Composing a Quilt: for Eleni

So.  The girls.  For Eleni and Bela (who are roommates too), I have been collecting fabrics for over a year.  I just happen to begin this one with the idea of it being a grid layout of approximately 12" blocks but I wanted to take a lot of liberties within those squares.  Some are tiny patches, some strips, some 9 patch, and some whole 12" squares of fabric. I had just finished working on Nicolas's quilt when I began this one.  It seems I was a bit more in the mood for order, most likely because I had so carefully chosen a palette over a long period of time and I wanted to use it in a very effective way.  This can be a challenge when there are so very many colors.

I worked from the center out, literally beginning by joining 4 tiny 9-patches into a single 12" block.  I then let those colors dictate a certain collection of 9 more fabrics, which you can see here.  With those I made six 9-patch blocks that are all exactly the same.  They form the tall cross in the quilt that has the tiny 36-patch at it's center.  At every step out towards the edges I made decisions with careful looking at what was happening so far, but with very little thought of what would happen next.  I think this is my personal favorite way to work.  It's like painting.  A little here, then look.  A little more there, then tea.  Still more, sit and ponder.  But I did commit to sewing every time I saw something I liked.  Like a rule I set for myself.

Something that I find really helpful and enjoyable is to let the fabrics them selves guide some of my decisions, and I mean more than just the color assortment.  The forms themselves can inspire much.  As with the boys' quilts, the fabrics are almost all my own or Denyse's with a few choice Kokkas thrown in.  That particular Kokka piece on the right above not only captured almost the entire palette of the quilt, but the print itself feels like a patchwork so I left it in large whole blocks.  I considered the direction I would orient the piece for a while though, in other words, what colored edge of the piece would be adjacent to what other piece of the quilt.  When you have a single piece that varies so much within the print, this becomes pretty important, and that decision can really take the whole composition in various directions.  The larger, patchy star shapes in the print itself inspired the half wheels that are appliqued at the right and left of center, as well as the sets of 3 half Dresden plates appliqued top and bottom.



Setting these half wheels at the right and left of the cross bars helps to further the medallion like quality of the composition.  Eventually the four 1/4 wheels set further out also echo the growing center.  I enjoyed creating this piece immensely.  Even though it employs a symmetrical balance of color and fabric, I see a little something different every time I look at it.  It's also the perfect home for the little bits of Bohemian that I still have, which the girls begged to have in their quilts.

Naturally, I obliged, for my sweet, exuberant -and very centered- nine-year-old Eleni.

xoxo,AM

Sewing (and stitching) RED!

I am interrupting my quilt top sharing this week to paint the blog red!  I am so proud to be a part of a lovely book by Laura Zander called Sew Red.  It's the follow-up title to Knit Red, both of which remind us to take care of our hearts, and send a portion of their proceeds to help fund the Foundation for the National Institutes of Health in support of Heart Truth.  My project contribution is called "Target Practice" which offers a patchy-style belt that surrounds an embroidery pattern that I completed using red crewel wool a cream background. 

In addition to my project there are loads of lovely garment, accessory, quilt and decor sewing projects by many of my friends in the industry.  Also of course a whole bunch of talented people I don't know!  Additionally each designer offers a little personal experience whether it be a heart healthy recipe or a way in which heart disease has touched their lives, as it has mine with the loss of my maternal grandmother years ago.  I think she would have loved my project.

It's an all around good book, put together by good people who are doing good.
Take care of your heart! xoxo, Anna

*Sew Red by Laura Zander, published by Sixth&Spring Books. Photo by Rose Callahan copyright © 2012 by Sixth&Spring Books/Soho Publishing. Used by permission

Composing a Quilt: for Nicolas

In Nicolas's quilt you can see the same general assortment of fabrics as Joseph's.  I actually had this one somewhat drawn out in sketch form before I started.  I knew that I wanted it to be columnar as well as have those columns vary in width from just skinny strips to wider rectangles of strip patchwork. I also decided to make all strip-pieced elements that were included sit at an angle.  So I used my quilting rulers to cut them on a bias angle from the original patchwork yardage that I mentioned yesterday.  This did create waste of course, but I have a lot of lovely scraps for other projects and I also shared a whole bunch of the scraps with my class at QuiltCon.  They seemed to like that.  I like being a scrap fairy when I visit classes.

What came about that wasn't exactly planned was the use of two "orphan blocks" and various larger rectangles of a single fabric print here and there.  You can see my first attempt at the "Flight Map" block (pattern coming out next month) in the upper left quadrant.  Then in the mid-right area you can see a stray patchwork feather.  This was also a test piece as I developed that block.  Both shared a sensibility with what I was working on in this quilt so they seemed to just work.  I also like them as more intensive and deliberate areas of the composition that might feel a little less expected and a delight when discovered.

The larger rectangles of single prints came about simply as I laid out the quilt on the design wall in order to balance color and give the eye a resting spot.  I may still yet float a flying goose here or there on top of some of these more simple areas, or perhaps even half-spheres peeking out from some more solid edges.... not sure yet. I like that even once finished, it will have an open-ended work-in-progress feel to it.  If a focused design balances my Joseph, then something with less structure and a little less rigidity might well balance my Nico's very focused, very intense nature.  Easy, boy.

These are not the best photos as it's been cloudy and they've just been shot up on the wall, still a little wiggley and wrinkley from unpacking them.

Hope you're having a good Tuesday.  The little lady in the womb is so kicky today it's almost making me dizzy.  Her movements are feeling so coordinated now, and she seems to just really like the boogie and completely flipping over- which she should enjoy while she can, we're both running out of room. Can't believe I'm beginning the last trimester.  Unless of course I look in the mirror.
xoxoAM

Composing a Quilt: for Joseph

QuiltCon was absolutely perfect and memorable.  Jeff and I so enjoyed getting away on our own for a few days and kicking around Austin with no plans for one whole day and a few nights too after teaching wrapped up.  Spending time with favorite friends is always welcome too, but it seems there weren't enough nights to see them all.  And teaching!  What a lovely bunch of attendees!  So eager to try something new and everyone noticed that there was just an all around good vibe about the event- thanks, of course, to wonderful coordination by my friend Alissa & her gang of modern quilters.  Really perfect and can't wait to go again next year.

I might have IGed as much food as I did quilts, but they were both so good I couldn't resist.  As promised though, I wanted to begin sharing all of the new quilt tops I have been working on.  The first is this quilt for my Joseph (13).  All the tops I've done for the kids are around 68"ish by 88"ish.  So twin bed-ish.  You will likely recognize the feather design but of course these are pieced and appliqued- well most are appliqued, some are just basted and waiting to be finished.  I love how this one turned out.  Knowing that I was going to be making quilts for both Joseph and Nicolas, who share a room, I set out to use the same fabrics generally but completely different patchwork styles.



I began work for both quilts by collecting all that I wanted to use which was a lot of my own fabric, Denyse's and several other plaids, geometrics and so forth.  Then I cut them all in strips crosswise from selvage to selvage varying the width from about 1.5" to 3". I then sewed them together on their lengths for about 6 yards of striped fabric- which took a long time, but good to sorta just work on mindlessly for on and off.  From these I cut the feather templates and made 18 feathers.  I knew from the beginning that I would do something almost medallion like and symmetrical.



Once half of the feathers were appliqued in place on the center foundation fabric, I decided to set the next row farther from the center and staggered, so I needed to deal with the border around the center which the second row of feathers would float over.  I was originally planning to use rectangles cut from the strip pieced fabric, but decided that didn't play enough of a difference to the feathers.  So instead, I used some leftover strips and patchworked them onto the center in log cabin fashion.  I had a look at it all up on the design wall before making a commitment.  It became visually effective to arrange the concentric strips from more intense, deeper colors out towards more pale and softer tones at the outer edges.  So now, just to finish the hand applique on all the feathers and I am also getting the urge to add a small compass-like piece at the very center.  My Joseph is so exuberant and has a tendency to be an explorer, if not a little wander-y.  It just felt right to give him a focused design as a balance. 

Knowing who you are making for, and everything about them, adds quite the layer of inspiration and joy to the process.

Back tomorrow with a quilt for my Nicolas.
xo,Anna

A patching we will go

Hi you people.  I am getting ready to pack up a wholotta patchwork and head to Austin with my honey.  With the help of my pal Brittney I have finished up 5 new quilt tops in the past 10 days.  It has honestly been the most fun I have had in a long time.  Some of them I started a while ago, all of them have had their fabrics stacked and waiting for months.  Four of them are for various children of mine. 

There is seldom a large chunk of time for me that is devoted to making for the sake of making alone.  While I will be teaching from them at QuiltCon this week, there is no pattern or rhyme or reason to any of them, just purely going for it.  Next week, once we're back I will share one with you every day and talk about inspirations, ideas, etc., okay? If you are going to QuiltCon, my lecture is Friday, 1:00-1:50pm, and I will also be hanging out at the Stitch Lab booth on Saturday morning, 9:00-10:00am, so please come and say hello.  Both of the classes that I am teaching have been sold out, but otherwise you can generally find me looking a little roundish and also looking for fish tacos.

The above little number is the bonus pillow project that comes with my Fields Aflutter embroidery pattern.  I have been meaning to get a group of photos for that over here forever, so that'll be real soonish.



I started this moth embroidery in the center over the summer while I was accompanying my mom to radiation treatment everyday for several weeks.  Isn't it always amazing the amount of emotion you can stitch into something?  This will always be particularly special to me for that reason.  I am happy to see this moth surround by some patchwork love now.

More patchwork love is launching on CreativeBug tomorrow with the first of my quilting classes (yippee) along with 8 more workshops from talents such as Kaffe, Heather, Liza and Sue.  Such good company!!!

Take care and follow me to Austin on IG, lots of love, xoxoxAM

Big Love

A few weeks ago, I finally found and ordered a great winter coat on a good sale for Roman.  I try to wait until the really quality ones are on sale after the holidays so that they will hopefully last through a kid or 5.  I have been pulling his sweater cuffs out past his little jacket sleeves for a while now trying to keep his wrists warm.  Also trying to make sure his sweater or shirt is pulled down as far over his pants as possible when I hoist him into his car seat because his jacket has gotten small enough to just barely meet his back waistline when he sits down.  He probably couldn't care less, but I can't relax if I think he is one degree colder than he ought to be.

After ordering it, I showed him a picture, and he has talked about nothing but his "big"coat because he is so "big" now.  But each day that it didn't show up, he asked "mommy am I big enough for the big coat yet?"  Well it finally came last night.  The very same night he got to help with making valentines for his preschool friends.  It was as if the universe all came together in a big bundle of red-happy-cozy-candy-heart-sticker perfection and I have never seen the kid more excited.

So today, this beaming bundle of big love is headed for a very fun day of preschool- his cuffs and his hem well passed where they should be so that my mind is at ease with his comfort.  And even though I am so well passed a much needed shower that I am getting itchy, and I can no longer button my own coat over my big pregnant belly, I am so very happy in his happiness.

Happy Valentine's Day!
xoxoAM

Playtime

 Some of that unscripted making. xoam

And for my next number....

I thought I would share a preview of all of the projects that I have been designing, sewing, stitching, writing, illustrating, and shooting video of over the past several weeks.  This place has been hustle after bustle and now settling into a calm flow where I can reflect on all the work that's been done and look forward to sharing it with you.  All of the above photos are a glimpse at the next round of classes that I will have launching with my friends at CreativeBug.  The the end of this month will see them offering lots of new, beautiful quilting and patchwork classes and I am so happy that I will be a part of that. 

*The first quilt is called the Flying Gosling Baby Quilt- (get it, gosling, bc it's a baby quilt).  It's fun to say Flying Gosling fast 'cause it sounds like Ryan Gosling, though really they don't have anything to do with one another, and it feels really weird that I just typed that guy's name in this sacred space of mine.  No matter.  The fun parts of that little quilt are evident in the photo. 
*The next is a whole cloth crib quilt where I get a chance to teach my method of hand quilting.  You likely know by now that I so enjoy that sorta thing and I do think it's such a good process to watch a person do if you've never tried it.
*The 3rd photo is the Melting Snowball Tote, which I lurve a whole, whole lot, and I am about to get up from my chair and dump all my purse hoopla into this one and officially make it a part of my life.  You might be able to see that the majority of this version was made with wools, which would not be imperative, but I do enjoy experimenting with textures.  Maybe you do too.  Who knows.
*Finally this sweet Needlepoint Rose project that you can stitch onto any existing garment, bag, linen, quilt block, etc.  So nice and simple and just an enjoyable modern take on the craft.

Oh!  I also wanted to mention a new (and cool) feature on CreativeBug.  The are now offering "a la carte" classes for individual purchase.  So if you'd prefer to bypass the monthly subscription business and just take one class, for about the price of one pattern (or less) you can do just that with several of the classes.  I have a couple as a la carte here. Also they are building up their free features section all the time, so there is now the option to sign up for a free membership to have access to those.  The lovely thing about this group of people is that they are listening to feedback and responding, so pipe up if you care too.

And next are the two new free projects I have designed for Janome.  The above is the Right Turn Bag, which is all strip-piece-y and fun and comes in two size options.  The pattern and video for this number will be launching at the end of this month.

And these are the Pleasant Pathways Shorts which I was chatting about over here.  I made both projects on the Horizon Memory Craft 12000 which is their tippity top of the line machine, and it seriously encourages me to try out some things that I've never really thought of doing.  Which when you sew very often is a lovely bonus.  The pattern for the shorts is for adult women, though obviously some of the smaller sizes will fit some of my middle-aged girls too.  Regardless of your machine, the pattern for the shorts is a simple shape, with straight forward construction, and just as cute whether you embroider the fabric or use a favorite print.  So win and win and win.  This pattern will launch towards the end of March.

So much to look forward to.  I love my job.  For the next few weeks I will be busy working on some new quilt tops to teach from during my workshops at QuiltCon.  I am so excited for the event and for the excuse to now get sewing on some very unscripted projects.

lots of love, xoxoAM

Stitched Hearts

Ohhhhhh. This. Was. Fun.  Really fun. If Valentine's Day were another year away I would make about 12 more variations on the needlepoint heart.  But here are two.  For you.  Kiss.

You can download the Valentine Stitcheries as a PDF (click that boldface title there) which comes in the form of two Valentine cards on one 8.5x11" sheet for you to give or to keep.  The cards themselves are a gridded pattern that you can use to make two different styles of needlepoint hearts with any sort of background you wish.  You could also use these charts as patterns for cross stitch.

With the striped heart on cream, I used a regular ole tent stitch (I have a helpful how to for you here) for the heart and used the Particularly Perfect palette of my wool kits (which would make tons of hearts).  For the background I made a basketweave, or wicker stitch, which covers canvas so fast.  While I have instruction in my Needleworks Notebook on this stitch, here's a quick reference. (Although mine is larger with four bars each instead of just three.)

The more fractal looking design on dark gray I dreamed up after all that wicker stitching.  I love how it looks!  Obsessed.  For this one I used the Particularly Perfect palette again and also the Nearly Neutral Palette and I adore how they look together.  I am dreaming of a whole large scale canvas filled with rows of hearts.  Sweet.  Speaking of canvas, this one is 11ct, though 12 ct would be fine too.  After they were stitched (7 episodes of Breaking Bad later) I trimmed them out with about a 3/8" border of raw canvas.

While they would be sweet framed, sewn into a zipper pouch, made into a pin cushion, a sachet or whatevs, I thought to just treat them like little pillows with an overlapped backing.  So I used some linen samples (eeek, just got some, shipping in April!) for the back.  I folded a double length for each overlapping piece instead of worrying about hemming the edges.


Pinned them all around right sides together, and sewed them on the machine with the needlepoint facing me so that I could be sure to settle my needle and the stitching right in between the last row of stitching and the rest of the needlepoint all around.  That was a long sentence.  Make sense?  You do want to fold the seam allowances over at the stitch line on each side, and overlapping at the corners before flipping through instead of cutting off the corners at an angle.  This is a little finicky, but worth not clipping too close to the stitching and makes a really stable corner.


Seriously fun, simple little project and a very special way to deliver sweets to your sweeties.


My sweeties have been messing around with the pattern themselves ever since they saw mama enjoying it and they are just so amazing.  This is one of the best crafts for kids, honestly.  Especially the younger girls being 9 and 11, they can do this on auto-pilot which rocks.

I don't think I'm done tinkering with the hearts yet, but glad to at least have these ready for you should you decide to indulge.  In other news Roman loves oranges now and he is telling everyone that he loves oranges now with so much pride.  He also has a new stuffed "kolala bear" and we do what ever we can to get him to say kolala bear because it's utterly adorable.

enjoy your weekend, xoxoxAnna