Wednesday, August 17, 2011

Craft Show #1



So no one said "Ewww". Lots of nice people stopped to look through a few things, and a few of them even bought my stuff.
There was even a tour bus. Actually it was my dad's RV for his garage band, The Trophy Husbands. So doesn't count.

It was surprisingly a lot of work just to put together the display. Ryan helped me out by making a photo album of my work and Dad printed out some business cards for me.


I managed to sell my cup cake oven mitts and a copy of my tote bag pattern. I was pretty excited to make enough for my gas plus a bit more.

One customer was totally taken with the quilt top I borrowed from my piecer-but-non-quilter mom. She wanted to buy it but Mom gets a bit attached to her "babies"! She needed time to get used to the idea.

All in all, it was a positive experience. Learned lots, and I have too many ideas for the next time around. I'll never get rich at it, but it was tons of fun!

Friday, August 12, 2011

Show Time!

I've been busy this week getting ready for my first craft show.

While I've been selling to strangers on the internet for a while, it's going to be a bit, well, different, selling face to face.
I mean, when I sell online I don't have to think about all the people who clicked on my stuff and said "Ewwww!", with only their screens (or maybe their cats) as an audience. Out of sight, out of mind.
At the show, I'll be there in person as people go through my stuff and make a decision whether or not to shell out their cash to a schmo like me.

I'm a little nervous. Can you tell?

Maybe this is the start of a new career on the craft show circuit. If I get a tour bus and groupies, count me in. But when I make it big, I'll stay away from the marmalade and jam pushers - they get you hooked with free samples, then it's all downhill from there. Next thing you know, your life is a whirlwind of all-night jelly parties, waking up smeared in a sticky mess, teeth aching, and the whole night a black hole in your memory.

Ok, I'm starting to hallucinate. Sorry about that.

But in my more lucid moments this summer, I wrote my first pattern for a little tote bag. I'll have it on sale at the show along with a few kits I put together from my stash. Hopefully I'll have the PDF version up on Etsy as soon as I figure out how to do that.




In other news, it's been a great summer camping and travelling. Isn't this gorgeous?

That's my dad, standing waaaaay too close to the edge of a 300-foot drop. Brave guy. Hope I inherited enough courage from him to survive the show this weekend. Wish me luck.

If, on the off chance you find your self near Bonnechere Provincial Park on Sunday afternoon, come say hi!


Wednesday, June 1, 2011

It's been a while


You know how when you put something off for way too long, it just becomes easier to procrastinate about it for another day rather than just doing it?

Well I'm just doing it. Nice to be back.

I've been busy.


I've designed and made a pink baby quilt and a handful of tote bags. Patterns for both are coming soon. The baby quilt is up for sale here.
I've been starting lots of other projects too that I'll post about later.

As a result, my dining room / studio looks like a bomb went off.

Even still, I found some time to pick up a bit o'Amy Butler from Evelyn's in Newmarket.

Not easy to find Ms. Butler around here, so I was thrilled!

So it's a thousand degrees outside, the A/C is broken, the boat is broken, and the pickup truck is broken. I think I'm going to hide behind my machine for a while!

Monday, April 18, 2011

The Big Show

The Kawartha Quiltmakers had their annual show this weekend. While most of the quilts were of a more traditional style, I found a few little gems.
Most exciting, I found two art quilts by Judith Maher. When I saw these about a year ago when I first started quilting, her style inspired me to give art quilting a try. I've started dabbling a bit, but these quilts have remained in my imagination as source of inspiration. Now if only I could afford the $650 price tag to bring one home.
Unfortunately they were posted about ten feet above the floor so I couldn't get a good pic, but here they are.

She's got a collagy-layering style embellished with hand quilting. She's used some sashiko stitching for the rain.
I wish this pic captured the texture of the snow and trees.
Mollie Clarke totally floored me with her mastery of curves. She developed this beauty from a mosaic in an Italian cathedral floor.
Bev Longford had an amazing display of her whimsical quilts. Love those borders.
Her applique is highly embellished with beads, buttons, and metallic threads.
And though it's a little traditional for my taste, I had to include this one just as a nod to her incredible piecing and applique skills. I will NEVER have the patience for this!
But the most exciting parts were the vendors. It's hard to find contemporary fabric around here, so I snatched up these fun little beauties. Must...feed...stash....
Now what to make with these?

Friday, April 15, 2011

WIP Wednesday

On Friday. Oops.

Just started a baby quilt from my own design. Love these Riley Blake prints. I think they're Rainy Days and Mondays and something about Mind's Eye. Anyways, they go together great and they're perfect for spring.

Wednesday, April 6, 2011

WIP Wednesday


This one's gone in the WIP pile since I have no idea what to do next. Since I took this pic, I've fused on the petals but now I'm stumped on how to sew them on. Blanket stitch with monofilament? Zig zag with matching thread? Applique before or after layering? Too many decisions.
I love working with the dupioni silk. The sheen is beautiful and I'd love to have it hanging up. But I think this one needs to gel a while before I quilt it.

Monday, April 4, 2011

Bye Bye

About 11 years ago, Ryan and I went down to the Peterborough Humane Society and fell in love with a tiny grey and white kitten.

His name at the shelter was Hansel, but that was too sissy. He needed a strong, dignified name. We named him Bacchus, after the Greek god who didn't care what anyone thought of him. It proved to be the perfect name for our first cat.

That first night in my apartment, he came to cuddle in the bed, mewing sweetly. Unfortunately he'd had a fairly spectacular litter box malfunction, so he had his first bath that night too!
It was a sign of things to come.
He quickly grew into a cat with an incredibly strong personality. Bacchus bonded closely with Ryan to the exclusion of all others. It took him about 6 years to accept me, and even then only grudgingly.
But his quirks only added to his charm, and he was loved. Even the most avowed cat-haters in our group of friends respected Bacchus because he didn't put up with crap from anyone.


We always joked that Bacchus spent his free time plotting the destruction of his enemies (which included the dog, the two other cats, me, furniture that had been moved, suitcases, and any other sort of stranger danger). If he only had opposable thumbs, he would have been a true threat to Homeland Security.
But as it was, Bacchus never followed through on his nefarious plans, opting to hiss and hide instead.
Occasionally he would take a swipe at someone, especially at the dog if she'd been pestering Mango. Although he could barely stand his sister, he was always her protector.
When no one else was around to watch him lower himself, Bacchus loved to cuddle in the crook of Ryan's arm and groom his beard for him. In the bathroom, stangely enough, he became a kitten again, looking for affection and cuddles. Outside the bathroom, he was crotchety, cranky and callous. It was like Dr Jekyll and Mr. Hyde some days.

He loved his water dish. He'd gaze into his reflection and would sometimes tap the side of it to move it to what he deemed better location. This led to many curses in the morning when Ryan or I stepped in a fresh puddle!
He hated the dog, being followed by anyone, and he especially hated closed doors.

But from time to time, he and the other cats called a truce and spent some quality lazy time together.
Last week, he started to cry a lot, which wasn't that strange for him. He was always very vocal about his needs. Unfortunately, he was trying to tell us his kidneys were shutting down. Within three days, he had become a frail, fragile cat. Not our chubby, robust Bacchus.

There was nothing we or the vet could do. We made the difficult decision to end his pain. The sudden loss of his presence is a shock to all of us. It will be a long time before the house feels full again.

We were very lucky to enjoy 11 years of this unique and wacky feline. He is missed.

Bacchus
2000-2011