Sew Sunday - Scrap Snap QAL January Blocks

Monday I shared with you several of the QAL (Quilt-A-Long) I am taking part in.  The first one I dove into was the Scrap Snap QAL, mostly because it is a way to tame my growing collection of scraps.  I decided to start with aqua color family because I seem to have "collected" more of this color than any other.  Probably because it is my current favorite. 

  

This QAL has us cutting fabric into specific sizes.  I cut each of the sizes needed in the quantity needed, and cut the rest into similar sizes for future projects.  (Read Monday's post for more on that.)

From there I began assembling the blocks.  If you are following along with this challenge, you may be able to spot the blocks I switched up and mixed up.  I could take them apart, but decided to leave them in.  When all is said and done, you won't be able to tell block A was switched with block B in block 3.  They are all 6.5" so that makes it easy to move them around and make them work.

Before assembling my blocks I took a picture of them in black and white.  I wasn't too fussy about the placement of each piece, but I did move a few pieces around to give more variety in the color value.  Specifically the block on the top right.  There was too much dark together, so I switched those around with another block and began sewing away.

Here is how all 10 blocks turned out.  Some are flipped around and they are no longer in order, but that's ok.  I still haven't decided how I am going to design the final pattern.  Here are a few of my favorite ideas from Quilts for the Making blog. 

Photo credit: Kari V.

Photo credit: Kari V.

If you want to see more ideas on how to layout blocks, clicky for the original post from Kari V. at Quilts for the Making.

This project was so much fun and so quick to put the first row of blocks together, that I have already started on the purple row.  :) Even though I haven't figured out how I'll be arranging the colors, I know I'm going to LOVE it!!! I think it is because I am using my own scraps from fabric I already loved.  I never thought I liked scrappy quilts before, but I may have discovered a new way to love them... use colors and patterns I love in a monochromatic way. 

Inspiration Everywhere

One of the difficult things about my creative slump was that I felt like I lost all inspiration to create.  When that started coming back, it brought with it joy.  Suddenly I was finding inspiration in everything from napkins, to cookies to plaques on the wall of the local diner.  Oh, how I have missed that!  Remember that watercolor napkin at the ladies luncheon a couple of days ago?

It motivated me to work on my watercolor and not worry about what the end result would be.  I watched youtube videos and used one (or more) of the kits from Let's Make Art.  Someone asked me in the comments (yes, I enjoy reading your comments) how many subscription boxes I've received.  I did it for about 6 months and then took a few months off.  You can stop, start and hold at any time. My February kit is on its way as we speak though.  I'm excited to watercolor again next month.  I find that I like quilting in the cold months and painting or making cards in the warm months.  The former is for days when I want to stand in front of a hot iron or under a warm quilt the latter is for quick sessions when the weather is warm and I have things to do outside.

Here is one of those practice pages.  I believe I shared it here already, but not the backstory.  I didn't worry about making this a piece of art.  Watercoloring is fairly new to me and I didn't have a ton of skills.  I needed to PRACTICE.  It didn't have to be perfect and it didn't even have to turn into a painting or a card or anything I would keep.  Sometimes (ok, like all the time) I need reminders that there is a process to getting good at something and that process involves practice, mistakes, more practice and more mistakes before getting to a result I don't hate.  Often it takes me taking a step back and a day or two (or 30) before coming back and liking what I have created.  One thing I have learned is it is ok if it doesn't turn out.  It's ok if it goes in the trash instead of on the blog.  I am getting back to the place that creating is fun and not a job and that is bringing me joy!

The cookie inspired me to pull out this stamp set and my Zig Clean Color Real Brush markers. I believe the Altenew stamp I used here has been discontinued, but I found Everlasting Happiness (also from Altenew) which might even be a little prettier than the one I have and it may or may not have ended up in my cart while I was searching for you.  ;)  I still haven't made these into a card, but I love where these 2 pieces are going.  My initial thought is to stamp or die cut a simple sentiment and leave it a fairly clean and simple card.  What would you do with this image?

This second piece was my attempt at no line watercoloring.  I like it, but I miss the stark outlines.  hmmm... Maybe I will restamp over it... or perhaps I'll leave it.  No finished card for today, but I think you can see where the inspiration of a cookie on a napkin inspired me.  How does it inspire you?  Where do you find creative inspiration?

Paint Night at Board & Brush

Yesterday I told you about the paint night I won at our Ladies tea last May.  Today I wanted to share pictures of our session.  It was such a fun experience!  I'm so glad I gave Lisa the other ticket, because she is the one who got the ball rolling and helped motivate me to pick a design and choose a date.  If it wasn't for her the gift certificate might still be collecting dust instead of turning into decor for my house and a fun memory for my heart.

The first thing we had to do, after choosing our date, was to choose our design.  There are so many wonderful options that it was hard to choose.  In the end I asked if I could combine the quote from the picture above with the images from the picture below.  They said yes!  

If you've never taken one of these paint classes, I highly encourage you to.  They are popping up all over.  For this method we distressed and stained our wood.  There were several color options for the stain, or I could have just painted it a solid color.  After that dried (it was summer & hot, so it didn't take long) we added our stencil and again chose colors of paint.   It was relaxing and rewarding to spend a few hours and come out with a finished piece.

Their teachers were on hand to help us with any questions or suggestions.   This was our main teacher, but there were at least 3 other people walking around to lend us a hand. 

I chose this big board, and Lisa chose a flower box.  Hers even came with 3 mason jars to put inside.  So cute! 

Pulling away a stencil for the reveal is always the funnest part!

I chose Trinidad, CA for my beach location.  It is where we used to go camping on vacation every year as a child, it's where Scott and I went on our honeymoon and it is where both of my boys first learned to walk.  Trinidad holds a very special place in my heart and always will.

Isn't Lisa's box cute?!  You can put it on the table and use the jars to hold utensils or flowers, you can fill the jars with herbs and put it on a windowsill or even hang the box on the wall for wall decor with candles or silk flowers in the jars.  I want to make one of these next!

At this point perhaps I should admit that I almost canceled on Lisa the day of.  My anxiety was high.  I didn't want to be around people, but I really wanted to connect with Lisa outside of church and I knew I would love making this project once I got started.  I'm so glad I overcame my fears and went.  We had a great time and I would do it again in a heartbeat.  Sometimes it is just "doing it" that makes the creative juices start flowing again.

Thank you Board & Brush of Olympia for donating to our church and making this day possible!  Anyone local that wants to give it a try, I am down with going with you.  ;) 

Large Paper Flowers and Ladies Luncheon

Last Spring we had our annual ladies luncheon at Crossroads Church.  During the luncheon they have drawings for gifts that have been donated.  There were over 20 items/baskets/gift certificates donated and given away.  I personally donated a couple of baskets of Rodan + Fields skincare and a gift certificate to pamper the ladies.  It was fun to put these together knowing they would bless at least 3 women.

Every year the women do a fabulous job of making over the church into a feminine tea party.  Each table is decorated by one of the ladies in the church with her personal dishes and a touch of love.  I was lucky enough to sit at Gayle's table with my dear friend Debra (who bought my ticket to the luncheon). 

Something about having a place prepared for you makes you feel so special.  I need to remember that.

At first I wasn't planning on going.  It took place the weekend after my grandpa's funeral.  Yes, the losses unfortunately didn't stop in 2017.  I lost 2 more people in 2019.  My grandma (mom's mom) passed away just a couple of days before my birthday in 2017 and my grandpa's (dad's dad) funeral was the day before my birthday 2 years later.    But, I digress.  Debra bought me a ticket and said, "no pressure, but if you want to go I will be by your side".  Something about her gesture stirred something in me and I decided to go with her.  I'm so glad I did.  It was the love of a friend that understood sometimes we need each other and sometimes we need to be alone and either way she was there for me for what I needed.  So many times in the past I have felt pressured to "feel better" in front of my friends so that I don't bring them down or make them feel helpless.  It is exhausting sometimes to put on that "happy face".  When you can find a friend that you can be real with, to have laughter through tears with, you have found a treasure!

The wall in the church foyer (entry way) was decorated with these adorable HUGE paper flowers. I'm not entirely sure why Deb and I holding our plates???    Perhaps we were waiting in line for our food and didn't know what to do with the plates we brought with us, or maybe someone asked to see our plates just before they took the picture.  Each table had different place settings afterall. Either way, aren't we cute though? lol

I don't know who made these flowers, but I LOVE them.  Especially this plum purple one.  Somebody went to a lot of work!  It gives me an idea of what to do with some of that paper I have collecting dust in my scrapbooking collection.  ;) 

I took lots of pictures because I found inspiration everywhere that day.  The napkins look like beautiful watercolor.  The cookies need to become a future card.  This day was another jumpstart to my creativity.  At the end of the day I also won 2 of the gifts that were being given away.  The one I was most excited about was a free paint session for 2 at Board & Brush in Olympia, WA.  My pastor's wife, Lisa, and I both wanted that one badly.  When I won, I gave her the other ticket and said, "let's go together if we can make our schedules work."  Another blessing to come out of that day.  (I'll share pics of our creations from that tomorrow.)

Here's a picture of Lisa and her beautiful daughter at the sign-in table.  There were flowers everywhere because we ladies tend to like flowers.  

Oh, and I got brave enough to take a selfie with my favorite flower in the background.  It turned out so good, I made it my profile picture!

Sewing, Quilting and Challenges in 2020

I've been sewing and quilting again... A LOT!  My mojo has been sparked and it seems like I am stitching things together as fast as I can cut them.  I love times like this where the creative joy just flows.  While I have plenty of UFO's to keep me busy, I have also jumped on a few quilt alongs.  It's not too late to join in too.

TRAFFIC JAM
By: Pat Sloan
I Love to Make Quilts

SCRAP SNAP QAL

by Kari Vojtechovsky
Quilts for the Making
Scrap Snappers Facebook Group

GRAND CENTRAL MYSTERY QAL
by Michelle Renee Hiatt
Sew On The Go
Grand Central Facebook Group

Here are my fabric choices, so far.  I didn't have very many multi-colored fabrics in my stash.  I tend to like tone-on-tone or two-tone.  

and, the newest one I am considering....

SCRAP DANCE MYSTERY 2020 - THE TWIST

by: Carole
From My Carolina Home

This looks like it will be a great one for using charm packs.  (One of my personal favorite things to "collect".)

All of these are using up fabric in my "stash" (aka collection). 

Fabric Stash Management - Scraps

When I started quilting again back in 2010(ish) I didn't have much of a fabric collection.  I had some scraps left over from my first 3 quilts, but they were not high quality fabrics and fit into one of those plastic bins we kept in the garage.  I can still remember the day I walked into my first quilting store, Ruby Street Quiltworks, in Tumwater, WA and the awe I experienced at all the beautiful colors and wonderful smooth feel to their fabric. It was heavenly!  From that day a new world opened up for me and I have been collecting (and sometimes sewing) ever since.

It is funny (a little) to look back on those early classes and guild meetings when they would call for fabric from your stash.  I had none and had to go shopping even when what was called for was less than 5".   While my current "collection" is not huge, it is not that small either.  I've got a nice "little" stockpile of my favorite colors to choose from.

For the majority of 2019 and the better part of 2018 I did very little sewing, and my buying slowed considerable too.  (thankfully) That is until several local quilt stores when out of business.  The variety store in Elma had a HUGE going out of business clearance reduction and I came away with a garbage bag FULL of fabric.  Then my beloved Ruby Street went out of business too.  It was a sad sad day.  I bought some of my favorites, but it was unfortunately (or maybe fortunately for my checkbook) it was picked over pretty fast. 

Now I am back to sewing again.  My big motivation has been on FINISHES.  I finished Michael's quilt, a small child quilt, 2 doll quilts, a table runner, my Christmas applique top, and a SSMQG charity top so far in Dec. '19 and Jan. '20.  I'm working on quilting those last 2 finishes and hope to have at least one of them done before the end of the month.  Now it is time to pace myself to 1-2 finishes from my UFO bins and break into some of that new fabric I bought when stores were going out of business and find a place to store them and choose new quilts to quilt.  More on that later.

My first step is to go through my scraps and get them back into something manageable.    I've been inspired by my dad and uncles recent assessment of my grandma's craft collections (aka "hoard" in their minds) to use up some of what I have before it becomes overwhelming.  (I'm honestly almost there in my scrap bins)  It has motivated me to cut my scraps in squares of different sizes for future quilts too.   My sizes are 5", 4.5", 4", 3.5", 3", 2.5", 2" and 1.5".  The majority of the fabric is going to be 2.5" since that is what is called for in the traffic jam and it is also used in the Scrap Snap QAL.  (More on these 2 things tomorrow)  The 1.5" is an experiment to see what I think of using them to make doll  quilts.  If I don't like it, I won't continue to cut down anything under 2".  Here is a 2" scrappy doll quilt I made for my niece with leftover scraps from her doll quilt for Christmas.  (mental note...need to post pictures of her doll quilts soon)

I LOVE how this one turned out. I need to take pictures of the finish for you.  Putting that on my to-do list.

In this process of cutting down my scrap bins I've also started a wonky, scrappy, sort-of log cabin, but not really, 6.5" squares.  Here is my "in progress" on these.  It's a place to sew together extra pieces and bits that don't make it into a quilt or when I get tired of cutting down odd shaped fabric scraps.  So far I am making the block mono-chromatic because that is pleasing to my eyes. 

I should have taken a before picture of my scrap bin.  You can see from the top what the rest sort-of looked like.  I started with the colors I wanted to use (possibly) for the Scrap Snap QAL (more on that tomorrow) and haven't yet tackled the neutral basket on top.

These bar strips were from a swap our guild did.  They are decidedly NOT my colors, but I am trying to turn them into something I can make that someone else will like.  These will 100% be dontated.  LOL  I'm not entirely sure how they ended up on top of my nuetrals scrap bin.  hmmm...

That's better (not!)  The top bin is for white, grey, black, and cream.  I don't really have any brown, but if I did/do it will likely go in the yellow/orange bin.   Obviously I also have some leftover dot strips that are hanging from this basket.  I think I used some of the strips from this jelly roll to complete Aunt Cathy's prayer quilt.  On top of that bin is a bin for tiny scraps or my current project.  Again I have things piled on top and overflowing.  When my creative space gets to this point it is time to MAKE TIME to clean it up, organize and purge. 

Here is a shot of the scrap bin storage.  As you can see I have pinks & purples in the top below my neutrals, greens & blues in the middle and yellow, orange and red in the bottom.  I went through each of these bins and pulled out small scraps to cut into squares for the quilt alongs I am taking part in.  It's a work in progress, but at least I am working on it.  Most everything in these bins are fat quarters or smaller.  When it gets down to 5" size (or smaller) I will be cutting it into the sizes I mentioned above.  

Sewing and Creating in 2020

Welcome back creative mojo!  For a couple of years you were missing from my life.  It's been so long since I've regularly blogged, that I'm not sure anyone will ever read this.  That's ok.  I'm coming back to blogging for the reasons I started this blog.  It is a virtual "scrapbook" of my creative journey that I hope will inspire others to find their own creative joy.  Creating was always such a blessing in my life and I wanted to share that blessing with others... so... why did I stop?

1. Design team work became WORK.  The ideas weren't flowing.  Nothing felt new & fresh.  My work started to be something I would agonize over finishing and meeting deadlines.  Instead of feeling creative, I felt like I was doing a job.   Creating stopped giving me energy and started draining me.  I knew it was time to take a step back.  My plan was 3 months... things didn't go as planned.

2. Loss-Death.  In 9 months I lost 5 family members and a friend.  It started in the Summer of 2016 when we had to put our beloved dog, Maximus, to sleep.  Then in the Fall of 2016 my uncle didn't wake up one morning and the losses kept going until the Spring of 2017 when my grandma passed away just before my birthday.    That much death in a short period of time affected me deeply.  Since cardmaking had become a job, quilting had been my stress-relief.  It still brought me joy and I would often sew to clear my head and get ideas flowing.  The problem is that the last 2 quilts I had quilted were for my grandma and my Aunt (who passed away just weeks after being diagnosed with cancer and a month before my grandma passed).  Aunt Cathy passed so quickly that I wasn't able to give her the quilt I made her.  In fact, I finished tacking down the last stitch on the binding the morning she died. Every time I tried to sew after that I would find remnants of these 2 quilts in my room. A scrap I was using as a leader, leftover blocks on the design wall, scraps in the trash can and thread catcher, scraps in my stash.  It hit me harder than I would have imagined.  The only sewing I did was to fulfill my prior obligations to Do Good Stitches and the SSMQG.  Again, that felt more like work than creative joy.

My Aunt sleeping under the quilts she had made with her kitty keeping watch over her.  It wasn't until just before she passed that I discovered we shared a love of quilting. 

One of the hardest days was going with mom (and dad) to pick up my Uncles ashes.  We buried him with my grandma when she passed away 7 months later.

Grandma started going downhill fast in the Spring.  Mom caught her napping under the quilt I made her and took a picture to share with me.  It brought me comfort knowing my quilt was with her when I couldn't be.

So, I shut the door to my sewing room.  I only went out to the hobby room when I needed to make a birthday or sympathy card, but I always tried to find something in my card stash first so I wouldn't have to make one.  It would take me hours to make something I should have been able to make in under 30 minutes.   Making things was a big part of my life.  How did I fill those spaces?  In 2018 my "baby" graduated high school.  Senior year took up LOADS of time, and brought it's own kind of grief.  I spent time in 2019 on a Keto diet.  Learning how to meal plan, prep, shop and cook took a good deal of time in the Fall of 2018 and into 2019.  The upside is my hubby and I both lost a lot of weight!  I was very involved in volunteer work for our car club.  I started going back to Bible study last Spring and I worked on our yard over the summer.  In short... I had to take time to mourn before I could heal.

Letting go of balloons at the cemetery after Aunt Cathy passed away.

What brought me back?  Honestly, it was Let's Make Art.  I found their videos on Facebook, and decided to give the subscription box a try.  I figured if I liked it, I could continue, if not I could cancel.  I LOVED it!  I've never been able to watercolor images before, but I love the look of watercolor backgrounds on my cards.  This opened up a whole new creative medium for me.  Each week I got better.  That alone made me want to create more.

Soon after that I took part in the 100 days of creativity challenge.  You may have seen some of these pictures on the blog.  That was another spark to my creativity.  I didn't always post something, but I did start (almost) daily creating.  

I tried my hand at crocheting.  Youtube is an amazing resource for any kind of tutorial.  After making a couple of projects, I moved on.  There may be a time I pick this up again because I like having something to do with my hands while sitting, but it didn't spark a ton of joy for me.

From there I picked up cross stitching again. It gave me something to do with my hands while watching TV in the evenings with my husband.  I can't wait to share this finish with you.  I need to pick up another pattern to work on for when I don't have a quilt to bind.

I changed the colors slightly from the original pattern. My plan is to frame it and hang it in my sewing room.

Sew She Did pattern by Lori Holt

I ran into a friend from my quilt guild that I hadn't seen since I stopped going to guild meetings.  (why go, when you can't even open the door to your sewing room because of grief).  It was just outside a quilt shop in Westport, WA.  Serendipitous.  I decided to go back to a guild meeting after seeing her and that is where I found out about the sew powerful purse project from Patti.  THIS jumpstarted my sewing mojo into hyperdrive.  It felt so good to make something for these girls who have so little.  Focusing on them made ALL the difference.

I also started watching more youtube videos and found my love for sewing/quilting again.   Creating has again become a source of healing & joy.  Every day I feel more overwhelmed by a desire to create than by the sense of deep loss.  I made some cards & prayer cards for my bible study ladies in the Fall. Again, my focus was on making something for them and THAT brought me a sense of peace & comfort.

 

So, here I am with at least 2 months worth of content to share on my blog.  Does anyone still visit blogs?  I don't know.  If nothing else I will have a virtual record of my creative work for 2020.  My hope though is that I can again inspire you to find what creative thing(s) set your soul on fire and bring you joy.  If the past 2 weeks are any indication, 2020 is going to be a CREATIVE year.

Blessings,
Heather