That Old 45 or Why I Hated High School

My latest finished project was a challenge quilt for TMQG. I finished it just 2 hours before last night's meeting. Whew! Participants were given one Robert Kaufman Solids Charm Pack in the Dusty pallet--thank you RKF. We were allowed to use only the colors from the charm pack and one pattern for the quilt top. We had carte blanche for the binding and backing. This quilt is also my first entry to the linky party, Fabric Tuesdays at Quiltstory. The button is on the left. Check it out for lots of recent inspiration!

I called it That Old 45 because it reminded me of 45 records in their protective sleeves. Do you remember 45s? I love music! The first piece of music I ever purchased was a 45 of Our House by Madness circa 1982. You can catch that song and its video here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4p4RWBCEFRo

Holy cow! Can I be dating myself any more?

The love for this quilt comes from that, and the unrelated fact that this quilt is for my Father-in-law. He is one terrific guy! Hopefully, this quilt will have a rugged, manly feel to it, and he will like it.

The hatred for this quilt comes from having an assignment with confining rules...just like high school. I was a good student, and as such I carried out my quilt assignment on time and obeyed all the rules, despite gnashing my teeth and some choice language shared only with my trusty Husqvarna Viking Sapphire 875Q.

Do you remember your first 45? I am speaking about the records, but if you have a great story about a birthday or malt liquor, I would be interested in hearing about those, too!

Pillow Swap Update

Hooray on all fronts regarding the Triangle Modern Quilt Swap this past Sunday. Jill Lee received my pillow with great enthusiasm. What a relief!

I received a pillow that was equal parts fantastic and cozy! Am I Lucky Ducky or what? As a matter of fact, Colleen at Lucky Duck Dreams, is the artist who made my pillow. Check her out at:
http://cyarnell.blogspot.com/

Or at least it used to be my pillow. That was until my 4 year old with very sophisticated taste saw it. She told me she knew the perfect place to put it...

...on her bed of course!

Thanks so much Colleen from myself and from my four year old.

Pillow Swap

The Triangle Modern Quilt Guild is having a pillow swap this Sunday. This is my first pillow swap and I am really excited about it. I have just finished my partner's pillow and...what if she does not like it? It is very much my style which one could safely call weird.

Truly, I do not want to disappoint my partner. Should I make a second pillow that is a little less me and a little more mainstream modern? Please advise.

ThePips

As much as I tried to avoid getting on the Sherbet Pips bandwagon...cute meets funky/modern...it was too much to resist. So here is my first Aneela Hoey creation, The Pips.

It is my version of Amandajean's, aka Crazy Mom Quilts, http://crazymomquilts.blogspot.com/, A Sweet Baby Crib. You can find it online at the Moda Bakeshop.

The back is pieced together with my favorite prints from the Sherbet Pips collection and leftover blocks. The binding is done on the bias with a super technique I found on The Bitter Purl, http://www.bitterpurl.com/. You can find it there posted on April 13, 2011.

This was an easy and very fun quilt to make. I think I might make it again with a different line. My four year old is going to be so excited when I give it to her, and I get a giddy feeling whenever I look at it. Woo hoo!

Happiness is a hug

Heads up this is light on quilting and heavy on cuteness (in my opinion).

Happiness is a nice cup of coffee on a mug rug...

...and happiness is a hug

So have a happy day today with hugs...and maybe some coffee, too.

Kindness is contagious

What the world needs is more kindness! That is a statement worth exploring. I have only been sewing for a year now, and quilting for about 9 months. I love it! Part of what I love has been the support shown to a newbie as myself. This support is found on countless blog and websites. There is a wealth of inspiration, encouragement and tutorials available. In return these generous folks only ask for you to respect and to credit their work where appropriate. In other words, just to be respectful and kind. I can certainly afford to be respectful, and it makes me happy to be kind.

Why does there seem to be less kindness in the world? More importantly, why would someone not be kind in their own community? In this case, the online community of sewers and quilters. I, myself, have not been the victim of any mean or harsh criticism...not yet. It hurts my feelings though to read some of the comments and criticisms posted lately regarding others. A long time ago, before we were "keeping it real," we were reminded to "not say anything if you have nothing kind to say." I think of myself as a modern woman, a modern mother, and a modern (very humble) quilter, but there is a place for old ways. Being kind to others others is a fine example in my opinion.

What can I do? Well, I am taking the Quilting Without Obligation pledge from That Girl...That Quilt.

1. I am pledging to make quilts (and some other things, too) that bring joy to myself and hopefully others.

2. I am pledging to try and give back to this fabulous quilting/sewing community.

3. I pledge to be supportive of my piers in their creative journeys regardless if it is to my taste.

In a nutshell, I am pledging to be kind to myself and to others.

As a side note, it is one of my primary goals as a mom to raise my girls to be kind! No lie. Ask anyone who knows me and they will tell you, this is parenting goal of mine.

Kindness is contagious! So is quilting.

blue matter

These are pictures of my submission to Challenge 2: Monochromatic.

As a very new quilter (this is my third quilt) this indeed was a challenge. Since I have been drawn to the wide array of blues lately, I thought that would be a good direction to take this project. What started out as a detailed plan for a modern dresden, turned into hundreds of quarter square triangles, stripes and bold borders. When I realized that the dresden plan was not what I wanted, I just improvised using the fabric how I just thought it should go together. There are over 12 different blue fabrics, several different shades of blue thread, and lots of blood (I still get the pins in my fingers sometimes), sweat and tears. Since it seemed like everything I looked at, or thought about was blue, I called this quilt, blue matter. All the blue matter was occupying my grey matter!

Any comments, advice, etc. are very much welcomed!