Feeling Productive & Enjoying the Sunshine!

First thought for the day.....I saw this on Facebook and loved it--definitely applies, but some mornings more than others!!

My friends and I went north last weekend to visit a member of our group (the FAMOUS Chickens) who hosts us yearly for a weekend of sewing and hanging out together.  This year it was timed to visit the incredible Contemporary Quilts Exhibit by Gwen Marston.  It runs through April 27th 2014 and is a must for all quilt lovers.  Seeing quilts in a gallery is amazing anyway, but the work of this woman is absolutely incredible.  Gwen Marston is a national treasure & we are proud she's from Michigan! As a little teaser, here is my attempt at a 'selfie' in front of the quilts from her book 37 Sketches.  These small works were created by her to try out colors, fabrics etc before maybe incorporating into larger pieces.  They are absolutely amazing!

I think the younger generation has a gene we over 40 don't have though, to take amazing 'selfies'.  I've practiced and practiced and it is very difficult to get a good photo of yourself.  At least for most of us who may consider ourselves not photogenic anyway.  But selfies are a topic unto themselves (HA!) and I must not digress on this trying & mystifying topic!!

Detroit Area Modern Quilt Guild (DAMQG) had our March meeting.  For 'March Madness',  members had taken a photo of their stash & submitted to our guild prez, who printed them 8 1/2 by 11.  We then looked at a list of names of participants were challenged to figure out whose stash was whose.  This was really fun to see.  I was only correct on a couple, but then, we are all still getting to know one another.

 

Here's mine, but my style was tagged as 'slightly anal' and 'nobody keeps their stash that neat'.  I beg your pardon!!!  How can you find anything if it's not neat?  And yes, most of the time it IS that neat!  It's a little dark, but I was challenged by the narrowness of the closet & the folding door that kept wanting to be slightly open.

Our group quilt, all quilted and bound was revealed.  Quilted by Barb, a DAMQG member who has a longarm quilting business.  She did a great job on the quilt!

I have been able to get in quite a bit of sewing time lately, and yesterday ALL day!  Just decided that was top and only priority, and thanks to lovely husband walking in the door around 6pm with Chicken Shack (yummy broasted deliciousness!!), it worked out great!

Ready to gift this stroller/car seat quilt to my good friend Deb's 2nd grandson, born in February, this was washed, which increases its softness, ready for new baby skin.  This was finished a couple of days BEFORE my sew day.  Don't want you to think I am SUPER QUILTER!

This technique was a lot of fun.  This one is small, 30" square.  You make larger blocks, 16", all different, but on similar color scheme, as many as you want in the quilt.  They are cut in quarters and then put together as blocks again.

Baby's big brother get's a pillow case.  Amazing how little kids LOVE having their own special pillow case!  They may be on the pillow, they may be used as toy bags.  Whatever, as my friend Suzanne says "Floats your boat".  Cars and trucks always a BIG hit with little boys!  Then, while I was at it, two pillow cases for Great Lakes Heritage Quilt Guild for our charity collection

Iris joined me on my sew day.  She luxuriated in the sunshine and loves to be up on my big board.  She never jumps up there uninvited.  Sits politely on the floor and meows to be lifted.  Such a good girl!  But if there is a quilting project on the big board, she MUST lay on it!  This slowed me down once or twice as she took naps in the sun.  She doesn't always spend a lot of time around me during the day, prefering to sneak off for 'hidden' naps, so I really enjoyed her company.  Isn't she beautiful?  Her tummy is softer than ANY angora rabbit!

The all-day-sew was devoted to a couple of things; first, cut out and sew two quilts like the one above that will end up as 36" baby quilts for the neonatal care unit Great Lakes Heritage Quilters is giving quilts to.  I mostly used scraps from my bins that are pre-cut in certain strip sizes.  This saves time in some ways, but takes extra time in other ways.  YOU know what I mean!  It's a lot of cutting but well worth the effort for the great scrappy results.  I made the blocks for one slightly larger so it can finish at 36" with no border.  The other will have blocks the same size as above but I will add borders.  Hopefully these aren't too bright for new babies! 

So cutting, sorting, sewing into blocks, cutting them apart, and sewing them together again.  This is as far as I got, plus I made the two pillow cases to donate for children.  All told, I think I spent about 8 hours in the studio, a full day's work by any standard.

What a great way to spend a sunny winter day!