Sunday, September 15, 2019

Lilla Show n Tell


It was back to our ongoing classes last week. I'm teaching three of them this year and I'm up to date on all of them. Technically, there are only two quilts since one is a technique class.

Doesn't matter - I'm up to date!

Let's start with the Lilla show n tell from Friday night at Oh Look Fabric. Let's see - one person was sick and one forgot to bring their blocks. Did Sara really forget or is she planning something big - that was the impression I got!

I believe there were five blocks for the summer homework. Some of the participants are just winging it so I don't even recognize the blocks anymore. That means the class was a success. It's a modern quilt and with modern anything goes.

Before I get to the show n tell, I have a small thing to say about modern quilts. On social media, I've seen people posting pictures from Modern Quilt Guild shows or their show n tell. Wait a minute! Some of those quilts are NOT modern in the least. I've seen modern blocks of the month that - well, they aren't modern in the least. I think what's happening is that some women are joining modern guilds without the slightest idea of what modern is and they're just happy to be part of a group. Which is technically OK, but if everyone wants to get the most from their guild - they should belong to the right guild and they should be contributing to the advancement of the guild and its members.

I'd love to join/start a modern guild with a very small group of modern quilters who are going to push the envelope with each other. Take improv to the extreme, throw caution to the wind and come up with stuff that will knock the socks off everyone. That would be a stretch for me, but that's what I need at this point. Anyway - that's not going to happen at the moment, so I'll just plug along at my own pace trying to get my stuff organized. THEN - I can experiment to my heart's content and I'm going to be a very happy camper. Not that I'm not a happy camper now! Don't worry - I'm not doing as much as I would like, but soon this cleanup will be over and then watch out!

OK -- back to Lilla. This is the first block of the homework. All the black/white/grey/yellow blocks belong to Rita. Rita is an amazing quilter/painter/knitter/stain glass person. She is the ULTIMATE crafter and things just come naturally to her. She's brand new to sewing, but she dove in like she'd been sewing her entire life.

I love the variety in that curved piece. Interestingly, none of them are the same. I love it!

Look at how different those curves are!

Yep - these are all the same block. Rita has no qualms about adding extra colors to her blocks or changing up the curves!

The second set of blocks

This is Rita's third set of blocks. Technically, they look the same, but those curves are not the same! Any of these sets of blocks would make a great quilt on its own.

The third set of blocks

Next up are Cathy's blocks. Cathy is also a new sewist and doing an AMAZING job with her blocks. I know she doesn't think she is, but she is. Her background fabric is directional and she insists on making it all line up which is a crazy feat considering the construction of these blocks.

Notice her curves compared to Rita's. Totally different. That's the beauty of improv. She is also making fewer blocks because she's making a smaller quilt.

The first set of blocks
 This is another set of blocks. With four pieces of background, it's not easy to get that directional print going in the right direction.


The second set of blocks

Two more blocks

Two more blocks

This block was a bear to sew and keeping that directional print going in the right orientation? Cathy doesn't realize how good she is to make that happen. I hope she realizes that!!!

Cathy's fourth block

This is the start of the fifth block. I guess we had five blocks - could even have been six. I don't remember. She had to change the orientation of the diamond (check out Rita's block above). It was a nightmare to get the directional print going in the right orientation so she changed it up. Again - I hope she realizes that she's doing an amazing job with this. I don't know many people who would have persevered like she has.


Cathy's fifth block - well half of it!

The next set of blocks are Gisele's. She's got a very dark background which is going to be fun to see the difference between the light and dark when they're sewn together.

I LOVE the wonkiness of the white piece. It looks like it's got some serious attitude!

The first set of blocks
Hey, all these blocks look so different from each other. I'm not sure if the others did this block. Anyway, this was a pretty easy one although that cure is pretty small which makes it a challenge. However, those seams are nice and flat and that's all that counts. 

The second set of blocks
Here's the third set. I love those curves. Even if the curves are not smooth (the cut lines), the pieces can still be sewn back together. I LOVE them. 

The third set of blocks

Here's the last set of blocks. Gisele is making this quilt for her son. He commented that these blocks look like underwear and now that I've told you that - it's all I can visualize when I see this block.

The fourth set of blocks

Don't believe me? Now, look at the blocks. Yep - that's underwear!!!

Oh my - it's underwear!


I have a wee correction to make. Do you remember this picture???


M's boat


Well, it turns out that M MADE the boat. I had completely forgotten that little fact. There was a small craft shop on Salt Spring Island and when we used to go for vacation, she'd get signed up to do some of the crafts. Well, sadly the boat has sunk but the memory lives on. Apparently, my memories are just made up ones and that's OK!!!! Oh my god - I have FAKE memories!!!

Yesterday was a busy day. I got 1/3 of the items on my list completed. That leaves a LOT to get done today. It was such a gorgeous day, I couldn't resist sitting outside for a bit. Today, it's supposed to rain and that's probably a good thing.

I wanted to leave you with these wise words of wisdom I found on the internet. This is so true! We need to live each day to the max - whatever our max is. I've been thinking about my friend who recently passed at age 55 of advanced lung cancer. She was NOT a smoker - it was environmental - whatever that means. I feel like I've done so much in my life and had the chance to experience a whole lot of neat things. I'm not ready by a long shot. There's so much to see and do and of course, a LOT of fabric to sew up! I think I need an army of sewists for a month to make a dent!

To leave you with happy thoughts, check out this art display. It's fun! Can you imagine this at your house????  Oh, what would the neighbors think???  I love it - I did an art installation at Sheridan when I was studying there many years ago. I still have the two huge rolls of fabric that I used. I don't know what to do with it, but I don't want to get rid of it. Maybe I can drape my gazebo with it! That's a project for next summer.

On that note, I'm out of here!!!

Have a super day!!!

Ciao!!!


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