Swan boat and other Quilt Market antics

As promised, here’s Stitch editor Amber Eden and me in the swan-boat centerpiece of the Michael Miller booth at Spring Quilt Market in Portland. Fortunately it’s only a still shot, as my dismount was less than elegant. I bumped into Amber on her way in, and we had a great time checking out new fabrics together.

Market was a great reminder that the people I work with over phone and e-mail do actually exist in the real world! Here’s fellow Stitch contributing editor Linzee Kull McCray on the left with friends Jenny Gordy, Codi Josephson, and Greta Songe.

Days at Market are long, with parties going into the night after the convention itself closes. At the Portland Modern Quilt Guild’s event at Modern Domestic, I had the chance to meet Susan Beal, another Stitch contributing editor, who’s lucky enough to call Portland home. (Incidentally, at the same party, wearing the necktie I appliquéd for Stitch with Style scored me a dinner invite with the riotous trio of Rachel, Angela, and Gretchen—hi guys!)

You wouldn’t know it from the size of the convention hall, but the quilting/sewing industry is a small world—Linzee interviewed me for American Patchwork & Quilting many moons ago, I worked as a freelance editor on Susan’s book Modern Log Cabin Quilting, and now we’re all hooked up with Stitch. But I never would have expected to hear my name called across the floor by a family friend I hadn’t seen in at least 15 years—she was lending a hand with her sister’s booth, Eazy Peazy Quilts.

Meeting and catching up with people was half the fun—the other half was all the new fabric and tools being shown! I’m salivating for the Charley Harper line coming this fall from Birch Fabrics. I’ve put some other lines I’m looking forward to up on Flickr if you want a sneak peek of your own. I should have taken more photos of people and fabrics, but there were so many shiny, distracting things to see!

Spring Quilt Market

So much to see at International Quilt Market in Portland, Oregon! Lots of tasty fabrics, all the big quilt industry stars, and laughs with quilters from all over. Today's the last day, so I'll post some more photos when I get home - including one in a swan boat on the show floor...seriously.

Mid-Century Modern quilting

I can easily spend hours poring over books of mid-century modern textiles, furniture, and other decorative arts. And as a quilter, what I see often leads to quilt ideas. For the Spring 2013 issue of Modern Patchwork (out now!), I wrote an article on taking inspiration from 1950s “Contemporary” pattern designs to develop new free-motion quilting motifs—because when I look at a Lucienne Day print, my eye starts immediately following the lines, asking, "How would I quilt that?"

The article is full of tips on how to translate these retro designs into quilting patterns. I hope you'll be inspired to come up with some of your own, but there are detailed sequence diagrams for two sample blocks  (shown above made up into potholders) as well as the four blocks of my Lucienne table runner, which is all patterned up in the same magazine.

The type of design that lends itself so readily to conversion into quilting was popular from the early 1950s, with the great Lucienne Day leading the charge with spindly, interconnected lines reminiscent of both kinetic sculpture and skeletal plant forms. But that dry description lacks the liveliness and playfulness of these designs, which were everywhere by the end of the decade. Below is a tray the Other and I found at an antique store—no designer’s name on it, sadly.

To see more authentic MCM designs to inspire your quilting, take a look at the Pinterest board I put together.

The more I absorb mid-century styles, the more quilt ideas I get, so stay tuned for more projects and techniques with an MCM feel.

Bird Crossing crosses over into wool

My friend Frieda recently dropped me a line to say she saw this version of my Bird Crossing pattern sent by a reader to American Patchwork & Quilting. Peggy Bruns of Nevada, Iowa, made it for a friend from felted wool garments. I’d never thought of using wool for the birds, but doesn’t it look great?

APQ seems to have thought so too—they’ve included a wool-appliqué pillow pattern in one of their recent special issues that’s looks like it was inspired by Peggy’s version of Birds of a Feather (as the magazine called the pattern).

If you like the idea of a put-a-bird-on-it pillow, the Bird Crossing pattern available on my website includes an exclusive pattern for a pillow featuring a freshly hatched bird in a nest of free-motion thread. Or use the bird appliqué patterns to sew your own unique pillow, runner, or quilt—in cotton, wool, or whatever fabric strikes your fancy!

New year, new quilts

Those are the backs of my first batch of quilts for my book! I can’t show you more at this stage, but I don’t think that quick peek gives anything away.

Sending the projects out this morning was bittersweet. About this time last year, I did exactly the same thing, shortly before running smack into the vicissitudes of corporate priorities and staffing. 2012 was a difficult year of hard lessons, dashed hopes, and frustration. I may be starting 2013 the same way I started 2012, but I’m trying to use the wisdom gained from the challenges and put the frustration behind me.

The vast majority of the people I worked with last year were professional and supportive and thoughtful—people I respect, admire, and appreciate. Law of averages dictated that it was time to encounter a bad apple, but bad apples don’t stay on the tree long. I’m glad the people I’m continuing to work with this year are good apples.

The difficulties of 2012 are helping me define my vision for 2013 and clarify what Feed Dog Designs stands for so I won’t again be in the position of having my focus set by external forces with their own agendas. Freelancing will remain a part of my business, but I’m concentrating less on doing whatever I can as a hired gun and more on projects that directly support my own goals and interests. (Forgive me if this sounds like self-helpy managementspeak—what’s a self-employed one-man-show to do?)

I’ve already got some exciting things in the pipeline that I’m looking forward to sharing, but things may remain quiet here on the blog while I finish up the remaining book projects. Regardless of the winding road it took, I think it’ll be a great book, and I hope you’ll love it!