Wednesday, March 16, 2011

curvy blocks

curvy squares

guys! I'm all caught up!! I finished Rebekah's block last night and mailed all three blocks I've finished this morning.

I was tempted to cut into this block and add some lines going through it, but then I was scared you would hate it. I also left it a little bigger than 14x14" so you could square it up how you like.

Friday, March 11, 2011

kelp strip

kelp strip

didn't mean to post two separate posts today, but I had to get a good photo of this panel. it's hard when you are a shorty!

I hope I didn't delay your quilt too much rossie. it was so much fun working on it. the fabric you dyed is gorgeous! I kept thinking it was orange, then rust, then pumpkin, well you get the idea. also, I keep seeing a laser shooter and not kelp....but that could be all the video games I've been playing affecting me :)


mosaic for robin

mosaic for robin

robin, I hope everything is ok where you live this morning and that you and your family are safe!

I had fun working on this block for you, I love shot cottons so much! I kinda went in without a plan (seems to be my theme for this bee), so hopefully the block still works for you. not sure if it's groovy enough, but I kept everything pretty natural with no forced wonkyness. I just have to pack the block and scraps for you and it'll be headed your way!


Wednesday, March 9, 2011

Catch-up.

Yesterday was block making day. Today was block shipping day. Tomorrow will be block-fabric packing day.
I am determined to fit the last five months of bee-ness into 3 days.
So, to all of you who are waiting on blocks from me, THEY ARE COMING, and I have photographic proof, and I apologize for being such a late jerk, and thank you for your patience.
PROOF:for Amanda
for Debbie
for Rebekah
and for Robin.
I'm going to include a little commercial here: Several of these blocks required quite a few pieced curves, which, a week ago, I had never done. If this is something you do often, and you have a Bernina, GO AND BUY THIS FOOT: It's called the leather roller foot, and it isn't cheap ($70 ish?), but it is so, so worth it. You can turn on a dime, it's a ton of fun for doing quilting, and when doing pieced curves, it is BRILLIANT. I don't think I pinned anything more than in the middle-- since it takes absolutely no effort to turn the fabric, you can concentrate completely on keeping the edges together and don't need to worry about the angle. I really can't imagine doing this stuff with a regular foot, this makes it so fast and easy.
Ok, commercial over, and I should mention that I have absolutely no affiliation with Bernina, just wanted to share.

I'll be back tomorrow with my inspiration and concept for my quilt blocks!

Tuesday, March 1, 2011

Block for Rebekah

I'm trying to catch up while I'm on "spring" break. I hope this block works for you, Rebekah! It was a challenge to work on--I think I need to take a workshop on curved piecing as I'm sure I did this the hard way!

Wednesday, February 9, 2011

1950s Fashion Print

Last fall,  I bought V&A Pattern: The Fifties. This gem, while quite small,  is full of beautiful images. I like it a lot, particularly because I'm so fond of Lucienne Day's work and there are quite a few images of her textile designs in there.

I must have bought that first book at Amazon.com, because they recommended this newly released book 1950s Fashion Print to me.  When this book first arrived and I flipped through it, I was a little disappointed as many of the images do nothing for me:
But, some of the images are just lovely:
And of course, Lucienne Day has a good showing:
Unlike V&A Pattern: The Fifties, which contains minimal text, 1950s Fashion Print is at least as much about the text as the images.  As such, it wasn't until I sat down to read the book that I realized the true worth of this book.

"Interest lay in the plant skeleton rather than the bloom, seed heads rather than the blossom, and leafless trees rather than foliage"  (Fogg, 2011, p. 8).  

Yes, yes, yes!  I've been slowly making my way through the book, really enjoying myself.  I have found it really useful to have the internet at hand while reading because Fogg often makes reference to different designers, artists, and such without providing representative images of their work.  I'm sure this is in order to keep the cost of the book down, but it is useful to have a picture of the Skylon  available when Fogg is going on about its pervasive influence.  Google Images to the rescue!
Anyway, if you are able to buy or borrow this book, I'd recommend it...inspiration awaits!

Thursday, February 3, 2011

Mondrian's Nephew was a Beatnik

Okay ladies, It's my turn to host and I've got something that looks difficult, but once you get started you will find it's suuper easy and fun! The thing to keep in mind is shot cottons are very easy to work with and in the end they will all look fabulous togeter! I'll send the instructions with the fabric, but in case you can't wait to see what I have in store, here is the assignment (click on it to enlarge):