My first and last Britney quilt

And now, from the archives....

no, thanks

Last year, my next door neighbor showed me a bag of T-shirts, wondering if any of my guild friends might have interest in taking on a project. Her daughter was our first babysitter when we moved to Massachusetts 6 years ago, and is now a college junior. The shirts represented high school and college memories and were languishing in a dresser.

I should mention that these are the best neighbors we've ever had. They let our children use their backyard and house like it is theirs, invite us over for impromptu dinners, and generally keep an eye on us like we are family. So while I'd heard stories about how awful t-shirt jersey is to work with, I couldn't say no.

My only design direction was that their daughter "likes blue." (I know, right?!)

I squared and interfaced all the shirt content, and raided some unused brights from my stash and scrap bin to fill in. I honestly loved how lively it was when it was done, but it took a long time!

Some of the Ts had hilarious content and were a bit incongruous with the more philanthropic shirts, so I relegated them to the back, alongside a teal print I found at Joann's. If you look closely, you'll spy not just Britney, but also Nick Lachey and (gag) Chris Brown.

There were many snorts when this came in for show and tell at my BMQG meeting.

I used the quilt as a chance to practice my free motion, which was executed in a square stipple pattern. In the end, my neighbors loved it. There were tears, probably the best reaction I've ever had to a quilt I made!

Yahrzeit

I spent some time last weekend cutting up some shirts of my Dad's that my mom gave me.

I'm coming up on his 'yahrzheit', which is the 1-year anniversary of his death.   I've been dreading it, and the shirts have been sitting in a pile in the corner of my sewing room since last November.

My father was an electronics technician, and a solid 'flannel-and-work pants' kind of guy, as you can tell.  He was rocking this look for a solid 30 years before J. Crew picked up on it.

Last weekend, I just looked at the pile and felt like I needed to start.   Taking the cutter to the first shirt was a bit gut-wrenching, but still felt like the right thing to do.  Since I didn't have a real concept in mind, I set the goal of just cutting off odd parts, seams, and squaring things up.

It took about an hour, but I'm happy with the progress.   I have a neat stack that's easier to look at.  Psychically, the pile looks more like the beginnings of something.

The next morning, inspiration finally struck.   I was born and raised in Cleveland, Ohio, as was my father.   He was a complete science guy, who had a deep love for physics in particular.

The Ohio Star block seems like a complete no-brainer, for a jumping off point:

via  EZPiecing

I'm kicking around ideas and have a long way to go, but feel relieved to be started.

Pigs fly!

I never thought I'd be able to do it, but I did - I finally cut some of my beloved Melody Miller yardage!

The bag I made is Michelle Lizcano's Nikki tote, the pattern for which I picked up at Pink Chalk Fabrics, on Laurie's recommendation. I also deployed some never-cut Echino dots for the handles, and love how they look together. I highly recommend this pattern, it was easy and is so dramatic in person.

Thank you, Linda!!

Thanks to my friend Linda and her mad Gammill skills, I just rocked through the quilting of Amrita's kaleidoscope quilt (full size) in 2 hours!! You can add a long-arm machine to my Hanukkah wish list. On to binding...

LQF Recap

Our Lowell Quilt Festival show wrapped up over the weekend, and I still can't believe how well it went.

Leah and Jane admire Jen's amazing work

We had great turnout, the venue was spectacular and light-filled, and Alexis and Aimee orchestrated everything to a professional standard that exceeded all our expectations.  I think we blew everyone away, including ourselves!

new members?

We heard some hilarious things from the traditional quilters who dropped by as a courtesy, and walked away really impressed.

Emily and Alexis with friends and family
at the Friday night open house

I believe this turtle was Samantha's.
A big fan favorite!

Linda's insanely beautiful quilting was a personal favorite.
I have plans to steal many of these ideas!

Speaking of epic quilting, look at this!
One of the young male residents told me Jen's quilt was his very favorite quilt in the show.

One lady seemed aghast that some of us had washed our quilts (mine included!  I love the texture - who knew it would be a "show issue"?)   Others were so adorable, literally snooping behind the racks just to see what the reverse looked like.

creeping around the back

Another "quilt veteran" was so astonished by what she saw, that she pulled Alexis and me aside and exclaimed to us that our show was "fucking amazing".   Definitely my favorite feedback of the show.

Alice in chains.  Get it?

Laurie's spectacular Dresden,
made with fabrics she brought back from Uganda

Alexis's elegant mini

Speaking of minis, I felt that category really demonstrated the wide range of aesthetics of our members.   Some of my other favorites:

The patrons liked that we didn't use draping on our displays- one lady told me it "contributed to the graphic quality" of the experience.

Amy's New York Beauty.   

One very friendly Australian quilter, a fan of Amy's blog, waylaid her vacation to come to our show.  She was thrilled to see Amy's work in person, and also loved Lia's beautiful take on a Sarah Fielke favorite, below.   She said (shhhh) she preferred Lia's to Sarah's!

Lia's eagles

The work, needless to say, speaks for itself.    These women inspire me with their insane, boundless talent.  I am so proud to be part of this guild!

I have many, many more photos and will post more later this week.  Congratulations, ladies of the BMQG!   Please see our blog, Facebook page, and Flickr pool for additional links and photos.

Lowell Quilt Festival, Day 1!

Yesterday we spent about a half-day hanging quilts for our Boston Modern Quilt Guild gallery,  a satellite location of the Lowell Quilt Festival.

My kaleidoscope and  Alice's Chain Reaction.
They look so lovely here together!

Our BMQG gallery showcases more than 50 spectacular member quilts, in the light-filled large atrium at Appleton Mills, an amazing textile-mill-turned-apartment complex in Lowell, Massachusetts.   (219 Jackson Street, Lowell, MA)

Our show is open to the public.  Hours are:  10 am - 6 pm Thursday 8/9,  10 am - 8 pm Friday 8/10, and 10 am - 4 pm Saturday 8/11.

Linda hangs a beauty.

Please also consider joining us for the Opening Reception, which is from 5-8 pm on Friday, 8/10.   Many guild members will be there to discuss their work, and there will be food and drink on hand.

From the "Bee" section  of the gallery.
Both of these quilts were BMQG collaborations.

We can't wait!

Who's pumped for Lowell Quilt Festival?

This girl!