Year of the Quilter

Hello Everyone,

Here I am, back in the saddle (so to speak) and creating again. Life was not condusive to quilting, knitting, or playing in my planner much the last six months. My two sons have been keeping me busy. I am now planning my quilting and knitting in advance, which brings me to this.

----> 2017 The Year of the Quilter <----

What is this plan I've devised? Well, simply put it's about quilting with the patterns and materials and techniques I know, and trust me there's LOTS of each in my stash/head! I have planned the general things I want to accomplish this next year. It all might be too grand, or maybe be too lean, but these are things I want to do to help me find balance and clean out my studio a bit. 

There are so many yards of fabric and yarn, books and magazines of patterns, and techniques for assembly in that poor small space. I have a sewing machine I haven't touch in way too long and a NEED to sew or knit or make!

2017 is my year, The Year of the Quilter, and also my last year in my 30s. Maybe it's a mid-life crisis, maybe I just want to show my husband I do more then curate a collection of materials that border on a serious fire hazard, but this year I want to make more.

I have a manta for YotQ:

Be a Maker. Use the Stash. Practice your Craft.

So simple. This is a dedicated choice, by me and anyone who wishes to join along, to make with what I have. The patterns I have, the materials I have, the knowledge I have. Some of my work will be derivative, (hehe I have a special project for this), and some of it will be WTF? originals.

I am going to try. It may not be pretty or I may end up with some great gifts for friends and family next December, but I will make the effort. 

Who's with me?

500 Instagram Followers

It's been a slow week which culminated in snow here in Denver. Yes, I said snow. The second earliest snow fall in recorded history as a matter of fact. We got up this morning and excitedly checked, then all stood quietly at the window watching the little white flakes float down from the sky. It was so beautiful.

Before I get to the my big news and the giveaway, a little about other crafts that I worked on this week.

First up are the key fobs, one for myself and one for little boy. The materials for my fob came from Issue 11 of Love Patchwork & Quilting Magazine. This magazine is from the same publisher as Mollie Makes and they are my favorites from the UK. I plan to use a pattern set from one of the previous issues for my Urban Home Goods Swap later this year.

The second fob I made using some team logo fabric I found at Joann Fabric. Now, I am more a fan of certain players then of a whole team with the exception of the Seattle Seahawks. If you follow American football at all then you know that being a Seahawks fan living in Bronco country is a hard thing right now. Enough on that though, little boy wanted this fob so badly, so I caved and made it for him. It's been two days he's had it on his backpack and already I have heard from one of other parents asking where I got it, so I can see there will need to be some in my shop soon.

I also made these quilt hangers. They are super easy just double sided velcro glued to wooden clothes pins. Since none of my quilts have sleeves, finding ways to hang them for photos has been a creative challenge of its own, but now all I have to do is strap the clothes pins over the banister/branch/rod, clip in the quilt, and away I go. Below are two quilts of mine, Paper Hearts completed at FRMQG Retreat in Feb. 2014 and one of the first quilts I ever did, Roman Blocks, both making use of my new quilt hangers.

Finally, my big news is I have hit 500 followers on Instagram! 

This is amazing and awesome and just cool cool cool. It means so much to me knowing that so many people, both friend and complete strangers, find what I am doing interesting. Thank you all, your attention is greatly appreciated!

In celebration I am doing a giveaway on Instagram. All you have to do is take or tag a picture of your favorite finished object from the last 500 days (so since May of 2013) with my name @ayragon and #500IGfriends . I will pick a winner next Friday, Sept 19th 2014, and send out a happy mail package with some fabric and thread and miscellaneous goodies. I take so much inspiration from all the great images on Instagram that I want to give back to those that lend me their advice and that online window into their lives.

The first 7 days

At the end of last year I was amazed by how quickly 2013 seemed to pass by. Wasn't it just yesterday we were all doing Scrappy Trip Along quilts and getting our Pay it Forward 2013 lists filled? And now it's 7 days into 2014, that's a whole week!

And what a week it has been. I managed to compete my Japanese X & + quilt, Beautiful Mess, a set of pillowcases, and a few miscellaneous other items I cannot post just yet [they are gift sensitive]. Here are a few images of the quilt and the pillowcases. I used the tutorial from City Stitches for the quilt and the pillowcases are just the regular old one yard pattern.

I hope everyone else had a rocking holiday season and that the new year has started off well for you.

Charley Harper Zippered Pouches

I just finished uploading four Charley Harper Zippered Pouches to the shop.  These zippered pouches are made using 100% organic cotton, a line from Birch Fabrics. The designs are inspired by Charley Harper.

Each pouch is fully lined, uniquely quilted, and soft from added batting. Take a trip over to my Etsy shop to see what is available. Birch does a fantastic job and is one of my favorite fabric manufacturers.

Preparing for August...

...and a month of abstinence. Who, what? That's right, I am going to abstain in August from the following:

• buying fabric [either in a shop or online]
• buying yarn [either in a shop or online]
• buying misc stuff and supplies I do not immediately need [either at Target, Joann's, or wherever]
• buying food that is not on my grocery list
• buying take-out [I will make meals for the entire month]

and if all goes per my plan, I will have less in the kBear Studio by the end of the month and more space for fabric and a new cutting table. That's right, my friends, kBear Crafts Etsy Shop will have fabric to sell in pre-cut bundles and limited by-the-yard bolts in the beginning of October [if all goes according to plan]. I am going to sell Michael Miller, Riley Blake, Westminster/Free Spirit Fabrics, and Cloud9 to start. Within 2014 I want to expand to other manufacturers. That's the big new for this fall.

Too much stuff in here!

For today I have been working on a number of projects. There is now two rows of my brother's Simple T-shirt Quilt completed! He's probably snorting beer through his nose in shock at even the mention of that quilt, let alone photographic proof of progress.

I tried my hand at a t-shirt dress using a neon and gray jersey fabric I've had for a while. It turned out pretty good for a first time, but I was sadly reminded of how much weight I need to lose when fitting the dress before adding sleeves and hemming. So, it's now on a hanger in my closet to remind me to do my daily exercises and to stick to my diet. But here's a look at it so far.

Made a size 6... too bad I'm a 12. Doh!

I finished my July-August swap for FRMQG. It was an "ugly" fabric swap, so we each brought a piece of "ugly" fabric to the July meeting, swapped, and were tasked with making a block out of it. At the August meeting our swap mama, Michelle, will collect the blocks and they will be turned into one great big charity quilt. I am adding some orphan blocks to the one I am turning in for the swap since I am trying to clean out my studio.

It's been so long since I actually last posted that I need to mention a few sort-of housekeeping type things. First, I am on Pinterest now. It's one more thing to suck my time but it is nice to see some of the things my friends are into and it's less work to post a photo and link than it is to Instagram or Facebook.

As for Instagram, I am closing in on 300 followers. I have an idea for something when I get there, a little give-away contest for everyone and a prize for the 300th person. I am very grateful for all the followers I have and really value the correspondence friendships I have made through Instagram, so thank you all for taking an interest in me and the stuff I do.

The last thing on my list to post today is Pay It Forward 2013 progress. I have made one person's item of the 12 on my list... and it's nearly August. Pathetic. I am way off the ball on this one, so here's a little something I am making to send out to one of my recipients, a Lily Bowl made of fabric. The pattern is by Michael Pacey and it's just too pretty. I think I will make these as "Thanks You" gifts for my son's gymnastics instructors and swim instructors. Just beautiful.

That's it for this monstrous post. Tomorrow I want to be just as busy, maybe get some more Simple T-shirt Quilt completed or who knows. I do know that because of the purchasing freeze in August, I may have overindulged a bit this past weekend, so there will be some new items coming via Happy Mail this week. Check the Instagram feed for those pictures and for the 300 Give-Away!

Cheers,
Meg