Reclaiming my blog -- Did you see my new tattoo?

I haven't been blogging very frequently. I hold no obligation to this blog, other than a personal obligation to catalog my work. ... but I still feel the need to mention my absence. 

Shruti and I's Quiltcon tattoos Quilt Blocks & Expecto Patronum

For the past two years I have been spending time working on the Chicago MQG blog. I was the Technology Director for the guild, and this required lots of blogging and coordinating info... and less time available here. Plus, I've been back to working (nearly) full time for two years now. Whew! Blogging was easier when I was home more! Anyway, my time as Tech director is now over, and I'm ready to get back to at least blogging about finished projects! lol. I'm so behind!

It's important to me that I keep a documented list of the quilts that I make. Most of my quilts are given away, and I don't want to forget them! 

There might be a few fairly boring posts in the next few weeks. These posts will hold at least one photo of a finished quilt, and hopefully some additional details regarding the quilt. Bear with me as I get caught up on the quilts of the past few months.

The good side of all this -- while I wasn't taking the extra time blogging, I was still quilting up a storm! I've published several projects in magazines, and there are several more to come. I've finished five mini quilts, one baby quilt, and several other projects so far this year! 

This post would have been awfully boring without pictures. So here are some photos of my Quiltcon Tattoo! 

My tattoo (left) and Nikki's tattoo (right)

At Quiltcon 2013 I saw Nikki's quilt block tattoo (the day after she got it!). I fell in love with it immediately! Over the course of the next two years I daydreamed and sketched my version of it. Finally when Quiltcon 2015 was close, I started looking for a tattoo artist and researching allergy info. See, I'm allergic to a chemical, Glycol, which is often used as an additive in just about anything - especially liquids. Luckily my friend Jessica suggested Affinity Tattoo - and they were FANTASTIC! 

My tattoo was done by David Guy, and he was excited to take on the challenge. His preferred ink contained no glycol, and he went out of his way to contact the companies of all the products he used - to verify that there was no glycol present in them either. I can't tell you how exceptional this is. David was also excited for the challenge of my quilt blocks! He did great! I had almost no swelling, and very little pealing, no scabbing. The whole thing was amazing! 

Shruti and Emily came with me to my appointment. Shruti also got a tattoo (Expecto Patronum!). It was a fantastic experience overall. (Especially when Shruti glared at me while her tattoo was being done -- apparently mine didn't hurt as much as hers!) 

I absolutely love this tattoo - it's everything I wanted it to be. :) Oh and the quilt blocks are spaced a scant 1/4" apart - just because I could! 

Thoughts about leaving quiltcon

Friendship.

For a long time, as a child, I wished and prayed for a really good friend. I always had friends, but never a best friend. For years and years, I felt like the only one without someone to confide in. As an adult I found myself in a similar state - I'd had such close friends in college, but they didn't translate into the kind of everyday friendship I needed. Moving away from home, and starting a family didn't make it very easy to make friends. 

At some point I reached out and joined the Chicago MQG. Almost immediately I had formed a close friendship with Em. What a gift our friendship has been! Many more friendships formed through the MQG.

Now somehow I find myself surrounded by friends. Some new, some old. Local guild friends, swap friends, and people from online. This was unexpected, it's as if I didn't know I would have such close friendships in my lifetime.

So now it's time for QuiltCon, and it's finally time to meet one of my closest friends, Shruti. Somewhere in the course of the past five years we'd become close friends. It started with me receiving a doll quilt from her way back then. Now it's a pretty regular string of facebook messages - nearly every day - sometimes more than every day. And we meet. And it's just like it always has been - friends. 

The weekend went by in a blur - so much fun, so many memories. Now it's time to head to the airport - but first I text Shruti so we can say goodbye. Who knew this would be so hard? Standing in the hallway of the convention center, hugging, crying, then laughing because it's so silly to be crying, then hugging and crying some more. We'll make it happen. We'll see each other again. We'll work hard, we'll become famous quilters. Guilds will want to pay us to travel and teach together. We'll write a book. We'll chat online. It doesn't seem like enough. It's hard to know when we'll see each other again. More hugs, more tears. Someone walks by and we ask them to take our picture. It's a photo raw with emotion. 

I write this with the lingering rawness in my heart. I can't forget how important this trip has been. Some day I might forget the rawness. I hope I don't forget how it feels to be loved by friends. 

Thanks to Shruti, Emily, and all the amazing friends who made Quiltcon the best. I'll never forget all the smiles, the hugs, and all those great memories. These friendships inspire my quilting even more than anything else. I'm so grateful for all of you!!

QuiltCon: Community

haha... I love this picture!

I guess this is the wrap-up topic for me. My final thoughts about QuiltCon.

I've been looking forward to QuiltCon for so long and I wasn't exactly sure what I'd take away from the weekend. Overall I'm taking a greater sense of community among quilters. Sometimes it seems like we're all just quilters sitting at home sewing by ourselves. I'm lucky to have my local Chicago Modern Quilt Guild community, but it's equally nice to know that there is a community that spans larger than my city.

I'm encouraged by being surrounded by people who "get it". They understand me. They know and understand the obsession with a certain fabric designer, and they get how much work went into my Weekender.

It's important that there is a larger community - it's more than just having friends all over the country / world, it's much more than that. At QuiltCon I was surrounded by friends, role models, and creative artists. The people who have paved the way in the modern quilt movement are not some stoic group of officers, rather they're sweet and welcoming. I can see how much heart and soul went into planning this gathering. Many people volunteered their time and energy.

I'm proud to say that I'm a part of this movement. For the most part we are a group of caring, accepting people who love what we do.

QuiltCon: Classes

There were so many workshops offered at QuiltCon, and I was lucky enough to get into two of them.

First off I took Free Motion Quilting Negative Space with Angela Walters. Angela and I have some mutual friends, and I've admired her work in so many different quilts. Her style in quilting is so profound, it's absolutely breathtaking. Obviously I wanted to learn from the master right? Her class was really great. We worked through most of the class time sharing a long arm machine with a partner, alternating turns. Angela introduced several different quilting designs and gave us tips and techniques that were really helpful. I really felt comfortable in this class. 

The long actual quilting was a lot of fun. I took the time (and the space) to practice my samples in actual size (rather than shrinking it down), since quilting too densely is a common problem of mine. I have done several of these quilting designs on my domestic machine, but it was a lot more fluid doing it on the long arm. Seeing Angela draw out the designs for us helped me to figure out a better way to transition from one flower to the next in the floral filler (I had tried this before, but this attempt was so much more uniform). 

I really enjoyed this class. I feel like I'm confident enough to take a quilt to rent a long arm, or to borrow a friend's long arm. Also I had the chance to ask Angela for tips on how to go about doing my crazy idea for long

arm quilting my {Modern} Robin quilt!

***

I also took the Marmalade Quilt class with Elizabeth Hartman. She's a great teacher, and I really enjoyed getting to meet her and see her work up close. I really took this class because I've been a long time reader of her blog, and it was one of the first blogs that I used and referenced when I was just beginning quilting. I learned how to free motion quilt from her tutorials. I did not take this class to learn how to make the quilt - I'm not very interested in following patterns. It is a nice quilt though. I made almost two blocks (a little smaller than her blocks), and I have the intention of putting them into a doll quilt or pillow cover. I really enjoyed the class all the same. 

This is Elizabeth's version of the Marmalade Quilt.

I enjoyed the chance to learn from these two ladies this weekend. Both have been an inspiration to me for a long time, and it was great to meet them in person. 

QuiltCon: Quilt Show

Charlotte with her Fracture quilt - this is the one I voted for for best quilt. I love this one so much!

Here we have a sampling of some of my favorite quilts of the show. Many of these were made by online friends, and they're pretty spectacular. It was jaw-dropping to walk through the show and see such beautiful works.

Broken Diamonds by Kati.

Erika's quilt!

Charlotte's other fab quilt. This one won a pretty ribbon too!

Elizabeth's quilt - hanging in one of the booths!

Rachel's Oodalolly quilt. 

The MQG challenge quilts.

My new friend Nicole's quilt! 

Best in show by Victoria Findlay Wolfe (Quilted by the spectacular Lisa Sipes!)

Denyse Schmidt's quilts!

Denyse Schmidt's quilts on display!

One of my absolute favorite's by Lee.

A mini by Kati.

Another fab quilt by Elizabeth!

Bang You're Dead by Jacquie Gering - I can't look at this quilt without wanting to cry.
I'm glad she has made such a quilt that makes us think. (read more about the quilt here)

Martha by Thomas Knauer (quilted by Lisa Sipes!) This is another thinker - read his post about the quilt here.

My favorite group quilt. Read more about it here. Of course I love a quilt that's about censorship. Don't miss the followup post here.

As a whole it was very humbling to walk through the quilt show. There were some really fantastic quilts on display and it made me think of my own likes, dislikes, and style. Overall I walked away with a sense of awe about the quilts being made in our community. We're all fabulous in our own right. I'm glad to be a part of this quilt movement. 

Amy Butler Weekender Reveal and Modifications.

Amy Butler Weekender Bag @ QuiltCon!

Here's the pinterest board where I gathered all my inspiration and tips.

These are the changes I made to my weekender.

• I used Elizabeth Hartman's tutorial for "Quilt As You Go" style outside panels. I used cotton duck from Joann's. This was time consuming but worth it.
• I used Pellon Shape Flex SF101 to interface all the lining pieces, and all the interior pocket pieces. 
• I used Wonder Under tape to make my piping (5/8" wide tape). Here's a tutorial for that.
• I prepped the piping and made the handles first - it makes the actual assembly go quicker once you're to that step.
• I lengthened my straps to 57" each, and used a strip of duck cloth inside them for sturdiness. After using the bag at QuiltCon I'll say that I should have used a layer of Shape Flex (Pellon SF101) inside those handles too - and I should have added two strips of Duck (or a wider strip folded in half). My handles warped a little teensy bit. The added interfacing should help prevent that.
• I used a shorter zipper 24" I think? I'll have to check back on that one. I just centered it on the top panel and sewed/basted accordingly. 

• I added on pocket to the lining just like the outer pocket. (I literally traced the pocket piece twice and interfaced with SF 101, and sewed the pocket to the one side of the lining.

• I added a zippered pocket to the interior - the lining of that pocket was 12" x 9" using this tutorial.

• I added 6 feet to the bottom - found at Joann's.

Last minute addition - a cute pull tab for the zipper!

I used the red Clover Wonder Clips during assembly. I couldn't imagine making the bag without them. Buy those suckers on amazon.com you can find some good deals on them there.

I even remembered to add my little prairie points in there in the lining.

I can honestly say that this bag wasn't as hard as I thought it would be. I really was expecting something crazy. It was challenging, and it took a long time, but it wasn't hard.

My best advice to anyone starting this project would be to take it one step at a time. Cut and prepare your pieces first, go slow. Set small goals each day and you'll be done in no time. The quilt as you go panels took the most time, and wore me out - but they're completely worth it!!

Julie and I with our AMH Weekenders!

QuiltCon: People

When I sat down to think about the highlights of QuiltCon I came up with four main topics: friends, classes, quilt show, and community. I'm going to blog about each subject to try to keep myself from rambling aimlessly about the weekend.

First up: Friends

Throughout the years of blogging and swapping some great friendships have emerged. I can say that a couple of my very best friends are people I've met through sewing, and it's not always possible to see them in real life. Before the trip I compiled a list of people who were coming to the convention that I wanted to meet up with. I think my list consisted of about 15 people (not counting the awesome Chicago Modern Quilt Guild ladies).

I didn't have much hope to meet them all (especially since I had no idea what half of them looked like! But somehow it all worked out and over the course of a few days I met and chatted with nearly everyone on that list (with the exception of one or two notable people - I missed meeting Rossie! I'm sad about that).

Much of this weekend for me was about close friends. Of course I was rooming with the bestest quit buddy I could ask for (Emily), and we spent most of the weekend with Elaine who was once in our guild, but has since moved out of state. Emily, Elaine, and I even did a swap this weekend. We'd been working on our swap gifts for a long time, and this was the perfect time to swap them (more on that another day). It was so great to hang out with Emily and Elaine in person - we really had only met Elaine a couple times before she moved, but since then we've been chatting on facebook several times a week, encouraging each other in our sewing projects, and listening to the venting that goes on when one of our kids refuses to sleep.

Hanging out with Emily and Elaine this weekend felt like we'd spent every day for months together - easy friendship and hilarious conversations. It was so nice to be able to spend time together and chat about life.

I also had the opportunity to meet some people who I've gotten to know through blogging and swapping. Specifically Charlotte (another of our roomies!). Charlotte had come all the way from London and I'm glad she did. We'd known each other on blogs for so long, and that friendship translated perfectly to sharing a room and hanging out at the conference together. I learned some English things - like how to say "Orange"... Charlotte is pretty awesome. 

I also had the chance to meet so many people I'd known for ages online - Julie (who sent me a swap for Urban Home Goods Swap ages ago), Jen (who helps run the Doll Quilt Swap with me), Mona (who recieved my Doll Quilt Swap 12 quilt), Amanda & Alex (the Threadbias people, so unexpected to meet them!)... the list of people goes on and on (as you could probably tell by that picture mosaic up there. Incredible.

Then there are the famous friends - some of which I'd known online prior to the trip, others I met for the first time. Anna Maria Horner was sweet and gracious, exactly as you would imagine after reading her blog for years (I'm still freaking out over meeting her). Thomas Knauer was witty and thought provoking and an all around awesome person. Angela Walters was a spectacular teacher, and all around inspiring - I took so much away from her class, I hope she knows that. 

I also had some surreal moments - while I have met and chatted with Mary Fons (Quilty!), I introduced myself to her mom, Marianne Fons (of Fons and Porter!), thinking that I'd shake her hand and try not to geek out too much. In turn she ended up engaging me in conversation for a good 15-20 minutes, stopping for a picture of us, and then she even friended me on Facebook! Surreal. She really was the sweetest. Another surreal moment? Having lunch with the Denyse Schmidt. Yes, that happened. Sitting across a picnic table from her chatting away. Wow. That was just beyond crazy. She's very down to earth and it was nice to meet her. (insert lots of geeking out here... seriously I can't believe that happened).

I guess there isn't an easy way to say it, this trip was spectacular on so many levels, and a major part of that was being able to meet and connect with so many people. It was a long enough trip that I was able to meet and converse, and visit with many people. Meals were as much a chance to nourish our bodies as they were a chance to facilitate friendships. I'm so lucky to have these people in my life - even if we don't get to chat in person very often, it's good to know that these online friendships carry over into reality sometimes. I almost wish I could give a shout out to every person I met this weekend - they all made such a difference in my QuiltCon experience. 

QuiltCon: Saturday

Again, so much happened today, again. 

It's impossible to  put all this into words.

And I met Thomas Knauer too. 

And Hugged AMH again...

My hexie from the Robert Kaufman booth. A little Chicago Modern Quit Guild love. 

And the sweetest thing happened. Emily and I were looking at the quilts in the quilts show when a member of the Austin Modern Quilt Guild came up to us all excited to meet us. She really loved Emily and I's {Modern} Robin quilts and reads this blog. :) It was pretty surreal for me, I mean I love meeting other bloggers and I know how much I gush about things that I love on their blogs. But my blog is still so little and it really meant a lot for someone to read the blog, love the quilt, and recognize me! Thanks for making my day Mitzi! 

Unfortunately this is not my arm... it's my new friend Nicole's! 

More to come. There's so much to think about after another full day of lectures, visiting with friends, and looking at fabulous fabulous show quilts. I wish you could all be here with me. 

Quiltcon: Friday

No time for a real or even semi-coherent post today. But I wanted to share with you guys ....

I finally met Mona, the recipient of my Doll Quilt Swap 12  quilt. She's even sweeter in person and we really had a fantastic talk over lunch today. I'm so glad to have finally met her in person!

Dessert with Rachael, Elaine, Emily, and Bianca 

I also shared some AMAZING conversations with these ladies we talked throughout much of dinner (a meetup with tons of people), and then walked to another place to have desert. In all I think we were chatting for the better part of 4+ hours. Intense and varied conversation. Fabulous.

I feel like today packed in enough excitement and greatness that it must have really been two days. I kept having to check my phone to be sure that it was still Friday. I'm really lucky to be here. 

QuiltCon: Friday.

Whew! What a day! Quilt people really are the best! I'm here at QuiltCon and I'll give you some highlights. I'm not exactly sure how I'll format the posts throughout the weekend, but tonight we'll do it pretty quick. I have already taken 30 pictures... head over to Flickr where you can see a few more than I'm sharing here.

Weekender in action!

My plane was delayed so I got to take the bus into town with Elaine (her flight got in just before mine did). It was really great to talk again in person! And we got to do our EEE swapping too. More on that another day.

Charlotte with her Fractured quilt! 

I met Charlotte! Ahhh! She's really great and says "orange" in a very English way. Seriously I've lucked out in the roommate department! (Mimi is our roomie too, but she was busy in the afternoon). We've had such a good time together. Emily, Charlotte and I wandered around the convention center. Flitting from one booth to the next, and pausing to see certain quilts along the way. I'll have to make a proper tour of the booths at another day, but we had fun rambling around.

I met some pretty awesome people today. I met Alex Veronelli (from Aurifil!) - I got a great picture with him in the Moda photo-booth (if the internet weren't so slow I'd upload the picture - you'll have to wait to see that one). I also met the Threadbias team, Amanda and Alex - both of whom I've chatted with on threadbias. It was cool to see them there! 

I met Pinkbrain! 

I also briefly met Jen / Pinkbrain -who's one of the swap mama's for Doll Quilt Swap. We were supposed to meet for lunch but my flight came in too late for that. Hopefully we'll get together on Saturday for lunch. 

Yes, I did indeed meet my quilting idol Anna Maria Horner. She was just as lovely in real life as you would imagine. And, she did remember my quilt from last week that she'd commented on on Flickr. So sweet.

I got to hang out with a lot of great ladies (and Mark) at the Chicago Modern Quilt Guild meetup. We ate at Moonshine Grill which was delicious. It was fun to really get to chat about our experiences so far etc. Also, Mark told us a bit about some color theory stuff that I need to hear again. It was great conversation there tonight. Elaine joined us too since she's technically still a guild member even though she moved.

We had a great time so far. The experience so far has been very social, which has been great. I'm looking forward to sitting in on some lectures tomorrow and trying my hand at long arm quilting with Angela Walters!