Kinda, Sorta, Suns...

Ignore the fact that those aren't really circles. Or think of them as organic suns.

I'm so close to finishing up the quilting my To a T quilt. After taking the first machine quilting class from Ana Buzzalino I decided I needed to push myself a little. I doodled and doodled. Then I basted, hoping that process would force me to make a decision. I certainly had some time to think - basting took me a while with the belly in the way!

I was pinning on a block that has the gorgeous orange print, Moira, from Echo by Lotta Jansdotter when the inspiration hit. My sketch and my reality aren't actually all that close to the design on the print, but it is the idea. And Lotta's print doesn't have perfect circles either.

I'm using Aurifil 50wt thread to quilt this. A few weeks ago I won a pack of the Mark Lipinski Basics collection by Aurifil - lucky me! One of the beige threads was perfect. And it works fantastically with the purples I've put on the back.

Binding this week...

Branch Out

I fancy myself a decent free motion quilter. No, I won't win any prizes for my quilting, but I do think I can do some fun things. That being said, it is good sometimes to push your limits.

This weekend I took a machine quilting workshop from Ana Buzzalino. Ana is a member of my Flying Needles Quilt Guild and an amazing quilter. She can do incredible things with a New York Beauty Block. And her art quilts, which involve painting and stitching are at a level that is both beautiful and well-recognized. Oh, and she is ridiculously nice, genuine, and funny.

Ana's style is so far removed from mine. That alone would discourage many quilters, particularly those of us who identify as young and modern, from taking a class with her. It shouldn't, though. It should inspire us to try something new and push our boundaries.

When you take a class from someone whose work is different than yours the best thing to do is immerse yourself, learn something, then figure out how to apply those lessons to your own work. Do not let style, age, or perception keep you from a new challenge or experience.

I am so glad I took this workshop. Sure, I love dense quilting, but maybe not as dense as Ana was teaching. I still doubt I'll try silk or rayon thread, but she had great tips regarding thread, period. I have more intent in my stitching, some new patterns to try and new inspiration for my own, and I'm heading into the next round of quilts with a boost of confidence in my free motion skills. And next month she's teaching feathers!

Round

Egg meets up with a gaggle of sperm in the dark hallway of my fallopian tube and one brave sperm steps forward with a, "Hey, how you doin'?" And about three seconds late my uterus doubles in size.

This belly of mine is round and full of flutters and kicks these days. The Monster says it looks like I ate 39 hotdogs and 50 apples. It's okay, my ass balances it out.

But those 39 hotdogs and 50 apples make it extraordinarily hard to baste a quilt on my living room floor. Alone, just me and my belly. It took me an hour longer than usual for this lap size quilt. And Hubby isn't even home to help.

Sketch to Reality

Must. Finish. Projects.

I'm on a kick this last month and I feel the need to finish up a bunch of stuff before I start anything new. It must be September. I've long since considered Labour Day to be my New Year more than January 1st. It's felt this way since I left university and feels even more so now that I've got one in school full-time.

This quilt has been basted since some point in the spring. I was in charge of a basting demo at my guild and used this. Then I got stuck on what quilting design to sew. I browsed this site for days. I sketched and doodled. Nothing ever felt right. Then I was chatting with Amanda Jean and she commented that she was coordinating her quilting, thread choice, backing, and binding. I hadn't thought this far ahead, but it made a thread colour pop into my head. From there I made a few more doodles while hanging out with the girls and a plan was hatched.

I honour of the New Year and because Amanda Jean posted about her nearly whole cloth quilt I felt the need to pull out mine yesterday. Now the trick is to realize that sketch...