A Little Christmas Stitching

I've never been an early holiday shopper. I like to start my Christmas shopping whenever it snows. I mean REAL snow, the kind that makes me want to throw myself  into the Christmas spirit, not that little sprinkling we had the other day. But then I go shopping and can't decide what to get and so I think "Hmmm, maybe I should just MAKE something."  I know many of you do this too. Perhaps you start in July though.

 

I love making and giving jewelry. Hmmmm, I wonder who's going to get these??

 

Or these?

So this year I thought I would encourage you to start making things for Chistmas a little earlier than usual. I know, I know, who am I to talk? I always put things off until the last minute and usually stay up late at night the week before Christmas, struggling to finish last minute things. But not this year. Nossir. I'm getting ready now.

Since I started my new DJ Yahoo group a couple of weeks ago I've made a few Dear Jane blocks while "watching" basketball games in the evenings. Seems like even the easy ones take me FOREVER, but maybe that's because my attention is somewhat divided. Then I went to a Holiday craft show last weekend and now I've become inspired (Thanks, Karen!) to get cracking on Christmas stuff. The other day I pulled out the stitchery pattern I designed last year and had more printed up. If you missed out and did not purchase one last year, you're in luck - the pattern for these sweet little stitched ornaments is now available again here on my website.

                                        

Also, if you think you would like to purchase some earrings for yourself or a friend, I am working on some new ones and will add them to my website or Etsy shop soon. I also take custom orders if  you would like to order a pair in a particular color or colors. Just e-mail me if you don't see a color you like on Etsy or my website in the next week or so.

If you are in my Small Quilt Talk group, we are finishing up a few UFOs this month and probably also in December. That's based on what I hear about how many unfinished projects you all have to complete. Some of you will need more than a few months . . . .

Last year for our December Small Quilt Challenge I believe I suggested the Turkey Tracks quilt from my book Remembering Adelia.  I'm getting a little ahead of myself (see what even a little sprinkling of snow can do to me?) but, instead of finishing up an earlier project next month,  if you feel like it and haven't made this one already, how about making a little Turkey Tracks quilt for this year's December challenge?   Follow the pattern in the book (on page 69). The red and green is just so cute, which is why I picked it for next month.
 

This quilt would sure make a nice gift for a friend. Or, if you don't have the time, here's an idea - why not just buy her the book so she can make it herself?  What are friends for, LOL?  "Here, I would like to make this for you but can't right now so I really think you should make this for yourself  . . . ."

 

 

 

 The pattern for these little ornaments comes in a 4-page full color booklet and also includes antique graphics and some historical info on redwork traditions.

I said this last year and I'm repeating it here - I'm notorious for making useless handmade gifts for people. Cute things, sure, but what exactly are they for?? Watch, someone will get one of these ornaments and then look at me and say . . . "Uh, what is it? Oh, like, to put on the tree??" Well, I think they're sweet. And, like it or not, someone will be getting one of these again this Christmas . . . .

 

 

I timed myself when I made these. The actual stitching took about 20 minutes and then another 30 minutes or less to put it all together. If I can make Dear Jane blocks while I'm watching Bulls basketball games with my husband in the evenings, you can do this! (Or Football, NCIS, The Voice, whatever.)

 

Even more cute ideas for handmade Christmas gifts coming next week.

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Quilt Show at the Garden

Yesterday, I went to see  the Fine Art of Fiber exhibit at the Chicago Botanic Garden in Glencoe, IL. The gardens were a lovely backdrop for this unique show.

 

I attend every year and the quilts that are featured are very different from the type of quilts I make--most are modern, bright, versatile and completely non-traditional. There are always a few traditional quilts thrown into the mix, but the fun part is seeing just how creative some of the quilters get with color and fiber.

 

 

It's a lovely venue for displaying quilts, surrounded by nature. 

 

 

 

 

 

Made by Mario Alonso

 

Love the scrappiness

 

Made by Lynn Bradburn

 

There's something about this one .  . . . Made by Julie Johnson

 

Made by Roberta Levin

 

Made by  Mary Meyers

 

Lots of modern quilts. Made by Rhonda Newman

 

Lots of traditional quilts with a modern twist. 

Made by  Lynn Dykstra Davis

 

 

 

Made by Georgia Cibul

 

 

Made by Carole Naughton

 

Made by Mary Meyers

 

My prize for Largest Block Ever. Made by Ardis Mistak

 

 

Made by Sue Divarco

 

 

 

 

The show was nice and the day was beautiful. I spent more time just walking around the garden afterwards, however,  inspired by the incredible colors of nature. I took more photos and will post those in the next few days.

 

 

 

Rain and Jane and Play

It's fall and it's raining. I love the occasional wet and chilly day. It makes me want to stay inside and quilt so maybe I'll get some sewing done today. Perhaps a little baking too.

 

 

Walked the dog in the rain yesterday down my favorite streets.

 

You'll be happy to know that I made my goal of getting back into stitching on my Dear Jane blocks and finished another one. Yay!

 

 

This is a huge deal for me since  - and this is hard for me to admit - I have not made any blocks at all this year. How could that be??  I've made plenty of small quilts and other projects, just have been too busy to work on my Jane I guess.  You know how that goes. Well, I want to say that I am back but we'll see.

 

A friend suggested I prep some blocks, keep them in zip-lock bags, then grab one when the urge strikes. A good idea if only I would take the time to do that. Usually, I am not that organized and when the urge strikes I don't want to prep, I want to MAKE. But I will try harder.

 

 

If you are just starting out and are not a purist and making all the blocks by hand I highly recommend the DJ software by Electric Quilt. You can print out the rotary cutting directions and paper piecing patterns and hand piecing templates instead of tracing them from the book. So much easier.

 

                                     

 

Every skill I need to make some blocks takes me so long to learn. I am not good at foundation paper piecing and I still have to work on that quite a bit. Everyone seems to feel it is so easy but I hate doing it.

 

There are many distractions around here. Like many of you, life takes up so much of my quilting time. But I hope I can find ways to continue making progress on this quilt.  My goal for November in my Yahoo Small Quilt group is to get back into it and make a few more of these blocks. It seems a lot of you have decided to do the same thing. I received so many wonderful comments and e-mails after my last post that I started a new Dear Jane Yahoo group, mostly for members of my other Yahoo group Small Quilt Talk (SQT) who are having difficulty getting their DJ quilt completed and need encouragement to keep going.    Join us here   if you would like to play along.

 

I started the group on a whim so that some of us could encourage each other and show photos of our progress. Surprisingly, we now have quite a few members and some who have become inspired to begin one too. This is great and I am happy so many of you are jumping in!

 

 

I started out by making a lot of the easy blocks to get into it.

 

 

                  
As I mentioned, I have only made 51 blocks so far. So I have a long way to go . . . .

Mutual Love

Every now and then I get nostalgic and pull out this box.

 

 

Look what's inside!

My precious Dear Jane blocks! (Only 50 out of the necessary 225 for the quilt.)  How did I ever even get this far, you ask? Mutual love and support from all over the world. Every now and then someone will remember I am making one and will tell me about theirs or send me a photo of their blocks or finished quilt to encourage me to keep going. Or, I Google "Dear Jane" to see what others are doing on their blogs.

 

I like trying to make some blocks as close to Jane's original blocks as possible.

I love looking at all of the beautiful fabrics I've been hoarding for so long and still feel a strong sense of accomplishment because I made 50 blocks. I have to remind myself that 50 is better than  none. And 51 is still a little bit better than 50 . . . . what keeps me going. One at a time.

I have a tendency to feel a teeny bit bad about myself sometimes because I know that there are some of you have made more than one of these quilts while I have only made a few blocks. But for those of us who are not superstars (or super fast), this is the best we can do and I have to remind myself that it's still quite an accomplishment.  Hey, we're still going, if only occasionally, and that has to be worth something. I get busy and will often put the blocks aside for months at a time. But then something reminds me and I get pulled back in.

 

Dear Jane Exhibit at Nantes, France earlier this year. Can you imagine seeing this exhibit? I would have thought I'd died and gone to heaven.

 

 

"In Time of Recollection" by Karan L. Flanscha, Cedar Falls, IA. "My Dear Jane quilt was the beginning of a wonderful journey. Every stitch in my quilt is by hand. I started the original Dear Jane support group, and helped Electric Quilt create the software. I have met friends from all over the world because of our mutual love of Jane Stickle's sampler quilt." Key words, Karan.

 

Seeing some version of The Quilt reminds me how good it feels to continue working on mine. I become so encouraged by the huge community of quilters who are committed to making this quilt. Our mutual love is what keeps me going. I see what others have accomplished and the love that goes into making this quilt and then become encouraged to work on my own.

So, no, I have not given up yet. Life always gets in the way. And, even though I haven't worked on these in a very long time, my goal for November in my Yahoo Small Quilt group is to make a couple of blocks. Even just a few. Shouldn't be that hard, right? Hah! We'll see about that. Let me know if you are also struggling to get your blocks finished and can't seem to commit to doing it on someone else's schedule even if it is more organized than your own. I just have to plug away and go it alone.

 

Last week after I pulled out my box of blocks I spent several hours preparing another one -  choosing fabric, tracing, cutting the assorted pieces, gathering my hand sewing supplies. (Oh, how I love this process!)  Then the pieces started to look familiar. Turns out I had already made this same block a couple of years ago! Oh no. I was NOT about to spend time making it all over again. Arrrghhhh! Making one block takes me so long - almost as long as it takes to make an entire small quilt. Now I have to start all over with a new one.

New Goal: I will get one more block finished by this weekend. I promise. Maybe.  We'll see . . . . This is how it goes.

Visit me on Facebook to check my progress in the coming weeks - https://www.facebook.com/KathleenTracyQuilts