Santa Fe Plaza - Then and Now

I happened to have my camera with me when I saw this photo, captioned, "People Sitting on the Plaza, Santa Fe - 1912." It was decorating the hallway of an office building.



I love the hats that some of the ladies (and men) were wearing.

These days, it looks much the same, though it's clear that Fall is here and most of the tourists have gone home.



Along with the leaves, most of the tourists, musicians, artists and food vendors have gone ... though not all. Even on a cool day (Monday, before it was really cold), the sun was shining and some people (including me) were out and about and enjoying it.

     

     

Something Old, Something New

I've been making blocks for a new project using an idea I've had almost as long as I've been quilting.

It's one of those What if questions.  What if I made log cabin blocks with a random number of colored logs with a random placement ... determined by a throw of the dice.

I used the pattern for the rectangular log cabin variation we made for the Block Lotto last year, called Steps (you can find the block pattern on the Free Block Patterns Page.) The blocks are 6 by 9 inches (finished size).

I need to make more blocks before I decide if I can work with the result, but here are the first sixteen, parked on the design wall.

That's what's in-progress for me this Wednesday.

I'll be joining the WIP-Wednesday list on Freshly Pieced later today. What have you been up to? Starting something new or racing to finish an existing project? 

Life Goes On ...

In the past couple weeks, I've thought to blog about Halloween (and the Day of the Dead), the end of daylight savings time, voting, late fall on the Plaza and the passing of a birthday milestone in my life and whether or not 60 really is the new 40, but none of that has happened  ... yet.  In the meantime, here is my design wall, showing my efforts to catchup with the Mod-Mod Quilt-Along.

I have sewn together the 21-inch modules that are complete ... only three left to go. 

My S-T-R-E-T-C-H Goal for a Lovely Finish in November

I have fallen a couple months behind on the Mod-Mod QAL ... and it's my design and my quilt-along. Life has taken some crazy turns lately (new job, a carbon monoxide leak at my house) and slowed down my creative life, but it's still a little embarrassing.

These are the blocks for January through August for my full/queen-sized quilt.  

My goal for a Lovely Finish in November is to redeem myself and finish ALL the blogs for the year so I can share it on the Block Lotto blog on December 1.

The sad truth is that when I choose a set of block designs each year for the Block Lotto, I always have some sort of design for a sampler quilt using those block patterns and usually start a sampler project ... though most remain in the WIP stage.  I am determined to finish THIS one.

Shades of Gray and Black

On their own, these gray oak leaf blocks are maybe not so interesting ... they look as flat on my wall as they do in this photo.

I have been planning on a twin-size bed quilt made from 16 large oak leaf block: 12 monthly blocks made from the color-of-the-month for the Rainbow Scrap challenge and 4 more that I'd figure out at the end of the year.

This month's color choice of brown, gray and black gave me the opportunity to make a couple of those extra blocks. I made the scrappy brown block last weekend, and this morning, added the gray and black blocks.

And now there are 12 big leaf blocks on my wall.

The Last Four Feather Blocks

My Feather Bed quilt is home and on the bed and now I'm using the last four feather blocks to make some big, 24 inch square, pillow covers.  They're on the design wall, along with this month's lotto blocks and that sweet musical kitty tea towel that refuses to be put away because I'm still thinking about it ...

I stringed together more of the stringed pieced scraps for the narrow borders on the pillow covers and, miraculously, I still have some small scrappy leftovers ... and a plan for using them.

The Block Lotto blocks, called Woven Bars, are 7-by-14 inches; there's an A-block and a B-block and when they are alternated in a straight set, you get the illusion of an even weave of strips.

As I mentioned on the Block Lotto blog yesterday, I think a mini-version of this block will become a Rainbow Scraps Challenge project for me next year, combining the color of the month with neutrals.

You can download the block directions from my Free Quilt Block Patterns page.

It's been too long since I participated in Judy's Design Wall Monday. It feels good to be organized enough to be back ;-)

It was a dark and stormy Sunday Afternoon

Ugly overcast days are so rare here that when the wind picks up and it starts to feel a little like the big bad wolf is huffing and puffing at the door ... it makes us all feel a little under-the-weather.

And by all of us, I mean me and the cats.  Their reactions are predictable and very different.  When the thunder started, Grace went into the kitchen and let me know by meowing non-stop that I needed to open the pantry door so she could go curl up in the back of that space.  Then Johnny followed me upstairs into the bedroom when I went to grab a sweater and insisted he needed to go out into all that wind and weather onto the roof deck (it didn't happen).

On days like this all I want to do is wrap up in a quilt and do some hand-stitching ... and that's the plan for tonight.  I'll be trying the new pincushion pattern.  These are the fabrics I pulled for my first effort.

Do you have a project for Slow Sunday Stitching? Check out what everyone else is doing on Kathy's Quilts.  It looks like there's a whole lot of appliqué and hexies going on today.

Scrap-Happy Saturday Night

There's something about being around a bunch of beautiful quilts at a quilt show that makes me want to rush home and quilt.

Tonight I made a couple more scrappy Oak Leaf blocks in orange and brown–last month's and this month's colors for the Rainbow Scrap Challenge. Here's my set of blocks for the year so far.

I have fallen behind on a couple of my RSC projects ... but this one is current again. 

Shopping at Quilt Shows

How do you shop at quilt shows?  Do you have a plan?  I usually walk in the door with a list of things I need or short list of vendors that I know I want to be sure to visit, even if it's only in my head.  Otherwise, especially at large shows, I get overwhelmed and come home with nothing or crazy stuff that I don't need and I may or may not ever use. In any event, I'm usually not a big shopper ... as you can see from the photo of my purchases.

The Northern New Mexico Quilt Guild show is a small show with only a dozen or so vendors.  This weekend, I only had one thing in mind–a darling bird on a pedestal wool pincushion in the quilt guild's shop that had grabbed my attention during the preview Thursday night.  It turns out that I wasn't the only one that wanted it and it was grabbed up by the winner of the ribbon topper competition–her prize for winning was early shopping.


Instead I picked up another of the sweet wool pincushions made by the same  person and, from one of the vendors from Oklahoma, a pattern for making a bird on a pedestal pincushion similar to the one that got away.

At the guild shop, I also  bought a sleeve for my iPad because as much as I keep telling myself to make one ... I haven't yet done it. It's a nicely padded bag that is sized just right with a fun, glitzy zipper pull.

Along the way, I bought some crushed walnut shells for stuffing pincushions because I never seem to be able to find them around here and a few new fabrics for my stash.  Lately, I've been thinking about large scale floral prints–can you tell?

After I came home, I noticed that a couple of the fabrics were from the same collection, Andover's Celebracion, which was created by the Museum of New Mexico.  It's not a new collection ... so if I decide I want more, it might be a bit of a scavenger hunt. I'm thinking that they might become the beginning of next years block lotto sampler.

Do you think that where you live affects your color choices?  When I moved to the South of France a few decades ago, I noticed how I started decorating my apartment in a completely different-for-me, pastel palette.  I do see more turquoise and red creeping into my environment (and my quilts) since I moved to New Mexico ... but whether it's because of fabric color trends of living in Santa Fe, who knows?

Update

When I went back for my volunteer hours today, I thought of Brenda's comment and took this iPhone photo with a couple of the bird pincushions and a better view of the  cover image on the pattern.

I love the hand stitching along the seams. Now, to find an old zinc lid or a small wooden candlestick ... 

A Shocking Finish

You may be shocked because I actually finished (early!) and met my October goal for a lovely finish.

I was shocked to learn tonight at the reception before the show begins tomorrow that it had won a ribbon–second Place in the category Large Pieced Quilts made by two or more quilters.  I credit the lovely Long arm quilting by blogless Lynne Horpedal of Late Night Quilts.

At the beginning of the year, I double DARED myself to, among other things, enter a quilt in a show.  (Yep, believe it or not, this is a first for me).

I loved the punny name of Anna Maria Horner's Feather Bed Quilt Pattern and couldn't resist adding more feathers in the quilting design.

Here is a detail of both types of feather quilting.

And, below, a closer look at the piped binding–the piping was made from the scraps of fabric pieced for the feather blocks.

I'll be back with more photos from the Northern New Mexico Quilt Guild show later this weekend. It's a lovely show.


I updated this post to link to the Lovely Finishes for October.  I hope to finish a pair of Feather pillow covers by month's end, too.  In the meantime, I'm sharing this shocking finish on these lists:

Finish it Up Friday 

Can I get a Whoop Whoop?

Link a Finish Friday

TGIFFF

Binding, Hanging Sleeve and a Plan ...

My plans for a Slow Sunday Stitching start with this binding and hanging sleeve.

I'll be stitching along with Carrie, watching the Homeland Marathon this afternoon ... will I finish before the new season begins tonight?

An Optimistic October Goal for A Lovely Finish

Remember these blocks, begun earlier this year at a guild retreat?

My goal for a Lovely Finish in October is to finish the quilt.  (I did say I was being optimistic, right?)

Quilters, the Musical

Have you seen the play, Quilters?  It's a musical in which each scene is named for a quilt block.  It is based on a book, first published in 1977, The Quilters: Women and Domestic Art, an Oral History

I saw the play performed, probably a decade ago in Michigan, and so when a message went out to the guild asking for volunteers to make blocks, I said yes ... and then I realized just how long it's been since I made something as fussy as a lone star block.

The larger 18 inch block is used on it's own in a scene; the smaller 12 inch version becomes part of the quilt that is revealed at the end. In the performance I attended in Michigan, the finale quilt was made from huge blocks and the giant quilt on the stage made such a big impact ... but I'm guessing that, in this effort, someone wants a functional quilt for their bed when the play is done ... which makes me feel a little sad about the mis-matched seams in my little lone star. It has been too long since I made any of these and I guess I'm rusty.

Quilters opens at the end of the month at the Santa Fe Playhouse.

Update

I just learned that the reason for making smaller blocks for a bed-size quilt for the final scene is that it will then be used as a raffle quilt for the Santa Fe Playhouse. 

... And I Helped

Earlier this summer, I shared some of the Tula Pink sampler blocks I made for a group quilt being made by the Chicken River Modern Quilters in Las Vegas (New Mexico) for a fund-raiser for their guild.   I ended up making 11 blocks.  Now, the quilt is finished and it is fantastic. 

The setting is the one called Urban Planning.  When I flipped through the book, it wasn't my favorite option, but now, I think it's pretty perfect for showing off our collection of diverse blocks.  It's a lovely group effort and I'm happy to have been part of it. 

If you are in the area, it's hanging at Thread Bear in Las Vegas. 

I'm sharing this great group finish on the lists for: 

Finish it Up Friday 

Can I get a Whoop Whoop?

Link a Finish Friday

TGIFFF

Around the World Blog Hop

Moira tagged me to participate in the Around the World Blog Hop.

Does anyone know who started this?  Or why there isn't a nice long list somewhere of everyone who has blogged an Around the World Blog Hop post?

Like Kate, I found the hardest part of saying yes was to find quilters to tag who haven't already been tagged ... so I suggest, especially since there's no master list anywhere, if you'd like to play along and answer the questions, just do it. 

Here are the questions and my answers: 

What are you currently working on?

As usual, I am working on next month's block pattern for the Block Lotto.  I can't share it with you, yet, but the sneak peek will go out later oday to those who have made September lotto blocks. 

I'm also very behind on finishing this quilt ... my September goal for a lovely finish and one I plan to enter in the local guild show early next month. 

How does my work differ from others?

I'm not at all sure it does except in the way that each of us creates quilts that represent our unique way of seeing color, fabric, shape and design.

I almost never use a quilt pattern, I often come up with my own patterns for the individual elements (blocks, borders), and I think as much about value as color when choosing fabrics and placing elements in the quilt. I often include traditional blocks. I prefer asymmetry over symmetry and I like mixing blocks, styles and techniques within a single quilt design. 

I think my quilt Cock-a-Doodle Tea Towel is a good example of my approach to quilt design. 

Why do I write/create what I do?

I am fascinated by understanding how thing are made and creating has been part of my life as long as I can remember. It is my therapy, my unstructured outlet to a structured job, the 'high touch' that balances what has been a mostly 'high tech' career. 

Quilting is a path to creating something that is both beautiful and functional. 

Creating the Block Lotto is a way to share the joy of quilting and help others try new things. 

What is my creative process?

This question is almost like trying to describe, how do you think? 

My quilts start with something and once that fixed something is decided, build upon it by pushing the boundaries of what is not fixed.   

That something might be a tea towel, like the one in the challenge quilt above that defined the theme and the color palette for the quilt, or the one below which a friend from the Block Lotto recently sent because she knew I'd love it. 

That something could come in the form of a challenge, like the word challenge on the 15 Minutes blog that specified choosing a word and using made fabric.

That something might be an idea for blocks, like this year's lotto blocks (and the Mod-Mod sampler quilt I designed from them) where I designed blocks and created patterns that I thought would lend themselves to Modern Quilting design. Here's my quilt-in-progress at the half-way point

I know it sounds kind of simplistic, but that's me ... I start with one fixed something, push the bounds of what's not fixed, and see where it takes me.

Tag–they're IT

I've tagged these three quilters.  Look for Bridget's and Cathy's posts next week.

Bridget at Nickel and Dime Ranch - Bridget is a New Mexico quilter that found me and invited me to go meet the Chicken River Modern Quilt Guild--a great group in Las Vegas (New Mexico). 

Renee at Quilts of a Feather - Renee is a New Mexico quilter that I found in the blogiverse.  I love her quilting! She's already posted her Around the World questionnaire (in response to being asked multiple times and finally saying yes.)

Cathy at Sane, Crazy, Crumby Quilting - Cathy is one of the wonderful quilters I have come to know from the Block Lotto. I love the way she works with saturated colors.  Here's a peek at Wild Thing, her Mod-mod quilt in progress.  I think our two quilts may represent the two ends of the spectrum in terms of color and feeling.

Projects in Progress

I'm getting back into the swing of things and my design wall is filling up with signs of my progress.

 

I've got last month's Little Windows Lotto Blocks to be mailed and 14 more, made for my Mod-Mod Sampler. Some more words and a Rose, to be added to the back of the quilt I shared on Monday, a couple of this month's Sweet Dreams Lotto Blocks, waiting for some friends and the twin center I made for my Cotton Robin quilt, still waiting for me.

And that's what in-progress on Wednesday at my house.

September's Goal and my Design Wall

This top has been finished for a while ... and this month, my goal for a lovely finish in September is to quilt, bind and label it and deliver it to the organizers of the local guild show.

It's already off the design wall and waiting for me to piece the backing and get started.  The only thing left on the wall at the moment are a couple of blocks for the Block Lotto: 

This is Marcia Hohn's block pattern for a 7-inch (finished size) paper-pieced and appliquéd block, Sweet Dreams. For the Block Lotto this month, we're making it in a controlled scrappy color-way that includes a red background and a print on white background for two of the points. The circle can be appliquéd (block on the left) or pieced into the block (the one on the right).  For my notes on making these blocks, see my post on the Block Lotto, here:

Sophie's Blocks (and How I Made Them) 

If you are curious about joining us, you'll find the guidelines for the month and a link to the pattern here:

Paper Piecing and Appliqué in September - Sweet Dreams

Finding my way back to quilting projects ...

I can't say what happened, but not a lot has been happening around Sophie Junction in August ... I thought this signpost image–found on Susan's blog–pretty much reflects my creative state for this month.

Among the confusing elements was Angela's choice for the Rainbow Scraps Challenge this month ... it was green, but not like the green that had come before.  Unfortunately, because I had chosen a broad interpretation for my scrappy blocks, I had effectively painted myself into a corner. I did manage to make a yellow-green oak leaf block today (second from the left in the bottom row) that comes close to being distinctive enough from the green block beside it.

I didn't need any more green broken dishes stars and I decided to wait and see if a bunch more green paper pieced Briar Patch blocks makes sense, rationalizing that it might be a good thing to wait until the end of the year, or whenever it's time to lay them out and see what color blocks I need to make them play happily together. 

Modern Quilting Design Inspiration

Lately, I've had my eyes open for examples of great quilting design that feels fresh and Modern.  At the local guild meeting this morning, I picked up a book from the table of old library books for sale and bought it, mostly because of the quilting on this quilt.

This is Carol Armstrong's Crane quilt.

The quilt appears in her book Wildflowers: Designs for Appliqué & Quilting, published in 1998.  It is still available on Amazon in paperback or electronic (Kindle) format–clicking the link or the book image will take you there. 

Carol's work is hand-appliquéd and hand-quilted.  I doubt that she thinks of herself as part of the Modern Quilting movement or that many Modern Quilters are familiar with her work, but I think there is much inspiration to be found there.

I came home from the guild meeting and pulled out some of Carol's other books from my bookshelf–including Wild Birds: Designs for Applique and Quilting, which has the pattern for that crane–and really enjoyed re-reading them with new eyes.

Do you remember your dreams?

I woke up this morning, an hour before the alarm, feeling really well rested–a good thing because some of my old fatigue issues are back and kicking my butt.

But a funny thing this morning happened as I was becoming fully awake.

I don't know what I dreamed about, but I'm guessing I didn't just dream it, I must have been acting it out, too:  my legs were sore, my back hurt and it felt like I had jammed a couple of my fingers on my left hand.

... and neither cat was sleeping at the foot of the bed or coming to wish me good morning (and bug me until I got up and let them out on the deck) as usual.

I usually don't remember my dreams, but my physical side effects make me wonder ... and reminds me of when I was married and talked in my sleep.  Back then, my husband could at least give me a clue about what I was dreaming/talking about.

Do you remember your dreams?  Talk in your sleep? Wake up with mystery aches and pains?

July's Lovely ... Failure

These silly string blocks did not become a tote, as initially planned, nor any other lovely finished object in July.

I finally returned to work and along with the time spent earning a living, I am working on re-finding the balance of work and life, leaving the work stress at the front door and being organized enough to be able to find time to quilt again.

As far as my goal for a lovely finish, the quilt blocks did become something, this color saturated top. I got as far as buying threads for quilting it before I started the new work project. I bought fabric for a quilt backing yesterday.

It will have a plain back and lots of quilting. I'm still undecided on binding fabric ... I have enough of the plaid in the curvy strings, but would it be distracting?

I have shared this before, but am sharing it again, mostly to help me find all my lovely finishes and failures near-finished objects at the end of the year.   I am  not-so-secretly hoping to finish all my lovely goals by year end, even if a couple of them happen after the deadline. 

You can check out the successful bloggers and their lovely finishes in July here.

Squirrelly Visitor

It feels like nature week at Sophie Junction. This guy appeared just outside the glass sliding doors in the studio several times today ... as Johnny slept nearby, oblivious to the wild life on the other side of the glass.



A few times, though, Johnny WAS awake and aware and appeared ready to charge through the glass to chase away the animal in his territory.

Bizarrely, the squirrel wasn't afraid of the large cat charging at him and they spent a lot of time in a sort of stand-off, simply staring at one another through the glass door.