BV Modern Quilters Update

Hi folks,

We had a pretty small get together yesterday.  Nola arrived early and brought her young friend Lucia. Lucia is working for a year at the nursery and comes from Vernon.  She's very crafty and has some great ideas!  Kirsten arrived a bit late and brought her one an only quilt for show and tell. Carli arrived for lunch with a demonstration of a new block.  She promises to remember all the pieces for next time so we can all try it!  Joanne arrived later in the afternoon for a visit.

Our next quilt-in will be on November 17th. Everyone is welcome (and encouraged!) to bring a friend!  The quilt-in will be at the Telkwa Reformed Church from 9 to 4.

On December 7th (Friday night), we will have a Christmas social/show&tell/recruitment drive at Kirsten's house in Telkwa.  We decided on this format so we could introduce potential new members to the group in a less intimidating atmosphere where people don't feel obligated to have a project on the go.  Proper invites will be sent out closer to the date.  Members should bring a friend or two who may be interested in our group.  Also, please bring something to show and tell, and a small gift (can be new, recycled or silly) for a game we will be playing. We need to have enough "gifts" for all of the attendees.  Ideas for gifts could be bundles of fabric, fancy thread, homemade pot holders, etc...So were getting busy with lots of little gifts for our new friends!

On February 9th, we will be holding our Found, Fancy, Frugal event.  More details will emerge closer to the date, but we ask that everyone set aside that date for participating.  We all have 4 months to make sure that date is clear in the calendar.  Remember, the objective of this event is to showcase to the community how they can reuse fabric and other household objects for creative purposes.  Start thinking of a few projects that we could showcase for that purpose.  Nola found a new magazine with a great quilt made partially out of repurposed men's ties. Carli's denim potholders are a great way to reuse old jeans.

Just imagine, cheddar quilts are a true favorite of mine. This yellow lump of fabric is almost new, very little used set of cotton drapes. I intend to use it for a quilt. I bought it  here in the Bulkley Valley at one of the thrift stores for $5.00.

You just cannot go wrong with thrift buys of fabric. Miles and miles of fabric is available and we can make great quilts with it.

See you soon.....

Feb 25th Quilt In- Telkwa

 This is my quilt that I'm working on for our upcoming Quilt In in Telkwa, BC

 Close up of the "Orangey Thing"

Come and join us on Saturday Feb 25th, 9:30 am to 4 pm held at the Telkwa Christian Reformed Church Hall. Located across Highway 16 from the One Stop. Bring a potluck luncheon item, your sewing projects and equipment. Some quilts to share, a donation for the room and we're having fun.

Modern Mini Contest-Check this out

Sometimes, we cannot think and we need something to push us over the edge into our creative zone! Well, this is how my production channel gets going and I just love to see other examples of modern quilts.

At this link, Ellison Lane is a great example of what's possible and where to get great fabric.

http://ellisonlane.blogspot.com/2012/01/modern-mini-contest-challenge.html

I'm always seeking out fabric that is vintage and many of the new designer are mirroring the 'vintage feel' in the look of new designs. This is very exciting because, we cannot forget to look back at our past to see our future. I just wish more designers were going certified organic with these new designs. Its coming and its the future and its good for the environment. If you want to see some examples reusing vintage fabric, reused fabric from clothing, check out my sister blog here.

Modern Quilting Origins for me!

The photo above is a a sockeye salmon almost finished trimming of bones on this side. The color is so rich orange that I find myself drawn to this color. Where I live in the Bulkley Valley, its a rich area of great fishing.

I love orange, purple, aqua, red and black. There, it out to the world. Not you average selection of colors. These are 'my' selections and I don't see them often in many other quilts I view online and in person. I just love to jazz up a quilt with embellishments and this goes for my last few years, I've begun to see the awesome art in simplicity and modern quilts.

I have no idea where I'm going to go with this quilt, but I do enjoy incorporating solid colors into my work. Though, I have only begun to branch out into more interesting ways to use solid colors in a modern way. For my 50 something brain, I do admit, that my first selections are not always with a modern eye.

 My surroundings often pull my attention. The blue of our beloved Bulkely River is so prevalent in my life, surrounded by wilderness, I live a rural lifestyle that is cruel and raw, yet comforting as well.

Cloe, our cat, is so visible in the winter, black against white. She spends most of her day outside, hunting for mice and as you can tell, she does this even in the coldest of days. Her breathing causes white frosty bits of ice to form on her fur. I derive a spectrum of color from my surroundings and Cloe is not exception. 

Hudson's Bay Mountain in the far distance peaks the landscape on a summer sunset. The blended sunset colors again mirrors the red of salmon flesh.

Again, colors of rich red and salmon pink are prevalent in my life, as I'm sure that others think about where their origins come from? This photo is my husband with his 2009 ice sculpture of a sockeye salmon. 

Where does your inspiration come from? Comment and follow this modern quilting blog made for quilters of the Bulkley Valley.

Modern Paper Piecing-Foxes, Frankenstien and brown cat?

This cutey is easy to paper piece and is totally fun to play with. This little fox is in transition as she makes her way into my quilts. I personally think that Sonja Callaghan is one of our brightest, emerging paper piecing artist we've seen yet. Her work is fresh, alive with innovation and creative spunkiness that is often not seen anymore.

In this scene I imagine this little fox is peering down a dark hole in the ground. The  background is the sunny skies of summer. Its simple, yet calms the spirit.

Her Frankenstien takes a 'hole' new view of things as he peers out from his custom made horror. 

Her kitty is free on her website, http://artisania.wordpress.com/ 

I am priviledged to have discovered her work. I recommend that you visit her site and read some of her blog posts. Funny and interesting.Her paper pieced patterns are downloadable so you can get started right away.

Sonja was enthralled along with all Canadians as the Vancouver Canucks fought for the Stanley Cup, she offered a free paper piece pattern of their sudo logo.

 I really like making paper piecing, but one warning for beginners, little scraps like these are not on. Always use a much larger piece of fabric than the little paper segment identifies on the patter piece. To get the angles correct, aligned so that you have your outside 1/4 inch for sewing into your quilt is a little bit tricky, it tends to bend your mind a bit. I suggest that  having a glass of wine while doing other things than paper piecing is the best advice I can give.

These little slivers are solid color organic cotton from a project I'm not quite ready to share, I'll keep you posted.

In the meantime, if you've got a favorite modern paper piecing pattern, share it with us. 

May the wind be at your back and sun on your face.