2016 :: Care More/Care Less

Posted on January 1, 2016January 2, 2016 Posted in Everything Else, QuiltingTagged goals, New year, quilting, reflection31 Comments

2015 has come to a screeching close leaving me breathless and a little bewildered. In effort to spend some concentrated time with my family I always work Dayjob a lot over the holidays. Now with some precious time off and much needed sleep under my belt I feel like I can reflect and make plans.

In some respects on my creative journey, 2015 was fairly momentous. I participated in my first quilting bee (Bee Sewcial). The monthly prompts expanded my maker’s bag of tricks exponentially and forced me out of my creative comfort zone-so good. I have no clue how these talented people picked me to join them but I am forever grateful and look forward to another year of the same.

I both visited and participated in my first Quilt shows. My quilts were featured in a magazine for the first time. With the help of my friend Robin, we won our first sewing contest with Umbrella Prints Trimmings and my quilts were featured for the first time in a gallery. To my amazement some fabric designers/companies sent me fabric without expectation to play and create (I hope to find some time soon to show more the results of those gifts). I was involved in some meaningful collaborative work with talented people. And of course I made a gazillion bags and several quilts.

In other respects however the year was similar to most, making and exploring. In 2016 there is important work to be done. Most notably my “Nude is Not a Dress Color Project” which was set back by collaborative side steps is calling to me.

In looking toward the new year a common theme comes up for me: Care More :: Care Less.

:: Care more about the process and less about the end result.

:: Care more about the message in my makes and less about whether other people understand it.

:: Care more about the art and less about the shows. (As a side note I was fortunate to have 4 quilts chosen to show at Quiltcon 2016 and am part of one Bee Sewcial quilt that will be showing-yay Debbie. Even with this I struggle to see myself as a Quiltshow person. Despite the fact that everyone I have met participating in the process is talented and worthy and that these show are gorgeous displays of art, I can’t shake the “beauty queen” image in my mind. Does that make any sense?)

:: Care more about the whole community and less about the stars. I love this sewing community and hope to give more back in the way of some free blocks/patterns I have planned. It is nice to get attention and adulation from the “superstars” of the industry but we are all worthy and on the same journey. I hope to concentrate more on that. I know I am remiss in responding to comments here (did I mention my Dayjob and momjob?) but I hope to be better.

Thank you for being part of my 2015 and I look forward to traveling the road together in 2016.

P.S. The block featured at top is a new design concept I am exploring. More to come.

Happy New Year

Hillary

Minimalism and Maximalism

Posted on November 22, 2015November 22, 2015 Posted in Everything Else, QuiltingTagged glue basting, improv, modern quilt, Quilt, quilting bee, y seams5 Comments

What I have been up to of late:

-“Queuing Theory” quilt. Quilted by Christine Perrigo (@ccpquilt on IG). It was inspired by a series of paintings by Mark Grotjahn called Dancing Butterflies.

-Crazy striped piecing in stripes inspired by a puzzle I saw on Pinterest (thank you glue basting)

-Hand painted linen flowers for Blair Stoker (Wise Craft Handmade) because it is super fun to trade with other makers especially when they are from my previous Seattle home city.

-More Slow Stitch Embroidery in the works. This improv embroidery is the bomb people. Try it!!

-A minimini quilt for Stephanie Ruyle ( Spontaneous Threads) that mimics a Rothko painting she pointed out in Houston. It represents me (mustard) and her (orange) with some more hand stitching and Stephanie’s old suede coat as binding.

-My last quilt blocks of the year for the Bee Sewcial Bee for Leanne (she can quilt). It was a total kick in the pants to play with color and improv. The green block also helped me perfect my Y seam skills.

Happy Thanksgiving friends!

Hillary

Quilting From Every Angle Blog Tour and Giveaway

Posted on November 11, 2015November 18, 2015 Posted in Bags, Everything ElseTagged Bag, modern quilting, quilting from every angle42 Comments

Nancy Purvis ( owen’s olivia ) is a quilt designer and maker I have been following for awhile. Her designs speak to me. They are clean, modern, bold and interesting. The minute I knew she had a book being released I preordered and when it arrived an interesting thing happened, I felt compelled to make not just one item using her beautiful designs but TWO. In reality it was hard for me to pick from the gorgeous patterns featured and I am sure there will be more to come.

Quilting from Every Angle: 16 Geometric Designs
By Nancy Purvis
Interweave/F+W;
http://bit.ly/1jw4098

Nancy was kind enough to include me with some amazing other makers in her blog tour. Make sure to check the rest out for what are guaranteed to be inspiring creations and more opportunities for book giveaways.

BLOG TOUR

11/10- Michelle Wilkie of Factotum of Arts

11/11- Hillary Goodwin (ME!!)

11/12- Karen Lewis of Karen Lewis Textiles

11/13- Anna Graham of Noodlehead

11/16- Rachel McCormack of wooden spoon quilts

11/17- Tara Larson of RAD & HAPPY

11/18- Jennifer Mathis of Ellison Lane

11/19- Holly Hughes of Holly Gets Quilty –

11/20- Nicole Daksiewicz of Modern Handcraft

11/23- Pat Bravo of Pat Bravo Fabric Design and Jesse Maloney of Art School Dropout

11/24- Astrid Slagle of Red Red Completely Red

11/25- Holly DeGroot of Bijou Lovely

11/26- Christopher Thompson of the tattooed quilter

11/27- Spoonflower of Spoonflower Blog

Those who know me understand that I have a special passion for bag making. I decided that my first make would be a bag using Nancy’s Stones Quilt pattern. I sized the pattern down to three quarters size, used 9 “stones” instead of 15 and utilized a bag design of my own. I also used Pellon Flex Foam Stabilzer for the first time-a wonderful discovery. It gives my bag some nice heft and shows off the quilting beautifully. I will be using this more in my makes. In any case, I grabbed some bright Kona solids and used a Carolyn Friedlander print as background with new black leather for the base and handle. I am pretty pleased with how it turned out and think it shows how different this pattern can go with varied color themes and fabrics.

A fun discovery that may be obvious for many experienced makers but was a lightbulb moment for me as I was making this bag was how to make the fabric pattern around the “stones” orient in the same direction as the overall background fabric. I chose a PATTERNED background and SOLID “stones” in contrast to the opposite shown in the book which made the fabric orientation an issue. I really wanted the background fabric to all be oriented in the same direction so as to make the piecing less obvious (these kind of details are ridiculously fun fodder for me). To solve this dilemma while cutting the “stones” for the pattern, I lined up the background fabric scraps behind the solid “stone” fabric IN THE SAME ORIENTATION as the overall background at each corner then cut on the line simultaneously across both “stone” and background and pieced. I think and hope this makes the quilted bag front look cohesive and it is definitely a technique I will keep in mind for future makes.

As I said, surprisingly I couldn’t stop at one design from Nancy’s book. We have just completed a huge remodel including finishing a closed deck and setting up a hammock underneath it. It is a perfect place to lay down and take naps but was in dire need of a winter pillow to snuggle up with. Using elements from the book’s Mesa Quilt and fun hand dyed printed fabric from Kelsey Boes (Lovely and Enough) and yarn dyed fabric from Jennifer Sampou (Jennifer Sampou ), I made a yummy pillow. I flipped the light and dark fabrics on the left side and right side to give the pillow symmetry making it a little different then the Mesa Quilt but unmistakably Nancy. The pillow has recieved my husband’s approvel, and he is a tough sell, so I know it is a good one.

This pillow is pretty fun with points up and down.

I heartily recommend this book and am excited to share a copy with one special blog reader. (hard copy for those in the US or digital copy for those outside the states). To enter, please tell me about the first craft/quilting book(s) you remember sewing from and how your style is now compared to then. (For the record, I started with Kaffe Fassett’s Quilting books, still have every copy and continue to find inspiration from all of them). I will pick a winner randomly by 5 PM Monday, November 16th. If you are a no-reply blogger please make sure to include your email address so I may contact you.

For the Record: I was given a free copy of this book to help me make projects but before I even received it or asked to participate in the blog hop, I had already purchased the book and started to make. My opinions are and will always be my own.

Hillary

Addendum: THE WINNER BY RANDOM DRAW IS BUNTYW. I WILL EMAIL TO SEE IF YOU WANT A HARD COPY IN THE STATES VS A DIGITAL COPY IF OVERSEAS. IF NO ANSWER BY NEXT MONDAY, I WILL PICK A NEW WINNER.

An Invitation To Be Creative

Posted on September 23, 2015September 23, 2015 Posted in Everything Else, QuiltingTagged anatomical drawins, art, fiberart, modern quilt, Quilt, stitch sketch, stitch sketching6 Comments

What if someone told you that this month it was especially important to pull out all the stops and be really creative? Would you do things differently? Would this mission paralyze or feed you?

Last month as I have mentioned I was invited to make some small quilts in a tight time frame for an art show in Seattle. As I pondered making, I let my mind open a bit and found myself wandering new creative roads-so fun.

Repurposing is a mission for me, so I decided to incorporate leather or suede I had collected from clothing into the pieces. My first work above is an image that has been percolating in my brain for a bit and means to show the contrast of light and dark, happy and sad, new and used. The black leather from an old coat I hope adds a whole new tone to the brightly pieced diamond.

Wanting to continue the contrast theme and the color mission I was given, I did dense quilting on the back in colors to match the front with the hope that they bring light and color to the dark. With help from an Instagram friend, my make adopted a name, “The Great Recession”. I think the dark creeping overlay on the overly bright, too perfect front image fits the description well.

On my second piece, I decided to play with an improv method I experimented with in a block for my first Bee Sewcial month led by Stephanie Ruyle. Striped Ikea canvas made a fun matte dense surface to play with and I went with some of my favorite mustard linen (side note: If I had to pick a fabric that is me, this is it. I have included it in about a third of my quilts). To tie my used/new theme, I incorporated some beautiful electric blue suede from a skirt donated to me again by Stephanie. Our friendship and journey together as makers is meaningful and it feels so appropriate to include this in my quilt. (Plus Stephanie’s has some amazing pieces that will be at the show too. Go check she and her pieces out: Spontaneous Threads)

Of the new roads I traveled on this piece was the use of purple fabric on the backing. I NEVER use this color in my makes and now I am quite smitten. An unintended extra meaning is that purple and gold are the colors of my alma mater, The University of Washington in Seattle where this piece will be shown.

I called on my good friend and Umbrella Prints collaborator Robin King to help me with labels ( A Collaboration On Friendship and Motherhood – Umbrella Prints Trimmings Challenge Entry 2015 | Entropy Always Wins). These hand printed pieces are awesome and it makes me happy to have another important friend incorporated in my makes.

Tripping on this creative spree, I started sketch stitching anatomical pictures. The combination of clinical pieces of anatomy onto used, discarded antique linens tickles me to no end. They represent well the strange dichotomy of my everyday life: delivering horrible news to a patient followed by helping my kids with homework, helping an addict through an oxycontin addiction followed by stitching up a pretty purse, doing a complicated life saving procedure followed by a yoga date with my girlfriends . . . There is more of this series to come.

If you get a chance and are in the area, check out my mini quilts and the work of others at the Seattle Pacific Art Center on display from October 5th-November 27th.

Hillary

Design Play

Posted on August 30, 2015August 30, 2015 Posted in Bags, Everything Else, QuiltingTagged baby quilt, Bag, design, inspiration, modern quilt, Quilt, stitch sketch2 Comments

I’ve been perfecting my skills lately at the game “How Can I Make That Into A Bag/Quilt/Mini Art Piece.” Are you familiar with my favorite game?

My Pieces and their sources of inspiration in picture order:

-The Doctor is In Second Edition: A new bag design I made up out of cotton, wool and leather inspired by one of the quilts featured in soon to be release book by Heather Jones. (Quilt Local: Finding Inspiration in the Everyday (with 40 Projects): Heather Jones: 9781617691768: Amazon.com: Books)

-Stitch Sketching everything I can imagine including a drawing of feet by the Louise Bourgeoise. Uneven tension never looked so good.

-A Baby Quilt Top using the Glam Clam pattern ( Glam Clam Quilt (8″) by Latifah Saafir – Crafts ) I adapted to look like flooring in the Tate Museum.

I am also really enjoying the black and white #beesewcial and #inspiredbybeesewcial blocks following the guidelines set out in my last blog post many of you are displaying on Instagram. Keep them coming!!

Lastly, although I was quite looking forward to a deadline-free September, a wonderful opportunity came up this week and it looks like I will be designing a piece for an art exhibit in Seattle. My mind is swimming with ideas. Time to focus and make.

Hillary

I’ve

A Maker’s Gonna Make

Posted on May 11, 2015May 11, 2015 Posted in Bags, Everything Else, QuiltingTagged Bag, free motion quilting, linden sweatshirt, Me Made May, messenger bag, recycled, repurposed, Vintage5 Comments

A Month in Making:

Messenger Bag with Reflective Material donated by Stephanie (Spontaneous Threads) and repurposed seatbelt closure-my design :: Linden Sweatshirt out of a vintage tablecloth :: Linden Sweatshirt out of organic fleece I hand dyed-both as part of #memademay :: My first adventures in free motion quilting with help from the book Stitch Draw by Rosie James :: Umbrella Prints collaborative project begun :: Blue WIPs.

In other news, I’m delighted and I know we are all flattered that the Modern Quilt Guild referenced Bee Sewcial (Flickr: The Bee Sewcial Pool) as a guide for Quiltcon West’s Charity Quilt Challenge for next year. Check it out here: Member Charity Challenge | QuiltCon West.

Best,

Hillary

A “Maker’s Curiosity”

Posted on April 27, 2015April 28, 2015 Posted in Bags, Everything Else, KnittingTagged handdyed, Knitting, linden sweatshirt, sweatshirt clothes making14 Comments

Do you ever wonder if you have too many creative hobbies? Although knitting and sewing have been mainstays for me, I have ventured into embroidery, cross stitch, clothes making, jewelry making . . . well you get the point. I believe the skill and practice of making causes one to look at the world differently. We makers start to examine more closely how things are constructed and what materials they are made with. That study often propels us to the next question of whether we can make it ourselves which at least in my case, leads me into new creative hobbies. (I treasure this “maker’s curiosity” by the way as it seems a rarer and rarer characteristic in our buy everything from Target, disposable culture.) All these words to say I have ventured into some new creative fronts this month while continuing work on my mainstays of quilting, knitting and bag making.

Dying Fabric requires a ton of rinsing muscle power and a ridiculous amount of water. Who knew? The results however are hard to compete with. Following directions from Malka Dubrawsky’s “Color Your Cloth” and Kim Eichler-Messmer’s Book “Modern Color” I dyed some organic fleece in various shades of blue using both dry and wet dying techniques.

Using this pretty substrate I decided to try sewing knits for the first time with my new serger. It’s a tad ridiculous how easy my machine makes its all for me. I decided to make the very popular Linden Sweatshirt (Linden Sweatshirt – Grainline Studio) and had to adapt it a bit by making the neck opening a little wider, lengthening it an inch and making a wide split cuff at the bottom. I look Kind of silly in the pic but man this sweatshirt is comfortable and I already have plans for others.

I decided for the first time as well to combine fabric and knit together in the Shawl Collar Baby Coat by sweet k m. (Direct Download PDF Knitting Pattern Shawl Collar by sweetKM)

What better fabric to use then some hand dyed by Kim Eichler-Messmer from a previous order and I topped it off with a vintage button. The pattern recommended using a felt heart on the inside to better secure the button. I will definitely use this technique in future sweaters. What a cute detail!

I ended this week by making up and testing a new bag pattern. Oh this is a good one! Look for more examples and maybe even a pattern or tutorial in the future.

Merry Making.

Hillary

We Have a Winner

Posted on December 13, 2014December 14, 2014 Posted in Everything Else4 Comments

Congratulations Sarah C! You are the winner of my repurposed leather and Hmong textile clutch. Please respond back to me by tomorrow (or I may need to pick a new winner). Picture above is a new Quilt I am working on titled 5/325.

Hillary

Sorry Sarah C since I haven’t heard back from you I had to spin the wheel again and pick a new winner: Janice Brewster Weiser at http://www.creativegirlfriendspress.com will get the bag!

Mentor Pillows

Posted on August 23, 2014 Posted in Everything Else, QuiltingTagged modernquilt, pillows, quilting2 Comments

Does anyone else have project images in their heads begging to be made? I am plagued with many. Sometimes the translation into tactile pieces hits the mark and sometimes . . . not so much. These pillows to be honest are better in person then in my brain – a heartfelt success. Not too long ago I ordered some hand dyed fabric from Malka Dubrawsky of Stichindye and wanted to use them for pillows. If you’ve never checked out Malka’s patterns and work, you need to – so inspiring.

A Stitch in Dye.

I also have been pouring through Carolyn Friedlander’s new book, Savor Each Stitch as well as her other patterns.

carolyn friedlander | fresh, modern quilt patterns.

I was hoping to translate her Circle Lattice pattern into a pillow but couldn’t make it work dimension-wise so I made up my own pattern. Using Marcus Fabric Organic Cotton Canvas combined with Malka’s hand dyed lovelies and following Carolyn’s techniques, I needle turn appliquéd the designs on.

On Instagram I’ve been inspired and loving the work of Chawne of CauchyComplete.

completely cauchy.

I have especially been drawn to her hand quilting, Using some thicker Aurifil thread, in a much more simple fashion then Chawne, I hand quilted to finish the fronts.

These pillows begged to be called Mentor Pillows because they are inspired by artists (in my mind mentors) whose work I admire: Malka, Carolyn and Chawne.

The next idea waiting to come to life in fabric is a quilt design based on a wooden table I have been lusting over. This project shoud be fun!

Happy weekend everyone.

Hillary

Monday Musings – Creative Inspiration in Jewelry Making

Posted on August 4, 2014August 4, 2014 Posted in Everything ElseTagged jewelry5 Comments

Have you ever had a creative detour and delved into new forms of hand making? I must admit to many such detours along the way. Knitting and Sewing are constants for me but I have also tried out Felting Bags, Embroidery, Cross Stitch, Needlepoint, Paper Crafts, Needle Felting and Jewelry Making. Crochet and Macrame are still on the to-do list but will be sure to venture there at some point. This weekend I got a bee in my bonnet for jewelry making and decided to work on some bracelets. Having been down this road before, I fortunately had a lot in the way of supplies.

One of my favorite social things is having creative girlfriend parties that include our daughters. On one such party we had an Indian theme, dressed in Saris, ate Indian food and had a traditional Henna artist decorate us in Henna. It was a blast! For the party, I put together kits and we made malas and simple Morse Code Necklaces. I stumbled into those kits and also purchased a new book by Di Kim that helped inspired a plan.

I have been making beaded wrapped leather bracelets for several years and whipped up three of these babies. This tutorial helps explain how to make these bracelets well.

Wrap Bracelet.

Using some of the techniques from my new book and my Morse Code Necklace Supplies I came up with a new bracelet design. It was really fun to spell out my kid’s names in dots and dashes and wear them around. I used simple embroidery thread for these but am anxious to purchase some waxed linen to make them a little more stiff. They are really fun and easy to make.

Now that I’ve scratched my jewelry making itch, I’m ready to get on to other things. I am hoping to have another crafting girlfriend party this fall with a Mexican Frida Kahlo theme but am at a loss for possible creative projects. In previous parties we have collectively quilted a quilt for a friend battling cancer, we have knit, done embroidery and of course made some jewelry. Do you have any good suggestions for my next shindig?

Happy Monday!

Hillary