NMQG May Challenge - My Migration to Modern

Latest news... I joined the Niagara Modern Quilt Guild (NMQG) and I am thrilled to be spending time with my fellow creative artists.

When I heard days before the meeting that there was a challenge block, something to test our new found modern superpowers, I had to try it out.  The topic was "bird on a branch".

This task taught me that my creative mind defaults to traditional more often than I may care to admit.  Not that there is anything wrong with that! I believe testing one's superpowers is the only way to make sure you know how to use them when called upon.

This is how it went down...

Started with what ended up being a totally traditional branch block...
note to self, just because you drafted it without a pattern does not make it modern !

 Drew a bird... maybe googled modern bird for inspiration, maybe not... decided on a colour...
closer to modern... fabric does not resemble feathers... 
unless you have plucked all the feathers and arranged them in circles...
 which is not a nice thing to do to a bird...

Had a wing, a bead for the eye and some legs set to go but they were too safe...
I had to go out on a limb...

Scratched the yellow beak...changed it to blue...
was trying for a offset block but the habit of putting things in the middle is so central a habit... 

Quilted carefully on my longarm...
chose a more modern design and swirled the raw edges of the bird to stop it from flying away...

Done... pretty decent attempt but I have far to go before I rest...
I am reassured that I have others in my flock to help me on my migration to modern.

To wash or not to wash...

 Update on Breeze Block Quilt...

I decided to practice my doodle quilting and it was more challenging than I thought... but I got the hang of it eventually.  It creates a lot of movement on the quilt so I can see how it would not necessarily work for every project.

And then just because I don't have enough to do, I decided to see what it would look like laundered.  (look like laundered... love alliteration)

So...

Pre-washed... (and unbound) --- you know that sounds like a title of a book.

Post-washed

And here is a picture of my niece Ella on the quilt.  The moment you lay a quilt down anywhere, guaranteed a cat or a child will be on it in no time flat.  This one clearly belongs to her... :)

*** from doodle to design ***

Today instead of being sucked into the endless vortex of images that is Pinterest (not that I mind, I do adore a good dose of Pinterest)... I decided to doodle. Coffee, lots of paper and a fresh Sharpie, no need to change out of pjs yet.

Machine quilting is experimenting with shapes and designs.  If you can doodle, you can machine quilt. We over think things. Tap into your high school self who endlessly doodled in every available space, whether your notes on foolscap or inside a textbook.  (Aaah the smell of fresh foolscap in the morning...)

It is a word... look it up !     http://www.thefreedictionary.com/foolscap

Recently I have been watching Karlee Porter draw and then quilt her graffiti designs which are amazing.  I have always doodled flowers so this time instead of stopping at a few repeats I carried on until I ran out of space.

Now to practice on the long arm... I feel it is going to be TOTALLY AWESOME !!! Growing up in the 80s never truly leaves you.

Breeze Blocks Abound

Breeze Block Part Two

Creating a business, particularly a new business that you are technically not supposed to talk about until your business plan is approved, is A LOT of work.  The things I did not know that I did not know.  Sheesh!  You may be able to deduce that I am awful at keeping secrets, who knows how much longer I can hold out.

From time to time my creative self insists, well to be honest demands, that she be heard.  My business self (who knew I had one) needs to let her out to play... and the pictures below are what happened in the last few days. These mid century concrete breeze block designs have captured my imagination.  I decided to draft another block...

More math

 

One down... now what to make it into?  I mean how many quilts does a person really need?

Added some more turquoise and decided to quilt it too :)

Using a fabulous feather pillow form from... you guessed it... IKEA !
And here is the link http://www.ikea.com/ca/en/catalog/products/80230894/ 

At this point Blake (who has his computer at the kitchen table where he is playing online with a friend) says to his friend, "my Mum is outside taking pictures of a pillow" ... "no I don't know why"

Hopefully this will hold me over for a few days before I have to make something else

p.s. you can only find the buttons you need if you dump them ALL out !

Mid Century MODERN Breeze Blocks

I find inspiration in the strangest places.  One night I could not sleep after being awoken by Falter screaming that awful cat/child yowl, no doubt directed at a raccoon or some other animal going about its nightly adventures.  It was about 2 a.m. and the house was quiet... my mind racing here, there and everywhere.  I decided to peruse Pinterest.  It has become an obsession, all those pretty images.  Minutes become hours.

Not sure how I happened upon concrete breeze blocks, but the moment I did I knew it was a quilt pattern.  These blocks come in so many designs you could easily create a book around them.

Later... not that night mind you, I drafted the block, and after some math difficulty and a test block that ended up wonky, I figured it out.

I have been in Business School for the past month learning how to start a proper business. I am restricted from saying more by the government rules, honestly I am not kidding, but if you stay tuned you will hear more... shortly.