Japanese Taupe Fabrics: perfect for applique

When you enjoy hand applique, quality of the fabric itself becomes important.  The tricky areas, like points, curves, concave shapes...lend themselves to little bits of frayed edges.  If the fabric you are using is a high quality one with high thread count and tight weave, it minimizes these little threads that can lead to making your applique look sloppy.

Quite a few of the fabrics I used above are from D's Selection fabric brand.  I bought them ages ago in Carolea's Knitche Quilt Shop, which has not existed in many years unfortunately.  Anybody who has ever visited there would tell you it was an incredible place.

Anyhow, the block above is the next in my applique modern house quilt series.  It's been fantastic to design and create.  I'm so excited that it is done and ready for my next class.

In other wanderings:

Purse addiction:  Clare Vivier's fold over clutch.  Be mine.

Finnish Design shop:  Perhaps I should be kept away from here.

Weak for earrings:  Julie Burton at Verre -must resist temptation.

Stripe Invasion: Socks = Twisted Limone, Quilts, Walls...

My fondness for self-striping sock yarn has landed most folks in my family a new pair of hand knit socks using custom dyed yarn by Twisted Limone.  I'm working on a pair for myself in green and purple.  

Why are the colors kelly green and dark purple always saved for the villains?  Joker, Riddler, Lex Luthor...and shortly me, if I ever finish knitting these.

My stripe baby quilt is still in the hoop.  I wanted to finish it by Easter, but it is probably not trending in that direction unfortunately.

I have been looking at the work of Markus Linnenbrink lately and wondering if the colors he uses could be applied for inspiration to a quilt.  Would love to see his work on my wall someday.  Maybe I'll buy one someday if I have a mid-life crisis (instead of a sports car?).

Pins: more is more

I picked up some glass head pins from Sajou recently.  They feel very timeless in my hands and if you iron them, they don't melt like pins that have plastic heads.  I could not find a good link to get them at Bagsmith, but I purchased them there in a convention show booth.

Collecting and using beautiful tools is something I love to do as it makes the quilting process all that more enjoyable.  I started a flickr set for my photos of pin cushions.  Feel free to add a photo of your favorite to the pincushion group if you have a cool one.

Since Easter is coming, this year I want to try and make some neon dyed Easter eggs. 

I also saw a recent Lego creation where the builder made little collections of figures out of very simple Lego towers.  I am not sure I can guess who all of these are, but they were pretty cool.  I can get some of them...Simpsons, Bert & Ernie, Smurfs...

I was wondering if this Japanese Cat Camera called Necono might be an interesting first digital camera for my son.  The camera itself is in the shape of a cat.  I'm a huge sucker for Japanese plastics. 

For the last couple of issues, I have been enjoying a Japanese magazine called Giorni.  Have you ever read it? They even did an article on Liberty of London recently.

Voices in Cloth 2012 - more peaks, and Bricks By the Bay 2012

Yes, that was Roberta Horton in my last post, good eye smartie pants Kathie and Quilt Inspiration.

I enjoyed the Voices in Cloth 2012 Quilt show so very much.  I ran around with my trusty friend Marianne and my camera shooting grab shots here and there.  Here we are above (I'm on the right) in the Verb booth.  

Those quilts behind us are mine.  Left one may surprise you - yes, finally I assembled all the modern house applique blocks I had into the start of a quilt top.  Right one is hand applique using Oakshott fabrics.  They shimmer.

I put photos I took of the quilts in a flickr set for you here, so enjoy.  Click here for slide show of all photos.

We also attended the first ever Lego convention to hit the California Bay Area over last weekend.  Some of the creations were awesome.  I cannot help myself from uploading another flickr set of that - check it out here - Bricks by the Bay.

In other quilty news:

I love this print from the To Market To Market by Robert Kaufman - Apple fabric: sometimes I find their fabric lines very mainstream and not unique enough for my taste, but not this time.  I'm a sucker for apples.

Have see seen reviews yet out there on Denyse Schmidt's new book Modern Quilts: Traditional Inspiration? I'm sure folks are in love.  I don't have a copy but her work is stunning and unique.

If you're thinking of a re-org of your fabric stash, check out the inspirational stash of Sarah Fielke over at The Last Piece blog - very pretty.

I also ran into photos of Nani Iro's fabric collection for 2012: oooh-la-la, pretty.

Lastly, not quilt related, but due to my obsession with Polaroids, I just adore this candle in the shape of a retro Polaroid.  I can almost hear the noise that the camera makes when a photo comes out.

Voices in Cloth 2012

Today I spent the greater part of the day at the Voices in Cloth quilt show.

It was located in Richmond, CA, just north of Oakland and was put on by the East Bay Heritage Quilt Guild.

Lucky for my sons and husband, they were 'saved' by a tour of the U.S.S. Iowa (a battleship) that was literally just across the street.  I think they had a great time there, and I will confess that I actually enjoyed having some time to look at the quilts with my friend Marianne.

I ran into this extremely famous and talented quilter(above) and she gave me the pleasure of photographing her next to one of the quilts she had in the show.  Anybody know who she is?  I'm sure you have at least a book or two that she has written.  I probably have more than 2 of them.

More on the story behind this mystery quilter's awesome quilt, and the show itself soon, including a flickr set of quilt photos...some ideas for upcoming shows...my take on vendors there.  If you have the chance, get over and visit there tomorrow.  I have a couple of quilts up in the vendor booth by A Verb for Keeping Warm.

Oakshott fabric: cheaper than other addictions, right?

Once the daffodils start showing up, you gotta think that spring is not that far away.


These little beauties are brightening up my kitchen.  Can you see my doll quilt collection behind them on the wall?  


Finally, my friends at A Verb for Keeping Warm have in their stock some awesome fabric from Oakshott.  This fabric glows from the inside.  It's almost impossible to imagine how it looks when you see it in person, but you really have to see it, feel it, and quilt with it in order to understand why one could (hypothetically of course) become addicted to it.


I have of course talked about this fabric before...


Anyhow, if you are at the Voices in Cloth show this weekend, pls do say hi to me if you see me there.  I hope to be floating around on Sat. and perhaps in the Verb booth at times if I get lucky.  To keep the Oakshott fabric company, of course.

Been reading I'm a Ginger Monkey blog and have a hankering for some plastic templates to make a new quilt...can I resist them?  Only time will tell.

Which Came First...and an upcoming quilt show: Voices in Cloth

I know, I know, we'll never know which came first.  Firstly though, I am addicted to these teenie MochiMochi knits.  I will have to be restrained in order to stop making them.  I knit one for my mom as a thank you gift for her every time she visits me.  I would love to figure out how to knit a super tiny R2D2 robot.  She got this little golden chicken in the mail today.  I don't think it actually lays golden eggs, but you probably don't need to feed it either.

Raise your hand if you are heading off to the East Bay Heritage Quilt show called Voices in Cloth this weekend!  

I hope to go and take some photos for you.  There is a special exhibit by the Oakland African American Quilt Guild that I'm excited to check out.

With any luck, my modern quilt block patterns will be for sale there at the Verb for Keeping Warm booth.  They are a little difficult to print and mail out without bending them, so it's a great chance to get them if you're so inclined...

Socks - on the run

I knit the above socks for my DH from Twisted Limone yarn.  This yarn is addictive.  I have been working on socks during swimming lessons, piano lessons and basically whenever I'm on the run with the kids.  Amazing how quickly they knit up when it's self-stripe yarn.  Only need to carry around one ball with you.

I used the afterthought construction method to make the heel  in case you're curious, in order to make a cute little bull's eye on the heel.

Check out these awesome Yoko Saito blocks over at Isadarena Passions Blog - so pretty.

Want to see the cutest teenie quilt/mug rug ever?  Small but adorable by my friend So Sue.

Tanis Fiber Arts just posted a cute way to photograph her yarn balls.  I'm thinking it would work well for quilt blocks too.  Never enough good photography tips!

Quilting Videos: Yoko Saito vs. Liberty of London

Would You Rather see a video by Yoko Saito about hand quilting, or a video about all the amazing artists that design fabric for Liberty of London?

I couldn't decide, so I watched (and loved) both:

Does anybody out there already have Yoko Saito's book called Floral Bouquet Quilt?  (I think that's the title anyhow...)  Check out this cute video of her on her site talking about some patterns in the book and watch as she demo's her method of hand quilting.  She doesn't use a hoop which I think is very interesting. 

In the Liberty of London video you can hear a bit about how the designers work as they create these amazing (*warning* and addicting) fabrics.

Have you tried the Quilter's Dream batt in wool?  I love their cotton bats, so low loft, so easy to quilt through.  I'm really interested to check out this stuff.  It looks a bit like it might be on the thick side though...hard to tell from a photo, but there is one up on Purl Soho.

The above blossoms were hanging over my side of the fence in my yard.  That makes them my property, right?  Considering they are now in my kitchen...they certainly are!  Let's hear it for the sakura.

Hand Quilting: Feathers

First thing's first.

The winner of the Lego "quilt studio" giveaway is...(drum roll)...AnnVallance of Rupert Girl Blog.  Congrats Ann.  Shoot me an email at "quilt (dot) baby (at) hotmail dot com" and I'll send your amazing and teenie studio out your way.

It's no secret that I love hand quilting, and feathers are my favorite.  I like to quilt other patterns, but there is something very appealing about the intricate detail of them and the antique feel they give a quilt. 

They are, however, not the fastest method of quilting, so my blocks are getting finished at a more relaxed pace.  

As long as the baby recipient is still a baby when she gets it, I'll be pleased.  She may have the ability to actually crawl off of it at the rate I'm going (and the rate she's building muscle!), but it will be fun to try and catch a photo of her sitting on it.

In other local news, we have a local non-profit teaching/learning farm called Hidden Villa.  Check out their calendar for a sheep shearing event coming up on 4/14.  My knitting friend and I are going to check it out to see where all that fluffy stuff really starts.  Sounds like good clean (or not so clean?) fun.


Have you seen the video that Pinwheels posted yet on their site?  Maria Tamaoka (owner) posted a really cute BOM instructional clip that is about 9 min long and features inspiration from Yoko Saito.  She talks about Daiwabo fabrics, and it is really cute and informative video. She mentions that you do not need to pre-wash the fabrics. 

Hm...I don't like to work with fabrics unless they are washed first, so I'll probably keep up my usual procedures (cold washer, gentle cycle with a color catcher....no dryer...directly to a hot iron with no steam...air dry overnight...love).

The Tower of Inspiration

If you were to stack up all the fabric you owned, would it be as tall as the kitchen table?  Would it reach the ceiling?  Would it reach the moon?  I'm not sure my fabric collection would make it past the Ozone Layer but my yarn ball tower is trending in that general direction.

The beautiful yarn collection in this photo are the spoils from my recent adventure at Stitches West.  The bright colors are so eye catching.  I am not sure I'll be able to hide in socks made out of these colors. 

My friend Sharon at Knits are for Kids posted our photo booth photo and talked about what she liked at the show.  Susan from So Sue, another knit nite friend, did a post about it and shared her photobooth picture too.

I have a tiny case of the All Hat, No Cattle syndrome right now with my hand quilting progress.  I am so in love with the quilt that I'm quilting, I think about it all the time, and I'm over the moon about quilting it but somehow the stitches are marching across the quilt in more of a crawl than a sprint.  Sigh.

I'm sure you have probably already seen  Barbara Brackman's latest post including a ton of beautiful red and green applique quilts.  As for color combo's, I'm not sure it gets any more striking than that.

Bedtime Stories in Color

Often times when I am waiting to fall asleep my mind turns to thoughts of color combinations.  I suppose this may be a little strange, but anyhow it's what happens to me.


I don't try to think about colors, but I do occasionally wish that I wrote down some of the combinations that I think about as they look so beautiful together.


Fuchsia and Saffron, White and light Gray, Olive and Aqua, Navy and Turquoise with Red...I like to see new combinations play off each other.  


Benjamin Moore paint has a color called Savannah Moss that goes well with their Smoke Embers paint color.  I would love to work for a paint company.  Can new colors be invented?  Maybe not, but goodness me they could certainly use some help to edit the ugly out.

The above photos is of the baby quilt I started quilting for my niece.  I decided to quilt the nine patches on the diagonal and to put some fancy quilting in the spacer blocks in between.  

I've been a sucker for years when it comes to Kaffe's stripe fabrics.  I'm a huge fan of the color combinations.

Thanks for all your contest comments.  Will announce a winner this week.

Stitches West 2012

This evening I spent a lovely time at the knitting event of the year - Stitches West 2012 with my friend Sharon of Knits are for Kids blog. 

That's me on the left, that's adorable Sharon on the right.  Ysolda had a "photo booth" in her display booth.  We could not restrain ourselves from trying on some of her awesome knitwear samples and jumping in front of the camera. 

We had a blast, and Sharon even confessed to me that there may be hope to convert her over to becoming a quilter!

I also took a finishing class (if you don't knit, it basically means they teach you how to seam knit pieces together) with Chris Bylsma which I really enjoyed.  It's nice to learn the 'right' way to do things and to pick up an important skill like how to put the pieces together.

Some quick impressions:

• Verb: not that I'm biased (since I teach quilting there) - best booth, most beautiful yarn, fiber to die for, nuf said.

• Lisa Souza Dye Works: some cool colors here.  I could not help but grab a little lace weight yarn.

• Sincere Sheep - more yarn that is dyed using natural plant-based dyes.  Soft wonderful colors.

• Becoming Art:  Their sock yarn is not only perhaps the softest thing at the entire show, but may also keep me entertained for perhaps years to come.  Seeing Alana (of Coastal Knits fame) in their booth was a treat - she's sooooo adorable and friendly.

• Podcasters:  One could not go anywhere without meeting up with some pretty incredible podcasters:
  • 2 Knit Lit Chicks - we ran into them and they were super cool.  I'm their newest fan.
  • FiberBeat - The oh so talented Michael Wade was there as well. 
  • Knitmore girls - I wasn't expecting to see them, but they were there with the new Knitmore baby (teenie, adorable)

Don't forget to comment on my give-away post!  Time is running out.

Smitten Family Portrait: Viewmaster...and a little something for you

I'm sure I mentioned that we are over the moon with our new Viewmaster Camera.  My DH has tons more about our passion for it over on his blog.  Above is a family portrait of us.

The camera allows us to make tiny 3D pictures of ourselves.  I'm thinking it would be fun to do a few photos of quilts in 3D.  It would be so awesome to do some photography at the Sister's Quilt show.  Have never been to that show, but have dreamed of going many times.

For those of you keeping score at home, I DID actually baste the quilt from my last post, so thanks to those of you who were rooting for me and cheering me on.  It didn't take all that long, just needed a little block of time.

In celebration, I'm hosting a little give away.

Leave a comment here and let me know how you feel about basting:  Love it, hate it, get your friends to do it, hire a long arm quilter to do it, skip it and love wrinkles in your quilts, have no idea what it is and would appreciate a video tutorial...let's be open kimono as they say.

I'll do a random number generator for folks who comment, leaving comments open until 9pm PST on Sunday 2/26. 


If you win, I'll send you your own Lego Quilt Studio (ok it's really a teenie fashion studio, but easily converted!).  It's Lego's set #3936 and it's pretty darn cute.  I'll ship anywhere, so if you're not in the states, don't be shy.


Here's to my basting party.  Let's raise the roof.

Quilt Baste-O-Rama: part 1

Every time I start to lay the backing fabric for this quilt out onto the floor to measure it, a little boy either decides to run across it or lay down on top of it.  

That of course is slowing my progress to baste this quilt (along with general house chores), but I cannot help but think it's pretty adorable that they like to play in my half made quilts. 

If I end up finishing some basting up this weekend, I'll host a little give away in celebration, so stay tuned.  This 9 patch and a house quilt are squarely in the path of my Baste-O-Rama energy.

Has anybody ever visited the Texas Quilt Museum?  I think it would be so fun to check it out.  I have never made it there, but it's on my to-do list someday.

I've been looking for the perfect set of everyday plates for eating on.  I love Heath (they are locally made, and have a certain heft to them that I love), but I am interested to check out the Russel Wright 1937 American Modern line from Bauer.  I am curious to see if they would hold up to the punishment we put them through.  White plates float my boat but scratches on them...unsightly!  Maybe I'll test a couple of them.

Finally, also on my to-do list this weekend is to check out Satori Team Company (37 N. San Pedro St., San Jose)  and to look for new flavors to share with my knit/quilt night girlfriends. 

If you're having a long weekend like some of us in the U.S. - enjoy and put that basting needle through it's paces.

Traveling Gnome

Anybody who has seen the movie Amelie or even just had a neighbor who put out a lawn gnome for too long probably understands the urge to pull the travelling gnome prank.

Although the above gnome hasn't traveled too much in his somewhat short life, if I were a gnome I would have logged at least 6,000 miles since I last had a moment to do a blog post.  Busy busy.  Home now and happy to be back.


I knit this little gnome for my mom to take around on her travels actually (and to possible tempt her to visit me).  It's from the Mochimochi book - very addicting.

I have this very strong urge to go on a basting binge.  Yes, to baste all the quilt tops I have laying around waiting for some hand quilting love.  Once they are basted they seem to quilt themselves and 'poof' finished quilts are flying off my hoop.  For lack of a quilt basting fairy visiting my house, I will have to get off my tuffet and have a basting party.  Wanna join along?

This week I started to run low on these little notebooks I sometimes make for myself and my sister so we can jot things down in them.  I ordered a few more chip board covers so I can make another batch.  I decorate them with calligraphy on the outside to make them a little special.  They cost only around $1 each to make, although they do take me a few minutes to put together.  


On the machine quilting front - have any of you out there got an opinion on Aurifil thread?  I've been hooked on it lately and wondering if I'm the only one in love with their 50wt cotton.  Maybe there are an army of quilters out there that feel the same.  Agree?  Disagree?  Never tried?



I recently got a question about how I made the quilt in my banner.  I'll have to do an upcoming post on that.  Oh and while I'm at it, maybe a little give away too...hm...ok, soon!


Wish me luck on my baste-o-rama.  I'll be reporting back with my amazing progress (ahem, hopefully)!

Tokyo International Great Quilt Festival 2012, and cheating on homework

I'm sure you have heard about the Tokyo Dome quilt show before,  but in case you have not, I do love to see the quilts there.

Now, that said, it's through the eyes of other kind souls, because although I have visited Japan a few times, I have not been there at the time this show is going on.

Jan, of Be Mused blog has a beautiful blog all year long, but she is generous enough to take amazing photos and she has started posting some of them over on flickr.  I have no idea how she takes these photos.  The show is so crowded, but she manages to get a full photo of the quilt as well as several detail photos.  All I can say is my hat is off to you Jan.  Thanks so much for putting so much thought into this so we can all enjoy.

Also this year, Julie of My Quilt Diary (another awesome blog!) has shared some of her photos.  She has not only one, not only two, not only three....but four posts dedicated to photos of the show and notes about the quilts.

Of all the photos I have seen so far, there is this one fish quilt that stands out from the rest.  It is so striking.  It makes me want to try to quilt something with a similar spirit. 

As for other people who attended the show?  I'd love to hear about your experiences, and see your photos.  Maybe I'll get there myself someday.

My new teapot and trivets above from Alder and Co.  It makes less noise that my old pot when it boils the water.  I got it with my friend Susan in mind who has no love of noisy kettles.  If you are wondering if she is a true friend, you will know that she is since she spent the evening knitting my homework swatches for a knitting class I'm taking at Stitches West in a couple of weeks.  Is that cheating?  Oh how I love you Susan!!!

Oh how many feet you meet!

I finally made a pair of socks for myself.  


I have made several pairs already for my family, but this is the first pair for me.  Funny how sometimes I get a lot more excited to make stuff for them.  I did follow through and actually finished knitting a pair for me.  Last time I tried this, I only made 1 sock, and you can imagine how useful that is.


The yarn (by Blue Moon Fiber Arts) was a gift from my quilting friend (thanks m.a.!) and it was really fun to knit.


The pattern is by Cookie A and called Monkey.  It is so popular I think most knitters on this planet have already knit these socks.


In between clothing laundry duty this week I slipped in a load of Liberty of London fabrics.  They were all quarter yards so of course they ended up in a giant ball when the laundry was finished.  They are all ironed and in a neat little stack now.  Just waiting for me to play with them.  Oh so pretty.

This weekend was pretty slow given our little one had a fever for the better part of it and is still trying to get back on his game.  

Speaking of game, I played tennis with my 6 yr old and he gave me a decent workout.  I may have created myself a little tennis partner.  Who knew that was possible.  It all starts with love!

Blue and White Japan by Amy Katoh and searching for the Tokyo International Great Quilt Festival

By this time in January, the Tokyo Dome quilt show is in full swing and plenty of bloggers have been there and shared their photos.

This year I haven't seen any photos pop up yet, so I am wondering what kind souls will be posting their photos.  Have you seen any pix?  AHHHH!!!  I'm going to die if I don't see some photos soon!!!  Don't tempt me to go there myself next year!

To keep the Japanese Quilting tendencies happy, and after reading Lis' blog post over at Piece n Peace blog, I broke out my copy of Amy Katoh's book called Blue and White Japan.

I have the version that was published in 1996/1997.  There are other versions that were printed more recently.  It discusses why blue and white are the most perfect combination of color, and at some level I have to agree.  It's clean, simple and very easy on the eye.

Lately I've been gravitating to the color combo of turquoise and olive green, but ok...it's certainly not as peaceful as blue and white.

Anyhow, if you are looking to learn about indigo or Japanese textiles, this book is awesome.  I want to visit the shop in Japan someday.

In other news, I've recently become obsessed with knitting striped yarn from Twisted Limone  - an indie Brit dyer.  It's so wild and colorful.  I cannot help but be seduced.  I named my project, "She Blinded Me With Legwarmers".

Modern Architecture Applique Quilt Block: inspired by Frank Lloyd Wright

Last weekend I taught our applique class at Verb (now carrying Liberty fabric - w00t!).  The block is our 9th block in a series inspired by modern architects and the work they have done in Northern California.

This block specifically was inspired by Frank Lloyd Wright's Hanna House which is located basically on campus at Stanford University.  It was a real blast to make.  You'll have to let me know if you think it captures the spirit of the home itself.

I went there and photographed it, and wanted so badly to take a tour of it.  I hear that photos are only allowed outside, not inside.  They also only let you tour it if you are over 12 yrs old, and since the company I keep on the weekends has almost another 10 years to go before that point...my hope is that they keep the place in good working order so eventually I can take the tour.

Teaching this hand applique class is perhaps the high point of the month for me since the students are all so creative and lovely.  They inspire me and make me wonder about what will be next once all these blocks are complete.  So many many choices.

The block shown above is 99% made out of Japanese taupe fabrics.  I slipped a piece of Liberty of London fabric in there because I could not resist.  It reminded me so much of Wright's designs.  I picked it up on my trip to Purl Soho and it's called Green Ebs on their site.

Why did I even visit Purl's site?!  Now I am wanting some Elephant fabric.  I digress....

While driving around I'm listening to this awesome podcast called Stash and Burn - it's more knitting related that sewing, but it's super well done and very entertaining.