Nebraska Shop Hop Around the Corner

  Every year when the weather begins to turn nicer, quilters all over Nebraska are thinking one thing: ROAD TRIP!  Each spring, the N.I.F.S. organization (N.I.F.S. stands for Nebraska Independent Fabric Shops, by the way) sponsors a statewide Shop Hop.  The member shops meet together several times a year to discuss and plan so that quilters will have an enjoyable experience.  Each year a theme is chosen, with much deliberation and discussion, and after the theme comes bag selection, dates, fabric choices, and lots of other details.  After the final pre-hop meeting in February where everyone picks up their bags and final details are ironed out, shop owners and their employees get busy getting ready for the excitement of the hop.  By the time April comes, all the shops are ready for the arrival of their guests.
  This year, the theme is "Follow the Dots to Fun"--personally, I think it is one of the more fun themes that we have had to work with.  Participating shops have been hard at work creating projects to show off "dotty" fabrics, or that follow a "dotty" theme.  Each shop is required to hand out a free pattern for their project to the 'hoppers' that come through their doors.  In addition to the free pattern, some shops get together and create projects with components found at several different shops.  All shops have "skinny bolts" on sale, and many even provide snacks for the "hoppers"!
  The bags this year are a super fun burlap with either white or black polka dots.  They have a lining, a zipper, and even an internal pocket. In addition, they come with a fun 2015 Shop Hop button, and (wait for it...) each shop will give a small pin to the "hoppers" to add to their bags.  The more shops visited, the more pins collected, the more fun the bags become!  Not only that, as is always the case, the bags have maps, stamp cards, and are good for discounts at the shops on every 5th Saturday throughout the coming year.  All that fun for only $15!  
  The N.I.F.S. shops are ready and excited to see you all April 9th through April 19th, 2015.  Shops do follow extended hours on Thursdays through Saturdays, and are open on both Sundays this year.
  To keep up with all the current information, check out the facebook page:  https://www.facebook.com/NebraskaShopHop?fref=ts

Judy Niemeyer Paper Piecing Class

  Recently I had the pleasure of taking a paper piecing class with certified Judy Niemeyer instructor, Catherine Erickson.  My entire experience with paper piecing prior to the class was making a heart-shaped block for a sampler quilt, and doing some crazy quilt paper pieced mini blocks.  I had previously found the process a bit of a mystery, but have always wanted to do a Judy Niemeyer pattern.  If you aren't familiar with her work, please click on the following link to go to her website and be absolutely amazed at the variety and beauty of the things that she, and her son Bradley, have designed:  http://www.quiltworx.com/   As you may know, or can tell after visiting the website, these patterns look super intimidating and more than a little bit scary (at least to me!).
  We had decided to do a four day class at the quilt shop, beginning with a cutting day on Thursday, two sewing and instruction days for a pattern called Golden Harvest on Friday and Saturday, and then, for the true die-hards, an optional class on a leaf pattern called One on Sunday.  I learned a lot! The first thing I learned was that four days may be a little too long for me:)  More importantly, though, I learned that paper piecing the Judy Niemeyer way is not all that scary!  Happy Day!  The cutting was a bit hairy because everyone had chosen fabrics to go in different places than they were on the pattern, which, when you have 16 people taking a class can create a bit of chaos.  However, once everyone got into the groove, the cutting happened and we were all ready to go by Friday morning.  We started class bright and early, and Catherine walked us through one section of the pattern at a time.  Since there really is no way to finish a quilt of that type in two days, it was very important to pull units demonstrating each technique so that we would learn everything we needed to know in order to go home and finish.  For a linear thinker, such as myself, that was a little bit frustrating.  I like to work on one thing until it is finished, and then go on to the next thing.  However, I totally understand why it had to be taught in that manner, and now I feel comfortable enough with all the techniques that I know I can finish my gorgeous project on my own.  In fact, I am so comfortable with the methods that we learned, that I have already chosen and purchased my next Judy Niemeyer pattern, and can't wait to get started on it!  I have vowed to finish this one first, though.  Stay tuned for the finished product---I can't wait to see how it turns out!  In my next post, I will talk about auditioning and choosing the fabrics for my outer borders on this quilt.  Spoiler alert---the fabrics that I chose originally did not work at all, and had to be thrown into the stash for another day!

Practice Makes "Perfect" ?

  This is what I am thinking lately...why does machine quilting have to be so darn perfect?  Granted the work done by people like Judi Madsen and Margaret Solomon Gunn (and countless others) is fun to look at and is quite amazing.  However, it is just not practical in the real world for the average machine quilter who is trying to make a living through quilting.  Even Judi Madsen says in her book that there is no money in custom quilting.  It takes weeks for these artists to create their magic.  They plan and plan, then mark the quilt with chalk and disappearing markers so that every line and every circle is exactly perfect.  The end results are amazing...but, again, unrealistic for most of us.  The problem that I am struggling with is that because of the proliferation of quilting magazines, Pinterest, and internet programs, one could assume that every quilt should be treated to this "perfect" finish.
  I am confident that I can, given enough time and the desire to do so, create some pretty impressive quilting.  The problem is, no one wants to pay for that.  It takes so many hours to mark and execute such intricate designs that it is cost-prohibitive for the average customer.  Instead, I like to do what I call "perfectly imperfect" quilting.  I sometimes use rulers.  I sometimes use stencils to draw a few elements on a quilt top.  I do some very pretty free-motion feathers.  My quilting is not perfect.  I don't have a computer that I can program to do the exact same pattern back and forth across the quilt top.  I can't program my machine to quilt the exact same pattern inside of each block.  It's just not what I do.  Instead, I like to improvise, listen to the quilt and what it is telling me that it wants, and do what I feel will enhance the quilt without taking weeks to finish.  For the vast majority of quilts, "perfectly imperfect" is just right for finishing the quilt in a reasonable manner.  Free-motion custom work does make a quilt special, even if it isn't exactly "perfect."
  There are so many machine quilters out there.  Some do strictly pantographs by laser light.  Some use a computer to do pantographs across the quilt top.  Some do free-motion custom work,  Some do computerized custom work.  I say...each to his or her own.  For me, "perfectly imperfect" is just what my quilts need!

A Stash by any Other Name...

  The quilters stash...a place of mystery for most non-quilters!  Every quilter worth their salt has what is commonly called a "stash."  The word itself basically means something that you hide away and plan to come back to get later.  Its a pretty good description and an accurate name-for most quilters.  For me, though, its isn't quite right.  I think of my stash more as a "collection."
  You see, I do have a stash, but it is pretty small by most quilters standards.  I very rarely buy fabric simply because I like it.  If I do, I LOVE it!  It is a piece that I simply can't see myself doing without.  Here's my problem, I very rarely come back and use it later!  It just sits in a container waiting for a magical "someday" that doesn't come.  Hence, the word...collection.  A collection by definition is something that you buy just for the love of it, and it really isn't expected to do anything or be used for anything else.  Accurate, in my case.  How about yours?
  What I do, instead of building a stash, is I buy "projects."  If I find a fabric that I like in the quilt shop, I think to myself, "what would I do with this?"  If I don't know, which is usually the case, I look for a pattern right then and there to use that fabric.  Then, I go ahead and buy whatever I need to go with it while I have the focus piece in my hand.  I bring the project home, put it into a clear container, and place it on open book shelves in my sewing room.  That way, I am ready to make a project when I have time to work on it.  Its kind of like making my own kits for myself.  If I end up changing my mind or run into something unexpected I will dig through my "collection" for a little help.
  I generally do not make scrap quilts.  That's why this system works for me.  In fact, once a year, I give away most of my scraps and start the new year over with empty containers.  My method definitely would not work for those out there that love to make scrappy quilts.  I know that first hand from the times that I have tried to buy everything I needed to make a scrappy quilt!  I ended up with way more than I needed for one quilt.   Those occasions are where a stash would come in handy. Generally, my method works well for me, saves space, and probably saves me money in the long run. If you aren't a scrappy quilt person...you should try it:)

Starting the New Year Right!

Christmas with my two favorite people!

  So,  I have never really been much of a "resolutions" girl.  Resolutions are made to be broken...there, I said it.  You all know it's true.  How many long-term, tough to keep, resolutions have you kept?  If the answer is more than "none,"  I am impressed!  In lieu of resolutions, I like to think about the year that's gone by, and the year to come, and make a few goals for myself.
  On a personal level, there is the always made (and never followed) goal to lose weight; the obligatory "try to be a better person" type goals; and recently discovered "downsize" urges have led to the goal to take one pair of shoes "out" every time I bring a new pair of shoes "in."  I must admit, this last one has led to me buying a lot fewer new pairs of shoes because I like most of my old ones!  I have found that a specific goal such as, "Smile and make contact with people I don't know at quilt guild" is much more likely to be followed than the general "make new friends at guild"-type goals.
  Following that idea, I found last year that setting specific projects to work on each month led to my most productive year ever, when it comes to quilting anyway.  My Facebook friends had started this idea a few years ago where at the beginning of the year, they labeled 12 projects with numbers 1-12.  Each month, one of the members of the group posts a randomly drawn number, and that is the specific focus for that month.  There are no project police that will come to your house if you don't do it, but just knowing that I made the commitment seems to motivate me.  There is no pressure to even finish the project but just a goal to work on it and make some progress.   We then post pictures of our progress at some point during the month.  It is so much fun!  If you aren't a member of a Facebook quilting group, I highly recommend finding a small one.  The groups that literally have thousands of members really aren't great for this type of thing.  If you don't have a group, you should start one! Invite me!  I would be glad to join you:)
  Happy New Year, and Happy Quilting!