Reservations, reservations, reservations and a Fruit Basket.

For some weird reason, I don't read instructions. My head believes that manuals and even recipes are there to find out stuff when there is an extra nut, or if the whatever I'm working with is not doing what I was expecting it to do.

Well... Remember the beautiful fabric kit I got last month?

It turns out that the instructions included guidelines for reservations... Yes, RESERVATIONS and I had already cut fabric and finished a block!!

In a frenesi, I set up to cut fabric, and after a deep, deep, DEEP breath, I go ahead and slash...

Scary moment and scary sight - the beautiful border print in different pieces and even scraps, after the rotary cutter visited it last month... I guess this will be another lesson learned... READ THE INSTRUCTIONS!! 

Well, here are my reserved cuts; well, the ones that would fit on the table... And just in case, I decided to label them for future reference, in case I get cutter-happy.

And, just because I was in the cutting train, I ended up cutting fabric for the first February BOM, A Fruit Basket.

I was a bit concerned to be working with the units and bias edges, so I tried to be extra careful with placement and sewing order.

A happy sight! Matching seams!

Here lies the secret... Pins everywhere! I used to hate pinning, but when it comes to matching seams, they are like my best friends.  I even pin away from the seam line, to make sure that fabric won't shift (see the pin to the left, securing the tip of the triangle?).

Looks good!

I pressed all seams open to reduce bulk, and when I flipped the piece, I was really excited that even the seams in the back showed the matches! Woohoo!!

I went ahead and continued with the rest of the patches...

And here (next picture) WERE all the pieces ready to be put together... 

Yes... WERE...  See the basket rim? Man! I swear that templates and I don't understand each other. I checked the printing settings, the needle, the ruler, the template, and everything seemed to be OK. Even after checking the other patches, it was evident that they would fit, were it not for a funky, shorter basket rim... 

At this point, I'm better at cutting fabric directly, so with a little voice in my head reminding me that I've got a kit, that the fabric in front of me is not endless, that I just reserved, reserved, reserved... (Big bravery displayed) I went ahead and cut a second rim.

Oh, and by the way... Did you notice that I sewed all the HST wrong? Major disappointment - I was not smart enough to sew the patches in the right direction... 

Soooo... after ripping, sewing, more ripping, more sewing and figuring out a way of squaring this little basket, I reserve it's right to be pictured on the carpet!

Ha! I feel like I threw a huge tantrum, but the low battery in the camera helped me decide... I guess it was just a life moment. I'm not completely happy with the results, particularly because of the top rim.  I like the points. At least, I got those down... 

Alas! This was supposed to be a learning experience, right? So, I'd better remember this and get an extra dose of patience for the second February block, an Ash Basket. I must confess I'm dreading a bit all of those bias edges, but I won't run away from a good challenge. Pins and starch are good friends, and something tells me I'm getting too attached to those.

The best thing though is that I've learned that my face wears my quilting experience... My husband just used the last three minutes or so and went on and on about what I was typing. He nailed it, lol  

"And yes, quilting makes me grumpy! Ripping makes me grumpy! And now I want to blog all about it because I'm grumpy!" He is pacing up and down the playroom and using a funny voice to say the above... I love him to pieces! He is able to make me smile - always on time, always unexpectedly, and always when needed.

Well, a new block, a new lesson and a smile! And smiles have no reservations!

Blessings,

Yiya.

Terminal Bee

... or the story of a curious child who went out to see the flowers.

An unexpected sight... Curiosity... Action... A happy moment!

All of these is Terminal Bee. 

(I guess that at this point, I should confess that this wall hanging was finished last year, in June, for the MQG challenge... (Big sigh!) Life went on, remember? And in the middle of the every day needs, I missed the draft that had been waiting so patiently for me to give it a final read and click "Publish." Well, it´s a 2014 finish published in 2015, but it´s still a happy quilt and I can´t wait another second to share it with all of you!)

So here it is... Terminal Bee!!

Terminal Bee is the wall hanging I made for the MQG challenge last year. The fabric was gorgeous and there was this one print with a yellow background and pretty huge flowers begging to be showcased.

However, I really wanted to experiment with geese, so I decided to make one goose with each of the prints; after arranging them in a long line, my husband walked by and said something like: "Look! Like the lines in the airport!" My head went  like: "Airport?!?! Really?!?! Men!" Well, scratch the "Men!" lol...

Anyway, I prepared the print and decided that the wall hanging was going to be a field of flowers with geese flying by. It just didn´t look right and seemed to be unbalanced. That´s when the idea of a curious goose spotting something and exploring came to my mind. "Hmmm... not quite... I need seeds flying after the goose flew all over the place, played around and messed up with the flowers!!"

A happy thought indeed!

The piecing came along and it took an extra dose of patience to shape the scrap background into seeds and fuse them around the right part of the quilt.

Here it is, all pinned and getting ready to be quilted... I could only think "quilt as desired," just as many instructions indicate, but I had a big blank in my head... "How on earth was I going to quilt this wall hanging? Happy quilting? How is THAT done?"

Well, something that I once heard and that has stuck with me is quilting that enhances the piecing. This time, the piecing was telling a story, and I only knew that I wanted the quilting to emphasize that.

I started with the appliqued flowers and quilted concentric petals... and the crafty bone was unleashed! lol

Somehow, in the middle of a loop or a turn, I was able to "see" the wind, shaped by large concentric circles with a tail. The green goose, a.k.a. disobedient child, would leave a trail in its hasty escape from the formation; somehow, straight lines would have to interrupt the dancing of the wind playing with the seeds...

See, it´s making a mess!! :)

I knew I wanted the geese to be puffy, so I decided to quilt the background only. I ended up outlining each goose and trying a different quilting pattern between each of them.

Here is something I had always wanted to try: a feather fan. I am still experimenting with feathers, and thought that this space would be the perfect opportunity to emphasize this bit of negative space.

And here is an attempt at a herringborne; I am not completely happy with the results, but I guess it´s not that bad for a first time.

I wanted to quilt clouds in the "cloud" area, but I was not too sure of how to do it. I drafted some and decided to make Cs, lots and lots of Cs!

The Cs went on around the geese and in the border. And there´s even spiky lines crossing each other. I like the contrasting quilting textures and shapes.

Here is another look at the disobedient child...

... and the wind and clouds meeting, in the back.

And talking about the back, look at this! I was thrilled to turn the quilt and discover a great surprise in the back: the quilting telling the story!

The puffy geese, the flowers, the wind, the clouds and the hasty flight of one curious goose.

I just couldn´t take enough pictures, lol!

Oh! And I also made an experiment with filters; I wanted to see if the quilting would look different in them. I think that the following would be the better, but it also shows where the quilting mistakes are...  No biggy, I am still happy with the end result!

So here it is! A happy quilt that makes me smile :)

I must confess, deep inside, I guess this quilt could also be called something like "Curiosity taking the best out of me," or something like that... Smile! :)

Stay blessed,


Yiya.

Craftsy BOM January Block

Well, here is the start of my adventure with techniques and blocks that will take me way off my comfort zone. The fabric keeps pushing me into working with it and learning as much as I can.  

I must confess I did not like working with the templates very much; it may be because I was trying to pay close attention to every detail. I knew that there was not going to be much room for mistakes and I certainly don't want to use more fabric than necessary. I was super careful with the size of the half-square triangle units. At the end, I was really pleased to see perfect points!

Well, not perfect perfect; just perfect... lol The templates were really accurate - and I learned a good lesson. If I took the time to observe all they "say," even grain is included and bias edges could be avoided. I did use some starch, which has become one of my good friends!

Another major lesson was finding out what the little holes in some templates are for. Blogging about this almost feels embarrassing, but I guess we all have to start somewhere. Now I feel like taking out some of those templates and start experimenting some with them, it is amazing how much we can learn at every turn of the road!

Well, here it is! The May Basket. The feet may look different from the fabric pictured above, that is because I had an issue with the initial cutting, so I ended up having to cut up extra fabric. I used a different section so that it matched the top, like a double rim effect. 

How about you? Have you started any quilting adventures lately?

I hope that all of you are doing fine and thanks for stopping by!

Stay blessed,

Yiya

A Special Delivery

I am sort of new to quilting; I started experimenting back in 2012 and worked on my first major project in the Fall of that year, a sort of memory quilt for my in-law's. This was not a quilt per se, but a cover for their washer and drier. I was able to continue experimenting with different ideas and kept feeding my quilting bug with blogs, webinars, videos and online classes. The MQG once hosted a webinar about improvisational piecing, and the best advice the teacher had was: "Never buy kits." I guess I'm not a very good student... 

OK... I confess... I'm weak! I bought a kit! 

It is a package full of wonderful, colorful, quiltiful stuff to piece the top of the 2015 Craftsy's BOM! Luscious fabric that will be my  inspiration in learning new techniques and taking me away from my comfort zone. From baskets to applique, I'd better shape up and make at least two blocks a month! 

Isn't the fabric just gorgeous?

The combination of focus fabric and neutrals is just stunning! I am amazed that these colors are "unexpected" to me, but they work great together. I guess that is a token of so many more things I need to learn. Now, I just need to wiggle around this full-time schedule and find the time to practice...

It's probably the colors in the following picture that really caught my eye and it was just impossible to let it go... I'm weak... (Oops! I've already said that... :P) 

Yes, that's right! Craftsy has this new free mini class with Jinny Beyer - and I'm so excited! I have seen some of her products, and now that I get to see her in action, it's amazing! She is actually hand sewing the blocks! Now, how cool is that?!? 

I must confess I'm a bit surprised at myself. This quilt will be too traditional for my usual taste, and has a bunch of baskets (which I generally run away from) but it has a je ne sais quoi that I could not resist!

On top of it all, and particularly after my last post about not being able to quilt, 

I found some good excuses reasons for making this quilt: 

• Gorgeous color palette
• I'll get to work on it a bit at a time, and will -hopefully- have a quilt completely "outside my box" by the end of the year
• New techniques to learn
• Free Craftsy class that I can watch over and over and that doesn't expire

I am ready! Mylar, thread and even tailor chalk are getting ready to work on the first block, a May basket... in January!  :)

Even if you don't want to make this quilt, I would recommend you visit Craftsy and get enrolled in this mini-class. You never know what you'll learn!

Well, let the adventure begin!

Stay blessed,

Yiya


Disclaimer: This blog post contains affiliate links and I will be compensated if you complete a purchase or enroll in classes after clicking on them.

Blogging keeps me sane!

After such an unexpected long hiatus from Blogland, I can only say: Life goes on...

I often wondered why major bloggers and crafters posted every now and then that they will not be active in their blog for a certain period of time.  After two or three months, BAM! A new book! Well, I do not have a new book, nor did I finish any projects. I do not even have a picture to share in this post... 

Life happens - and it goes on.  

In the meantime, ideas have not stopped fuzzying around in my mind and I could only wish I had a brief moment for at least putting them down on paper. I look back and realize that I never met my super blogging resolution for 2014, at least 4 posts a month. I am not sure I would like to set a similar one for 2015, but I'll do my best!

(Big sigh...) With all the commute time and a full-time job, I could only wish there was some kind of gizmo that could automatically download all those tickling and fluttering ideas in my head to paper, PDF, blog post or some kind of document that is easily accessible! I have rediscovered the wonder of post-its and other note taking artifacts, but it seems impossible to keep up with the constant flow... Maybe those self-driving cars that are often seen in movies will be available sooner than expected, and we will all be able to craft safely in the back seat... Ha! Wouldn't it be nice? Just think of all the projects that would be completed while going to and from work!

At this point, I can only thank all of you who kept coming back while I was trying to keep up with dishes, dirty laundry and house chores - which I think I will never catch up with. Your visits and comments are such an encouragement!

I have found out that this thing of writing and posting is quite a fantastic activity.  I can only promise that I will keep trying.  I have started a new project and materials are coming soon. I also started concocting a super fun idea for a quilt project. There are WIPs and WIPs accumulating in the dining crafting room, so I believe that there will be plenty to share during this year!

Stay tuned and God bless you!

Yiya

Honor, by Lyn Cote

I often wonder how blessed we are in so many different ways - today, we live in a time and place where and when we can exercise free will without major opposition. This is not true for Honor, a plantation heiress who, along with her maid, goes from a fairly comfortable life to destitution when Honor makes a decision based on her beliefs and convictions, while defying those of her family.

As a result, Honor has to face harsh consequences, but she stays true to herself despite the unexpected harsh reality she ends up in. In a time and moment where slavery, abolition, abuse and violence are staple, her determination is admirable. Her plans do not come to be as she had expected and marries Samuel out of convenience. They both learn to accept and love each other and become two characters who exemplify Christian character. In this sense, this book could be a great teaching tool. 

However, there are elements in the story and the way it is written that made it less effective or more incredible (as in not being credible), at least for my taste. (SPOILER ALERT NEXT) For example, no one is able to master a language in three days, but due to Samuel's needs, Hope learns to sign in a extremely unrealistic short period of time. I understand this is a work of fiction, but this is way too farfetched. Also, Honor is initially engaged to another man, who clumsily reappears by the end of the story after the author includes a sub-plot that shows his true colors. His showing up at Honor's new house brings a little suspense and edge to the story, but the situation is highly inconclusive, as it is finished almost as fast and abruptly as it started. Personally, I think that this event could have brought much more to the story, rather than turning it into a book with a weak ending.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from Tyndale Publishers, in exchange of an honest review. This has not biased my opinion on the book or the author.

Merry Christmas!