CGM Podcast Episode #18: Hoop Dreams

Listen to the episode HERE

Show Notes:

• Life Update - Maddy is 8 months old already! 4 teeth and sitting up, she's just as happy as can be. Samantha taught herself to hula hoop, and she's moved on to performance hooping, a la the You Tube videos I (mistakenly) showed her.
• CGM got a day out all by herself (yaaaay!) to take a solo road trip up to the Pennsylvania Quilt Show in suburban Philadelphia recently. Here are just a few of the gorgeous quilts I saw there:

Dream Music by Jennifer Day

Friends by Dr. Susan Walen

Mon Petit Baltimore by Susie Wimer

That's How I Roll by Laura Borley

A Vision of Change I and II: MLK and the Civil Rights Movement

by Sauda A. Zahra

Te Timatanga by Ansa Breytenbach

(Te Timatanga are the Maori words for "the beginning",

the quiltmaker is from New Zealand)

incredible machine quilting!!

Aurora Florifeous by Helen Marshall

(this entire quilt top is all hand pieced!!!!)

Home is Manitoba Farm by Coreen Zerr & Phyllis Gagne

• WIPs and a Finished Project:
• I finished making Sam's corduroy jumper (see previous blog post for pics). This was my "comeback to sewing clothes " project. While I enjoyed it, I don't think it will become a regular occurence. I have a few future clothing items I'd like to try, but I'm taking it slow.
• Lighthouse Quilt: ready to be squared up! If you'd like to hear/see more about how I take the time to square up my art quilts let me know in the comments.
• Photo quilts: under the machine right now, but one of them is giving me "fits."
• Just what I didn't need, a brand-new technique to add to my project load, but my Crafter's ADD got the better of me and I signed up for a Craftsy class online: Knit Socks workshop 

Book Reviews

Hope you're all doing well! Thanks again for listening and leaving a comment and/or revieew on iTunes.

CGM

WIP Wednesday: OMG I'm Sewing Clothes Again!

....and enjoying it! A friend of mine who is an enthusiastic (and wonderful) sewer of clothing, has been encouraging me to try sewing a few articles myself. It's been almost 20 years since I opened those flimsy tissue pattern sheets and laid out fabric to be cut on the lines, eeek! However, I recently saw a very cute girls jumper in Hobby Lobby that gave me pause. I examined that sample very closely, saw it was basically simple seams, but the clincher was the adorable corduroy fabric they'd used. I am a sucker for a corduroy jumper on a little girl in Fall. I figure 20 years of sewing, even if it has been mainly quilts and home dec projects, has still improved my less-than-mediocre tailoring skills back then. So I bought the pattern (Simplicity 5489) and fabric and have set out to make my "come-back" item in the world of non-quilty sewing.

In another fit of Crafter's ADD this week, I signed up for the Craftsy online workshop that teaches you how to knit socks. I have wanted to knit a pair of socks for a long time, but those double pointed needles scare the bejeezus out of me. I decided to take the plunge (for $29.99) and order the course. So far I'm up to Lesson  5: Knitting the Toes. But I'm just watching right now, I haven't cast on yet! I did buy some luscious yarn for my first pair of knee socks....I know, ambitious, but it's the course project and my online teacher (Donna Druchunas) says she will walk us through it.

What are you working on this week? Link it up on WIP Wednesday over at the fabulous blog, Freshly Pieced.

CGM

PA Quilt Show Eye Candy

Wow, it's been almost 2 weeks since my last post, and I am only now having a chance to sit and write a quick update on what I've been up to. Work has been crazy-busy for the last month, and I'm finally seeing a light at the end of the tunnel. Last weekend (Sept. 17th) I was able to get away on my own for the day to attend the PA National Quilt Extravaganza near Philadelphia. It was the first really large quilt show I've been able to attend in 3 years, so I was very excited.

Setting off at 7 am, I pulled into the nearby Starbucks drive-through to fortify myself for the 3 hour drive....because really how can anyone be expected to drive a long distance without a Grande Nonfat Caramel Macchiato? (and YES I want the whip cream!) But this Mom of 2 little ones was so darned happy at the prospect of not just a few rushed hours, but a WHOLE DAY to herself to leisurely browse aisle after aisle of quilts and supplies, I think I could have made the entire drive up there on "Me Time Steam" alone.

I had a marvelous time walking the show. It wasn't overwhelmingly huge, and I was able to see all of the quilts in about an hour, the vendors in about 90 minutes. I wasn't looking for anything in particular while shopping, so that made it easier to resist some of the goodies available.

Here are a few of my favorite quilts in the show:

Basket Arrangements by Ann Horton

 Dawn Prayers at the Ganges by Meri Henriques Vahl



 

To Everything There is a Season by Pat Delaney

Let Sleeping Dogs Lie by Jennifer June

Ariane at the Sea by Linda S. Schmidt

another Linda S. Schmidt quilt (forgot to photo the label)

Aren't they gorgeous? There was definitely a heavier slant to art quilts in this show vs. traditional piecing. I photographed quite a few of them, and I will post more this week!

CGM

CGM Podcast Episode #17: Ready for Fall

Listen to the episode HERE

Show notes:

• Life update: I'm ready for all the "homey" comforts of Fall (comfort foods, changing leaves, crisp autumn breeze,etc..) , how about you?
• I will be at the Pennsylvania Quilt Extravanganza in Philadelphia this Saturday, 9/17. If you will be too and would like to meet up, please email me at taneshaquilts@yahoo.com by Friday. Would love to meet you!!

Works in Progress:

• Cream and Sugar cowl pattern
• Birdie Stitches BOM
• Lighthouse landscape quilt
• Mini Photo Quilts

What's Making Me Happy in Crafting: new fabric releases for Fall!!

• So many wonderful fabric lines releasing between now and the end of the year. Here are a few that are making me itch to add to my stash:

All of the above photo fabric samplers are from the Fat Quarter Shop

..and you can also tell my color choices are all over the map these days, lol.

Book Reviews:

The Spellman Files by Lisa Lutz

Upcoming Fall Craft (Quilting/Knitting) Books:

• Another Bite of Schnibbles by Carrie Nelson 9/20/11
• Kaleidoscope Paper Piecing by Nancy Mahoney 1/10/12
• Quilts from the House of Tula Pink 3/21/12
• Thread Magic Garden by Ellen Anne Eddy 2/16/12
• Fabric by Fabric: One Yard Wonders: 101 Sewing Projects 12/16/11
• Classic Elite Quick Knits 10/18/11
• All Wound Up - The Yarn Harlot Writes for a Spin by Stephanie Pearl-McPhee 10/18/11
• 50 Little Paper-Pieced Blocks by Carol Doak 11/14/11
• Modern Blocks by Susanne Woods 10/10/11
• Mickey Lawler's SkyQuilts 10/10/11
• Traditions from Elm Creek Quilts by Jennifer Chiaverini 10/10/11
• Pocket Posh Tips for Knitters and Pocket Posh Tips for Quilters by Jodie Davis 9/27/11
• The Devil's Puzzle: A Someday Quilts Mystery by Claire O'Donohue 9/27/11
• Falling to Pieces: A Quilt Shop Murder by Vanetta Chapman 9/27/11
• Wishes & Stitches: A Cypress Hollow Yarn by Rachael Herron 10/11/11
• Knit One Pearl One by Gil McNeil 12/27/11
• Sunrise on Cedar Key by Terri DuLong 11/1/11

Thanks for listening!!

CGM



WIP Wednesday: Completed Top!

I completed the Lemon Squares quilt top over the weekend.

I'm debating whether to send this to a longarm quilter to be quilted. Based on the workload I have coming up and various other things going on right now, I doubt this one will get quilted any faster than the other 5-6 quilt tops I have lying around.

Next up is completing the lighthouse quilt I staretd a few weeks ago, then set aside to work on the above quilt.

Once I get the water hitting the rocks right I think I'll be happier about this quilt, and it should work up quickly.

That's all I've got going right now! I have linked up with the Freshly Pieced WIP Wednesday. Go check everyone's WIPs out for some inspiration.

CGM

What I'm Reading This Month

I got a bit behind last month and still need to read Next to Love. And when I think about all I have going on in September (EVERY weekend is already full of activities!) I think I'll keep my list short and commit to getting through 2 books waiting patiently on my nightstand:

Girls in White Dresses by Jennifer Close

The Dovekeepers: A Novel by Alice Hoffman

on sale 10/4

What are you reading this month?

CGM