Resolutions?

It's that time of year when many of us make resoutions. I've been considering a few 'quilt' related ones this year. My Vimeo post from November, "29 Ways To Stay Creative" seemed like a good starting point for ideas. Two points that will make my short list are to finish something and clean my workplace. Are you making a resolution this year? Post them in the comments section, I'm looking for inspiration.

Tis The Season

Each year I add a new Christmas decoration to my collection. This year these cute little snowmen adorn my studio wall. I found the pattern in a magazine which, sadly I am not able to credit as I can't locate the darn magazine. I just love the candy cane binding and the snowflakes in the border. My friend, Margaret, let me loose in her embellishment collection to choose the eyes and other decorations.

Pet Peeve

As a longarm quilter things usually run pretty smoothly and there are few frustrations within the job.  My pet peeve is the Hobbs batting that comes rolled and in a bag. This batting has gathers, folds and puckers that make it very hard to sandwich. This example is a wool batting by Hobbs that was folded and rolled into a bag. I unroll it to let it relax over night and then lightly spritz it with water to relieve some of the folds but it still doesn't totally solve the problem.

Hobbs produces batting sold on a roll (I keep it in stock) and it is a far superior product which is much easier to work with.  Dream is another favourite batting sold in most quilt shops and I love it.
A lesson in 'you get what you pay for'.

29 Ways to Stay Creative

http://vimeo.com/24302498?utm_source=Twitter&utm_medium=Tweet&utm_campaign=sfg

Group Challenge

Our group, 12 By the Dozen consist of twelve quiltmakers and textile artists scattered around the world in 4 countries and across three continents. Our aim is to create a 12" square quilt every three months. The theme is chosen by the members in turn.

Tomorrow we reveal the next challenge entitled, Street Life. Here's a sneak peek at mine. The racoons are thread painted, the garbage can is done with Paintstiks and the eyes are Swarovski crystals.

Check out our group to see past challenges at http://12bythedozen.blogspot.com/

Beaconsfield Guild Raffle Quilt

Today I am starting to quilt the guild's raffle quilt, the proceeds will go to NOVA. This stunning quilt top was done by the Beaconsfield guild members. Linda Forey, a former guild member who has recently moved back to England coordinated the project, expertly assembled the blocks and added the very creative border.

I hope to finish quilting this New York Beauty quilt by our Christmas guild meeting in December.

MQX 2012

I'm excited as the schedule of classes for the 2012 Machine Quilting Exposition has arrived. Once again there are so many to chose from, 250 to be exact. This will be my 7th year attending this exhibition. Each year I find I learn new things, get inspired and energized and come back with a bundle of new threads. The fun begins trying to select my favourite classes to take over the three days that I will be there. It's nice to go for a variety so I look for a computer class, a business related one, a 'big name' teacher, a practical class and a new technique.