Mid-point status

In April after the Improvisations workshop and at the 2.0-year mark in my quilting life, I was lying. How could I claim to be a quilter with only one 9x12 journal quilt finished? Piecer, yes. Quilter, no. So I set up goals for the year. With the holiday season coming, I may be in my studio but crafting instead of quilting. So now at mid-point is a good time for evaluation.

□ UFOs: 4 out of 12 finished;
□ working with prints: 4 out of 4; and
□ workshop explorations: 1 out of 6.

A little off the mark but I'll continue working on these. Once over that holiday hurdle, I have three major goals before May:
□ finish at least one other quilt for the EBHQ's Voices in Cloth show in April;
□ homework for Nancy Crow's Sets and Variables workshops in May (yes, pre-workshop homework!); and
□ free motion quilting. I won't be coming up with 365 different designs like this quilter. I just want to get comfortable enough to FMQ a quilt and not feel like I have to hide it.

Leaping over hurdles

They're finished! Gosh, for once I am prepared in advance with grab bag gifts for a family Christmas exchange.
Mileage and firsts out of these:
□ started with found log-cabin blocks – recycle/reuse;
□ so the colors and prints were not of my choosing. My challenge was adding more prints - one of my goals for the year;
□ these were nos. 2 and 3 for machine quilting with a walking foot;
□ one was quilted with a twin needle - a first;
□ one I designed my own quilting lines - another first;
□ made and used freezer paper templates for circles and curves - first again;
□ used a variegated thread on one and a heavier thread weight on the other;

□ used Sharon Schamber's technique on one binding; and

□ Superior Threads fusible thread technique on the other. Both firsts.

These small projects were approachable and got me over a couple of big hurdles: machine quilting and finishing a project. Thanks to these, I was confident enough to quilt and finish a workshop piece now hanging in a guild show.

Back to the drawing board

After a wonderful four day respite in Yosemite with Dr. Phyl and two responses to my last post, I reapproached the bold workshop piece with a fresh outlook. Once again with Photoshop, I make a simple cut and rearrangement. This I like and the main figure stays! Many thanks to Wanda and Connie!

Stuck in the middle

This top is on up on my design wall as I contemplate quilting lines.
From last spring's workshop - Nancy Crow's Improvisations – Let's Experiment! - it was the second assignment: make it BIG & BOLD. The almost centered spot certainly commands attention, so I've satisfied the exercise. If you've taken a workshop with Nancy, you know you don't have much time to tarry. Piece it and move on.

My eye is drawn and glued to that center. That bugged me - too strong a center. I tried moving the spot off center by adjusting the edges. Nah, didn't work. So a virtual but simple re-piece with Photoshop: It's not as bold but I move between the two sides rather than being stuck in the middle. With another teal strip or two, I'll get a more circulation around the composition. Then it'll be ready to quilt.

Quilt therapy

My quilt mini-group has been meeting since July 2008 without a name. We finally came up with one in August. In our monthly meetings, we give each other hurrahs as well as tough love. Just like group therapy! And we all agree quilting is therapeutic. So we are now the Quilt Therapy Group!

A few months ago we started a group mystery quilt. One of us had the plan and directed the other nine. My turn was at toward the end. This is what I received:
My task: add half the borders and corner blocks. What to do?! Maybe containment and repetition. So here's what I passed on:
The top is done and we're sending out for quilting & binding. Then we're donating it to a charitable organization.

Quilted for exhibition

I am co-curating another local guild exhibit which opens at the end of October and runs into January. My two co-curators will have quilts in the show. So why not me? Yes, why not? It is non-juried. I scrambled to find something to finish.

I picked a top created last spring in Nancy Crow's Improvisations workshop, previously shown here. Now it's quilted. Yeh! Another tally toward the goals! You can see this and others from the fabulous East Bay Heritage Quilters at:

Alameda County Arts Commission 2009 EBHQ Quilt Exhibit

Alameda County Administration Building

Tax Gallery, 1st floor & Board of Supervisors Gallery, 5th floor

1221 Oak St., Oakland CA
October 26, 2009 to January 14 , 2010, Mon-Fri 8am to 5pm

A tasty tidbit before of the guild's bi-annual show, Voices in Cloth, April 10-11, 2010.