New space! part 1

Hi

I have been working on rearranging my sewing/quilting/craft whatever you want to call my creative space. I found a magnet that sort of explains me.  I like to do new things, try new things, explore new things, so here is my new motto:

I put most of my fabric on some open shelves that I already had (re-purposed from another room in the house).  I was worried about sun damage and the cats decided it made a cushy bed.

So now I re-purposed my Target boxes.  I did buy a couple more (they were on sale this week)  I like to be able to see all of my fabric so somewhere down the road I may buy some shelves with doors I can close.  This works OK for now.

I really like my organizational space.  I want to try to enter some challenges this year.  So I have a pocket to put information about challenges that interest me.  I also have a pocket for the many postcard exchanges I am involved in.  Somehow I just can't say no, at least very often.

The long list is things I need to complete.  Many are almost done, just need to be quilted.  A few are still ideas in my mind.  

Right below this is my new dog couch.  I had to take the old (people)couch out of the room to make room for my monstrously huge new machine, so Mocha Chip needed a new bed.

And here is a hint of why I needed the new bigger space! Have a creative Day! Janet

My favorite quilt for the Blogger's quilt festival

I decided to enter a quilt in the online quilt festival.  I needed to write about my favorite quilt in my blog and link it to the festival.  Hope you enjoy the show.

I have two or three quilt's that are my favorites.  They were all made within the last two years.  I joined Minnesota Contemporary Quilter's about a year and a half ago.  I credit joining that group with the spark in my quilting.  I really enjoy the no-rules approach to quilting and am having fun learning lot's of techniques and maybe making a few of my own.

The quilt I chose was for last years challenge.  Our theme was architexture.  I already had a photo of a cottage in Ireland that I wanted to re-create with fabric.  The photo had been on my inspiration board for over a year.  When I learned about the challenge I knew I had to try to make this quilt, even if I didn't feel it was good enough to enter.  I was very nervous about entering something with this group since I was new and there are many accomplished quilter's in this group.  I also had no idea how to make this quilt.  I made a couple of copies of the photo and left them around the house to keep me thinking about it throughout my day.  I enlarged one to eight by ten and used my projecta scope to draw outlines of what I wanted.  I decided to do the stones individually so I could add more texture to them and maybe still have my quilt lay flat when I was done.  I wasn't quite sure how to make them with the texture I wanted but I just started to play with my fabric and my machine.  I think it was one of those middle of the night "Aha" moments when it finally came to me.  Do you ever do that?  Wake up with a brilliant idea in the middle of the night?  Sometimes it works for me and sometimes I wake up in the morning look at the note I wrote myself and wonder 'who wrote that, and what were they thinking!'

I used about six shades of different batiks to make the stones.  I wanted to show the changes in color of the rock along with the shadows.  It took me awhile to decide on the door fabric but I really like the small stripe that I chose.  I added some tulle for the shadow on the door and did a little thread painting.  I tried thread painting the door latch but it looked really flat and didn't fit with the rest of the quilt.  I was thrilled when I found the latch I used.  It's a switch for a miniature train set!  It just looked perfect too me.

I had some trouble finishing the edge of the quilt.  I cut it first and then added the tiny stripe of red.  Well, I wasn't really thinking when I cut it and had trouble getting my little red strip of fabric straight because of the dimension of my stones.  Live and learn! Next time think of the whole quilt and finish out to the edge before applying dimensional aspects.  I did finish it in time and I did add it to the show.  It has been touring with the MCQ exhibit for almost a year now.  Should be home pretty soon. I've added my original photo to the

 bottom so you can see I did change it a little, cropped it and emphasized some of the color tones, but it's close.

I also want to credit a couple of teachers I had around the time I was making this quilt.  Myrna Giesbrecht who taught me to keep going and not listen to what others have to say about what I am making.  It was my opinion that mattered for this quilt.  I also took a class from Susan Brittingham around this time.  I learned how to add the grass at the bottom using her technique.  I took classes from both of these teachers at Quilt University. 

Have a creative day

Janet

Wild Life or wildlife?

Hi,
A couple of weeks ago I came home from exercising to find two cardinals in my yard.  I am a big bird lover.  They are so fun to watch.  I immediately got out my new 'squirrel proof' bird feeder, filled it up and put it in my front yard.  I have to put it in the front yard because hawks have started nesting in the trees behind my house.  I love to watch the hawks and think it is very cool to have them near but they do tend to discourage the little pretty birds.  I took this photo from my deck.  I made a photo postcard of the twin hawks that were here a few years ago.  If you look at my postcard slideshow you can see them. (Oops!  I haven't added it yet but it will be there soon.)

My cats love watching my new squirrel (bird) feeder.  I moved a file cabinet and chair over near the window so they can just lounge and enjoy the show.  Here is what they see most often, the creative, fat, happy squirrels hanging on the feeder.

The poor little birds are left to scrounge up seeds on the ground.

Or wait despondently on the nearby sidewalk.

Occasionally my cute little dog goes out to oversee all the activity.  

For some reason the squirrels and birds all tend to scatter when he goes outside.  I think he just wanted to play.  His name is Mocha Chip.  He was named for a blizzard at Dairy Queen!  Isn't he a sweetie.  I'm making him a new bed this weekend because in all my room arrangements I took his favorite resting spot out of my sewing space.  It was an old couch, I am talking old for a couch, it was older than my daughter who has graduated from college and been working for a few years.  I recovered it at one point just to see if I could do it and I don't think it turned out too bad.  I'll post a photo of his new 'couch' when I get it finished.  Hopefully it will turn out.

Here are the cats watching all the activity outside.  Keeps them from lounging around on my fabric! Have a creative day. Janet

Sneak Peak!

Hi,

Still working on my space.  I have trouble with motivation when it comes to organizing and cleaning.  Lucky for me the Quilt on a Budget group is giving me incentive to finish.  Joan is having a contest for the messiest quilting/sewing space and a second contest for the neatest.  I'm pretty sure I could have won the messiest last week but I'm glad I now have a chance to try for the neatest.  Even if I don't win the prize, ( a copy of STUDIOS magazine) I will win because my space will be so organized.  There are lot's of ideas for working on your space on the QOB blog right now as well as a giveaway sponsored by Country Stencils.  You can use the stencils to paint on your quilt.  Be sure and check out the Quilt on a Budget blog.

Here is a photo of my cubbies that have been following me around our home for at least fifteen years.  They have multiplied a couple of times but I bought most of them on clearance at Target years ago.  This last year I had my husband add the little holders so I can label each drawer/door with what is inside.  Am I getting old?  I can't always remember where I put everything and this helps so it more often ends up back in the same spot when I am finished.  They aren't completely organized yet and I need to rework the open shelves but I like the arrangement.  

I put three over in the corner with a light on top.  You can never have too many lights in a sewing space.  This lamp is more than 30 years old but it works great.  I added the fabric and bow a long time ago.  Definitely time to jazz up the fabric or re-paint the base of the lamp.  (The photo is me can you tell?)

Here are my fabric shelves.  I need to make something to hang in front to protect them from the sun and the cats.  One of my cats has already decided the second shelf from the bottom on the left is the perfect spot to hide away.  The second shelf from the bottom on the right has projects that I have everything I need to finish.  The shelf above that is projects in process that I still need to get backing and or batting to complete.  So, those two shelves should be empty in no time right?

One of my shibori dyed fabrics was chosen as photo of the week in the Fiber Focus group.  Here is a photo of that fabric.  I guess it should be on my incomplete project shelf.  I still haven't decided how to finish it.  Waiting for inspiration. Have a creative day! Janet

Searching for ugly fat quarters!

Hi,

Last week my husband and I started the transformation.  He painted the walls on Wednesday & Thursday.  Friday and Saturday we started moving furniture, upstairs, downstairs all around the house!  Good thing I've been lifting weights!  Actually, it's a good thing I have a seventeen year old son who can be bribed with use of the car! They cleared out the space and I have slowly been filling it back up again with all of my sewing, quilting, art paraphernalia.  I am so excited about my new space.  I will have twice as much room!  I am trying not to rush the move and really think about where everything will be placed.  Trying to create use zones.  I like to keep things together that will be used together.  I'm sure I will still be moving for awhile as I figure it all out but I can try!

I am in a swap right now for 2 ugly fat quarters.  So, as I sort my fabric today I will have to decide which ones qualify for that honor.  It will probably be the ones I haven't cut into yet.  I tend to use a small piece of this and a small piece of that when I quilt and seldom have a whole fat quarter laying around.  I guess if I do that means it is one I don't like as well, or isn't useful for me.  I have trouble calling any fabric ugly  because you can always add to it and transform it into something you like even more.  Hope my swap partner likes my ugly fat quarters.  Here is a photo of my shelves waiting for the fabric and my fabric waiting to be refolded, organized and placed on the shelves.  Can you see all my jars of buttons on the top shelf?  I love buttons. Somewhere in that pile of fabric are two ugly fat quarters that will go in the mail today or tomorrow.  Have a creative day! Janet