Summertime

Posted on August 13, 2015August 13, 2015 Posted in Bags, Quilting, TravelTagged Alberta, Bag, bags, Banff, Canada, Iceland, modern quilt, quilting, Travel, Yoho9 Comments

The summer sun shone round me
The folded valley lay
In a stream of sun and odor
The sultry summer day.

The tall trees stood in the sunlight
As still as still could be
But the deep grass sighed and rustled
And bowed and beckoned me.

The deep grass moved and whispered
And bowed and brushed my face.
It whispered in the sunshine:
“The winter comes apace.”

The Summer Sun Shone Round Me by Robert Louis Stevenson

Summer is flying by in a fit of travel, work and creativity. We were lucky as a family to travel to Iceland and Banff/Yoho National Park over the last couple of months. Interspersed with travel I have been working at my day job harder then ever in my career (the ACA has resulted in more people being insured which is a good thing but with a real shortage of primary care doctors our ERs, indeed those across the country, have been overwhelmed). I digress. In any case, despite all this busyness I have found time to create though no time to blog or follow blogs. I look forward to catching up with many of you Included in the pictures above are some blocks I made for our July Bee Sewcial assignment by Karen (CapitolaQuilter: Bee Sewcial July – REFLECTION) . They are intended to show REFLECTION and I think are inspired by my travels. I am excited as well to share that two of my quilts have been accepted to the Modern Exhibit at the International Quilt Show in Houston and Quiltcon 2016. This is my first foray into the Quilt Show world and I am both nervous and excited.

Happy summer!

Hillary

My Quilts in Modern Patchwork Magazine and Other Happenings

Posted on April 6, 2015 Posted in Bags, Quilting, TravelTagged Bag, California, magazine, Pt. Reyes, quilting, Travel16 Comments

I just got the news today that the latest issue of Modern Patchwork Magazine is coming to news stands April 21st and two of my quilts are going to be featured! How do you spell EXCITED?! I am beyond humbled and flattered by how my quilts are shown in an article by Cinzia Allocca titled “Minimalism in Modern Quilt Design”.

Check out their website for more on what’s inside and there is a link there to purchase a copy as well if you are interested. (Modern Patchwork Spring 2015 – Special Issues – Blogs – Quilting Daily)

With precious free time, I have been playing more with bags, this time using recycled suede. Believe it or not this is my first Lonestar quilting project. I have so many other ideas for this topstitching technique. The possibilities are endless.

Although we have had to stick close to home this Spring Break because of work, I have been doing a lot of secret sewing for friends (can’t wait to share what I have been working on) and we made a quick trip to Pt. Reyes National Seashore in Marin County for some hiking. The hills were full of wild irises, California poppies and other wildflowers. The area was at it’s finest.

And although I can’t share yet my secret sewing, I can share a simple boy sweatshirt I made for a friend that includes an impromptu cloud out of a washcloth and leftover vinyl. As I was making it, much needed rain started to fall with more on the way. Who needs rain dances when one can make rain clothing instead? 😉

Cheers,

Hillary

Hello Spring!

Posted on March 18, 2015March 18, 2015 Posted in Bags, Quilting, TravelTagged Bag, modern quilt, recycled, recycling, repurposed5 Comments

Hi everyone! Are you feeling the seasons change in your part of the world? We are definitely in the midst of some major shifts and boy is it nice.

A couple weekends ago, I took the kids to the Sonoma Valley for some hiking and exploration at the Jack London State Park and on the way there we went to the “Unconventional and Unexpected” exhibit to check out the quilts from the book of the same name. What a treat this whole trip was. We loved hiking around Jack London’s estate and seeing his homes. That man traveled to the far reaches of the world (Alaska, Hawaii and Australia), established a working ranch and wrote several well known books and short stories all before he died at the age of 40-INSPIRING! Minus the philandering and alcohol/drug abuse, I want to be Jack London when I grow up. 🙂

The quilt exhibit was also fantastic. Being the only ones there, the person at the front desk kindly gave us our own private tour. She showed us the quilt backs and even the glass window effect shown on the last pic above (evidently they discovered the pretty effect when showing off the quilts to some local Elementary School students.) Those bright polyester quilts are dreamy!

In my own creative world, I have continued to play with the Triangle in a Triangle blocks and have started working on one of my scrubs quilts in earnest. (One of them is going to be a bias tape quilt which I had alluded to in a previous post. My wandering mind has veered me in other directions since I last posted but I will come back around to it.)

I have also been playing with recycled leather and made up some Springy bags. At some point I need to share my tricks for leather appliqué as I have discovered a few really helpful techniques. The orange leather by the way is from a skirt donated by Bianca (Thanks! I made them!). That generous donation has spawned at least 4 different recycled leather projects-AMAZING!

In my attempt to Spring Clean I have also been tackling my UFO pile and combined two quilt backs to make one quilt. It is so simple it would almost more qualify as a blanket. This heavy quilt out of remnant bin red denim and silver corduroy, red linen from my enormous fabric stash and ikea canvas Triangle block pleases me to no end however. It is HEAVY and the texture is squishy and it is made of non-boutique substrates; a WINNER for me on all counts This quilt will get used and loved in our house and will fit right in with my crew.

Wishing you some similar sublime weather and creative vigor.

Hillary

Creative Distractions

Posted on January 31, 2015 Posted in Knitting, TravelTagged ai weiwei, alcatraz, Cowl, Knitting, linen flower, Travel4 Comments

This Monkey Mind of mine has kept me distracted on several fronts. Needing a little Spring in the middle of dreary winter, I came up with the idea of painting heavily starched white linen and making up linen flowers to embellish everything I own. I experimented spraying starch, tinted with watercolor paints, on the linen and also tried painting the linen with acrylic paints in all shades of pink before cutting out petals and hand sewing them together. This has been a popular project among my friends and daughter hence more coming up.

I’ve also been working the sticks and made up a cowl for a girlfriend and a baby girl dress for another. Both are made out of malabrigo yarn. I increasingly love well engineered knitting patterns and this simple baby dress qualifies with it’s “knit in one piece” construction, knit in pockets in a complimentary gray yarn and spots to use two of my blue vintage buttons. (patterns here: Ravelry: Bulle pattern by Karen Borrel and Ravelry: Vite Cowl pattern by Kristi Johnson)

I was fortunate to take my kids to see the Ai Weiwei exhibit at Alcatraz in San Francisco this weekend. The exhibit is a combination of visual and audio art meant to honor and bring attention to imprisoned artists around the world. It was a treat to see but I think I fell most in love with the whole Alcatraz experience: San Francisco on sunny winter day, the quiet beauty, the history, the smell of Eucalyptus on the island and the color scheme . . . SWOON! A project in Alcatraz Palette is in my future for certain.

Cheers,

Hillary

The Hills Are Alive . . .

Posted on September 17, 2014September 17, 2014 Posted in Knitting, TravelTagged Knitting, sweater, Switzerland, Travel17 Comments

Guten Abend , Ich habe dich vermsst. Just off the plane from Switzerland and I still feel in sensory overload. Truth be told, I never knew I wanted to go there. After being gobsmacked with such stunning natural beauty, I can’t imagine that I didn’t always dream of a visit”

Our family loves to travel. My daughter once told her teacher that traveling was our hobby. 🙂 I think we inherited this wanderlusting from my sister and brother in law who have explored the world at length, lived in London and Europe and now have permanent residency status in Australia. Once we started exploring at home and abroad, we put money away every month for our travels (while making ourselves comfortable with our old cars and home.)

My husband gets a few weeks off a year. When his week off came up for September, we decided to do a little hiking in the Alps while my parents generously volunteered to watch our kids. One of my favorite things about traveling Europe is the amazing rail system. We took advantage of the Swissrail during our recent trip and toured the country without a car. Those train trips gave me plenty of time to complete a baby sweater for a friend whose daughter just got out of the NICU. I was able to use some of my vintage buttons and knit it with Cascade 220 yarn in gray. The pattern is Little Buds and can be found on Ravelry here: Ravelry: Little Buds in English pattern by Karen Borrel. It was such a fun knit, I am sure to make it again.

On our recent trip, we spent time in Zurich, Wengen, Zermatt and Lucerne. It was a thrill to hike so close to the Eiger and the Matterhorn. We heard (via the bells around their necks) and saw sheep and cows all over the hills. We hiked among Chamois and saw Edelweiss up close and personal. We channeled James Bond and hiked to Schiltorn in the Jungfrau region and we hiked to the Matterhorn base camp to see climbers heading up the mountain and rescue teams plucking folks off the mountainside. Honestly, it was one of our best trips ever and it has inspired many creative ideas that I am anxious to share soon.