improvisational patchwork

I had such a great time at Denyse Schmidt's Improvisational Patchwork workshop last Saturday, I meant to take photos of her gorgeous studio. Instead, we got so busy making our blocks and discussing them and what we learned from the process that I forgot to use my camera. So I returned home mostly with photos of the quilt blocks we made.











If you get a chance to take the class, it's a great experience and very worthwhile. I'm still contemplating ways that I can incorporate some of what I learned into my own work.

Thanks for inviting me, Denyse!

loved

I'm still here. It's been an exceptionally busy spring, between the launch of Lisette, the release of my book, Quilt Market, and all the usual work that needs to be done. I've been holed up for the past couple of weeks, formatting the fall Oliver + S pattern collection. And there have been some personal items scattered into the mix, like my horrendous allergies. Wow, what a brutal spring this one has been! I've been a sneezing, coughing, teary-eyed mess. All in all, I'm looking forward to taking a few breaks this summer.

Not all the events of this spring have been happy ones. I need to just say before I get to the point of my post that I'm gradually realizing (I guess I'm a slow learner) life is full of challenges. I'm learning to embrace unexpected issues and to expect them as part of "normal" life. I think I feel less side-tracked when I understand that there will always be some difficulty or unexpected issue that crops up. It's not effective for me to expect everything to settle down after an issue has been resolved, because there will inevitably be another one somewhere down the road. So if I expect challenges and embrace them as part of normal life, I'm less surprised when they arrive. I don't think that's a fatalistic perspective--just a small dose of reality to help keep everything balanced and in perspective and maybe to help me remember to celebrate little victories, too.

The reason I mention this is because last fall my sister was diagnosed with breast cancer. This came as a tremendous shock to everyone in our family, since my mom had just finished treatment for breast cancer not six months earlier. But today is my sister's final round of chemo, and she should be feeling better in a week or so. She's handled all the extra attention gracefully, and I'm very proud of her for the ways that she's been both weak and strong through this entire process.

My sister and her family are surrounded by a loving community who have helped to take very excellent care of them during the past six months, and one of her dear friends organized a quilting bee to show her support. We each sewed a quilt block, and a couple of weeks ago a group of us got together to do a little quilting and to celebrate and support my sister. I think I counted ten women who assembled, and as we quilted we got to know each other, since we come from several different parts of my sister's life. These are strong women who each have experienced their own challenges and victories and have each contributed to my sister's treatment in different ways. It was an honor to meet them and to see how they each play a part in my sister's life. (I'm really restraining myself from using the quilt as a metaphor, here...)

Everyone signed a patch for the back of the quilt. I had the honor of signing for my sisters, my mother, and my grandmother, all of whom contributed blocks but live too far away to attend the party.

Here she is with it, almost finished. (I think she and the quilt both look fantastic, by the way.)

And with her friend, Genna, who organized the bee and has put many hours into it.

Genna did an amazing job with the back, too. Don't you just feel the love when you see this?

And I need to close this post with a little reminder: have you checked or been checked recently?

Please don't forget.

red and white

I had the great pleasure of walking the Red and White quilts exhibit with Denyse Schmidt the other day. Denyse knows a tremendous amount about quilts (of course), so it was great fun to just listen and look.





I love the way the quilts were displayed. The show really took advantage of the space inside the Armory, and the cardboard tubes used to hang the quilts were and ingenious solution to hanging such a large quantity of quilts for a short amount of time.

I could say more about the show, but there's already been lots written, so I'll just leave it at that.

Many more photos here. Excuse the blurry ones--the lighting was a bit tricky, and I was busy looking instead of concentrating on the photos.

hexagon obsession

If you've been reading this little blog for a while, you might recall my mild obsession with hexagon piecing. It started as a dabbling, but the dabbling had such great appeal, I keep returning to it when I get a chance.

hexagon tile floor at the Museum at Eldridge Street

When I teach sewing, I'm always surprised at the number of students who recoil at the idea of hand basting or hand finishing. To me, hand sewing is half the joy of sewing! I rarely get much time to do any sewing for pleasure anymore, so I relish vacations and the chance to make something entirely by hand. I like that that these little hexagon projects are portable and easy to pick up when I have a few minutes. Although, in truth, I have trouble putting them down once I begin.

We took some vacation time between Christmas and New Years, so I finally finished this little doll quilt. I hadn't really intended to finish all the edges like that, but it was a fun challenge once I got going.


I still had vacation time on my hands, so I started this one:


I thought it might be fun to make a quilt using a scrap from every Oliver + S fabric I design for Moda, adding to the quilt with each collection. This is the first two collections (our second collection ships in April, so it isn't in stores yet). I like how they work together.

I'm pleased that I can keep working on this same quilt for a while. We've got enough doll quilts around here to keep a princess with a pea sleeping peacefully, so it's time for a larger project. One that I can work on periodically, whenever I have time.

(This is the technique I use, if you're interested in trying hexagon piecing for yourself.)

scrappy

We dragged two large sacks filled with fabric scraps to Tsia's school during the first week. School budgets are incredibly tight around here, and her school seems to do a really good job of utilizing the resources they have. I knew they would appreciate the cuttings that have been accumulating at the studio over the last couple of years.


Sure enough, just a few days later the children had stenciled leaves on muslin with brightly colored paints. And the next thing I knew, I had been sent home with a little assignment: the teacher requested a quilt made from the children's art. What could I say? It may be my busiest month of the year, but you can't say no when the teacher gives you homework, can you?


I decided to use the materials I had on hand to finish the quilt, and the process felt a little Gee's Bend, which was fun. I arranged the painted fabric pieces so they complimented each other and then gradually added strips of colored fabrics to join them. My favorite part is the bits of Denyse Schmidt's County Fair collection that I think keep the quilt from looking too predictable (although I would have added more pieces of those fabrics if I had them--didn't keep enough of the scraps for myself, I guess). The back is made from a piece of Michael Miller organic herringbone check with no batting between the layers since the herringbone is soft and thick, like a light-weight blanket.


Tsia kept me company on Saturday when I did most of the work on the quilt. We had two leftover leaves that were printed on very small scraps, so those leaves were appliqued to the finished quilt. Since it can't be washed (I'm fairly certain it would ruin the paint, since it's probably not fabric paint), I just fused the leaves to the quilt top and stitched them in place with a running stitch, leaving the raw edges showing. I had some helpers when we delivered the quilt to the classroom, and they love it!

what I did on my Market "vacation"

Usually, standing around talking to people isn't too exhausting, right? I must be fighting something, because it's taken me a couple of days to recover from Quilt Market. I dragged myself to the studio yesterday but didn't get much done and probably should have just taken the day off instead. My feet would have appreciated it.

We actually had a very relaxed trip this time--driving is much easier than shipping and flying. But for some reason I completely neglected to take photos during the show. Here's a little travelogue of the things I did remember to photograph:

I honestly can't remember the last time Todd and I took any sort of road trip. I think it may have been a trip around New Zealand about six years ago? Since we don't own a car, trips of this sort are extremely unusual. We rented a minivan to transport ourselves and the booth. Here it is, all packed up from the loading dock (closed already) and set to leave. We had plenty of room in the back and were actually surprised at how little space the booth takes. Usually, it's all cartoned and shipped on a big pallet, which seems to take much more space.


Headed over the Williamsburg Bridge. At first I thought that was our apartment complex in the front, with all the grass and trees, but it's not. We're a little farther north.

I wonder if biking to work might be an option this summer, since the bridge has a separate pathway for bikes and pedestrians. Wait. I don't have a bike!

A little side trip through China Town on our way to the Lincoln Tunnel.


Aren't NYC water towers great?

I love the cast iron buildings downtown, too.


It's easy to tell when you've reached Pennsylvania, with all the farms and rolling hills. And more rolling hills. Who knew Pennsylvania was so long?!?

Some of the hills were easier to go through than over, apparently.



Once we reached Pittsburgh, we felt right at home. Our hotel was located on Oliver Avenue!

I remembered to take photos of the booth before we turned on the lights, which is why it all looks so flat in these photos. Then I forgot all about photos until we left for home. I even forgot to take photos of Heather Ross and her adorable samples at the booth on Saturday.


The conference center was filled with natural light and lots of windows overhead. It's a beautiful setting, situated directly on the river.



The hotel was a beautiful, ornate older building. This type of work couldn't be duplicated today, and if it were it would feel all wrong and fake, like a Disney version of a hotel.


Almost home again. Is she waving to us, off in the background there?


Such a pretty skyline, even from the highway in New Jersey.

Random items I noticed or wanted to tell you:

It was nice to have a little time with just Todd, sans kid. We enjoyed time on the road together and had a couple of meals alone, too. I had a terrible time sitting still in the car for seven hours, but satellite radio and lots of bad 70's, 80's and 90's music got me through the ordeal. How did Todd manage to sit still in an airplane for hours every single week for all those years that he was traveling for work?

Megan, a reader of disdressed and resident of Pittsburgh, was so kind to email with a list of local restaurants (organized by neighborhood--go Megan!). We took full advantage of that list and enjoyed some terrific meals, including an especially memorable and hilarious one with Heather and Denyse. Thanks so much, Megan!

It was great to see some dear friends and customers at the show, and equally wonderful to make many new acquaintances. My absolute favorite part of Quilt Market is the amazing conversations I get to have with so many people. Nothing beats person-to-person contact, and it's my primary reason for attending and exhibiting at the show. Wouldn't it be great if we could all get together like that sometimes? With nothing to do for three days but talk to each other? Hurray!

We passed a truckload of golf carts on the way home. Maybe not exciting to you, but I was intrigued. (I don't get out much, perhaps?)

We agreed that TGI Friday's and Taco Bell are on our list of never-again experiences. Nevermore. Nevermore. Heather's Skittle dinner doesn't sound so great, either. What ever happened to vegetables? Or meals that don't heavily feature meat and only meat?

Pittsburgh is gorgeous. Really. Even the obviously depressed parts of the city are picturesque. I hate to think of all those beautiful factories and homes sitting vacant, however, and hope that the economy will pick up and revitalize the area soon.

Tsia was much too busy with her grandparents to talk with us during most of our absence, which was a relief. But she was happy to have us home again, too. Also a relief.

I've posted a separate wrap-up on the Oliver + s blog, if you're interested in learning more about what I saw at the show. Lots of fun fabrics and other products coming our way!

what I did over Christmas break

The answer? This:


Really. That about sums it up. Tsia's school was closed for 1 1/2 weeks, so we ran errands, read books, had a playdate or two, and wrapped up a few things at the studio. But I seem to be obsessed with these hexagon quilts, as evidenced by a recent rearranging of S's room.

I think I've mentioned before that we share our bedroom with Dr. S. We've divided it with a bookcase, which offers a small degree of privacy. But initially I thought she should have the window for the natural light and fresh air. Turns out that side of the room is too cold for someone who kicks the blankets off all night. So we swapped sides a while ago, which necessitated the removal of the doll quilts from where they hung.


Instead of re-hanging them all, I decided a little restraint would be better. And it was entirely unintentional, but somehow only the hexagon quilts landed back on the wall, along with one of my Mom's baby dresses and some stitching that S has been doing.


What happened to the other doll quilts? Well, currently they're acting as princess-and-the pea mattresses for Teddy's clementine-crate bed.

So what should I make with the newest hexagon quilt? Please don't say "place mat," or something like that. And it's not becoming a full quilt, by any means. Other ideas?