard cuts and fat quarters. My goal is to have a third join the yard sale. This is going to take a while and be really challenging. I don't buy ugly fabric, and even if I did, if you cut it into small enough pieces, all fabric is beautiful!

Last for quilting supplies is patterns. 3 file drawers full. I am 60 years old now. Assuming (optimistically) that I'll be able to quilt another 20 years, and that I could finish 6 quilts a year (not happening), it will take me at least 30 years to make all the patterns I have. I know I can't do them all, but how do I decide which to let go of? They don't take a lot of room and they provide inspiration. So I could make an argument that I could keep them all since collecting and using are 2 different hobbies! I'm rationalizing and that concept doesn't fit into my minimalistic thinking. So, I'll give it a go and release as many patterns as I can. 

Of course I still have knitting yarn, weaving yarn, beading, cross stitch and other crafting supplies to examine.

I have my work cut out for me over the next 3 weeks. It's tough, but enjoyable - I get to look at and touch each little piece of lovliness (see why its such a challenge?).

If you are close to Lawrence, come by and check out the yard sale on 14 and 15 September. My friend Kim is bringing some of her stuff too. Rumor has it she has 5 tubs of fabric set out already!

 

A New Quilt From Start to Finish - Chapter 6 Borders

I started this quilt, Cattail Mixer (more creative name to come), last February at Quiltworx University in Bakersfield. I've been posting each step along the way from Design and Coloring on Quiltster, to Assembly Line Paper Piecing, completing the Center Star, and Appliqueing the Cattails. I am closing in on completing the final papers. Then starts the last chapter - assembly.

Since this quilt is a mixer, I got to choose from several different borders. There is an inner border, an outer border, and the outermost border. All the borders have millions of pieces! Last week I was at a retreat at Quiltworx in Somers Montana, and I spent some time (lots of time) doing border pieces.  I got really good at assembly line paper piecing. I keep thinking I ought to count the pieces in case I want to give a smart a** response when someone asks me how many pieces are in the quilt. I still might do that.

I put part of the outer border together to get an idea of how it was going to look, and I think it rocks! Now I just have to assemble more border sections and then work on the outermost border. Borders, Borders, Borders!


I'm getting close, I can almost taste the final assembly. I love the mixer quilts and can't wait to start another one - after I finish this one (she says, with her fingers crossed).