Wandering Wednesday - Asilomar

 The CQFA retreat was held at Asilomar this year, and I was thrilled to finally get to go and stay there. First of all, is that font awesome or what?

The main hall is a beautiful space. Hard to believe this is a State Park. 

 I'm glad the new "Edison-look" LED bulbs suit the classic lighting fixtures so well.

 The chairs were very comfortable places to sit and admire the ceiling as well as the view.

The kind of space you just want to hang out in. Very comfortable, and usable, even though it is grand and impressive. To me the very definition of a Julia Morgan designed public space.

In-Process Triangles

 I worked on my triangle study quilt a bit at the CQFA retreat. Here's how it looked on the table right before I packed it up. The lumpy folds are the piece of fabric I'm using for background, ie it's not all pieced together yet.

I'm working on placing those last couple of triangle units and then squaring the whole thing up in the end.

My First Apron

 Last weekend I was at the CQFA retreat, and the very first thing I finished was this apron. I used the open tables before everyone got there to lay the fabric out and cut the pieces out.
 I just realized that I've never made an apron before, and I'm glad it was this one, and that it's actually for me.

I bought the pattern and fabric from Heartway International/Patpourri at PIQF last year.

I made sure that the pocket was the right size for my cellphone!

 The pattern was super easy to figure out, the directions were clear, and I loved that it wasn't a paper pattern, but instead a lightweight interfacing.

 I used a two-sided printed fabric with the idea that it could possibly be reversible. It is a very lightweight canvas feel, so it has a nice weight to it, and I think it'll stand up to being washed. As you can see it is quite bright, sooooo....no one will be running into me in the kitchen with this thing on.

Apparently I was so pleased with myself for actually finishing something I couldn't manage to keep my eyes open. Photo credits to friend Jaye.

Steamfast Review

I put the Steamfast mini-iron on my amazon wishlist when I hurt my elbow in the fall (gardening injury, the wisteria won) because it was hurting to pick up and move my normal sized iron. Yes, I tried ironing left-handed, but it wasn't working for me. I thought an iron that was so small and light might be a good temporary fix and also would be good for classes and retreats. I saw this little guy getting demonstrated at one of the quilt shops we visited in Sisters, Oregon last summer and it seemed like it worked pretty well. So I was very pleased when it showed up in my pile of gifts this Christmas, thanks Jaye!

My review after one use. The filling cup is so very cute and so very tiny. I like how the cord wraps around the hand-hold. The iron gets very hot, very quickly, so be ready for it. And more importantly it gets very steamy, which is great. The feel of the iron in my hand is great, it's well-designed and easy to hold. It doesn't have the weight of a normal iron obviously, but I thought that it did a good job on the test seams I tried it out on. So...two thumbs up from me!

I'm bringing it with me to the CQFA retreat this weekend and will let you know if there's any change in my

Wandering Wednesday - Palo Alto

Sitting at a stoplight in Palo Alto on the way to lunch with friend Jaye, I looked over at the park and spotted these amazing woven structures.
Inventive Groundskeepers using up fallen branches?
Mini tornados randomly creating artistic conglomerations of tree debris?

Public Art? Yes, of course, public art! It's an installation at the Palo Alto Art Center called Whiplash that's been there since 2016, by Patrick Dougherty.

In general I really love environmental art, but a lot of times it's created in remote places so we only get to see pictures or video of it. But here this piece is right on a public street so many more people get to experience and enjoy it. It really suits the space it's made for, utilizes the colors and shapes in the landscape but still looks otherworldly.

Apparently, I need to drive to Palo Alto more often. Next time I'm getting out of the car and walking around inside this very cool thing.

Undercover Maker Mat

Thanks to the urging of friend Jaye, I recently used this tutorial and made an Undercover Maker Mat.

 Here's an in-process shot, where the pocket border is ready to bind and stitch. I had a lot of fun making the selvedge pockets, there are so many interesting selvedges out there these days. I created some "found poetry" out of the words, kind of an inside-joke for myself.

The hand in this palmistry print really called to me when I saw it in the store. It was the fabric I used as my "focus fabric" believe it or not.
There's one other part to this pattern which is a small thread catcher/waste bin that attaches to the far right pocket. I'm not sure I'd like it, because of where my knee lift lever goes. But maybe I'll make it to keep on the table next to me.

I didn't take a picture of the reverse side, but it is the thistle print, with side ties made from the orange binding print. I really like having this on my machine in my studio and I'm looking forward to trying it out at a retreat or class.

Echo Block

To get ready to actually show up to a SBAMQG meeting, I decided to jump in and participate in the 'block of the every other month block' lottery. They post the color scheme and block instructions, so it was easy to figure out. There were several color combinations to choose from, I pulled these fabrics from my stash.

The Echo block is paper-pieced, designed by member Karen Foster.  I printed it out, and luckily remembered to measure it before preceding, and it was off by a lot. It turns out my printer settings were scaling or something, so I reprinted the actual size and it was all good. Always good to remember to check before sewing.

I used paper for sewing the first block and then remembered I had printable interfacing for paper-piecing applications, and the rest of the blocks were done on that. Much nicer to stitch on, not as slippery under the machine needle. I hadn't done any paper-piecing in quite a while, so I was glad it came back to me easily.

I ended up making six blocks, but unfortunately didn't win them, it was fun to see how they all looked on the design wall at the meeting. Everyone's were all so different but they looked great together.

Trying Triangles

 I rediscovered these pieced triangles that I'd begun an attempt at a Curated Quilts entry last year. The colors still really speak to me so I decided to play with them.

 I decided that I wanted to float them in some grey, and found a nice dark one to use.





































I thought a lighter one wouldn't work as well with these intense colors.

Here's how it looks at the moment, there's still some triangles left to add in, and yes the plan is to square it up by the time I'm done.

2019 Finish-A-Long Q1

 I tried this whole Finish-A-Long thing in 2017 and 2018 a couple times, and had 0 finishes both times. But I'm trying again this year.
FOCUS and all that, right?

Well, to be more accurate, I did indeed have 2 finishes, just not in the quarters that I'd signed up for.  Last time I had a huge amount of projects on the list, in the hopes of maybe at some point...I'd hopefully be getting *something* done. This time I'm going to actually prioritize my projects a bit more and list what I actually want to get done.

So here goes, my Finish-a-Long list for the first quarter of 2019:

1. Triangle Study - finish piecing, quilt, bind, sleeve, label.

2. Challenge Blue - finish quilting, add sleeve, label.

3. Color Collusion - Finish quilting, bind, sleeve, label.

4. Technology's Spine - Finish quilting, embellish, bind, hanging sleeve, label.

5.  Between the Cypress - Design on remaining appliqué, finish quilting, embellish, bind hanging sleeve, label.

6. Shenzhen Skies - Finish quilting, binding, hanging sleeve, label.

7. Stripes - finish top, quilt, bind, sleeve, label.

8. Body Double - finish quilting, bind?, sleeve, label.

If you've got some stuff to finish in the next three months, here's where to go link up too!

This Might Work

Carrying on thinking about my word of the year: FOCUS.
What are the physical things I can do to help that happen this year?

One of the things that I know I need help with is keeping track of what I do, every single day. Otherwise I lose track of time and kind of drift off into the fog.

I found that having a calendar in the studio where I write down what the heck I accomplish, *however small* is essential to me to keep up the momentum, remember what I'm working on, feel like I'm getting somewhere, etc. I don't spend a lot of time writing it down, just a few words or sentences, but it's enough for me. It makes it more real and concrete if I physically write it down somewhere, cements it in my mind somehow.

This is the second year I'm using a 17 month weekly calendar/planner from Paper Source, it's sturdily bound, and has an elastic that goes around it to keep it closed. Not sure why, but I really love that one detail for some reason. Again I've chosen a calendar that is likely a school year planner, as it starts in August 2018 and goes through the end of 2019. So I use those months' worth of pages as places to glue stick in postcards and business cards and magazine clippings, and jot down the ideas they sparked or why I'm keeping them.

Stacks and Stacks

Spent a long time cutting out all the rectangles and squares for the sweatshirt jacket I'm working on for my aunt. The pattern calls for 8 FQ's but I used a few more than that and just adjusted. And yes there will likely be left-overs. Maybe I can make her a matching bag or something with them?

It's going to be one of the projects I work on at the CQFA retreat at Asilomar in 8 days (count down has begun). It takes some table space when you lay it out and pin it so that'll be good.

I'm way too pleased with myself for A) Planning Ahead For Once and B) Choosing Good Fabrics
I think the selection of blues along with other colors will make for a lovely jacket once it's done.

Wandering Wednesday - Stevens Creek Canyon

 Our tradition on New Year's Day is to go on some sort of hike. This year we chose to meet up with family at Rancho San Antonio in Cupertino.

 But on the way there, we got a flat tire.  I took the previous two pictures as the pit crew changed the ripped up tire out for the spare.

They were Very Fast, I timed them and it was all of 8 minutes, whew!
Then once we got back into cell phone range, we got a call from my parents that there was no parking. Alternative plans were made and we drove over to Vasona Park.
Had a lovely walk, but while we were sitting on the top of the dam, eating oranges, my cellphone decided to take a swim, so I have no pictures from that point on the hike. Alex was quick-thinking and ran down the steep concrete dam to retrieve it from the water.
It luckily mostly survived after spending a couple of days in a bag of rice.

The weather was beautiful, cool and clear, all the dogs being walked looked very happy, the one that was in the stroller...not so much, he just looked confused.
We finished up with some great pizza at a place open on New Year's Day, a good way to begin the new year. (Except for the flat tire and the wet cell phone.)

Another Jacket

I'm starting in on making a new sweatshirt jacket. This time it's for my aunt, who has been coveting the one I made my mom a few years ago:

My aunt asked for mostly blues, royal and midnight blues. So she's going to be getting a whole lot of those blues. I actually went and bought these FQ's, since I used so much of the selection of my stash of blue batiks on the solstice quilt. The first step is cutting it all up into squares and rectangles of various sizes. As in the previous three sweatshirt jackets, I'm using the Gail Abeloe pattern "I Can't Believe It's A Sweatshirt" pattern from Back Porch Press.

Lucky Lucky

Feel like I lucked out at the holiday gift exchange for the December meeting of the South Bay Modern Quilt Guild. Great Kaffe fabrics and a cool book I hadn't seen before, Modern Applique Illusions by Casey York. 

I'm looking forward to using the fabric in my Gypsy Wife quilt this year. And after I read the book, maybe trying out some of the techniques, always loved the topic of creating perspective and depth. 

Pumpkin Blocks

Tried out a new ruler, the Quick Curve mini, which I purchased at PIQF because of the pumpkin blocks that were on display.  I love doing curves, but have varying degrees of success with it, depends a lot on how often I'm sewing them.
These blocks really do go together very easily using this thing, once you figure out the lines you're supposed to actually use. I thought it might be hard to rotary cut in the slot, but it's not really a problem at all.
Obviously some of these blocks are more successful than others, I need to pay more attention to the grey vs. grey background. Now to make some with oranges. Who knows, it might come together by this Halloween?

Word of the year

I've chosen a word of the year for many years now (about fifteen or so I think), and there's something about this intentional process I keep coming back to. It's not a resolution making thing, it's more about setting your intentions so it's not bad/good/whatever if you don't "succeed" at it over the course of the new year, but instead a more gentle nudge to alter your approach to things in the new year.

Anyways, this year I chose the word at random (as usual) and came up with FOCUS.
Whew, is this ever the word for me this year. I've struggled with this a lot recently, and not just n regards to being creative, so it's going to be a challenge. But it's such an obvious place to start for me. I have all the tools, the time, the physical ability (mostly) and even some energy (sometimes), all I need is the FOCUS to actually get something done.

 I just ordered this print from society6 all about FOCUS.

2018 In Review

Well, 2018 is done and dusted, but I wanted to review a bit. Since it was a recovery year for me, I'm giving myself a big pass on not being terribly creative or finishing much. I started a few things, finished a few things, got rid of a few things and went some great quilt/art related places.

Finishes:

Solstice Quilt

Uncountable Arils

Embroidery Stitching on blocks for SJSA

Starts:

A small bit that's in the quilt I started in the Rosalie Dace class, Word for Word

 Began a new quilt using recent purchases of new fabric using the sizzle die for Square Dance.

Also started a stripe-based quilt in the great Libs Elliot class I was lucky enough to take at QuiltCon.

Trips:

Went to QuiltCon in Pasadena

Went to Sisters in Oregon

Museums and Japanese Garden in San Diego

Other:

Best of all, I started going to quilt meetings more regularly again. CQFA and South Bay Area Modern Quilt Guild, and even an occasional Bay Area Modern meeting when friend Jaye invites me. It's so important for me to get out of my head, out of my house and in the mix with other quilters/makers. I'm going to be attending the SAQA conference this year in April, can't wait!

Happy 2019!

Looking forward to 2019! Don't these teen years sound so futuristic, or is that just me?
This is not my picture, but this is the sort of energy I want to bring to experiencing the year ahead. Surround myself with light, get comfortable, observe and enjoy.