WIP Wednesday Summer Vacation At Last

The end of the school year can easily make one crazy. My students dwindled and I am more than glad to have time to myself again. I have lots of plans I've been drafting, from quilt designs to book writing, I've been anxious to get to it all.
I tend to drive myself crazy by attempting huge projects in tiny moments. I need to relax, give myself room to breath, create. Take my time. I've been wanting to write more tutorials, perhaps even a QAL of my own. I've got lots of ideas, but I've been in fits and starts for months, forgetting one simple rule to starting something new: Keep It Simple. Amazing what a difference that makes!
Here's some of today's table.

Linking up with Lee @ FreshlyPieced

Happy Wednesday!!

-M

WIP Wednesday: March Madness

Progress being made.

Can free-motion quilt again! (Temporary fix)

Progress on the FAL 2014 Q1 list. The piece above is 'Night Garden', finally being quilted. Very slowly, because like a genius I've given it almost 7 layers in some places. But I'm a sixth of the way through it!

This weekend, I played with new colors....making palettes that were speaking 'Spring'. Bright.
My goal was to use these two palettes to inspire fabric selections for my March blocks in my Block-a-Day project.

This first is an actual art quilt by Karen Kamenetzky....I just loved the piece, it's on my pinterest Color Palette board :-)

Fabrics from my stash:

This next one, also from my Color Palette board, is another color way that I envisioned incorporating into a quilt. The piece is by Seattle artist Liz Tran, called "Burst". 

Fabrics from my stash:

I'm not totally sold on the selection above. I need more tomato orange. More blush-y mauve. Darker. Brighter. I'll keep looking. I fear I may have to purchase some new colors for my stash....hehehe.

Feeling like a juggler here with so many projects at once. And some stuff to seriously catch up on.

This weekend through Tuesday was set aside mostly for a birthday and relaxation. 

Tomorrow is Art Walk night, my coordinator duties will be heavy. 

The rain is over. The air is warm. 

My Marmalade Fabrics order came in the mail today!

Will share soon... secret project...I'm making something for me!

Linking up with Freshly Pieced!

Joining In & Keeping Busy, Sunday Stash #1

I wanted to share my list of things I'm going to "Participate" in.
Take a look, you may want to join in the fun too!
Shall we dive in?


Globetrotting designed & hosted by Pat Sloan
This one is very interesting with the videos from Pat and history highlights behind each block. I'm making the first block (center square) in this creamsicle/gray color pallet. Flickr group can be found here.

"Fiesta de la Flores"2014 applique BOM with
Reeze of Morning Glory Designs

I just discovered this woman and her incredible applique work! Amazing details! I'm really excited to participate in this BOM and do some relaxing handstitching. My grandmother loved to do applique as do I. Here's what I've pulled for the first block, using scraps of course! *A heads up, the patterns are only available for free during the current month. If you miss a block, she sells them for a very reasonable price.*

Aurifill Designer of the Month Challenge
Each month a different designer, block and chances to win!
I have yet to sew with any Aurifill, so I am really happy to follow along and have a chance to win some thread! Plus, each month is a designer feature with really indepth interviews. I love learning about other quilters! January's block features 'Spools' and a neat tablerunner project. Here's my color pallet for this one, again using up my scraps! Flickr group can be found here.

Pantone's Color of the Year Challenge

This year's color, Radiant Orchid. Which happens to be one of my favorite haircolors! There have been some fabulous posts by Pantone on pinterest. I just might be up for the challenge!

Classic Meets Modern with Erin at Sew at Home Mummy
A wonderful quilt along featuring a classic block each month and a challenge to participants to give it a "modern" twist. The results will be inspirational! I'm making the January block in a mulberry pallet (scraps!). Flickr group can be found here.

And of course, the Finish Along 2014 hosted by Katy of The Littlest Thistle. You can read my post about that here.

This is just a small list that I'm going to work hard at following along with. I know there are more, leave a link here if you've got BOM's or QAL's to share and I'll update!


I'm also sharing some sewing supplies/fabric purchases of this last week and linking up with another newly found linky party, Sunday Stash with Molli Sparkles! The bling is so much fun!

A trip to the Salvation Army and a 50% off coupon for the whole store from my mother, I scored! Found doll hair, a scrapbook album, some amazing vintage weaving books and yes, over 20 embroidery hoops, various sizes. Those were a steal....way less than a dollar a piece!

And my sewing bounty from a trip to Joann's. Fat quarters, muslin yardage (for new dolls!) and APQ magazine for the Tone-It-Down pattern. Not pictured (but purchased!) are the batting and stuffing which was all I really needed. You know how a trip to the fabric store goes.

Off to make some blocks!

Happy Stitching!

Goodnight September

A moon full of productivity and creativity. I'm glad September is over. I enjoy it, my birth month and school starting, but I am wishing for cooler weather to hit abruptly. I want to be cozy.
The season is being rather unruly in it's changing. As am I. But change is inevitable. No matter how much you resist.

Here's a sneak peek picture of what I spent my weekend doing. I'm not sharing it all yet because it's going to be a new tutorial! Yes, I said that. I know it's been a while.

I have some exciting news I can share though. I've signed up as a full fledged participant of the Traveling PicStitch Blog Hop hosted by the lovely Laura of Quokka Quilts and Katy of The Littlest Thistle.
You can hop along with us and an amazing list of other bloggers, it's easy.

• All you need an awesome landscape photo as a starting point of inspiration.
• Then go to a color palette generator like this one Play Craft's Palette Builder or various others on the internet and create a unique palette based off the landscape photo of your choice. (Beware, this can be addictive! )
• Armed with this new color palette, pull coordinating fabrics from your stash.
• Now pick an awesome English Paper Pieced block and stitch it up using your chosen fabrics.
• Write a post or post on Flickr with a link back to their main page on either blog.
• Link up Party on November 30th! There are amazing sponsors and prizes! Whoot!

Simple and so fun! I love a challenge and I really love the ease and mobility of doing English Paper Piecing. There's many simply tutorials on this technique that even a beginner could jump in this fun, so do it!

Here are two color palettes I generated as experiments.

A self portrait from the beginning of last fall. (I really love this palette..so much that it will most definitely become a quilt.)

Here's a nice shot I took during this year's Coachella festival.















Here are some links to more inspiration!

The Traveling PicStitch Pinterest Board
English Paper Piecing Inspiration 

I'll be sharing more information and insights on this project through out the blog hop. And it starts tomorrow at I'm A Ginger Monkey! See you there!

A new tutorial will be forthcoming this week!

Peaceful Weekend

I'm really happy I was able to relax and get to work on some things this weekend. I set up a little sewing corner in a friends downtown studio. I was quite enthralled in cutting up fabric and working on doll pattern tests.

I tried my hand at adding gussets to the doll pattern I had drafted years ago. It was tiny tiny work. And as much as I dislike using pins ( i stab myself too much!), this was the only way to do it. Slowest sewing I've done on the machine in such a long time.

I realized after an hour of tiny piecing that I probably should enlarge the pattern a bit and give myself a break. Duh! What's with me and teeny tiny project attempts. Especially later in the evening. Am I trying to drive myself batty or what? Needless to say, I did take a break from the doll project after successfully putting in a head gusset. And I jumped right into cutting more 5in squares because apparently I have half-square triangle patterns on the brain. 

I am really into rearranging them on my design wall. I like the fact that when I throw a bunch up there, I can move them around and around and have a different look each time I step back. Which is not helping me make any decisions mind you. But it's fun and quick! I admit, I do have some friends and relatives having babies in the near future, so technically I am doing something productive. I've been toying with the idea of making a Beginners Quilt Class as well, and these HST quilts are simple enough that I might make this the class project. Here's the latest one that I still have on the design wall.

Though I've already rearranged it twice, I'm still liking this first take. I think it may end up looking like this. A viewer says it looked "too sophisticated" to be a baby blanket and that it reminded him of old man socks. I agreed with the sock reference, but perhaps someone out there has a "sophisticated baby". Hahaha. It made me laugh. I love getting input. I've got green and orange squares cut up now for today's HST quilt project! I'm on a roll!

Also! I'm very excited to have come across another quilt-a-long with an AMAZING project! The Perv-Along, (love the name) hosted by Charlotte at Displacement Activity.

The quilt is going to be amazing!!! It reminds me of a cosmic burst. And of course, I'm kinda hooked on the solid fabric quilts. So here's what I pulled for this perv-a-long.

I feel a bit odd not having "brand name" fabrics with cool color names like "papaya" or "moss". I generally find most my fabrics at swap meets, thrift stores and yard sales. Very rarely do I buy new fabrics. I love all the new prints and collections and I'm sure I have a nice smattering of them in my stash. But I've a complete novice at being able to name the designers and such. When I do buy solids, they are just a store brand name and nothing that exciting. Oh well. I'll get there someday. Kona's solids look delicious!

 How was your weekend? Hope you make something awesome!

Yeah, I'm with you.

This is my mothers day. A swapmeet trip. Good stuff. New Marushka, wool, burlap, wooden bag handles, vintage Pinocchio cloth dolls, new wig, and sweet dice earrings. Lovely weekend. And a new bed. Wonderful start to the week.

Scrap!

                                                              Scrap irons, a photo by amandamillar on Flickr.

I love ironing....and scraps. And i haven't really been neat about storing them, so they come out all wrinkled.
These are stuck to my felt wall. Now, how to get them onto a backing of cotton.
How to keep the layout exact.....this may take me all day to figure out.
So far, i'm thinking freezer paper. We'll see how it goes tonight.

Am I seeing a good entry to the Scrap Attack?

Contemplation Day

It's one thing to be lost in your thoughts, but to build your thoughts while doing a repetitive motion, that can be like a trance.
So i meditated while working on the RRQAL project, trying to catch up, Jon came over to work on his computer, and there was just music.
I finished two of the four blocks for the second row and am very nearly done with the last two.  Seven hours. Three real 10min breaks. Creation.

Here

The last two TINY star blocks waiting to be assembled

And I spent that time contemplating the many paths at my feet. There's a lot of spinning in decisions, not that i'm uneasy, but rather noticing how I've only been trying to align things that can align on their own, in their own way. I realize how much time i spend thinking unnecessary thoughts, so i thought useful thoughts today. Filled to the brim with inspiration. My mind filled with book projects, quilt designs, business ventures, and color feeling projects. 

Isn't the beginning the hardest part? 

I just think of continuous walking through continuous doorways. Unlock the flow. Do.

Lessons in Color

 

 

My vacation has already started...and i'm making it a point to make something everyday.

Soon i will show some of the pictures.

But for now, my other obsession...color and light.

I am feeling my photos more and more.

Trying to erase something from my brain.

XoXo Manda