How’s this for a bright and bold baby quilt.  A baby art quilt as my good friend described it. This is just a detail…..a full photos below.

My very special niece Alli is having a baby boy very soon and this is for her…..and baby, of course.  There aren’t many people I’d go to the time of creating this improvisational style quilt….but she’s one of them. I hope they’ll all enjoy the little patches and pieces of color and print. Some of them I dug out of the bottom of my stash and others are new and trendy ones!

Here’s the whole quilt.  I made it in 14″ blocks, figuring it out as I went. I    especially like the curves …….I’ve been wanting to try this style  for a while      (hopefully you’ll see more of them to come…….why is it that there’s never enough time for all the things I want to do…whine, whine……I’m sure you’ve felt the same way)

I stitched around each block with a small stitch when it was completed  because with all those little pieces and seams, I didn’t want to be resewing a   gazillion times as I sewed the blocks together. I didn’t square up the blocks….just used the curved technique I used creating the blocks to sew the blocks into rows and the rows together.

A little closer look……I especially liked seeing and using those kids fabrics that I’ve had forever in my stash…..some probably 15 years old. Old friends! You’ll notice a lot of sports fabrics…..we are definitely a sports family and my niece was a fabulous college basketball player so there are plenty of basketballs. I did add footballs and helmets for her husband Nick as he’s a mega-fan!

If you’re interested in a good reference for this type of work, create your own free-form quilts by Rayna Gillman is a great way to learn a few techniques and get started.

Enjoy looking……!

Great advice passed on to me from my amazing granddaughter Josie…..so true, isn’t it?

The grass isn’t always greener on the other side. It’s greener where you water it.

          Josie Showalter,  interpreted from a quote from Justin Bieber

Four pieces to be exact. I’m talking about my  quilt Sheer Illusions….I showed it to you a week or two ago. There was just something about that quilt that wasn’t working for me…..

I loved the sheer, hand-painted fabrics I used…and I loved many of the parts…but it just seemed too big to be so light and airy. I like drama…and the original Sheer Illusion didn’t have it. Maybe it would be better as four small pieces, I wondered.

After building up my courage….I took my handy rotary cutter in hand, along with my trusty acrylic ruler….and slashed. It was very scarey……I had planned where the best places to cut would be so I didn’t cut at random (that would be too much to ask of myself!!)  Thank goodness I was pleased with the restults. Now I have four smaller (not too small) quilts to finish, and since they are now small enough for embellishing to have an impact, I’ll be doing a lot more hand stitching.

Watch for them to appear on my blog one of these days as four finished pieces….until then, here’s a few of the details.

So, you see, courage pays off even in art quilting! You just have to be willing to take a chance. Sometimes it will work, sometimes it won’t. But if you’re not crazy about something you’re working on, drastic action may be called for. Just remember……courage.

http://tinyurl.com/yo75hk
 

If you’re looking for a clearly explained and expressed set of design principles, this is it. Even if you’ve learned them before, it’s always a good idea for us to refresh our memories…….and see how someone else has explained the basics.

 If you haven’t studied them, but would like to…..this is perfect. Reading through them reminded me of some things I hadn’t thought about in awhile. A great refresher.

If you need a quick, quality print job done for small items such as business cards or postcards, I highly recommend www.overnightprints.com.

I’ve had them print both color postcards promoting my art quilts and website and business cards. Both have photos and color on both sides, and the quality is excellent, the price is very good, and the timing is quick….often overnight.

What more can you ask for?!

OK…..I wish I had the magic answer of how we can do all the things we want to do…and still be serene and stress-free! I don’t have that answer…..unfortunately. For me there is always a constant balancing act going on to acomplish the things, both personal and professional, that I need to do.

 I’ve found it a great advantage to train myself to need a little less sleep! Seriously…I’ve learned to do that. Those late night hours are very productive for me. No phone calls, no business emails…just quiet in my studio which is a very productive time. . I’ve heard other people say they get up early in the morning for that peaceful time.

I have the challenge of two balancing acts in my career…the first is balancing my family life with my career. I have four grandchildren …and I really do put them first. This means I have to put in some late night hours to make up for the time I took off during the day to play….but it’s worth it. I’m not willing or comfortable giving up time with my family or letting career responsiblities slip by….therefore; the late nights! Works for me!

 I also balance the time I spend between designing for books, patterns, and teaching….and time I spend on creating art quilts. This can be a challenge. I need to devote time to both to feel really good about where I’m going. Sometimes I wish I didn’t love to do it all! When I don’t budget my time well so I can work on both ….I can really feel the stress setting in.

 Here’s another lifesaver for me…..I have learned to trust the help of excellent people to get the job done. I have a fabulous seamstress and quilter…both of whom I have been working with for about six years. Edi Dobbins, my seamstress, is invaluable when it comes to stitching up the designs I come up with. Carol MacQuarry is my quilter extrordinaire….and she’s great when it comes to design and technique. Both of them are very significant when it comes to relieving stress! More about them coming later in My Posse.

My best advice for doing it all…..learn to say NO to the things that don’t really matter….and MAKE the time for things that do. It will probably mean giving up some “down time.”…….Good luck with the balance!

A great find….fabulous felted wool bags from Nepal…..in irresistible colors and a variety of shapes and sizes. I love discovering things with this  kind of unique, handmade look. Check them out on www.joggles.com in the handbag pattern section.

It’s also a wonderful website for all kinds of art quilt and mixed media supplies and goodies. Be sure and sit down with a cup of coffee….there’s lots to look at!

I don’t really like to shop…..but I like having nice things, so….shopping online works for me. For something out of the ordinary, I visit www.etsy.com.  Everything on the site is handmade with lots of variety……my first stop is the art section.. It’s a great place for finding gifts….especially for yourself! I still frequent ebay…..but etsy is kind of like an online boutique…not a department store!