Jelly Roll Chopping and Inspiration

Yesterday was heavenly. I sat behind my sewing machine for the whole afternoon completely uninterrupted....ahhhhhhhh! That is pretty rare around here. I had decided that I was going to do a baby size jelly roll race quilt. I cut my pieces and loved what I had chosen. I sewed it all together...and didn't like the end result. All my greens had lumped together; matching fabrics sat on top of each other...all the light fabrics at the top and dark at the bottom with a big white strip through the centre like a little target. I ripped seams out to break up the chunks of matching fabrics and still didn't like it. After ripping and sewing and ripping and resewing again, this is what I had....

This is the blurry folded in half version

Eventually I lost my patience with it and pulled out the rotary cutter and began chopping it up! This is not like me. I am a pattern follower...a rule follower.  Normally doing something as radical as cutting up my quilt top would have had me one step away from a nervous breakdown, however, after last it was rather therapeutic. It was very liberating to just say forget it and cut away without any regrets! Then my girls came home and gave their opinions...they pretty much were in agreement with the chopping of the quilt top.  

After cutting the strips I rotated every other strip. I didn't plan it at all and didn't really notice but the second row from the top and bottom is exactly the same. I'm quite happy with that turned out.

This is where I finished off last night...

I have been thinking about putting a stripe of green in the border but I just love how fresh and clean this looks so I think I will quit now before I have to chop up another top. It reminds me of springtime and fresh cut grass. I think now I will just pluck up the courage to quilt it...thinking straight lines to keep with the minimalism of the design. So now you know...when you lose the Jelly Roll Race, make Chinese Coins!

I'm now hanging out in my basement staring at my fibre and considering possibilities.  I just had an inspiring conversation with Joanne at Merry Poppins. (She is making cake pops for my daughter's 12th birthday. I can hardly wait to pick them up.  Her work is beautiful. You can find her on Facebook too at Merry Poppins.)

Anyway, when creative people get on the phone together there is no telling where the conversation may go. We went from cakes to quilting then spinning to felting. My mind is now running through the possibilities of where I could take Twistfully Yours and the idea of teaching workshops. Feeling more inspired than overwhelmed...that's a good sign! This isn't a new thought but the unknown keeps halting me in my tracks...

• how to start a cottage business
• how to price my work
• farmer's markets
• booking keeping and tracking inventory...eek
• how to take a decent photo 

I would love to hear your thoughts on some of these questions.  Wishing you an inspired week!

(PS there are only 118 classroom days left of the school year...

I am completely pumped about summer holidays now! lol)

Welcome Home Little Laptop....Come see what I have been working on....

My friend was able to "fix" my laptop....okay, the battery is completely dead and my A/C connection is loose...the DVD/CD drive is toast BUT I can access my OHS spinning thesis and photos that I hadn't already uploaded...or is that downloaded...over to the external hard drive.  I'm a happy person! that is starting to shop around for a new source of technology.

Last week we were completely blindsided and any creative cell in my brain disappeared.  (Everyone is healthy...that is always the first thought on bad news). It was one of those moments where you are left speechless and you feel all the connections in your brain snapping as you try to make sense of what you are hearing. I woke up with this morning with the resolve to keep moving forward and to stop second guessing myself.  I wasn't called in to work today so I have headed downstairs to tidy the sewing room.  Then it dawned on me that I have yet to get something for my new little nephew for Christmas.  We are sending the parcel out west tomorrow. Typically we each draw a name and make just one gift for the person whose name that we picked.  This little guy wasn't around when names were picked and being his favourite only aunt on this side of the family, I had better step up to the plate and do something.  I have yet to make him anything with the hectic summer and fall that we have had so rather than tidying I have pulled fabric out.

But first...what have I been up to?

• Finished my dad's Christmas gift...sorry...no photos (just in case he decides he should actually read my blog...highly unlikely but you never know).
• I have been helping my husband and daughter's with their gifts...mostly teaching them how to sew, etc....again no pics until after Christmas.
• I started adding colour to my thread painted portrait of my youngest daughter when she was 3.  I am using Prismacolour pencil crayons.  The photo doesn't do it justice (goal for 2013...learn how to take better photos)

• Our guild had a request for approx 40 placemats to donate to Meals on Wheels.  They deliver the placemats to recipients of Christmas meals to make the holidays a little more special.  As a presidency, we challenged the members to make 80.  At our Christmas potluck last week, there were 96 beautiful placemats turned in.  I wish I had my camera...there were so many creative ones.  My wonderful husband made my potluck contribution so that I could actually find time to make a couple of placemats.

These are really simple but very effective for a quick and easy project (again my photos don't do justice....or maybe it is the horrible yellow light fixtures in this house.  I may have to do something about those too.)  I am going to make up some miniature ones for a little one who just loves tea parties with daddy.

Pattern source:  Pink Penguin (this links to the tutorial but definitely check out the rest of her blog...lots of wonderful inspiration!!)

• At the beginning of the month I attended a spin-in with the Atlantic Spinners and Handweavers.  I went to spin however they had a hands on day.  I wish my laptop was working so that I could have downloaded the instructions for these.  I have made some before but not as intricate as some of the ones that I saw at the workshop.  Inspiration came from the book Temari Traditions: More Techniques for Japanese Thread Balls (this is on my list to Santa)and a variety of other sources.

Here is a little eye candy that the workshop coordinator brought along

Some of the workshop projects in progress....

  

I should get back to sewing and the mess in the sewing room...I'm thinking a little Jelly Roll project.  This is what I pulled from my stash. Now to get cutting and sewing like there is no tomorrow (because really...it has to go in the mail tomorrow...why do we do these things to ourselves??)

PS....Hop over to the Quilting Gallery.  Michele is having a Blog Hop Party to Celebrate the Quilting Gallery's 5th Birthday.  I was hoping to get in on it but the computer issues killed that thought but there are lots of other blogs that are linked up with tons of inspiration AND give-aways.  Happy surfing and good luck!