Tag: quilting

did ya ever?

img_20161119_111224Have a night where you didn’t sleep so well for no particular reason? It’s happened on more than one occasion, being a woman nearing a certain age I’m sure this will again. This usually happens when there is something to do the next day, like get up early and be coherent. Wild and crazy dreams woke me up every two hours. Sheesh!

That was bad enough. I checked into facebook where I saw a picture of an alligator nose coming up through a toilet bowl. Not a big deal, but in my sleep deprived mind memories flooded my brain of the trailer in which we resided in North Las Vegas and someone sharing stories of scorpions being found in toilets. I was five when this happened. Five. I still remember this and shudder with fear of going to the potty without some adult making sure everything was okay.

And it doesn’t help that as I write little flashes of memory of some neighborhood teenager telling me about seeing Jaws at the movies. Okay that’s fine. The vivid imagination leading to nightmares and falling out of bed didn’t help.

What has all of this to do with quilting? Well, the trip into the City was to meet up with a friend and get a sneak peek of a quilt shop that will open. At some point there will be a facebook live, but today wasn’t the day. Spending time with my friend was important. Then I met Cathy at Sarabeths! I had pineapple and mango waffle. Oh how decadent! I’ll go back there for breakfast again.

20170614_131401The 1000 Postcards for Peace facebook page is live. Please feel free to join us. Debby shares the thought behind the project here.  And the Facebook Live vid we did. It’s a beautiful story, and a good way of adding something beautiful into the world. Will this solve the problems? No. But it is healing for the maker. It is a moment of creativity, and prayer. As quilters we know how much quilting can heal wounded hearts, warm people, offer comfort. And so we stitch on.

Happy Quilting!

Teri

 

Gah!

dance bang head 1975

I’m not sure what happened however, all of the sudden Microsoft Office isn’t working on my laptop. So early this afternoon I handed this thing off to the in-house tech support. It’s still not working. Gah! I’m going to have to give it back to him tomorrow. He says there’s an app I downloaded and I don’t think so. The only thing I opened is a document from someone I know, that I need. It needs some work. I have an alternate plan but the look isn’t quite as nice as Word. Oh have mercy.

Tomorrow the in-house tech sets up the air conditioning in the sewing room. This will be one happy quilter. I am jonesing to sew. I need to quilt. My quilting person is deeply unsettled and has some things she wants to stitch out. But first the a/c then a wee bit of a tidy up so that I can once again function. I mean I started this tidy up then I started sewing, then I went to Quilt Market. It’s a common experience among quilters. I could bake cake and go to Debby’s for the day. I don’t really need the cake. It’s more the mental space.

My sweetie (aka the in-house tech) made dinner today. In the few minutes before I turned on the tv to see this:

Well done Ford for the commercial featuring, promoting and supporting sewing, and well done Egypt “Ify” Ufele. A little more looking around and my sweetie found this Times Ledger article on how Chubiiline was created. Gotta give it to Gramma for teaching Ify to sew, navigate some tough social interactions, and her mom for creating a space for the sewing to happen. I love that she sews for at least two hours every day. I love that she loves her body just as it is.

This is timely as I listened to This American Life podcast 589 Tell Me I’m Fat. I can’t stop thinking about the experience shared by one woman in her crusade to be thin, because from her description she’s not healthy physically, and more importantly emotionally.

2017-05-28 12.42.34After all the angst of trying to figure out who I am in the quilting world I think that craftsman (yeah, yeah language but what the heck it’s my blog) is the best fit. I get how this machine quilting works, though there is still much to learn, explore, dream, and think about. And even more to do, the ideas keep floating through my brain so quickly I wonder if I’ll ever have time to stitch them all out. Probably not, and not the point. And no, I’m not going to go around telling people I’m a craftsman this is simply personal clarity, a gift to me.

And as soon as that a/c is installed I’m quilting baby! First up a post card #1000postcardsforpeace!

PS – did you see this on Instagram today?

Working on a little wall hanging. All precuts! Simple! #sewbatik #itsallaboutbatik #precuts #precutbatiks

A post shared by sewbatik (@sewbatik) on

Sew stinkin’ cute!! Diane (or Bruce) will be at the Vermont Quilt Festival.

Happy Quilting!

Teri

PS

And then she said

lily-pond-nybgThe first Lucy’s Nickles Quilting Group is coming to a close. I have one more motif for this particular quilt. The quilters who have participated have done a great job and have been game. We’re going to start the next quilt fairly soon. I know what we’re going to work on. Feel free to join us in the group: Lucy’s Nickles.

By the time you read this I’ll be chatting with a friend who has a retreat center about the logistics and possibilities. You might remember from I’ve gone and done it now that I’ve added a retreat to the possibility of available classes. The thought of working with a small group of people, for an extended period of time is really appealing. My own personal memories of retreats with a great retreat director flood my mind and heart with the good personal work we did. Quilting is much the same way, good personal work of the mind and heart. And Veronica if you’re reading this we still have work to do.

———

We all have that one friend. You know the one who knows what’s inside your head even if you have the Big Idea and the words are all wibbledy wobbledy. She puts them in the right order. Well, now I won’t exactly tell you what she said as that doesn’t matter so much as what it allowed me to finish something. I’m being vague. The cool part is that I’m excited that I finished this project in short order.

There was something about Quilt Market that seemed to renew and refresh. I suspect there is more there. The cool thing about this project is that if I get it great! I’m thrilled. If not I’m happy because I put it out there in an unexpected way, with unexpected timing.

This is the life.

Happy Quilting!

Teri

This might be fun!

IMG_20170529_144837_780A few weeks ago I offered to make a quilt for Maria from Pinwheels, you see she has some new Oakshott cottons of the striped variety. Before I get there Pinwheels is now open in Hurleyville, NY. Check out this facebook video. Congratulations Maria I will get there soon and oh I have an idea!

The stripe makes me quite giddy. The tone-on-tone stripes and the texture of the Oakshott have the potential for adding so much to a quilt top, and in a way that will prove so much fun.

20170529_160044-1I started stitching Monday afternoon using a layering and free-form cutting technique that I used to make the quilt for the Cherrywood Challenge. Cutting, stitching, layering, cutting, stitching, rinse repeat. Just the beginning stitching is producing some lovely results. Layering the fabrics and cutting the curve to produce this drunkards path block…not bad at’all.
I’m using Superior’s MicroQuilter for the piecing of this project and am rather chuffed with the results. But wait! There’s more. I currently have 7 other blocks stitched together, and a few more pieces of the stripe, there will be more cutting, stitching in a curvilinear kind of way.  I can hardly wait to see how this works. It’s so lovely finding joy in quilting once again, enjoying the boundless opportunities to explore piecing, shape, and adding quilting later.

When I started writing this post, the idea for the quilt came into full-view, getting me all giddy and excited. A smile on my face, hands going a mile a minute, bringing the quilt into focus. This is the stuff of the quilting world that I love.

Happy Quilting!

Teri

Quilterly Writers Block

Quilterly Writers Block

I’m a quilter. And by that I love to free motion machine quilt. On and off I’ve had to work through the equivalent of writers block. I just. couldn’t. quilt. Those moments were tough but often led to something that would pleasantly surprise me. Whew.
Would it surprise you that, while I’ve been quilting on and off over the last few years,  I haven’t really done anything original, inspired, intentional for a long time. I’ve dabbled. Made a few small pieces. I’ve looked wistfully at the pile of quilts in need of time, attention, and breath.

T

20170526_145224-1
Cherrywood van Gogh Challenge

he last few years the need-to-dos have taken, necessary, priority over the gee-I-get-to-dos producing a level of fatigue not previously experienced.

I can assure you this has not been the most pleasant experience. Quilting is something akin to breathing. An exchange of oxygen, and carbon dioxide that gives life, helps clear the thoughts, work out whatever is going on in daily life. The need to do list has not changed, however the stress that built up from the need-to-do’s, has started to recede. I’m beginning to breathe deeply.

Overall quilt market was good, there’s still follow up to do. There were a few very difficult moments. Long about late Wednesday afternoon I stopped what I was doing, headed up to the sewing room and started the Cherrywood challenge. Cut, stitch. Cut, stitch. Cut, stitch. Rinse, repeat until this piece said, “I’m complete.” I’ve added a border bigger than currently needed because I have a habit of quilting densely and shrinking a quilt.2017-05-28 12.42.34

Well then this happened. A while back I had a give away on a post offering to quilt a small piece for one of the folks who commented. I knew it would take a little while and let the winner know that as finishing a quilt or two and getting ready for Market were the higher priorities. The winner said she likes red, so red Oakshott it is. Teeny tiny stitching makes me happy, so teeny tiny stitching all over this eight inch square quilt that needs trimming, facing, signing and sending.

2017-05-28 12.42.01

The back is as pretty as the front. This is making me think that trimming it up, and running a tight satin stitch along the edge might be a better plan.

As I’ve quilting a friend has repeatedly said, “the dam is broken!”, creativity has free reign. And these two pieces are evidence that the water is flowing, I’m breathing the air. My heart is full, and there are plans afoot for a couple of other projects.

I love quilting.

Teri

I’ve gone and done it now

I’ve gone and done it now

Serendipity As Well full viewI’ve added a Retreat to the list of classes. I’ve wanted to add a retreat for a very long time, now seemed as good a time as any. A three or five day retreat to explore the world of thread, batting, design, and color. Find the eclecticness of you, the freedom to explore and push the current boundaries of how quilting works every day.

In a directed retreat we’ll work on Moon Over Manhattan or Twilight in the Bronx as the base, we can also choose Serendipity letting the color and motif run amok with frivolity, and laughter.

Have you visited my RitDye Studio?
Check out Instagram because not everything that I post there, ends up here
what about facebook? oh and let’s not forget Lucy’s Nickles because exploring the boundaries of quilting never gets old.

Happy Quilting,

Teri

Beginning Again

 

20170411_131224A while back I started working on the Cherrywood Van Gogh Challenge. I thought that I’d piece diamonds, and either set them into a Starry Night type of background or applique them down. Well, something went all wonky and I set those pieced aside to use them in a different project at some other time, because who doesn’t like teeny, tiny pieces?

And yet, niggling in the back of my brain, whispering sweet nothings to me was something else entirely. I do love The Starry Night with it’s whirling, swirling stars, sweeping across the night sky, forever in motion.

I wonder what's going on here. @cherrywoodfabrics

A post shared by Teri Lucas (@terilucas) on

So I took a new rotary cutter, a 14 mm designed by Rob Appell

@mansewing new tool from the brilliant mind of Rob Appell. Applique and other uses.

A post shared by Teri Lucas (@terilucas) on

stacked two pieces of the Cherrywood on top of each other to make long, gentle curves.

I wonder what's going on here. @cherrywoodfabrics

A post shared by Teri Lucas (@terilucas) on

The fun thing about this is there is no right, or wrong. You may be wondering where that purple came from as it is not part of the Van Gogh fat quarter pack that Karla bundled together for the Challenge. We can incorporate other colors that make sense to us and that might help achieve the feel of what we’re going for.

18697944_10213276067044642_300651482_o

I’m making progress stitch by stitch, pressing by pressing. Once the top is done and I get started on the quilting ooo, I can hardly wait to get started, that’s totally my gig. No wait, there’s more than one gig.

Catch ya later,

Teri