A fresh start

December 31, 2015December 30, 20154 Comments

I’m in a minimalist mood as 2015 draws to an end. I’m looking at what I don’t need and getting rid of duplicates.

I’m also reflecting on this year as the year I created a lot more stuff — quilts, mostly, and I have mixed feelings. I NEED to create. But, that means more stuff. I love what I made this, and I have at least four quilts in my hand quilting basket beside my couch. I have quilt blocks on my design wall and a bucket full of projects in various stages of completion.

I want a fresh start. Perhaps that means making room for my creations and clearing my spaces of other stuff — too many pillows, towels, sheets, mugs, books, fabric scraps, old clothes, gifts I don’t like, . . . .

See you in 2016.

Wanda

Be still my paper-loving heart

December 21, 2015December 20, 20155 Comments

I’m a paper calendar type of person. Even though I work in a paperless work environment, I still keep my appointments on a paper calendar.

I was excited to receive the first edition of The Quilter’s Planner, created by Stephanie Palmer of The Late Night Quilter.

It arrived on Saturday, and it’s more than a calendar. And, that scares me. There’s space for Personal, Work, and Quilting To-Do Lists. There are daily appointment times. My life isn’t that hectic so I don’t think I will use those. I like looking at the month at a glance. I usually don’t have more than one appointment on any given day. As I write this, I think maybe I should schedule time for exercise and meditation and maybe sewing time. Maybe.

The weeks start on Monday, which is odd for me. I like calendars which start on Sunday. It’s just habit.

Each week does include a quilt block from some of my new quilting friends — 52 blocks in all are included. I like seeing everyone’s names. Plus, there are several patterns in the back of the planner from Amy Garro of 13 Spools, Cheryl Brickey of Meadow Mist Designs, Lee Heinrich of Freshly Pieced, Yvonne Fuchsof of Quilting Jetgirl. Pat Sloan of The Voice of Quilting, and Kitty Wilkin of Night Quilter.

I like the tabs for each month and the corresponding graph paper.

As I consider my plans for 2016, I know I will love using paper for sketching my quilt design ideas, and I know I’ll keep using this paperless medium to share my quilt journey.

—Wanda

I love a good challenge

November 30, 2015November 29, 20159 Comments

One definition of a “challenge” is a stimulating or interesting task or problem. I like quilt challenges because they focus my intentions on a particular problem.

Right now many modern quilters are creating quilts using Michael Miller’s Glitz Collection for the 2016 QuiltCon West show. I was one of those quilters.

The fabric was sophisticated and included mostly polka dots and “orange peel” graphics in silver, white, black and gold. I received 8 fat-eighths.

When I typed the word “glitz” into Pinterest, I got posts from beauty pageants and little girls in heavy makeup — not chic at all. I sketched some, and nothing felt right. I let it go for awhile.

I purchased a notebook while on vacation in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, and it inspired me to make Swimsuits as my Glitz challenge:

I sketched some swimsuits. Then cut out patterns from freezer paper. I added some bikinis to my swimsuit collection.

At first I thought I’d make a simple block in a coordinating solid for each swimsuit, but they looked plain and flat. I went back to Pinterest and typed “vintage swimsuits” and stumbled upon an old Frederick’s of Hollywood ad for lingerie. I liked the design which inspired this sketch: