Friendly Influencers...dancing around a thinky question

Today's Sew Thinky Thursday Question over on Mommy's Naptime is...
"Tell us about your sewing friends.  Have your fabric tastes changed by having friends who like to sew?  Do you like the same things or are you completely opposite?"

My sewing friends are CrAzY AWESOME!  and I have more than one...just to name some that are in the CMQG: Sally, Elaine, Erika, Tricia, Robbi, ok 5 is enough and then I won't feel bad for accidentally forgetting someone if I try and name all the wonderful peeps in the guild.  I guess we share that fact that we have fun talking but in general we each have our own tastes and styles and I REALLY love love love that we have our own voices and views when it comes to the fabrics we purchase!

OK.  So if you take a look over at Emily's blog post today you will see that she thinks that I am a hard one to crack when choosing fabrics/palettes and such and I admit...this is true...I am particular...but hey...my name is Emily (this one not the other one) and I am particular. :)  

So back to the question.  Yes?  I have been slightly influenced by what my friends like because seeing a fabric used and in a great combo of colors and prints really sets the imagination aflame!  I would not say that my tastes are opposite of my friends' but I definitely have opinions on print and color that are different.  I actually find a lot of color inspiration from Pinterest.  I have a board just dedicated to COLOR and one even for Pattern and Design!  My friends' are amazing and seeing them do amazing things with fabric makes me look differently at my own choices and hey, maybe they influence me more than I give them credit for...forgive me gals? ;)

Linking up to Sew Thinky Thursday on Emily's Blog!

Sew Thinky Thursday 4

Today on Sew Thinky Thursday the question is:
What is one regular thing you do for yourself to keep up your creative mind?  Do you go to a guild? out for coffee with a friend?  Are there people/activities you do regularly or as needed?

OK basically I love my guild.  I have been a member of the Chicago Modern Quilt Guild for nearly 3 years and I just love it!  Monthly meetings are always so great to get me inspired and chatting with all the ladies is so much fun!  Lets see I also go to retreats, talk with my friends on Facebook Chat and have an occasional meetup at the Needle Shop or for a sew night at home!

QuiltCon, Things Unfinished and Quilty!

So...this is my Weekender!!!!!  Ya, it is not finished but all those pieces are cut out...that counts for something right, RIGHT?  Seriously, not everything goes as planned and well umm...it is not done but whatever.

  I did indeed finish making myself a purse though using the Amy Butler Birdie Sling Pattern (what I am holding in the above picture).  More deets on that another time when I am not trying to get ready to leave any minute for QuiltCon!  I am above and beyond excited and can't wait to get there, and then I saw it...an episode of Quilty...featuring ME!  

Yes I know I filmed an episode of Quilty but I wasn't sure when it would air and it is exciting!  So check out the episode, it is about improvisational piecing.  Let me know if you watch it!

I'm linking up to WIP Wednesday over at Freshly Pieced!

WIP Wednesday: Frantic QuiltCon Edition

So, ya...QuiltCon is coming up in a week...and.......I"M NOT PREPARED!!!!!!  I would love to have a new purse for myself made by then (see above Birdie Sling...in pieces) and................

I would love to have my Weekender (again see above pile o' NOT FINISHED!) there with me.  But who are we kidding...maybe if I don't sleep I can get this stuff done, right, RIGHT???????   OK I will get to it and not subject you to my crazy franticness right now....what are YOU working on?

I'm linking up to WIP Wednesday over at Freshly Pieced!

Billy and Eileen, Two Special People, Two Special Quilts

If you know me then you know that I spend a LOT of time with my family.  I hang with my cousins and their kids, my aunts, my grandparents, and my parents and then sometimes my friends. 

Well, it sucks when family moves but it happens, so my Auntie Eileen and Uncle Billy moved to Arkansas and we missed them, but hey it's fun to visit down there too!  Then Billy got sick and started chemo and I just had to make something for them.  Well...as you may have guessed if you saw the post about my WIPs I'm not a fast finisher but hey they got there on Monday, just as he is about to start radiation.  Thought counts I say!

So, I made Billy a quilt.  I used the "Blue Ice Quilt" pattern from Quilting Modern: techniques and projects for improvisational quilts By: Jacquie Gering and Katie Pedersen.  I made the blocks a bit bigger but that is the great thing about the patterns in their book, you can just do what you wanna do it is improvisational!  The finished size is 82.5"x59.75" after washing.

The solids I used are Lime, Raffia and Ivory Kona Cottons.  The prints for the crazy pieced centers all came from my stash and the backing is Joel Dewberry Woodgrain in Dill and Bark.  I quilted Billy's quilt with vertical lines a little less than 1" apart using Aurifil thread.  

Do you spot the elephants?  Ya he is a republican and I just happened to have some elephant fabric!

As I was working on Billy's Quilt I thought about how caregivers are often overlooked and I wanted to make sure that my Auntie Eileen had something to keep her warm as well so of course, another quilt!  The idea for this one was pulled from a quilt by Katie Pedersen and I just used HSTs and made them BIG to make a simple and fast star design using prints from my stash in aquas and limes on an Ivory Kona background.  I like how their quilts have some of the same fabrics.  The back of her quilt is Amy Butler's Passion Lily in Fern.

I quilted Eileen's quilt vertically with straight lines in a mossy green Aurifil thread like Billy's.  Her quilt is 65.25"x54" after washing.

Before I bound the quilts I called and sent out some e-mails to my family looking for prayers.  My friend Emily often writes prayers in the bindings of her quilts and I loved the idea of collecting prayers for both of these quilts.  I wrote the prayers and thoughts from their family in the inside of the bindings, I had enough to cover all 4 sides on each and then stitched the binding down by hand.  Billy and Eileen will not be able to read the prayers in the binding (though I did give them a card with what is written in their quilt) but they will always be wrapped in prayers and thoughts from their family.  

I am so happy to be able to have made them these quilts and bring them some comfort and warmth from family even when we cannot be with them.  

Today I am linking up with Sew Thinky Thursday where Emily is asking the question, "What is the most meaningful thing you've ever made?"...ya got that covered see above.  Thanks for reading, I know, long post but hey glad ya made it this far!