The Last Phoenix

Today is a random quilt idea kind of day.

I have a quilt planned - not just the idea, but the whole shebang. The quilt, the colors, the design to quilt into it - everything. Even down to the very fabric I want to use, which is unusual for me. I need to track down some Moda Grunge, which shouldn't be terribly difficult, in grey couture. The other colors will come from my stash.

It will be called The Last Phoenix. The feather will be reds, yellows, and oranges, maybe over-painted with a glow-in-the-dark wash. Quilting will be done in gray or black. There will be quilting all over the piece, not just as shown. I'm just lazy, and this is the first sketch.

It will have to wait, but right now it really wants to be made. It's a good thing I don't have any of the grunge fabric, or I might just make it now!

Shay

Building Momentum

For those keeping track at home:

Piecing:
1. Hawkeye Minimalist - Done
2. The View from Godzilla's Mouth - Done
3. AQ - Done
4. Mermaid Scales - Done
5. Aztec Sunrise - Done
6. Cathedral - Done
7. Anniversary Quilt - in progress!
8. Goth Cathedral Window - in progress!

Quilting:
1. AQ - DONE!!!!! (pics to follow when delivered to recipient)
2. View from Godzilla's Mouth - in progress! Ghidorah left to quilt!
3. Mermaid Scales - DONE!!!!
4. Goth Cathedral Window - in progress! (hooray quilt as you go!)
5. Crazy Diamonds - on the list

For those new to my blog, at Winter Solstice I determined to piece 8 quilt tops this year and complete 5 quilts. I seem to be ahead of schedule right now, as it's only April 19th. I am certain that things will slow down now that I am working on the Anniversary Quilt.

But I find it amazing that I have managed to do so much in 4 months. Maybe I should raise my goals! (I'll revisit that idea after faire, when I have more spare time).

I still want to do Ballet Folklorico this year, so I can show it to the many people I have discussed it with.

On other fronts:

I'm also still submitting to agents with my novel. So far no bites, but I'm still in there swinging.

We'll be holding a class in July or August for the roomie's Scales pattern. So I need to start planning that - making sure her instructions are clear and concise, without any weirdness in them. Then we can set up the time and date and start advertising it.

I leave you with a photo of one of my beeswax thread conditioners: Iron Man! Hand poured and ready to go, Iron Man is there when I need him to be!

Checking In (aka Progress Made)

It's now midway through April, and time for me to take a look at how I am doing on my quilting goals.

Overall, not bad!

I have 6 quilts pieced.
That puts me 3/4 of the way done with my piecing goals for the year! (Not all of the ones I had planned are on this list, but still, I am moving forward!)

1. Cathedral
2. Minimalist Hawkeye
3. Aztec Sunrise
4. Mermaid Scales
5. View From Godzilla's Mouth
6. AQ (currently not a full title because it's a gift)

And one the quilted front (My goal is 5):
1/2 - half of the View from Godzilla's Mouth is done.
1/3: Goth Cathedral Table Runner (prettier than anticipated!!)


So, it looks like the piecing is going fast, the rest, not so much!!

But the next quilt is a quilt as you go, so that will up both lists! I am excited!

I took  a short break from making quilts to work on one last faire project. It made me happy to get done. I'll have to ask permission from the owner to post an in-process pic, so you can see what sort of insanity I get up to!


Looking forward to the Avengers movie in 2 weeks - that's what I am doing the evening of the 27th! Take an Avengers quilt with me to the movie and snuggle under it while watching!

Slow times, Getting better

I know, I haven't posted for a while, and I feel a little guilty.

I seem to have lost my mojo for a little while.

But it came back.

I am working on 2 quilts right now. (Well, one is actually a table runner, but it's a cathedral window table runner, so I am going to count it).

I am also working on a story. (Woohoo!)

I am also working on not panicking.

Yeah. I hit therapy. So far I have been diagnosed as high functioning autistic with social anxiety, depression, and generalized anxiety disorder. And now we're touching on things that my therapist considers traumatic, and I am still working on classifying.

She said that she worried about my quilting at first, that I was using it as a way to avoid my issues. However, she has changed her mind since she saw my quilting sketchbook. Now she realizes that it is (and always has been) a way of working through the things in my mind, wrapped in geeky themes and quilted down.

Maybe that's what I need to do. Stitch each worry to a piece of fabric and then stitch all of that to a backing of muslin, quilt it down, and then hang it outside in the weather. Like people of old, I could use sympathetic magic - as the quilt breaks down and the pieces start to degrade, so will the worries and the concerns. Maybe even just write the worries on fabric with a Sharpie and then stitch them down. Treat them like prayer flags in reverse - let the world take them, let them soar out into the sky where some greater good will envelope them and devour them. Let them go to the sky.

And take photos. Lots of photos.

Maybe I can balance that with some of the better things in life, and send those out in balance to the bad.

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*