WIP Wednesday - the pouches and improv edition

look at me, writing a WIP Wednesday post on WEDNESDAY!



unfortunately, i don't have much to report! i think i mentioned recently that i'm feeling a bit overwhelmed by things that need to be done in the next few weeks, but i think if i sit down and actually figure out what needs to be done by when, instead of just thinking "i'll never get anything done in time, i might as well just play bejeweled until i feel less stressed...", it'll all be less overwhelming.


so basically, today's post is really more about me than you...


first of all, i have one more bee block to get caught up on for the Unscripted Bee. i made my blocks (two, actually), and then i got stalled on my signature block and the improv block made out of the extra fabric. that needs to be done ASAP.

also for the Unscripted Bee, june is my month! it kind of snuck up on me (it's june, what??), but i know what i want to do, and i've played around with options a bit, so now i need to buckle down and make a sample, so that i can write out the instructions and send out my packets of fabric. that also needs to be done ASAP!

for the Fab Bee, i need to finish Holly's block, but since i'll be giving it to her at our next exec meeting, which is next week, i have a few days to get it done.

as for the June Fab bee block, the fabric was just mailed yesterday, and i have until the end of June to get it sent back, so it's not as super duper urgent.

and for yet another block, i'd really like to get our VMQG challenge block finished before our meeting. it's going to be in our guild logo colours, similar to the QuiltCon block challenge, and since this month's meeting is our TWO YEAR ANNIVERSARY, we really want to get as many awesome modern blocks done for the meeting as we can.

that's a lot of improv, isn't it?! definitely a reoccurring theme.


i've also got a pouch theme going on, with pouches to start, pouches in progress, and pouches to post, as evidenced by Sunday's post.

i posted a whole long list of tutorials on the VMQG blog the other day, complete with some inspirational eye candy, so that's done, thank goodness!

now to decide on which techniques to actually use.....

i have two partners in the swap, so i've got two pouches to make. i've got one of them figured out, and i'm super excited to start on it, but i need to figure out what i'm going to do for the other one. they both need to be done by the June VMQG meeting too.


and in non-improv or pouch news, i've finished the top for the quilt that i posted in my last WIP post, the grey prints with yellow linen. the back needs to be pieced, because it's about 3" too narrow, so that's the next step.

i also have a belated embroidery project that i'm working on when i'm not up to sewing, and i need to thread in all the ends on the back of my Ace of Hearts Mini Quilt


SPEAKING OF WHICH, HAVE YOU VOTED YET? please go vote, it doesn't have to be for me! though that would be nice, if you want to!



i also have a ton of computer stuff and e-mails to get caught up on (i'm sorry Holly! and Arita! and everyone else!), so i'm definitely busy.



however..... i'm really really hoping to carve out some time to play with my new toy....



an Elna Supermatic!!!!

isn't it pretty? it's even got the little bakelite bobbin and accessories holder! (but not the super cute oil can - oh well)

i'm so excited about it. i totally did NOT need another Elna, but i don't care, i love these machines. (i love them so much that i'm planning on a tattoo that'll include one!) it's still down in my car, and i keep forgetting to check the serial number to see when it was made, but this model came out in 1954. it's commonly called an Elna Grasshopper, though technically, i think the grasshopper was the first model, the one before this one. i actually prefer the aesthetics of this model, it's a bit curvier. and it still has the same awesome case, that turns into a table to sew on. really! i think it'll be awesome for quilting, to have such a large surface.


(photo credit to Krista, who posted it to instagram and got all sorts of comments on it, so i'm definitely not the only one who loves these machines! also, please ignore how messy my car is!)

Quilt Show!

this past weekend i went to my very first quilt show, "And the Stitch Goes On", presented by the Boundary Bay Quilters Guild in celebration of their 10th anniversary.

i'd never been to a quilt show, but i assumed it would similar to an art show - lots of quilts on display, and since it's a guild, not one artisan, lots of variety.

and it totally was. there was so much eye candy and inspiration! (there are a lot of pictures, so i'm posting them small, and as usual, click on them to go over to flickr and see them bigger)

this quilt was what you saw when you walked in the door, it was being raffled off. i love the blue batiks!



i really love log cabins, and this one was just so bright and beautiful.


ohmygoodness, the work involved in this! there was another version of it upstairs that had been simplified a bit and was equally cool, but wasn't accessible to take a photo of. but check out some close ups of this one -


this is a baby quilt, using "olivia" fabric. my friend sass really loves olivia, so i had to take a picture of it!


i found this one really interesting, because as anyone who's seen my rubbermaid full of them would know, i LOVE doilies, and i've been planning a doily quilt for a few years now, and just haven't gotten around to it yet. this one is definitely not my particular style, but it's still really neat.


this quilt was made by someone i know, for her daughter's 21st birthday. as much as i'm freaked out that she's 21 (i knew her when she was a brownie!), the quilt is awesome.


i love the brightness of this one, and the single rows of the flying geese pieces (are they still called flying geese if it's just one row? i think so...)


there is apparently a smaller group within the guild who get together to focus on art based quilts, different surface designs, etc. they obviously have read the same issues of quilting arts as me, as there were a few pieces that were very recognizable!

there were also several pieces using bleach discharge, which i love, and i'm currently working on a quilt using the same technique myself, so i was excited to see theirs.



i loved the modern lines and squares in this baby quilt. so lovely.



there was also a section of the show where a number of quilts by the same person were displayed, and she was their feature quilter. a lot of her stuff was bordering on art quilt style, and was really amazing.









the other part of the quilt show, the part i WASN'T expecting, was the vendors. yay, fabric shopping!! now that i think about it, i really should've known there would be vendors, but i just didn't think about it. i think i read somewhere that there were 17 vendors total...

it could've been very dangerous, but the majority of the vendors weren't my style, or didn't interest me (like the thread vendors. so many different kinds of threads! so overwhelming!), so it wasn't as hard on my wallet as it could have been. i mostly bought small pieces to add to my stash, or things that i'd been thinking that i needed anyway.

i picked up some batiks from BatikKorner, mostly in my usual batik colours - jewel tones, but also a few greens for a specific project.


Country Folk Fabrics/Tom's Sewing Machine had a booth, so i picked up a few fat quarters from them, including a print i'd been planning to go pick up anyway, another halloween design from the line that i used for a bunch of my halloween blocks.


the guild itself had a booth, and among the pre-made things, they were also selling jelly roll "cupcakes" to celebrate their anniversary and to raise money for the charity quilts that they do. since i love stripes, i picked up a few. okay, 4. (and i kinda wish i'd bought more, cause that's only 40 strips....)

hello CUTE!

there was some duplication between the rolls, but really not that much, considering.

i bought 3 thermal screens, though i only managed to get a halfway decent photo of one of them.

i got a dragonfly, a butterfly and a screen with several bees on it. they're very cool, similar to silkscreens. and the woman who was selling them does custom designs at pretty reasonable prices, which would be so great if i decide i'm too lazy to actually silkscreen any of the designs i've been thinking about lately!
(she doesn't have a website, but her name is Eileen, and she can be reached via e-mail eileenneill AT shaw DOT ca if you're as intrigued as i am!)

i got a few notions, pins because i really needed more (i ran out while basting my quilt-a-long quilt, darn it!), some threads to play around with (they were on special, not what the tag says), and a great 6.5" ruler, which is perfect for the halloween blocks that i need to get my butt in gear on, and it was only a $1 cause my bill was over a certain amount.


and then there were the fat quarters. ohh, the fat quarters. i got 24! for $40! they were $2 each, and for every 10 you bought, you got two free, which worked out splendidly. i scooped up a bunch of super cute japanese imports

(the strawberries! the cuteness!)
and then got a bunch of stripes and polka dots, etc. and a sock monkey, cause i only had 23, and grabbed it quick!

the fqs, the thread and the ruler were from Carola's Quilt Shop and Thread Company. she had some lovely fq bundles as well - kaffe fasset and batiks, and some cute charm packs, but i resisted. i really love the prints that moda makes, but i hate how they all have creamy or brownish undertones. why must they do that, really?

there were a few folks from Vancouver Modern Quilt Guild there, Jenny from the Quilted Bear had a booth (i resisted buying halloween fabric from her at the show, because i knew i'd be going in to the store soon anyway), and so did Maureen from Creative Edge Quilting and Sewing, and it was lovely to chat with her.


all in all, it was a pretty fabulous first quilt show experience, though my body was pretty darn unhappy with me afterwards - i was so inspired, but i came home and collapsed instead of sewing!

Awesome Mail Day! (and kitty pics!)

i really should check my mail earlier in the day!

today i got lots of mail (i swear we always get more on mondays because they slack off on fridays!). i received several purchases from etsy -

3 prints from from www.cadmiumatelier.etsy.com, including this one

(i also purchased this one and this one)
they're awesome! super vibrant and crisp. i love the texture of silkscreening!

this cute little zine, which arrived packaged in an equally cute pink panther envelope, from www.EmmaJane.etsy.com


and these awesome catnip eyeballs, from www.hannapt.etsy.com


the cats love them already, mika's intent on loving them to death!



he's actually attacking sofie's eyeball in these pictures, he found it on my bed after he got tired of his own blue one! (um, yes, i bought the cats eyeballs that matched their own eye colours.... mika has to share with gigi and hemi though.)

and also super duper exciting, i got this book!!!!

about a month ago i won a book from whipup.net, but i didn't know which one i was going to get! i opened the envelope to find Linen, Wool, Cotton: 25 Simple Projects to Sew with Natural Fabrics by Akiko Mano. I've been flipping through it, and it's fabulous! Full of beautifully simple projects that look like they'll be a joy to sew. I can't wait to make something!

and i'm definitely going to be buying Patchwork Style: 35 Simple Projects for a Cozy and Colorful Life come May! (it was really hard to not add a U into colour while typing that!)

awesome mail day, huh?




and SPEAKING OF GIVEAWAYS!
sewmamasew is organizing a huge giveaway day on May 27th, with lots of blogs playing along! i got distracted, and just sent my e-mail in earlier this evening, but i'm hoping i made it, since it was only 10pm here on the west coast (it's kinda nice to find another blog in the same time zone as you - everyone seems to be on eastern time these days!). i've been planning on doing a giveaway for a while, but the timing is never right. i missed my 1 year blog-versary, and then i missed 150 and 200 posts (i kept realizing it at 152, or 207!). i was thinking i'd do 250 posts, but this gives me an excuse to just do it now!

so! i'll be posting the giveaway either late on the 26th or early on the 27th. i'm going to include at least one handmade item, and then some stash goodies as well, probably vintage fabrics or something of that sort. check back tomorrow to see the giveaway!

updates and goodies from the mail!

ohmygoodness, so behind!

i'm sorry for disappearing like that! i've definitely been trying to blog more often, but these last few weeks have pretty much sucked, healthwise. after a few weeks of actually feeling better for once, i started feeling crappy again, and it really threw me for a loop! it's funny how quickly we get used to things we like, and how long it takes us to get used to the things that we don't! after only a few weeks of feeling better, i had it in my head that i could do more, and that i had more energy, and so even though i felt so terrible this week, i still kept pushing myself. you'd think i'd know better by now!

this week was going to be my take it easy week, though it didn't end up quite as chill as i wanted it to be. i was really sore and tired and in a daze for a lot of it! i kept thinking of things to post about, and then by the time i had a chance to actually post, i was way too wiped out!

so i've got lots of things to update about, MSCEApril for one, and my adventures monday for another.

but before i get into them, let's talk about mail. i LOVE mail! this has been a really awesome mail week! i've received lots of swap goodies - two chunky houses, seven pendants from the pendant swap, a piece of my puzzle atc, and a fabric atc! that's just the swap stuff!

i also received lots of non-swap goodies!

a whole stack of loose embroidery patterns that i won for a whopping $0.99 on ebay! i can't wait to scan and organize these!


a huge order of unmounted rubber stamps from purple onion design's overstock sale.


3 awesome pins from the folks at yarnbombing.com. i'm so so impatient for their book to come out!


and all these vintage deer, which i purchased from shara at http://www.mydealoftheday.blogspot.com/ . aren't they super cute?!

i'd also found some locally, at this amazing cake decorating place, so now i have a TON of deer! my massage therapist said the other day "amy, i think you're the only person i know who has her own herd of plastic deer." gee, ya think!

wasn't that a fabulous mail week? i'm so sad that today's a holiday and i didn't get any mail!