What is your deal?



Obviously Not a photographer:)))

I am a quilt pattern designer and hear from lots of other quilters how impressed they are with my creativity and how they aren't creative at all.  Oh Phooey! 

What really gets me are the non-quilters I meet along the way that are impressed because they can't do anything.  Double Phooey!!

Maybe you aren't 'quilt pattern designer' creative but I am pretty sure there is something you do in your life that I would be terrible at.  I can learn to do just about anything but that doesn't mean I am good at it or like it either.  I have learned how to garden (ok, start a garden), but I kill the plants eventually (ok, quickly). When I was younger, I really wanted to be an Interior Designer.  My house never looks put together and I can't figure out if it is because the military lifestyle causes me to not care since I will just be boxing it back up again or if I just don't have the eye for it.  Either way it is ok because I am so busy creating quilts that can go anywhere with me.

 

My husband can cook like a gourmet chef--without a recipe!  He doesn't understand how I can't:)  I finally found my analogy when I told him, "You know how you can put in a pinch of this and a pinch of that and it tastes great?  Well, I can do that with fabric."  We are each good at something...I won't starve and he won't freeze:) 

 

I follow an author by the name of Rick DiBasio and he is starting a series of blog posts about being creative. They are definately worth a read:)   Part One is here.
My comment:  This is a great explanation and answer to that constant excuse! I don’t say that I am not creative because I am, but I am also very aware of my limitations. I can design quilts and write the patterns but don’t ask me to grow a garden or build or decorate something….Not that I can’t but it is much more difficult. We all have something that comes easier to us than others and that is our ‘creative’ area whether it be gardening or accounting.

I think what I really like about his blog is HOW he writes: It isn't flowery or sugar coated and so I relate a bit better.  In the second post he discusses how creative we are as children when we use our imagination.  When did we stop doing that? 
What are you creative at?

Purely by accident....

I came across a WIP (works in progress) blog hop this morning starting here at Freshly Pieced. How fun it was to see so many others enjoying the art of quilting.  The projects are varied as are the stories that go with them.  It is easy to miss out when there is such an abundance of blogs to choose from but fun to take a few minutes (hours) every so often and see what trends are happening.  The timing was great too since I have a couple myself.  OK, not just a couple but only a couple got photographed for today.  I actually did start a list yesterday of WIPs and it is getting long:)

 

For today though I will start with one that has been hanging around for a while now and getting closer to finished.  I wrote about it here.  One day this little Drunkard's Path will be finished.

 

Drunkard's Path by hand

Drunkard's Path by machine

So even though they are finished at this moment, they weren't until just last night.  These are fun, quick little mug rugs for charity baskets I am assembling.  I guess the WIP part is that the baskets aren't done:)  I found some cute baskets at the local thrift shop along with some fun mugs and then created the quiltlets to match so I can have themes.

Fusible Applique Flower

Woven Heart

Small Scrap Art

This scrappy piece is going to have a sea scene quilted onto it.  It was made using the scraps from a paper piece design.  (Sorry can't show the design yet since I am waiting to hear back from a magazine.) Always said I wouldn't be one of those quilters that saved every scrap but I have a hard time throwing away the triangle bits when paper piecing.  When you stitch them together, a bit freestyle, they can make some interesting designs.  This piece only measures about 10" square but with some creative free motion quilting it will be frameable.

Lastly, Hexagons!  This is the trend I noticed as I went through the blog hop and seeing others' blogs as well.  I made some once before and they were adorable at 3/4" finished but these are so much more fun when made big!  These particular ones are 4-1/2" made using Moda charm square packs.  I took out the solid squares and designed redwork to go on those since I do love handwork.  The big question was to randomly assemble or put into flower shapes and applique onto squares for a wall hang???  I am leaning toward flowers, I think:)

I linked up at Freshly Pieced...come enjoy the Show and Tell.

Hidden Stitches Summer Luncheon

Summer Luncheon, had me a blast....

Summer Luncheon, happened so fast....

Met a bolt cute as can be.....

We were adventurous in July and really shook up our routine!  Our group is very fortunate to have a quilt appraiser amongst us with a love of antique quilts.  So our July meeting took place at her beautiful home where she and a friend catered a lovely lunch for us as well.  

Our short and sweet business meeting so we could get on to the food!

As Mary and Brenda prepared lunch, everyone was greeted by Toddy who also gave home tours.....we couldn't wait to see Brenda's brand new sewing studio that her husband is building for her!  A brief meeting was conducted by Robin that mostly consisted of seeing the beautiful Opportunity Quilt blocks and borders (some now quilted) and the blocks for the Educational quilt.  Questions about how to quilt the Educational quilt will be addressed at the August meeting.

Lunch was a wonderful array of quiche, shrimp and pasta salad, greek tomato salad, Brenda's personally canned beets (YUM), and tasty desserts (chocolate cake, mint cookies, lemon bars).  As if that weren't enough, we topped it all off with an ice cream sundae bar:)))

After lunch we were treated to a bed turning of Brenda's personal stash!

Grandmother's Flower Garden circa 1930

GFG Detail



H'mong Summer quilt

H'mong detail

The quilts were beautiful and it was good to be able to ask the expert about fabric and batting choices of the era.

We got to see first quilts and antique quilts.  There isn't a photo of the Hummingbird quilt behind the kitty but trust me it was spectacular!

Of course, I was in love with this poppy quilt!!! It is so invigorating.

Our door prizes were won by Eleanor and Joan and our birthday FQs went to Pauline and Barb H.

If you think the excitement stopped there, OH NO!  We then loaded into our cars and all 7 caravaned to a couple of quilt shops that Brenda had called ahead to warn:)
Nana's Quilt Shop really went above and beyond for us with bags of goodies, a door prize, and a discount.
Quilts on Plum Lane was an adorable little shop with a very friendly staff.
It was a wonderful way to spend the day, eating and chatting and going fabric shopping with friends...MY Favorite!!

Flags from my Stash

It isn't like I want for something to do on a daily basis, but every now and then I just need to work on something that isn't for a pattern or just to get my juices flowing again or..... do I really need a reason?  :)

Fourth of July is coming and I haven't done anything for that holiday in quite some time.  I pulled out my little boxes of scraps not expecting to find enough of anything to accomplish a project, when the thought of mini flags jumped into my head.  How cute are these?? 
Do you have a 3-1/2" x 4-1/2" scrap of blue?  Do you have enough red and white to cut: 2 strips of each color @ 1-1/4" x 4-1/2" and 2 strips of each color @ 1-1/4" x 8-1/2"?  Then you have enough to make a cute little mini flag before the holiday gets here! 
I sewed my short stripes together and trimmed to match the blue rectangle.  Then I sewed the blue area and the short stripes together.
After the long stripes were sewn together, they were added to the top half of the flag.  For quilting, I just quilted wavy lines through all the stripes and one star in the blue rectangle.  This was all straight line sewing--no free motion. I then decided to face them vs. traditional binding so that I could add a bit of a wave to my flag. 

I had all 3 done in a day but that wasn't enough for me.....  A few days before, I had seen a yo yo flag on one of the sale sites.  Why buy when I could make it?  (Now I know why!!)
So I started cutting circles after I had decided how many I needed and thinking, "That isn't very many, I can do this!". 

If you have a Fat Quarter of each color, you too can make one of these old fashioned yet adorable flags.  It does have a throwback quality about it but I just love it...now that it is done!! 
You need 24 blue circles and 40 each of white and red circles.  I traced mine at 2-1/2" and the finished piece is 9" x 15-1/2".
I hadn't done a yo yo project in all my quilting years and now I can cross that off my list:)  The first 40-50 were fun and then I was pretty much over it.  Thankfully I was motivated to finish the other half when I saw how cute the top half was!  I think next time I might just buy the finished one but what sense of accomplishment would I get out of that, I ask you?  When I look at this one, I swell with pride for ALL that it stands for in regards to our country and the satisfaction of knowing I made it!!
Happy Fourth of July a bit early.

What I have been working on...

Depending on how much you stop by, you may remember this post from May when I had a new block in Quiltmaker's 100 Quilt Blocks.  I will wait while you go read it:))
http://nestlingsbyrobin.blogspot.com/2012/05/volume-5-has-arrived.html

Back in February while at the Mancuso Mid-Atlantic show, I bought this piece of fabric for my mom.  She has a Pfaltzgraff kitchen and this indigo was perfect.  I have never worked with true indigo fabric before and the hand is very stiff until you rinse it extremely well following the instructions that come with it.  After rinsing, it sort of has the hand of a light chambray.  It worked very well for paper piecing.

So when Mom comes to visit, this will be my gift to her.

The blue in this photo is truer to the real color.....better lighting:)  I love how it turned out and if she didn't already know I was making it, she might not get it!  Love you Mom:)

Hidden Stitches Musical Moments

Welcome to some of my Hidden Stitches applique group.  I joined this group shortly after moving to Florida last summer and they have been very friendly and inviting and even LET me be the leader of their group:)) 

Recently the challenge of Musical Moments was put forth to the group: Be inspired by a song title or line from a song and it couldn't be more than an 80" perimeter (which leaves a lot of leeway:).

Here is what talent sung out:)

  

Liz M's  "I'll Fly Away", a hymm.

Her eagle's name is Spirit.
  Her wing applique uses different fabrics

for a wonderfully realistic feel.

                                               Barbara H's "There's a Hole in the Bucket"
                               There really is a hole too with a drop of water coming out:)

 Carol C did a Beatles Tribute and my pictures won't do it justice.  There is so much handwork

detailing each song and then there are more titles embroidered in the pink border.

 Here Carol holds up Barb L's "Daisy Daisy".

The reverse applique here is great because of the
pieced background.  The butterfly is 3D as well.

 Diane D's "Diamonds Are A Girls Best Friend"

Simple, Sweet, and great graphically.

 Pat O's
"Teddy Bear"








We had an Elvis thing going here and lots of reminiscencing!  Pat had the cutest album pin that was perfect for the bear's belly. 

Lynn T's Elvis Tribute and I am pretty sure the look on her face

says it all about how Elvis made her feel:)))

 Great appliques representing different songs and don't forget those "Blue Suede Shoes" !

 Marva brought us another eagle for "Wind Beneath My Wings".  This is another great technique for adding texture and movement to an applique-choose a wonderful print!  

Lynn W's "Tea for Two"

Paper piecing and the tea bags are adorable!

Carol Q's rendition of "Daisy Daisy"  So sweet!

Rainy Days never get me down:))

Working on a new block and loving the Autumn vibe on a rainy day!

I am a rainy day kind of girl;  The sound of the wind and pattering of rain is the perfect weather for curling up with a project and stitching the hours away.  Today the added sound of a friend's laughter while I worked on my new design was just what my soul needed!!

Does the rain hinder or expand your creativity?