Saturday, November 26, 2016

Plus Quilt Top Completed!

Finished my plus quilt top at retreat last weekend. Calling it "Dare to be Different".
Another one added to the "to be quilted" list.

Stay tuned for a tutorial/pattern as soon as I get a chance.

Friday, November 25, 2016

Super Quick Ironing Table Cover

This past week I bought myself an early Christmas gift. Isn't she the prettiest thing?

I unpacked her and was ready to start ironing but just couldn't bring myself to even put her down on this:
This morning I quickly made a replacement cover for the ironing table. Here's how:

Cut a piece of fabric 3" bigger on all sides than your ironing table/board. (These instructions are for a square or rectangular ironing surface.)

Mine is 20" x 40", so I cut the fabric 26" x 46".

Fold over a 2" triangle on each corner and press. Then fold all edges over 1/2" and another 1/2".
Sew all around close to the edge.
Cut a piece of elastic half the circumference of the ironing surface, in my case 60".
Using a safety pin, string the elastic through the pocket you created and pin or sew together the ends. I just pin them because I reuse the elastic every time I make a new cover.
Carefully pull the cover onto the ironing board.  My board just sits loose on a metal shelving unit from Target.
It's not pretty, but it works:
And there we go. So much better! And really pink!
(And it only took 15 minutes.)

Friday, November 11, 2016

Update - Completed Projects

Cleaning up the blog this morning and realized that I never posted photos of a couple of my completed projects for this year!

First up, my Maker's Tote using Noodlehead's pattern.


I also finished the sailboat quilt and published a pattern for it.




And last, but not least, the Oopsie Daisy quilt, using a Darlene Zimmerman pattern.

OK, now I can update my sidebars!

Wednesday, November 9, 2016

Finding a Focus and Letting Go

While at the International Quilt Festival in Houston this past week, I took a couple of classes. They were all really good, as is usually the case.

One was a workshop by Jane Dunnewold, an amazing surface design artist. It was called "Creative Strength Training" and provided a lot of food for thought in quite a few areas, including how to find your "mojo" when you lose it. OK, that sounded weird, but you know what I'm talking about, right?

During the workshop I had a giant "aha" moment. I've been struggling with finding a focus, what Jane calls your "distinctive voice".

I mentally mulled through quilts I've made and projects in progress or being planned, and focused on the ones I love, the ones that make me happy and excited.

The following projects came to mind:
Geese in the Forest
Geese in the Forest Quilt
Daisy Chain - my current hexagon project
IMG_5974
Pinwheel Party
Pinwheel Party Quilt
Grandmother's Flower Garden
IMG_6950
my current, as of yet unnamed, Mariner's Compass project.
IMG_8216
Hmmm...what do they all have in common? The next day I walked through the quilt display at Festival again and took photos of the quilts that "spoke" to me.

Next I'm going to go through my trunks of completed quilts and assess which ones I love and which ones are just ok.
I think I'm going to find my voice!

I've already decided on a couple of UFO's and WIP's I'm going to ditch. It's a like a weight has been lifted from my shoulders.

All this being said, I know that many quilters love to dabble in different things, and I think that's a wonderful thing.
I do, however, think that my lightbulb moment could be freeing for many.

Do you have projects you feel you "have" to finish? You know, those ones that make you feel guilty about starting something new because they are lurking out there "needing" to be tackled? Projects that are preventing you from working on something more enjoyable?

Maybe it's time to let them go. Donate them to your guild's next charity auction, Goodwill, even a friend who's been admiring them for a while and will give them the love and attention they deserve.