Fresh from the dryer.
The Cocktails On The Beach quilt was a long time coming. Inspired by the peak season weekly cocktail meet ups on little Useppa Island, where we spend our Spring Break vacations. Actually, I’ve only attended these cocktails meet ups on the beach once, maybe twice. It’s more the idea of cocktails on the beach, that inspired this quilt.
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Having some sort of pretty, inspirational area in my workspace has always been important to me. I tend to work rather chaotically, with huge messes, and I’ve come to accept that (I’ll never work neatly, drives Peter nuts!), so having someplace to rest my eyes, daydream for a minute, can really help me through. Even as a working girl, in my tiny workplace cubicles, I had things hanging that inspired me. There was a time a few years ago that I completely changed up the inspiration board that hung in my sewing room each season, in 2012 I even made a year of monthly inspirational desktop wallpapers.
When Erin posted the rope basket she sewed, I loved it! But I had some questions. Was it as easy as she claimed? Does sewing the rope tough for the machine? Yes and no, she assured me, and I had soon secured 100 ft of cotton rope and was ready to sew. I’m going to play with the shape on the next one.
Guys, it is SO easy and fun! This is my first basket and it was less than an hour, more like 45 minutes. I definitely have more of these to make. You can find this project at Creativebug, available as single workshop.
I am inspired by so many things, I decided that every Friday, I will highlight a favorite person, thing, or idea. Maybe you will be inspired too! See all past Friday Favorites here.
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On this lovely Friday, let’s enter a world where paper piecing sharp angles, exact 1/4″ seams, and precise cuts in our quilts don’t exist. A world where you compose as you work, best laid plans (or any plans!) aren’t welcome.
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I am so honored to contribute crocheted doilies to Lisa’s SEN project, for her show at Fouladi Projects this November. I just can’t wait to see all the doilies gathered together, its going to be gorgeous! Lisa talked a little about this show (question 6) in my recent interview with her for my Friday Favorites series.
Crocheting this tiny is so challenging, but very satisfying!
I’ve been bumping into a stack of my quilts in my studio for a few months now, that is until I asked my really nice husband to make a quilt ladder (also called a blanket ladder). Quilts that are not to be used right away, or given as a gift, what to do with them? After some thinking, I decided it would do my creative soul a lot of good to be able to have them out and see them each day.READ MORE
After taking Joe Cunningham’s Pattern Free Quiltmaking class on Craftsy and vowing to make time, whenever possible, to “play” in the studio, I made this little quilt, based on Joe’s “Fantasy Four Patch” formula. The idea is quite simple, really just a play on the four patch, a pattern that’s been around for a bazillion years. But making a series of measured cuts and pairings, the four patch pattern is turned on its head, into something different. Without the added twists and turns this quilt is, in fact, a simple four patch pattern.READ MORE
Added 7/19/21- These are more important than ever now that we live in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Moths are RUTHLESS!
Living in the Pacific Northwest requires moth repellent. Growing up in North Carolina, a moth getting anywhere near my favorite sweaters was practically a nonissue. Windows were usually closed up all summer (I always say it was 68 degrees all year long). But in Seattle, air conditioning is not the norm, and windows are usually open during the warmer months. I actually kind of forgot about those pesky moths until a few summers ago when several of our sweaters were eaten up. Now every Spring, our sweaters are cleaned well, folded and stored for the season, and I make up a big batch of this lavender and cedar mix and fill up lots of muslin bags. It seems to work, and has the added benefit of making our closet smell great.
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I sit here writing this post, nursing a rather icky summer cold, and thinking about this lovely cocktail. Boy how things change in just a couple of days. From delicious summer meals, bike rides and frosty cocktails… straight to tissues, the wikileaks documentary, and a Nyquil nightcap (the only good thing about having a cold).READ MORE
During our April spring break trip to Florida, I read 15 Minutes of Play by Victoria Findlay Wolfe. This quilt book intrigued me because it isn’t so much about the process and precise technique of making a quilt, or recipes for specific projects. Really it’s more about the concept of quiltmaking and relating it back to the idea of play to spark creativity. Not about practicing a skill, but composing as you sew, raiding your scraps, and creatively letting go- the perfect book to read on vacation, right?READ MORE