Writing Update

When I was in 6th grade, I decided that I wanted to be a writer. I should have specified that I wanted to be a PUBLISHED author.  :)

I am still seeking an agent for Choosers Without a Choice, which is the first book in a series of modern fantasy.

I am still seeking an agent for Two Corbies (which really needs more editing).

I am working on a novella entitled Bacon as the Downfall of Humanity.

And.... now have an idea for a television show.

I REALLY need to have/make more time for writing these days.

And as soon as I am done with Faire projects, I will do so! (uh huh.)

And working on the plot for the third book in the Choosers series.

So, there's lots of writing going on, and planning, and such.

One of these days I am going to make a quilt based on one of my stories... and I think I know just the one!!!!

5 Down, 3 to go!

 

 

 

I am now 5/8ths of the way to my goal for the year in quilt tops. It will slow down now, since I am doing faire prep and such, but I am over halfway through, and it's only the last day of February!

 

I didn't expect that, to be honest! I thought I would be staggering along working on three at a time and getting nowhere. Now that I have proven to myself that I can work steadily and at a decent pace, I am pretty sure I can get this done!

So here is the Aztec Sunset on the correct backing - blue! It makes it look so much brighter, which is a little weird. I do like it better though, so there we are.

Can you tell I shook a little when I was taking the photo? I seriously need to get a good tripod or something. Steady-cam for my little digital.  :)

I'm already working on the 60th anniversary quilt - I have about half of the squares cut out, and a whole whopping 10 out of 48 sets of appliques. But... that's more than I had, so I cannot complain!

We spent an hour or two tidying up the studio last night, and then went for haircuts and dinner. I lost about thirteen inches of hair!

We still have a way to go on the studio, including the outside, but hey.... we're moving on it, trying to get organized again!

S

 
 

Unveiling!

Good Monday morning!

I promised a pic of the super secret quilt top as soon as I could! Now that the quilt the roomie made is delivered, I can post the pics of my version!

Behold! Mermaid scales!

Each scale is individual, and can be flipped up.

The roomie made a dragon scale quilt that is... considerably... bigger and rainbow colored - they look completely different, but the pattern is the same!

It is a quilt-as-you go project, and works up with surprising speed! The roomie came up with the idea, and the pattern, and we worked the shape and furthered the idea together. It lends itself to mermaids, fish, dragons, scale mail armor, and a variety of other things. We are in the process of finalizing the pattern so we can get a beta-tester.

My mermaid scales have under them little stitched on texts: things like "Hey, that tickles!" and "Hands off!" and "Watch it! I'm naked under my scales!" Just because I can.  :)

Anyone interested in being a beta-tester?

S

Another ALMOST done!

What's up today? Last night I almost finished another top. I say almost because I pieced the applique part, but did not get the front of the quilt pieced. That will hopefully happen tonight. I just got impatient last night and wanted to see what it all looked like pieced together.  :) The back color will actually be a deep blue. Right now, this is Hawkeye being helpful. 

I'm oddly impressed by this - the number of yellows and browns in this doesn't show up quite as well as I'd hoped in this photo, but you get the idea. It's very angular and pointy, even though it's squared off.

I considered angling each of the blunt ends, but didn't bother. I like it like it is.

I've even got the quilting design figured out!

I want to echo not just the sun motif, but the whole Aztec-ish feel to it. I hope the combination of pointy and round works out - I think it will. I will probably do the quilting in a contrasting color so it shows. Since there will be room outside of this design most likely, I will echo the circles and carry it out to the edges of the quilt.

I can't wait to see this one done! (Yeah, yeah, I know. Means I need to get on it!).

After this one is attached to the dark blue (which MIGHT happen tonight), I will be working hardcore on the Anniversary quilt.

And I should be able to post pics of the super-secret quilt that I have hinted at...!

In other news, I wrote the beginning of a story. Just the opening sentence really. But that one sentence opened up a whole vista of possibilities. So we shall see if it goes anywhere. Maybe I will try this as a short story, and peddle it to a magazine.

S.

Getting closer!

And by getting closer, I mean on two quilts!

Here is last night in the studio. It's blurry because I was giggling. The photo is called Dueling Quilts.

You can just see the roomie's hands - she is working on her quilt - which is SO close to being done. When it's done and such, I will get to post the pics of my super-secret quilt top.

And in the lower half of the photo, you can see what I am working on: Cathedral. It's almost done being appliqued, and I have figured out what I am going to do for the quilting. I am waiting on black batting to come in, and I can add it to my list of tops to be quilted! (Excitement! Joy!)

I had a bit of a low period in there - I suspect it shows in my posts. We went to the doctor and got my meds updated,
so hopefully that will help things out and get me back in productive mode.

And this is Cathedral. I will finish the applique up tonight and get a pic of it hanging on the temporary hanging rod. I am so very pleased with it so far! I know I have a way to go, but looking at it makes me happy. It looks almost exactly like I wanted it to, and the quilting will only add to that!

Like most people, I am harder on myself than on others. I feel like I should be better, thinner, stronger, smarter, blah blah blah. This quilt... I only see minor things, and they don't bother me that much. I am falling in love with this quilt.

It seems like most of the quilts I have made recently have black backgrounds. The next ones won't. I know that much already.


And just for fun, a pic of my absolutely adorable cat. She's part Maine Coon, part whatever, and all energy and spunk.

Random update

I'd love to post a pic of Cathedral, but I forgot to take a good one. So that will have to happen tomorrow.

But I didn't want too long to pass without posting, or I'd forget entirely!  Four tops made (well, will be done when the applique work is done on Cathedral)!

4 more to go: My parents' 60th anniversary quilt, Ballet Folklorico, and the other two. Currently the two I will be working on are tentatively called Fiesta Ware and Dungeon. They are two entirely different kinds of quilts.

Dungeon will be (hopefully) one of our patterns for sale, once I get the test one done and measure fabrics and such.  The secret quilt (that I cannot show yet) will be another one. We are starting to gear up towards a goal of eventually being able to sell patterns and make some of our own hand-dyed fabric.

But right now I am trying to concentrate on getting ready for the Renaissance Festival. Yup. I have sewing to do for it, lessons to prep, a character to pull back together, and all while doing all the other things I want to do.

Like submitting to more agents. I got another rejection the other day for one of my fantasy novels. Onward to the next agent!

Oh, and trying to get a book on quilting done - I have 5 of the 11 projects planned out, am making the test version of one of them, working on the patterns for 2 more, and pondering what to do for 6 of them. I should really make a couple of them smaller patterns: mini-quilts, throws, or pillows. Or something. *makes notes*

It's a long road to get most of this done, but it will happen.

Not going to lie, it's a little stressful. Between faire, sewing, planning, writing, and work, I really just want to go home and sleep! (but I am trying not to do that... I need to get used to getting up and moving until late). Lists are my friends... and I stick out my tongue at stress. I will get it done. Really.

1. Patterns to develop
2. Tops to complete in 2018
3. Books to find agents for in 2018
4. Sewing for faire 2018
5. Books to write (both fiction and non-fiction)
6. Daily chores
7. Weekly chores
8. Big chores (house-type stuff)
9. Weaving projects (!)

Cathedral of Quilting

Yesterday I posted about Alison Glass' pattern Cathedral. So far I am AMAZED by this pattern. As I mentioned, I don't usually do other people's patterns, and when I do, I make changes. I've done that with Cathedral, but only a little.

This is one of those quilts that I believe is all about fabric choice.

Here is my fabric, all cut out and laid out. To me it does look like a cathedral rose window. The pieces are just laid out right now, on a dark gray. I think I am going to go with a true black instead - it should make those pieces pop even more.

I wasn't too sure about this one initially. I've been hoarding the fabric for a while, and was looking for "just the right quilt." By the time I was halfway through cutting out, I was glad I had, and impressed. When I laid out the entire thing on my table, I was floored.

People talk about things so beautiful that they make you cry - this darned near did, and it's just laid out roughly! I may well be sobbing all the way through the quilting process!!

I've sized the blocks for the next quilt top - the Ruby Anniversary Quilt, and should be picking fabric soon! *ahhhhhhhhh* I will be trying it as a quilt-as-you-go so I can do it all on my own without fighting my machine during quilting. And I can see progress. If I do a block a day for oh... 49 days... I will be done! *thud*

A Beautiful Quilt!!

 

As promised, the back of the quilt top finished this weekend! (Technically, the back of the quilt. It was a quilt-as-you-go). It's not terribly exciting, is it? But when you see the front, hopefully you will be as happy with it as I am!

This morning I woke up with a brain that felt carbonated - fully alive and popping full of ideas. I have a page covered in chicken scratch notes that will hopefully make sense later in the day! I certainly have things to research and look at/for!



We spent a couple of hours in the studio again last night, and good googily moogily did I get some stuff done!

For the second time in my quilting life, I am making someone else's design! (It's exciting, I know). I am making Alison Glass' Cathedral.

But because it's me, I am not doing exactly what they have here. I am not doing a color wheel. Color wheels don't excite me. But I had, in my stash, the PERFECT fabric for this design.

I'd even stashed it away for making a rose window-like quilt someday, and then never gotten around to it. So, I dragged it out and it was indeed, perfect. It gave me the shivers!

One of Robert Hoffman's discontinued fabrics: Florentine. I am thrilled at how it's coming, and I am only half-way done with the applique pieces. I cannot wait to see the whole top come together. I can't stop staring at it.  :)

As soon as I get it done, I will post pics, of course - even if everything isn't appliqued down yet! (Hopefully I will finish the applique bits tonight, because I wanna see it all!!

I've also thought about doing this in Iron Man colors and calling it Holy Arc Reactor.  :) Just because I can! Because I am a geek at heart (I'm sure that's a great shock!)

Tonight, then, is working on Cathedral and planning more patterns!

Monday

This weekend was a good one in the studio and in general.

Saturday was partially devoted to estate sales. We hit a couple, and came home with stuff from a quilter's estate sale. In the afternoon we worked in the studio, and got stuff done. Sunday was almost a repeat, except that instead of estate sales, we drove out to Canton and walked First Monday Trade Days. I got an alpaca scarf in gray (so soft!), and the roomie got a couple of small things. That's quite the change from buying sewing machines, which is usually what happens!

One of my favorite places at First Monday is a shop that sells 'vintage' linens (scarves, tea towels, doilies, and all sorts of stuff). One of the best things about them is they have a massive collection of prom and wedding dresses that they sell for $10.00 each. Yup! I've used one to make a test version of a future Ren Faire character - instead of expensive fabric, I got a fancy dress for $10.00. Can't beat that!

That's me in the purple hat - can you tell we have fun? (That is not from this past weekend). I love rummaging through their textiles! And yes, we picked up the mess we made!

I have finished top number three, but I am not permitted to show it just yet. As soon as I am allowed, I will post pics. I like it more than I thought I would, in all honesty. It's not my colors, but the overall effect is pretty much what I wanted. (That's three down, for those who are counting! Five more to go!)

I am shifting around my tops to make, because I was reminded of a date I have to meet this year.  :) My parents' ruby anniversary. 60 years in June. I know the quilt I want to make them. It's just making it. It will jump to the top of the list so I can make it and get quilting on it!

After that, four more: two new ones (sigh), and then Ballet Folklorico and Goth Cathedral Window. Ever-shifting quilting list, that's for sure!

Designing new patterns that might actually make sense to other people now... that's one reason I can't show pics of the newest completed top. Plus, I promised. :) We're going to write out the patterns and then see if one of the people we know can make a quilt out of it. Yay beta test quilters!

Tonight, if there is time after groceries and laundry and dinner, I'll head back out to the studio and maybe take a picture of the back of the new top.  :) Just 'cause! And work on the parental quilt pattern.

This weekend starts the prep for the local Renaissance Festival. Since I teach History out there, my sewing time will be limited for a while. Not to mention the fact that since I gained weight, I have to make a new bodice. Boo! But I am going to do what I can. I am 3/5th of the way through my tops, and 1/5th through quilting for the year. That's not bad for the beginning of February!

Does diversity include geeks?

Quilters are a diverse lot, and I love that.

But there are days when I look at other blogs and think "Oh, lords, I don't look anything like that. No one will care about my little blog. I am not bright and cheerful and colorful and... and.. and...."

But I am not other quilters. I am me.

We go into LQS X and get weird looks, as though we don't belong. I am usually in weekend gear of geek t-shirt and jeans and a hoodie. We get ignored. We get raised eyebrows. We are thrilled when we find a store that looks past the clothing to see the quilters beneath. We have been asked "You've quilted for that long?" and heard "Oh, you really are a quilter!" more than once. People have talked a lot recently about embracing diversity in quilting - modern, traditional, art, primitive, men who quilt, younger people who quilt, quilters of color. All of that is FABULOUS.

Does that diversity extend to geeks? I don't really know. It doesn't feel like it to me. It feels like if you are making a geek-themed quilt, it ranks up there with crude piecing and messy quilting - something that we know is out there, but we don't TALK about it.

I don't know if it works the other way. If geeks don't embrace quilting. But I am a geeky quilter. I see the good and bad in both sides of the aisle.

Geeky Quilts. For a reason.
Because I am a geek. Because I like geeky things. Comics, movies, certain television shows. Books. Y'know, the stuff that gets labeled "Geek" this or "Nerd" that. Mythbusters. LotR. The Avengers (well, some of them. Some of them annoy me).

Oh, and Day of the Dead. That's a thing, too. And Halloween. And Godzilla. And renaissance festivals.

Looking at this, I know there are other quilters out there who enjoy at least some of the same things. We are, after all, a diverse lot.

If I can be a guiding arc reactor light to someone else who likes the geek-based life, that's fabulous. If I can introduce a geek to quilting, that's amazing. I don't think of myself as a role model, but people keep telling me otherwise.  :)

So I'm going to keep going with my geeky quilts.

Made for my sister. The fabric is actually a very pale blue that looks like the shine from the arc reactor.
 

State of the Studio Address (aka How're Projects Going?)

I am going to try to do a SoSA (State of the Studio Address) once a month, just for a little catch-up, for those who have missed me.

So, for this SoSA...

1. I've decided to try to piece 8 quilt tops this year.  As of now, I have 2 done.  The View From Godzilla's Mouth top and the Hawkeye Minimalist Logo top are both done. The color on the pic isn't QUITE right... it's more purple than that. Still need to get a good camera! But that puts me a quarter of the way through my quilt tops for the year. From here on out they get WAY more complicated/time-consuming.


2. I am going to try to quilt 5 quilts this year. We shall  see. As of now, I have 0 done. Clipper Ship is pinned and prepped, just have to do it. The View from Godzilla's Mouth shouldn't take too long. We shall see. The Hawkeye Minimalist Logo will take a while, because it wound up bigger than I'd first planned, and the template is a little small. But it will be amazing when it's done, so there's that.
After that... I'll have two more to do. Right now those two are Crazy Diamonds and maybe Ninja. We'll see on that last one. I would say Ballet Folklorico, but that one is pretty much quilt as you go, so....


3. If I don't get them all done, I will not be that hard on myself. This is supposed to be fun! (Oh, and this is just MY quilts. This doesn't count quilts for other people. That's a whole other list.  :) )


4. I will start posting tutorials and free patterns. Because I have plans, and it's time to get working on them.


This past weekend we spent the day in the studio - working on quilts and other projects. I re-did my directions for headscarves - more on that later. I also tried a new purse pattern. It worked, but it was... ugly. So... back to the drawing board on that! I think there was a piece that I didn't consider, so I will attack it again once I've taken another look at the paper version.

Yeah, I start with paper versions of bags. It works as a rough draft for me, and lets me see how things need to go together. Usually. *shrug*

It was a wonderful Sunday in the studio. It was a nice day, partly cloudy and warm-ish. Then we had rain. Then we had hail. Then it was partly cloudy again. Oh, Texas.... *sigh* It's like a dog that's just not smart enough to discipline - you try, but it doesn't get what the problem is. (Please note, I love animals, and by discipline I am NOT talking injuring of any sort). On the other hand, there was a tornado in East Texas, so we missed that part of the crazy!

Shay