The Little Red Hen

Welsh Quilting

As I am working out the quilting design for my latest quilt I thought I'd share some of my favorite quilting resource books with you.

I recently purchased two new books focused on Welsh quilting. 

Making Welsh Quilts the Textile Tradition that Inspired the Amish?  by Mary Jenkins and Clare Claridge is a great book that shows old and new quilts with Welsh quilting. I like that each of the project quilts in the book also has a complete quilting plan. You can study how the quilting works with the patchwork of the quilt and use those ideas on your own quilts.  Welsh Quilting Pattern & Design Handbook  by Marjorie Horton is an excellent source for Welsh quilting motifs and patterns. It has no color photographs and shows no finished quilts but is jam packed with quilting ideas. Both of these books are geared to hand quilters but with a little creativity you can do similar things in continuous quilting on a long arm or domestic sewing machine. I'm working on that right now. 

In looking through the Welsh quilting books, I can see that Gwen Marston has been influenced by Welsh quilting. Her book, Quilting with Style: Principles for Great Pattern Design, another of my favorite quilt resource books, features many similar designs and also shows how to draft cables and feathered vines to fit any space. 

The random number winner for the GenQ drawing was 2, Emmmylizzzy! Congratulations.

Generation Q Magazine

The folks at Generation Q had an inviting booth. You may not be able to tell from this photo but that is a tub couch a la "Breakfast at Tiffany's". 

I won a little goodie bag made and filled by Scott Hansen of Blue Nickel Studios, one of the Gen Q team, for being one of the first to visit their booth on Friday. I love that he filled the bag with blue items and even included a piece of vintage fabric. 

And those tiny little monkeys are just adorable. They were quite a hit with the kids when I got home.  Miss P covets them. Thanks Scott. 

I actually met Scott in the lobby of our hotel on Thursday morning where he was still binding a couple of quilts for display. Now THAT is some last minute stitching. 

Generation Q  also had a door prize give drawing which I won later in the day! I scored this fab box of Cotton Couture solids by Michael Miller. 

Oh yeah, they have a print magazine now! I had a chance to read the magazine while I was there and on the LONG ride home. I think it is a great magazine. I love the conversational tone it has.  It made me feel like members of my local stitch group were talking to me. It is packed with a variety of articles, projects, an iron review, and much more. I also like that it is in a small size format that will easily fit in your purse. 

Congratulations to the Gen Q team on their first print issue!

I picked up an extra copy that I'll give away to a lucky reader. 

To enter, tell me something you would most like to see featured in a quilt magazine. I'll keep comments open until Sunday night and announce a winner on Monday.

Wordless Wednesday

New York Book Show 2012

Congratulations to Gwen Marston! Her book, 37 Sketches, has won an award in the category "Special Trade General Book under $75" to be presented at the 2012 New York Book Show in March.

You know, it's not every quilt book that shows up on the New York Book Show list!

Gwen changed the way I approach quilting. I take any class of hers that I can because I know I will always learn something unexpected. I am glad I have been able to attend so many of her retreats and now I am thrilled that her latest book has gotten this recognition. Kudos and thank you, Gwen!

If you want to be a proud owner of one of these special books you can order one directly from Gwen.

Order from Gwen Marston, Box 155, Beaver Island, MI 49782.
U.S. $29.95 plus 3.99 shipping
Canada shipping 6.00
International shipping 12.00
Checks payable to Beaver Island Quilts

You can read more about the book on her website.

Thanks, Gwen, for doing what you do, and doing it so well.

Week in Review

The sewing room was buzzing with activity this week but I finished nothing.
I was listening to audio books while:

knitting two pair of socks - I'm on the second of each pair
spinning up some roving - just over half finished with that ball of roving
making little stars - I have about a hundred of them so far!
helping P with a commissioned sewing project - we're 3/4 the way finished

I enjoyed listening to Jim Dale read the entire Harry Potter series so much last fall that I am listening to it again. I have heard the first three books but the fourth was not at the library when I went so I had to find something else.

Earlier this week I heard The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman read by the author and am currently listening to Year of Wonders A Novel of the Plague by Geraldine Brooks also read by the author. I love listening to Geraldine's voice.

Do you like to listen to audio books? If so, which books have you enjoyed?

 

 

37 Sketches

I'm back from my retreat up north with Gwen Marston. This year we used Gwen's 37 Sketches as inspiration for our liberated projects.
Gwen's self published book, 37 Sketches is beautiful and inspirational.  Each quilt has a full page photo and a short description of the inspiration or idea for it. The text is like poetry. There are no how to's in this book just the 37 sketches. It is an elegant little book that is great for studying liberated piecing and inspiring you to try your own small sketches. Working on a small scale is a great way to try new techniques and work with different colors or fabrics. Since the book is self published there are a limited number and are only available directly from Gwen.

Order from Gwen Marston, Box 155, Beaver Island, MI 49782.
U.S. $29.95 plus 3.99 shipping
Canada shipping 6.00
International shipping 12.00
Checks payable to Beaver Island Quilts

You can read more about the book on her website.

Back to the retreat recap...

Gwen had her little works of art displayed so that we could study them up close.

I made these at the retreat:

Sketch 1:
10 x 13 inches

Sketch 2:
8 x 10 inches

These little quilts were fun to do and they are even finished!!

I also have an idea of what I want to do with these fabrics from Pink Castle Fabrics! I plan to make a quilt for P based on the idea of the sketches. I'll do blocks in a little bigger scale and fit them together for the full quilt. I plan to make them loosely based on the log cabin block.

I didn't get started on that quilt while on retreat because I got side tracked by   another project inspired by a quilt someone brought for show and tell.

I have a weakness for little stars.

These stars will finish at two inches. They are smaller and not liberated like the ones I did last year.
I have no idea how I will set these. They may be a quilt of their own in a nine patch setting or maybe a border for a medallion style quilt. Right now I'm just having fun making them.

Quilt retreat is very "grounding" for me. All of the ladies who come every year really make it special and help me put things in perspective.  I love coming home and feeling like I have a focus and direction.  Thanks ladies, it was a great week.

A New Chapter

While traveling in the car on our trip we listened to a recording of The Penderwicks: A Summer Tale of Four Sisters, Two Rabbits, and a Very Interesting Boy by Jeanne Birdasll. Our local librarian recommended it as a good book for the whole family. I think everyone liked the amusing story of four sisters and their adventures on summer vacation. I know I did.

They got into just enough trouble and adventure to keep everyone interested without overwhelming the youngest in the car. I have also just seen online that there are more books about the Penderwick sisters. We'll have to check those out!

Speaking of stories about siblings, our family is starting a new chapter this month.
Yesterday M moved out and into the dorm.

D will be moving this weekend. All three kids start school Tuesday after labor day. Our schedule here at home will be much more relaxed with only a first grader. P wrote M a letter when we got home from dropping him off at college. "Evrea day at skoole I will cri my ise aowt.  Love P"

I am hoping I'll be able to get lots of sewing done!

A New Wardrobe in the Making

My friend, and knitting partner, Adele came for a quick visit not too long ago. She brought P amd me some goodies. P got a doll that she LOVES and we also got a dressmaking book for dolls.

P and I looked through the many designs in the book and decided on our first project, a pretty simple dress with bodice. I wanted to make sure the pattern size that we had chosen would fit the doll.

Then we made a pinafore to go with the dress.

I have to say that this book, The Doll's Dressmaker: The Complete Pattern Book  by Venus A Dodge, is pretty spectacular. It has basic pattern pieces for all of the dresses in five different sizes. It gives good directions for choosing the right pattern size and how to make adjustments. There are also directions for making MANY different styles of dresses from the basic pattern pieces and lots of ideas for dressing them up for more grown up dolls and making them simpler for baby dolls. The possibilities are endless. There are a few simple styles that I'll let P try too.

The book also has shoe patterns, hat patterns, and directions for other doll accessories.

I think we'll be using this book a lot. P has marked a lot for dresses that she likes.
Next up, panties - because every doll needs some panties. And then a slip, and a bonnet, and a dress with some lace....

 

Thanks Adele. We have been enjoying our time together in the sewing room!

New Books to Start the New Year

I have to say I am pretty thrilled with the new books I got for Christmas. B got me this fabulous Norwegian knitting book. Luckily it came with an English translation booklet. This morning I started the cover mittens with some baby ull that I had on hand. I love it so far! They will be adult size butI think P is secretly hoping that they will shrink in the blocking. She shouldn't worry too much because I plan on knitting her THIS sweater (in her size) in the near future.

My sister gave me Sew What! Skirts: 16 Simple Styles You Can Make with Fabulous Fabrics . It has directions for drafting out basic skirt shapes to fit your body and lots of ways to interpret the basic designs. I know I'll be making a few new skirts this spring.

My other sister gave me Pocketful of Posies: A Treasury of Nursery Rhymes it is a feast for the needleworker's eyes.

The nursery rhymes are illustrated with incredibly detailed needlework pictures. It is just amazing. Reading the book is a slow process for me because I want to take time to study all of the illustrations.

It is a good feeling to start the new year with lots of inspiration and projects in mind!

A Star Filled Afternoon

I spent the afternoon making some more tiny stars. A couple more afternoons like this and I'll get all the stars for this quilt finished.

I think I'm finally starting to get in the rhythm of the school day. I have been listening to Harry Potter on tape while I sew. Jim Dale does a superb job reading them. If you haven't listened to his recordings of the Harry Potter books, I highly recommend that you do. 

I am making a list of other books to listen to after I finish the Harry Potter series.

What book would you recommend?