New Year, New Blog Post

On Painting...
So waaay back in the Summer(How I miss the Summer) I got brave and entered two paintings in a local art show. I wasn't expecting to win anything so I wasn't surprised when I didn't. However, I wasn't expecting to SELL a painting either so I was totally surprised and overly excited when I went to pick up my paintings and instead of two paintings, I picked up a check and one painting!

This was the first time I'd sold a painting to someone whom I did not know personally and it felt GREAT! :)

The painting that sold, Fox's Forest, is pictured here.

There was a mix up at the gallery so my painting titled "Mama and Owlets" was listed as "Not for Sale",  but I l think if they had marked it with my asking price, it would have sold too. That's what I like to tell myself anyway. It's currently hanging on my living room wall.

I'm currently working on teaching myself to use watercolors and I'm having so much fun with it! I love how quickly I can finish a painting and how they look pretty good, even though I don't really have the techniques down yet. Here are a couple samples.:

From an online tutorial

Tiger Lily from Disney's Peter Pan...and that's my version of Ariel in the background. 

On Cooking...
I'm currently obsessed with this recipe from Plain Chicken. I've made it three times already and I just finished up a steaming bowl of this chicken chili concoction. It's so delicious and perfect for this ridiculously cold January in Kentucky.  Seriously, grab your crock pot and make a batch!

On Quilting...
I'm quilting again! YAAAAY! It's been forever, but I  pulled out a quilt top I started maybe 6 years ago(?) and I'm using it to practice free motion quilting. My stippling is still a hot mess, but by the time I got to the fourth block, my paisleys looked all right. If you are looking to learn FMQ, I highly recommend Leah Day's courses on Craftsy.com.

Whew, that was a lot! But it feels good to blog after so long an absence. I just may do it again soon!

She's Three Pinwheels Shy of a Quilt

Back in January, I joined an Independent Block of the Month at my local quilt shop.  I figured it would be a fun way for me to actually complete a quilt. I'd have a year to work on it at a pace that I set myself. The pace I set for myself was that of a turtle. A sleep deprived turtle. Yet I've still managed to end up behind on this project!

My IBOM quilt is the Pinwheel Sampler  from one of my favorite quilty blogs, P.S. I Quilt. Now when they were doing the exact same quilt they finished it in something like  ten weeks. It's taking me a year, Y'all. A year!

This week is my Fall Break, so I am off work for an entire week[insert happy-screechy-jumpy-WaaHoo-yell here] and I intend to get back on track with this quilt!

Umm, except for the fact that I have something planned nearly every single day of the break....

and my next BOTM meeting is this coming Saturday....and I'm supposed to have the thing sashed by then too!  YIKES!


I thought I had caught up on it tonight after finishing these two blocks.

When I put the blocks on my design wall, I realized that I was missing three more blocks! Ugh. One of those I distinctly remember trying to square up and lopping off about 1/4 inch more than I should have on all sides. The other two...I don't know what happened. But as luck would have it, they look to be the most time consuming block of the entire set. Yay!! [insert grumbly incomprehensible cussing here]

Hopefully tomorrow I can finish up those other three blocks and begin the sashing(which has to be done by Saturday). When that's all done hopefully I can fall in love with this quilt again. Right now, we aren't even on speaking terms. 

Oh, Sheet!

So, perhaps it was a good idea that I covered my design wall in UFOs. In just two nights I've managed to make some progress on one of those projects!

This is going to be a picnic quilt, which means picnics will be had this summer. It will also be the quilt I leave in the car for random things need covering and Mark is freezing me to death type emergencies.

Made from vintage sheets, it started out as plain four patches but has evolved into a more liberated style.  I love the movement that comes from recutting the original four patch blocks!

Once I get all these four patches sewn together my plan is to do a thin border of a solid(if I can find something in my stash) and a wider outer border using the yellow daisy sheet.

Hooray for progress!

I should be sewing...

No, really! I have no less than five projects going, all needing to be completed in the next couple of weeks (if not days). However, as a lifetime resident of the Procrastination Nation, I've decided to do a quick update after months of non-blogging instead of work on the things that need doing! Wouldn't want to disappoint the brothers and sisters of my Nation, now would I?

So, what kind of post would possibly warrant stalling on all those projects I'm behind on? A couple of finishes of course!

I finally finished the Cabin Fever Quilt top! In my last post, I mentioned how I'd totally screwed the thing up and had to cut it apart and start over. Here is the finished top. I dig it. Big Time. I made this one for myself and plan that someday it will be my flake-out-on-the-couch quilt.

I used Tonya Riccuci's Word Play Quilts to guide me through the letters. If you study wonky letters on various examples, they're pretty easy to pick up on your own, but I'd highly recommend the book. Those wonky letters go together much faster when you have Tonya guiding you along! 

My most recent project was a baby quilt for my soon-to-arrive nephew! I was planning to have an I-Spy quilt ready to give my sis at the shower, but, as y'all might have guessed, I didn't start soon enough. Luckily I had a Max & Whiskers charm pack and a white Moda Bella Charm pack in my stash. I played on my design wall until I had a layout that I liked, and went for it. I waiting so long that I was even forced to do my own free motion quilting! Despite the machine applied binding, I love how this quilt turned out. Even more, I love that my  sis loved it and she fully intends to let the baby drag it around, chew, and 'waller' on it!

Note to you receivers-of-quilts-as-gifts... your quilt gifting friend would LOVE it if you would put your quilt to good use(whatever that might be) instead of  storing or putting  it away because it's "too pretty to use".  Just sayin'!

Next time, perhaps I'll show off the projects I slacked on tonight!

An All Day Apron

 I figured the long weekend would be the perfect time to re-stock my etsy shop and do some sewing. I dug through my fabric stash and decided to use this lovely cabbage rose print with a 1950's feel (Swoon!) for my first project of the day.

I settled on a smock style apron. They're practical, cute, and quick to make. I figured I could finish this and whip up at least two half aprons before the day was done! Ha!

I went happily on my way cutting fabrics, excited to be starting new projects...things were going just swell. And then I decided to line the apron despite the fact that I never line this style smock. This is when what should have been a two hour project turned into an all day affair.  Holy Lord! I have not been so aggravated and dimwitted with a sewing project since I started sewing.

I eventually finished it...many hours and much cussin' later. After all that trouble, I'm not even going to list it for sale. For the time that I put into this apron, and the headache it caused me, I'd have to sell it for at least $1256.00 to make up for my time and effort.

So, for the time being, I've decided to keep it. I really don't think I could part with that fabric anyway.

Those two half aprons I was going to whip up? Not happening. I'd rather stab myself in the eyes with my Gingher stork embroidery scissors than look at my sewing machine right now.

Fabric Postcards!

Back in December, I took a class on how to make fabric postcards at my local quilt shop. It was something I'd been wanting to do for a while. I had a good time and enjoyed the chance to learn something new.

Now that nearly a month has passed, I'm finally starting to use some of what I learned. I've joined two fabric postcard swap groups! The first was Trading Fabric Postcards on Yahoo groups, and  I've also recently joined Fabric Postcard Swap on Flickr.  I'm really looking forward to swapping and learning some techniques and getting inspiration for making these mini fabric art cards.

I got my first swap card in the mail this week from Katina in the Yahoo group. The theme was middle initials. She made this card representing my middle initial.  So stinkin' adorable!

"An Anteater Ate Ants All August"

This is the card that I made to represent my partner's middle initial. This is only my third attempt at making one of these cards, but I think it turned out OK for someone w/o much experience at it. Note to self...square up the card before sewing the edges next time. sheesh.

"Mystic Mermaid"

These are my first two attempts. I made the snow couple card in class and started the second one in class as well. The instructor was nice enough to give us extra fabric, backing pieces so we could finish the cards we started and make a couple more. The snow couple is simply a fussy cut piece of fabric that I embelished w/some glitter paint and an extra fussy cut bird/holly. I love the print, but I prefer the pieced & appliqued snowman card. For whatever reason, I didn't mail these out w/my Christmas cards, I should have, huh?

"Snow in Love"

"Good Tidings to You"

I smell yet another addiction!

A Winner and a Rag Doll

Grey Cat Quilts was the winner of my Merry Mushroom smock. It's on it's way and I hope she will enjoy wearing it!

Thanks so much to all of the 280+ folks who dropped by during the Sew Mama Sew giveaway event!

Not much craftiness(or cookery) going on around here lately. It seems like every day of my Christmas break thus far has been spent running around. But I'm not complaining...I've had the chance to hang out with family and friends and that has been awesome and most excellent!

Last week(about this time), I was cutting and wrapping caramels and sewing like a mad woman trying to finish everything up by the last day of school.  This year at the school where I work, each staff member has been assigned a child to mentor. I wanted to do something for the little girl who is my partner for Christmas, so I decided to make her a rag doll, something near and dear to my heart. I didn't really play with "baby" dolls much as a kid, but I had two handmade rag dolls and a Holly Hobbie doll that I adored.

I have been wanting to try and complete a rag doll since I started this one (using a vintage Polly Pal pattern) a couple years ago.

Sadly, she's been tossed into the closet, naked and bald for far too long because I didn't think I could tackle the clothes or hair with any degree of success.

I knew finishing Polly Pal wasn't an option, so this time around I followed the instructions in Wee Wonderfuls and made this little doll called Patchwork Penny. She was surprisingly easy to make!

I am happy with the way she turned out for my first completed attempt and I think my little friend liked her as well. After she opened her and asked if I made it, she said "She's pretty" and "I like her boots". Sweet!

Now that I've had some success, I think I may return to Polly Pal before too long!

A Process Post (BBP mini quilt)

This little quilt has been mocking me from my design wall since I hung it there last week. I started on it a while back and stopped. I got frustrated after spending what seemed like hours trying to freehand with fabric something that might pass for an angry pig. And as frustrating as it was, now that time has passed, I really like the way he turned out. Especially his angry eyes. 

Tired of the mockery,  I decided to get back to it and have been sewing scraps together in a somewhat wonky fashion for the border. Almost finished....

My thoughts right now:

• I love the letters. Love. love. love. them! 
• Not entirely happy with where I placed the pig, but I ran out of the black fabric and had to make do.
• All those border colors might need some containing w/an outer border or black binding at the least. 
• It might not need a border at all.
• Did I mention I love the letters?

This is the third quilt that I've made that I'd consider arty but others might consider modern(the other two are pictured in this post). I haven't  followed any design and just went with the process. I love doing it this way and am beginning to lose the "it must be perfect" attitude---which feels nice.

I'm hoping to have this guy done this week. 

Interested in taking The Process Pledge yourself? Go here.

Bee Blocks

So tonight I finally got busy on the Fresh Comfort 2 Bee blocks due for Liz. They were due in November. Hopefully she won't mind they are a tad late. I have to say that these are, to date, the most addictive quilt blocks I've made. The tutorial for these blocks is here. It was my first go at paper piecing...super fun! Of course it didn't hurt that Liz sent along a bunch of vintage sheet fabrics for me to play with on these blocks. I added a few scraps of my own in one of the blocks, but mostly let the sheets do the talking. I hope Liz enjoys them!

A couple more bee blocks....these are for Marlynn in the Sew Bee Wonky bee. I've had them done for a while, just keep forgetting to mail them. Bad helper bee! Bad!

They make look familiar as they are the same type of blocks that I used in the Big Biting Pig quilt seen here. No, I'm not finished with that quilt either. But it is hanging on my design wall, mocking me.

My current crafty to do  list...perhaps writing it down will force me to get going.

More Fresh Comfort blocks

Finish baby quilt

Finish Big Biting Pig mini quilt

Finish wonky house quilt

Christmas apron

Etsy aprons(it's been far too long)

Experiment with watercolors

In Which Kellie Makes a Design Wall (errr, tacks a tablecloth to the wall)

I have a design wall! WooHoo! OK, it's a dorky homemade design wall, but it's a design wall nonetheless. Normally when I try to put together a quilt, I lay the blocks on the floor, only to have cats and/or the dog decide to lay on them, carry them off, or attempt to eat them. Not to mention, it's hard to really take everything in when you're standing over it rather than in front of it.

I've seen photos on quilting blogs of lovely studio spaces with large design walls and envied the quilters who get to create in such wonderful spaces. My "studio" is actually a spare bedroom turned computer room/crafty space/ebay-antique junk holding room combo. Not exactly the studio of my dreams, but it works. Tonight I decided that, despite the fact I'm up to my eyeballs in unfinished projects, laundry and general clutter, I couldn't go another night without a design wall of my own.

So I grabbed the wadded up tablecloth from the sewing closet and got to it(3M Command Strips, I heart you!).  I suppose I could have bought a "fancy" wall or maybe spent the money to create a more permanent one, but the version I've got going here is suiting me fine.  I saw it done this way at my local quilt shop and I figure if a tablecloth design wall is good enough for the quilt shop, it's certainly good enough for me!

And nah, I couldn't take the time to iron(can you even iron the backside of a vinyl tablecloth), steam, or otherwise smooth it out. I'm impatient like that. I slapped a couple of my current projects up, stood back and admired my tablecloth turned design wall. It'll be nice to be able to step back as I'm working on future projects and take a look at my work...hopefully it'll help me focus on the process a bit more.

Obsession

OK, I should be cleaning house right now. I should be doing laundry. I should be working on a baby quilt for a special little girl who will likely be here before I get it finished. And then there's the 2 loaves of bread, butter pecan cake and a batch of Cowboy Caviar to take to the folks' for Thanksgiving tomorrow that I haven't even begun to think about getting started on.

But am I doing any of those things? Nah. I've been looking at crafty blogs, websites and going through my growing collection of sewing books. The one I pick up the most often?

I am officially obsessed with this book and nearly every single project in it. I love these little soft dolls and animals.  I didn't really play with baby dolls much except for Rub A Dub Dolly and a doll that had a birthday hat and other birthday accessories(anyone remember her?). I was more a Barbie girl. However, I loved Hollie Hobbie and I had two handmade rag dolls, plenty of stuffed animals--including a yellow calico elephant-- and some crochet toys that my grandmother made for me. The projects in this book, while thoroughly modern, remind me of those toys and my sweet 70's childhood. Perhaps that explains my obsession.

1. Doxie Dachshunds, 2. av's-baby-mermaid-1, 3. dressed down margot x 2, 4. patchwork penny, 5. Tag Along Doll, 6. panda buns!, 7. Katie Kitty, 8. Bookworm, 9. DSC03360, 10. P1000511, 11. Beebee standing, 12. Marie Antoinette

I've yet to make any of the projects, but I plan too in the near future! If I spent less time drooling over the book and more time sewing, I'd have half the projects made! 

I want to start with either the mermaid or Patchwork Penny(#4 in the mosiac). In the meantime, I've got a flickr mosiac to inspire me! What are you obsessing over?

In Process: Mini Quilt Inspired by a Big Biting Pig

I, ____Kellie______, pledge to talk more about my processes, even when I can’t quite put them into words or be sure I’m being totally clear.   I’m going to put my thinking and my gut feelings out there.  


For those of you who have "heard" me babble about The Process Pledge, there you have it. I stumbled upon it on a blog a while back and thought it was a great idea, especially for someone fairly new to quilting. Although, I can see how it would also be valuable to any type of artist. It'll be interesting to see how my processes change/are refined as I become more experienced and confident in my skills.


Here's the process/progress of a project I am currently working on:


First of all you need to know that in my little corner of KY, we have our very own independent film production company. Cool, huh? It's called Big Biting Pig Productions and they make suspense/horror flicks.  A few weeks back they had a  fan art contest. and while I thought "I should make a quilt!" I also thought "that would be completely nerdy and people will realize I am an uber dork", so I didn't do it. 


This past weekend, following a wrap party for the latest film and a burst of inspiration, I decided to go ahead and stitch up my take on fan art. I mean who was I kidding? It's not like it would come as a surprise to anyone that I'm nerdy and dorky. Besides, it is feeding my need to do something creative.


It's(obviously) still a work in progress, but here's what I have done so far: 

These letters were the devil to make. Perhaps that makes them befitting  a company that makes horror movies. The one online tutorial I've ever came across for this type of letter was removed, so I had to wing it. I drew them first and used that as my guide. 

(my letter guide sketch...please ignore the  bits of Milky Way Caramel)

From there I just began cutting small bits of fabric and "playing" until I got something that resembled a letter.  Luckily, they seemed to work out. OK...if I'm being honest, I actually think they look pretty great.


Since this is a tribute to a movie company, I decided some stars were in order. As I was digging through my scrap bag for star fabrics, I came across some pieces from an apron I made a while back.  I thought the man looked like he was screaming and the woman had a bit of a worried look on her face. I knew immediately I had to add these to the quilt, so they were added to the center of the stars. 

I don't have it all worked out in my head, but I think it's going to need at least one more star and  I simply cannot have a Big Biting Pig quilt without a pig. Since I've never done anything like this, I have no idea how it's going to all fit together in the end. I think it'll be rather like working a puzzle. I'm having a great time with it!

I hope to have it finished this week and I'll be continue to blog my process as it comes along.


 To take The Process Pledge yourself, go here.

Triton's Delight...or...I Crush Everything

Is it wrong that I am totally, completely, 100% in love with this quilt? Because I am.

I know I took the Process Pledge, but  I started this quilt long before I decided to pay more attention to the process. I'm ashamed to admit that it's been hiding in a closet(for fear of cat hair and dog slober) but tonight it's out of the closet and I will find a home for it somewhere, whether it's folded on a bench, resting on a bed, or hanging on the wall.

In a nutshell, here's the lowdown on the process:

I used a Turning Twenty pattern. Sort of.  Instead of using 20 fat quarters, I used ten half yards of fabric. I also laid the blocks out in a design pleasing to me, rather than following the T20 pattern. Basically, I used the pattern as a guideline on how to cut the FQs and put together the block. I guess you could say this is my own design, inspired by the Turning Twenty.

The fabric is Mendocino from Heather Ross. Y'all, it's like buttah'!  The mottled gold is the only non-Mendocino fabric in the quilt. I can't remember why I didn't have ten of those prints---maybe there weren't any more available in the brown/aqua/colorway? Regardless, I dig it.

After spending so much time and money on the top, no way was I going to try and quilt it on my home machine and with my lack of machine quilting skill. The gal who quilted it let me go through her designs(computer aided) until I found something that I thought would work. The pattern I chose had a seaweed kind of feel. She did a great job with it!

After it was quilted, I went back to Etsy.com to find more Mendocino to bind it with. I didn't realize the line had been discontinued and the prices had skyrocketed. Still, I snagged a half yard for about 7 bucks. Normally I would never pay that for fabric, but I am soooo glad I did. I love how the addition of a second gold fabric frames the quilt.

As for the name, I'm not completely satisfied with Triton's Delight. I think it works, I think it's fun...Triton would certainly approve of sea creatures, mermaids, and little swimming girls. But I secretly call it I Crush Everything, because the giant squid swimming around on it make me think of this song by Jonathan Coulton:






Working on other projects that I hope to post about this week!

Toy Society Drops

I'm ashamed to admit it's been nearly a year since I've done a drop for The Toy Society.  When several of the girls in my sewing group decided to participate in a Halloween weekend drop, it was the  perfect opportunity to get back in the swing of it. I managed to drop two handmade toys while Mark and I were at a local flea market. With so many people milling around, it was hard to be covert, but I managed.

The first drop was another of my robots, yes-I'm a tad obsessed.

 Funny, I was so worried about being spotted dropping this guy, but he hung around unnoticed for quite some time! We visited the building where I dropped him first thing and went back to that building(for vintage hankies)about four hours later and he was still there! We checked again after the hanky buying excursion and he was gone. Yay!

The next drop, was this guy. A mini version of Lars. He's OK, but I think I'll go back to making the larger ones the next time.

I don't know how long the mini-monster stuck around. It was probably an hour later when we walked back by the stone bench where I left him. He was gone.

 I hope they found a good home or at the very least, made someone smile!

Want to spread a little hand made love? Head on over to The Toy Society for more information about this fantastic project.

Progress on the Wonky(but not so much) House Quilt

When I decided to start blogging again, I decided to take The Process Pledge and share my quilts in stages of completion.

I am currently in mid-piecing of the Wonky House quilt. I may have mentioned this before, but I chose the least wonky of my Sew Bee Wonky bee blocks and built several more less wonky houses to go along with them. I'm also using a more traditional method by putting the sashing strips in.  I guess you might say it's a Wonky quilt, but not so much!

During my sewing group meeting last week, I was able to get all of the sashing strips made and lay out the quilt. Here's what I came up with.

It took me too long to get them in just the right order and I found myself obsessing over goofy stuff such as getting two of the same colors or fabrics too close together. Clearly, I don't  have a liberated quilting mindset yet.

This afternoon, I'm sewing the sashing strips to the house rows and I must say...I'm in love with this so far and I cannot wait to see how it ends up!

Facebook Kills My Creativity. But at Least I Know What Barbie I Am!

Two months? Really? It's been that long? Man, my three readers have probably moved on to other blogs, blogs where they can get some real crafty/quilting/cooking/random action! Sigh.

Lately though, I've been  feeling the need to blog more. And create more. Create a lot more.

I'm figuring out that other than when I'm with my family, the time that I am truly myself. truly the me who is content, calm, happy, and most satisfied is when I'm creating.

And I'm not picky about what I am creating. The mere act of sitting down in front of my sewing machine with a flat piece of fabric or on the couch with a handful of felt and turning it into something is thrilling to me.

Sometimes my creations are inspired by others, for example: this quilt top that I recently finished inspired by the likes of Gwen Marston and Denyse Schmidt.

Sometimes, I use patterns that other people have made and put my own spin on it with fabric choice or details. The apron is a purchased(Simplicity or McCalls) pattern. The elephant is Simplicity 2613.  I chose to use a vintage pillowcase and added some of my precious Amy Butler scraps for a bow.

Sometimes, things are in my head and just want out, as was the case with Lars, Pete and this mini-quilt.

Lars

Pete

Mr. Robot Goes for a Walk

I think I've mentioned this here before, but Facebook is killing me, creatively. I have little self control when it comes to FB. I can't bear to think of the number of hours that I put in reading status updates, updating statuses, looking at pictures of other people's grandchildren(children I've never met), playing stupid games, and taking idiotic quizzes.  My FB addiction is not the only thing to blame for my lack of crafty time, however. If I spent the time MAKING stuff that I spend looking for patterns, no telling what I could get done!

Now, some might suggest that blogging is waste of creative time, but I'd disagree. As far as the blogging goes, I've looked back over my blog and it appears that the times I've been the most crafty and creative are also the times I've been blogging regularly.  Even when this was merely a girl trying to blog her way through learning to follow a recipe, it was still a creative journey! The mere act of putting down my thoughts, gleaning inspiration by reading blogs of other crafty ypes, and journaling my creative processes is simply one more outlet for creativity. Additionally, the bloggy craft challenges and Flick Quilting Bees that I participate in allow me to use this crazy internet thing to be inspired to do something productive and meaningful. Taking the "Which  Barbie Are You" quiz does not. 

What it comes down to is this: My frivolous online nonsense has been far outweighing my creative time. And that's about to change! If creating lovely, strange, and useful things is what I really want to do, what makes me tick, gets me excited, then it's what I should be doing! And I plan to do it now. Starting today, Kellie Cooks...again!