What a Crafty Year!

2011 has been a bit of a crazy year! Full of swaps, bees, quilts, and tons of craftiness.

I cannot explain how much flickr, blogs, and my online peeps have brought to my life.  It has provided me with inspiration, creativity, new skills, new friends, and more crafty loves!

2011 was full of quilts and swap items.

2011 was full of bee blocks.

In 2011 I even learned that needles are in fact sharp....oops.



2011 proved to be a year of creative growth thanks to all your crafty people and your impact on my life! And I can't wait for 2012! I am even breaking my normal rule about making goals or resolutions.

In 2012 I want to do so much!

• Sew using my "special fabrics", i.e. my Tula Pink, my Heather Ross, my Anna Maria Horner - regardless of the fact that I can't get any more without paying an arm or a leg.
• Just say no thank you!  As others have pointed out I completely overloaded myself this past year with swaps and bees.  I found myself stressed out trying to make deadlines (made worse by my CRAZY work schedule), stressing when I just couldn't make a block as well as I thought I should since it was techniques I hadn't done before (I''m looking at you starburst block!), and just stressed in general that people wouldn't like what I made them.  The worst part though was because I had committed myself to so many other things I never got to sew as much for my family.  I was supposed to make a quilt for one of my grandmothers, a tree skirt for my mom, and a bunch of other things.  So next year I really want to focus on sewing for my family. 
• Make a quilt for myself! 
• Attend Sewing Summit!  I didn't get to go last year because I was already going to my Jane Austen conference, and this year they are on different weekends so I AM GOING! 
• Keep up with my blog a bit better!  Sometimes I go a little longer than I would like without blogging and sometimes I make things and give them away without remembering to take photos of them so I can blog about them! 
• PAPER PIECING!!! I want to practice, practice, practice!!!
• HAND PIECING!!! I love doing this but don't have a lot of time for it, but I want to make it a priority this year!
• Make 1 honest to god wearable garment!  Just 1!  (I am trying to make these goals attainable! LOL!)

So hopefully I can actually work on these things, and 2012 will be even craftier that this year! I am pretty sure making a quilt for myself though will be accomplished quite soon since I am moving to such a cold place!

Happy new years everyone and may your 2012's be beautiful and creative!

Goodbye Houston - Hello Boston

Well guys it is going to get pretty quiet around here for a while because I have big news.



I got a new job!!

Only it's on the other side of the country in Boston, MA.  So I am in the process of turning my entire life upside down and move almost 2,000 miles away from my home in Texas.  And holy cow y'all moving is the most expensive thing ever.  I have moved a couple of times before but always for school - always with set time limits.  So I could leave things at home and only take what I needed in a dorm or an apartment.  Now I am taking everything - or actually it seems like nothing as I am getting rid of almost everything I own, which is a lot harder than I thought.  Although when I get there I am going to buy a whole new wardrobe as it apparently gets a lot colder in the north east than it does in the south!



In moving I am leaving a lot behind more important that just stuff - namely my entire family.  My immediate family though is very close.  Especially my little sister who is who I made this quilt for back in 2008.  Even as I type this I am questioning my decisions like crazy.  In taking this opportunity I am giving up my life here, my possessions, and precious time with my family.  I know they want me to be happy and do what I need to do for my career, but damn its really hard especially since this inst like school and I will be around again in 2 or 4 years.



To date this is my favorite quilt I have ever made.  I used Heather Ross's mendocino line because the Little Mermaid is her favorite movie, and those mermaids were just to die for.  So even though I am going to be almost 2,000 miles away I hope my sister will continue to love her quilt, which she uses everyday now, and I get to come home and visit them all often. 



I quilted it really heavily by following the piecing and following my previous quilting line, so they are about the width of the walking foot apart.  As a result of all of the crazy time consuming quilting and the softness of the mendocino fabric it has the most lovely drape ever. Plus I am a total sucker for white bindings.  I love them because they just totally pop.  You can especially see the denseness of the quilting and the brightness of the binding on the back side. 



So as I prepare to cross the Mason Dixon and head up north (geeze I am going to miss BBQ and Tex Mex) I am trying to stay strong, keep breathing, STAY WARM, and spend wisely (no crazy fabric purchases for me anytime soon) as I start a new life. 

Innocent...Something or Other Quilt

GIVEAWAY POST HERE!

Have you ever spent $100 on fabric, hours and hours in planning, changing, sewing, ripping, resewing, changing some more, and finally throw your hands up and just finish the quilt just to be done with it??

I now have. 



I finished this quilt a bit ago but just never got around to photographing it.  Lazy?  Me??? Or maybe it just has something to do with my apathy towards this quilt.



This quilt was definitely my first real foray into making an entire quilt improve style.  It started out as a charm square quilt, morphed into a charm square on point quilt, and ended as a charm square on point with sashing quilt with days/weeks of agonizing mental debate over each step.



After every change I made it still just didn't look right and I am still not sure if I got it completely.



I really did love this I first saw this collection of fabric, when the idea popped into my head, while it was making it - but now, I don't know, it's just kinda meh to me.  Either way I am hoping someone loves it because I am donating it to the Texas Wildfire collection.

Also as the title suggests I am totally at a loss as to what to call this quilt.  Any ideas?

Fabric: Anna Maria Horner Innocent Crush, Kona Sky, Kona Eggplant, and Kona Windsor

My Maw Maw the Master

Meet my Maw Maw.

She is 91 years old this year and was my first quilting inspiration and teacher. She pieces, bastes, quilts, EVERYTHING by hand with the most beautiful, small, and even stitches.

She has made both me and my younger sister each a quilt. Each one is gorgeous and so lovingly made.

And she still churns them out today. She is currently working on this quilt.

And she just finished this one which I LOVE!

I love her quilts, and treasure the ones that I have that she made.  Love you Maw Maw!

A Regency Mini

I FINALLY finished my Jane Austen mini quilt for an amazingly patient Suzanne. When she first suggested a private swap I was totally excited as I was already lucky enough to have her as a partner in a previous flickr swap when I got this little beauty.

Rainy Daze by Suzettra

But when she suggested a Jane Austen swap AND introduced me to the world of Pintrest I was ecstatic.  She made me the little beauty I shared with y'all on this weeks Inspiring Monday post and I made her this little regency mini.

I took the real silhouette of Jane Austen, inversed the color, and after downloading Jane Austen's actual handwriting digitized from her letters, put the first paragraph of Pride and Prejudice within the silhouette.

"It is a truth universally acknowledged, hat a single man in possession of a large fortune, must be in a want of a wife.  However little known the feelings or views of such a man may be on his first entering the neighbourhood, this truth is so well fixed in the minds of the surrounding families, that he is considered the rightful property of someone or other of their daughters."
- Jane Austen

Suzanne teaches English and is going to be using the book Pride and Prejudice in her classroom so I chose this passage.  Plus it is one of my favorite passages from the entire book due to the duality it reveals about the society at the time.  Men ran the world, women the house, and marriage was everything.  Yet, as seen here, women could also control men in times of courtship - at least in the minds of themselves and their mothers. 

Then I decided on a black binding to act like a frame, and a large satin ribbon to hang it instead of a back hanging piece.

I embroidered a scallop edge to mimic lace, and the bow was a sublime stitching pattern.  For the scallop's I made them by using notebook paper hole reinforcement stickers. I stuck the stickers to the quilt and then just embroidered around it. I thought it was one of my more resourceful moments!

For the quilting I knew it needed a lot of dense quilting but due to the oval shape would need different quilting styles on the different sections, thus the crosshatching and the straight lines on the outside border.

And I am so glad I rebinded this little baby. It still curves ever so slightly but I LOVE the effect of the pin dot. The idea was to mimic a frame while executing a traditional idea (the silhouette) with a modern flare (the colors and polka dots). I hope this makes a wonderful addition to Suzanne's mini quilt collection!

Told you guys I was a Jane Austen nerd.

Also, keep your eyes open for a giveaway to celebrate the blogs 1 year anniversary!

*hint hint wink wink*

Too much of a good thing??

Woah. Today has been awesome.

I took Betty on a bike ride today. Went 8.25 miles which was great, but going from 11:30 to 12:30 pm when it was over 100 degrees outside wasn't exactly my brightest idea ever.

Yesterday I finished my Jane Austen mini quilt for Suzanne, but after binding it I realized I must have bound it too tightly because the edges were curling up. Since I wasn't happy with how the binding print ended up looking anyways I decided to redo, so I went to our new Joann's in search of the perfect black pin dot and found it. Monday this little baby should be ready to mail out!

Then this evening I decided to make some homemade white bread from the Curvy Carrot which I found via Eleganitis who had the best photos of what the bread should look like when you hand knead it. I decided to do it by hand after realizing the recipe made way more dough than my artisan could handle at once (and it doesn't help that I forgot about the lock for the head...)

Once it was all kneaded I had to wait for what seemed like forever for it to rise.

But patience proved to be worth it once these beauties came out of the oven.

Once it cooled just a smidge it didn't take long to slice and devour it!

And holy cow was it good!!!

Especially as a muenster cheese grilled cheese sandwich with tomato basil soup! And tomorrow I am thinking french toast is a MUST.

And I have realized you can never have too much of a good thing - that is until you eat so much you feel sick! LOL!

Inspiring Monday

This week I want to share with you one of the coolest quilts I have seen in a long time made by my awesome friend Beth!!



Skirting the Circle by Smazoochie

I LOVE the colors, the graphic artistry, and most of all that it was made from her mother's skirt and holds a ton of wonderful memories. 

Lookie Lookie!

Look at this film I saw this week!

Stitched.

Here is what the filmmaker has to say about the film.

Stitched captures the enormity of the quilting world with more than 21 million quilters in the US alone. It’s an industry filled with quilting superstars who have developed a following by teaching their craft.

Stitched begins with the largest quilt show in the nation held annually in Houston. The documentary also features the Paducah quilt show, one of the largest tourist attractions in the state of Kentucky.
There are tight bonds of friendship between many quilters including among the three main characters who are friends and who have mentored each other. Caryl Bryer Fallert taught Hollis Chatelain who in turn taught Randall Cook.

Behind every stitch, there is a story of friendship, art and passion.

Check out the screenings for the film for a location near you or just go ahead and get the DVD! 

You won't regret it!

The Parade Begins!

May 1st is finally here!!

Let the Bella Solids Parade BEGIN!

For my part in the Parade I will be conducting a quilt along of my mini quilt 'Cacophony of Color'

Posts will be over on Shruti's Blog
May 2: Preparing and Cutting you Fabrics
May 9: Piecing the Center Panel
May 16: Finishing the Top
May 23: Quilting Tips, Binding, and some Special Extras

Today I put the finishing touches on my quilt (nothing like being a procrastinator huh!) and here are some finished shots of what you can make too with the fabulous colors being celebrated this month!

This little baby is going to be given away to the GRAND PRIZE WINNER along with a HALF YARD  BUNDLE of all 31 colors featured in the parade thanks to the awesome Fat Quarter Shop!

So what's the first color you ask?

WHITE

So get over to the flickr pool and start uploading your pictures that celebrate the color white!

Hope you guys enjoy playing along!

A Darling Package

So now that my Make Mine Modern swap partner, Amanda, has received their package I can reveal what I sent! 

When I first started stalking getting to know Amanda I realized quickly that what was most important to her in life is her family.  So I wanted my gift to her to be something that celebrated that.  Thus this little mini quilt which has a photo taken by her husband, and embroidered with 'Family is darling' which is what she has nicknamed her family.





I also sent her a bunch of other goodies including some handmade coasters made with Kona Natural and various vintage laces that I have been hoarding.



All in all I think she and her family really likes the quilt which is what I was hoping so I am super glad!

*****

On a different note...here is what I have been working on this weekend!



Can't wait for the Bella Parade to get started!

Fat Quarter Shop Bella Parade ****GIVEAWAY****

Hey everyone!  Bry here.

Remember that super secret sewing and giveaway I hinted at?

Now you get to know, and Shruti is here to tell you! 

Welcome to the cool crowd!

*****

Hi all, I'm Shruti from 13 Woodhouse Road. I am happy to take this opportunity to invite you to participate in the most Colorful Blogger Fest of this summer!

The Fat Quarter Shop Bella Parade

@ 13 Woodhouse Road...

How do you usually buy solids? You buy some lovely print that you found online and then buy solids to go with it! Its time to change the view! Know more about 31 delicious Bella solids that will be featured on my blog and the Flickr Group from 1st - 31st May...

We will be giving away about 70 yards of fabric in this month!!!

For details and a launch giveaway hop over here.

Cheers!!!

Shruti

*****

Awesome right?!!?

And yes, you read that right... 70 YARDS!

See, told you it was awesome.

To make it even better the amazing Kimberly at Fat Quarter Shop has FQ bundles of all 31 colors being featured in the Parade.

PLUS she is offering 20% off all Bella Solids (yardage and precuts!) with the code BELLAP

My part in all this is that I am running a Quilt Along to make my Cacophony of Color mini quilt!

So join the Flickr Group, enter the giveaway, grab your camera and your solids and get ready for some fun!

Oh and if you want to put this button on your blog use the following HTLM



<a href="http://www.flickr.com/groups/1616186@N25/" title="Fat Quarter Shop Bella Parade by 13 Woodhouse Road (Shruti Dandekar), on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5189/5619120666_81fe7881c9.jpg" width="150" height="150" alt="Fat Quarter Shop Bella Parade" /></a>

xoxo

Bry

Seriously, I have luck pouring out of my ears.

No really, I do. 

So insert the same warning from my last post here...I am not responsible for any feelings of jealous, envy, or your skin turning green due to my insane luck.

(Oh and get ready for LOTS of pictures!)

I got my amazing Make Mine Modern swap package from Elizabeth yesterday, a box of Bella Solids for some awesome, super secret sewing that I will be revealing in about a week, I won Kaelin's ADORABLE bunny mini quilt from her blog giveaway (which I will show once I get it), and yesterday I received my Doll Quilt Swap from Julia from Little Girl Quilts!  I mean come on - I have been lusting over this little guy in the group pool since Julia started posting little tid bit teaser photos!







She did my favorite color combo of navy and aqua, pleating, circles, used 2 of my favorite fabric lines, Neptune and Parisville, by one of my favorite designers, Tula Pink, and straight line quilting to finish it off. It's like she peered right into my head and took all my favorite quilt characteristics and put them together!Here's some detail shots!









Check out the back! All that straight line and echo quilting is gorgeous and gives it so much depth and texture! Plus a label that mentions sweat is too funny and sweet!





She also sent me the cutest little embroidery with my name on it that I actually commented on yesterday morning saying how I was convincing myself that it was my name on it, and low and behold just a few hours later it was delivered to my doorstep!Too freaking awesome!!



She did a whole post too on her creation process which was really awesome.  I totally let me know how much time, effort, and care she put into this quilt for me.  It made me feel so special. And showed me how special and amazing Julia is!

THANK YOU JULIA!!!!

This was my first time participating in Doll Quilt Swap and I hope I get to be a bebe many more times! It was such a fun and completely wonderful experience, and between this swap and Make Mine Modern I have never been happier that I finally stopped lurking on flickr and started participating!

And if ALL OF THAT isn't luck enough I have also been nominated for the Stylish Blogger Award by Kristen of K*D Quilts and Janet of Entropy Undone! Thanks so much ladies!  Hugs!

By getting this award there are a few things you are asked to do:
1. Thank and link back to the person who awarded you this award.
2. Share 7 things about yourself.
3. Award 6 recently discovered great bloggers.
4. Contact the owners of the blogs you nominated to tell them about the award.

So 7 things about myself...

1. I read...A LOT.  Pride and Prejudice is my favorite book, but Harry Potter is a close 2nd!
2. I have a motorcycle license.
3. I love classic cars!
4. Shopping is my main addiction - fabric and shoes my drugs of choice.
5. I have never broken a bone or even had a cavity. Although dislocating my knee was one of my most ever painful experiences.
6. I was a competitive dancer for 16 years - tap, ballet, point, jazz, modern, street...you name it I competed in it.
7. I have a master's degree in museum that I am actually using!

Now to pass the award along...
(I am going to pass this onto bloggers that have less than 100 followers who I think you should all know about!)

* Sarah from Pings and Needles - Sarah is so kind, fun, and talented!  Just read her About Me page to see what I mean!  And check out what she made for her Make Mine Modern partner and the video showing the process!

* Shruti from 13 Woodhouse Road - Shruti is an awesome quilter who has some amazing things coming down the line on her blog that you will all be interested in!!  HINT HINT WINK WINK!

* Completely Cauchy - This is a strong woman who is down to earth, a talented quilter and knitter, and who speaks her mind.  She is the creator of one of my favorite quilts ever! (And yes, she probably has more than 100 followers but it isn't posted on her blog so I am including her anyways because she is awesome!)

* Beth of Smazoochie - Beth has been quilting almost her entire life and has a great eye for combining modern and traditional! She is my go to person for any and all quilting related questions!

* Tamiko from Patchwork Notes - Tamiko is crazy talented as most recently exhibited by what she created for her Make Mine Modern partner and Urban Home Goods partner!

* Meghan from Purl and Piece - What a great blog name huh?!  Meghan has great taste especially in colors, just check out her chubby stars quilt!