A little more Bliss

While I was in Iowa last week, I quilted this quilt. This is "A little more Bliss" from a Charlotte Angotti workshop I took last spring. I've talked about her classes before. This is my third Angotti quilt. I chose a different option for the border than what she was offering. I really like this turquoise-y blue. Here's a detail shot.

I used a loopy pattern using Superior Threads' Karnak. It's a variegated thread with turquoise, tan and dark brown in it. It worked wonderfully. I finished making the binding last night, and I'll finish sewing it down, hopefully tomorrow.

I realized something looking at my UFO list this week. I can complete 12 large projects in a good year. I define that as anything 40x60 or larger. It doesn't include bags, scarves, craft projects, knitting, crochet, or clothing. I have about 2 and a half years worth of UFOs at the moment on the list, and I know it's not up to date. I'm very good at starting projects. I get excited about some new pattern or fabric line and start something, then get excited about the next new thing and lay that project aside. I guess the first step is recognizing you have a problem...

Hi, my name is Ann and I'm a fabric-aholic.

Quilt show goodies

Hey All,

Mom and I went to the AQS show in Des Moines last week. It was really nice. Saw lots of great quilts. I, of course, didn't take any pictures. Sigh. Stupid me. But it was a wonderful day...almost 90 degrees which is unheard of in Iowa in October.

We also made two more stops. Creekside quilting and the Textile Shop. The first is one of the nicest quilt shops I have been in. If you are ever passing through the Des Moines ares, make this shop one of your "must-sees." It's 5 minutes or so north of the interstate. The second shop is a home decorator remnant shop another 2 minutes north of Creekside. Very nicely displayed fabrics and great prices.

Now I know you all want to see the haul. Ok, here's what I came home with.

The bundle is fat eighths of Maison de Garance, the new line by French General. I just love their stuff. I may have to decorate a whole bedroom just with their fabrics. The blues are half yards of Rural Jardin. The round dealy is a frosted donut from Superior Threads. I love their products. I picked this up to use for hand applique. I often take applique projects with me when I travel (not that I work on them) and this will be better than carrying half my thread collection in a ziploc bag. Plus, most of my thread is packaged up with one project or another which means I can never find the color I need when I'm working on somthing else.

Right now on the design wall is Blocks 1 and 2 of Oh, Fransson's Subway quilt. They're turning out quite nicely.

The background really is white, but it's pretty washed out here. I'm still learning the new camera.

That's all for now.

Ann

Some days everything comes together perfectly, other days....not so much.

Hey everyone,

Here's something I made this summer for my sister. I had so much fun doing it, and everything just worked. Considering I wasn't using a pattern and just made it up as I went along, that's pretty impressive. This is the front of the bag, oh, and these are the last of the cell phone pictures. Got a new camera before our vacation. I used a bunch of Art Gallery fabrics, one Michael Miller, and one really old Jinny Beyer that just worked in well.

This is the bag with the flap open. The inside panel there has a couple of pockets.

This is the back of the bag, complete with a pocket big enough for a paperback book. I also made a book cover with a beaded bookmark, but I didn't get a picture of that.

Now for the ugly. I'm of the opinion that most clothing pattern designers have never seen an actual human being. Maybe they were locked in caves in the 30s and forced to design patterns all these years. Maybe they're aliens with odd proportions 'cause the measurements on the patterns don't match up with any human I know. What I do know for sure, is that I am talented enough to read a clothing pattern, reproduce it in fabric, and wind up with something that I can't wear. As if 10 years of 4H sewing didn't prove that already. Sigh. Yes, people, I took measurements before I bought the pattern; yes I tried it on at various stages; yes I changed seam allowances and pleats. What I was trying to make was a wrap-around dress to use as a swimsuit coverup when we went to Florida last month. And this is what I got. It's a fair approximation of the pattern, and pretty cute, despite the shapelessness hanging on a wooden hanger. It simply doesn't fit. I think I'll boycott any patterns that don't include elastic or drawstrings.

I did learn two things from this project: Don't set in sleeves when you're tired and eyelet is really a b!@*h to rip seams out on.

Here's what I am working on. These are the fabrics I've pulled together for Oh Fransson's Tokyo subway quilt-along. You can find it here. I've got blocks one and two done.

That's all for now.

Ann