Sweater Update and Giveaway

I don't write a lot about knitting. That's primarily because I don't do all that much knitting. But I like to knit and I like wearing and giving knitted items and I like to use knitting as a distraction from what I really should be doing. So, there's been some knitting going on here.
In the heat of the summer I bought some yarn to make the February Lady Sweater and oftentimes that's where the project ends. This time though things seem( I say cautiously) different. Hey, don't take my word for it. I have evidence.


I have one sleeve to finish and then it's ready to be blocked. I've already bought the buttons.


If you live in Austin or are visiting and want to be amazed, startled, brought to your knees by beautiful buttons(and who doesn't want to be brought to their knees by buttons), then you've got to stop by Silk Road . They have these amazing antique display cases filled with buttons unlike any you've ever seen. Seriously, you're not going to run into buttons like these at Joann's. Go ahead, buy a plane ticket and come into to town to eat Tex-Mex at Guerro's and buy buttons at Silk Road.
Before you do either of those things though, leave a comment and I'll enter you in my giveaway of these:


I got three complimentary copies of Stitch. Impatience led me to buy a copy at the store and my Mom only needs one to add to her collection of everything I've done since second grade, so that leaves me with two extra. And who better to share them with than you. Any comments between now(11:33 CST) and Sunday at 6:00pm CST will be entered in the drawing. I'll announce the winners on Monday.
Happy Weekending!

Stitch

I couldn't help myself. I didn't go there planning to buy it, but it just happened.
I was in the bookstore the other day and browsing the magazines when I saw a copy of Quilting Arts Stitch. I already mentioned that I had a design in the premiere issue of this magazine and, in fact, I'd seen the magazine at Quilt Festival. I resisted buying a copy then because I knew that as a contributor I would get a few complimentary copies along with my quilt when it was returned. But something about it staring at me on the magazine rack got the better of me and before I knew it I was buying it.


I'm not going to lie to you, I think the magazine looks fabulous and not just because I happen to have a design included. I'm especially in love with the feature on modern skirts and am planning to make at least two of the designs. By the way, the magazine includes the patterns for the skirts so you don't have to purchase anything additional.


My quilt had a lovely spot on the contents page as well as being part of a feature on patchwork alongside several other terrific projects.
I had written some incredibly lengthy instructions which they managed to condense into something a lot more understandable and drawn up quite a few sets of templates. It's very complicated to explain to someone how to do something improvisationally in a way that allows them to repeat it.


The quilt that I sent to Stitch was a re-creation of a quilt I made a while back.

The original was smaller than this version and featured exclusively hand dyed fabrics. Also the green and black checkered sections were made with discharged cottons. In the remake I pieced the checkered sections so that the quilt could be made by others.
Both versions were inspired by a wonderful book that I've owned for many years called Traditional Indian Textiles . If you can flip through this book and not be amazed by the fiber goodness coming out of the Indian subcontinent then you're probably unconscious.


Here's a view of the traditional Indian chakla or quilt that inspired my chakla.
Oh, so beautiful!

Too Tired to Twinkle

Personally that is. I stayed up way too late last night watching election results to sparkle much this morning, but several of you asked for more pictures of my soon-to-be-finished(Yay!) Twinkle King size quilt.


I'm still making circles, but it's too big to fit on my design wall and a little difficult to photograph.


This Sunday I'm getting some training on a long arm machine and I've already scheduled the time for quilting this piece. The woman I found charges a set price for an initial class and then you can rent the machine by the hour. I'm incredibly happy and relieved that I've decided to quilt this baby with a long arm. Frankly just the thought of the hours it was going to take me to baste it was making my head spin and my butt hurt( I usually baste big quilts on the floor).

I also wanted to let you all know about a feature and interview the folks over at NC Triangle Street Team posted about me and my work. Thanks so much Carolyn! You can check that out here .

Vini, vidi, vinci

I came, I saw, I conquered. Well, not exactly conquered, but I did go and see....Quilt Festival in Houston that is. I wasn't planning on going this year because I've got so much work I didn't think I could afford to take the day off. Thursday was the only day I could go and I wasn't relishing driving to Houston and back in one day. But I came home from swim team that morning and declared to Abi, " Karpe diem!"(notice the Latin theme). She replied,"Huh?"(Latin's pretty much Greek to her) and I explained that we were heading to Quilt Festival.

Look how happy she is to be at Festival.

I've been going to festival for several years and what struck me about this year was a feeling that there were fewer vendors and attendees. Maybe it was just Thursday's crowd, but there just seemed to be more room in the aisles. I was also struck by how many companies were selling long arm quilting machines. I don't think I've ever seen more vendors offering these. In the past the idea of a long arm has always perplexed me. Why would you want a machine that takes up an entire room? How many large quilts would you need to make to justify this thing? Well this year I found myself inquiring about long arms. I've got several large quilts to quilt in the next few months and the thought of quilting them on my Bernina is really daunting. Also, salesman Mark at I-don't-remember-the-name-of-the-company company showed me a long arm that could be easily assembled and disassembled in 15 minutes. Suddenly, a long arm seemed like something I might be interested in.
Raise your hand if you knew that a basic long arm costs $7,000. I didn't. I thought it might run $1,000, maybe $2,000. Imagine my shock when salesman Mark quoted me the price and told me that it was a show special. I walked away claiming I would think about it, but that was just to make salesman Mark feel better about his selling prowess. Instead I've decided to rent time on a long arm locally.
Since I didn't have to figure out how I would cram a long arm quilting machine into the trunk of my Toyota Corolla I had room to bring this little dandy home.


I purchased it at ROM Woodworking and it's going to change my life or at least organize my thread.


It's called a thread barrel and has 72 dowels that once assembled by a willing, hammer-toting 11-year old can be mounted on a wall.


Isn't it pretty?

My October Surprise

I'm not running for President so my October surprise won't affect next week's election, but it is pretty significant around here. A while back I mentioned that I had a big announcement to make this fall. And last week I told you all about one of my designs being published in the new Quilting Arts magazine, Stitch. Well today the editor wrote me and told me that the magazine is being introduced at the Houston Quilt Festival this week and has already been shipped to independent fabric and quilt stores. This has prompted me to reveal my exciting news because I included this bit of information in my bio for the article. Several of you already guessed my news, but for those who haven't or don't even know what I'm talking about, I'm writing a book. The focus of this book is patterning and dyeing fabric with wax resist and will include projects as well. I've been steadily working on writing instructions for the various projects and am just about ready to start on the technique chapters. The book is slated to be published by Lark Books in the Fall of 2009.
At first this felt like a huge project, too huge really. But my editor has broken it down into smaller, more manageable pieces, so I'm down to just one anxiety attack per day. Actually, I'm really enjoying the process and am excited to discover something new that I like to do. Part of the reason I felt emboldened to take on this project had to do with the many times folks have asked me how I make my fabrics. The interest in this process that I've discovered here and on flickr has made me feel like I had something I wanted to share and that others were interested. I am truly grateful for the interest you all have shown and the kind words you've sent my way.
This process has affected what I work on and what I photograph and, to a great degree, what images I post here and on flickr. But I can't imagine a post without a photo so...


This beauty is called Bat Face Cuphea. Do you see the bat's face? I love this plant and it's blooming in my garden, like it always does this time of year. Perfect for Halloween.

Little Bits

I don't have loads to say tonight but wanted to post these pictures of my newest quilt. I also wanted to let you all know about a new, special issue publication from the folks at Quilting Arts Magazine. The magazine is called Stitch and is a," a special issue devoted to the creative possibilities of sewing wearables, home decor, accessories, and gifts." I'm really excited to have one of my designs included in this issue. It won't be available on the newsstands until November 11, but is available for pre-order here.

New and new to me

Being an inherently lazy housekeeper I often stack things at the base of the steps with the intent of putting them in their proper place,"next time I go upstairs". Now if I were to determine how often I ascend the stairs by the frequency with which these items are put away, I'd have to assume that I never go upstairs. Well, last night I did go upstairs and, this time, with an armload of things. Abi accompanied me and asked me what I was putting away.
There were...


new-to-me vintage buttons from my favorite junk store (I can't even count the number of times I dumped these buttons out of the bag to get this shot) . The lady at the store bagged them for me in what she described as a "vintage popcorn bag".


Another new item that ascended to the second floor and therefore closer to my sewing machine was new fabric.


I bought these from Purl Patchwork and spent more per yard then I think I've ever spent. But these are so worth it. They are Japanese imports and are so amazingly beautiful that I worry I won't be able to go back to $8/yard fabric let alone buy from the remnant section.


I'm even in love with the selvedges.
The black and white print is slated for another Amy Butler Anna Tunic/Dress for myself and the fabric with the fabulously delicate drawings printed on it is a future dress for Abi.
The third item I hauled up the stairs last night was a bag of vintage patterns from the same junk store. No "fancy" packaging for these patterns, but no matter.


This is the pattern for Abi's dress. She's very excited about it and I'm so grateful for that. She's my youngest and the only one who'll even go to the junk store with me let alone want a vintage dress sewn from Japanese fabric. And she's also the only one that would even notice that I actually made a dent in the various piles at the base of the stairs.