Absolutely Legendary Sasquatch Quilt Top

This quilt is legend... wait for it... dary.

Based on Elizabeth Hartman's Legendary quilt pattern, launched recently, but totally supersized. The moment I saw the pattern on Instagram I knew I had to do this. The sasquatch itself originally finishes  at 18'' in the pattern. With a little quilt math I made it 5 times the size. Or, if you are so inclined to believe, life size. That made the sasquatch over 90'' tall and nearly 60'' wide.

The idea of trees on the side was improvised and added because we wanted this quilt to be big enough for the entire family. Now it comes in around 90'' square. Plus, the sasquatch has context now.

The making of this quilt was a family project over the holiday break. I knew that if I was going to get any sewing in I had to expect the kids in there with me. Rather than get frustrated by that, I decided to  invite them in for this group project.

You see, we are a family addicted to Bigfoot shows. None of us actually believe in the legend, but the shows are fun to watch and it's become a family joke to observe squatchy landscapes and conjecture about samsquanch (as we oddly refer to it).

So the kids were actually quite excited to make this quilt. After I did the match we sorted through my brown stash (small) and scrap bins (smaller) and whites/creams/greys for the right fabrics. I cut everything  - discovering that a transcription error was my only mistake!. As a team we sewed. 

It was the first time I let the girls use my Bernina. A bit confusing at first with no presser foot lever, but they were amazing. Can I just say? Thank goodness for adjustable speeds! We got into a rhythm with me prepping, one sewing, one pressing. Sure, there were times when their attention died out and wrestling matches were started - and quickly stopped because we were in the sewing room. Overall, I was pretty impressed with how engaged they were in the project.

My son sewed for the first time. You should have seen his excitement! He sat on my lap and covered my hands with his and we sewed together. He even admonished me if my fingers got too close to the presser foot. 

Unfortunately, my husband was quite sick the last week of the break. So his contribution, other than feeble encouragement, was to shout design ideas or selections from the sofa in the next room. That, and keeping us on a steady diet of Finding Bigfoot for the kiddos when their energy for sewing changed.

Everyone is on me to get this quilted ASAP. My Evil Genius voted for the backing to be a scrappy green one, which I think is a good idea. It will work with brown, white, and green thread on the front. I just hope I can get them all involved with floor washing and basting if they want it done quickly.

Quilts Under Construction - 2015 in Review

It seems I missed the last quarter's summary. Oops! Although, if I'm being honest, there wasn't much to report in terms of movement on this list in the 3rd quarter. But with a new year it is time to start fresh.

I cleaned out my one closet that stores a lot of the Quilts Under Construction. Only because I was looking for something specific and couldn't find it. It was a good thing to do. I resorted, reevaluated, and restocked the shelves. Some things are now off this list because I know I will NEVER get to them. So I started a pile for a quilty garage sale in the spring. Some quilt tops, sets of blocks, and fabric. It's good to let go.

The other difference is that I truly separated out class samples. In time they may make it on this list, but if they never make it out of the class bin then there is no point to them being here.

So, the number looks different. I am still totally okay with this number. In fact, I don't give a poop what the number is. I care that the projects are still interesting to me.

Quilts Being Quilted

1. Low Volume Circles
This might be the winter I embrace hand quilting. Maybe.
2. Antonio's Quilt
It is half done and I've pulled it out of the closet. It is the first one up for January. I swear.

Quilt Tops Ready for Quilting

3. A giant version of the Legendary Quilt by Elizabeth Hartman. We finished it yesterday so look for it here in the coming days.
4. Improv Sampler
5. Checkerboard from Sunday Morning Quilts
6. Slaveship Quilt
7. The Evil Genius' Triangle Quilt
8. Giant Hexagons
In a recent clean-up I found a block from my bee that missed getting in the quilt. So yes, I do plan on inserting it into the finished quilt.
9. Lilac Lovely
10. Cirrus Solids Pinwheel top
11. Solid Sunday Morning
12. Oh Canada Quilt in Red
13. Orange Is For Nerds
Just waiting for Carkai to be available in my LQS as I am stuck on a certain print being the backing for this quilt.
14.  A mini/small quilt in a low volume rainbow. Geez, get it done already!
15. Shh...
My low volume Shoeman's Puzzle quilt top. So excited about this one.
16. Circle Lattice
17. Mod Christmas Tree Take 2


Blocks and Process

18. Beach Grass Take 2
19. The girls' clothes turned into a quilt with the Gee's Bend quilters.
20. Hand Pieced Diamonds
21. A values quilt in neutrals
There are more than enough blocks after teaching this class a half dozen times that it needs to be turned into a quilt now.
22. Edges/Studio Stash Play
This is one that has been on my mind lately... It may be a few months before I get to it though.
23. A found quilt top that I would like to overdye in Indigo as an experiment.
Risky? Absolutely. When the weather is warm enough to try it outside I have it on the agenda. So, in 6 months.
24. Mid Mod Bee
25. Snippets on Dates
Technically this could be a finished quilt top, but the snippets never end. And I have that issue with not making small quilts.
26. The X-Plus blocks I used in the Creative Live Quilting with Low Volume Fabrics class.
Periodically I pull out fabric and make one more. I like the break of precision piecing.
27. Respite - a project started in a Bill Kerr design workshop
28. Chandelier quilt
This one might get some attention this year. It was always one with a certain recipient in mind and she could probably use it one of these days.
29. Name quilt for my daughter
30. Park blocks
Up to 10 right now. Again, could finish at a decent size, but I will likely make many more.
31. A whole bunch of pinwheels that I'm playing with. Started as prep for my CreativeLive Pinwheel Play class.
32. Piecemakers/Peacemakers 
My Gee's Bend inspired blocks after my trip to Alabama are coming together, slowly. Definitely a project for the right kind of time.
33. Small Wonders
Some test panels of Flying Geese are made and I've shared a few Periscope broadcasts on this project.
34. Liberty Circles
35. Pieced Stars - in recent weeks I've made a few more stars. Crazy precision piecing kick I've been on.
27. The Water Quilt
I know I said I wasn't counting class blocks, but I now have enough blocks to turn this into a quilt. Maybe very soon.
30. Y2K quilt
31. Another leaders and enders project, intended to be like Up, Up, and Away from Sunday Morning Quilts
32. Round and Round blocks - Up to 16 of these now.
34. Leftovers from Modern Paris
These almost got put into the garage sale pile. They may still end up there.
36. Paperless paper piecing block from my class with Cristy Flincher. I once thought it needed to be the start of a medallion quilt, but I've dug into my solids stash and the same colours are long gone. So, we'll see what happens.

+ one bit of secret sewing that is in the quilting phase.

2015 Finishes

Vintage French Quilt
Alturas
Caterpillar
QuiltCon Quilt
Values Plus
Precious
Argyle I and II
Glitter Pen
Aloha Kakou
Smooch

+ two more bits of secret sewing that will be revealed in a month or so.

Most of those finishes were in the early part of the year. Not much sewing over the summer and fall as the family demanded more time. I feel more in control of my time and reactions to time. And I am committed to some more finishes before more starts. Although really, I didn't start much last year either!

This year, like all others will be busy. There will be more secret sewing (!!), unexpected inspiration that HAS to be acted on, and a very indelicate balance between life, work, and fun. I'm glad you are along for the ride.

2015 Goals - A Review

The last day of the year. I can safely say that this year hasn't gone like I expected. Then again, I'm not sure what I expected? Setting goals are a good way to find some focus and keep on track. But when the world does not cooperate with you it is also important to be flexible.

I did not meet all my goals. A part of me is certainly sad about that, no doubt. But being able to respond to changes in family conditions is important too. And no matter what, my family does come first. So, for example, if I have to back away from something I don't see it as a failure because I didn't meet my goal. It can be frustrating, but it isn't a failure.

Here goes. How did I do?

1. Start, and possibly complete, the next two quilts in my Alberta series.

This one is never far from my brain. I would really like to get on this. My Mountain Meadows quilt is one of my favourites and it is received so well when I show it. These quilts would be the closest I get to Art Quilts too. That, in and of itself, is a personal challenge I like. It is always good to get out of my comfort zone.

Working with a local shop, My Sewing Room, I designed the background for their Row by Row Experience. We went with a Prairie sky/landscape. This is one I definitely want to expand upon. And a recent winter drive had me thinking about snow on the Prairies a lot too.

It is quite likely that this goal will carry forward, with some more focus.

2. Record at least 1 new online class or set of classes.

Finished this in the first quarter.

My CreativeLive classes are available and so much fun. 
Improv Quilting Basics
Quilting With Low-Volume Fabrics
Translating Inspiration in Quilting
Playing With Pinwheels in Quilting

Online classes are a great way for me to reach more students with teaching. I cannot teach in the US right now, as much as I would love to, so this way more people can have access to me.

And coming up is an entirely new experience. The Mighty Lucky Club is a monthly challenge and I'm thrilled to be a part of it. The first month is about to come out. I've seen a sneak peak and it is awesome!

3. Launch 2 more print patterns.

The Sewing Machine Quilt will launch next week!

I will fully admit to this being a tough one for me. Not designing patterns. That, I can do. It is the step  to printing that I seem to procrastinate on. I'm still deciding whether this is something I will pursue further. But I committed to this pattern and the work is done. Look for the launch.

4. Attend 1-2 quilting retreats as a guest and not a teacher.

Nope. And I'm pretty sad about it. I can't even squeeze out the time for a guild sew day. 

Thankfully, I am finding time to retreat into myself for some creative inspiration. I've been stealing mornings and taking advantage of the inconsistent naps my son takes. A few days or whole days would be awesome, but I will take every moment I get. It is amazing who one can recharge in only 15 minutes when sewing is involved.

5. Pick up 3 new freelance clients.

This was one of the ones that had to change. I love freelancing - the constant creative challenge of new articles, the editors I work with, the ability to inspire and educate. It does, however, take time. And my time to work was drastically reduced this year. I had to pick and choose and this is one thing that had to scale back significantly.

I am going to be writing for another publication in 2016 so it is good to add another magazine to my portfolio. It should be a great experience. 

6. Celebrate the launch of You Inspire Me to Quilt, because I never did that for A Month of Sundays and I missed that.

Well, there was never a big party and that's okay (You only turn 40 once). I am, however, still totally celebrating You Inspire Me to Quilt.

Right now I have a promotional giveaway going on. 

Share a photo of the person or people in your life who bring you to the sewing table to create. Tell us why too. It  may be your partner, your kid, your grandmother. It might also be someone famous who inspired you or another quilter. Share it all. Tell us, who inspires you to quilt?

Post your photo on Instagram or Twitter, using the hashtag #youinspiremetoquilt. All posts will be entered to win one of these amazing prizes.

7. Explore print and pattern making through regular sketching, play, and learning design programs.

Oh my goodness! So much fun. I haven't shared much of anything about this on the blog, but this creative play is amazing. And there are some fun things coming on this front in 2016. And still so much more I want to do.

8. Lose 20 pounds. Actually, closer to 25 if we count the holiday weight. I lost 20 pounds last year and want to continue on the road to health.

Not. Even. Close. In fact, I am nothing if not consistent in my weight.

I will say that I think I've mostly succeeded in adding exercise to a regular schedule for me. It isn't as much as I would like, but I have to realistic with the demands on my time. There is just too much to do in the time I have. But I do carve out 20-45 minutes most days now. 

So the weight isn't changing. If I got real serious about my eating I'm sure it will come. But seriously? I love cookies so much.

9. Find an agent/publisher for the children's books I wrote.

It's probably too early to report, but there is definite movement on this particular goal. And I am ridiculously excited by that. Not only that, it has inspired new possibilities and ideas in this genre. Too. Much. Fun.

10, Spend at least 1-2 hours a week working on one, any one, of the outstanding Quilts Under Construction. Focused, steady progress should move some of those through the list, even when I'm starting new quilts all the time.

Okay, so it didn't happen every week, but I definitely moved some of these quilts through the piles. Then others stayed exactly where they were with nothing more than a sideways glance of guilt. Oh well.

Yes, oh well. I am not going to get hung up on the number of quilts in the pile. every single one represents creativity and the pursuit of joy at different times and in different ways. 

Overall, I am pleased with 2015. It was a good year for me personally and professionally. I responded to challenges instead of cowering. New things are always tough, but I truly believe it is worth facing new stuff to keep ourselves going forward. Like an ever changing river, not a stagnant pond. Sure, the pond can look pretty (but probably won't smell great) but it doesn't have the power and energy of the river.

Having defined goals kept me on track professionally and I will definitely be gathering my imagination for the year ahead. Watch for the 2016 post.

Mod Christmas Tree Take 2 - In Modern Patchwork

It's that time of year! Snow and Christmas trees and frenzied making. Cookies and cocoa and stress. It's all there. In the midst of it I hope everyone gets at least one moment to step back and appreciate their favourite parts.

My favourite part, as long time readers know, is the tree. Not so much the tree up and all sparkly and covered in handmade ornaments, but the getting of the tree. Last year I celebrated that with a quilt. A fun, modern quilt honouring the tree and my son's new found obsession with Christmas.  The obsession with Christmas and the quilt hasn't changed.

Modern Patchwork, a lovely magazine, asked me to contribute the quilt to their latest Winter issue. I was happy to oblige. I offered them an alternate colour way, but they chose the original. I still made the other colour way though. In this great line from Dear Stella, Mount Snow. Mittens and trees and bikes. It really is super sweet.



For this version I picked out the low volume, soft prints from the line and paired them with a few random, coordinating prints from my stash. Originally, my plan was to make the whole thing low volume, with soft contrast for the trees. But that felt too soft. So I grabbed the red Net print, also from Dear Stella, for the background. I love, love, love low volume paired with red.

The pattern itself is quite simple. The hardest part being the cutting of the angles for the background pieces around the trees. Last year I went from start to finish on this quilt in a few days. This year I have this top done but it won't get quilted, unfortunately.

Now is the time to slow down and celebrate, to make the cookies and take in special moments with the kids. I hope you have the chance to do the same.

Pick up a copy of Modern Patchwork at your local quilt shop, magazine rack, or online.