Always time for thanks....

It's late in the evening. My Internet connection has been gone all day, and now is finally restored.
So instead of the big Thanksgiving piece I was intending to write, I'll just take a moment to say I am so grateful for my friends, who put up with me, and for my family, especially my son and husband who cooked the entire traditional feast!

I have learned from quilting that paying attention to a mistake makes it look much larger than it is. So what we pay the most attention to is the biggest thing in out lives.
This is one of the few ways we can take control when times are tough.
Now more than ever it's important to recognise the good things we are thankful for, and if our attention is placed there, it makes our blessings even larger.

I hope you had a good day today, or that at least part of it was good. Think about that good part!
There are a lot of holidays coming up, and I am going to see if I can turn them all into quilting celebrations.
I hope you come along for the ride!

Thankful for Fabric...

Thanksgiving is approaching, and I thought it would be a good time to consider things I am thankful for.

But I don't want to just give the "beauty pageant" sort of answers.

Definitely I am thankful for fabric.... all the designers and companies, and also the many very fine hand-dyers who have brought some real quality and variety to our choices.

Today was a trip with Cherry-Cherry to a local shop that's a bit farther than my daily rounds, Country Crossroads. They were kind to carry my patterns during QuiltFest. I am very thankful for the friendliness of shop owners...they are part of what makes quilting fun & rewarding!

CC got some thread needed for continuing a job (nothing like running out and finding the spool you have was mis-numbered....so it's match by memory & eye time!).

I was on the lookout for some fabric, and found theses lovelies:

"Jumpin' Java" by Sue Zipkion for Clothworks

Really, it's coffee beans all over!

Then I found this swirly stuff, which CC claims she already has!

"Marble" Michael Miller fabrics

Could be it is time for anothe photography lesson, because this fabric is much more green & brown than it appears here.

Last but not least....

Patt. # BTR-5196 from Blank Textiles

What's goin' on here????? These are supposed to be orange flowers!!!!
This looks absolutely nothing like the fabric I bought! I wonder if it actually comes in a pink colorway?
I guess that reminds us to be careful of buying fabric online or from a catalog...who knows what the real color is!

Meanwhile, back in the business world, I have renewed my domain name for another 5 years (sounds really important, huh?) so my website can continue running as SunnieQuilts.com
You could visit there and see the new class I've added, "Quirky Bits".
Will I ever manage to get "Perky Old Men" online as a free pattern? I have been promising it for 6 months now!
When I do, you (dear readers) will be the first to know!

The Bag of Ugly Fabric

"The Bag gets around."

That what it says on the side of this crumpled brown paper grocery sack.

It all started last November at the Sunshine State Quilters Association symposium. There had been quite a bit of fabric donated for both door prizes and for a sewing competition that would result in a charity project.

After viewing this pile, it was suggested that we have an Ugly Fabric challenge. Several of the ugliest pieces of fabric (as chosen by the guild president) were put into a bag.

All the names of the people attending were put into a drawing, and the one selected would have to take the bag home, make something, and come to the next meeting to show how that ugly fabric was used. Then another name would be drawn, and that person would get the bag.

Of course, more ugly fabric would be added!

The first person who got the bag was allowed to give it to one other person, but it could not be passed further. So it ended up in the hands of A. CoffeeQueen, a known reader of this very blog.

She ended up being quite inspired and made several articles, setting a very high bar for the next bag-holder!

The second poor soul recieved this bag in March, and had to show up in November with her item. Here it is...I have cropped her from the picture to repect her privacy! Or possibly her sanity.

I think she should be very proud of her accomplishment! This is a beautiful carry-all! The patchwork style is called Pioneer Braid.

But then it was time for passing the bag on, and wouldn't you know, my name was drawn! I just might be the only person happy to get this collection of weirdness. And I do mean weird!

This is a small idea of what was in the bag....you can't even see the material with flames on it.
I think most of it is perfectly fine!
That piece draped on the bag is really interesting, though. It's a highly polished chintz, and on the selvedge it claims to be both pre-shrunk and to have 2% shrinkage!

I'm not sure how long I have for this project...some yet-to-be-announced date in the Spring....so I'd better get on it soon.
As I'm working, I'll let get some more pictures of this stuff.
My biggest problem will be adding fabric for the next person.
Because I don't have any ugly fabric...none at all!

Quilting at the Campbell Folk School!

Campbell Folk School classes were just posted for the remainder of 2009, so now is the time to check them out! Click HERE for the link, and then click BROWSE CLASSES at the top right.

Or you can go right to my class by clicking this link.

Am I excited?

You bet!

And only 11.5 months to wait!

I'll be teaching a class based on the mystery quilt I did in 2007, but this one is greatly expanded and will allow students to choose from about 30 patterns to create their own design...wall hanging to bed quilt.

This is the original quilt:

Ah, when I finally get all my quilts nicely photographed on my new stand, you will be the first to be forced to .......er....I mean the first to have the opportunity to see them!

Ok, I promise the next post will reveal the Story of the Bag of Ugly Fabric!

Yes! I do have an exclaimation mark in every title!

Scrap Basket Returns Home!

This is where my famous Over-Flowing Scrap Basket lives. As you can see, it is not at home!
I'd like to say that "Starter Kit" is for scraps, but it's really a box that held Mason jars for canning. So it makes a sturdy container for some Xmas fabric (please note the word "some").

I just got back from visiting with the Space Coast Quilters in Titusville, to give my lecture about "Taming the Scrap Basket".

Wow...they had a super Show & Tell!

You should go see their show February 20 & 21, 2009, "Quilting From the Heart IX".
They'll have the usual quilt show events, but this one has a Bed Turning as well as demos. I heard that the members practically had to audition to be allowed to do the Celtic applique on the raffle quilt.
Even more important....they are serving up real home-cooked food! And these ladies are just as into cooking as they are quilting.

If you didn't do it already, click on the guild's name and visit their website for more info.

The Old Basket got a good work-out in Titusville, and I had to sort back through it to find some of my lecture items. But I did get it all back in place...And now the Scrap Basket is back in it's home, getting rested up for next year.

This was my last trip for 2008, but I am looking forward to being back on the road in 2009 for lectures and classes from guild meetings, to retreats, to......ta-da.......next November when I return to the John C. Campbell Folk School in No. Carolina!

Please check in tomorrow....I will tell you the beginning of the Story of the Bag of Ugly Fabric.
The end is yet to be known!

Foiled Again!

Once again my Big Plans to post from the road have been foiled!

I tried, but could not get a strong enough Wi-Fi signal....I'm sorry to have left you faithful commenters without any Patchwork Pie, and I do thank you for checking in!

Here's the scene:

Laptop up and running, but no outside connection!

I had to resort to playing with EQ6. On screen is the block pattern we made at my guild's retreat earlier this month.

Have you been on a retreat for quilters?

It has everything to do with sewing, laughing, and eating.

It has nothing to do with cooking! Everyone agrees that the best part is no planning, preparing or cleaning up meals!

The next most burning issue:

The Mysterious Ms. E's Scrap Basket!

It's pitiful condition is due to some quilters who really enjoyed rooting through and helping themselves to some fabric, as well as Ms. E making quite a number of Mile-A-Minute starter chunks.

Well, she calls it Mile-An-Hour...but it's still a theraputic & non-demanding activity, fast OR slow!

I did bring some green fabrics to add to the basket.

And one thing I know, those scraps will start self-propagating, just as they did for Cherry-Cherry, who now has multiple scrap containers!

Watch out, Ms. E!

This is the Sunshine State Quilters Association's raffle quilt. R-A-F-F-L-E ! I can't speak for other states, but in Florida you can run a raffle if you have the proper registration with the state office of consumer affairs. So yes, we may proudly call this a raffle quilt!
Of course, we all know the price of the ticket(s) is really a donation to help quilters keep doing their good work for charities and the world of quilting.
The quilt is called , "All Around the Town" and has a real variety of house blocks.

Which is mine?

Where else would I live but in The Rick-Rack Shack!

This retreat was also the Annual Meeting for SSQA, and as our special speaker we had Mary Sorensen. Her presentation was "Visual Texture: The Quiltmakers' Secret Weapon", using pictures of quilts to illustrate each point.
There was a lot to learn about fabric selection, though basically she encouraged us to "buy it all!"

I was thrilled that Mary asked for a picture of my Quirky Bits quilt (seen at Show & Tell) to add to the her program!

Of course, now I have to send her some more info about it, and that means I will have to also explain Perky Old Men....

there's no telling where this could lead!

Wild Roses Wallhanging & You!

Hmmmmm.....is "wallhanging" one word or two? SpellCheck seems confused about that issue.
I like it as one word.
If you left a comment here in October, your name was in a drawing for this wallhanging. But if you prefer, you may have won this "wall hanging":
The winner, one of Patchwork Pie's readers who lives in a tropical setting, may appreciate this is a Canadian pattern called Wild Roses (batik). It is Quilt Pattern #3996-1, designed by Castilleja Cotton, 6411 Coach Hill Rd. SW, Calgary, Alta. Canada, T3H 1B4.
Web page: http://www.castillejacotton.com/

The runner-up is getting the pattern, because she admired it so much.
For you fans of copyright law, it is OK to give away the entire pattern.
It would not be OK for me to make a copy for myself to keep!

I love patterns like this with simple pieces (and fusible, too!). They give you a good place to start off for creative expression. There is so much I could have done with these Wild Roses, but chose to spend less time on this one.

What I did do was make some 3-D centers with gold embroidery floss, and also outlined where the petals touch so they would show up better. For that I used a darker value of the thread color, in the bobbin & on top.
Which shows up like this on the back:

Yes, it is true I don't care that much about the back. I will always care more about the front.
You can see the leaf shapes, but the thread actually just melts into that backing fabric, and would have been quite nice if I had not gone over the inside petals!
The pink is showing because it's a different color and has multiple rows to make a heavier line.

If the background fabric (on the front) had been more of a solid, I think it would have looked great quilted with the shape of the leaves.
Repeating a pattern shape (pieced or appliqued) is always a good starting-off point for deciding a quilting pattern.

WHAT DO YOU THINK?
I'd like to know what you're thinking about and working on, quilt-wise. It's easy to leave a comment ...
at the bottom of this post, just click on the word "comments" and a window will pop up for you to write in.
Then type the funny puzzle-like word in the box...it proves you are Human (as opposed to a Spammin' Robot) so that's a good thing, as Martha would say.
If you don't want to use the comment section, please feel free to e-mail me at sunsky @comcast.net
Yes, I left a space in my address so the "spammin' robots" wouldn't send me messages about drugs for body parts I do not have!