November | 2010 | Mrs. Schmenkman Quilts

Archive for November, 2010

Is it fabric season?

November 17, 2010 at 5:25 pm · Filed under Fabric, Great Quilt Patterns

What is up? There is so much new fabric out there that I love. You too? Makes it very, very hard to sleep at night.

Sometimes I lay awake and try to match the fabric to the perfect project. It must be the perfect project for the fabric. I would hate the let the fabric down by cutting and sewing it into a lesser project. Such a shame.

This is about the time I become paralyzed with project-fabric cohesion anxiety (PFCA?) and simply can’t bring myself to cut the stuff. Unless I know I have back-ups. Is there a pill for this? Do you have it too? Honestly.

A recent fabric arrival is Tula Pink’s Parisville.

Sigh and swoon.

The Cameo print is out of this world!

You can see the design process for the Cameo print — fascinating!

I will never be able to draw. Only fabric goddesses and gods can bring us such magical fabric designs. Yeah, no, I won’t be sending anything off to Spoonflower anytime soon.

In my fabric and project speed-dating dreams, I’ve been thinking that Parisville may have to become Rebecca Johnson’s “Curlicue Crush.” That would get all the prints and colorways together. But I also love Tula Pink’s Wind Swept quilt. Maybe that could be a second quilt. Cuz I would need some yardage for that one. Not just these measly fat quarters. 🙂

Also in the works is Lynette Anderson’s Scandinavian Christmas.

I am auditioning some Free Spirit solids for that.

Decisions, decisions. Did you know that Kathy at Pink Chalk has ALL the Free Spirit Designer Solids? This is handy when you’ve got the swatch book in front of you and you want THAT color and THAT color and THAT color. The espresso brown is what made me go with the Free Spirit solids over others. It was interesting to compare Kona’s color swatches with Free Spirit’s. My conclusion, of course, was that a quilter could use every solid there is. That could definitely keep a girl up at night thinking about that!

What fabrics are calling your name at the moment??

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Christmas is coming

November 10, 2010 at 4:30 pm · Filed under Fabric, Great Quilt Patterns, Quilts

So I’d better hurry up.

Actually, this is probably called an early start for me. Although I needed to get at the tree skirt well before now.

Yesterday I pieced Carol’s wonderful Oh Joyful tree skirt. This one is really fun to do!

Love Carol’s design! Just need some backing, some quilting, some buttons, some binding.

I’m also working on a super secret Christmas present. Shhhhhhhh! As the other Mrs. Schmenkman always says, the cobblers children have no shoes. Dear daughter does not have a quilt of her own. I KNOW. What kind of quilting mother am I? Well, one thing and another gets in the way. I’ve had many plans for “the perfect quilt” for her bed. ::sigh:: She does have a couple of quilts on her bed but they were ones that happened to be available.

We picked out this pattern back in the summer and I patiently waited for yards of Alexander Henry owls. And then I did some other things. But today I began the quilt and HOPEFULLY it will be ready for Christmas. This year.

I’m using Barbara Brandeburg’s Criss Cross Applesauce pattern.

I’ll be making it bigger than the pattern. So, 10 blocks down — maybe 38 more to go?

You are sworn to secrecy! I even had to mix up the trimmings in the sewing room garbage (yeah, quicker than actually just emptying it…).

Oh, gotta post this and head off to the bus stop! Not a word!

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The loot

November 8, 2010 at 2:40 pm · Filed under Fabric, Field Trips, Tools

OK, OK. This isn’t all the loot from Houston. But I didn’t go absolutely crazy. I tried to make good choices, really I did.

One of my favorite things is this rusty bed spring:

This falls into the “who knew?” department. Who knew we should all save old bed springs so they can live out their days as the bases of pincushions? Envision a wool sunflower dangling over the edges. Do not let me lose this rusty bed spring! I will want to make that wool sunflower some day!

I can now rest easy and glue baste to my heart’s content because I have this:

A Glue-Baste-It refill! What more could a girl want? I should have grabbed one of those accordian squeeze bottles too while I was at it. Didn’t.

Picked up some new Valdani threads:

Pretty! I don’t think I’ve purchased the size 12 Valdani pearl cotton before.

Oh, there was a lovely trim frenzy going on at Quakertown Quilts. I tried to restrain myself by getting just one of the colors:

Got a couple of cute bag notions:

That leafy green thing has a snap attached to one end.

I did have a little trouble getting out of the vintage fabric booth — Texas Silver Mercantile. It was in the back corner near the Sandy Schor booth. That back corner was a peaceful oasis of old treasures. I went in for six inch squares of vintage fabrics. Ahem.

Yeah, yeah, I’m not even showing you the six inch squares….

Love this one!

Grey plaid wool!

This one reminded me of my mom’s wedding china for some reason or a picture we had or some strong connection with growing up so I had to have it:

Love this one!

I could have moved into that booth.

I’ve also added a couple of Important Useful Tools since I came home. Borders sells these Paperchase pencil cases — different designs at different times. But they are great for toting along sewing necessities. I’m going to put a magnetic strip in mine.

I may be embarking on a new project that has a lot of stitching. We learned about the Cosmo Multi Work floss at market, so I ordered some to try out. It’s two strands of floss on a spool. Gasp! No splitting up six strands of floss! Sign me up.

Just to show I haven’t been sorting and petting the new stuff since I got back, I did up a quilt top last week using some Kathy Davis Journeys fabric and The Big EZ pattern from Vicki Bellino’s new Bloom Creek Quilts book. It is big and EZ.

And pretty much sideways in this picture but the design bed makes things hard to photograph. I’m inspired by the quilting I saw at market and may put some feathers on this one. It’s been a looooong time since I’ve done some feathers. They’re not hard. I’ve just been lazy. I’ll be dusting off my Patsy Thompson DVD as a refresher.

Gotta keep moving! Have a stitch-y Monday!

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I took how many photos?!?!?

November 3, 2010 at 3:02 pm · Filed under Fabric, Field Trips, Quilts

I went to quilt market and all I got was 50 photos? Hmmm, something doesn’t seem right about that. In the past, I’ve taken at least 300 pics, usually more. I’m not sure why I wasn’t whipping my camera out at every turn. Dare I say that it seemed a little bit quiet at the market proper?

Not that there weren’t outstanding new things and outstanding people. And lots to blow the quilty mind!

One most exciting thing was seeing Sarah and Damian. I’ve ~~stalked~~ met Sarah there before but it was a treat to get to hang out with her and so many other wonderful people. I’m afraid to make a list because I will forget someone (or, ahem, not realize I met someone……..blamed on bad form and/or the Four Seasons…..). But I know I saw Katy, Brioni, John, Kathy, Heather, Elizabeth, Pam, Elizabeth, Monica (FINALLY!), Cherri, Lizzy, Pat (it was always a great pick me up to pass the front of the hall — 1100 — and get a hug from Pat), Barbara and Sue. I hate to ask who I left off the list. I do know I did NOT see Jackie or Glenna.

Attending is kind of like getting sucked into a textile vacuum tube and spit out the other end a few days later. I had no concept of what was going on in the outside world. It was all quilts, all the time. Which is great for inspiration and motivation. The creative juices flow like a waterfall. And you have visions. Visions of what you’ll do AS SOON AS YOU GET HOME. Plans are made for what you’ll do AS SOON AS YOU GET HOME.

I must not actually be home because I haven’t started any of those things yet. Oh, but we did fly through the most amazing storm! Who knew that that’s what lightning looked like from a plane? It was beautiful (or so I told myself as a distraction from being otherwise terrified)!

But, really, the brain goes into overload processing the possibilities and making plans.

Well, you probably didn’t come here for the blathering, so here are a few snaps (because apparently I didn’t take pictures…). Worst news? I didn’t get to see the quilts. GASP. I was less devastated when I heard that there was a giant “NO PHOTOS” sign on Kim McLean’s Roseville Album quilt. But I did at least get to see it “in the flesh” as we scurried by as it was right at the front of the show in pride of place!

Without further ado….

Sarah’s quilt using her From Little Things fabric for Lecien. Fabrics coming soon to a quilt shop near you, no doubt, because the fabric sold very well! Yea!

Darn those bright lights at the tops of so many quilts! You can run over and download a free pattern for Sarah’s happy quilt at the Lecien site.

Oh, what’s this little quilt on the table at the Lecien booth?

Hee hee! A treat to see my little Candy Apples quilt in an “official” place.

As opposed to an unofficial place like my living room:

By now you all probably know that Aneela Hoey has a fabric line coming out from Moda called Sherbet Pips! What a CUTE fabric collection!

One of the cutest fabric collections in that huge building!

Here is John’s Parisville (Tula Pink’s new fabric collection for Free Spirit) quilt — quite a striking quilt! Love it! John’s quilt was quilted by Bethany — lovely!

I don’t have pics of other Parisville quilts in the Tula Pink booth, but you can see those over at Jaybird Quilts. Angela Walters’ quilting on the Parisville quilts in the booth is AMAZING! Gasp-out-loud breathtaking. Want-to-weep-they-are-that-great!

Marcia Derse was also there showing her wonderful fabrics for Troy. I cried when I had to hand back the black with acid green circles fabric.

I miss that little piece of fabric. ::sniffle:: Oh well, soon enough I’ll be able to purchase my very own piece. It was really fun to talk to her about her design process!

So, um, that’s kind of it for now. The rest of my photos are pretty project specific. I also took quite a few photos of antique quilts in the Quilts from Mulberry Lane booth. Carolyn and Donald Springer are the owners and were so gracious talking old quilts and letting folks take pics of their many antique treasures. Their booth was the best entertainment — they were on a corner so you were sure to walk past one way or the other at least a few times a day. They regularly changed their display quilts so you got to see different things every time you passed by.

Here’s one fave from their booth: