The Journey of a Laugh-Time

I was so busy having a fun-filled 5 days with friends at QuiltCon that I forgot to blog.  I also forgot to Instagram, Facebook and Flickr!  Oh, what a fun-filled journey.    

 Four of us set out early Wednesday last, stopping along the way to visit with other QuiltCon travelers.   Our first food stop was about 45 minutes out of town!   After lunch,  we found Sew What....a quilt shop in Palestine, Texas, where I made my first fabric purchase of the trip




 before boogieing on in to Austin, where in spite of the traffic, we hit the road running Thursday morning and continued non-stop eating and shopping and laughing until arriving back home after dark last night......and I think this would be considered a run-on sentence, don't you? 

We did a huge amount of shopping Thursday before enjoying the Austin night life at The Mohawk where the Moda Party had a sell-out crowd.  It was standing room only until we found a table to sit and enjoy the crowd and music.  A great evening together, laughing 'til we cried (and more) while sharing events of the day. 


I had the pleasure of visiting with a Yoshiko Jinzenji and having her sign two pieces of her fabric I purchased.    She is a most beautiful and talented quilt artist and her work continues to inspire me. 





And, who wouldn't want to get a temporary tattoo....especially if it's a Michael Miller block pattern. 

























Beth Rowan of Rock Paper Scissors had a most informative demo - sew many substrates.  There's more than quilter's cotton out there.  There is also voile and silk, wool and corduroy, linen and home dec, of course, as well as double gauze and jersey.  Not only did Beth have sample quilts made using each substrate, but she also advised on what batting to use for each type fabric.  Great information!





 I had just purchased a Malka Dubrawsky layer cake and charm pack when I saw her chatting with another QuiltCon shopper.  Too late to get Malka's signature on a piece of her fabric.   She's one of my favorite fabric designers for Moda and she's commonly known in blog world as A Stitch In Dye.






Oh, and the most talented lady when it comes to using scraps.  Victoria Findlay Wolfe gave us a few tips to sewing great curves during her demonstration.    Love following Victoria's blog.   It's so fun to watch her take a traditional quilt block and make it into a very modern one that still has as much warmth as one of her grandmother's blocks. 

 
She also autographed my tote spotlighting her quilt "A Summer's Day".  Interesting that the tote was made from recycled plastic water bottles.
 
 
 
 
 
I came home with some screen printing knowhow after spending three hours with Celina Mancurti in her workshop. 
 
 
and here's a couple of out-takes from her class.....
 


my apron that I screen printed the green bird onto and got Celina's signature for the memory.  It was a fun workshop. 




 
 
And some of the fabric that followed me home!
 
 
 
Leaving a good time is never easy....nor is the packing it all in! The loot was packed in from every angle and  I can assure you that the four of us were more crowded after QuiltCon than before.  It was a journey of a laugh-time and memories were made. 
 
 
 


 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 


I thank my lucky stars:

Yes, I'm thankful that I have a brain....and most of the time am quite successful at using it; however, today wasn't one of those days.  I guess I should have 'done the math' a little more accurately. 

It's like this.  Our guild activity for the next several months is to make black and white stars.  Each month we will be prompted about the size to make  and how many we are to take to the next meeting to swap around with other participants in the activity.  Last month went beautifully.  I made my four 12 1/2" blocks for the swap and came home with a nice variety. 

12 1/2" black and white star quilt blocks


For round two, we were told to make ten 6 1/2" blocks.  Not a problem.....made many this size before so I'm sure that goal can be reached on this rainy afternoon.   Woah......meaning cease or slow down the course of action.  While my little black and white star is a cutey, it is not 6 1/2" square!!!!!   It's only 4 1/2".  What the, er,  I mean, where did I go wrong?  As the voice on my GPS navigator dodad says, "re-calculating" ! 



4 1/2" black and white star qult block
 
 


Thankfully, I  hadn't cut too much fabric and had only made up 10 of the little four-patch centers.    May not be such a waste after all since all our blocks will ultimately be divisible by three!  You see, if I finish 2 more, then I can attach these three 4 1/2" blocks to one of my 12 1/2" ers.  


4 1/2" black and white star qult block



Thanking my lucky stars as I do the math......re-calculating ~ 





 

A little orphan block diversion

Just a small diversion this morning.  When I opened my emails and discovered that I could have a better free-motion-quilting-learning-experience if I brought a quilt sandwich (or two).....and the best way to get this ready in quick fashion for the workshop was to use orphan blocks left over from prior workshops and classes or quilts. 

Luck be a lady this morning.   I found 6 blocks and quickly put them together.  But the quilt maker in me decided it needed more  - it needed borders.  I planned to enlarge my diversion by sampling a few border fabrics.  A plus to adding borders:  I have even more fabric to practice my free-motion quilting! 

I first auditioned gold shot cotton with the black
 
 
and the purple/magenta
 
and finally the orange dot.  This one won my heart.  My favorite of all the fabrics I had on hand.....the orange with purple dot Kaffe.  Will you be my valentine? 

 
I really could have used two more blocks for balance...but since I'm calling this my diversion quilt, then it is what it is
 
Done and Done
 
 
Ramona is hosting a free-motion quilting workshop Saturday, February 14 from 10 - 3 at Quilt 'N Stitch in West Monroe.  Here's the Nela MQG link.  Don't miss out on this great opportunity to practice free-motion quilting on your domestic. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Organizational Mojo~

I had my organizational mojo working this morning when I was abruptly interrupted by the HuMan!
He wanted my pajamas! 

organized improvisational quilt blocks:  Marty Mason



and the nonsensical conversation continued (just long enough to interrupt my organizational mojo). 

Me:  Why do you want my pajamas?
HuMan:  I'm washing clothes!
Me:  What color?
HuMan:  Does it matter?
Me:  Louder YES! 
HuMan:   You'll have to explain that one to me.
Me:  Still LOUD.  If you are washing whites, then I'll just take off my tee shirt.   But if you're washing colors, then I'll have to take off my flannel bottoms.  It's cold in here.  I don't want to strip naked if I don't have to! 
HuMan:   Hmm....hadn't even given the cold air a thought!  

What a pile of scraps!
 

I stalk off to the bathroom to go ahead and get it over with:  took off my tee shirt and flannels.  Now he can wash clothes until his little heart is content. 

Mojo is a power that may seem magical and that allows someone to be very effective, successful. etc.

organized improvisational quilt blocks:  Marty Mason


I've not yet gotten my organizational mojo back, but I'm working on it without interruption.   Success is now in sight.......but I
still must get my thoughts organized  about how to frame this long lost and almost forgotten quilt top sample I made for a "what to do with your half-square triangles?" quilt guild program.     I think  I'll make it the medallion center and frame it in a multi-colored solid border, pieced together in an improvisational style. 




Also on the morning agenda was selecting a binding for this little dotty quilt....yes, the black and white dots won out. 



Yeah, baby....got my organizational mojo working! 

organized improvisational quilt blocks:  Marty Mason


organized and focused:  success