Laurel Love

If you happen to follow my Pinterest board Sew Worth Making, then you've seen a lot of shift-like dresses pinned there.
My absolute favorite though is Laurel by Colette Patterns.
Check out this version:

And this pin that isn't exactly an example of this pattern, but something like this could definitely be made using Laurel.

Though I bought the pattern in a frenzy when it first came out, I didn't make any of the possible 4 versions featured in the pattern until recently. I thought about making them. I planned to make them. I even imagined myself wearing the as-yet-unmade Laurels, but I didn't cut or sew anything until this:

and this:

I made the top pretty true to the pattern out of one of the prints in my Simple Marks Autumn collection. The dress is crafted in denim, also inspired by loads of beautiful denim shift dresses I've been seeing online.
I did alter the dress a bit, adding darts in front because I needed a little more waist definition and I shortening the overall length because, hey, I'm not exactly tall.
And I'm not done yet. I'm about 80% finished with another version of this dress and could definitely see making spring/summer versions of this pattern in linen and maybe a lovely Liberty print.

What I'm Working on Wednesday

Thank goodness the words "what" and Wednesday" both start with a W. Makes coming up with a cute title so much easier. Of course things are really streamlined because I'm actually going to post about what I'm currently working on, but having a snappy title doesn't hurt.
This is what's on my wall lately:

Actually, it's already off my wall, completely pieced, and in the process of being quilted, but that's beside the point.
I'm calling this The Boyfriend Quilt. Guess why? He doesn't read my blog, so no need to worry.
Anyway, it's for him...and you.
I should backtrack a little here.
I love setting up challenges for myself. For instance, my New Year's Resolutions this year included at least two challenges: 12 books in 12 months (not really all that challenging for many, but I sometimes find it hard to make time to read) and 13 half-marathon races in 13 months (13 because a half-marathon is 13.1 miles. BTW- February will mark #4 because I started this challenge last November).
Anyway, you get the picture. Challenges+ Me = Love.
What does this have to do with this quilt? Well, one of my challenges this year was to design 12 quilts in...any guesses? Yep, 12 months. And, I'm not just supposed to be designing these guys, but writing up the patterns.
So far, so good, but this is just pattern #1. I'm thinking it will be ready for release at the end of the month.
That's when things will really start heating up as, according to my little challenge, I should have another ready to release within a month of that.
Oy, why do I come up with these things?!

My Grandma Just Got Bigger

That's my Grandmother's Flower Garden variation block, not my actual grandma.

I crafted these blocks out of my From Outside In stripey prints and a cream colored solid.

Initially, I designed this quilt to be pieced as a series of hexagons, but then I started thinking about ease of construction.

And I realized that, though they'd always "read" as hexagons, the pieces could be put together as triangles. Way easier, people.

And then the rows could make blocks and so on.

Add a little straight line machine quilting and...

My Grandma just got supersized super easy!

Drunken Flower

A few weeks ago I was asked to contribute to a very special charity quilt show. Joanna Figueroa of Fig Tree Quilts sent out a call for quilts to be auctioned off to raise funds for the George Mark Children's House. This facility provides housing and services to children with terminal illnesses and their families. How does someone not help such a worthy cause?
The theme of the show is Red and White Quilts and I was excited to take up the challenge. I'm not much of a limited palette kind of person, but I had an inkling as to how I could take this concept and make it my own.

First off, I knew the quilt would need to be small, primarily because of time constraints. But, I also knew that I wasn't going to make a traditional red and white quilt. I'm not really much of a traditional maker.

What I decided to do was to hint at white through the use of low volume fabrics (made me harken back to an article I wrote in April of 2009 for Quilting Arts magazine about designing with low volume fabrics) and to accent the quilt edges with red binding.

Since I'm super fond these days of rounded edges and I think it gives almost any quilt a fresh, fun look, I curved these corners and bound them in a mostly red print from my Simple Marks Autumn collection.
This little quilt is off to California and hopefully will be part of a bigger effort to raise money for an important cause.

A Baby Quilt for MX

Not too long ago an old friend commissioned me to make a baby quilt for a co-worker. The expectant parents planned to name the baby Marley Xene (said Zene). Not exactly your average, everyday middle name, but my friend was particularly taken with their choice of name, especially the middle one. In fact, my friend was so enamored of the name that she asked that I incorporate the-as-yet-unborn baby's initials in the design of the quilt.

I love this kind of challenge. I knew that my friend would be open to a creative interpretation as we went to Art School together. So, I set about designing a super-sized single block that included a variety of fabrics, especially mine, and at least hinted at the the aforementioned initials.
I had to do a lot of math, not exactly my strong suit, to craft these triangles and fit in the "letters", but I'm very happy with how this baby quilt turned out. Also, I can definitely see expanding this concept into multiple blocks as part of a larger quilt.
I'm also happy to report that my friend loved the finished quilt and was super excited to gift it to her co-worker.
In a bit of a twist though, the parents decided to forgo the unusual middle name, not related to the design of my quilt...I hope. :)

Hey there!

Top 5 BS Excuses for my Long Absence:
5. Kept typing in http with just one slash and couldn't get my browser to find this URL.
4. My dog ate my computer.
3. Someone was already parked in my cyber space.
2. Paralyzed by angst over whether to use Safari, Firefox, or Chrome as my browser
1. Too busy corresponding with new-found Nigerian banker friend to post to my blog.

There you have it. My reasons for being away from this space.
Now that I've gotten that out of the way, I want to show off 3 projects I recently completed.

This quilt is a supersized version of the traditional Snail's Trail pattern interpreted in low volume fabrics, kinda, sorta. The fabrics are a mix of prints and solids, some commercial, others hand dyed that I had in my stash. It's a pretty generously sized lap quilt.

Also supersized, but in a different way, this one-block version of Broken Dishes is actually a large floor pillow. The background is a neutral solid and the triangles are probably 40 or so mixed solids and prints.

Ok, I know I'm not supposed to pick favorites, that every project has it's own unique beauty, but forget all that. These guys are definitely my favorite of the three projects. I spend so much of my time making graphic, non-representational images that when I get a chance to make something that looks otherwise, I get really excited. These also have a finish that I've been using on a lot of my projects, rounded edges.
You'll be seeing these projects in another format in the future, though I can't exactly talk about that. What I can say is there are more reveals to come and I hope everyone's New Year has gotten off to a dandy start!

Quilt Improv:: Lucie Summers

Ok, I can't just reappear in this space without acknowledging my absence.
No doubt about it, I've been away. But, just from this space. I've been designing and creating and re-working. And, soon enough, you all will see the fruits of that labor.
Today, however, I wanted to take a minute to introduce you to someone fabulous:

Everyone, this is Lucie Summers.
Lucie, this is everyone.
Lucie has just written an amazing book, Quilt Improv: Incredible Quilts from Everyday Inspirations.
I love so many things about this book: the wonderful, earthy way she describes and defines improv, her fresh takes on traditional blocks and, most of all the wonderful eye-candy quilts she features.
It may seem a bit over the top to say this book has everything you need to get inspired and started in your own improv adventure...but...it does.
It's divided into 4 sections: introduction, building blocks, quilt, and a general sewing/quilting section.

After a brief intro to her process as well as her take on improvisational quiltmaking, Lucie walks us through 13 basic building blocks, from chevrons, to half-square to triangle to, my personal favorite, log cabin.

Lucie encourages the reader to make these blocks either as stand alone mini quilts or as part of larger constructions.
They are all rendered in bright, fresh fabrics that really communicate the joy of working improvisationally.
The third section of the book focuses on 12 beautiful quilt that are just as beautifully photographed. It really gets you jazzed up to make the quilt when it's pictured in wonderful lighting and set in a lovely space.

Add to that, each of the quilts is accompanied by a sort of process map. Lucie includes sketches, inspiration photos, and other tidbits to help guide you in making your version as well as applying her overall process to crafting your own improv quilt, be they based on these blocks or not. 

In its final section, Quilt Improv features general sewing/quilting info and an extensive resource section. 

I think this book is great. Really, really, really.

The previous link takes you to the UK page, but, because I like you, each and everyone of you, I'm including the amazon link for those of us who live on this side of the pond and spell the word color without that superfluous U.