Wednesday, November 21, 2012

White

Of all the modern quilting trends, the concept of needing to use more white in quilts was one I hadn't grasped whole heartedly yet.  Sure, I've used white in quilts, but I think I'm still at that "learning about color and balance" stage in my quilting.  I go back and forth between wanting to do color studies and wanting to just dive in and create with whatever fabric is in my hand.  Let's just say I'm not always so confident in the "planning" stage-- I'm much more of a "Let's wing it and see what happens next" type quilter.  (Incidentially, I'd like to know, which one are you?)

So as my SV quilt progressed, I naturally started thinking I needed a bold or dark border to "tone it down" a bit.  But I don't have a big stash of solids and every dark print I held up just added more to the chaos.  And I began to wonder if I could make the whites in the centers of the A block pop a bit more if I used a "white" border.. This off white mushroom print that I brought back from Japan in '07 (yes, I still have most of that fabric horded..) went perfectly with the blues in the A block, so I decided to go for it.

Once the borders were on, I had a breakthrough-- the white border actually made the entire quilt look brighter.  And I couldn't believe I almost darkened the whole thing with a colored border.  Who would have guessed?  I always opt for a dark border.  I think this may be a breakthrough..
I'm still going to put a pieced outer border on to make it twin size, but I am very happy with it so far.

Wednesday, November 7, 2012

A little SV?

This quilt has a terrible name, but it's growing on me.

I started last week, before Superstorm Sandy, and made 4 blocks.  I didn't like them.

I hemmed and hawed, thinking I could change the block somehow and have it turn into something I did like.  I played.  I cut more scraps, you know how it goes.

Then I started making several blocks at once (instead of: cut 49 squares, sew 49 squares, feel meh), and by the time I had 10, the pattern appeared!  And my scraps looked good and scrappy!

I've had thoughts of stopping at 12 blocks and adding a thick border, but then I look at my scrap bins (I found another accidentally today, completely jam packed with pieces perfect for this project), and realize I should probably keep going.  I have no idea where this quilt will end up (can't imagine it on my bed), but if I can clear through one bin of scraps at least, I'll love the quilt for it..

The name's gotta go though.. thinking about calling it "hurricane sandy"... for the chaos.  Or for the calm it gave me during the chaos...

Have you made one of these yet?  What were your feelings?  Motivation?  And how did it end up?

Tuesday, November 6, 2012

Project Patti Recap

On October 28th, while all of the Northeast was preparing for the impending hurricane, 100+ people gathered on the south side of Chicago to attend a benefit for my mother.

It was a huge success, and while I can't get into specifics, it brought in more than double what the family and planning committee had hoped for.  We are all very very thankful to everyone who attended, donated items for the raffle and auction, and made financial contributions online through the website
 If you are one of those who made a donation, let me say THANK YOU again.
Patti (my mom) with my sister, Lori.
The money raised will go towards paying for the care that my mom needs.  Mom can finally get an overnight or live-in caregiver and all the family that has sacrificed their time to care for her at home over the past 3 years can go back to sleeping in their own beds.  The physical and emotional stress has been lifted somewhat, and the family is all extremely grateful. 

One month ago, Bonnie Hunter very kindly posted about mom's condition and benefit on her blog, spreading the word much farther than I could have myself, and donations of quilts to be auctioned as well as $ came pouring in.  Thank you, Bonnie!!
Below are the quilts that were auctioned off at the benefit:

The first two were made by the Silver City Quilt Guild in Taunton, MA  (where I served as guild president, 2007-2008, before moving to NY.  You ladies Rock!)

 Both quilts were swiped up by my aunt.
Next up are a quilted table topper and Lime throw made by Janet E. of Janet Ann Creations
 
We also had a very cozy one by Heather B. in Indiana, which I heard there was some fighting over:
This lovely pink and green spinner by Debbie N. of Desirable-Junk in Ohio:
I heard it went home with my cousin's 8 year old daughter.  Perfect!

This blue and white stunner by Lesly of Stitch Literate:
(sorry, no photo, but you can see it on flickr here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/wadewoolley/4015476546/in/set-72157622469088329 )
I swiped this one myself, hehe!  Thanks Lesly!  It will be gifted to someone special who has taken care of me a lot recently.

And then the one I made, which you've seen before, but I'll post again:
This one went home with my cousin, Jacki.

Thank you so much to all the quilters that helped make this benefit a success.  We couldn't have done it without you!!

Free Zoom Quilt Class, October 20.

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