Falling Stars

Christa is making the Falling Stars quilt from Quilting on the Go.

As she laid it out on the bed last night, I was struck by how much I love this pattern.  And all sorts of twinges of memories surfaced-- the initial idea, the design process, sitting with dear friends sewing the sample for the book.
My original thoughts were to do completely scrappy background with long chains and occasional stars in white.  Shifting the color palette to blues and chartreuse really changed the impact. I had so so many ideas for 60 degree diamond quilts and most of them are still trapped in my sketchbooks or scrawled on the back of book notes, stuck there in time.  But this, the Falling Stars quilt happened.  And I love what people are doing with it.
Christa's version is so beautiful, and so her.  Even though I gave her fabrics from the original (and let her root through my stash of blues), the overall tone looks like all of her other quilts.  Strong and natural.  My quilts can tend to be chaotic and punchy.  All of my wild energies, straining to get out.  But Christa's quilts always seem to give off a feeling of peace, restfulness.

 Somehow my selfies to capture background scenes always turn out with goofy expressions on my face.  I could have taken more shots to get it right, but this is us, as we were.  Talking and stitching on a weeknight, making progress as we can.

Becky teaches EPP

(This post could also have been called "why I have the coolest friends in the world")

This week my old college roommate was visiting from the UK and so a few of our old housemates got together for some girl time (and baby cuddling).  The baby was sweet and took a nice long nap, so after I popped dinner in the oven, we all sat around the living room and chatted about things.  Not surprisingly (or uncommon in my house and in my current circle of friends), Becky was stitching and chatting and talk turned to quilting. 

 Now Rachel and Trish aren't quilters (yet), so understandably they had a lot of questions.  Before I could answer any, Becky jumped down and started pulling out sprockets and templates... it was great.  Usually I'm the one going on obsessively about EPP, but not this time!

Becky is making a Sprocket quilt, from Christina's tutorial and quilt along.  She started it just a few weeks ago and already has 4 done, with a 5th nearly ready.

Her background is light light grey and the colored rings are monochrome but scrappy.  The two non-quilters were intrigued enough to follow us up to the sewing room for me to give Becky some extra 1.5" diamond templates, but when she and I started pawing through the scrap bin looking for more fabrics, we kinda lost them (oh well).  Still, it was really energizing to watch someone talk about quilting so passionately.  I can completely appreciate that-- she's in the thick of a new project and loving it.  I'm loving it for her too.

Oh, and as you can see from her blog, Becky's a veterinarian, so her stitches are immaculate!  I wish she had time to blog more about quilting (nudge, nudge), but until then, I'll do it for her, hehe.

March 28

As the weather gets warmer and Jack gets bigger, we are slowly venturing out of our nest..
I'm reluctant to leave the comforts of home though, and still many friends are coming to us instead of vice versa (sometimes regretfully, as I wasn't brave enough to meet up with Nifty as she took in the sights around NYC!). 
Last weekend though we were treated to a much appreciated visit from Bernadette.  After an attempt  to go out with the boys (it was quite disastrous), we headed home.  As I gave George a bath, Bernadette played with my pile of hexies and started piecing..

When George was done, he decided to help.

I love that he feels all of my friends come over just to play with him.  (And I am grateful that my friends indulge him).  After stitching for a while, we went outside to play soccer and he made obstacle courses for us to practice through.  Ha!  I wonder how soon he'll figure out that I have absolutely no soccer skills.. we had fun trying though.
I have spent the rest of the week working to finish what Bernadette started.  I don't know what it is, but I just can't get enough of these hexies..

  

***Thank you all so much for your enthusiasm about my book.  Once it arrives I'll give you a peak inside..

Summer



Our last week in Greece was spent here:

Santa Maria Beach, Paros.



 And not surprisingly, I didn't get a lot of quilting done. 

Adjusting to life back in NY took a lot longer than I was expecting, jetlag was harsh (almost 10 days to get over it) and our new summer "routine" kinda hit me like a ton of bricks.  For weeks I've felt like I've been trying to dig myself out from a constant avalanche. 
I am very very happy to be home though, and happy to be working again.  My summer job rocks and I get to spend my mornings busy and surrounded by fun people.  I've also had the chance to meet up with many many quilting friends who have been coming over to help me finish a big project, like a good old fashioned IRL quilting bee.  I keep meaning to take pictures, but we're usually too busy stitching and gossiping to remember to take any. 
When they come over again, I'll put my camera (or I should say my phone) on the table so I don't forget.
My sewing room is a bit of a mess and I'm quite behind on virtual Bee obligations, which I hope to get to soon.  There are only so many hours in the day though, and you can't spend all of them inside, right?  Here's to hoping summer's intensity wears off soon..

Merrill's Stars

Today I'm happy to share with you the EPP star quilt pieced by my good friend Merrill.  She doesn't have a blog, but she's a huge supporter of mine, and my favorite weekly playdate (glad our kids get along, we sure have a lot of quilting to talk about..).
I introduced Merrill to English paper piecing right after I started Travel Quilt #3, and she took to it pretty fast.  Over the past year we'd keep each other motivated and trade diamonds when we got sick of our own stashes.  She added the last star to her top this week, and I asked her to write a post to tell you about it..

Merrill's Stars

I remember the first time I saw Jessica's travel quilt. I was in awe, but thought there was no way I could possibly make anything like it. After all, I had only been quilting for two years. I can barely sew a straight line. Being a new mom, I hadn't sewn in quite a while. And I had never hand pieced anything.

Jessica convinced me to give it a shot. I decided I would make the quilt for my daughter's "big girl' bed - which I figured would give me a few years to finish the quilt. I decided on a bright color scheme with off white stars. I ordered my 1 1/2 inch 60 degree diamond templates and cut my diamonds while I waited for the templates to arrive.

My first hexagon star took me over two hours to complete. At this rate, I thought, I'd probably have to revise my timeframe. Maybe it would be done by the time she went to kindergarten. Luckily, my speed improved.

I basted diamonds and assembled stars whenever I could - during naps, when my husband had Parent-Teacher night at school and during Monday Night Football. If his teams were doing well, I had more sewing time. Because of the Jets, plenty of stars were made during football season. The Mets, however, did not work out so well for me.

One year later, I finished piecing the stars. I've chosen a bright pink fabric for the inside border. Now I just need to learn to applique.

Thank you, Jessica, for convincing me I could do this. It's been a great learning experience with a beautiful result.

No Merrill, thank you. 

Thank you for understanding and encouraging me.  I've searched the internet for like-minded quilting friends and it's really awesome to have a friend in real life (and in my neighborhood!) who appreciates how completely crazy I am about quilting.  Your quilt is beautiful, now let's work on the borders..

 

 

an update..

Still plugging along at my papers.. two more weeks to go and I should be finished (or, royally screwed).  I have not been stitching much, not even to relieve stress because I've found that a total quilting hiatus is really necessary to keep my focus.  When I need a break from writing I find myself watching old episodes of new-to-me favorite shows, like Ugly Betty (and yes, the Glee addiction is still pretty strong), thank god for Netflix!

We had a playdate this morning with Merrill and Sabrina and I took the opportunity to snap some photos of Merrill's diamond star quilt, which, btw, is offically bigger than mine.  Isn't it amazing? 

I loved looking at them side by side-- her quilt totally reads pink/purple to me, but I had to ask her to know what mine read as.. she claims green & blue.  Do you agree?

Embrace what you have

And love where you are in life.
I had a very wonderful day yesterday doing all sorts of things I love and as we drove home (singing along to the radio) I realized there's no place in the world I'd rather be than here, nothing else I need in my life than what I have around me.  I haven't felt so peaceful and satisfied in a long time. 

But there's more.  It's about embracing what you have.  Using the things and fabrics you love.
I had the chance to sew with Victoria for a few hours after our meeting yesterday and I limited myself by only bringing an armload (I was going to say "handful" but that's a lie) of fabrics and working from there.  I didn't know what I was making, I just pulled and cut from these fabrics that I had been hoarding.  fabrics that I feel capture my personality, express where I am now, and really represent me as a quilter.  Some of these precious fabrics have been holed up in the closet for years.. enough.  When I look at the quilts on our beds I think what I love about them is the fabrics.  So the quilts I want to be making have to be made of something I already treasure, treasure so much that I am willing to take time to transform it into something useful, something new to have and hold. 

I don't know where this piece is going, and it probably won't go anywhere for a while (I really need to buckle down with that school work..) but I'm glad I had a chance to spend time, sit and get to know another quilter a little better.  There's an awful lot behind the quilts, behind the blogs, that can't be gained without real interaction.  I have felt puzzled lately about the role the internet is playing in society these days, and on a personal level, the ways in which it has shaped my life over the last 10 years  (college reunion coming up.. is this why I'm all the sudden so reflective?).  Of course it is a way to connect with people-- new friends and old, but so many of those "connections" are just superficial.  It really takes effort to push beyond that, building friendship still takes time.  I think the internet, the sheer vastness of it, enables people to spread themselves too thin.  To try everything, to read every blog.. what are we left with?  To many ideas and a stiff neck.  I feel better since I've pulled back in the last 6 months, selectively reading and participating (in quilt blogland mainly, and other social networking as well).  Trying to find focus that makes my time online more meaningful to me.  It's nice when someone mentions drama in the online quilting community and I'm completely oblivious.  (Yay~ I didn't waste my time with that headache!) but I digress..

When you spend time with people and learn what is important to them, it gives you a lens through which you can take another glance at your own situation.  A guild meeting and a few hours spent with V, and I have gained a new appreciation for all the mundane things that my life is made up of.  Thanks guys.

Retreat

re·treat n.
1. a. The act or process of withdrawing, especially from something hazardous, formidable, or unpleasant.   (read: Real Life)
    b. The process of going backward or receding from a position or condition gained. (As in, forgetting all my quilting hang-ups, opening my eyes to new ways of doing things)
2. A place affording peace, quiet, privacy, or security.
3. a. A period of seclusion, retirement, or solitude.
    b. A period of group withdrawal for prayer, meditation, or study: a religious retreat.
 
(taken from thefreedictionary.com)
 
 
On Saturday, I spend the day at the home of a very thoughtful and generous friend.  8 of us gathered to sew with Victoria, in an amazing space decked out with tables, chairs, ironing boards, cutting mats, hot tea and homemade caramels.  At one point or another throughout the day it fit each of the definitions for "retreat" above. Peaceful, secure, withdrawal for meditation, contemplation.  I was only part of the retreat for less than 10 hours, but it really gave me a chance to think about things differently and appreciate things in a new way.
Some photos:

Mosaic Geese in Flight, 1890-1910
Folk Art Museum, maker unknown.



L>R: Me, Bonnie, Kim, Helen



V, taking the best photos.



Andrea



The sweatshop setup

 

Radiating Squares ready to go.

and look who we found in the scrap bin!

 Some realizations:

• Scrappy quilts don't have to be made with scraps.
• it's better to think less and sew more.
• women need other women.  (I knew this one, but had forgotten.)
• the AccuQuilt Go may well be a wise investment..
• I ♥ New York.

I'd love to expand on any of these ideas in their own posts if I find the time.  We'll see.

I'm still collecting my thoughts after the experience but I can tell you that my creative energy has been renewed and new ideas are flowing faster than I can jot them down.  The suitcase isn't unpacked yet though so I have nothing to show just yet.  Hopefully soon.  I have a lot of playing to do.

double-take

Two progress shots of the same quilt? No!
the top one is Merrill's, the bottom is mine. 

Yesterday Merrill & Sabrina came over for a play date, but the moms ended up playing more than the kids!

Merrill started her diamond star about a month ago, not really sure if she was going to like it, but man, she got obsessed pretty quickly. :)  So quickly that she started to get bored of her own scraps so we arranged a playdate for her to paw through my stash.  I have been offering to share fabric since I found out she quilted when we met last year.  I said, "come over, I have a lot of fabric.."  But over the phone she politely hesitated that she didn't want to just take my fabrics.  Haha!  once we got cozy and gave the kids some toys, I brought over my bin of fat quarters for her to start with.  After that she went through the drawer of "less than FQ" scraps, as I pulled brights from my shelves of yardage.  Some point in the middle she got a bit overwhelmed and said she totally didn't feel bad about taking my fabric anymore, I clearly had enough to share. 
Oh, and I was happy to do so!  It was so nice to have another quilter in the house!

 Even though she's blogless, Merrill said she'd join the quilt-along anyway.  It really amazes me how many of my friends are spending their time piecing the same quilt as I am.  Our playdate definitely renewed my interest in Travel Q#3, and I basted more diamonds this morning.  Once my quilts are all ready for next week's quilt show, I'll try to spend a bit more time on this one.  They grow fast if you let them..