We interrupt this blog for a little venting.

It's times like these when I wish details didn't matter so much to me.

I started to cut out a bag this morning using this beautiful Amy Butler print from the Midwest Modern collection.  I've always loved this print; it's so vibrant and dramatic, isn't it?

I took great pains to center the motif and ensure it was vertically straight.  But apparently, either I didn't get enough sleep last night or I should've had a fourth cup of coffee this morning, because I forgot to check my horizontal alignment.  It wasn't until I got the piece cut out that I noticed the problem.  Do you see it?

Do you see the top edge?  The design is off by a good half-inch from one side to the other.   Whether that's intentional (God forbid.  Who in their right mind would do that to this particular design, which is so carefully aligned in every other way?!?) or whether it happened during the screening process or at some other point in the production of the material, I don't know.  What I do know is that it bugs me.  A lot.

I get really annoyed when I think about the fact that I pay more for higher quality designer fabrics.  Seems to me part of that should include some quality control.

I can't bring myself to move ahead.  So I'm back to the drawing board--literally--to come up with a more forgiving pattern that won't make the fabric shout "LOOK!  LOOK AT ME!  SEE HOW CROOKED I AM?!"

Wish me luck.  And worry about me a little, because now I seem to be working with talking fabric.

Argh.

Seamstress. Sewist. Sewer. Ugh.

Photo courtesy Museum of American Heritage.

I don't like any of them. 

The names, I mean. 

I know many individuals who sew--myself included--and I like them just fine.  But none of these titles works for me.

• Seamstress:  Sounds like I should be sitting at a treadle machine--or maybe even with just a needle and thread--with an oil lamp lighting my way.  Very Little House on the Prairie.  Very...crafty.
• Sewist:  ???  WTH?    Where did this come from?  And does it mean I'm also a knittist?  I don't think so, Tim.
• Sewer:  Umm...has anyone else noticed?  I can't look at this without pronouncing it "sooo-er".  As in...well, you know.  Ick. 

There has to be a better alternative.  Someone?  Anyone?  Please and thank you.

All kinds of inspired

Last Saturday was the 35th anniversary of the Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show, and my fourth year of attending.  One of my cousins came over from Eugene for the weekend, and we picked up my friend Sue on Saturday morning and headed for Sisters.  We left Bend a bit earlier this year (8:30-ish), which made for a much shorter sit in traffic on the way (although a normally 20-minute drive did take 40...).  I have to say, if you must sit in traffic, the highway to Sisters is the place to do it...

Life imitating art.  Well, sort of...

In recent years, the number of quilts dressing Sisters' buildings seems to hover around 1,300.  I dare you to see them all (and remember them!) in the one day they're up.  I can't imagine going to this event without a camera; by the end of the day, I was literally on sensory overload...in a good way, but still, without the camera I'd be woefully inept at recalling some of the incredible artwork we saw that day.

Jean Wells Keenan, owner of The Stitchin' Post, started this little event.  I wonder if she had ANY idea the impact she'd be making for the town of Sisters and the surrounding area over the years.  It's reported that some $2+ million comes to the area over the week of the show and its surrounding classes and events.   That's a nice little economic shot in the arm, don't you think?  And all because Jean had an idea to hang some quilts outside.  Inspiring.

  Exterior wall of The Stitchin' Post, featuring quilts from the "Employee Challenge". 

One of Jean's designs.

Each year, I go there thinking that I won't see much new under the sun; that it will be the same techniques, same patterns, same, same, same.  And happily, again this year I was wrong!  Here are a few that made it onto my camera.  I wish I'd done a better job of noting the artists' names on some of these.  Really amazing work.

 Fabric and paint on wood.

 "Leaf Me Alone" by Tonye Phillips

No surprise...I was really attracted to flower designs

See what I mean?

And taken with this one...one of the few quilts I saw that a gentleman had made.  Loved his color choices.

Here's the raffle quilt I (sniff) didn't win.  Love that fence!  Beautiful perspective.

Not to be out-done, the street corners in Sisters were dressed in their finery, too.  More inspiration.

So...another year down, and I'm inspired...seeing some of my favorite fabrics used in new ways and color combinations....by the sheer beauty I saw all around me that day, both hand-crafted and natural...by the incredible talent that participates in the show each year. 

If you'll excuse me, I'm off to go create something.  Maybe a quilt depicting this:

Bermuda.  Also inspiring.

Check with me in 2015 and see how it's going.

2009: The year I started sewing again

Here's a snapshot of sewing FO's for 2009; knitting FO's to follow. My machine's back from its annual service, so it's time to get back to it!

Metamorphosis

Remember this?

Well, things are beginning to take shape. The past couple of weeks have been busy on several fronts:

• Gardening (between thunderstorms)
• Working on the consulting project
• Entertaining and enjoying company
• Training for the upcoming half-marathon in Seattle
• Reading a couple of fun, summer-style books: The Girls from Ames, A Salty Piece of Land
  
• Sewing. Lots of it. Between some custom orders and other items, it's been fun to play with fabric and exercise some basic math skills in the design process. Here are a few finished products:
  

File tote for a mobile office

Laptop sleeve

Cord and charger case for a road warrior

What hasn't been happening? Knitting. Must fix that. But right now, I have three more handbags to complete this week.

In stitches

It's been a fabric-and-fiber-filled couple of weeks, and I've been stitching like a madwoman. My knitting group is making a blanket to donate to charity, so I bought a skein of Cascade 220 Heathers (in colorway Kansas) and went to town on some squares.

Our daughter's friend had their first child...last November. How embarrassingly late can I be with a gift? At least she's not walking yet. Thank goodness. This is her Sweet Dreams Pillow.

And lastly, my nephew/godson and his wife are expecting their first baby in May, and the shower is next weekend. They're expecting a girl. No, seriously.

I'm still scrubbing the rust off where sewing is concerned, but I'm getting back into the groove and it feels good.

Back in the S(e)wing

I was blessed with the world's best Home Ec teacher in high school, who taught me a love of sewing (and a great affection for seam rippers...possibly the more valuable trait, since I do a lot of it) that I've carried with me ever since. I can lose hours in a fabric store, poring over the fabrics, envisioning what I can make, and knowing that whatever it is it will be uniquely mine. I think for me, that is the beauty of sewing, knitting, and other art/craft forms...the individuality. The knowledge that no one will ever put colors, fabrics, or fiber together in quite the same way.

While years have gone by with me only occasionally feeding my sewing habit, I've always known it was there for me, just waiting to be brought back out, dusted off, and put to creative use. In high school, most of my projects were clothing. I made most of my own clothes and yes, I actually wore them. These days, however, I have an affinity for home decor and accessories.

I've been carrying around a pattern for months for a knitting tote, and finally ventured into it yesterday. I was immediately absorbed, lost in the process. As used to be the case, I forgot to eat until 3:00 p.m., and would have probably skipped dinner entirely if it hadn't been for DH asking at 7:30 if I was going to come downstairs at all that night.

It was a very good day.