SLOstudio

2016 Year in Review

Sun, 22 Jan 2017 13:00:51 -0700

It’s already more than halfway into January, but I still wanted to write a post as a wrap-up to last year! I definitely feel like it’s important for me to mark the end of the year and what I accomplished, because I started my blog primarily to keep a track of the projects I am working on and completing. I’m so glad that I’ve had a record - for almost 3 years now - of all of the things I’ve made!

I set goals at the beginning of last year, so I can look back and see how I did:

2016 Goals:

To finish at least 12 quilts
To improve my free-motion quilting skills
To learn about quilt history, especially Canadian quilt history
To publish patterns, including in magazines
To revamp my website
To do a painting every week (even if it’s really small!)

Although I didn’t get everything done on that list, 2016 was a big year for me in terms of creativity and creative business. Here’s how I did:

Things accomplished in 2016:

1. Quilts made:

Completed 12 quilts - for my own projects, gifts, magazines etc. - so I definitely reached that goal.
Plus, charity quilts: Pieced 2 and quilted 4 Quilts for Fort McMurray; and completed one quilt for a refugee family

2. Free motion quilting improvement:

I free motion quilted 2 quilts last year (Winter Polarity and the Arid Star quilt); plus I rented time on a longarm machine to do another) - so I think I did improve in 2016!

3. Quilt history:

I didn’t really do all that much on quilt history, but I did buy a few books (including the ones below)! And hopefully, this year I’ll have some time to read them, ha ha!

4. Publishing Patterns:

I think this was one of the areas that I worked the hardest on, especially in getting patterns into magazines. In 2016 I had 4 patterns published, and pitched two others that come out in 2017 (including one that was just released this month).

Patterns for magazines:

Make Modern - Ring Road
Make Modern - Reunion
Modern Patchwork - jewelry pouch
Love Patchwork and Quilting - wallet
(2017) Love Patchwork and Quilting - HST quilt – my quilt was on the cover, below!

Plus, I self-published a few other patterns (for sale and for free). I didn’t get as many out as I’d hoped when the year started, but that is okay!

Patterns released:

5. Website revamp:

I did not revamp my website in 2016! But, I did get a nice updated banner thanks to @owlyjulie (and I do plan on having some changes here soon!)

6. Painting-a-week:

I definitely didn’t do a painting a week last year! But, I did do a few (11, to be exact), and it was nice to keep up the practice.

Something surprising happened, though, which was that I started drawing again, which is something I hadn’t done for many years. And I’ve been keeping that up regularly. It’s funny how sometimes these things morph over the year…

Things that weren’t on my list!

I ended up having a bunch of opportunities, and making several projects, that I hadn’t thought about or expected at the outset of 2016 - which is pretty cool. Here’s a little list of some of those things:

Charity project - Quilts for Fort McMurray: This was definitely the biggest project of last year for me… helping collect over 2,000 blocks and making 65 quilts to send to people who lost their homes due to wildfires in Fort McMurray. The quilts have been distributed by the United Way of Fort McMurray.
Quilt shows: I was lucky enough to attend, and have some of my quilts displayed last year in shows - in Quiltcon West 2016 in Pasadena (Accumulative Effect), and at the Ottawa quilt show with the Ottawa MQG (Accumulative Effect, Lightning Strike)
Teaching and presenting: I taught 4 classes last year at local quilt shop, Mad About Patchwork - Polarity quilt, two Pouch painting classes and a scrap improv workshop. I also gave a presentation at the Ottawa Modern Quilt Guild on "How to submit patterns to magazines"!
Classes taken: I had the opportunity to take two great classes last year, one with Heather Jones class (Quiltcon) and with Cheryl Arkison (OttMQG).
Other things: I was also been invited to participate in various initiatives last year, including making a quilt for Riley Blake for spring Quilt Market, the blog hop for RJR Fabrics, and a block for the Sew Sisters “Canadian Sampler” (a block-of-the-month, which started up this month).

GOAL FOR 2017

After all that last year, I only have one goal for 2017… which is, “Do Less”!

This is not to say that I’m not going to sew, or not going to continue along with things! But the pace that I was trying to keep up with last year was often overwhelming. Between all of the sewing and quilt making, I have a full-time day job, a hubby, a dog, a house, etc. There were definitely periods of time last year where I felt seriously burnt out. I often felt anxiety about not getting enough done, even when I was doing a lot and stretched very thin.

For most of my adult life, I’ve set some sort of New Year’s Resolutions and goals… and weekly goals, monthly goals, etc… but this year I have decided to intentionally take a bit of a step back from that. Instead, I want to learn how to relax more! And I want to make things just for fun again - which didn’t do very much of last year, despite all the things I did. (A couple weeks ago, I did a little gouache painting of my goal, just for fun, in my sketchbook).

So - a belated Happy New Year and I hope that you can reach all of your plans and goals for 2017, whatever they may be!

Painting with gouache: I have been wanting to try gouache paints...

Tue, 17 Jan 2017 20:00:40 -0700

Painting with gouache: I have been wanting to try gouache paints for some time now. I usually paint with acrylics, which I do like - but I think I’ve been watching some artists on Instagram using gouache lately (like Carolyn Gavin and Helen Dardik) and feeling very inspired! I like the way they can seem like watercolours, but because they are more opaque, they are more forgiving.

So, I got a set on sale after the holidays - nothing fancy, just a basic set - along with a watercolour sketchbook. It has been fun just playing around and experimenting with what can be done with them. Since there isn’t much set up involved, I think this might be an easier thing to do here and there on the kitchen table, which is ideal for me right now!

QuiltCon 2017: I added a sleeve on my Paper Cut No. 1 quilt and...

Sat, 14 Jan 2017 11:51:26 -0700

QuiltCon 2017: I added a sleeve on my Paper Cut No. 1 quilt and sent it out this week to be displayed at this year’s QuiltCon East in Savannah, Georgia. I made the sleeve based on Jacquie Gering’s tutorial, but at 1.5″ finished versus 4″ finished, since it’s so small (24″ square).

I won’t be at QuiltCon this time around, so my quilt is taking trip down south without me - but that’s okay! I’m very honoured that it will be there hanging! I hope that I can get some friends to take some photos of it for me, too.

If you’d like to try your hand at making a quilt with my Paper Cut No. 1 block, you can check it out for free over at Craftsy.

Linking up this kind-of-finish with Crazy Mom Quilts!

My last quarter Finish-A-Long results

Sat, 07 Jan 2017 09:08:00 -0700

Back in October when I set goals for 6 projects… I thought it was realistic!

Well, the only thing I really finished completely was sending out all of the Quilts for Fort McMurray. In October and into November, I quilted and bound four quilts…

And collected and shipped out on behalf of many people across the world!

My other unfinished goals for this quarter are all going to have to be rolled into next year! But that’s okay by me!

2017 Finish-A-Long

Fri, 06 Jan 2017 09:00:40 -0700

While we are bringing the 2016 Finish-A-Long to a close (don’t forget to post your finishes), I am pleased to announce the new set of global hosts for the 2017 Finish-A-Long! Our new hosts continue to span 3 continents and several countries. Each of them has a lovely and inspiring blog and I hope you will enjoy checking them all out:

Rhonda - Rhonda’s [Quilt] Ramblings - USA

Nicky - Mrs Sew & Sow - Great Britain

Jess - Elven Garden Quilts - Australia

Abigail - Cut & Alter - Great Britain

Izzy - Dizzy Quilts - Canada

Ella - Throw a Wench in the Works - USA

Lucy - Charm about You - Great Britain

Sarah - Sew me - Northern Ireland

Judith - Just Jude - Northern Ireland

Felicity - Felicity Quilts - Canada

Marci - Marci Girl Designs - USA

Karen - Capitola Quilter - USA

Leanne - She Can Quilt - Canada

Please also join me in thanking the outgoing 2016 Finish-A-Long global hosts. Many hands has made the work of hosting the Finish-A-Long much easier, but still each host has given considerable time to supporting the great community that mades up the Finish-A-Long.

A special thank you to each of the 2016 FAL global hosts:

Debbie - A Quilter’s Table - USA

Jess - Elven Garden Quilts - Australia

Stacey - SLO Studio - Canada

Jennie - Clover & Violet - USA

Helen - Archie the Wonder Dog - UK

Nicky - Mrs. Sew and Sow -UK

Cindy - Fluffy Sheep Quilting - Ireland

Rhonda - Rhonda’s Ramblings - USA

Leanne - She Can Quilt - Canada

I hope you will be joining in the 2017 Finish-A-Long! Also feel free to grab the 2017 logo and use the hashtag #2017FAL.

Love Patchwork and Quilting, Issue 43: I was so thrilled to find...

Thu, 05 Jan 2017 20:43:26 -0700

Love Patchwork and Quilting, Issue 43: I was so thrilled to find out this week that the quilt I made for Love Patchwork and Quilting made the cover of Issue 43! Wow!

This quilt was made with Robert Kaufman “Ten Squares” (10-inch pre-cuts). I used Kona solids (”Overcast,” “Dusk to Dawn” and “Darling Clementine” palettes) and Carolyn Friedlander’s “Carkai” collection. This quilt might seem a little bit familiar if you have been around this blog for a while - because it was based on the quilt that I made for my brother last year. But, the pattern uses pre-cuts to make it fast and easy!

The magazine is on sale now on newsstands in the UK and online, and will be over here in North America in about 4-6 weeks. I haven’t seen it yet in print but looking forward to it!

Drunkard’s Path blocks: I am working on a project on a deadline...

Mon, 02 Jan 2017 10:00:58 -0700

Drunkard’s Path blocks: I am working on a project on a deadline this week! The first component of the project I designed is using drunkard’s path blocks to create clamshell shapes in black, white and grey. I’m using Kona cottons in Pepper, Snow and Ash.

I’m really excited about how it’s coming together - and finishing up the rest of this quilt top! I’ll share some more sneak peeks soon!

We hope you have enjoyed a lovely holiday season. We have made it to the end of the 2016...

Sat, 31 Dec 2016 01:00:45 -0700

We hope you have enjoyed a lovely holiday season. We have made it to the end of the 2016 Finish-A-Long and it’s time to link up your finishes for the last quarter!

Over this year, I’ve been lucky to share the hosting of the Finish-A-Long with a global group of awesome ladies! Our hosts are:

Debbie - A Quilter’s Table - USA

Jess - Elven Garden Quilts - Australia

Stacey - SLOstudio - Canada

Jennie - Clover & Violet - USA

Helen - Archie the Wonder Dog - UK

Nicky - Mrs. Sew and Sow -UK

Cindy - Fluffy Sheep Quilting - Ireland

Rhonda - Rhonda’s Ramblings - USA

Leanne - She Can Quilt - Canada

It’s time to link up the projects on your 2016 Q4 FAL list that you finished. First, a huge thank you to our fantastic sponsors: Fluffy Sheep Quilting - â�¬25 (25 Euro) gift certificate
Green Fairy Quilts - $25 gift certificate
Clover & Violet LLC - choice of 3 patterns
Christa Quilts 4 pack of patterns
Oakshott Fabrics - Â£75 (75 Pounds) gift certificate
On the Windy Side, pattern pack
Studio 39 Fabrics - $25 Gift Certificate
The Tartankiwi - choice of 3 patterns
Make Modern Magazine - 6 month subscription
Mad About Patchwork - $40 gift certificate
Knotted Thread, $30 gift certificate
Happy Quilting - choice of 3 patterns
Porch Swing Quilts, 2 winners, 3 patterns each
Sunny Day Supply - $30 gift certificate
Laurel Bee Designs, 2 pin bowls for 1 winner
Sew me a Song, $20 gift certificate
Sew Sisters Quilt Shop, $25 gift certificate
Blossom Heart Quilts
Fat Quarter Shop, $50 gift certificate
The Quilt Ranch, $25 gift certificate
Sew Sweetness, copy of Windy City Bags
Imagine Gnats, $40 gift certificate
Simply Solids, Â£40 (40 Pound) gift certificate
Mariners Compass Quilt Shop, $50 gift certificate
InLinkz.com This year, we are featuring a tutorial week along with the link ups. Here is the schedule so you can visit them all:

January 1 - Organic Straight Line Quilting, Debbie - A Quilter’s Table

January 2 - Rhonda - Rhonda’s [Quilt] Ramblings

January 3 - Improv Circles - Leanne - she can quilt

January 4 - Adding ¼” strips to your work - Helen - Archie the Wonder Dog

January 5 - Wavy straight line quilting video tutorial - Jennie - Clover & Violet

The 2016 4th Quarter link for your finishes is now open below on my blog and on each of the hosting blogs - you only need to link on one blog for your finish to appear on each blog. Link-up “rules”:

Add one link for each finish. If you want to link a round up post of all your finishes, use that link to enter one of your finishes and then link the rest of your finishes separately. Please, only one link per finish, as your link is an entry into the randomly drawn prize draws.

Please use the 2016 FAL button or the hashtag #2016FAL

Please ensure that the photo or blog post you link up contains a link or reference back to your original list so that we can verify your entry (make sure it is from the appropriate quarter)

Please become part of the FAL community. Please check out the links of others and comment. We all need encouragement so let’s applaud each other. The 2016 FAL Facebook page is here and follow us on Instagram @finishlong and tag your photos #2016fal and #falq4yourname (substitute your name - this makes it easier for us to match your finishes with your lists.

Our hosts will also link their finishes to share in the community, but they are not eligible for any of the prizes.

The 4th Quarter Finishes link will stay open from now thru January 7, 2017 - link up your finishes early and if you have a last minute one, add that one later so you don’t miss out. The prizes will be awarded as soon as we can verify all the entries and do the drawings. We will post the winners on each hosts’ blog.

Stay tuned for the details for the 2017 FAL. We have a great global community of hosts, some continuing and many joining us for the first time. Start making your Q1 lists for the 2017 FAL lists as the Q1 list link opens on January 8, 2017.

What’s new with me: It’s been quiet sewing-wise over here for...

Fri, 30 Dec 2016 20:40:13 -0700

What’s new with me: It’s been quiet sewing-wise over here for the last few weeks… Partly because of the holidays, but mostly - because we got a puppy!

Ollie is half-Westie and half-Yorkshire Terrier. He is a very sweet little guy! Having a puppy around the house has definitely been a handful, but so much fun… I am smitten! :)

I hope you have had a lovely holiday season!

Small gifts: I made a few more little gifts last week. I used...

Sun, 11 Dec 2016 08:48:48 -0700

Small gifts: I made a few more little gifts last week. I used blocks that I’d made before to whip these up pretty quickly.

The colourful set of “mug rugs” were blocks I made from scraps of my x-plus quilt. (I’ve made several things from those scraps already, including pillows, an iPad case and a doll quilt!)

The mini quilt in solids is from a block that I made a while back with scraps from my Winter “Polarity” quilt. I’m thinking it could be used as a trivet or also a mug rug.

These are going to be small gifts for my teachers - I’m taking French classes (through work), and somehow we always get around to talking about quilts when I’m there! ha ha. So, I thought it would be fun to give them a little bit of a sample!

Tea for Two: Last weekend, I started making a few little things...

Fri, 09 Dec 2016 16:20:49 -0700

Tea for Two: Last weekend, I started making a few little things for Christmas gifts!

I have had a mini charm pack (42 x 2.5″ squares) of Janet Clare’s “Hearty Good Wishes” line for a while now, and I thought it would be a nice colour scheme for the intended recipient! So I just started sewing them into half-square triangles and came out with four pieces - two larger (for plates) and two smaller (for cups). I didn’t have any waste, except for a single 1.5″ square!

I quilted them with basic straight lines, about ¼ inch apart. I attached single-fold binding, and stitched them this week in the evenings little by little.

I’m quite pleased with how they turned out - a little set that would work well with tea for two! I may gift it that way, too.

Linking up with Finish it up Friday.

Improv curves quilt top finished: This week I finished piecing...

Fri, 02 Dec 2016 05:03:21 -0700

Improv curves quilt top finished: This week I finished piecing the quilt top that I started at the workshop with Cheryl Arkison back in October - the “Kelly KAPOWski” quilt!

I played around with the block placement quite a lot, trying to balance the lights and darks and colours. I thought the secondary element of the subtle “x” helped to perhaps make it feel a bit more organized, because this quilt top is so busy.

I have lots of ideas for quilting this one. Not sure when that will be, but we’ll see..!

Linking up with Finish it up Friday.

QuiltCon 2017 Submissions: Yesterday, I submitted two quilts for...

Wed, 30 Nov 2016 17:23:53 -0700

QuiltCon 2017 Submissions: Yesterday, I submitted two quilts for QuiltCon 2017! (QuiltCon is an international juried show, hosted by the Modern Quilt Guild.)

Above are the photos that I sent along with the submissions. The process required two photos for each quilt submitted: one full-on shot of the entire quilt front, and one detail shot.

Firework quilt: The first two photos are of the “Cumulative Effect” quilt that I made earlier this year. I re-named it “Firework” for entry to this show… mostly because, I have been feeling the name was too complicated! This quilt is 73″ square and I entered it into the “Piecing” category. (I wasn’t sure what category to put it!) Here’s what I included as a description:

This quilt was designed as a structured approach to an improvised scrap quilt I made last year, with more intentional balance and color transition.
In this design, the colors radiate out from the center of the quilt. The small pieces of white fabric mixed in form a secondary pattern – circular shapes around the center (easier to see from far away, or if you squint!) Even though all blocks are the same size, my hope was for the eye to not immediately see the block structure, and instead follow the colors and the white “fireworks” effect.
Fabric was provided by Riley Blake Designs for their spring 2016 Quilt Market booth.

Paper Cut No. 1 quilt: The second quilt is the mini quilt I made back in June, using my Paper Cut No. 1 block (which you can download for free on Craftsy). This quilt is 24″ square and I entered it into the “Small Quilts” category - and here was the description:

This mini quilt design was inspired by “snowflakes” cut from paper. I loved making snowflakes as a kid, because each one was unique and a surprise when you opened it up! I still find these a fun source of design inspiration.
I foundation paper pieced each block, then quilted with about ¼” between lines. Fabric was provided by RJR Fabrics for their “Quilt With Love” blog hop.

Last year, I submitted two quilts to the show - one got in (Accumulative Effect) and the other didn’t. I wasn’t sure if I had anything that I wanted to submit this time around, but as the deadline approached I decided - why not just submit something? It’s fun just to try!

We’ll see next month what the results are!

Reader’s Digest article about Quilts for Fort McMurray: A couple...

Sat, 26 Nov 2016 10:39:12 -0700

Reader’s Digest article about Quilts for Fort McMurray: A couple of months back, Reader’s Digest Canada contacted me about the Quilts for Fort McMurray project. They were working on a story about initiatives across Canada to help residents of Fort McMurray rebuild their lives after the fire. It was a huge honour for our project to be included in the magazine! A photographer even came to my house to take photos of Amber (Ottawa Modern Quilt Guild president) and I with some of the quilts.

You can read the article online here!

Weaving Experiment: Lately, I’ve been watching some classes on...

Thu, 24 Nov 2016 20:00:35 -0700

Weaving Experiment: Lately, I’ve been watching some classes on Creativebug. Mostly I’ve been watching ones about drawing (which I’ve been doing a bit too), but one on weaving caught my eye. I’ve seen a lot of weaving around, but it always seemed complicated to me, so I have never thought to try it. But I watched Annabel Wrigley’s “Weaving for Beginners” class and I felt like I could give it a go!

I made this loom from a canvas and some nails that my hubby had around the basement, following the instructions to space them ¼ inch apart. The more intimidating thing for me was going to buy yard - which I know absolutely nothing about! Luckily there was a sale on at Michaels, and I found a spool (ball? bundle??) of yarn that had multiple colours. It was called a “Caron Cake” and I kind of felt the concept was similar to buying a charm pack or jelly roll in the quilting world - with an assortment of colours in the same package.

I separated out each colour and got to weaving, as per the instructions. I have made several mistakes but overall, I’ve been pretty pleased with the results! It feels fun to be doing something totally new and different. This might take me a while, but that’s okay!

Scrap Improv class: This past Saturday I taught a class at Mad...

Wed, 23 Nov 2016 19:30:19 -0700

Scrap Improv class: This past Saturday I taught a class at Mad About Patchwork, my local quilt shop!

Throughout the day, I shared techniques I used when I made my scrappy quilt, “Accumulative Effect,” as well as other improv techniques I’ve used in projects (like foundation piecing improv with my Ice Crystals quilt). We also talked about composition, value and scale when putting things together.

The students all got a great start on large scrappy panels - which looked so great when we laid them out all together! It was so fun and interesting to look at everyone’s scraps and hear some of the stories behind where the fabrics come from. (One of my favourite things about using scraps is the memories that are intertwined with all of those little pieces of fabric!)

Thanks all for a great class, and to Mad About Patchwork for having me!

The Canadian Sampler: A few months back, I was honoured to be...

Fri, 18 Nov 2016 15:00:36 -0700

The Canadian Sampler: A few months back, I was honoured to be invited to make a block for Sew Sisters Quilt Shop “Canadian Sampler” quilt to celebrate Canada’s 150th birthday next year!

The quilt features 20 different blocks, each created by a Canadian designer. My block is called “Parliament Gate” - and I’ll have more details about the story behind it soon! Sew Sisters is running a block of the month for this quilt throughout 2017 - if you are interested, check it out! I am planning to sew along with this one, too.

Another wallet: After making my first Rifle Paper Co. wallet, I...

Thu, 17 Nov 2016 10:01:08 -0700

Another wallet: After making my first Rifle Paper Co. wallet, I could barely wait to make another! So I didn’t… I pretty much jumped right in!

For this version, I fussy-cut a flower for the front centre. Then I decided to add a little bit of texture by stitching around the flower (with my sewing machine) with matching threads.

I’m still using the same wallet pattern - my pattern that came out in Issue 41 of Love Patchwork and Quilting, just adapted to use a single piece of fabric on the front (rather than do foundation paper piecing).

I think this one is going to be another gift - I’m feeling now that we are getting into the holiday season, so I want to get a head start on some handmade presents!

Linking up with Finish it up Friday.

Preparing for teaching: This weekend I’m teaching a class on...

Tue, 15 Nov 2016 17:44:32 -0700

Preparing for teaching: This weekend I’m teaching a class on “scrap improv” at Mad About Patchwork, so I spent a little time putting together some samples. I pulled out all of the bits and pieces of neutral scrap improv that I’ve been working on over the past few months and I was surprised at how much I have! (Not quite as much as I used in my Accumulative Effect quilt, but maybe a quarter of the way there!)

I’m really looking forward to the class, I think it will be a lot of fun!

Rifle Paper Co. wallet: I made another wallet already! I have...

Mon, 14 Nov 2016 20:00:39 -0700

Rifle Paper Co. wallet: I made another wallet already!

I have been itching to cut into the Rifle Paper Co. “Les Fleurs” fabric that I bought a few months back, and I knew at some point I wanted to make a wallet with it. I used my pattern (from Love Patchwork and Quilting, Issue 41) - but I didn’t do the foundation paper piecing on the front. Instead, I just fussy-cut a cute piece of canvas to centre a flower. Then I followed along the rest of the pattern for the zipper and the inside of the wallet.

This one is going to be a belated birthday gift! And pretty much as soon as I finished this one, I cut out the fabric for another… I guess making these are a bit addictive! Partly, I think it’s nice to have these projects that can be finished in an evening sometimes, in between working on longer term quilt projects!