WIP Wednesday

I'm happy to have the opportunity to fill in for Amanda who has gone to get a massage. Some people have all the luck! Actually, she has a pinched nerve, so the massage is therapeutic and we wish her a speedy recovery so she can get back to sewing cute little things like this Dresden doll quilt below. It's for her daughter's second birthday so...shhh....don't tell. And in case you're wondering, the center is from Aneela Hooey's "Walk in the Woods". Seriously, cute.

Another lucky person in our guild is Elizabeth. She teased us this week with a photo of herself stitching away in Colorado. She is our mini-quilt queen and loves to try out new techniques. And since she was in Colorado when she made this one below, she likes these prairie points going upward just like the mountains.

Here's another mini, this time by Agnes. I chose the photo with her hand in it so you could see just how small this little gem is. I think my fingers would get mixed up in the needle trying something so small, but Agnes has serious skillz.

Next up is Crys using Sweetwater's Reunion charms and a few pezzy prints. The thing I've noticed with Crys, is that she's not afraid to be random. Being random is like coloring outside the lines and creating something no one else has created. And that, to me, is truly modern.

And there's me :)  I'm happy to have finished this baby quilt this week. I typically work with brighter colors, but I loved the "sweetness" of these tans and plums. I just have three more to complete by August!

Summer has truly hit Oklahoma this week with triple digits. It's so hot (and humid) all you can do is stay inside and quilt all day! Our next WIP Wednesday should have loads of projects!

What do YOU do to beat the heat?

Coffee Talk Tuesday: Robin Oxenford

This week we're getting to know Robin Oxenford a little better.  :)  She's such a cutie, and is expecting a little cutie baby girl of her own in October!  We're all thrilled for her!!!  Maybe she'll bring the little one to a meeting so I can get a baby fix.  My babies are now toddlers...'nuff said.  ;)  
Okay...enough about me and missing the baby stage.  On to our interview with Robin!

Hi, Robin!  Lets get the "boring" stuff out of the way.  Do you have a blog?  Online shop?


I have a blog titled "Robin Loves Quilting."  No shop though.


How long have you been sewing/quilting?


My mom is the family's original quilter/sewist/fabric store maniac, and I was a girl scout, so between sewing classes and merit badges, I have a small collection of things I made as a kid - not that I remember making them, honestly. But in 2003 I joined a middle eastern dance troupe, and found that my small foundation in sewing allowed me to make - and to help others make - simple costuming items. Mom had an inexpensive old singer she was happy to lend to the cause, and for the first six years of my sewing "career," I made circle skirts and accessories to perform in.


I have been quilting for almost 3 years. I made my first quilt in March of 2010, as a gift for my now-husband's niece. 


Belly dancing?!  SWEET!  I think you need to teach a random class to us on belly dancing basics.  :)  So, how did you get from making costumes to quilting?

That's actually a funny story. My Mom's from California, and when I moved to Oklahoma, she'd want to hit all the quilt shops here. So for YEARS I dutifully traipsed around to every quilt store in the area, thinking myself immune to their charms "because cotton is too stiff to dance in." Then, two years ago when the Wizard of Oz Fabric was big, I picked up a couple of picture panels to make pillows for my Mother-in-Law, who's a huge Oz fan. I was stunned at how easy the cotton was to work with, and thoroughly enjoyed making the pillows, and quilting seemed the next logical step. 

Mom did quite generously refrain from gloating in public when I told her I liked making the pillows and wanted to quilt, but I'm not sure if it was out of social grace or because she was too busy doing a victory dance internally.

"Slices of Sunset".  Robin displayed this at the recent OKCMQG "Defining mod-ern" quilt show.

HA!  Well, that was nice of your mom to contain her "gloating."  So, what drew you towards the more modern style of quilting?

Three words: color, color, and color. Nothing makes me happier than working with bright, cheerful palettes, and they're pretty prevalent in Mod quilting right now. Also, on a social note many modern quilters are younger, and I think it's a really exciting time to be a woman in her 20s or 30s; our mothers and grandmothers paved the way for us to have plenty of choice, and we're the first generation to benefit from a sort of "second-wave feminism" where a woman can find equal dignity in a traditional or a career-oriented path. Modern quilters as a whole seem to get this, and though we come from all walks of life and make a wide variety of choices, the general sentiment seems to be "forget the mommy wars, the rules and the "proper" way to do things, let's just talk about what actually important: life, and fabric." I like that attitude.


LOVE it when modern quilters see how we came from the traditional set!  So important to give kudos to those ladies who brought us where we are today.  With that in mind...modern quilters often have inspiration from other modern quilters as well.  Who do you find particularly inspiring in that realm?


My favorite blog, and the one that drew me into the blogosphere initially is Stitched in Color. Now I'm also addicted to seeing what everyone is doing over in Work In Progress Wednesdays at Freshly Pieced. You can see all the blogs I follow on the sidebar of my blog.  (it's a pretty good mix), but mostly I like to draw inspiration from the fabric itself; I find a collection I love, and then I trawl the web and check out the sample quilts on display in my LQS until I see a pattern that I think would show it off just right. I'm not above fudging.


Speaking of fabrics.  What styles of fabrics speak to you the most, and why?


I swear I really am old enough to drive, vote, and drink; but you'd never know it from my tastes in fabric. My absolute favorite designer is Me and My Sister Designs with Doodlebug for Riley Blake coming in a close second. I think it's the bright colors and unabashed whimsy that draws me in.


Nothing wrong with whimsy!!!  We could all use a bit more whimsy in our lives.  Although there are times when we have to get down to business so to speak, so when do you find you're the most  productive, or when do the most ideas strike you?


These days, if I get any quilting at all in it's on the weekend, usually when my husband is out of town and we can't do baby/nursery stuff. But I've always been a night owl, and historically I'd sit down a day or two a week after work, and if I got my quilting groove on I could be up for hours as long as the project is going well. I like to have a loose plan at the beginning, and then fly by the seat of my pants to execute it in practice. So my loose ideas come from fabric shopping and pattern-admiring, and then my "how to actually make this work" comes from sweat and a sense of adventure.

I can't wait to see what you do for that nursery!!!  Speaking of planning...what are some projects you plan to tackle in the near future?


Honestly, I don't really plan ahead that way: the last big thing I decided to learn was fusible applique, which is how the Star Wars quilt was born. But to say "I decided to learn applique" would put the cart ahead of the horse; I got in idea for a quilt that required applique, decided that at this point in my journey there was no reason NOT to learn applique, and so I was off. For better or worse, I am not afraid to solve problems while in motion.


I like that approach.  Learn it when you need it.  Now I have to know.  What quilt creation are you the most proud of?


This is my current piece de resistance: the Wizard of Oz Quilt. Measuring in at a fairly whopping  seven feet tall, this quilt was conceived as a practical means to use up the little movie reels that came on the bottoms of each Wizard of Oz pillow panel. Originally I thought "oh, just sew them all together, and Bob's your uncle, little lap quilt in minutes" but then as the line progressed, the sizes of the frames changed, as did the spacing and the outside color of the "reel."  So eventually I decided to just cut and frame each piece in black (or brown, so the sepia portions would stand out), and go for a real film-reel look. I also learned the importance of doing your  math ahead of time, as the quilt grew from "gee, I hope it's long enough to cover her lap" to "gee I hope she can find someone to help her fold it, it's taller than she is." But I loved working with the fabric, and the methodical nature of piecing the front. The back gave me some fits - it's made entirely of rejected front fabric and bits left over fabric from fussy cutting - but I can't argue with how well it turned out. This quilt was professionally quilted by Mary Ann Tate, who I love and who did a completely phenomenal job on it. My Mother in Law is going to love it when she receives it, but I need to finish giving her all the pillows first.

Too funny!!!  Sounds like a fun challenge to have though.  Such a neat idea!  Of course now I have to know if you've ever had a quilt go terribly wrong?

Remember, you're talking to someone who is most proud of her 7-foot "lap quilt." I wouldn't say I've ever had a project go terribly *wrong,* but many, many things I have made have not gone according to plan. 

Michelangelo once said "every block of stone has a statue inside it, and it is up to the sculptor to discover it." I think that holds true in its own way for quilting. You have fabric and you have a pattern. A lot of quilters are perfectionists and spend large amounts of energy trying to get the fabric to fit the pattern, but sometimes the wisest thing to do is go with the flow. Give the fabric its own voice, and accept that it will talk back sometimes; add a little more sashing here than there if you need to, let your points not line up perfectly if they're not going to, and don't agonize quite so much about cutting repeats right. Add blocks and other details where you need to. There's very little that elbow grease and a little more fabric in a complimentary color cannot fix (believe me, I know) and often so-called "mistakes" are the most eye-catching part of the quilt in a good way. I'm not saying I never use my seam ripper -  because I do, a lot - but I also try to consider whether a mistake adds value before I undo it.

Amen to going with the flow!  

So, if you had to choose a blog to visit or a book to read what would it be? 

Stitched in Color. Lots of inspiration, great ambiance, and a wide variety of followers with good ideas.


Speaking of good ideas, what would your advice be to someone new to the world of modern quilting?


Anything goes, so go with what pleases you. And don't be afraid to leave perfectionism at the door; you can always pick it back up if you find it suits you, but it shouldn't get between you and creating something you love.


I couldn't have said it better myself!  Thanks for being interviewed, Robin!  You have such a fun and cheery outlook on life and quilting!!!!  :)   LOVE it and can't wait to see more of your work.


Sew long for now!
-Amanda-

Success! Defining [mod-ern] Quilt Show

After hard work on many people's parts within the guild we had a fun and successful show last night.  I'm short on time this evening, but I wanted to share some of the shots I snapped before the show really got rolling.

Our theme was Defining Modern, so we started off greeting you by the door with a vintage quilt top in a floor quilting hoop, an antique ladder with a modern quilt that the guild made, and then BAM!  Right behind it Leslie's "Seaside Avocados" quilt as a great display of modern quilting.  I think it was a great way to show where our roots have stemmed from and where we're headed in this crazy world of "Modern Quilting."

After Leslie's quilt we utilized the wall space to sort of tell a tale of the journey of quilting.  We started with the most traditional of quilts to the left of Leslie's "Seaside Avocados" and slowly worked our way around the space to the most modern of all of them, Agnes' "The Scully" quilt at the end.

Agnes' "The Scully" was the perfect end to our journey through the world of modern quilting.

There was also this great seating area up at the front at "The Parish".  Angelina was all about staging this area from the beginning and I think she and the gals did a lovely job!

Of course we had to get some fun shots in:

Agnes is such a fun gal!!!  I told her to pretend she was Kate Winslet in Titanic.  HA!  And that's her "The Blue Scully" quilt draped over the couch she's on.

All of the ladies who helped set up were a HUGE help.  Angelina (on the right) was my co-chair in crime for setting up the show.  So great to work with.  And Jemellia helped bring her styling touch to the venue which I REALLY appreciated.  She knows how to fold and drape quilts.  Seriously.  That is a talent I do not possess.

And just because I can...here I am with the quilt I made my Dad for Christmas.  He was kind enough (well, he gave permission, but my mom did the shipping) to ship it back from New Jersey so I could put it in the show.  :)

A big thank you to ALL of the guild members who helped out in any capacity, big or small.  Thanks Crys for taking the reigns on this first "planned" foray into the world of quilt shows.  No easy task for sure.  Leslie for working on the promotional materials from concept to finished product.  Angela for heading up our submission committee and all of her team.  Again, Angelina for putting up with my overly organized self and being a great partner in crime.  And, last but not least, a shout out to The Parish for being so accommodating and allowing us to use their space.  It was/is a great opportunity for our guild and we truly appreciate their hospitality.

We plan to do some write ups on the show process, so stay tuned for that!

Sew long for now,
-Amanda-

QUILT SHOW!!!

I hope y'all have made plans to be at the quilt show already and all of the info below is just redundant.  But, in case you haven't, please come and check it out.  Live/Free music to enjoy, coffee, and of course our quilts!  The space looks great.  I'm so proud of our participants, and our crew who helped put this all together!  It's going to be a great night!!!

Sew long for now,
-Amanda-

WIP Wednesday

 I hope you enjoyed your Memorial Day weekend, and remembered to give thanks for all of those brave men and women who have and continue to put their lives on the line in the name of freedom each and every day.

I got a little sewing in this weekend, but not as much as I had hoped.  I'm making progress on the quilt I have going for the quilt along over on my blog.  I think it will be a great one to curl up under the evenings for some summer reading.  :)

Crystal happened upon the great idea to embroider some Summersville fabric.  Just a bit here and there.  I believe this is going to be a pillow.  :)

The bricks are my favorite.  :)

Leslie is working on this cat bed which she believes her cats will most likely ignore.  HA!

Stephanie is hand piecing these fabulous stars from Erin McMoriss's "Somersault" line.  She does such lovely hand work!

And last, but not least, Trina is working on this twin sized Zig-Zag Quilt for one of her kids.  Lucky kid!  LOVE the orange.  A border is in the works.

There ya have it ladies and gents!  Other than a reminder about our Quilt Show on June 8th <wink wink, nudge nudge> the blog will be pretty quiet until the show is over.  There's a lot to be done!  :)

Sew long for now!

-Amanda-

Finish Up Friday

Finish Up Friday is here!

Our Habitat Quilt is FINISHED!  

Guest posting about this quilt is Erin Jeffries:

Habitat Quilt: I LOVE the eclectic charm of the quilt top and the strikingly beautiful and simple back.  

About: This is a Kona solid challenge quilt that the ladies and I from the OKC Modern Quilt Guild made.  Basically 13 ladies all made a few blocks for the front using only solid fabric with the “habitat” fabric from a new line my Jay McCarroll.  I suggested “X & +” blocks for the top.  We (Erin, Angela, Stephanie, and Kristine) then pieced the top together in one day at my house.  (Can you spot the blocks YOU made?) :)  Later that day we pinned the quilt together to get it sandwiched and ready to quilt.  

I love how each block is unique and the solids everyone chose to use were different too.  I then created the back for the quilt.  My inspiration for the back was a “filmstrip” design with the habitat fabric and a few of the solids.  So far so good.  I thought the background fabric should be a Kona gray.  But I noticed in my stash I didn't have enough of any of my kona grays.  So, Stephanie and I decided to use three!  We then needed to make the filmstrip wide enough to have the back be big enough for the quilt top due to my limited gray fabrics.  So, I had the idea of adding a coordinating solid to either side of our habitat fabrics.  The letters were appliqued from the 9 habitat fabrics onto the gray backing.  It reads “OKC SEW MOD” standing for OKC, so and SEW are play on words, and MOD stands for Modern.  The font we picked was the one everyone voted yes on.  For the binding I picked the "drop cloth" fabric along the right side of the quilt.  I looks really cool and different as it goes around the quilt edge.  I free motion quilted it using the blocks on the quilt front as a grid.  I quilted it in a “clementine” or “cathedral window” pattern with gray thread.  I added a “filmstrip” flare to the binding in pink and green if you can spot it!  

Thanks ladies for coming together on this group project and making this a beautiful quilt!  

Coffee Talk Tuesday: Kristine Palmer

It's "Coffee Talk Tuesday" again, and it's actually happening on a Tuesday this time.  YAY!  :)  This week we'll get to know Kristine Palmer a bit.  :)  She's super sweet, a bit quiet at times, and uber talented.  So, without further ado, here's Kristine!

Kristine with a Cathedral Window pillow she completed for an OKCMQG scrap swap challenge.

Hi, Kristine!  Lets get the nitty gritty out of the way.  Do you have a blog?  Maybe a store/shop?


Yes, it's called My House Full.  Maybe this will push me to get more posts up.  It's been severely neglected.  No shop though.


So, how long have you been sewing?


I can't remember when I started sewing. Sometime between the ages of 9 and 12, I think. My mom taught me some, and I experimented some. When I was in high school, I created a marching band outfit for a troll doll as a present for a friend. I wish I had a picture - I wonder what I would think of it now. After I graduated high school, I didn't do much until I wanted to sew clothing for my kids. I still have that first outfit that I put together on my own. It has its flaws, but each of my boys were able to wear it, and it is still in great shape. In 2001 I got my first sewing machine. Then in 2004 I took a sewing class from a junior college that focused on understanding different stitches and on garments. I have learned a lot over the years. There are things that I was unaware of during high school, but now I understand the why and how.


When did quilting enter the picture?


I have been quilting for about 10 years now. I started when my mom invited me to a block-of-the-month class at the local quilt shop. I had admired my moms work, and my grandmother's creative works always awed me. The store had an ingenious plan to drive traffic to their store. On the first Saturday of January, you pay a small kit fee for the first block. Then you return the next month with your completed block, and get the next kit free. I didn't finish it every month, but from 2002 to 2008, I attended that class. It was an amazing skill builder, and I learned many techniques and got many opportunities to practice and increase my skills. Sadly, I only have one of those quilts completed. The others are waiting for me in my UFO pile.

This is one of Kristine's first quilts.  This dinosaur quilt was quilted by hand.

You'll have to finish it and bring it to a meeting!!!  :)  So, your mom and grandma were the main influence in your journey to the quilting world?


Yes, my mom didn't have to push me hard to go to that first class. I already had a fascination with fabric and designs, even if I was more focused on clothing than quilts. It was a very natural transition, and once I started, I began to see the possibilities of all the different things I could create. That vision has only expanded since then.


What draws you to modern quilting vs. a more traditional style?


I can't say that I am a strictly modern quilting person. I love both. There are some very traditional patterns that I want to do, like a double wedding ring, but I also want to do some art quilts and modern designs. What I really enjoy is the freedom to bend the rules.


I think so many of us are in a similar boat on that one!  :)  Do you have a particular person or style that influences you in your modern quilting ventures?


Amanda Jean Nyberg of  Crazy Mom Quilts.   I find myself falling in love with each quilt she makes. I love her use of white in her quilts, and her color choices are always pleasing to my eye.  And, I am a sucker for Batiks. Hoffman Batiks, especially. I love the way the colors seem alive. The shout, "Bring me home with you!" and it always hurts me when I have to say no.

The batik block of the month was machine quilted. I stitched in the ditch with a walking foot. I changed how I tied off the thread halfway through - I really had no idea of what I was doing! But it has gone through a lot of abuse and still looks great.

Is there a time when you find most of your productivity happens or when great ideas hit you?

I struggle to find time to work on my quilts. My husband is back in school working on a PhD, and I am a stay-at-home mom to six kids. The past few years have not been very productive. But I have so many ideas of what I want to do that I don't know where to start. I get inspiration from quilt shows, blogs, fabric catalogs, and books. I think about how I would change it, the fabrics I would use, and how I would put it together.


That's another interesting point.  So many people of the modern quilting variety are mother's of children who are still living at home, making finding that time so much more of a challenge.  But, since you have so many ideas swimming around in your head, what projects are you hoping to work on next?


 I kinda have a quilt "bucket list." The top one is a double wedding ring King sized quilt made of Batiks. Every time I see one, I can't help but think, "I want to make one!" I also want to make some sort of tumbling blocks quilt, hexagon, storm at sea, spider web sting, miniature, lone star, and something with butterflies and lots of pink and purple for my daughter. The next quilt I will work on will be for my oldest son. It has been in the works for a number of years. The design is based off of Lego Bionicles, one of his favorite toys since he was little.

"Faith, Hope, Peace, Love"

Your list sounds as lengthy as mine!  :)  Now, out of the quilts you've made, which one are you the most proud of?
"Faith, Hope, Peace, Love" is the quilt that makes my heart soar every time I think of it. I made it soon after I found out a long-time friend was battling cancer, and the prognosis was unsure. Each part had a meaning. Green was for Faith. Pink was for Hope. Red was for Love. Blue was for Peace. The quilting in the sashing is actually scriptures for the bible, each focusing on one of the themes. The quilt was a surprise, and I'm happy to say that she loved it and used it. She is now in remission, and I'm so glad I took the time to make it.


What a sweet story!  I'm sure that quilt is treasured dearly.  :)  But, of course, now that we've discussed your greatest quilt...can you tell us about a project that went terribly wrong?


Not other than taking much more time than what I had intended! I have a way of having big dreams, and underestimating the amount of work that will have to go into it.


If you had to choose one must have book, or blog to visit, what would it be?


 I keep learning from Leah Day.  Her tutorials on free motion quilting are amazing. A few years ago I thought I have to mark everything before I quilt it. Now I know that isn't the case at all, and the results can be much more spectacular. Her art quilts are amazing and push me to experiment with my own quilts.


And what would your advice be to someone who is just diving into the world of quilting?


Jump in! The best way to learn is to do it. You will make mistakes, but you will learn and be able to create beautiful works of art (even the simplest quilt is a work of art!) quicker than you know. You will be more critical of your own work than most of the quilters you meet. You see the flaws, but others will see the beauty. You will too if you let yourself.


Thanks, so much, Kristine!  That is some great advice and I so enjoyed learning about your quilting journey!!!  :)  Thanks for sharing with us.


Coming up we will have a reveal of an OKCMQG project that has been in the works for a while.  Can't wait for Erin to share that with us.  :)  


Sew long for now,
-Amanda-