Miracle in the Quilt Studio!

Have you ever felt like someone or something is trying to give you a message? The same topic comes up over and over from totally different places?
I got a message recently. It was "Time to say goodbye....to fabric you won't be using." It appeared in books, on blogs, and was even part of the Becky Goldsmith lecture at my guild meeting!
This is why:

And you know this is not the entire stash...

You have seen my studio in it's "natural" state, and this mess is usually behind closed doors....well, when it's possible to close them! Basically the stacks are done by color (the blues are in the lower part of the cupboard).
But what's here is mainly fabric I have had for a long time. A really long time.
I'd rather have all my batiks out their storage boxes and on display here...so I must say goodbye.
I started off with the reds. I thought I might be able to deal with this mess one stack at a time. I got about 6 fabrics out, and they sat for several days on my table.
Then, in a sudden burst of inspiration one night, I rooted through almost everything. I tried to be ruthless. This is what I got:

More than a laundry basket load!

Some of this will be donated to good causes, some given to friends, and the rest will be made into patchwork backings for quilts (the larger pieces) and anything else will be stripped up.
Eventually.
Now I have this to look at:

Who knew this cupboard has a back?

These fabrics will trade places with the batiks when I get to the next phase of this project. And there's the bottom section of the cupboard to do as well...never any lack of Things To Do!
It's important to remember that anything done is better than nothing done. Even avoiding one task by doing another is OK when you're making progress somewhere.
(at least that's what I tell myself....)
But it's still a miracle for this packrat's studio!

Quilt Pattern Testing

It takes quite a bit of work to turn a quilt made into a pattern...even for one that I've already written most of the instructions. I keep thinking that most of the work is done if the quilt has been one of my Personalized Mystery Quilto classes.  But the clues for a mystery quilt are not really the same as pattern steps, and more importantly, a class handout is different than a published pattern. When I am teaching, you can ask me lots of questions! To write a pattern, I need to think about what is necessary, what is helpful...and what is just excess verbage that nobody will read anyway!

I really did not want to make this quilt again (there are already 3 versions of it) but I try to write the best instructions possible and then give them to at least one tester. If it's been awhile since I made the quilt, I still need to cut and sew it, even though a class may have pointed out places to make improvements.
This time I had a great idea: just make the blocks in whatever fabric I wanted (to test the yardage), and not worry about the finished quilt. This one is a pieced picture, so generally it does need specific fabrics for each block!

What was at hand? The collection of coffee theme fabrics...part of my 4 year promise to make kitchen curtains for my sister! Of course I had yards of fabrics, and only used a few.
This is a good example of making the fabric work for you. The top of the picture is a strip set made with a water-color type stripe (always an excellent buy!) and a coffee bean print.
Under that are some of the sections I cut to make the block. See how different each one is? They will provide a nice variety in the finished blocks but used only one fabric.

OK, I can't say I'm totally thrilled with the look....but then, this is not how the blocks go in the pattern....and I am not going to sew up the entire quilt to look like the pattern picture anyway.
I do like the way the brown stripes work, though!

I'm happy to say this part of the pattern worked out fine.
The next set of blocks are the hard ones...and they were turning out fine, too, until my sewing machine jammed up! I hope I can get it fixed soon.
Anyway, the goal is to have the pattern published in time for QuiltFest, since I am entering the quilt it's based on!

World's Greatest Project!

Yes! I have the World's Greatest Project!

But you're going to have to figure out what it is.
That is, you're going to have to figure out what your greatest project is.

I've been thinking about what makes a great project and why people keep a trend going. What is it that everyone is looking for?

I came up with three qualities for a Great Project:

1. Most materials are something you have on hand.
2. It won't take a very long time to complete.
3. It has lots of creative potential.

We all enjoy a reason to go shopping, but if you have anything remotely resembling a stash, then you like to make something using that fabric. It's much easier to buy special notions, patterns and supplies if you have the fabric already(or some to start with!).

There's nothing like an heirloom quilt...you know, the one with thousands of pieces, an applique border and all hand quilted every 1/4".
There's nothing like it in my house!
We all want to do a project that can be completed in a reasonable amount of time. The heirloom quilt is a wonderful thing to do, but it won't be under the Christmas tree until the next decade!

My favorite projects are simple ones. They are basic and uncomplicated. Once I can see how the parts go together, then my mind starts thinking about "What if...?" That's when the fun really begins and the creativity starts to flow!
I am very good at taking a simple project and making it unbelievably complex...but at least they're my own complications, not somebody's poor design or dense instructions.
(and a small tip-o-the-hat here for all the great quilt designers who do have their patterns tested by real people before going to print!)

Purses and aprons seem to be the going trend right now and I believe that's because they tend to meet the three qualities I mentioned. Easy block patterns, "jelly roll" strips and small quilts are also popular for the same reasons.

My most recent World's Greatest Project was a nine-patch quilt with an unusual setting.
What is yours?

Getting Off the Floor

Just in case you have never heard Sunnie's Rule of Storage, here it is:
"Any horizontal surface becomes a storage area, until gravity takes over."
This includes the floor.

My studio is small, maybe 10' x10' in a strange old-house sort of configuration. It has a floor made from heart-of-pine, but you wouldn't notice, because the entire floor has become a storage area (where it isn't covered by furnture). It's a one-woman, one-cat operation, and right now the cat doesn't have enough room!

My goal until the end of the year is to try and uncover some of the floor. I guess that means I am concentrating on UFO's that have landed! So far, so good... I have emptied tote bags that held old class projects (finished the items and returned the remaining fabric to the shelf or box where it belongs) and managed to corral fabric back into containers.
This morning I took all the pieces from a Diane Hire class (3 years ago!) and finished a small wall hanging. Then I grabbed a red tote bag from under the ironing board and discovered a collection of blue & white nine-patches. Not only have I got a start on another new quilt, but a sizable area of floor was exposed!
I feel like I am really accomplishing something!

Please don't ask about the batik stack, though....it is not in an actual walk-way, and will be saved for later!

Now, if I could only figure out getting digital pictures posted here, you could really appreciate my work!

Welcome to Patchwork Pie!

This is my special treat for Halloween 2007...a nice piece of Patchwork Pie to share with all my friends.
You may be an "old" friend...or a new friend...or a friend I just don't know yet!
If you already know me, then you know I was born to blog!
It was only a matter of time until I ended up online.

Patchwork Pie is made from my rambling through the world of quilting, fabric and closely related topics. It has lots of ingredients, and I've been making it for over 25 years, so it should be worth trying.

I hope you enjoy a good slice of pie every time you visit. Please feel free to bring your own ice cream.
I will, as usual, supply plenty of exclaimation marks!!!