JoAnna Quilts

Still here...

2007-11-02T16:42:00.000-05:00

It seems like many quilt bloggers are scarce lately...it's such a wonderful busy time of year and doesn't leave a lot of time for blogging.

I'm still around and working on a few things. Hope to have some quilty photos to share soon, but in the meantime here are a few shots from a recent weekend trip to Chicago.

It's like fabric, but cheaper!!

2007-09-23T19:09:00.000-05:00

PAPER! Did you all know there was a world of gorgeous paper out there? I had no idea. This is going to cause a ruckas in my household - I'm gonna have to start a new hobbty.

I came across these lovelies this weekend. The designs are so cool. I even saw some Amy Butler embellishments.

My cardmaking skills are rather basic at the moment. I don't know that I'll ever get super fancy...I just like touching the pretty papers.

I also decided to take the Sunshine fabrics in a different direction. Here is the start of the new project, which is making me much happier. More to come.

Holy colorwash, Batman!

2007-09-16T15:09:00.000-05:00

I finally decided to cut into my Sunshine fabrics. I know that when all your fabrics are from one line the result can be muted because the colors blend into one another. But, I wasn't prepared for this:

As yardage, the blues seemed to be distinct from each other, but when I cut them up into tiny pieces and sewed them back together they just got lost in each other.

So, I remade the block and I like this better.

On a side note, this is what happened when I first tried to take a photo of the blue block. Silly kitty.

Apple Picking!

2007-09-15T17:13:00.000-05:00

This is exactly why I love living in the country. A gorgeous day, 66 degrees, lots of sun! We picked some yummy Cortlands and Jonathans. Now for some quilting.

50s dresses and stormy seas

2007-09-09T16:07:00.000-05:00

I saw these dresses on Penny's blog ages ago and she sent me the patterns. They are going into a wall hanging for my mom for Christmas. I think I'm going to do a 50s theme for her presents this year. I've got a nice apron pattern and hope to find some retro fabric to make it from.

The other project I started this week is a little Storm at Sea wallhanging. I got these gorgeous fabrics from Dakota Cabin Quilts monthly treasure pack back in January. I am obessesed with Deadlist Catch on the Discovery Channel and decided to call this wintery work in progress "Bering Sea." It''s going to go slowly, I'm sure. I'm not really a paper-piecer and don't have much patience for it. But tackling these blocks by traditional peicing might be even more difficult.

DOWN WITH QUILT NAZIS!

2007-09-06T08:00:00.000-05:00

I've had my first experience with quilt nazis.

I interviewed for a job at my (new) Local Quilt Shop, which involved showing the owner and an employee some of my quilts. After a few comments about how I'm not afraid of color, they started pointing out my mistakes (we had known each other for all of 20 minutes). Clearly they would have to work with me on my binding. My square quilt would look so much better as a rectangle (really all quilts should be rectangles). Did I notice there were no charm packs and jelly rolls in the shop? They were too gimmicky and for cheaters. No kits either.

In the end, I won't be working at the LQS. So I spent the day that was to be my first day at the shop, thinking about how sad I am for quilt nazis. In my world of quilting, there are no rules. Quilting is supposed to be fun! I am always in awe of award-winning quilts. They are gorgeous and I appreciate the time and skill used to make them. That might be fun for some quilters, but it's just not for me.

My quilts are just as valuable as any that conform to silly rules and I refuse to let anyone tell me they aren't! BACK OFF QUILT NAZIS! I quilt for love!!

I quilt for love...

All my quilts are imperfect.
I'll never enter a show.
I'll never win an award. And that is just fine by me.
I quilt for love - not perfection.

Some of my quilts are square (sorta).
Some are rectangular.
I've tried Bargello, Brights, Browns and Batiks.
I may never be an expert in any technique - but that's ok!
I quilt for love - to try new things and stretch my boundaries.

I have a million UFOs AND I WON'T APOLOGIZE FOR THEM!
Quilting is a hobby - not a chore.

My points don't always match,
My quilting is sometimes uneven.
You might be shocked at what you see on my quilt backs!

But here is the most important point: I quilt for love, not perfection.

When a friend gets married, or a grandparent is sick
When Katrina hit, or an orphanage director says there is a need
Even if I can't be there - I send love.
When I'm piecing, quilting or attaching imperfect binding a little bit of my heart is added in every stitch.
As I'm working, I remember frisbee in the park
Ice cream on summer days
Being tucked into bed.
Even if I never meet a recipient of my efforts, I hope they know their quilt is made of more than fabric and thread.

I quilt with love and THAT is perfect with me.

4 Fat Quarters + 3 Day weekend = 1 kitty wallhanging

2007-09-03T12:18:00.000-05:00

I took advantage of our long weekend to make a new wallhanging for our front door. The summer one will be unseasonal very soon. I'm not sure if this is a doll quilt or a wallhanging? The 9 patches are 3 inches unfinished. I bought the fabric as an adorable bundle at a quilt show last year, and I just love the backing.

Happy Labor Day, everyone!

Busy Busy...

2007-08-27T18:27:00.000-05:00

I've been a crazy person lately, but I am here with this photo of my favorite quilt from the Indiana State Fair, which ended earlier this month. It reminded DH of wheat.

The photo is wonky because the quilt was hanging from a second floor balcony. Not really the best format for viewing. I hope to do some of my own quilting soon...

Pepper top done!

2007-08-17T10:55:00.000-05:00

This is by far the loudest quilt I have ever, ever done. It's a bit shocking, really. I had a bit of trouble with the borders because I am not very smart and kept messing up the math. New rule: calculate twice, cut once. The pattern is Caribbean Nights by Barbara Persing from the January 2006 Fons and Porter. Here is a close-up of some of the fabrics:

Hot! Hot! Hot!

2007-08-03T10:45:00.000-05:00

It's about to get warmer here in Indiana. So, I think it's a perfect day to stay inside and work on a hot pepper quilt. It's going to be a very loud quilt for my DH. Because the fabrics are so busy, I 've chosen a simple pattern.My cat, Bernie wanted to get in on the cutting action.

I tend to end up with the dreaded "v" when I cut a lot of strips, so I decided to fold along the selvage edge, rather than selvage to selvage. It's harder for me to figure out how to fold it properly along the cut lines that might not be straight. This method seemed to work well.
200 squares cut (with Bernie's help!)

Here is a preview....more to come!

Summer Wallhanging

2007-08-01T07:56:00.000-05:00

My new apartment building has a lot of spirit! There are 4 units in my building and 3 front doors were decorated. You might have guessed that I, the new girl, was ruining the neighborhood. So, we've been here one week and one day now and I've made some decoration for our front door....what do you think?

I used the Moda Barefoot Batiks I purchased in my post-tonsillitis euphoria. I am a little nervous that its too...risque? Too loud? I've met the two older ladies that live here and they are very sweet and seem fun. The other unit is a younger couple with a little girl. This is on my front door, so it announces who I am (and I guess it speaks for my DH, too??). What does this say?

It was fun to make and I really like it (perhaps why I've posted 3 pictures of it) but now I am getting nervous. Is it like hanging my underclothes out for everyone to see? It's cute, right? Not indecent?

I'm back...and tagged

2007-07-29T20:00:00.000-05:00

I am now a Midwesterner! We arrived at our new home on Tuesday and the movers came with our stuff yesterday. The important stuff (quilting and computer supplies) have been unpacked.

Quilt Mommy has made my return to blogging easier by tagging me with a meme:

Five Things to Do Before I Die:
1. Return to NY to live - perhaps retire in the Adirondack mountains. I really miss snow.
2. Drive cross-country. See the gigantic ball of twine (and visit as many quilt shops as possible).
3. Learn a second language.
4. Conquer my fear of heights
5. Finish my UFOs - or at least make progress... :)

Five Things I Can Do:
1. Drive Standard transmission cars (but badly)
2. Roll my tongue
3. Handle snakes
4. Crack my index finger by just bending it
5. Laugh so hard I cry (and cry and cry)

Five Things I Cannot Do . . . Yet:
1. Dive underwater
2. Speak a second language
3. Stand on my head
4. Play a musical instrument
5. Tell the difference between a downy and hairy woodpecker

Five Things That Make a Man Attractive to me:
1 - 5. Being my DH

Five Celebrity Crushes:
Hmmm...
1. Daniel Craig
2. Brad Pitt
3. Rob Lowe (from West Wing days)
4. Daniel Craig, again
5. Daniel Craig, once more for good measure

I haven't been able to catch up on everyone's blogs yet, so if you'd like to be "tagged" please copy the meme and add your own answers!

Row Robin

2007-07-05T17:13:00.000-05:00

I worked on a very fun row robin this weekend. The owner of the row asked that we just make blocks and not attach them, but I've laid them all out for you to see. She sent along some fabrics that were LOTS of fun to use - all black, white and bright pink. I used some stuff from my stash, but didn't have much wild and crazy fabric to add. Fortunately, working with the stuff she sent was so much fun. The black and white optical illusion stuff was my favorite.

These are my blocks:

And the whole thing so far...

Where have I been?

2007-06-30T15:43:00.000-05:00

It's been a busy few weeks - the highlight of which was finding out my DH was offered a great job in the midwest! We'll be moving from DC to Indiana in the next month and we're very excited. But there is a lot to do between now and then...

Here is what I've been working on, though.

I saw these darling dresses on Penny's blog and she was sweet enough to send me the patterns. I've never embriodered before but I'm finding this to be lots of fun. I'm going to make them into a wallhanging for my mom, and I think she'll like them! Thanks again, Penny for sending along these fabulous patterns!

I also just completed this top for an online swap. A few weeks ago I posted that I received 12 blocks in the mail from my partner. My job was to use those blocks and my stash to make a top and send it back. I hope she likes it!! I had fun working with the bright colors.

Drooling on the new fabric...

2007-06-12T18:53:00.000-05:00

It's a good thing I'm a rabid pre-washer. Not only does it force me to actually do laundry, but sometimes my drool ends up all over the pretty new fabric. My Moda Sunshine arrived today and it's so lovely. The paisleys are just the prettiest thing I've ever seen!

WARNING! Purchasing this fabric line is contagious!! (Thank you, Nancy for the shout out!) I agree with you that I'll purchase from Desperate Quilters again. They sent me tea!

Ok...less talking. More pictures! This is the entire haul:

And the Sunshine line that started the whole thing.

In addition to the tea, they sent me a bunch of free Moda patterns and some adorable Moda U postcards with block instructions on the back. The best is the back of their business card which has handy info on FQs:

I also purchased a FQ assortment of Moda Barefoot Batiks. The flip flops were just too adorable to pass up, and I adore the sea turtles.

Finally, a quilt blogger pointed out a chili pepper sale at Sew Thankful last week, and I had to get some for my DH.

So that is my fabric binge shopping. I really, really, really am going on a fabric diet for the rest of 07. This is the most fabric I've ever bought at once and I swear I have projects in mind for most of it.

Plus, I've had tonsillitis, so I totally deserve it, right??

Binge shopping and sick days

2007-06-08T08:38:00.000-05:00

Who gets tonsillitis when they are 30? Who? Isn't this a disease of little kids?!?

I've been home sick from work almost all week. My machine, stash and UFOs have been staring at me but I haven't really felt inspired, so I took a cue from some stashbusters and decided to make my scrap bin useful.

Two days ago it looked like this:

I disdained my scraps for existing. The pieces were too big to throw out, but I was DONE with them and wanted them to disappear. What could I do with such cast off pieces?

Ta da!

I've also been reading a lot about fabric diets and am going to embark on one of my own. NO MORE FABRIC for the rest of 2007! (unless I need it for a project. also excluding the yummy monthly treasure packs I get from Dakota Cabin Quilts.)

But before I started my diet, I had to binge shop a little. I've been doing the Quilt Index Mall Crawl and I kept happening upon gorgeous fabric I needed to have -- Moda's Sunshine line by April Cornell...well, I specifically looked for it at every shop I visited, but that's neither here nor there. :)

After deciding that I wanted yardage instead of a FQ bundle, I binged at Desperate Quilters, which is a new store to me. I ordered late last night, and they've already shipped my fabric! Photos when it arrives.

(After I stop drooling.)

Creamsicles

2007-06-03T12:56:00.000-05:00

My online group did an orange and cream swap a while ago, which inspired me to make this top:

This is my first two color quilt, ever! I think it needs another row, so that it is 4 blocks by 5, rather than 3 X 5, but I'm not sure what to do with it after that...any suggestions for a border?

I also have these blocks to work with from a swap. My partner sent me 12 blocks, which I will assemble into a top and send back to her. I've been playing with the layout a bit, but I haven't decided on anything yet.

Probably not the barn raising:

But maybe one of these two (I'll make 4 more blocks to complete the designs)

Enjoying the process

2007-06-01T09:17:00.000-05:00

I'm really in a slow quilty mood lately, and I'm enjoying it. Taking my time and enjoying the quilting process just as much as the finished project. This mindset started when I joined an online group and began swapping blocks and tops with other quilters. While I couldn't ever slow down and make the quilt lovely for myself, I didn't want to ever send along substandard work to friends.

Quilt Pixie has a wonderful thought on this today as well...

Here's an interesting idea from a comment in my self expressions course that I hadn't thought of:
keep in mind as you're creating: It's not whether you like the piece or not - liking it is a bonus - creating it is the journey and what you learn from that and what you take forward.

Brilliant!

Cats and Wastepaper baskets

2007-05-28T13:45:00.001-05:00

I think if cats were to become people, they would mostly be quilters. It is obvious that most cats love fabric and quilt tops as much as their owners. In addition to always being on top of any project I have on my floor, my cats are always jockeying for position as close to my sewing machine as possible, and typically crawl under any project that I'm lap quilting.

As I watched my cat Bernie lounging with my DH this morning, I realized that cats (as quilters) also really enjoy quiet time with a good book.

When I was in college, one of my professors said you could tell how good a photographer was by the size of their wastepaper baskets -- the bigger the garbage pail, the better the photographer. You have to realize that not everything is quality and only hang on to (and share) the truly special pieces.

I am wondering if the same applies to quilters. Today (I think for the first time) I threw away some flying geese that seemed beyond repair. In the past I would have tried to force these into a quilt. I'd think about how much time it took to cut, sew and press the pieces and not want to do it again. I'm learning to enjoy the quilting process as much as the finished product and, as a step toward improving my skills, I am glad that I chose to ditch substandard work and take the time to remake these geese. More of this quilt later...

Yearly Recommended Dose of Purple

2007-05-26T19:51:00.000-05:00

I've had a diverse quilty day. I started by purchasing 2 yards of this darling black and white fabric for a FQ swap.

I also worked a bit on all purple blocks for row robin. I'm not really a purple kind of girl, so this was new to me. After making 4 all purple blocks, I feel as if I have met my yearly quota for the color. :)

Finally, I did a bit of hand quilting on my queen-size bed quilt. I'm using wool batting for the first time and am really enjoying it. I think it is fairly forgiving and shows the quilting really well. It's just very comfy-looking. I figure I can reasonably quilt 7-8 blocks per week, so I should (could) be done by the end of the year...

NZ Travel quilt

2007-05-24T17:15:00.000-05:00

For my 30th (!) birthday in March, I went to New Zealand for a couple of weeks with my DH. It was an amazing trip and I hope to write a post just about the trip soon. While we were walking around Auckland, we passed this building which (of course) reminded me of HSTs. I knew as soon as I saw it that I would have to make it into a quilt.

I picked up fabrics all over New Zealand and here is the Auckland building quilt in progress (on my classy design floor). As it gets further along I'll take photos of the gorgeous batiks I found that you can't see very well in this photo.

Lap quilting

2007-05-22T21:06:00.001-05:00

I am hand quilting this enormous queen-sized monster -- without a hoop or frame. I've tried both hoops and frames and just can't seem to get the elusive rocking motion down. I have a theory that the whole thing is made up to trick new quilters; a hazing of sorts. So I ditched the frame and hoop and just take my time lap quilting.

My favorite part about hand quilting is spending so much time, so close to the quilt. I think hand quilting is when I become most attached to projects. This quilt is extra special because many of the bricks are old cloths of mine and my DH. Flannel shirts, linen skirts, khaki pants, even an old camisole. It's going to take me a while to finish, but I know I'll love the result.

In Yesterday's mail...

2007-05-20T15:09:00.000-05:00

This is the result of the ugly FQ I sent away for a partner swap. My creative partner could make whatever she wanted from this yellow, 70's-ish FQ I sent her, and I got this lovely pincusion bonnet -- complete with bees. It was quite a surprise and, I think, a lovely result.

Also in yesterdays mail were two sets of blocks for a yellow and blue block swap that I am hosting -- the Chinese Coins and Pathways to the Stars.

Going out in tomorrow's mail are these Sunbonnet blocks. I'm in a "block, block swap" and my partner will take these 12 blocks and make a top for me with them. Previous rounds of this swap have been very successful and I can't wait to see how this one goes!

Ugly FQ and scrap bag swaps.

2007-05-19T11:09:00.000-05:00

For the past week, I have been working on two swaps for internet groups that I am in. The first was a scrap bag swap where my partner sent me scraps she no longer wanted and I was charged with making them into a project. Fortunately, my partner has an amazing stash, and she sent me the lovliest fabric, which I turned into this wall hanging:

I am sending this back to my partner on Monday. I hope she likes it!

The second swap I have been working on was an ugly FQ swap. My partner sent me the ugliest FQ in her stash so that I could turn it into a "swan". This is the fabric I received:

At first I didn't think the fabric was too ugly. (We had bonded.) But gradually, the ugliness came to the surface and I realized what a challenge this would be. I decided to make simple coasters and tried to chose fabrics that kept to the ugly theme. When I was done, I made a ribbon with the leftover ugly fabric and tied the 4 coasters up into a special package of ugliness. Did I make a swan? I guess we'll find out if my partner likes them soon!

Starting out...

2007-05-19T11:02:00.000-05:00

Like all quilt addicts and fabriholics, I love looking at other quilter's work....UFOs, WIPs, and just purchased fabrics. I hope this blog will introduce me to a new community of quilt bloggers.