AQS Lancaster Show: Egyptian Tent Applique “Quilts”

While not exactly quilts, the highlight of the AQS Lancaster Quilt show for me this year was the collection Egyptian Appliqued Tent textiles.

Traditionally used to decorate the tents of important leaders, the Egyptian tent maker’s designs were truly stunning and inspiring.

I have a long standing love for Middle Eastern culture, language, and design.  Let’s just say, I totally fell in love with these.

Guess I’m adding one more quilt to my bucket list!

Quilting Events Galore

State Flowers Quilt by Linda Kinsey

The joy (and sometimes danger) of living in such a traditionally quilt-y place like Central Pennsylvania is the amazing amount of quilt events one can find.  Today and yesterday was perhaps my favorite event, the Pennsylvania Relief Sale.  With truly incalculable numbers of volunteer hours quilting, cooking, and organizing the event, hundreds of thousands of dollars are raised for missions.  The Quilter’s Attic Booth raised $4,000 in just 5 hours on Friday evening and when I left today, the Quilt auction had already raised over $70,000, all going towards the fantastic work of Mennonite Central Committee!

1. Irises Quilt appliqued by Dolly Kauffman and quilted by Conestoga Mennonite Church
2. Goldfinch by Helen Brackin
3. Pinwheels by Path Valley Amish
4. Vintage Postage Stamp by Janet Runion Patton
5. Vintage Dresden Plate donated by the Material Resource Center of Harleysville
6/7. Vintage Appliqued Flower donate by Ellen Tarpey
8. Vintage Cathedral Windows donated by Ellen Tarpey
9. Stairway to Cat Heaven pieced by Rachel Horst, quilted by Marie Eby

I considered bidding on a few of these, but unfortunately, I have great taste in quilts and all my top picks went for upwards of $500.  So alas, I had to content myself to fabulous vintage fabrics from the Quilter’s Attic Booth (a really dangerous place for me to volunteer, I just kept finding more awesomeness as the day went on).  Guess I’ll just have to keep making my own quilts.  But I’m feeling much more inspired to sew again.  Between moving and the new job and the winter dragging on here, I’ve found myself pretty much exhausted and down the past few weeks and very uninspired in my sewing room.  But it seems like a personal day, sunny weather, quilts, and a giant room full of Mennonites was just the thing to get me out of the that funk and I’ve been happily sewing away since I got home.  MCC Relief Sales are held all across the US and Canada, if you live near one I can’t recommend them highly enough.

I have a few more reports from my quilting trips coming up soon and maybe even a few of my own quilts back here again soon!

Sweet Geese

After more than a year, this sweet little quilt is finally quilted, bound, and ready to donate.

I’ve been using these little charity quilts for machine quilting practice.  Not making much progress, I can do a passable job, but that’s about it.  I think I’ll be looking for a class in the near future.

I’ve got to give some of the credit to a fun flickr group I’m a part of now.  Project: UFO (unfinished objects for those of you who don’t speak quilter) is a great little support group for those of us who are addicted to starting new projects before we finish up the old ones.  Check it out if you want some help staying on track with projects!

UFO Goals: January Progress

Keeping Warm

The Susquehanna River is starting to freeze here in Harrisburg.  It’s finally the right to work on the queen size quilt that is so long overdue in my frame.  And it’s a good time to snuggle under multiple quilts.  Now that I finally have a double bed, I have two family quilts that I can put to good use.  There is nothing warmer than sleeping under multiple quilts.

This quilt my grandmother made for me.

And this quilt that my Dad gave me for Christmas.  His mother appliqued the butterflies, my mom’s mother pieced it, and I quilted it with my grandmother.  And although I was very tired of butterflies after making three butterfly quilts, this quilt is certainly special enough to make an exception.

Hope you’re keeping warm!

The 2013 Goals

Goal #1 Focus on the quilting.

The major back log on my WIP list tends to be the quilting stage and I want to focus on finishing the quilts I’ve started.  And, I want to quilt one quilt for myself, just because.

Goal #2 Enjoy!

As much as I want to move things along and start new projects and create new things, I equally do not want to stress myself out about quilting.  Creating is a joyous thing!  Quilting should not be a “should” or a “have to” in my life.

Goal #3 Share the Joy!

Donate a quilt to the VA Relief Sale this fall, finish the quilt my grandmother started for the homeless shelter, and make at least five baby/lap quilts to donate.

Goal #4 Use what I’ve got

Same goal as last year, buy only what I really need or truly love.  Donate things that I’m not using.

Goal #5  Grow my skills

Knit a sweater.  Paper piece a fancy star.

Goal #6 Grow into the crafting community

This year I’m looking forward to more teaching and leadership opportunities, to historical demonstrations, and classes where I can learn.

Sounds doable, right?  Any goals from readers?  I’d love to hear what you’re planning for the new year!

The 2012 Goals in Review

At the beginning of the year I set six goals for myself and it’s time to see how I fared.

Goal #1: Finish What I’ve Started

WIP from 2009 finally off the list!

Although I certainly started new projects this year and inherited even more, I reduced my WIP boxes from four down to three and moved several old WIPs on to new homes.  Judges say: Not too shabby.

Goal #2 Use what I’ve got.  Buy only what I really need or truly love.  Donate things I’ll never use.

I did so-so on this one.  I donated a good amount to Lancaster Creative Reuse.  I didn’t buy nearly as much fabric as I have in past years.  But the reality is, I still probably have more fabric than I could use in the next ten years, so I’d like to be even more thoughtful this coming year about sewing related spending.

Goal #3 Grow my knitting skills.  Make socks with heels.  Knit my first sweater.

That would be a total fail.  I tried to start the socks like four times.  I never even got off the cuff.  I’ve decided I just don’t like size one needles.  I still want to do a sweater, I just haven’t had the time to do something for me, but hopefully in 2013.

Goal #4  Grow my quilting skills.  Take some classes.

Also a total fail.  This year’s insanity just did not have the time or the budget for classes.  But I think this coming year has a lot more potential for a class or two and being a part of a guild gives me good opportunities for informal classes.

Goal #5  Be more involved in the crafting community.  Join a guild.

Well, I guess co-founding guild definitively counts!  The Capital Area MQG has been pretty awesome.  I’ve loved the chance to get to know local quilters.  I’ve loved the chance to teach.   All I can say is, yes, more please next year. I’ve also recently joined the Pennsylvania Guild of Craftsmen and I’m excited to see how that goes.

Goal #6  Give more back.  Donate at least five quilts to charity.

Rainy Day Quilts Donated in Honor of Florence Walker

I made it, but just barely, and it wasn’t really what I had in mind.  I hoped to be able to donate a few good quilts to the Mennonite Relief Sales here in Harrisburg and in Virginia.  But lap/baby quilts were all I could manage.

Tomorrow it’s 2013 and time for new goals.  Wishing you a happy and safe night of celebration!

To everything there is a season (and a quilt)

We  mourned and remembered my maternal grandmother this Christmas.

Gifts from my grandmother and me, pillows made from her left over quilt blocks.

And we celebrated the wedding of my paternal Grandmother this weekend.

Gram’s Wedding Quilt

Rainy Day Quilts

Thanks to an early Christmas present, I’m back in the computing world!  If I had to be offline, it was fairly well timed, most of what I’ve been working on is Christmas gifts and I can’t share it yet anyway.

One project, or set of projects rather, that I got done and can share though is a group of quilts I’m calling the “Rainy Day Quilts.”  Harrisburg was spared almost all of Hurricane Sandy’s wrath, but initially it was predicted to be quite bad here, and given the terrible flooding this area had last year, people were very nervous, and very prepared.  I decided that I had better prepare my basement dwelling sewing room.  All the most important stuff (the WIPs, the machines, vintage fabrics, anything that was my grandmothers, my shop inventory) came upstairs.  Everything else got put up on the tables, stacked to the ceilings, ready to haul it upstairs as quickly as possible if the need arose.

I admit it, I own way too much sewing stuff

Well, fortunately, my house didn’t even get a drop of water  (double plus bonus, my sewing room got a really good cleaning).  But while all those WIPs were upstairs, I decided that I really ought to sort through them and finish some of them.  So, that’s how I spent most of my two rain days- piecing, machine quilting, knotting, and binding 5 baby quilts/lap quilts that either I or my Grandmother had in progress.

Rainy Day Quilts donated in honor of Florence Walker

So this Christmas, five little quilts are off to new babies in low income families and nursing homes in my grandmother’s honor and I have less chaos in the sewing room for an all around win.  Not too bad for two stormy days work.

Great to be back!  Hopefully more updates soon!

Good News and Bad News

Good news: My basement dwelling sewing room survived Hurricane Sandy unscathed.  And it was a good excuse to clean it well.

Good News: I started a new job today!  I’m back to work for the state, but now in the York County Office of Assistance (best known as the food stamps people).  I don’t even have to move!
Bad News: My seven year old lap top finally died a total death on Friday, forcing me to resort to my college era lap top that has a host of its own issues.  I’ve been trying to focus on growing my shop, especially with the Christmas season coming up and that seems like it will be nearly impossible without a fully functional computer.

Good News: The shop is still open.  I’m still able to sell the things I’ve already listed, I just won’t be able to list new things for the moment.  If you’re looking for a fabulous hand made Christmas gift, please consider supporting my work!

Bad News: I’m going to have to take a break from sharing here on the blog.  But I will be back as soon as I get back on a functional computer.

GOOD NEWS FOR YOU: I’m one of the sponsors for Sew, Mama, Sew’s incredible series, Handmade Holidays.  Today you have a chance to win a personalized tote bag from me, just by commenting over at SMS.  You can find the post here.
Until next time, whenever that might be,
Jill

Improv Workshop

This weekend the Capital Area Modern Quilt Guild hosted its first sew-in workshop and I had my very first chance to teach a group!  There was lots of creativity and fun.  All around a pretty good day.  You can check out everyone’s work over at the CAMQG Blog.
I wanted to be able to show the group several different types of improv blocks and passing books around  and flipping pages just seemed slow, so I decided to dig into my scrap bin a bit and make a baby sampler quilt.

This block was my personal favorite, and all the ladies agreed.

It’s was a bit smaller than I like for baby quilts, so I’ve been working up a nice improv border.  Because I just hate the idea of putting that much work into something that will be too small for them in less than a year, most of my “baby quilts” are really toddler quilts.  Anyway, I came home from the sew-in day and cleaned my sewing room.  Now I’m feeling very motivated to spend time in there, it’s so clean and organized, so I imagine I’ll get the border on very soon, hopefully later this week.
Until next time,

Jill