Scout

October 28, 2001 - June 22, 2011

May her memory be for a blessing.

Best Laid Plans

What do you do when they don't work out exactly as you anticipated?

 

Display the plans on your blog and say pattern and variations coming soon. 

In the meantime, a few details.

I'm calling this the Flower Power Baby Quilt and it measures about 48" across the diameter. I'm tossing around a couple of ideas for the variations but one would change up the widths of the strips and the other might use upholstery solids because would this not be too fabulous as a rug? I think yes. I'll have it quilted and bound in the next few days and might even shoot some location pictures as the temperature is predicted not to rise past 100 for the next few days. That's what we call a cold front in Texas.

Heb je nieuws?

What's new? You ask in Dutch. Well, as a matter of fact, I was informed yesterday by my publisher, Interweave Press, that my book, Fresh Quilting: Fearless Color, Design, and Inspiration is set to be translated into Dutch. To that I respond ik spreek geen Nederlands, but how cool is that?

I was about to burst...

...but no more because I've been given the green light to tell you all about this:

 

I'm designing a collection of fabrics for Moda fabrics that will preview at Quilt Market in Houston this fall. 

You can't imagine how exciting it is to see a selvedge with your name on it. It's right up there with going to a bookstore and seeing your name on the spine of a book.

Add to that how excited I am about these fabrics. The folks at Moda have done an absolutely amazing job recreating the hand dyed look that my fabrics have because, hey...they're hand dyed. When I opened the box and saw the first set of strike-offs, I declared to my youngest that I may never dye again because I was so happy with the look of these fabrics. That statement made my girl very happy because dyeing fabric takes up a lot of my time. Unfortunately for her, it's not true as I really enjoy the process and it's how I come up with my ideas. Also, I still think there are folks who want the hand dyed original. But, for those of you who like my fabrics but find the price of hand dyes out of your budget, this is the perfect alternative. Hell, it's the perfect alternative for me. You all can't imagine how many times I've wanted to sew a dress for myself out of my hand dyes and been daunted by the task of dyeing 3 yards of fabric. Now, I won't give it a second thought. And, boy do I have plans for everything from giveaways to free projects to kits using these fabrics. 

There will be a lot more about my line, a stitch in color, in the next few months, but I'm so glad I can finally share the news with you and I think one of the biggest treats will be to see what you all make with this fabric. I'm sure you'll wow me with your creativity!

Kismet

Oh my. This is my 400th post and it's the last day in May and I've been gone for a while, so there's got to be some kismet here.
I actually got back from California last week, but have been completely immersed in a project that, like most of the projects I work on, I can't really show yet. I'm not going to lie to you, all this covert crafting has made me feel that I've become so adept at keeping a lid on things that I'm thinking I might have a future at the CIA. I could start by stitching up their emblem as a round quilt.
What I have been authorized to tell you is that I had a fabulous time in California.

I offer this photo taken by Jennifer, my new friend from Bernina, as evidence that I did have loads of fun in California.
Also, as proof that my classes were super fun and filled with creative, enthusiastic students, take a gander at these:

These were made in the Color Your Cloth workshop I taught at The Sewing Party

These three are from the Strings Attached improv class also taught at The Sewing Party  

 

The top foursome of blocks were made by Jean Impey. She was one of my hostesses in Laguna Hills and a terrific friend. I'm pretty convinced that, despite our age difference, Jean and I were twins separated at birth. She's quite the talented quilter and teaches classes at The Sewing Party as well as making quilts on commission.
So there you have it, incontrovertible evidence that I liked California and it might just have liked me back.

Hinting

There's lots going on here, though I can't really share full view images of any of it, but...

I can drop hints, right?

Merriam-Webster Word of the Day: Kvelling

Kvelling: (verb). Yiddish word for the act of bursting with pride often accompanied by a wide smile and potentially a misty quality to the eyes.
I am kvelling today. I've had several experiences over the past few day where someone has taken a class from me or made something from one of my patterns and done such a great job that I had to exclaim, "Oh man, that is so fabulous."
For instance check out Cindy's interpretations of the Fish Baby Log Cabin. Yup, that's right, she made two in a marathon two-day sewing session that I'm guessing may have involved copious amounts of caffeine.
And, take a gander at some of the student blocks made at this past weekend's Improvisational Piecing workshop organized by the Austin Area Quilt Guild.

 

This block is crafted out her own hand dyed cottons.

Add to that, today I got an email from the lovely Jessie who just recently took my Strips and Stripes class at Stitch Lab. Check out Jessie's fabulous finished quilt...and her proud smile.

Of all the classes I teach I'm always blown away by the quilts made in the Strips and Stripes class. I had originally thought it would be the hardest class to teach, but everyone seems to get the color concepts and they all make the most amazing tops.

There's nothing like the thrill of seeing a design idea come to life and realizing that something that you've conceptualized actually makes sense as an object, but seeing other folks interpret those designs is a super close second.