what I have been doing...

I seem to have fallen off the face of the blogosphere (again) lately, but I've been busy doing some things I couldn't post!  I can now show you at least one of them...

There are block lotto blocks for June, which I can't yet show you, but they are so so cute and I really want to win a pile of them.

There's the Cotton Robin project that I finished quilting and mailed off last week to the wilds of Texas.

There's an old quilt top that is almost quilted -- just three sides of the outer border to go and maybe it will get done today because our satellite receiver has crapped out and we only get about 3 channels until the technician shows up on Wednesday  (basically everything  broadcast in HD doesn't show up, and you know everything is in HD now!)

There's a new quilt that just came back from being long-armed and I love it, and need to put the binding on ASAP.

And there's this little cutie that one of my mini-groups made as a going away gift for our fifth member who's moving 3000 miles away to Asheville, NC.

We each made a block in our own style and colors and I put them together into the quilt for her.  I thought it would be really easy for her to guess who made each block, but it really wasn't!  (Mine is in the lower right -- the colors show up badly... the background is actually cream with yellow dots and the turquoise is much brighter)

I'm not sure if anyone reading this lives near Asheville -- speak up if you do and I'll introduce you to my friend Susan...

Modern Quilts Illustrated - review

 

A little while ago, Weeks Ringle offered to send review copies of Modern Quilts Illustrated #1 to bloggers, to drum up a little more awareness of this new magazine published by the Modern Quilt Studio team of Weeks and her husband Bill Ringle.  I believe that issue #2 has just been released and #3 is nearly there... 

I'm always looking for ways to catapult myself into a more "modern" frame of mind, and I sort of have a thing about pears as a design element, so I had to take the bait!

It's a modest publication -- more like an over-sized brochure, actually -- but exquisitely produced and with no advertising. There are three quilt patterns and each is presented with several color options. As you'd expect from these designers, the quilts are graphic but not complex, and could easily take on a variety of "personalities" based on the fabrics used.  They could be scrappy or controlled -- your choice.

I haven't taken the opportunity to work with one of the patterns yet, although I have "Stacks" in mind for my next foray into the scrap bins.  The instructions are a bit minimal, but clear concise for anyone who's not a raw beginner. 

The designers include some narrative about their design ideas, as well as a few separate articles -- in this issue these deal with color palettes, fleece backings, and a variety of "short subjects".  

Overall it's a classy, if a bit pricy, departure from the usual plethora of franchise quilt magazines on the racks.  I'm not sure if this will be available in stores or only by subscription... more information is available here.

Bloggers' Quilt Festival

Here is my entry for this year's Bloggers' Quilt Festival -- it's called
 "Think Green Thoughts"

 I made this as part of last year's Rainbow Scrap Challenge, and it used up every bit of green in my scrap bins, including a bunch of HSTs from an abandoned leaf-quilt project.

This is the second all green quilt I've made, and I continue to be pleased and amazed by the way that you can put essentially ANY types of greens together and they "go". To me, this is like a walk in the woods.

sock stuff

Just in time for warm weather, so I won't want to wear them, I've finished up a pair of socks -- these are the Tesserae pattern (thanks, Terri!) and the yarn is Tosh Sock in a lovely shade called Celadon.  It's a simple alternating rib pattern that results in great texture. 

There always has to be a pair of socks on the needles for commuting, so now I have to figure out what's next...

Junior Executive

 

This is a little UFO finish -- it's made mostly from a couple charm packs of an old Moda line called "City Traditions", supplemented with a few things from my stash.  Up close it looks like suits and ties -- hence the name "Junior Executive".