Getting Photo Ready

 To prepare for one of the classes I'm taking at QuiltCon Together this week, Bias Tape Mastery with Latifah Saafir, I've been searching through my pictures for some curvy inspiration. 

I took this picture yesterday at Quail Hollow Ranch where we went for a short hike. I really like the arching gentle curves and how they overlap. 

In SnapSeed I fooled around with it and made it into a black and white, sort of cartoonish image to make the curves really pop out even more. I'm going to transform this into a plan for my quilt that I'm going to make in class.

I also might incorporate some of the curves from the trail map of the park as well.

Looking Forward to QuiltCon

 I'm really looking forward to virtually attending QuiltCon next month. I ordered the swag, because why not, and it's some really cute stuff: a zip up bag, a very capacious tote bag and an enamel pin. The supply lists are out and I'm checking to make sure I have the right stuff to learn Bias Tape, Boro Mending and EQ8 designs.

QuiltCon 2021

I signed up for some QuiltCon classes for next year's online version of the event. It's going to be interesting to do this online and I'm really looking forward to it. Note: when I posted this over on Instagram, I used a filter and it changed the image below into something more my color range.

I'm taking two EQ8 classes and one about Boro Mending. I'm on the waitlist for a class about matchstick quilting and one on bias tape appliqué. I also splurged on an all-access pass so I can check out the lectures.

QuiltCon Shopping

 When I was at QuiltCon this year, I wasn't planning to buy too much new fabric. I mean that's always the plan at these shows, right? But I ended up with a few things, as there were some vendors at the show that I hadn't encountered before, that's the excuse I'm going with.

I was really into the grays for some reason. Probably the whole Modern Quilt aesthetic which I was immersed in, that and I've always liked gray. And there's something irresistible about these ribbons that a lot of the designers are now having produced to coordinate with their fabrics.

 I was thinking this fabric would make a cute pillowcase. And the ribbon might turn into a headband.

 These were freebies from Marcus Fabrics as a reward for sewing some blocks for their ALS quilt.

 I was still shopping for Gray and That-Certain -Yellow I can never find, for a planned Yellow/Gray quilt, a couple of these might end up in that project.

 Such a serious looking octopus. It makes me smile every time I see it.

 I had to show you the label along with the fabric, "Sew Scary Woman" hmmmm, new internet avatar name??

 This grouping makes me hungry for some reason. Sorbet colors? Salad colors?

Sewing at QuiltCon

One of the fun things at QuiltCon was getting to hang out in the Marcus booth and hand-sew some blocks with Victoria Findlay Wolfe's new fabric line, Mostly Manor for a fund-raising ALS quilt.

 After all the walking around I was really excited to sit down, what a great picture of Jaye though.

 I managed to only finish one, Jaye did two, I know I'm usually the slowest hand-sewer around since I don't do much of it. But luckily the block went together easily with the great curve-sewing instruction we'd gotten the day before from Victoria Findlay Wolfe.

 There wasn't any yardage available but we managed to find a layer cake of the new VFW fabric line in another booth, so that was cool. I like these fabrics, lots of color/pattern energy and variation in design scale.

 Were we fan-girling VFW by then just a teeny little bit? Yeah probably, she's pretty charismatic and we'd had an all-day class with her, plus she had this awesome quilt hanging in the booth too. So pow!

There were so many buttons being given away, it was hard not to take every single one on offer, but it got rather heavy and clanky towards the end. Some of them are funny, 'Fee, Fiber, Fo, Fun!', Quilt Like You Mean It, No You Couldn't Make That.

QuiltCon West

Way back in February, friend Jaye and I road-tripped to Pasadena for the Modern Quilt Guild annual convention, QuiltCon West. Up until that point, I hadn't been a part of the Modern Quilt movement, but I had been interested in it, so why not, it's alway fun to see more quilts! (and to go places with Jaye) 

The quilts themselves were very much worth the trip. I'm not sure what I expected, because the definition of a 'Modern Quilt' is rather amorphous, so it was fun to look at all of them and try to figure it all out. 

I think my favorite thing at the show was a special exhibit from a quilt artist from 1970's, Molly Upton. She'd been an inspiration of mine when I began studying the art quilt movement, especially because of the range of quilting materials that she used. It's very interesting to me that the Modern Quilters are also using her as inspiration. Here's a video slide show of all the quilts that were presented.

 We arrived in Pasadena and tried to take a selfie with the official street QuiltCon banners with about 40% success. Also shows the great mosaics on the outside of the one of the convention center buildings.

 This speed control button on the classroom Juki sewing machine cracked me up. I stayed on turtle most of the time.

 When we entered the building where our class was we looked over the railing onto the bottom floor and I was really struck by the great design of the carpet. Wouldn't this make a great modern quilt?

 I like this street sticker art modification, robots with heart, awww.

 When you go to a quilt show, everything looks like a quilt block at some point.

 I look like I'm up to something don't I? I was trying to win some fabric from this booth by posting on Instagram!

 From inside the convention center looking out at the palm tree shadows. I like how the almost-grid contains the trees.

 This was taken from an outdoor cafe across the street from the convention center, I like all the textures in this one picture, I was mainly taking it for the quilt block on the truck sign, but ended up with all this other great stuff too. All the letters, different fonts, some window reflections, natural tree/leaf shapes, industrial-ness of the truck. Good representation of Pasadena really.

I was taken with the street sticker art at the crosswalks.

Pies and Points

I was lucky to get into Victoria Findlay Wolfe's Pies and Points class at QuiltCon this year. I was on the wait list, so it was great to find out with just enough time to find some good fabrics to bring with me for the class. I bought American Made solids in several colors that would go with

a beautiful bright bundle of Amy Butler designs that I already had on hand.

The class was one where we were provided with machines which was nice because everyone didn't have to travel to QuiltCon with their own machines. But I admit I struggled with finding my groove with my class Juki, nothing at all wrong with the machine, but it takes a while to get used to sewing on something so different from your 'daily driver.' All the things I'm used to doing without a thought were a bit of a struggle, like finding a consistent 1/4" seam which impacted how much I was able to actually get done in class. 

Here is the sum total of what I got sewn together. I love the way the solids and the crazy prints play together in these blocks. The biggest thing I took away from the class was Victoria Findlay Wolfe's crystal clear directions on how to sew curves. She's so enthusiastic about it and very prepared to take the class along with her to get to competence on mastering thosecurves. It's a big stopper for a lot of sewers, myself included so that was particularly important. But after practicing a few times, I think I really got it. There are some great videos that she's made for Sizzix that pretty much cover what she said in class that are worth checking out.  If you ever get a chance to take a class from her, jump at it, she's a wonderful instructor.

Back home I played with arranging the bits I'd gotten sewn together, realizing that I'll have to pay attention to where the individual solids or prints will come into contact with themselves because it really changes the look of the block. This of course, can be used intentionally...hmmm....

The other big thing I learned in the class was how to use a die-cutting machine. Everyone in the class received their own Pies and Points die to use (and take home, what a great marketing tool!) There were several of the Big Shot Pro machines set up in the classroom and one of the Sizzix reps was there in the class to instruct us on their use. It was great fun and much easier than I'd thought it would be. Since I wasn't doing so great on consistently sewing a 1/4" seam I decided to spend more time on cutting pieces out since I didn't have a Sizzix to use at home.

 Here's what my "Parts Department" (as Victoria Findlay Wolfe calls it) looks like with all the pieces stacked up in the box my laptop came in. It's the perfect size with a foam insert that holds everything in one place. Also in the picture is the Sizzix die. Several of the elements of the block have to be oriented one way, so it's important not to get them reversed, so it's good to have them sorted out like this.
And yes, I do now have a Big Shot Pro because I liked using it in the class so much, so well done on that Sizzix marketing but more on that later.