(What's So Funny 'Bout) Peace, Love and Understanding?

Pin It

If you don't know the origin of the blog post title, I recommend you google it.  Perhaps read the lyrics.  Get on the same page so you can catch what I'm throwin'.

I set out to write a blog post about the collaborative effort behind Victoria's Double Edged Love quilt and how and why I chose to quilt it the way I did.  However there are some things that are taking over my brain and I need to get them out.  I can give you all the scoop about the quilting soon.  For now, let's have a bit of a discussion, shall we?

QuiltCon >  Modern quilting >  Quilting >  Quilters >  People >  Humanity.  That's basically the train of thought that keeps repeating in my brain of late.

It all started with the Give A F*ck quilt that was exhibited at QuiltCon.  It is a quilt, it was made for a reason, and it happened to have the "f" word all over it.  Everyone had something to say about this quilt, and most things that have been said are not all that nice.  "eeeewwwwww", basically.  But with more insults.

Why?

The conversations around that quilt got me thinking about conversations that I either took part in, or lingered around before QuiltCon.  The conversations were about how QuiltCon would be such a boring show, pointless in some opinions, and full of elementary large color-block quilts with boring straight line quilting.  Okay.  Cool, dude.

Then the conversations went a step further to discuss the MQG exhibit at Houston, and how it didn't deserve to be there.  Huh. Yeah? Neat.  I sooo get that. 

First and foremost, I want to state that I am all for people having opinions because everyone is entitled to them.  However how can you possibly expect anyone to respect those opinions if you base them on nothing but stereotype (and while I'm on the subject, how about not epitomizing a whole other stereotype eh?), lack of knowledge of that which you're forming an opinion, bias, judgementalist thought and sometimes just downright lack of regard for anything other than the fact that you feel you have a right to say something?  I can't respect those opinions.  I can't respect the opinion of someone that thinks something shouldn't exist just because they don't like it.  I can't respect the opinion of someone that would rather talk down something that they haven't taken a single moment to understand.  I can't respect the opinion of someone that would put a person's character into question because of the type of art they choose to make/like/exhibit/buy/share/whatever.

Why has it become so impossible to stop and think about the things that we say to people?  Why has it become impossible to stop and think about things on a deeper level rather than *what is on the surface*?  Why does everyone feel the right to (attempt to) knock others down just for the sake of doing it?

Now, I've done a good job of keeping silent about a lot of things lately, but when it comes to bullying - and that's exactly what this is - you betchya I'm going to come forward and tell you how I feel about it.

Let's start with the Give A F*ck quilt and go from there, shall we?

First of all, the Give A F*ck quilt is - A QUILT.  It is a hand made item, a group effort even (hellooooooo community!), and it was made for a reason.  There was effort put into it.  The maker(s) was proud of it.  And it was dragged through the mud.  I really just don't understand this.  Maybe someone can help me out here.  Because last I checked, I really don't like Thimbleberries and Kansas Troubles at all.  But ya know what? You're totally allowed to use that stuff in your quilts if you so choose.  Will I tell you it's hideous? Nope.  Will I tell you that it doesn't deserve to exist because I don't like it?  Nope.  Will I tell you that you're a horrible person for making a quilt like that? HOW DARE YOU?!  Nope.  I don't hate quilts made with Kansas Troubles or Thimbleberries and I certainly don't hate the people that make them.  I just hate the fabric.  Cool?  Cool.  There is my completely non-offensive opinion that I expressed like an adult.

Now onto QuiltCon.  QuiltCon happened for a reason.  For any of you that were on the side of the discussion thinking that QuiltCon would suck, I really hope that you're ashamed of yourself (really, I do).  Why would QuiltCon suck but say, I don't know, any traditional quilt show not suck?  You clearly don't understand the modern quilt movement.  And that's okay.  You don't have to understand it.  You don't even have to like it.  But to say that it sucks? Who the hell do you think you are? What gives you the right?  As far as I'm concerned, I think the focus should be on the fact that there is a fabulous new serge of excitement about this industry that we all love so much.  Hand-made is important.  People making things is important.  Which automatically makes modern quilts important.  And quilt shows that showcase modern quilts important.  And the people that make those quilts important.  An opinion based on nothingness, of those people and their quilts and the shows that showcase them?  Hmmmkay, totally not all that important.

Now onto the MQG exhibit in Houston.  I believe one of the things said, and I'm really not even paraphrasing here, was that the MQG exhibit wasted square footage and took away from the quilts that "deserved" to be there.  Wooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooow.  Balls.  Big ones.  That took really big balls.  It's sort of amusing that someone (or even several people) can think that their opinion is fact.  I mean, screw what some of the industry leaders think about it.  They know nothing! ----  Why would modern quilts not have a place in Houston?  Again, simply because you don't like(understand) them? Good story.

Simply put, if you don't like it, don't make it.  Is that so friggin hard? Different strokes, people.  And I hope you are finding the underlying point(s) I'm making here without me having to spell it out.

All quilts are made for a reason and tell some sort of story.  And all quilters' voices deserve to be heard regardless of how  they choose to label (or even refuse to label) their style.

Let's try to focus on the fact that we are all human beings and deserve to be treated as such.  It's getting (or more accurately, has been) ridiculous the way people are willing to treat others.  And really, when you say things to people like I've seen the last week or so, you really look like an ass.  For the record, I'm not actually calling anyone an ass, because I don't know enough to determine something like that.  Are you an ass? Maybe.  Maybe not.  But hey, *on the surface* - you sure do look like one.

Boom.

Long overdue game of catch up: AWESOME SMASHUP style!

Pin It

So remember a really long time ago when I said that life happens and I wasn't going to stress or be apologetic about neglecting my blog anymore?

OMG YOU GUYZZZZZZZZZZZZZ I'M SO SOOOOOORRY!!!!!!!!!!
Two freakin' months?!  So much has happened!

My computer and phone crashed on the same day.  Where was the backup for my phone stored? On my computer.  Where was my backup for my computer stored?  WTF  you talkin' bout Willis?  Who backs up their computer?!  Oh, I'm the only one that doesn't?  Yeah I guess I really am.
So anyway, I lost allllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll of my pictures of all the amazingly epic stuff that I've been working on.  I suppose that's okay though, because photographers do a much better job anyway!
Let's see.  My first quilt of the year was a little wall hanging I did for Gina Reddin of Splinter and Threads.  It's a cute little embroidered number, and it made its debut in the Superior Threads booth at Road to California.

Itty bitty guy!  But hey, while we're on the subject of Road to California, want to know something else super neat?  Do y'all remember Lynn's Ruffled Roses quilt?  She won an Honorable Mention at Road to California for that quilt!

Let's see.  What else?  Oh! I did a super fantabulous red and white quilt for someone that I just absolutely ADORE.  I can't show you the front, but the back is gorgeous too!

Did I ever show this little lady on the blog?  I don't remember if I did or not...
This is another class sample for this spring!

It looks weird and discolored because the fabric is slightly off-white, and then I did super dense quilting in true white, to give the motifs some depth.  So I wanted it that way.  However, after these photos were taken, this quilt was the victim of a roof leak and now it actually IS a bit discolored.  But not enough for anyone to notice!  :)

Sooooo, let's see.  Okay.  Shortly before Christmas, I got a special delivery in the mail.  I was so excited!  There was a video of me opening it once upon a time, but I'm happy to say THAT was lost in the mass exodus that was all of my data as well!  A picture survived from Facebook, though!

What the heck is that?!
I'll tell you.  It's a giant sized poster of this!

That's a really crappy picture.  I have a perfect one, but my email is being a bit of a jerk, so I'm forced to show you the crappy one.  That's a 2013 Gammill ad.  Those are my quilts!  Why are my quilts in a Gammill ad?  Cuz I'm a freakin Gammill Quilting Artist, foos!!!  YEAH!  Good times!  More on that later though. 

Then there's this...  I have a pretty badass article in the current issue of Generation Q Magazine (If I may say so myself).  If you are a longarm quilter, you need all of your clients to read it!  If you use the services of a longarm quilter, you need to read it!  I've not yet gotten a copy of the magazine, but my homies are always lookin' out!

Then there's also this...  the current issue of Fons & Porter has a quilt that Thomas and I did together waaaaaay forever ago!

You can find more info on that here!

Then today, QuiltCon opened!  This is the inaugural conference event of the Modern Quilt Guild.  I knew that a few of my clients entered quilts and have been dying to hear any news.  Today started pretty crappy but QuiltCon news made it better!

Thomas and I did a quilt last year called Doppelganger, which was the cover of the last issue of GenQ.  I do not have any good pictures of this quilt anymore (stupid data loss!) but it took a ribbon at QuiltCon!

Another EPIC quilt that we did last year, was Martha.  We were so very secretive about this quilt because it is for his book.  However, the publishers gave him permission to submit it at QuiltCon.  It didn't receive any judging love (which totally blew us away), but it is such a friggin epic, amazing quilt!  I detailed all of my thought processes behind the quilting of it on my Facebook page.  I've made the post public, so you shouldn't have any problems seeing it!  It's a really good explanation of how this quilt came to be and how/why it was quilted the way it was.  But here's a couple of pictures of the quilt:

 

Then there's Alison's Lucky Penny quilt!  I no longer have good pictures of it either, but I have blogged it before.
And then there's Victoria...
I'd known Victoria via the online sewing/blogging/quilting community and met her for real at Market in Houston.  Shortly thereafter she called me saying that she wanted me to do a quilt for her, and it needed done FAST!  I had just recovered from the frantic pre-Houston rush, and knew that I had two more coming that needed done FAST! (and again, more on those later) but I agreed.  Because it's Victoria and I love Victoria!  She gave me complete control over the quilting, and didn't know what it looked like at all until it was done and I sent her pictures.  I finished it two days before Thanksgiving, just in time to work on the other two FAST ones over Thanksgiving holiday! Anyway, that quilt that V and I did together?  Yeah.  This happened today.

 THAT HAPPENED TODAY!!!!!!!! (Well, by the time this is posted, it will have been yesterday but WHATEVER!).
Giant congrats to Victoria (and myself)!  Best in Show!  I've spent the entire day keeping up with Facebook and emails and phone calls of congratulations.  My crappy day turned into exhaustingly awesome!

So I think that's all I've got for now.  I leave for Atlanta, then down to Lakeland, for the Expo soon.  My classes are filling fast, so if you are planning to come play at either show and want to get in on them, you need to do it soon!  I also have two quilts traveling in an exhibit for all of this year's Expo shows, so you should check it out!
After that I will have a couple of weeks off before I hit the road again.  Hopefully being in a hotel room at night will leave me time to blog?  But there's still so much work to do, so no guarantees of that.
I hope everyone is doing well!

Video blog #1: introduction to Emma!

Pin It

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=TpVrU6ds8Gs

More teachy-teachy and some TV - a Two-fer!

Pin It

Hi, hi!  I have some stuff to tell you about that I'm super excited about!
First things first.
Remember a a few months ago when I flew to Cleveland to film It's Sew Easy?
I got the press release and DVD last week!  The great thing is that you can view the segments online on their YouTube Channel.  And you can view my segment here!


I absolutely love that stinkin' circular attachment.  And sequins.
Anyway, it was a lot of fun and I'm excited to do it again soon.  I've got tons of ideas, y'all.  Would you have ever guessed?

Anyhoo!  I love that circular attachment so much, I decided to teach some classes on it, among other things...
I have been a very busy girl, to say the least.  I've been dying to spill the beans about this forever now.  I'm teaching at the Original Sewing & Quilt Expo!

I'll be teaching a coupla sewing/embroidery classes and a coupla longarm classes.  In one of the classes, you'll learn how to use that circular attachment for modern domestic quilting.  FUN!
You can see the schedules for the Atlanta show here and for the Lakeland show here.  That is all that is available thus far, as the schedules come out 2-3 months before each show.
But since I'm on that subject, if you scroll up to the top of the page, you'll see an Events tab, which has my calendar on it.  It's a crappy Google calendar, but it works for now (as you can tell I'm working on things just a wee bit).  There is where you will find all of the places that I'm scheduled for this year.
So come see me!  It's going to be a blast!

In The Spotlight!

Pin It

A few months ago I wrote to you all about my teaching at Machine Quilters Exposition in Manchester, NH.  In the time since then, the show owners have given the show a facelift, and a new name!  So now, I will be teaching at New England Quilt Festival in Manchester, NH!
This is a great show and I'm really excited to not only be teaching there, but to get to view all of the beautiful quilts by some of the top artists in the world - not only in the competition, but also the exhibits they will have this year.
I've also been meaning to post a list of my classes and descriptions, but NEQF made that really easy for me this time around!  How?  I'm in the Teacher Spotlight in the current newsletter.
By clicking that link, you will see a rundown of both my embroidery and longarm classes.  Within the newsletter is a link to the full descriptions of each of the classes.  It's going to be so much fun! 
I really hope some of you plan to join me (us) as we are going to have a blast (and if you will be coming - I LOVE HUGS).

One of my classes, From What? To WOW! Epic Quilt Creation is going to be one of my favorites.  So often when I quilt a quilt, people ask me how in the world I came up with the quilting ideas.  In this class, you will find out how! 
And just for the fun of it, I'm going to share another sample I recently finished for the class.

It's one of my favorites!
I hope everyone had a great time ringing in the new year!
Stay tuned, I've got a couple more fun and exciting announcements.  Baby steps!  :O)

Quality over Quantity

Pin It

I have a pretty epic finish to share with you.  But first I just have to say, I've decided to stop fighting with myself to keep this blog updated on a regular basis.  I will continue to try to be better about posting, but I will never be that blogger that posts a single sentence or a picture of my dinner because really?  That's what Instagram is for.  Amiright?

So anyway.  I've been feeling like I may be in a bit of a rut lately.  And I wanted to quilt some stuff that I could go absolutely nuts with.  I have several Latte Quilts to quilt.  One of them happens to be Helper Bee's quilt. 
None of the Latte quilts are anywhere near their turn on the waiting list, but I wanted to do one.  So I did!  I took 63 freakin pictures of this sucker, so it will be hard to narrow it down here.  But first I'll give a little explanation of how this quilt is made.
It is an embroidery quilt.  You take several embroidery designs to build blocks, and stitch them in sections.  Once you have your blocks embroidered, you put batting on the back and "quilt-as-you-go" with decorative stitches and stippling.  This is great in theory, but the latte quilt is made with satin and is really a true heirloom.  With the amount of time put into the construction (for us it was a year and a half long class), that just is not enough quilting for it to make the impact that it should.
I did try to warn everyone not to put the batting behind their blocks, as they would likely want me to quilt it for them anyway.  Few listened. 
So what I ended up with was a bunch of quilt tops that had batting sewn into the blocks (and into the seams which makes for some serious bulk), and a bunch of stippling on them.  Have I mentioned I don't like stippling except for in micro?
The other thing is that with it being satin and with it having batting sewn into the blocks, precision is really important, but also really difficult.  So this quilt had a lot (A LOT) of fullness to ease in.
Here it is pre-quilting.

Do you see how the corners are poofy?  That's because the borders are not long enough.  And the entire quilt had to be shrunk down to accommodate for that.  But anyway!  I added another layer of Pellon Legacy Poly batting (that stuff seriously rocks my socks) and started stitching away.  I did things a little differently this time in that rather than stitching in the ditch right off the bat, I basted the crap out of this quilt, outlined all the motifs first and then did some of my filler work to work in that fullness and flatten it out a bit, THEN I went in and did the ditching around the blocks, sashings and borders.
The biggest challenge with this quilt was all of that stippling she had done.  The quilt didn't photograph well on the frame at all for me to show you any of that.  But suffice to say that ALL of her stippling was coming out.  So I didn't have much choice but the stipple over it to hold it all in.  And then stipple over it again.  And then one more time in micro for good measure. 

The part that's glowing is the part that I had gotten the micro-stippling done.  White thread really glows in black light!

So I'm going to try to stop talking now and just show pictures of the quilt completed.  :O)
Micro-stippling all done from the back side

All of the blocks

 

 

Center medallion

 

PreTTy, preTTy settings!

Trying to decide if I would fill in those little spaces...

The whole thing...

That's a lot of quilting!

And a very happy Helper Bee!!

 

It didn't take nearly as long to quilt it as I thought it would.  Now I have a bunch more to do, but this one was sort of the test run.

I had another pretty awesome finish this week, but more on that later.  

Merry Christmas! And in case you missed it, don't forget to fill out the Quilty Survey for a chance to win some swag!

Quilty Survey and free stuff!!

Pin It

The ladies and gent over at Generation Q Magazine have asked me for a favor and I'm happy to pass this info on.  Last month they launched the GenQ 2012 Addicted Stitcher Survery to gather all of the facts and numbers about us!  Please take a few moments to answer the survey questions through the link at the bottom of this post.  The info gathered will help our wonderful industry people to support and create new products that we want.  There's even a bribe!!!!  Read on...

We last poked and probed into your fabricky lives in late 2011, with our GenQ Modern Quilters Survey. And now it’s time to do it again with the GenQ 2012 Addicted Stitcher Survey. (New name, same mission.) We’d like to count noses, pins, rotary cutters, whatever it takes to grab a detailed snapshot of this niche in the sewing and crafting world.

Some of you have pained expressions, and you’re probably sighing with annoyance at yet another attempt for the corporate q-niverse to stick its demographic-hungry noses into stuff that just isn’t its business. The truth is that all of us stitchy types thrive when our industry answers our needs. And that’s what this survey does. It helps to provide information to the industry so our needs, and wants, can be better met.

Please take a few minutes to whip through the survey (it’s shorter this year) and tell us all about you. And there could be swag in it for you. The survey will be live until the end of the December 2012, and on Jan. 1, 2013, we’ll choose FIVE lucky survey-takers who will each receive a box of fabric, books and small stitchy goodies valued at $50.

Just use this link to find your way to our 2012 Addicted Stitcher Survey. And please freely post it far and wide, encouraging your friends and sew-pals to also participate! Thank you so much for being a part of this second annual survey! And if you want to know more about what we do, check us out at GenerationQMagazine.com.

Stand up and be counted!

Glorious Autumn: Pumpkin Patch(work) Tutorial

Pin It

Heeeeellooooooooo (in my best Mrs. Doubtfire voice)!!!  I know it's been a while.  But more on that later.
For now, I have a cute little tutorial for the Glorious Autumn Block Party hosted by the wonderful Michele.  If you haven't already, you should go over and check out some of the awesome tutorials by some pretty awesome people!

Doing this block was a great excuse for me to spend my Sunday sewing in a feverish panic.  ;)  It's called Pumpkin Patch(work)! And it really goes together pretty quickly.

What you'll need:
 8 1/2" square for background
(3) 2 1/2" strips for corners
5 1/2 x 7 1/2" scrap for pumpkin applique
1 1/2 x 2 1/2" scrap for stem
(4) 1 x 13" strips for frame (I tend to use a very scant 1/4" seam allowance so my blocks always come out a little larger than the pattern calls for - which is okay as long as it's consistent.  I find it easier to cut the strips longer and trim them down once attached!)
Coordinating thread for applique and embroidery

To start:
 Sew together your 2 1/2" strips.  This will form a long strip set that measures 6 1/2" in width.  Sub-cut (2) 6 1/2" x 6 1/2" squares from the strip set.

Cut each of these units diagonally, corner to corner so you have four triangles.

This will be the layout of the main part of your block:

To sew the corners onto the center square, center them so that there is an equal amount of overlap on each side.

Repeat for the next three corners.

Now for the applique!  You can download the "pattern" here.  Except no!  To download from that link, you have to be a registered member of Scribd.  Oops!  You can download it here instead!
It totally looks like a butt, doesn't it?  I know.  Awesome.
Use your favorite applique method to apply the stem and pumpkin to the block.

I used a really easy turned applique method.  If you want to try my method, you will need some water soluble stabilizer (Floriani Wet N Gone or similar).
I cut the applique template out of paper and traced it directly onto the wrong side of my fabric.  I then sewed around my drawn shape with the fabric right sides together with the stabilizer.

Once you've completely sewn around the shape (with a backstitch at your start and stop), trim to a 1/8 - 1/4" seam allowance and clip the curves, then turn it over to the stabilizer side and cut a slit big enough to turn it right sides out.

Smooth out all the edges (which I had obviously not done yet!) and press your pumpkin.  Repeat for the stem and applique it to your block.

Next, add one of the 1" strips to each side of the block.  Trim it flush with the block, add the other two strips, then trim again.

I added a couple of free motion embroidered squigglies coming off of my pumpkin as well, just for the fun of it.

And you're done!
If you'd like to print this tutorial, you may do so with the "printer friendly" button on my sidebar.
And so that you can see what the block looks like in repeat, I made a little wall hanging.  What I like best about blocks like these is that they're so versatile.  You can change it up by changing the applique, or doing no applique at all and leave the center of the block for quilting motif.  Anyway, this will now go in the massive pile of things I need to get quilted!

I hope you'll check out the Glorious Autumn Flickr Group to see all the blocks the participants have made.  And check back soon! I've got a pretty spectacular customer quilt finish to share.  :O)

A mishmash of fun-ness!

Pin It

I'm getting a moment to sort of breath for the first time in a while, and my first priority is a post here!
Luckily, I'm waiting on the FedEx guy to bring me a quilt top that needs a super fast turnaround, otherwise I would be quilting (read: neglecting my blog even longer).  I really don't do it on purpose, I promise!
I'm thinking this post will give you a bit of insight as to how fried my brain is lately, because I will likely be jumping all over the place.  I hope that's okay with you!
I've posted a lot about Jo/Chimera.  I'm mentioning it again today for two reasons!
First, once that quilt was finished, Thomas and I decided that I would get to babsit it a few times a year and include it in my trunk show.  But then I took it a step further and decided to use it for a class sample, along with two mini-versions.  I just this morning finished quilting the first mini-version.  As this is for a class, my goal was to quilt it in an undesirable way - but I just couldn't.  Here is the mini!

 And just for fun here's a closeup of my weirdness deciding to do two random rows of pebbles on one side...

So there's reason number one.  Second, the original Jo appeared in the premier issue of  Modern Quilts Unlimited!  It's in the Limelight section.

And here is the magazine hanging on my Wall of Fame, along with other magazines and news articles and letters and gifts from my amazing friends!

And yes, I do keep every single thing that is sent to me!

The original Jo now lives on my wall with BeDazzled that just came back from its exhibit in France!

Another cool thing about this particular issue of Modern Quilts unlimited is that they did a profile of Jacquie and included in that profile was her Bridges quilt.  One of my favorite people in the whole world, Sheryl Schleicher quilted that quilt!

Hmm, okay I guess I needed to rotate it but that's okay because here's another picture of two of my friends standing with the quilt in Houston from the MQG exhibit!

I hope they don't mind me posting that! The quilting doesn't stand out much in this photo because it's subtle/AWESOME.  If you haven't seen detail shots, you should pick up the magazine.  It's amazing.

Those two friends are Natalie Carlton and Karen Marchetti.  I LOVE THEM!  Karen and I missed each other by a couple of days, but I did get to hug Natalie for a bit before I left for the airport.  Karen had a quilt both in the show at Houston, and also one in Modern Quilting Unlimited's sister publication booth for Machine Quilting Unlimited.  Why is this notable?  Because I got to deliver her quilt!
I first saw Clouds in my Latte at MQS, which I believe was its debut show.  My friendship with Karen at that time was in its infancy and we have grown so incredibly close over the time since then! Now anyone that knows anything about show quilts knows that you're NOT ALLOWED TO TOUCH THEM!  Buuuuuuuuuuuuuut...

I couldn't resist.  I laid it out on the floor and instinctively just dived right on top.  It's an amazing beautiful quilt.  Want proof?  Here you go.

Let's see... what else can I tell you?  Oh!  I don't know if I mentioned this on the blog or not, but right before I left for Houston I quilted a Savanna Bop baby quilt.  I didn't post it because it was supposed to be a secret from the mama that I quilted it.  She had her baby while I was in Houston and reading the texts from grandma had me in tears.  So happy for the whole family!  Here is the quilt.  Savanna Bop is just such happy fabric...

And speaking of Thomas fabric, remember this Frippery quilt I posted made by Kim?

Kim and I are sneaky.  She actually made that and I in turn quilted it as a gift for Thomas and his wife for their upcoming new arrival.  I knew it would get barfed on and peed on a lot, so it had to be quilted sufficiently to handle many, many washings.  :)

Oh! And one more thing about Thomas!  Way forever ago I quilted this quilt for him.  It's called Doppelganger (we call it Barney though).  It's a giant remake of the very first quilt I ever quilted for him and it's on the cover of Generation Q that debuted in Houston!

Here is a photo of the back.  I adore how Thomas pieced a giant monochrome log cabin block for the backing.

Of course I don't have any pictures of the front on my computer (they're all on my phone) except for this closeup showing that it's actually quilted in three different thread colors - you'll see it if you squint hard enough.

A couple of other cool things about Houston, once again my Sedona Star was there.  It had just gotten back from France and well, then went to Houston for Festival (not Market, I never did get to see it hanging live and in person) and then was sent home.  I hadn't seen it since I dropped it off in Houston last year so it was a very pleasant surprise!

The amazing and wonderful Alison Glass showed off her Lucky Penny quilt, though I didn't get any pictures of it actually AT Market.  It was so much FUN quilting this quilt! I love it when there's tons of room for fun and am told to do whatever I want!

I had dinner with Sharon Schamber and her beautiful amazing incredible awesome daughter Cristy!  That was the first night and I was exhausted from not sleeping and travel, and they got to town and started booth setup.  A buncha tiredsies!

Okay I think that's enough random babbling for now, don't you?  I'll be back with plenty more! Have you missed me???  :)