badskirt

Good Folks. Good Fabrics.

2012-02-03T15:13:00.000+11:00

Need a laugh? Pop over to flickr and read the three pages of comments that flowed on from this simple photo. Am I a junkie or am I pusher?

Sew Out Loud

2012-02-02T06:54:00.000+11:00

As a collector (hoarder?) of text fabrics, I jumped at the opportunity to join Kirie and Julianna for their new quiltalong called Sew Out Loud. For Sew Out Loud, eleven bloggers will be posting 12" blocks designed around sewing and text including clear instructions and sewing hints. We've come up with 11 different cheeky, fun, sweet and poignant designs using pieced text, wordy fabric and sewing themes. Trust me about this quilt-along, it's gonna be a ripper...

Kirie and Julianna have been working quite hard on this and have lined up all sorts of prizes - fabric from Fat Quarter Shop, Duni's Studio, Sew Fresh Fabrics, Stoffsalon and even a copy of Electric Quilt 7! It'd be great to win a copy of EQ7, wouldn't it? I've always wanted to try it out and never had the chance.

The quiltalong will bounce through some of my favourite blogs and there is a Sew Out Loud flickr group to share your projects, get advice, offer tips, give leads on great fabrics and watch everyone else's work unfold.

February 13th - Julianna @ Sewing Under Rainbow - Block 1
February 20th - Joanna @ Shape Moth - Block 2
February 27th - Muriël @ Doucepoints - Block 3
March 5th - Susanne @ Quilt it out - Block 4
March 12nd - Charise @ Charise Creates - Block 5
March 19th - Kerry @ Very Kerry Berry - Block 6
March 26th - Amy @ Badskirt - Block 7
April 2nd - Amy @ During Quiet Time - Block 8
April 9th - Leila @ Where the Orchids Grow - Block 9
April 16th - Melinda @ Quirky Granola Girl - Block 10
April 23rd - Krista @ Lola Blue Ocean - Block 11
April 23rd - April 30th - submissions for the contest for 12th block.

A celebrity judge will be helping out with the end block contest. I don't get starstruck; but when I heard who the judge is going to be, I squealed. Loudly. Details are posted on Kirie's blog along with your chance to win fabric and quilting software.

I feel lucky to have been asked to join in. I've already been pulling and pairing fabrics and getting ready. I hope you come along for the ride. So pop on over to flickr or ask me about it on Twitter at #sewoutloud.

the lurch.

2012-01-29T20:45:00.004+11:00

I left you in a bit of a lurch didn't I? How well did my quilt wash?!

I was swooped away on a spontaneous vacation with Craig and never got the chance to blog. I've been galavanting around southern New South Wales with some of Australia's finest. ...and by that I mean a swarm of flying ants, a super-sized winged cockroach, a red belly snake, a lizard, some crabs and an eerily toxic looking spider that was dancing around Craig's neck. It's been an amazing holiday weekend.

While I've been gone, wheels kept turning. One of my blocks popped up in the Sew, Mama, Sew's current trends post. You can pop over and see the details for all of the other great projects there. We were part of the sewing with text segment.

And speaking of sewing with text prints... how about this lovely little stack?

I pulled it out for an upcoming quilt-along that which kicks off in February. Believe me when I say that it's going to be good...

Those random historical blocks are still in the works too. If you like the scrappy x and + block tutorial, then you might also like the new Nancy Cabot group on flickr. I'll be making more blocks to contribute to the group, but it's an excellent resource for learning about one of America's most prolific early quilt block authors.

So the wheels keep on cranking here even when I'm fighting off centipedes or feisty but lovable southern coast dogs. Have you been busy?! The last four days feel a bit like four weeks to me... relaxing and wonderful. Scary and exciting. Thank you, Jeanette, for pointing Craig and I on a great Aussie adventure.

ps: the quilt washed beautifully!

nail biting wait.

2012-01-23T16:22:00.001+11:00

I've been basting and quilting and binding. Now I'm nervously biting my fingernails as I wait for it to come out of the dryer. This is my Beehive quilt. Inspired by miniature envelopes in a block by Ayumi of Pink Penguin, I bundled fabric and a home drafted pattern for the girls in The Beehive. They paired fabrics and sewed them up. They did a top job! It feels good seeing this quilt move from pretty blocks to finished quilt in just a few days. Let's hope the dryer cooperates.

** Someone asked me a while ago about the giant magnets on our fridge. They came from Vistaprint.

Sydney Brown Owls outing

2012-01-22T03:19:00.003+11:00

We came. We crafted. We drank mai-tais.

hanging with the Brown Owls

2012-01-20T08:47:00.001+11:00

image from www.theislandbar.com.au

Guess where I'll be tomorrow afternoon? Actually, I'm not entirely sure, but it involves a ferry ride, an island, a bar and some crafty Sydneysiders. With that mix, it's sure to be fun. I'm going somewhere new. I'm off to see Cockatoo Island.

Years ago, I was quite active in the Brown Owls which is a worldwide crafting group started in Melbourne (Thanks Pip!) 2012 seems like a great time for me to leap back in. Their first event of the new year is a crafty excursion to Cockatoo Island tomorrow. Everyone welcome. No membership fees. No big commitment. Just hop on the 1:52 ferry and join us.

Every craft group has its niche. So I'll tell you a little about the Sydney Owls. They are young, but they can be older too. They are mostly girls, but also guys. They are single. They are engaged. They are married. They may or may not have kids. Really, it's a group for everyone. The owls do all kinds of different crafts. They crochet, they embroider, they knit, they quilt. Sometimes they've even been known to venture into macrame and string art. They don't care if you use the most expensive wool or the cheapest acrylic. They are non-judgmental about your crafting. They aren't afraid to try new things and help each other out. Mostly they like to get together and gab over a schooner of beer, a glass of wine or a cup of coffee.

I used the way-back-machine (aka flipcard view) to find a post about my very first Sydney Brown Owl meeting back in 2008 before we were a full-fledged chapter. I think the most important thing about Brown Owls for me is the tangible connections that I've made. We were a small group back then. I still see Cass out and about; and Jess and Bec will be leading the brown owl crew onboard the ferry. I hear their might be a pennant. I know it's late notice, but maybe I'll see you there? If you don't know anyone, just keep your eyes and ears peeled for the 4'10" girl with the American accent. Don't be shy. Hop over and say hello!

warning: more political content

2012-01-19T11:20:00.002+11:00

The content intended for this blog today has been omitted.

I've been an outspoken critic of Internet intervention and censorship for a long time. In the mid-90's, I stood up to the US Communication Decency Act. I darkened my website. I distributed blue ribbons for awareness. Then in 2008, the Australian government took a turn and again in 2010. My head now turns back to the US government again with the possibility of SOPA and PIPA. There are many eloquent articles and motion graphics out there to help explain the impact of these bills worldwide. They do a far better job than I could do.

I haven't darkened my website today, but I'm omitting all of the planned content. I took photos which won't be posted. I wrote articles that you'll never see. I quickly posted things on Flickr and then deleted them. Rather than darken a website for just one day, I want to make long term reminder of content missed. I want people and politicians to remember so that we don't have to do this again.

more teals and sour yellow.

2012-01-18T19:19:00.000+11:00

Two more blocks today for my random sampler. All of these blocks are different sizes. I haven't worked out how I'm going to assemble them yet.

The first block is called a Jackaroo star. It's made from a Meredith Clarke template set. I have to confess that I have an abnormal fascination with these dayglo yellow template sets. I've had this one for ages unused. It makes a clever diamond and cross pattern. If you squint, you can imagine how the pattern would tile and result in tiny little white crosses in the corner too. It makes me wonder if I should make more of these blocks to see the repeat. It had some awkward seams angles though, so I'm on the fence.

As far as template sets go, this is a great one. It's got all the appropriate notches and cuts so the pieces line up without having to mark them up. Thumbs up from me on that front.

For the second block, I made a variation of the Nancy Cabot x and + block. I wish I had added more yellow into this one, maybe swapped the center yellow with the dark circles. I might make another one to see how that layout works. If you like this block, you might like to join the Scrap Attack quilt along at Stitched in Color. Rachel featured the block pattern today and will have a "gutsy" interview with me tomorrow. Though she might have meant gusty, as in full of hot air. My opinion on keeping scraps has evolved over time, and it should make for a good read.

drab green.

2012-01-17T10:05:00.001+11:00

I've got a bit of an undeniable thing for drab green. I'm not really sure what it is, but the color really grabs me particularly when paired with vintage prints. I love this little stack.

need to needle

2012-01-16T15:13:00.001+11:00

I'll start by saying that I know next to nothing about sewing needles. Yes, I worked in a quilt shop but there's no special training that comes along with gig. You learn as you go, just as many quilters and crafters have for years. If you've ever walked into a craft shop and thought "gosh, I know more than the sales clerk"; there's a good chance that's true. There's a whole lot of stuff in those craft shops and it would be difficult to know everything about everything. So if you find yourself in that sort of situation, cut them a little slack and remind yourself there's a whole heap of stuff you wouldn't know about either. Help them muddle through and try to work it out together.

So about those needles...

I'll confess for years I just bought that big plastic spinning disk assortment. The kind that only has five useful needles and thirty-seven that are unwieldy and awkward. The ones you can't even sew a button on with. Ugh... I knew that the type and size of needle you had made a difference in your stitching. I just didn't put the effort into finding out which were best. The challenges of a bad needle were most evident when I spent hours a day closing up soft toys. Big, bulgy needles had a tendency to rip the fabric and leaving large holes in the weave.

Over time, I grew into the habit of buying patchwork needles while I was in Japan. I couldn't read the packages, of course; but it was obvious they were very fine needles with very fine eyes suitable for hand sewing.

At the Sydney Modern Quilt Guild in November, someone suggested I try Clover black and gold needles. Or maybe just Clover black ones? I'm not really sure what she suggested? Should buy 9s, 12s, applique, quilting or chenille? Ok, I knew that I didn't need chenille or darning needles, but clearly hadn't paid enough attention. So I randomly picked up five packages of Yushin and Clover needles on my last trip. I've played with them for a while now. They all seem nice, but I haven't developed a strong preference or favorite, but they are magnitudes better than what I've worked with before. They all have really tiny eyes that benefit from the use of a needle threader. They don't split the fabric weave and they help keep the stitches sort of invisible. I guess that's what I'm after.

I don't need any more needles at the moment, but I wondered if any of you have any recommendations for readily available needles? I know it varies depending on the type of sewing that you're doing. Are you brand loyal? size loyal? Is there a needle you swear by? I get the feeling that it would make a big difference in my applique and hand work. I'm happy to be steered in a new direction.

Speaking of steering...

I've been working on a Queen of May black made using Sue Ross templates available at Material Obsession. Queen of May is block number 3598 in the Barbara Brackman book. The original source seem to be a mail order company called Old Chelsea Station. It's fun and round. I found it surprisingly more difficult than the cogwheel because of the y-seams around the center hexagon.

I've used a mix of machine stitching and handwork, hence my interest in needles today. Though I used the same citron and teal palette, I don't think it's as impacting as the Cog Wheel. I think the order of colors makes the difference in this case. I'm not happy with the background fabric choice yet, hence it's not sewn down. When done, it'll be another nice block for my teal, citron and some times brown mixer. Though it was a challenge, I'd like to try this template block again. Rachael has done a great job with it in both brights and quirky fun colors.

----

PS for Sydney folks: how great was it to see so many people out for Stash and Treasure sale? I had a wonderful day and I hope everyone else did too. No one mocked my horrid sunburn. People bought my treasures and made it worth getting up early on the weekend. I got a free coffee. All the makings of a perfect day. See you there again next time!

Journey.

2012-01-13T10:33:00.001+11:00

On Journey
This purchase has been a long time in the making. I first learned about Journey when I purchased Happy Sunday. I think it's by the same author or same group of artists. Honestly, I'm not entirely certain. As it turns out, it was out of print. I've been keeping my eye on the used book section of Amazon Japan. They often have copies for just $3-7, but rarely from vendors who ship internationally. When one finally sprung up after months of patient waiting, I pounced on it. Many out-of-print craft books show up on Amazon Japan for reasonable prices. Often they are in top nick. This one was pristine.

The book is beautiful. I was tempted to show you more, but as the title implies each page truly is a Journey. There are thirty-two tote and bag projects made using a variety of techniques including sewing, stamping, screen printing and embroidery. As much as I'm tempted to show you what's inside, this is really one of those rare opportunities where owning a book gives you a sense of discovery at each turn of the page . I wouldn't want to deprive anyone of the same wonderful experience that I've had. So unless (until?) I make projects from the book, I'm going to keep it under wraps.

On Books
There seems to be a bit of confusion and an assumption that I dislike all publications. I want to clear that up. It's certainly not the case. I'm simply disheartened by the slew of rushed books with under-compensated authors that have come out recently. I'm taken aback when I see the same five projects again and again in books, repackaged with newer fabric. I've heard lots of people clamoring for something informative; something different. Thankfully there are still many new, different and helpful books being written. Aces to those authors who are willing to take the time to give us something new, special and technically helpful. Aces to the publishers who adequately compensate and reward them which in turn leads to better quality books by talented and knowledgeable authors.

So I do own some books. Some very good books in fact. I think my collection is relatively small, but it's good. I've collated my blog posts about them into a single page at the top of my blog known as MyBookshelf. I've listed the books I truly love and would recommend. I'll be adding Journey to that list soon.

In the spirit of disclosure, some of the books link to Amazon.com. When you follow these links and buy products, I make a wee bit of money. I do mean a wee bit. It's really just enough to help cover my blogging income tax. I feel I should mention it though and explain I'm not promoting random books to raise money. These are books that I genuinely love and are part of my crafty arsenal. I like them, and I hope you like them too.

Stash & Treasure

2012-01-12T07:41:00.003+11:00

Yesterday, I got a hot tip from Belinda about a destash market in Marrickville this weekend. I don't know much about it, but you'll remember that I scored Liberty for $7 at the last destash sale. This one looks to be like something for everyone. But please don't let me buy any quilters UFOs! I've got plenty of those already. More details at the Stash&Treasure blog. I apologize in advance if we run into each other and I seem a bit out of it. I get a little loopy when there are treasures to be had. Maybe I'll see you there?

Edit: Guess who is having her very own table to destash her goodies? Remember those Japanese bag handles I mentioned yesterday? Craft books? Oliver&S, DS, AMH patterns? Fabric? Yarn? Hopefully see you there!

just my type.

2012-01-09T12:09:00.001+11:00

About once a year, I get an itch to make a new handbag. I'm not a girly-girl when it comes to these things. In truth I'd rather not carry one, but it seems that everything is proportional in clothing. Modern cell phones and wallets aren't designed to fit in 4'10" pants pockets. So some times I carry a small bag with my wallet, phone, keys, a roll of washi tape and my unmentionables. I travel light.

I use the same free pattern each time, because it meets for my needs. I use the same handles and magnetic clasp too. I've hoarded a stash of these supplies, but they never deplete. I really ought to destash some of it. The pattern is based on Jennifer Ladd's fat quarter handbag on Sew, Mama, Sew. The fabric is Melody Miller's Ruby Star Shining and Alexander Henry. If you've never made a handbag before, this is a really easy and versatile pattern. I'm sure you'll like it.

flawed, but perfect.

2012-01-08T16:20:00.000+11:00

Kenny Rogers said something about knowing when to fold them. I'm pleased as punch because I've made a very fold-able pseudo-quilt. I love it. Technically it's flawed, but it doesn't much matter to me. I cannot remember the last time that I felt so happy at my sewing machine.

A good friend of mine was visiting this week and she said it was a shame that my quilts were folded and unused. Rest assured, I'm going to use this one until it falls apart. At which point, I'll just Frankenstein it back together and use it some more. Maybe it's because it's already imperfect, but I really can't wait to snuggle under it. I don't care that it's not properly bound. I don't care that I've already splashed coffee on it. I don't mind that I've already did a bit of a Frankenstein hack job on one of the seams. She'll be right. Warm, cozy, cheerful.

Several people asked how the String-As-You-Go worked out. It didn't work as planned. I have to say that I really didn't give it a fair effort. I'm convinced this has more to do with laziness and a devil-may-care attitude than method. I think it could work if I had the patience for it. When it comes to quilting and basting, I lack patience some times. I'd try it again, but with a few changes. I'd use a walking foot. I'd mark the placement of my center strings. I knew I should do both of those things, but I was lazy. I'd also use a 1/2" seam for assembly because I think it would be much easier to press the batting seams open if they were slightly bigger. I'd baste the back on accurately which is something I'm not fond of. As it stood my laziness led to heaps of warp in the front and batting. It was beyond ease. I tried. I ran out of basting spray. It started feeling tedious instead of pleasing, so I changed tack. I took the quick approach since it was technically already quilted. I sewed around the bordered and flipped it. Then I put in some holding tacks. It's a bit lofty like a doona cover or giant pillow case now. I'm not discouraged though. Honestly, I'm quite chuffed with my results for just a weekend of sewing, and I'd definitely try quilt-as-you-go again. A few methods have been suggested to me now that should make for a tidier back which is really what I'd be after.

Did I mention that Craig doesn't like it? It's too... umm.... diamondy. That was his feedback early on.

I appreciate his honesty. I really do. I think that's the exact moment where my "who cares, just sew" attitude kicked in. I also thought about Katy's reflections at Sew, Mama, Sew. I thought a lot about what she had to say about stitches not being so hot and not being able to afford to send everything off to a longarm quilter. I thought about her comments about being a 'nowadays quilter'. With that in mind, I was busy sewing for today. I was smiling. I was singing songs from Queen and belting out Hello Dolly. I think the latter actually scared Craig a bit. The next time he looked at the project, he said he really liked it. He "liked the shapes." Fickle much, Craig?

And so it's kind of done. It's all wobbly and warpy. It will be moreso when it's out of the dryer. It's the kind of quilt that you keep folded or wadded in a ball It's not the kind you spread out on a bed. It's not the kind of quilt they hang at quilt shows or sell patterns for. It's the kind where a seam rips and you just zigzag it back together. You mend and make do and it becomes all the more lovely because of it.

I'm think it'll be perfect for spilling jam on at a picnic, don't you?

stringin' along

2012-01-07T12:45:00.001+11:00

Hot off the heels of this week's disaster, I forged ahead as planned with a string quilt. I decided the only reasonable thing to do is make a quilt that matches the minuscule pillow that does not match my couch. So I've set off on a tangerine, teal, red and sometimes pink string quilt. Given that I'd already cut a whole lot of batting squares for the quilt-as-you-go project, I decided to try repurposing them. I'm using them as the base for the strings instead of piecing to paper or calico. QAYG strings?! That may just work. I have a bit of a plan, and I'm thinking out loud here just in case someone spots a problem with before I do.

I'm piecing strings directly onto the quilt batting. Effectively QAYG without any quilting showing. Another way of thinking about it is that I'm foundation piecing directly onto the batting. When I'm done, I plan to sew the blocks together with a 1/4" seam. Yes, it will be a bit bulky in places. I think the Bernina can cope and help flatten it.

Before I add the backing fabric, I'm going to use Perle thread and "hand quilt" some squares around the quilt. Since it's already pieced to the batting, these are purely for decoration on the front. I want to give the illusion that I've done some quilting since all of the machine QAYG piecing is hidden. By hand sewing it before adding the backing, I won't have to worry about burying the knots. Both cheeky and lazy. I struggle with properly burying Perle thread, so this is a big win for me. Then I'll add the backing as described in Penny's QAYG tutorial.

Of course, I'm totally making this up on the fly. It may well fail in which case I'll find myself with 16, 25 or 36 miniature pillows that don't match my couch. Regardless, I've got a plan and I'm in for the Scrap Attack quilt along. I'm so happy to hear how many you are joining in!

The one where she fails. A lot.

2012-01-06T16:17:00.002+11:00

This is a story about failure. The picture doesn't give the impression of the spectacular downfall that I experienced when making it, but rest assured it is a failure in every sense of the word.

I started with good intentions. I decided I would join in Rachel's Scrap Attack Quilt-Along at Stitched in Color. I don't actually own many scraps, but that seemed besides the point. I vowed to "take opportunities" in 2012, and this was a great opportunity to sew along with clever guys and girls. I could see a project through from start to finish in a short time frame, even if it meant cutting up brand new fat quarters and pretending they were scraps. I'm telling you, best intentions.

I signed up on the flickr group. I posted that I would do something with strings or circles and decided to forge ahead from there. I looked at my stash and found the closest thing to a "scrap" that I could. A small piece of special fabric which in fact had a little Tangerine Tango on it. A girl and her dog. A good place to start. I felt like a rockstar. I was sewing with the colour of the year. All good, I had vaguely settled on a string quilt. I decided to eat lunch first and then start in the afternoon.

A few hours later, I set off to research assorted techniques. I studied half a dozen different ways to assemble quilt-as-you-go quilts. This took three hours. There are a lot of great QAYG techniques on the Internet. (Have you spotted the problem yet?) I settled on Penny's technique because I wanted to avoid sashing. Then I started sewing. Penny had given me the small girl in the center of my block, so it seemed like kismet that I should use her tutorial. I motored away. Things were going well. I ran out of bobbin thread, I replaced it. I sewed some more. I got bored. I began to wonder if I had the mental fortitude to commit to a big quilt-as-you-go project. Would my attention span hold out? Could I keep up the charade that I was using scraps? I'd only finished half a block. I needed to make 56. This is a lot of sewing, Amy? *Bling* The light bulb went off and I remembered that I had, in fact, signed up for a scrappy-look string quilt. Not only was I questioning my commitment to the project, I was working on completely the wrong project. Well now, that's just embarrassing.

I decided to stick with it and finish the block. Maybe I could repurpose it into a small pillow? It'd make a nice pillow right? So I did just that. I added the backing. I sewed it up square and turned it inside out. I didn't have to look closely to see that I'd completely missed a seam. In real life, there's a giant wad of well... wadding sticking out in the upper left. It's still that way now. It can be salvaged by making a much smaller rectangular pillow. That's exactly what I set out do to right? I meant to spend my afternoon making a minuscule pillow that did not match my couch. I'd deviated so far from my Scrap Attack path at this point that I was willing to convince myself of anything.

First though, I needed to take a picture of this awesome failure of a pillow for the blog and pretend it was perfect. I needed a quick picture before I flipped it inside out, cut off three inches from one side and turned it into a smaller, functional version of itself. A good picture could fool the masses. I needed to show you that I was indeed a crafting rockstar, not someone who fails. Frequently. As I mentioned my camera is in the shop, but I found my old SLR in the cupboard. I took a picture. I think it was a good picture too. I'm not sure because the drivers weren't compatible with Craig's laptop. Never mind though, he was bringing my Sony home last night and I'd be able to upload it soon enough.

He brought it home. I plugged in the camera with the truly awesome photo on it and it didn't go. I didn't have the drivers either. I own the CD for the camera but the laptop has no CD slot. So I scoured the Internet only to learn no drivers actually exist for the newest version of Windows or Mac. Two days on this project with nothing to show for it. I thought of using a card reader, but neither laptop could cope with compact flash. Nearly thwarted, I conceded that my camera phone would be my best option. It was out of battery juice. Tethered to a power socket, I stretched to squeeze out the less awesome photo for the post. I'm not sure I'd even call it marginally good.

So there you have it - my scrappy string quilt, which instead looks like quilt-as-you-go log cabin pillow with seams busting apart. But because this is blogland, and people only say nice things... particularly about failures... I'm sure some of you will have the courtesy to say "looks great, Amy" while you're quietly chuckling to yourself.

There's always tomorrow. That's when I'm going to start on my Scrap Attack project once again. Will you join me?

little and big

2012-01-05T13:28:00.001+11:00

I'm working at either end of the size spectrum today. This morning, I pieced together the blocks I received from the pint-size quilting bee. These tiny little coloured squares are just 2" finished each. That makes this just 6.5" x 10.5" big. Perfectly cute.

At the other end of the scale, I'm making slow progress on my pickle of geese. I'd like to pretend that I love making these arcs or that I love the quilt, but it's starting to feel like a chore. Initially I thought it might be four large sections, but frankly it's already feeling enormous to me. I'm also not sure if I'm ready to invest that much in background fabric and batting since I'm not over the moon in love with the project. For now, I'll just keep making a few arcs each week and see how it goes.

I'm trying out my cell phone for photos while the Canon is in for service. Clearly my phone photography skills need a little work.

Do you have any ideas for background fabric or patchwork for my pickle of geese? Or any suggestions for what to put in the squares where all the geese meet? I haven't thought that far ahead yet and would love some inspiration!

Micah the timid one.

2012-01-03T15:18:00.001+11:00

My laptop is in for a service at Sony for a few weeks. My camera and sewing machine also both need a tune up, so things might be quiet around here for a bit while I get it all in ship shape for 2012. In the meantime, meet Micah the smart, timid hippo.

Spool of 1966

2011-12-27T08:04:00.000+11:00

I hadn't made any sort of spool block, though I've admired them for some time. When I think of spools, I think of Kerry's blocks, Alexia's mini spools, Chibicookie's block, and Faith's row of spools. All great examples of variety and technique in spool construction. One of the patterns that I've had earmarked for a while in the Brackman book is Aunt Kate's Spool of 1966. A simple spool in a circle on top of a pieced square background.

If you own the Brackman Book, which apparently now goes for a pretty penny, you'll know that the book gives you the basic pattern design; but it omits measurements or precise patterns. That means I needed to take a guess at proportions of the spool ends, thread and circle. I intentionally set the thread at a slight angle and selected a background fabric reminiscent of stitching to echo the spool concept. Then I gave myself the extra challenge of lining up the stripes in the circle fabric. Futile effort as contrast and daylight washed it out for the photo. Considering it was machine pieced with mitered seams, it matches pretty well. Trust me on that one. I was feeling a bit smug having tackled mitered seams with aplomb, but I'm still not brave enough to machine sew smaller circles. I hand appliqued the circle onto the background. With that, I'd finished my take on the Spool of 1966.

I wanted to bump up my quilting history, so I searched Google and the Quilt Index to find other spool quilts. I found only three links about this block on all of Google including Rose Marie's My Sweet Klosjes (Spools). Rose Marie made 182 of these blocks!

Can you see the block just to the left of the Spool of 1966 in the Brackman book? The simple one with an irregular 9 patch X in a circle? I think that's the one that I'd like to tackle next.

teal, citron and sometimes brown.

2011-12-26T07:46:00.000+11:00

As 2011 draws to a close, so do my quilting bees. I decided to gracefully bow out of all of them for the early part of next year. I'm going to spend time doing a little historical research on patchwork, driven out of personal interest. No schedules, no time constraints, no one to disappoint except myself.

Made from Sue Ross BOM template, Cog Wheel.

Made from Patchwork 163 Favourite Patterns

I love quilting bees for the camaraderie and kinship. I've met some amazing and talented people via my online groups. It's an experience that I'd recommend to others at least once. The challenge of working with other people's fabrics and ideas can be invigorating. Though, being fair and honest, it can some times feel like a bit of a drag to make blocks in fabrics and colors that you'd normally run from. I'm sure I've inflicted that same dreadful feeling on others whose tastes run sideways to mine. A personal struggle for me was remembering that quilting bees are about contribution, not competition.

I'm competitive by nature. I wish I could be more easygoing, but I'm not. I'm 38 now, and I don't know if that will ever change. I honestly don't know if quilting bees are right for someone with my personality type. I should be able to let go and relax as I make blocks for others, but I don't. It's not that I want my block to be the best each month, but I want to make sure I'm giving something truly extraordinary. I don't want to fail them, and I don't want to fail myself. Quilting bees push me into uncomfortable territory and stretch my skills. I have a love-hate relationship with the quilting bee process. I get so worried that I'm going to disappoint someone that I work myself up into a tizz. I need a little break to refresh my head. So I've cleared out my bee calendar in 2012. I want to take some time to remember it's about contribution and community, the rest does not matter.

Have you had a similar struggle? Do you have any tips for finding balance?

on Craig's stocking.

2011-12-24T10:44:00.003+11:00

Craig asked if I had shared his stocking which I finished after the last blog post. I promise it's the last stocking that you'll see here for a while, though I was making them all night long. I gave Craig free reign in the fabric stash to pick any fabric combination he wanted for his stocking. It is his stocking and he had taken an interest when he first saw me working on the template on the computer. I feel lucky to have a husband who takes an interest in craft sometimes.

I've read a few blog posts over the years about mothers who have let go while their kids decorate the gingerbread house. The mums put aside any of their own aesthetic sensibilities and leave it to those around them. With this Christmas stocking, I metaphorically "let the gingerbread house go." I opened the cupboard door and left him to picking. Not an easy thing for someone fabric obsessed. I guess he's on trend. From my reasonably diverse stash, he picked both Denyse Schmidt and Heather Ross. It's a sweet little stocking. It's different to what I would have chosen; but wonderful, special and perfect for Craig.

on Christmas stockings.

2011-12-23T17:52:00.000+11:00

An informal census of our house indicates that we need just two stockings, but I really enjoyed making these. It's something that I've wanted to do for years, but hadn't gotten the energy boost that I needed. Now that I'm started, I think we might need a whole wall full of stockings next year. I certainly need at least six, right? Craig has picked out fabric for his, so I've got at least one more to make. I hope he isn't expecting it filled it on Sunday though? Looking around the house, I'd have to make do stuffing it with Nespresso capsules and sewing lint.

Craig and I have been using my old socks, as they were called in our family. To be honest, I'm not the luckiest bird when it comes to stockings. The first one my mom bought me and ones subsequently made in primary school were eaten by mice. We lived in a small town surrounded by cornfields. When they tore down the old high school, some of the mice took residence in our house and nibbled away at a macaroni Christmas tree that I shellacked (apparently poorly) in grade school. When they were done with it, they moved on to the rest of Christmas. I guess there's a lesson in there somewhere for moms and kids in mice-y neighborhoods.

Mom replaced it with the softest, most beautiful, deep red velveteen stocking that I'd ever seen. In my young mind, it was quite a trade up. And the stockings were hung by the chimney with care, until a few years later when there was a dreaded smell. The stocking literally melted to pieces before my eyes. Let's hope these new ones have a better track record. It's not all doom and gloom from stockings past though, it would be remiss to not mention the strangest Christmas stocking ever. Have you seen my Christmas pants?

Wishing you and your family all the best for the holiday season! May you (and all your stockings) stay safe!

Reflect and Predict 2012

2011-12-22T13:04:00.001+11:00

Edit: The open call is now up! I love reading everyone's reflections and predictions. I hope you'll share yours too.

Sew, Mama, Sew! has kicked off their annual Reflections and Predictions series. Though they haven’t put out a general call, I wanted to get in early before my own thoughts were too heavily influenced by what I read from others. I took it on my own initiative to pull out their questions and offer my own take on things.

I thought it might be fun to look at what I predicted at this time last year and see how I did. I know quite a few of you read my post, because as I’ve met readers in person they frequently ask “Did you ever get your green?” I don’t think I did. It’s a really tough one to answer because fabric lines seem to coming out faster than ever. They fly off the virtual shelves of online shops before I get a chance to admire them. And due to the sheer cost and space of inventory, local shops aren’t able to carry every range. I don’t think I got my green, but then again I might have just missed it as I was a bit distanced from new releases this year.

I thought we’d see more moose, and I did in home interior shops in Tokyo last month. Though, it hasn’t seemed to grab hold in crafting circles. I predicted a dip in the use of honeycomb and the scurry to buy it. I do think that’s true. Honeycomb won’t ever flap away, but it did lose its buzz in 2011. As for the rest, I thought “Fabric will drip with emotion. There will be numbers and letters and squares on point.” Not a bad prediction?

Sew,Mama,Sew!: Looking back at the 2011 sewing scene, what trends stand out in your mind?
The first thing that comes to mind for me in 2011 is The Farmer’s Wife Quilt Along. It seemed that I couldn’t visit flickr, twitter or my blog reader without running into at least a few blocks from it. I’m not sure if that’s because it was a wide spread success or if it’s just the circles I run in. I didn’t join in, though I briefly flirted with the idea. Blocks from verykerryberry really struck a chord. She made great use of reproduction influenced fabrics and really made each block work in terms of colour and contrast.

Image from Kerry of VeryBerryKerry on Flickr

What I liked about the Farmer's Wife trend is that despite using the same patterns, every one's creative personality stood out in their blocks. They were the same, but they were all special and unique. And I quietly smiled each time I saw letters and numbers and squares on point...

For my own minor contribution to trends this year, I whipped up a really quick pattern for a quilt bee which took on a life of its own. (Not the bee though, the bee fizzled before we even got started =) I still get a lot of mail about the x and + tutorial inspired by a Japanese quilt. There's a flickr group, a block swap commencing in January and a couple of other things happening. I consider my contribution only slight as it's a traditional block that's been around for yonks. Truly Setsuko Inagawa deserves the credit for her inspiring quilt.

Raw edge applique which had been prevalent in 2010 waned and was enthusiastically replaced by foundation paper piecing. Bees and swaps popped up left and right featuring intricate, impressive and quirky paper pieced blocks.

Along with the good comes the bad. I feel the book tour was the worst trend of 2011. Each time I came across one, it felt like I was seeing a festering blister. Don't get me wrong, I feel that book and product reviews have their place on blogs and I enjoy reading genuine reviews. Sadly the book tours felt, in many cases, staged and superficial. In some cases it was obvious that the blog poster had not read or used the book they were touting. By the end of a book tour, a photo of nearly every single page and project has ended up on the web. Why buy the cow when you can have the milk for free?

Another worrying trend was inconsistency in fabric base cloth. 2011 was undoubtedly a difficult time for fabric manufacturers. Cotton prices spiked for numerous reasons. Cotton growing and textile manufacturing regions were impacted by floods, tsunamis and power shortages which resulted in product inconsistency and thinner base cloths than we'd been accustomed to. Because I regularly weigh fabric for shipping, I noted a dip in weight by some manufacturers. Quiet chatter among friends brought out issues like scratchy cottons, dye not holding and burrs in cloth. Yet many manufacturer emerged unscathed. Hats off to those who managed to deliver quality cotton with only minimal price increases despite the rising costs of production.

Sew,Mama,Sew!: What were some of your favorite things?
Jan kicked off 2011 by posting this gorgeous little coaster for the Suzuko Koseki project. If New Year's Day was anything to go by, we were in for some treats in 2011.

Image via flickr from Jan of Be*mused

This year, I discovered Dan Rouse. His layered patchwork is a creative and distinct. I love the way he sees the union of colour and pattern.

Image via flickr from Dan of Piece and Press

Sew,Mama,Sew!: What did you make that you’re most proud of?
I think I'm more proud of what I didn't make, which is a mess. I finally got my sewing space under control in 2011. It feels good. I worked on a mix of projects this year, but the one I like the most was, perhaps, the simplest. It came from heart and spoke to me during the London Riots. We use it every day on our sofa.

Sew,Mama,Sew!: What sewn projects have you seen this year that you absolutely love? Do you have a favorite sewing book or pattern from the past year to recommend?
I highlighted some of my favourite projects above already, so I'll focus on books and patterns. New to me, but not from this year, is Bella Bella Foundation Papers which I'm currently using to make a giant pickle dish of geese. I don't buy many books but realized these foundation papers that go along with an older book were perfect for modern sewing. I simply had to look beyond the batik, pine green and gold.

I've also recently picked up a 2011 Japanese craft book called something like Patchwork 163 - My Favourite Patterns. Because it's new, it should be easier to find that the "sought after" Japanese craft books. It's probably not a beginners book though. It's good for someone who has experience drafting up their patterns from geometric diagrams. For me, it's an eye-candy book.

Sew,Mama,Sew!: Are there any trends you’re over and done with?

I am certain as soon as I answer this question, I'll incriminate myself and make something from the trends that I'm stepping on. For me, I'm a bit over the candy-coated syrupy fabrics a la Flower Sugar. I'll be honest, it hasn't been the happiest time of my life. I tried new things and they didn't work out. The economy left us in a general glum which Australia had managed to escape in the last go around. I, personally, am over sappy, romanticism on fabric. I think I'd like to put child-like forest animals in that same bucket (unless it's a moose! I'd still like more moose!). In my own sewing, I've been straying away from white and light coloured backgrounds. I've noticed more designers are doing this as well.

Sew,Mama,Sew!: What are your thoughts about social media? How is it going for you? What do you love or hate?
Social media is an interesting topic and I'll confess I'm a bit overwhelmed in the craftsphere. As a result, this answer is a haphazard train of thought reply. For a long time, I tried to keep my social media spheres distinct. Facebook for friends and family. Flickr for craft. This year, everything merged and I'm not sure that I'm better for it. For me, Flickr forums are still the heart of my crafty discussion. I can pop in and out, ask questions, see photos and interact with like-minded folks on fairly specific topics. I pop onto Twitter periodically but often feel like I'm sitting at the wrong table in junior high. The guys and girls have their cliques and inside jokes, and I feel left out. I'm sure everyone feels this way at times.

Don't get me wrong, no one is intentionally excluding me. I know that. It just feels hard to find my feet. Twitter feeds tend to spread across all aspects of user's lives. I think I'd prefer it if we had an all crafty channel as I'm not big on recipes and can't contribute much when it comes to child rearing conversations. I had hoped Google+ circles were the answer to this content management problem, but they didn't take off in the way that I hoped and users had a hard time understanding how best to use and organize their circles.

One group that I like is Talkin' Tuesdays. #talknt is a weekly quilter's twitter chat. .Because we have directed conversation through themed questions, I feel like it feels my need for online real-time social interaction with other creatives on relevant topics.I guess that would be the best word to describe my current struggle with social media - relevance. With limited time and a busy life (OK, who am I kidding?), I want my social media to be relevant.

For better or worse, we've come to understand advertising is embedded in our social media. As both content developers and readers, we need to understand how this impacts us. As a marketing graduate student, I should love the opportunities that social media provides for embedded content and brand development. For me though; it's been one of those cases where the more you learn, the more scared you become. Data is power and everything we say or do in a public space defines how we're marketed to in the future. How we use and interact with social media is still evolving, and I'm hopeful that in 2012 it will fulfill us in ways we didn't expect.

Sew,Mama,Sew!: What was your favorite fabric collection or print?
Early in the year, I was anxiously awaiting Annie's farm stand. Beyond excited describes how I felt. I bought some. Used it in one project which sat neglected and then wondered why I go so excited. By then the buzz had hit everyone and it because too prevalent for my taste. Luckily one of my swap partners had marked my project as a favourite. The Farm Stand was not wasted and, as requested, a sweet and romantic pillow emerged. (Though I don't see myself doing romantic in 2012!)

Unsurprisingly, I picked up a lot of great fabrics in Japan this year. Some of these are older prints though. I think rather than a specific print or collection, I found myself driven by palette. This year, it was dark teal, magenta, mushroom grey, lime and even hints of purple and berry.

Sew,Mama,Sew!: What do you predict for 2012?
I think we'll see dark teal, magenta, mushroom grey, lime and even hints of purple and berry. Just kidding!

Pantone has announced Tangerine Tango is our colour of the year. In my opinion, they should have called it spicy tomato red. It's definitely more red and vibrant, than tangerine. Tangerine Tango feels like a slight misnomer, just as Honeysuckle did in 2010. I've already seen a lot of people interpreting this as any shade of orange, and I do think we'll see a lot of those oranges in our patchwork - particularly dark orange, deep teal and charcoal. This isn't a new combination, but a deeper richer combination as we move away from light and flippant fabrics. 2011 was a really "heavy" year, both economically and due to natural disasters. I think we'll see that heaviness reflected in our colour choices for 2012.

Geometrics have always been popular and I expect to see growing ranges of basics from manufacturers. Rather than stockpiling prints, we'll take to hoarding more versatile fabrics. Crossweaves and textural solids will continue to grow in popularity. We'll take our themes from the strangest of places: boats, boots and bowling to name a few. Though Paris and New York are always popular, we'll see places like Sydney and Sao Paolo celebrated on fabric.

Modern quilters will branch into two groups. One will move towards larger, less intricate home decor using monochromatic prints in bold scale like Lotta Jansdotter's Echo. The other group will move to handwork and slow quilting. As a blogger, there is a pressure to continually come up with new projects to show off regularly. This doesn't meld well with intricate handwork. "This week, I'll show you that I've pieced just one seam!" I hope, though I am likely wrong, that we see this slow craft emerge in blogs and flickr. It might mean that someone only posts a photo every six weeks, but OH MY when they do, it will knock our socks off.

Sew,Mama,Sew!: Can you tell us anything about what to expect from you in 2012? Any projects or life-changing goals you can share?
If only I could predict where my own life was headed. There's no shame in saying it, but I'm a little bit lost. And lost is an okay place to be. I learned to screen print in 2011, but nothing ever came of it. The screen and dyes are waiting patiently on their shelf. I know many people are writing craft books. I'm not. Though, I'd love to be involved in developing an interactive mobile application. I think is the direction that modern craft is heading. Think EQ, your favourite craft magazine, books, interviews and measurement guides all rolled into your phone or tablet. Maybe it's time to dust off my programming skills?

I'd also like to be a professional fabric colourist. Lofty goal, but why not? Years ago, I was friends with a woman whose job was choosing colour for Disney comic books. She selected CMYK colors for Donald's beak and Mickey's boat. I learned quite a bit about colour from Kate, and I only just realized it this year. When it comes to craft, my own strengths are colour and building on inspiration from someone else. Why not have lofty goals? If you're a fabric manufacturer looking for someone to help colour your modern or reproduction lines. I'm here, waiting for your email.

I may be waiting well into 2013.

Where do you think we're headed next year? I'm always excited to hear what others think!
** Thanks for Sew, Mama, Sew for this annual series.

Red, grey and wrinkly.

2011-12-22T09:09:00.001+11:00

I was a bit surprised when this quilt came out the dryer. I hadn't expected it to look like a before shot for decolletage cream. Wrinkle city. Puffs galore.

I normally love the wrinkly, textural look; but I had it in my head that this quilt would be one of those flat ones. I thought a 4" wide grid would be loose enough to avoid the over-quilted, highly textured look. I used Warm & White which has given me a flat look with wide quilting in the past. But maybe it was the batting? I mixed materials and brands. Assorted handscreened linens, Japanese linen blends, three brands of solids and another few patchwork brands. I didn't bother to prewash any of them. That definitely set me up for disaster. It wrinkled pretty evenly though, so I don't think it was the mix of fabrics either. I suspect there was shrinkage in my backing fabric, a non-quilting cotton. I also wonder if I inadvertently stretched the top when using basting spray. I'm pretty new to basting spray which effectively glue. Badskirt and glue is combination prone to failure. Whatever the reason, it's gosh darn wrinkly after just one run through the washer and dryer. And let's be honest. I'm not the kind of gal who is going to iron her quilts before she puts them to use in the house.

It's a small lap quilt for our guest chair. I'm going to go with the story that the wrinkles give more places to hide the love.

Tango

2011-12-20T12:04:00.001+11:00

Despite all of the enthusiasm I had mustered for the Pantone Colour of the Year announcement, I was uncharacteristically quiet when Tangerine Tango was revealed. It's not that I disliked the colour, I just felt it was a bit too tomato-y for colour of the year. It's fine. Adequate might be a better word. It just wasn't stirring. I'd really hoped for a green. Why haven't we had a green?

Erin and Ali announced a Tangerine Tango Quilt Challenge today, so I decided to see what, if any fabrics I had that qualified. I stretched it a bit into the more orange-y side of the colour and this is all that I came up with. I'm looking forward to see the results of this challenge as it's an atypical colour in patchwork which should lead to some creative and unusual quilts.

Dynamic

2011-12-20T08:31:00.000+11:00

Many of you who visit the blog directly will notice a few changes. Change isn't always a comfortable thing, but I'm really excited about this decision and I hope you are too. I thought I'd talk about why things are changing and where you'll find things now.

We are all quite different readers and have different visual preferences. Some people like to read all of the stories. Others like to quickly flick through the pictures. Earlier this year, Google blogger launched Dynamic View blog templates as a way of giving readers a choice in how they see information. If you're a direct reader, then you'd know that my blog like many others was locked into that dull reading format we've seen over the last decade. The sidebar, main column and header -- It's tired, washed out and lacks oomph. So why not let readers pick how they see things?

Maybe you like the feel of a digital magazine or maybe you just want a gallery of images? Now you have a choice when you visit Badskirt directly from your computer. And when you use your favorite feed reader, things shouldn't have changed. Note: to reduce bandwidth issues, mobile devices have a simple view enabled for now. I'll look at updating that in the very nearish future. Small steps.

So what's new? First - the blog opens up in Magazine view that you see above. Here you'll find recent articles with short recaps. Clicking expands the articles for the full post. I'm still unsure on which view to make the default, so if this leaves you flat just shout out!

As I mentioned, you've got a choice of views. Using the pulldown menu in the upper left, you can select from a range of views. One of my favourites is flipcard which gives you a quick visual thumbnail for each post. As you hover over it, the image flips over to reveal the blog post title and number of comments. Again, just click for more. What I loved about this one is that you can keep scrolling and it will load the images all the way back to the very beginning. There I am rocking the Emmeline apron and playing with some hideous fabrics!

There are some subviews within Flipcard too. They seem to work with just the last six months of posts.

If you're a traditionalist, Classic view will give you formatting akin to that seen on most blogs. Of course, the search bar is still there too. Though, I'll be honest Google's blog search feature is strangely disappointing from the search powerhouse. Hopefully by using views like flipcard, you'll find what you are after quickly.

If you have time (unlikely in the holiday season), have a play. As I mentioned, it's new. If you run into problems just drop me an email. I'll work out the bugs and try to make it a better experience for you, the reader.

Some of you might be missing the things from my sidebar like my tutorials, product reviews and helpful lists. I'm slowly working on adding those back as independent pages at the top. The tutorials are already back and now have thumbnails. much nicer yes?

I thought I'd let people have a bit of a play and leave some comments before I go farther with the development. I know I need to add back product reviews and create some snazzy buttons for RSS feeds and following. Those things aren't automatic. I think that's one of the reasons it hasn't been widely and immediately adopted. The other is that is doesn't fit the "sidebar sponsorship" model which, of course, isn't an issue for Badskirt. I've got headers to build and some colours to adjust. fun things to do.

I'd love to hear what you think first. Do you like it? Do you have a favourite view that you'd pick for the home page? Should we drop it all together? I'd love your feedback because it will steer where we go.

Happy Dynamic Reading!

Spinning madly.

2011-12-19T16:20:00.000+11:00

Giraffe Propeller for Leah

Just a warning for those of you who visit my blog directly instead of using a reader. It may look like a war zone at the moment. I'm testing the new dynamic page views. This will eventually let you see this blog in your choice of layouts - reading view, classic view, as a magazine spread, etc... There's a fair amount of work involved in the transition including reconfiguring analytics, recreating new pages to replace the sides and more. So it might be the weekend before things settle down. If you're having trouble in the meantime, please let me know!

As a mea culpa, I've reduced my doxy pattern to just $3. To toot my own horn, this is feedback I received from a recent customer: "I just wanted to say that your instructions are perhaps the best I have ever read :)"

I cleaned the studio.

2011-12-18T08:06:00.001+11:00

Tidy Shelves, a photo by badskirt - amy on Flickr.

On those days when I tidy my shelves, I feel like a champ. I excel at making them really messy while I sew. Tidying them seems to be a monthly occurrence. I tried something new with the canisters yesterday. I've allowed them to co-mingle with my crafty books. They get on swimmingly.

Amy goes to the Outback

2011-12-18T07:29:00.001+11:00

Amy goes to the Outback, a photo by badskirt - amy on Flickr.

I rarely post photos of myself simply because I'm normally the one behind the camera. This leads to a lot of confusion when I meet people in person. Somewhere along the way I must have joked that I was a 6 foot giant . Maybe with my hands extended?

This photo stems out of a joke on Facebook. Craig's company holiday was on Friday. Since I was on my own, I posted that I felt like going for a car ride. I asked friends for suggestions. My friend John from Chicago was first in with a joke, Outback Steakhouse. Little did he know, the American chain has actually made it's way to Sydney. Conversation shifted course. People asked about it. I'd never been. We fixed that Saturday night.

Yesterday, folks, I went to the Outback.

Here's my review for those who are curious:
On John Zmaczynski's suggestion, today we ate at Outback Steakhouse in North Strathfield. There is something strangely ironic about eating in an American food chain named after an Australian region while in Sydney. It's been over a decade since I last visited one, so I have little in the way of comparison. From memory though, it's much the same as the US version. Manny, the US manager, assures me its the same.

As we walked in Craig Gunson asked, 'Is this an American restaurant? It looks like an American place.' It must have been the didgeridoos on the wall that gave it away. I don't think I've seen a didgeridoo on a wall ever in my eight years in Australia. Aside from my citizenship ceremony, I honestly can't remember the last time I saw a didgeridoo in Sydney aside from tourist shops.

The food was good, laden with a bucket of butter at each step. The signature Bloomin' Onion starter had me skeptical. The oversized plate it was served on diminished it's impact. It tasted good though. I had prime rib. Craig threw state pride aside and ordered the Victoria filet. He was happy. My favourite part was the baked sweet potato drowned in honey butter and cinnamon.

We left full and happy, feeling a bit wacky after our cross-cultural experience.

A review of an Outback Steakhouse, North Strathfield by Amy Gunson, age 38.

Ringo Pie - Lynne's Design Classic

2011-12-16T12:18:00.001+11:00

Ringo Pie - Lynne's Design Classic, a photo by badskirt - amy on Flickr.

Neither visually, nor technically is this my best Ringo Pie block. That said, it's meaningful which makes it an all together different sort of patchwork beast.

Lynne requested "design classics" surrounded in white. She offered images and suggestions. She described how Fiat 500s were personal to her, so it would be her own block. I decided to choose the single most important item to me in my home. My papa's TNT 8 track player. I think it's a bit iconic in design, I hope others agree.

I truly love this 8-track player and have fond memories as a child flipping through papa's Johnny Cash tapes. I would choreograph routines. Papa passed away when I was very young. This was probably the first "sentimental" item that I owned. It's traveled across the globe with me a few times. My attachment to this object goes beyond what most would consider normal. I can't fathom letting this go. It's the kind of thing that I'd save in a fire (and keep close to the door to grab in such an occasion).

Though the design is straight forward, piecing it took forever. I was disappointed with everything I tried. I must have started this six times at least. Everything looked too literal. Maybe it was because I'm too close to it. I felt down by everything that I did. I ended up with a fairly raw and simplistic approach. Technically there's nothing that stands out about this block, but I hope Lynne understands what it lacks in technique is made up for in rawness and emotion. I hope it's okay and doesn't stand out as a sore thumb among the other gorgeous blocks made for Lynne. I am sorry it is so terribly late. I'm sure you were expecting the Mona Lisa... mea culpa.

How about you? Have you go something truly meaningful (and unusual) that you just can't seem to let go of?

Colour and Shape Test.

2011-12-14T18:18:00.001+11:00

Colour and Shape Test., a photo by badskirt - amy on Flickr.

Testing colour and shape while trying out a pattern from my new Japanese patchwork book. This was uber rushed. Made while quilting and twittering at the same time. As a result, I did both poorly. Love the colour combination though. I'll definitely put these fabrics in my hip pocket for another day.

Happy Felissimo in Nippori

2011-12-12T08:12:00.001+11:00

Some of the best things about the holidays are unexpected. I spent hours looking at two Christmas trees for the Happy Felissimo project that I stumbled on at Nippori Station.

As my sewing roots are primarily in soft toy making, I was thrilled when I stumbled across hundreds (thousands?) of soft fabric, felt and amigurumi reindeer shaped into Christmas trees. I went back to my hotel and followed the link to the Japanese website where I spent another half hour or so in giddy bliss. (Make sure your sound is on!) Then I followed the not as entertaining, but infomative link to Happy Felissimo's English site.

For those of us in Australia, the project is something akin to Softies for Mirabel on a larger, global scale. Toys are collected in Japan, Hong Kong, Beijing and New York where the they are spread across the globe. I think I read that the project is in its eleventh year, though I may have that wrong. Each year, members make similar critters using either fabric, felt or yarn. I think the consistency of design is what made these trees so captivating and such a joy to look at.

Unexpected joy in Tokyo.

Vintage Fabric Shopping with Ayumi

2011-12-09T16:21:00.001+11:00

One of the things that I most looked forward to on this trip to Japan was getting to spend time with Ayumi of Pink Penguin. I've never had a friend in Japan, and it truly made the trip so much more special. Ayumi is one of the masterminds behind the Ringo Pie quilt bee and she organized the We (Heart) Suzuko Koseki! project. She is extremely talented and creative. She makes patchwork blocks and projects unlike any I've ever seen. Needless to say, I was very excited and lucky that I was able to spend time with her.

We might look a bit exhausted in that photo because we had a full, busy day! I'm sporting my travelling hair which is quite a ruckus. Ayumi had a terrific idea to take me to a vintage fabric shop called A-materials. I'd never visited it before and was excited when I realized the store was owned by the author of my two favourite fabric samples books..

I know I've posted about them before, but they are books that show swatches of vintage feedsacks and dress fabrics. Perfect stocking stuffers for any fabric aficionado. The first is Vintage Fabric From the States. I got and loved it. Then I immediately bought Vintage Dress Fabric from the States. Both are available in the US and UK markets, so you won't need to scamper about to find them. Honestly, I think I burst out of my chair Ayumi said that the store owner and author were one in the same!

It's not polite to take photos inside stores in Japan. You'll have to trust me that it was very cute and proper store. You enter through a small art gallery. Then you sit on stools as you look through the most gorgeous vintage fabric swatches. Eventually I got to talk to the owner about her fabrics and how special they were. As a modern patchworker, I was thrilled to see so many original feedsacks that today's designs are based on. She suggested that I might like her third book which is about using vintage fabric to make stationery. I knew straight away that I would fail at these projects because they involve glue, but the book would be a perfect souvenir of the trip.

She showed me her book project samples and talked about how easy it would be to make them. I nodded and smiled trying to convince myself that I could succeed at fabric and glue projects. "Just go to Muji and buy the pieces," she said. We all nodded and it was agreed that I would stop by Muji and pick up raw materials for making fabric stationery and homewares.

Initially, I thought I might buy six or seven larger vintage fabric pieces, but saw a little swatch collection that had one of the fabrics that I adore from my books. It didn't matter what else was in the collection, I decided I wanted to buy the small swatch kit. I think because they are small pieces they are even more special. There are about 25 swatches all together. All remarkably special. I don't own much vintage fabric, so this was a wonderful way to get a little taste.

A-materials is a terrific store. I'm hoping to make a little e-zine with directions and notes about all of the Japanese shops that I like over the holidays. It will definitely make an appearance. After A-materials, we ventured around to other fabric and feedsack stores in nearby towns. We were remarkably restrained in our shopping. If I go again, I'll have to guard my wallet.

Later in the week, I did stop at Muji to get the notebooks and photo pages that we talked about in the shop. I realized that I was far out of my depth and instead bought a little ten pin penguin bowling set. It will remind me of a very special day in Japan with a truly extraordinary Pink Penguin.

Fabrics.

2011-12-08T16:48:00.001+11:00

Shopping., a photo by badskirt - amy on Flickr.

I'm home from Japan and listing fabric in the badskirt shop this afternoon. It is disappearing in record time though. Some fabrics sold out minutes after I listed them and I hadn't even announced them yet. My guess is a few gals have the badskirt shop in their RSS feed.

I always feel bad that I didn't get enough for everyone. =/ I've held a little back to make up some "taste of japan" scrap packs next week. If you missed out on a favourite, don't fret. There may be more! This trip was all about those gorgeous text prints that the Japanese do so well. Yuwas, Munsell and a spot of Lecien.

I've got several blog posts planned for the next week or so about Tokyo while I catch up on my own blog reader and see what everyone has been up to.

Tomorrow is the big day for the 2012 Pantone colour of the year. It's almost pathetic how excited I am for the announcement!

Happy Felissimo Preview

2011-12-05T10:25:00.001+11:00

All kinds of happy. I could not wait to share the Felissimo Happy Toys Project with you. I stumbled into their display in the Nippori train station. I will post photos when I get home later this week, but for now pop by the website for a quick visit. Make sure you have your sound on. Trust me, it:s all sorts of happy.

Hexagons

2011-11-28T08:57:00.001+11:00

Hexagons, a photo by badskirt - amy on Flickr.

The deck of our community pool is proving to be a great spot for morning photos. This slow growing hand project started as an experiment in color about 10 hexies wide. It's slowly growing.

While it looks quite chaotic I assure you that every hexagon has been meticulously placed. My very controlled version of scrappy.

fourteen months.

2011-11-28T08:50:00.001+11:00

fourteen months., a photo by badskirt - amy on Flickr.

I realized just after that last post (from less than a half hour ago) that after this morning Badskirt would be quite for about 10 days while I zoom off to Tokyo. I couldn't leave you without a little eye candy, hence the rapid succession of posts this morning.

Fourteen months. That's how long it took to pick background fabric for this star. Any guesses how long it will take to pick a backing fabric?

the Sydney Modern Quilt Guild

2011-11-28T07:20:00.008+11:00

Yesterday, I popped up to the north side of Sydney for the second meeting of the Sydney Modern Quilt Guild. It's a bit of a long drive to the Blue Gum in Waitara, so I was fortunate to carpool with Lorena and Leslie. Though Modern Quilt Guilds have been meeting worldwide for a while, Sydney got off to a slow start. Once the ball was rolling though, it seems everyone was clambering to join. We had nearly 20 gals yesterday.

The day was a big mix of show and tell and chat. We talked about our current projects. We showed off things we'd been doing. We talked about our favourite fabric marking tools and software. We ate great food and swapped some fabric. I tried to snap photos, but I was too buy chatting to remember to pull out the camera.

For my part in show and tell, I finished my Farmdale lonestar started fourteen months ago! I didn't take a photo, but I think Suzanne might have. What was fun about show and tell is that we saw lots of modern patterns made with older fabric. Then we saw older patterns made with modern fabric.

Here's some of the gems! I apologize in advance that I missed a few names, so I can't give proper credit along the way. If they are yours, shout and I'll fix the credit and blog links!

Selena's black&cherry take on the this year's Summer Sampler Series. Part goth, part rockabilly. I recognized the shapes straight away, but it was great to see her take on colour.

This wonky stacked coins drew a lot of chatter talking about the technique. A mum and daughter collaboration - surely the best kind of quilt. Made together by family.

Selena is having a prolific year of quilting, so she had a few patchwork tops to show off including this kaleidoscope.

This is Leslie's first quilt. A quirky sampler just right for a young boy. Her fabrics were a mix of vintage Americana styles a la American Jane.

Lucky for me, a few gals in the area area also working on the Camelot quilt. They've been doing test blocks before diving into their final versions. She's thinking of using Lotta Jansdotter Echo for her complete version. Wouldn't that be yummy? I've got the Camelot pattern at home waiting for me to start in earnest. It's nice to know I'll have locals to turn to when I need advice.

Both Heather and Lorena have been using the Marti Michell templates to make hexagons. Heather's feature vivid Kaffe in tumbling rows. I should have take some closeups of this, each block was a treat for the eyes.

Suzanne, who helped organize us, put me to shame by showing off her finished Tokyo Subway Quilt as my own Tokyo Subway project lingers half-finished.

And Lorena gave us a quick demo of those Marti Michell templates and mirror sets that I mentioned earlier. She's also doing some posts about them on her blog which feature her Little Apples blocks. Pop on over to learn more.

Lots of eye candy. Lots of laughter. It was quite a fun day for all. I met so many great gals and look forward to the next one. If you like modern quilting (blocks, patterns, techniques) pop over the the blog and register for email to learn about the next meetup. It should be fun!

Louie B Christmasbird

2011-11-25T14:19:00.003+11:00

Forty-five minutes of sunshine this week. When I say the weather gods conspired against Sydney bloggers, you'll have to believe me. The wet weather though has been a welcome time for relaxing on the couch with needle and thread.

Counted cross-stitch is the first craft hobby that I remember doing on a regular basis. I remember going to Ben Franklin in our neighboring town to pick out floss and pattern books. I don't know if I was any good at it because somewhere along the way, I lost my stitchery.

It's for the best really. Back then, my young tastes matched our country blue and mauve home. I made rocking horse hand towels and mallard duck wall hangings. Looking back, it was daggy crafting at it's best.

I've played with needle and floss a couple of times since then and tried to tackle fresher modern themes. One day a few weeks ago, a pattern kit showed up in the mail. Lisa of The Red Thread made some Christmas stitch patterns for Spotlight. I wasn't expecting it, but it was a great little surprise that I was unable to put down. I'm happy to say that I've still got the knack for it.

The kit came with everything you need - aida cloth, floss and needle. It was my first time working hoop free, but the aida cloth has plenty of body which makes that easy. Much like my younger days, I got lazy when it came to filling in the white. I wasn't going to do his brim but decided I better since the floss was there and the instructions called for it. I've gotten about half of it done. Pretend you don't notice, ok?

We've named him Louie. He might be a Christmas ornament or part of a stocking. We haven't decided. I've been threatening to make stockings for four years now. It really might happen this time.

Do you remember the first crafts you did as a kid? Are you still at them?

Looking for a new home.

2011-11-24T15:39:00.002+11:00

Looking for a new home., a photo by badskirt - amy on Flickr.

Edit: tentatively adopted!

my captain awesome

2011-11-21T15:20:00.002+11:00

I think he's pretty great and you can see why.

Craig's been learning to kiteboard this year. Saturday afternoon, we popped up to the central coast and he got into full swing. It was such a hugely successful day for him and I'm so proud. I know it's a long shot, but he'd love to meet up with other kiteboarders in the area. Do you have any in your family?

a special parcel arrived.

2011-11-18T15:39:00.004+11:00

I nearly passed on the pillow swap this round and that would have been a mistake. It was an economic decision that would have kept me out. I worry that I've been spending a bit too much on postage lately. When my parcel arrived this morning, all my worries were quelled. I could not have hoped for or expected anything better than the goodies that Lauree of meliketocraft sent. On flickr, we know her as locodowo. Though I suggest from now on we just call her The Queen of Awesome.

When I fill out swap forms, I like to tell my partners a little about me and my interests. Apparently there was no need this time, as Lauree is a regular reader. Likewise, she's at the top of my flickr contacts. I love the photos she posts. Lauree really went the extra mile to make everything extra special for me. The perfect themes - canisters, airstream caravans and the Morton Salt girl. The perfect colors. Attention to detail and a very special note. Everything was a delight. The note was my favourite part.

The pillow front perfectly matches one of my favourite canister sets. The reverse side came with it's own matching mug! And four perfectly quirky ornaments which will get year round display in our house.

Happy. Lucky. Blessed. Loved by a long distance friend. Those words all describe how I am feeling. Thank you so much, Lauree. You've made my year.

Well thank goodness Kelly helped talk me into joining the swap this round. I had posted that I was going to be a bystander. She lured me in. A very special thank you to her for organizing and running this round of the pillow swap. It's quite a bit of work to organize swaps and quilt bees. A super huge thank you to all of the guys and gals, like Kelly, who help make them possible.

If you don't hear from me for a few days, I'm busy mopping up drool and happy tears.

Circle of Glee!

2011-11-18T09:26:00.003+11:00

I'm always starting something new but slow on the finishes. When I mentioned yesterday's new project to Belinda at the coffee shop, I thought she was going to choke on her latte. Who could forget the dreaded Circle of Eek! In my own words, "...if anyone asks me for a circle of geese again, I must just die." My patchwork skills have come a long way in those two years though. So without fear or trepidation, I willingly braved the biggest circle of geese that I'd ever seen.

It started with one of my patchwork-ready fabric tubs. Rather than sort by colour, I like to sort my fabrics into ready-to-sew palettes. I find that sometimes I can spend hours agonizing over the right colour aka fabric paralysis. Having the fabric stacked by project and ready makes it easier for me to grab and go. I prefer this to sorting by colour or designer. It works for me.

On a side note, I'm not alone in fabric paralysis. There's a weekly twitter chat called #talknt for quilters of all skill levels. The big names even come out for it. As I learned last week, it turns out many of us are bitten by the fabric paralysis bug. The chat group was great because we talked about ways to change our habits to help us move forward. We meet each week. I don't always make it, but it's fun when I do.

With my bucket in hand, I needed a pattern. Ages ago, I bought a pack of Bella Bella Quilts Paper Foundations for something like $10. These foundation papers are designed to go with a book but I skipped the book and went straight for the good stuff. My rationale was simple for $10, I'd get a whole lot of paper piecing patterns that I wouldn't have to trace. I knew I wouldn't get the directions or templates for complete Bella Bella Quilts, but I thought I could use the bits and pieces in some sort of clever way and make it my own.

As designed the Cosmati ring templates should make a giant circle of geese. That's 48 geese made from eight arcs. Or if you are feeling feisty you could make the more complex Cosmati II ring which has even more tiny geese in it. My feist-factor yesterday was zero, so I took the simpler alternative.

Not content with a simple circle, I futzed around and decided what I'd really love to try one day is a giant pickle of geese. These templates nicely lend themselves to a pickledish variation made with flying geese arcs, don't they?

And that's what I would really love to do. But let's not kid ourselves. That would be a big quilt and I don't do big. It'd be great though wouldn't it? For now, I'll cast the arcs aside while I decide what their fate is.

As a brief review, I found the Bella Bella Quilts Paper Foundations to be good value for money. Nice thin tear away paper. Clear lines for sewing. Another good tool in my sewing arsenal.

light destashing.

2011-11-16T11:19:00.004+11:00

I'm having a light destash sale because I needed to find one extra shelf in the studio and I'd like to go on a trip soon. It's a small sale with assorted prints (japanese, rare, screenprints, hard-to-find, and general stuff too) For that reasons prices are mixed. Some will seem excellent to rare fabric collectors. Others will seem good compared to most AU fabric. Hopefully something is just right for you.

Free shipping in Australia!

International shipping: please note that BigCartel pricing is set at a maximum. If I can, I'll happily try to find a cheaper way of shipping things to you and refund the difference. I'll do my best.

All the photos in the shop are quite grey today. The sun is in hibernation.

** Please note that the shop hasn't had fabric in it for about a year. If you notice any problems, please feel free to email me while I work out the bugs. =)

roxy long socks.

2011-11-14T09:38:00.008+11:00

image from Lisa of The Red Thread

I think I mentioned ages ago that I've been doing some pattern development and testing with Lisa of The Red Thread. Roxy Long Socks is one of Lisa's newest pattern kits and is now for sale in her BigCartel shop. They'll be in quilt shops next year.

I've borrowed the photo of Lisa's samples as I failed to pictures of my own gal. She was fun and easy to make. If you're celebrating a handmade Christmas or want to support a local designer, the Roxy pattern kit is a win all-around.

**and if you like the look of these gals, just wait until you see what else Lisa has on the horizon. I've been having all sorts of fun with her projects.

one man's trash...

2011-11-12T13:17:00.001+11:00

one man's trash..., a photo by badskirt - amy on Flickr.

...treasures from today's Fabric-a-brac. If you're nearby, rush over quickly. LOTS of great fabric and deals left. I got a meter of Liberty for $7. The quilting cottons that I bought were in the $.50-$1.00 range per half meter or so. One wonderful woman had tons of Japanese sewing books for $15 each. If you missed out this time, keep your ears open for the next one.

warning: fabric pusher.

2011-11-11T14:19:00.004+11:00

I don't like to be known as a fabric pusher. But...

Fabric-A-Brac is on tomorrow in Sydney. Help raise money for Sacred Heart Hospice. Replenish your stash (or help someone else get control of theirs). Have a cup of tea with some nice crafty people. Read more about it on Facebook.

Come buy all of the good stuff before I get a chance to.

Coral, Grey and Gold in Diamonds.

2011-11-10T15:31:00.003+11:00

from this

to this

with the help of some design walls.

Last weekend, the mister and I armed ourselves with a staple gun and some duct tape to make design walls using Oh Frannson's tutorial. Without them, I'm not sure this quilt would have ever emerged. It started as something more akin to Tokyo triangles, but wound up as a wonky harlequin shape.

This is another story of picking fabric before the project. I started with the Yuwa pastry print on white, and knew that I'd be adding the two coral Suzuko Koseki prints with numbers, shoes and ballerinas. Beyond that, I decided to let the fabric pick it's own course. Last week, I picked up the yellow and magenta Day in the Country spots to pair with the pastry print for my never-to-be-completed Camelot quilt. So I pulled them in. The Japanese vacation print came along for the ride. It was next to them on the stack. To soften the tones, I added a pink Suzuko Paris newsprint. It's a finicky fabric and decided not to pose for the group picture. I realized it was feeling flat and needed more saturation. So I added the mustard floor plans and Moda Oz pindots at either end of my colour spectrum.

Then because this was a low-commitment quick-turnaround project, I paired it with a cheap-as-chips grey that I picked up at Spotlight. Using really cheap basecloth gave me the luxury of being reckless and careless with my points. It was a bit freeing. Because I threw caution to the wind with my points, it made up quickly.

If you're considering investing or making a design wall of your own, I high recommend Elizabeth's method and batting suggestion. It's been aces in this house - my new little muse.

** My added tip: if you have young kids around, this would also make for a great storyboard play wall when it's not used for quilt projects

Craft Blogs and Marketing.

2011-11-10T08:57:00.002+11:00

The Beehive for Karlyn (aka wonderful hatchy yellow brick road), a photo by badskirt - amy on Flickr.

Instead of senselessly rambling today, I'd like to send you over to CraftyPod. There's a great article about craft blogs and marketing. I've left lengthy feedback there. I can't wait to pop over and your comments too. (Thanks Alissa for link this morning!)

If you're just here for pretty pictures, today's photo is for a quilt bee. Delicious Cloth fabric for Karlyn's zigzag quilt.

Quick and simple.

2011-11-07T16:30:00.004+11:00

Quick and simple., a photo by badskirt - amy on Flickr.

Today I wanted a sense of accomplishment, so I turned to something easy. I made a patchwork top for a baby playmat using the fabrics I pulled out last week. Then I rushed outside minutes before a lightning storm to take a photo.

You don't get much easier than this.
- Forty-eight 5" squares
- Four 9 1/2" squares
- Six solid jelly roll strips

This is 42"x42" but could easily be scaled up for a bed-size quilt. I bought a Moda Bella white jelly roll ages ago and keep it handy for quick and easy sashing. It's been quite handy for so many projects.

A tale of a quilt bee

2011-11-01T09:39:00.004+11:00

I am currently involved in a few virtual quilting bees and blocks have started trickling in for my projects. To keep the girls inspired, I took photos of how they are shaping up.

The pint-sized quilting bee makes teeny tiny blocks for each other, usually between 2-4". I asked the girls to make me asymmetric square in squares blocks inspired by Josef Albers and this image in particular. I asked for solids or solids/prints mixed. These are only 2" finished blocks! They're doing an ace job aren't they!

Nine blocks, one very happy girl.

Pair that Fabric - Retro Kid Cowboys

2011-10-31T17:11:00.007+11:00

Can you tell I'm really excited about this fabric?, a photo by badskirt - amy on Flickr.

One of my favourite things to post about when I first started out blogging was buying new fabric and how it worked with my current stash. Rather than letting it weigh me down, I saw my stash full of possibilities. My stash was tiny then but full of hope. I really liked that way of looking at things.

I liked to mix and match and see what worked. I liked thinking about fabric outside of the collections. I liked posting and sharing my ideas with you. Somewhere along the way I stopped doing those sorts of posts because a close friend told me it was rude and boastful.

Yeah, whatever...

On with the rodeo!

Retro Kids Cowboy - Spotlight exclusive
Wee Wonderland pinstripe - Keiki for Moda
Gold houseplans - Suzuko Koseki
Lush Woodgrains - Erin Michael for Moda
Pink Crossweaves - Moda
Teal Pindots - Yuwa
Picnic/Fairground - DS Quilts for Fabric Traditions
Pezzy - American Jane for Moda

Because the background of the cowboy print is so light, I wanted to pair it with saturated prints with minimal whites and lights. I think that will make the cowboy print more of a focal point and help the illustrations pop out. I started with a pair of golden colors with Suzuko Koseki house plans and the Wee Woodland stripe. Both reminded me of the saddle, hair and accents. They give the pairing the warm sunny feeling to start us on the right foot.

Then I moved on to the woodgrains. When I think of cowboys, I naturally think of the wild west and wood saloons. I wanted to pair it with a softer woodgrain that didn't overwhelm the cowboy print. I weighed up Aviary and Lush and decided the Lush was a much better pairing because of its softer nature. I couldn't decide on a color and would probably mix and match all three in a quilt.

When making quilts or cushions, I like to give eyes a place to rest. So my next dive was into the solids. I pulled out two shades of Moda crossweaves in bright pink. The bright pink is a bit of an unexpected pairing with cowboys and indians, but pulls out some of the accents in the print like the neckerchief and flowers. I felt the crossweaves helped maintain visual texture and would keep things from looking too flat.

I moved onto the teal trees and birds in the retro print. Again, I wanted simple basics which didn't compete too heavily with the foundation fabric. Then finally, for just a hint of playfulness and a dash of bright, I grabbed some of the new pezzy charms.

A rather swimmingly good combination, I think. I'm happy again knowing my stash is full of possibilities. How about you? Can you think of any prints that I've missed that would make this combo zing?

One thing leads to another.

2011-10-31T14:58:00.001+11:00

One thing leads to another., a photo by badskirt - amy on Flickr.

When in doubt, go fabric shopping.

the one where she finishes something.

2011-10-26T13:17:00.003+11:00

PTS6 - Pillow Talk Swap, a photo by badskirt - amy on Flickr.

I'm still sewing, but I've been a bit quiet about it. I finished this cushion today for the international pillow swap. I don't want to say too much, but I think this style captures my partner's tastes. You might remember I started with this patchwork quite some time ago and then cast it aside. As soon as I read about my assigned partner, I realized this was meant to be for them all along. Kismet.

Surprise yourself. Experiment with color.

2011-10-06T15:06:00.003+11:00

Surprise yourself. Experiment with color., a photo by badskirt - amy on Flickr.

For me, it's almost always about the palette and print. The project is secondary. That's why I often find myself with more starts than finishes.

We went away for the long weekend and I wanted a challenge. I dove out of my colour comfort zone; yet found myself at ease.

The man in the family requested I make this a 2m by 2m quilt. I couldn't help but laugh.
Edit: Fabrics are AMH Good Folks, Kumiko Fujita calendars, Liberty chairs, Liberty Grayson Perry Flo airplane house, Suzuko Koseki lime stripe, Yuwa vintage ladies, Yuwa macaroons, unknown circles

class.

2011-09-27T20:48:00.001+10:00

class., a photo by badskirt - amy on Flickr.

learning all sorts of things about all sorts of organizations. using the dymo to make it more fun.

Dusting things off.

2011-09-23T12:12:00.004+10:00

images from assorted photographers via the Red Sydney Project

As I'm moving forward into new things, I've been thinking quite a bit about the past. Do you remember the Red Sydney Project? Two years ago today, I woke up to red sky. After a few clicks of my camera, a project was born.

2 years, 1800+ photos and a word of mouth campaign that swept through the internet, I'm happy to look back and call it a success. Though the images from that morning still sear in my mind, I'm glad I started a small movement and a flickr group to capture our thoughts and photos. Life is about shared experience and I want to thank the 500+ members who contributed their photos and experiences from that day.

Ringo Pie for August and September

2011-09-21T09:36:00.003+10:00

Ringo Pie - Quilts on a Line, a photo by badskirt - amy on Flickr.

Ringo Pie - Christmas for Amble, a photo by badskirt - amy on Flickr.

I've been making making bee blocks. Details on flickr.

a slow steady course.

2011-09-13T12:51:00.001+10:00

Bound, a photo by badskirt - amy on Flickr.

hand binding: tedious and time consuming, but always worth the effort.

father's oldsmobile chevron

2011-09-06T13:21:00.001+10:00

father's oldsmobile chevron, a photo by badskirt - amy on Flickr.

Don't you just love when a concept and colour palette come together better and easier than expected?

I picked up this fabric today with the intent to use it straight away as a back for one of my cross quilts.

The solids are from Australia's own Day in the Country. They were all purchased down the road at my local shop. It was great to see everything in person, build a small bundle and bring it home to sew.

Have you visited your local lately? Drop by. They probably miss you.

More crosses

2011-09-05T09:31:00.002+10:00

More crosses, a photo by badskirt - amy on Flickr.

I've been hiding under a huge pile of marketing homework. I'm finding it really interesting and hope to share a bit with you soon. In the mean time I've been busy at the sewing and Sizzix machines (but clearly not the iron!)

Because I really enjoyed the process with my last interlocking cross quilt top, I decided to forge ahead with another. Again, I tried to use similarly toned fabrics to create a "background" so that the bold, saturated cross popped out.

I wish I had more Sevenberry flowers fabric, because I would have preferred to use it as a border instead of blocks in the quilt. Both tops await the perfect border and batting budget.

All of the fabrics are older prints from my stash. Details on flickr.

Craig's other quilt.

2011-08-24T09:12:00.007+10:00

Since seeing them around the web, I've wanted to try my hand at the interlocking plus quilts that have been popping up in the last couple of years.

So with no purpose in mind, I walked to my newly tidied fabric stash. I tried to remember what fabrics set apart the interlocking plus quilts that I liked best. I decided I wanted to make something with a fairly neutral background with pops of colour. So I raided my pale grey section (depleted it actually) and then added some reds and coal for contrast.

This bugger is only 36"x36". I thought I was making a play mat size quilt sans border, but the mister spied it and asked if he could "trade in" the quilt I made him a few weeks ago for this one. So I'll add a border and size it up for him. I'm thinking it will be something in the charcoal family, but I'll have to check my stash.

I didn't follow a specific pattern, but if you are looking for one there is one in Rashida's Coleman-Hale's I Heart Patchwork book. I used 3 1/2" squares (3" finished) and roughly 10 prints for variety. I simply started in one corner and worked by rows making up my layout as I went.

With the right colour scheme, these quilts can have big impact and are a perfect starting point for the beginning patchworker. If you're new to quilting and aren't sure where to start, I'd give this layout a big thumbs-up.

A very short review of Pom Wonderful Presents: The Greatest Movie Ever Sold.

2011-08-22T08:55:00.002+10:00

It was opening night at the Newtown Dendy, and Morgan Spurlock's newest documentary had commanded an audience of just six. Billing itself as The Greatest Movie Ever Sold, one would have expected a few more. I’m sure the movie’s above the line sponsor, Pom Wonderful, was banking on it. Nonetheless, our audience of six smiled, laughed and maybe learned a thing of two about advertising and product placement.

Known for directing SuperSize Me; Spurlock this time tackles the world of marketing with branding, product placement and advertising in film. His approach is amusing, quirky and sometimes self-deprecating. The self-referential plot follows Spurlock as he makes a documentary about the process of finding brand sponsors for the film. Along the way, Spurlock shows us the backdoor deals which fund our favourite movies. Spurlock interviews everyone from Ralph Nader to Big Boi. Even Donald Trump gets in on the action.

In some ways, the film feels like a 90 minute infomercial. Buy some juice. Stay at a Hyatt. Wear Merrell shoes. Drive a Mini. Morgan Spurlock shamelessly sells it all.

On the other hand, he gives the audience a better understanding of what product placement and advertising is and how it works. There are nuggets of information nestled in the sales pitch. The light-hearted, amusing approach makes it easy to enjoy.

At the risk of alienating the audience, Spurlock lets us in on the secrets and then takes it just a little too far. Are we the butt of his multi-million dollar joke?

For those new to the world of branding there’s a few a-ha moments and a chance to learn something new. My husband assures me he got quite a bit out of the film and has a better understanding of the branding profession because of it. As a consumer, he felt more aware of the advertising around him. Then again, a few days later he told me he thought we should buy a Mini. Had he been sold on the film’s message or simply sold to? I had to wonder.

Will the experienced marketer learn something new? Maybe not, but it’s a great way to help your family and friends to understand a bit more about product placement and advertising. While this movie has the potential of letting the world in on branding secrets, with audiences of just six those secrets are safe for now.

Though the film hasn’t had rave reviews, I’d recommend it for everyone in or studying to be in the marketing profession. So grab your friends and your popcorn and head over to Newtown. There’s plenty of room in the theatre.

DQS11 complete

2011-08-14T14:54:00.001+10:00

DQS11 complete, a photo by badskirt - amy on Flickr.

All done!

cupcake

2011-08-13T14:19:00.001+10:00

cupcake, a photo by badskirt - amy on Flickr.

totally worth it.

on quilting...

2011-08-13T11:33:00.003+10:00

about the audience, a photo by badskirt - amy on Flickr.

This quilting isn't going to win me any awards. It's hurried, crooked, rushed. But let me say it out loud: Who cares?

I've heard other bloggers say, and I'll admit that I sometimes agree, that its important to only show your best work on your blog to maintain some sort of quality standards.

The truth is that sometimes I do things that are substandard. Sometimes my points are wilder than a connect the dot gone crazy. Sometimes I rush the quilting out the door with so many wrinkles that you might wonder if I even bothered to baste. It happens.

When I made this quilt top, my husband said he liked it. He wasn't going to care if my quilting was straight. He wasn't going to care if the fabric is wrinkly. His biggest concern was if would I finish it before the cool weather disappears from Sydney. So I knocked it out quickly and it's ready to bind. Once it's bound and been through the wash a few times, I'll doubt we'll notice. It's going to live in a ball on the couch. For it's purpose, it's quilted adequately.

As a treat for finishing it this weekend, he's going to take me out for a Rachel at Reuben&Moore. Big win for me. Subpar quilting leads to yummy lunch. I'm all for that.

I flub it quite a bit when it comes to quilting. I don't really enjoy the process. I'm not sure if I do poor quilting because I don't enjoy it, or if I don't enjoy it because I do poor quilting. Neither scenario inspires me to practice. I know I could send it out to be quilted, but I've seen some real muckeries come back from the quilters. I figure if anyone is going to screw up my quilt, it may as well be me. There are some great quilters out there too who are reasonably priced for the work involved, but still out of my budget. So I muddle on with my shoddy quilting and smile. It gets me a sandwich. I might even get a red velvet cupcake, if I'm lucky. I think I've won.

How about you? Do you like quilting? Do you have a stack of unfinished quilt tops simply because you aren't into that part of the process? Maybe you've got a secret that might make me enjoy it a bit more... let us in on it, we want to know!!

DQS11 before quilting

2011-08-12T12:49:00.001+10:00

DQS11 before quilting, a photo by badskirt - amy on Flickr.

My Doll Quilt Swap 11 quilt is ready to be quilted. DQS11 had new rules this go which took them back to their roots. Rather than do art quilts, we were asked to make miniature versions of real quilts comprised of at least 6 blocks. Overall, they were to be between 9-18" on a side. This is what I've come up with.

The design was influenced by Kumiko Fujita's Subway quilt. I drafted the small circle log cabins myself and foundation pieced to paper. I decided to give it a little more personality by injecting the center circle. It almost looks like flower petals now. I hope my partner is into this type of layout and colour palette.

My biggest struggle was finding prints and solids that matched. May I be honest? I would really like to keep this.

Perspective

2011-08-12T11:28:00.002+10:00

I assume Alissa won't mind that I've pinched her banner for my blog. I want to give you a little perspective on things. Let's be honest, our world is pretty crap right now. Between natural disasters locally and abroad, our charity coffers have been tapped dry. Struggling economies have depleted our reserves. We've given directly, then we've been asked to give in taxes. Then we gave just a little bit more when we could. Sometimes when we donate, we aren't even certain that our contributions are making it to the people who need it most. We have to trust that what we are doing will make a difference.

Today, I put a little of my trust in Action Kivu. Many generous souls in the crafting community have donated fabric, patterns and even a quilt to encourage you to make a donation which will enrich the lives of women in the Eastern Congo by teaching them to sew. I'm asking you to forget about the prizes. Don't even think about them... instead think about what you can give up this month to find at least $10 to donate.

If you live in Australia, for $10 you'd get less than half a meter of a fabric. Maybe you'd get two fat quarters, if you are lucky. You couldn't even pay for a flat rate envelope being sent from the US. $10 wouldn't buy you a skein of Tosh or Malabrigo. It barely buys you lunch. I suspect somewhere in your typical "craft buying budget" you could find an extra $10. Forego the extra half meter of fabric. Skip the skein of yarn. Trust that you're making a positive difference in someone else's life.

gold stars to everyone who considers donating. rockstar status to those who go above and beyond. if that's not enough to lure you in, then take a look at the prizes...

a patchwork theory...

2011-08-10T14:57:00.004+10:00

This afternoon, a light bulb clicked. I had one of those a-ha moments with a genuinely simple concept. A small trick that I think will improve my quilts tenfold. I wish someone would have told me this years ago...

Choose your background and border fabrics first.

Having worked in a quilt store, I know that I'm not the only one who first dives in and finds all of the fabrics for my blocks first. Only later, do I worry about finding the right sashing or borders to tie them together. From my brief experience in selling fabric and talking to my patchwork friends, it seems to be quite a common practice.

The problem is that it's hard to find fabrics that tie things together after the fact. If a particular fabric worked well with my prints, I'd have already used it in the blocks. On top of that, background fabric generally owns the most real estate. By that I mean that the background, borders and sashing often cover the most surface area. It's not unusual for them to be the largest pieces in the quilt top.

That got me thinking... what if I did things differently? What if I picked my border first?

The proof is in the pudding, of course, and I haven't tested my theory yet. How about you? Do you pick our your block prints first and then decide on the background? Have you worked the other way around? What do you think? Could I be on to something?

the need to create

2011-08-10T13:23:00.002+10:00

the need to create, a photo by badskirt - amy on Flickr.

Because others were busy destroying things, I felt the need to create. Rather than futz with a complex design that I'd muddle along with for months, I pulled out a vivid palette and put them together chaotically. Half a day later, and I've got a quilt top. Though the prints give no inkling of the inspiration, I'm calling it Shambles of London.

I'm not entirely sold on my outer borders though, so I might revisit them later in the week. Do you ever get that intense urge to make? The kind where you have to do something right now?

You had to be a Big Shot.

2011-08-09T11:18:00.013+10:00

Now that I've had plenty of time to use my trial Sizzix Big Shot, I'm ready to do a review of it. The way this post is structured is that I'll give a general overview and my impressions of the Sizzix Big Shot followed by comparisons to Accuquilt's Go! Baby. If you haven't already done so, you may like to read my initial impressions of Accuquilt's Go! Baby.

I've had Billy Joel's Big Shot running through my head for weeks preparing for this review.

For disclosure, I'd like to explain how I came to own both cutting systems. As I described in the Go! Baby post, I was approached by Accuquilt. They wanted to give me a machine to try, review and possibly give away. Even before it arrived, I realized that it would great if the machine were multifunctional. I set off with Google to find out what paper cutting dies might be compatible with the Accuquilt Go! Baby. I still haven't found the answer to that as I was sidetracked by a forum post. In late 2010, someone mentioned they were excited for the Sizzix fabric dies as they already owned a Sizzix machine and many compatible dies. I was curious.

I had heard of Sizzix machines, but wasn't aware they cut fabric or had a quilting range. Like many others, I was under the impression that Accuquilt was the cutting machine for fabric. I was almost giddy to learn that I had other options. I popped over to their website, had a look around and decided to boldly ask them for a machine to review. I explained that I had an Accuquilt Go! Baby arriving with three dies. I was interested in a comparable machine in their range. A few weeks ago, it arrived. I've put it through its paces and am now happy to tell you about my Sizzix Big Shot co-branded with Westminster Fabric.

Anyone who regularly follows my blog has a pretty good inkling that on first glance, this probably isn't a machine that I would have picked up at a store. It's purple, bedazzled and looks a bit juvenile. It doesn't fit with my vision of design and modern quilting. Sizzix has multiple Big Shot machines available in assorted colour schemes, frankly none of them appeal to me visually. That said, I'll just tell you up front that I'm glad that I got to trial this machine. If they called me and told to ship it back, I am likely to go out and buy another Sizzix machine.

I was baffled about the design decision to make a purple multipurpose cutting machine. When I think of this shade purple, I think of red hats or unicorns. Neither of those images, reflect what I believe to be modern quilting in affluent middle age bracket. After a few days of thinking about it, I think I understand where the design stems from. This Big Shot machine is co-branded with Westminster Fabric, the umbrella that includes Kaffe Fassett, Amy Butler, Ty Pennington and FreeSpirit Fabrics. In my experience, purple is particularly popular with older quilters including some who lack the dexterity to work with rotary cutters. The resemblance to Anna Maria Horner's Bohemian is also evident and may lure in a few modern quilters. Visually though, I wasn't impressed with color or shaping of the Big Shot. It also requires hefty footprint in my limited craft room.

The only preparation work required with the Big Shot is attaching the handle. It comes with all of the tools for that job. Included with the Big Shot is a multipurpose platform and cutting plates. It wasn't until this arrived that I realized just how many functions the Big Shot is capable of. I see now that it's can cut, emboss and texture multiple materials. It can work with paper, fabric, felt, cardboard, craft aluminum and more. I'm sure it does things that I don't even know about.

When I initially looked at the Sizzix website, I had limited my die selection to their quilting range. I now understand that the machine is compatible with a large portion of their range and many of those dies also cut fabric. I watched multiple videos by Tim Holtz, an independent designer who works with Sizzix which gave me a much better understanding of the available die types and embossing tools.

I've been weighing up ideas on how I could use the machine aside from quilting to enhance my crafting experience. Because the Sizzix works with multiple materials, I realized it could be used "outside-the-box" to help me with everything from machine foundation pieced paper templates to market displays.

For the review, I selected the co-branded quilting dies that would give me a fair comparison to the Go! Baby. I was a bit limited by stock availability at the time, but ended up with four dies including a small dresden plate, an XL quarter square triangle dies for 8" finish, an XL 3.5" square die that cuts 5 squares and an unexpected 2.5" strip die.

Happy expletives came from my mouth when I first turned the handle. I was quite surprised by the effectiveness of the Big Shot. The die blades strongly engaged and did a superb job of cutting things. I trialed multiple materials - patchwork cotton, shot cotton and decorator weight linen. The machine worked fantastically with all of the fabrics. In all cases, the cuts were true. The cuts were complete in every case except the Liberty. Oddly, the machine struggled most with the delicate fabric. It went easily through 4 layers of heavy linen/cotton. With patchwork fabric, I successfully cut 10 layers at one time, though the recommended limit is 8. The die blades are extremely strong and sharp, so much so that I unexpectedly cut through an entire cutting mat while experimenting. More on that later.

The dies come in different sizes and die cost is reflective of the die size. They range from $19-$79USD each (Apologies. I haven't found the Australian RRP. Ebay prices are in line with this range.) I really liked the extra large (XL) dies that are capable of cutting multiples of the same shape in very large sizes. I had a whole quarter square triangle quilt cut in minutes though didn't bother to sew it together. Due to the extended die real estate, I managed to cut 40 3.5" squares in one go. The XL dies were extremely practical and quick, though will present storage issues due to their 26" length. I really enjoyed using the Big Shot which surprised me as it's quite a different reaction than I had with the Go! Baby. My husband remarked "you need to stop or you might run out of fabric."

XL 8" finished quarter square triangle die

What has me most excited about the Sizzix is that it is a multipurpose machine. I realized that I could cut paper with it instead of fabric and quickly make foundation piecing templates. The image isn't a great representation, but you can see how I could quickly make the 8 paper wedges needed to create a mariner's compass. The Go! Baby might also be capable of this but because it isn't marketed as a paper cutter, it hadn't occurred to me to use it in this way.

The traditional die that I picked for review was the Dresden template. It works well, though I could have used more instruction for it. The die makes tiny notches at the side of the fabric which indicate where to sew your curves. I worked it out eventually, but I suspect a beginner would need more input. Curved dresdens are a shape that is tedious to cut by hand. The benefit of the die cutter is obvious here just as it was with the Go! Baby drunkard's path.

Due to my own sewing inaccuracy, I flubbed my first two dresdens. They had giant centers and 14 blades instead of the expected 12. I was so perplexed by this that I mailed their customer service to find out exactly how many blades I should have. They mailed me back within a business day and let me know the small dresden should have 12 blades.

I would have liked to have a sample of the small dresden die sewn up on their website. Generally speaking though, the Sizzix die sales pages include quite a bit of reference with measurements and 1/4" seams which are helpful when selecting products, but I would have liked to seen a finished project with the small dresden for reference. I did look at directions for a project which uses their large dresden blade and worked on the assumption that the techniques would be similar.

I chuckled quietly to myself when the directions said "Make a 3" to 3 1/2" circle out of cardboard. (Hint: measure a glass or cup to use as a template for this). " On one hand, it's a quick cheap solutions. On the other, it would have been a great opportunity to sell a circular die template with the project. I would really like a 3-3 1/2" circle for other projects and the link would have helped. But that's certainly not important or relevant to the review. I was quite hopeful that I'd find similar size requirements for the small dresden circle but didn't see them.

Below is my first failed attempt which has 14 blades instead of 12. It lays perfectly flat and looks good, but is the wrong size all together. This was most definitely my own fault and not the fault of the die. I tend towards scant seam allowances, and I was so busy trying to accurately match the curves that I let some of the bottom angles slide. I eventually unpicked and corrected it.

Right or wrong, it brings up an interesting point. I think I am more likely to buy dies that are different or special to what is currently available in the quilting template market. Instead of 12, 16 or 20 blade dresdens readily available as plastic templates; die cutting machines open up the possibility of getting 13, 17 or 19 blade dresdens. My gut feeling is that the odd number would make them just quirky enough to seem more natural. I do hope die manufacturers create some non-standard quilting templates in the future. Similarly, I'd like see other unusual shapes that would be otherwise difficult to cut. I haven't looked into them, but apparently both manufacturers offer a custom die service (this might only be for their higher end machines). I'm toying with looking into them to find faster ways of cutting hippo legs and blythe dresses.

I'll hold it at that for now. Despite it's ghastly visual appearance, I am inclined to recommend the Sizzix Big Shot for it's power, effectiveness and versatility.

How it stacks up

Product Design

From a visual standpoint, I feel Go! Baby is the hands down winner. While I was disheartened by the scratches appearing in it's surface, the overall form form factor is a well-thought out design that addresses both portability and storage issues.

Functionality

From a user perspective, the two systems produced differing results. From my limited experience for the review, the Sizzix Big Shot offers superior cutting ability and performance. Theoretically, it also offers the most extended performance as a cutting system.

The cutting mats give us a clue that although the process is the same, there is something fundamentally different about the way the systems work. Go! Baby has a malleable plastic mat. Please excuse that it's bent, that was a factor of my testing something unorthodox, not an expected effect of the system. The Go uses harder transparent cutting shims. Both are consumables which would periodically be expected to be replaced. My testing did not give any indication of how long these are expected to last for both systems.

The system dies vary in size. The Sizzix Big Shot dies are narrow, but thicker than the Go! Baby dies. The dies are not designed to be interchangable among systems. Accuquilt's Go Baby dies are too wide for the Sizzix. Though I was able to send a Sizzix die through the Go! Baby it had detrimental effects to the Go! Baby cutting mat and I wouldn't suggest doing so. As with all technology, users are finding ways to hack their dies to make them work with other systems, but I wouldn't endorse this as you are dealing with sharp blades.

The most notable difference in dies for me is that orientation of the die blades to the edge of the fabric. In all for Big Shot dies, the layout seemed logical and orientated parallel or perpendicular as expected. For me, the orientation of the Go! Baby dies was troubling

I think it's worth noting that both systems only accept narrow dies ~6". This limitation obviously reduces the types of cuts available. For example blocks with larger pieces (wedding ring centers, large drunkard's paths) and large circles would not fit on the system. If you are interested in particularly large cuts, they you may wish to consider other Ellison (Sizzix) and Accucut (Accuquilt) models.

If you were selecting a machine today, die availability would be something that I could encourage you to consider. In this case, I cannot weigh one system as better than the other. It depends on your needs. Patchworkers, appliqueists, ragrug makers and textile artists all work differently. I would encourage you to look at both the Accuquilt and Sizzix websites to see what alternatives they have available and assess how they might fit into your crafting needs. If you can't find what suits your requirements, both companies have custom dies programs available for some machines. Don't forget to look in your area to find out what dies are locally available. Also consider is availability of dies in a secondary market.

On a personal note: I have been (and still am) looking for a secondary source aside Ebay for general Sizzix dies in Australia. If anyone knows of a good exchange forum, please let me know.

While I could probably have written a bit more, I feel this gives a fair introductory comparison of the the Accuquilt Go!Baby and the Sizzix Big Shot systems. Both have their merits and downfalls. Though I am drawn to the aesthetics of the Go! Baby system, I feel the Big Shot has better performance and versatility. When I first used the Sizzix Big Shot, I had a moment of amazement about how powerful it was with cutting. At that moment, I was able to look past the purple, bedazzled exterior and saw a worthwhile addition to my craft room.

If you can, I encourage you to try out both systems for yourself to choose what is right for you. Scour the net and look for other reviews and information. Also, I'm happy to field any questions about the machines. As the last post on this subject generated quite a bit of response, I may need to consolidate those answers into a post instead of email. Definitely look around and think about your own crafting process before making a purchase.

If you don't hear from me for a bit, I'll busy scouting around for Sizzix dies. I've been reeled in, hook, line and sinker.

----------------

Curious why the Sizzix machine uses the hard cutting mat? In my "experimenting", I put a Sizzix die in Go! Baby system with the Go! Baby cutting mat. The blades went clear through and slices a line clean through the cutting mat. The Sizzix dies are sharp indeed...

** Many thanks to Accuquilt and Sizzix for making their products available for review.

my last gocco. SOLD

2011-08-08T11:39:00.004+10:00

SOLD!

My craft studio is busting at it's seams and I need one more shelf for textbooks. The Gocco has to go. I was about to put it on eBay, but I remember a few people asking about it in the past. It's a PG-11 which is the advanced model with registration for easy full color printing. It comes with lots of "stuff" enough that you can make your first print without buying any additional supplies! (though they are readily available at NEHOC in Australia)

$210 including shipping in Australia or $190 for local pickup. I put it in the shop to make it first-come, first-serve. If you're local, I'll refund the $20 straight away! If it doesn't go this week, it will be heading to eBay at a slightly high price as it comes with far more supplies than most PG-11's listed.

Craig with his latte

2011-08-08T08:03:00.001+10:00

Craig with his latte, a photo by badskirt - amy on Flickr.

Coffee at the Atelier outside of Bellingen.

the grumpmeister

2011-07-29T14:57:00.002+10:00

the grumpmeister, a photo by badskirt - amy on Flickr.

Not everyone is happy that I've gone back to school. The cost of books and courses has severely cut into Smith's fun money budget. I tried to appease her with a new dress, but she could tell it was a rush job and was none too pleased.

Mazie at the guard

2011-07-28T13:39:00.001+10:00

Mazie at the guard, a photo by badskirt - amy on Flickr.

Mazie's a bit nervous that I ran out of toy fill before her friends sprung to life. Fretful for them, she's vowed to stand guard until I can fix them up.

I pulled out the last pieces of some of my favourite fabrics to work on some hippos today. I'm down to tiny scraps. Mazie is in the Badskirt shop already. Her friends will join her in the next day or two... and maybe a few more?

Kumiko's Subway Interpreted

2011-07-21T14:28:00.001+10:00

Kumiko's Subway Interpreted, a photo by badskirt - amy on Flickr.

I took a stab at interpreting Kumiko Fujita's Subway quilt. I haven't seen it up close or in photographs. I've only it in her presentation of quilts video on YouTube. If you haven't seen it yet, its a visually inspiring video. The link came to me via Kerry and Ayumi. I'm not sure if it's available in a book or if there is a pattern available for the quilt.

There may be a faster and simpler way to create the blocks. My guess is that she used four irregular log cabins to create a circle. So I've started giving that a try. I foundation pieced to paper using a template that I sketched with Word.

Piecing this quadrant (Look at me! I'm throwing around math terms!) was far more time consuming that I expected. I have even more respect for the quilt now.

If I were to keep going with this, I think I'd need to find more large scale text prints and buying additional more solids in matching shades. For now, I'm working from Day in the Country solids and Suzuko Koseki text prints.

Once again, tipping my hat to Kumiko Fujita. Her work is very inspiring.

Away we Go!

2011-07-19T13:43:00.022+10:00

Shortly after I posted my displeasure for sponsored giveaways on blogs, one of the companies alluded to frequently in the comments of that post contacted me and told me they wanted to give me their product and I could, if I wanted, then give one away to my readers.

I choked on my bagel. It took me all of a half hour to confirm with three friends that what I received was a form letter nearly identical to everyone else's. So any delusions of grandeur that might have made me feel that my blog was interesting, unique or appealing were lost in thirty minutes. No surprises there.

I weighed it up and realized it was an excellent opportunity to get a free product that I had been interested in and give an honest blog review about it. I wrote them back and let them know that "I'm thrilled that Accuquilt is impressed with my blog and knows what I'm all about." Of course that was a bit tongue in cheek, as it was less than two weeks earlier that I went on my giveaway tirade. At that point, the post was still visible on the front page of my blog.

So that is how an Accuquilt Go! Baby came into my possession. I got it free, and I want to do an honest review of it. Don't hold your breath for a giveaway though. From my research, a Go! Baby retails for roughly $195 in Australia not including any dies. Go! dies compatible with the Go! Baby range from roughly $29 to $82.

In full disclosure, I've contacted Sizzix, another company with a competing product which I will also review and compare features. From what I gather, very few online quilters know that competitive products exist in the fabric cutting machine market. Hopefully it will be an interesting comparison.

A Word on the Marketing
Now before I get into the review, I would like to talk about Accuquilt's current marketing and advertising model. I think it's relevant to understanding the proliferation of blog articles about the Go! cutting machines. I am, after all, a new marketing student and it would be remiss of me not to apply the little that I've already learned. I concede that I might be missing the mark entirely on Accuquilt's marketing and advertising strategy, but I'll take a stab at it. I welcome clarification and more insight from Accuquilt in the comments for my readers, of course.

Accuquilt has recognized that you, the blog reader, are one of their target markets. They realize that one of the best and fastest ways to reach you is by giving away hundreds of these machines to popular bloggers - a word of mouth campaign. The hope is that you, as a consumer, will be enticed to purchase one because you see positive feedback from others who you support. As a consumer though, I remind you to be skeptical of all reviews when the reviewer is given an item to keep for free (that includes me!). They may not want to offend the company who gave them the product or they may have incentive to say only positive things because they know that if you

CLICK THIS LINK AND SIGN UP FOR 22 FREE PATTERNS

that they will in turn receive credit for more free things from the company that provided the product. By the way, apparently I am part of a "blogger team" and can get more free dies, if you click that link and sign up. I didn't make the text big so that you would; I just wanted to illustrate my point about incentives. (Though, if just 70 of you sign up, I soon could have an Apple Core die! I'm not even sure 70 of you will read this. =)

Along with the publicity that Accuquilt receives from these giveaways, they also immediately improve their market position. Accuquilt isn't just trying to sell their cutters, they are trying to sell their dies and accessories, as well. It's a similar product model to printer manufacturers who lure you in with cheap printers backed by the cost of their print cartridges. The thought is once lured in by a free cutter, you would be more willing purchase dies and accessories from Accuquilt.

Generally speaking, cutting machines and dies aren't interchangeable; so when a consumer adopts one technology (ie. cutting machine) they are locked into products from that manufacturer. By getting an Accuquilt into the homes of top bloggers, the assumption would be that those top bloggers (I guess that's me?) wouldn't even consider purchasing a competitive product like a Sizzix Big Shot.

At this stage though, I've no brand allegiance. I'm looking for the product that best fulfills my needs, so I will also being reviewing a Sizzix when it arrives.

So let's get on with the review!

My Go! Dies
As part of the promotion, Accuquilt allowed me to select three different dies for my Go! Baby. I selected a Go! Value Die Set, Go! Drunkard's Path and Go! Sparkle Diamonds. I've had the good fortune of seeing many bloggers go before me and read about their selections. Many have raved about their strip cutting dies, but I find my Sew Easy fabric guillotine a quick and versatile way to cut strips. I love how easy and quick it is to vary of the width of strips with my guillotine and to cut them with one simple motion, therefore I didn't need another strip cutter in my life.

Similarly, I heard another person mention they were enamoured with the half square triangles. Again, I already have several methods for making HSTs that I'm delighted with. My favourite is the Thangles system at the moment. These are not too dissimilar to Julie Wallace's patchwork papers. To me, sewing HSTs individually after the fabric has been cut is just a bias stretching nightmare waiting to happen. Perhaps this reflects more on the quality of my sewing than the technique, but I feel there are much better and more accurate ways to sew HSTs.

I decided I wanted to get templates that would give me versatility. I already have a fairly large collection of plastic template sets for assorted quilt blocks. I find that I often use these for one or two projects before they are cast aside. I was a bit nervous the same thing might happen with my Go! dies. It's not a fault of any cutting system, but a reality check is needed for all quilting template sets and fabric die. How many tumbler block quilts do you want to make before you're bored and move onto something else? As a consumer, you need to weigh up the expense against the longevity of use of the product.

The value die pack comes with templates for two squares and two half square triangles. I chose it because I thought it might be useful for squares. Lots of projects use lots of squares, I reasoned. I was skeptical that I'd use the HSTs, but I decided in fairness I should try them and see if they were better than my current HST methodology. (They weren't)

I wanted a traditional quilting die. Most traditional quilting dies weren't available for the Go! Baby system. More on that later. I weighed up the drunkard's path against the applecore and went with the drunkard's path simply because it would help with next month's Ringo Pie block. (there you, go Lynne! that's a clue for you!)

Finally, I've got a thing for diamonds and knew at least one of my dies would be a diamond shape. Frankly diamonds are harder to cut with traditional methods, so I thought it would be a fair test of the cutters abilities and benefits. Initially I considered the Go Diamonds, but decided I was partial to the elongated shape of the Sparkle! diamonds.

This was my first interaction for this "purchase" with customer service. I used their online system to find out what, if anything, was special about the Sparkle dies. While they were online quickly to answer, the response was rather unhelpful. I asked what was different about the Sparkle dies. I cannot remember exactly what they said, but basically it was something like "they are for the Sparkle collection". It was nearly three weeks ago now, so I unfortunately I can't quote it exactly. I do remember it felt like an unhelpful punch in the gut. It was such a curt response, I didn't bother trying to find out more. I was put off their customer service. I "bought" the Sparkle diamonds anyway as I preferred the elongated diamond shape. Upon arrival, they seem to be 1/8 diamonds as you would see in a LoneStar. I haven't tested the theory, but from visual inspection that's what I've gathered.

You'll notice two of my dies are marked with black marker. They didn't come this way. This was a helpful tip I saw on a YouTube video. This brings me to my first review point which is fabric grain.

Fabric Grain
The Accuquilt go comes with multiple pamphlets which explain that the lengthwise grain needs to be fed into the machine to prevent stretching on the bias while cutting.

If you scroll back and look at those marked dies, you quickly see that the blades of the dies are not set parallel to the sides of the die. I am not certain of Accuquilt's reasoning behind the orientation. My understanding is that in some cases for some cutters, the blades that are parallel with the die roller crack. My assumption is they are set so no blade is parallel to the die cutter for that reason.

This leads to some obvious questions when you place your fabric on the cutter.

Do you -

A. Line the fabric up parallel to the sides of the die so it goes through the cutter along the lengthwise grain as all of their pamphlets indicate is best to prevent stretching?

or B. Line it up so the grain of the fabric is parallel to the die shape that you are cutting, so the resulting cut has nice straight grain with no bias for sewing?

I tried both, repeatedly and with multiple types of fabrics. In every case, I found that A gave the truest squares. Though with quilting weight cotton, B wasn't far off in most cases and the results improved if I added a paper shim to the fabric.

Obviously the offset nature of the dies is going to be annoying in many cases. It means you have to pay very special attention as you lie down strips of fabric to cut multiple layers. If you are a big user of unidirectional prints, as I am, then the issue isn't just grain stretch. It's also a matter of getting the prints aligned nicely with the pattern orientation.

Once I realized this, I trolled the Go! quilt patterns and examples. (Sign up for free ones and I get more free stuff!) I realized most of their examples use batiks or allover prints where pattern orientation isn't noticeable. I do wonder if they made that choice simply because of the annoyance of the die orientation.

To me the fabric orientation issue is a bit annoying. I'm honestly hoping that someone from Accuquilt can add a little more insight into this issue in the comments for my blog readers.

How it Cuts
I think the first measure of a cutting machine should be how it cuts. I found I had the best results when I put multiple layers into the machine at once. I had my best results with heavier quilting cottons and linen/cotton blends. Although heavy cottons worked well. I found that standard quilting cottons did not always cut 100% and a pair of scissors was necessary in many cases to free my shapes. Much to my surprise, the machine had the most difficulty cutting Liberty fabric. Unless the machine was loaded up with many layers of other fabric, the Liberty cuts were somewhat inaccurate. I am not sure if this was simply a flaw of the machine they sent me or a universal problem.

I also had a problem with the "trueness" of some of my square shapes that I alluded to above. This improved when I followed Accuquilt's suggestion of adding paper in each time I cut. I felt guilty cutting that much paper, even if it was from my recycled paper bin. It begs the question, if it's a known issue and paper is recommended solution, then why isn't it fixed?

Machine Size
The next thing I'd like to talk about is the size of the Go! Baby. It's small and very portable. In fact, I took my to a recent craft group meeting without too much trouble. Like all cutting machines, it's quite heavy but that's to be expected as it's the weight of the rollers than engage the cutting mechanism.

For me though, The Go! Baby is just a little too small. 6" wide dies limit the size of the resulting shapes. I will say that I'm happy with my drunkard's circle template. I would be much happier with it if it were significantly larger. Most of the quilting shapes that interested me (double wedding ring, large drunkard's, rob peter) were only available on the Accuquilt's larger cutting machines, the Go! and the Studio.

While the Go! Baby offers a low cost, easily portable solution with a minimal footprint in your craft room; I feel the shape real estate available on the 6" dies isn't enough to make it a worth while for me.

(Another bit of disclosure: A while ago, I wanted to purchase an Accuquilt Studio machine for my online fabric business, but local customer support was unresponsive. I thought I might make a large investment in a product and be able to provide Japanese precuts to my online customers. I simply wanted to know where I might be able to try one out locally first. Due to lack of customer service response, I became frustrated. I determined they were too busy giving things away to help potential customers. It was then that I first became jaded about sponsored online giveaways. I vowed then never to buy an Accuquilt, as I wouldn't let my money pay for someone else's machine if they couldn't even offer me customer service. So yes, this review did have a grey cloud hanging over it from the beginning which the free machine would have to combat.)

The Physical Machine
I absolutely love turning the crank on the cutting machine. I think many people will agree that turning the knob is a thrilling experience. I can't put my finger on it, but I think it evokes memories of my Snoopy Sno Cone machine. Turning the crank is good.

Turning the crank just a few times and seeing your new machine scratched though, isn't so good.

I'm not exactly what you call a brute. I'm 4'10" and just heavy enough to donate blood. I'm not a bruiser. So my eyes dropped when I saw my new Go! Accuquilt scratched in only three days. It didn't take long to determine the culprit. On the very first day that I used the value pack die, the not-so-mysterious scratches appeared. The die had a small mar of plastic which was poking out from the back. This mar in the die played havoc with the surface of the machine.

For now, it appears cosmetic and the machine still functions, but I get a little pouty each time I see it. I fear it will get worse over time and eventually prohibit the dies from sliding smoothly through the rollers. I would expect either a stronger coating on the machine or better quality control on the dies. If I paid for this machine and it happened, heads would have rolled at the craft store. Since I didn't pay, I simply buffed back the problem with the Value die and am trying my best to ignore it.

Fabric Wastage
When I took the cutter to my craft group, one girl remarked that the die layouts result in an enormous amount of fabric wastage. While this isn't of concern to me as I am trying to burn through my fabric stash, it certainly would be an issue for anyone cash strapped and looking to conserve fabric. She made a valid point, and it was worth noting.

Overall Feelings

Please excuse my unpressed photos. I'm over two hours into the review and just couldn't face the iron. Above are some examples of things that I've made using my Accuquilt dies. I felt it was extremely helpful with the curved pieces, but of no worthwhile benefit when cutting squares, triangles and diamonds.

While there is some fun to be had with the crank, I find too many issues with the Go! Baby to recommend it to my readers. Putting aside my earlier issues with customer service and marketing strategy, I find that the issue of size, accuracy and durability to be too problematic to warrant a $195 investment in a machine followed by a $29-85 investment in a die.

For purposes of cutting small squares and making HSTs, there are other tools on the market that, in my opinion, do a faster, easier and better job than the Go! Baby cutter. I did find the Drunkard's Path template useful and it worked reasonably well, but I wonder if it is a one-off novelty that I'd use for one project and then set aside.

I believe the Go! Baby is best suited to people who like to work on a fairly small scale using solids, batiks and all-over prints. I wouldn't recommend purchasing a Go! Baby; but if you are thinking of buying one, then I suggest you wait. At the rate they are giving them away, you should be quickly moving up the queue. No need to pay when a free one is bound for your doorstep.

Everyone's experiences and expectations are different. If you are considering any product, I do encourage you to read multiple reviews. If you can, find someone in a local craft group or store who can let you try the it out. I also encourage you to look around and see what other competitive products are available.

Is anyone still reading? I know this was a long one, but I wanted to make sure it encompassed my opinions on the product. I'd like to tell you there is a prize for making it this far, but well... you know how I feel about giveaways.

the (returning) student experience

2011-07-19T09:23:00.002+10:00

Remember not too long ago when I mentioned that I had no marketing qualifications? If my long-winded rambling wasn't a clue, I should mention that I have more than a slight interest in the topic. I had a little something tucked up my sleeve that day in the form of a University application. Wands waved, hoops gamboled, and I'm on journey towards a Master of Marketing.

Buses and books on a hill-sloped campus.

This week, I'm giving myself a crash course in Consumer Behaviour. Next week, I'll be knee deep into my first two electives, Understanding Buyer Behaviour and Product and Brand Management.

You never know where life is going to take you. Some times you need to give it a little nudge in the direction you'd like to head. Other times you need to grab the wheel, take the exit and set off in a whole new direction.

I know quite a few crafty fiends are heading back to school this term, and I've heard from a few more that it's something they'd like to do. I've also heard recently that my generation will go through seven career changes in our lifetime. Seven! With that in mind, you shouldn't be scared of trying something new. So if university is something that you've been thinking about, why not take that leap now? Whether you'll be a new student or a returning one, full-time or part-time; learning more about a subject you love makes sense.

As for me, I'm very very excited.

---
A special thank you to Amisha who send the perfect school tote bag during the Spicing Up the Kitchen Swap. It was an extra that she included. She had no way of knowing it then, but it was exactly what I needed as I begin my (returning) student journey.

refreshed.

2011-07-12T21:58:00.003+10:00

This was a collaborative project between Craig and I. My sewing room chair was on it's last legs, literally. We scoured shops this weekend but nothing seemed quite right. Then I found this one on ebay for $10 and thought a bit of a refresh could turn it around. With a bit of Kumiko Fujita fabric and a staple gun, we churned this out.

Boy, oh, boy! I am happy. I think the back is my favourite part.

the pointy end of the stick

2011-07-12T10:24:00.001+10:00

Tuesday Tip, a photo by badskirt - amy on Flickr.

A simple, almost lame, tip for Tuesday.

Reuse those empty needle cases for disposing of old needles. Its a much better solution than throwing them straight in the bin. Even if you wrap them up in fabric, there's still a chance that they make poke your kids, your dog or your garbage man. Heck, they might even poke you as you rifle through to find that one last little scrap that may be lurking in the bin.

A bit of masking tape or a small sticker is an easy way to mark which case has old needles and which ones are fresh. When the case of "olds" get full, you can use the same piece of masking tape to seal the end before disposal. Then, there's no chance of the needles hurting the guys at the local tip. They have a pretty crap job, let's not make it any worse for them.

Have you changed your needle lately? It's probably time...

discovery.

2011-07-11T16:03:00.001+10:00

discovery., a photo by badskirt - amy on Flickr.

found in my apron pocket.
i have no recollection of why I started it or when I made it.
it's small. it's mine.

Not So Subliminal Crafting.

2011-07-10T16:59:00.001+10:00

Not So Subliminal Crafting., a photo by badskirt - amy on Flickr.

Craig, I want to see Paris some day.

Cull, Cull, Cull ...and Smile

2011-07-08T16:32:00.004+10:00

Malabrigo Twist - Green Grey, a photo by badskirt - amy on Flickr.

So here's the thing... At some points in time, you need to ask yourself, "Is this adding value to my life?" And then you need to allow yourself to be ruthless with the unsubscribe, unfriend and destash button.

There's my wisdom for the week, take a look around and cull down to what's really important. I realize that I'm going to lose a few readers with that suggestion, but I'd feel so much better knowing that you've cleared up a little more time for the things that matter to you most.

Cull, cull, cull and smile. No hard feelings here. I promise.

The Beehive - Belinda's Strings of Paris

2011-07-06T10:04:00.003+10:00

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The Beehive - Belinda's Strings of Paris, a photo by badskirt - amy on Flickr.

I had an unexpected visitor last night when Belinda was outside my door hand delivering her Beehive fabrics to my mailbox. I called out (through the power of Vodafone) and she came in for a cuppa. Ordinarily, I might have been embarrassed for a house guest to see every tub of fabric I own thrown across the living room floor, but I'm pretty sure Belinda appreciated my chaos.

She sent along precut centers, reds, blue, linen and splashes of green. Each pack is different. Mine included a variety of yuwa, suzukos, denyse schmidt and liberty. She asked for string blocks with varying sizes pieced to 8.5" calico squares.

I've done string blocks before for Andi, but this time the technique varied a bit we foundation pieced to calico instead of paper Despite the extra bulk it adds to the quilt, I've realized that the calico method has many benefits...

some benefit of using calico instead of paper
- no paper to pull away at the end
- no need to use a super tiny near-unpickable stitch for perforating. That means it's much easier to unpick and fix any mistakes. Also, if you do unpick, the calico won't fall apart at the perforation where paper sometimes will
- the seam allowances of the fabric are covered by the calico, so they won't fray as you work or while you collect enough blocks for assembly
- the bias edges of the strings are stabilized by the calico. When assemble them this will help keep the blocks from stretching

there are caveats, of course
- calico adds extra bulk in your quilt
- you need to make sure you've pressed the calico well so your blocks aren't skewed to start with
- you need to make sure your strings are probably trimmed as you add them. Any frays to begin with are going to be stuck behind calico and near impossible to fix

Of course there are other methods for making string quilts too. Another common method is to sew together long strips and then using a rotated template to cut them. Another gorgeous method that results oin a more regular look.

If you're thinking of making a string quilt, I'd suggest trying a few methods out and deciding what's right for you. Then get your rotary arm ready...

Thanks Belinda for sending great fabrics to match a great pattern.

How I draw in Word

2011-07-01T15:52:00.002+10:00

How I draw in Word, a photo by badskirt - amy on Flickr.

I am often asked what I mean when I say that I draft me designs using MS Word. I literally mean that I open MS Word and use it's graphics tools to hatch my patchwork plans. On the left you see the basic concept which I first drew in Word then saved out a JPG for Annabel. On the right you can see how I started to break down the submarine into it's components for piecing. This numbering and piecing isn't an exact guide, but it gives me a direction to go in as I start working with fabric.

When it comes to actual piecing, I often deviate a little from the plan. I substitute fabrics. I add a weird swish here and there. Things change, but I have a game plan which helps.

While I know Illustrator, InDesign, Photoshop, Gimp and quite a few 3D graphics packages. They are overkill for the patchwork that I'm doing. I usually just turn to Word because it's already open on my machine. The concept is similar to the tutorial I did for Visualizing your Quilts without Cutting ages ago except the designs are more intricate.

I choose Word over paper and pencil because it's an easier tool for me. I can "sketch" with a computer faster than I can draw. I generally get the design from my head to digital format, an area that I fail at when using a pencil. Because it's digital, it also means I can print multiple copies which is useful when foundation piecing and for recovering from mistakes. *grin*

I do get this question quite a bit. When there's an email address attached, I try to reply. For those of your fretting that you don't have the right tools for creating designs, take a look around your machine. Sometimes simple is best!

The Beehive - Annabel's Submarine

2011-07-01T14:33:00.002+10:00

The Beehive - Annabel's Submarine, a photo by badskirt - amy on Flickr.

Although I already made blocks for Annabel's Sea at Night quilt, we arrranged an extra side swap. She helped me with my spiderweb quilt and I promised to make her a submarine for her Sea at Night quilt.

At first it was to be a 12" submarine for the back, but that morphed into a 6" submarine for the front. Secretly and very quietly, I was really pleased with this because it meant that I didn't have to work with batiks (sorry Annabel!)

So as is my usual MO, I roughly drafted it in Word. I paper-pieced some bits and sort of went freeform on the others.

I decided these vintage buttons make the best portholes. I'm going to send them along unattached and she can add them on after she finished quilting. Annabel is going to surround this is more blue and join it with her other blocks.

abcd...

2011-07-01T09:37:00.008+10:00

Yesterday when my Bernina needle went through my fingernail and shattered it, the first thing that came to mind was Keep calm. Keep calm. Go tell people on Twitter. My next though was OMG OMG don't faint. Don't faint. Don't faint. Then I laid on the ground until the world stopped spinning.

Stupidity is my only excuse. Perhaps exhaustion. Yesterday was one of those days when you go through the McDonald's drive-thru, pay and then drive off without your food. It was the kind of day you leave you wallet in the shopping bag that your husband kindly recycled. It was the kind of day that you run out of staples and decide your sewing machine would be a good substitute.

It was then that the needle crunched through my finger. And not just once. It took a few good stabs at that fingernail before it shattered and died. Both the needle and fingernail had been defeated. I was making goodie bag gifts for the ABCD Bloggers meetup. I thought the gals might like some cheeky pincushion kits with the help of my gocco. With all of the sewing machine drama, I failed to take a photo of them though. Hopefully one of the other gals can help me out.

ABCD is a great little meetup of artists, bloggers, crafters and designers. Guys and gals get together every few months to share cocktail, ideas and inspiration. Goodie bags are optional. You bring one item for each participant and in return you get something from each of them. It can be something you make, something you sell or just something that you love and want to share.

I nearly fainted a second time yesterday when I peered into my goodie bag. Was it worth destroying a finger nail and developing a healthy fear of my Bernina? I think so, don't you?

10 Lovely Tea Roses - Progress

2011-06-29T09:32:00.004+10:00

10 Lovely Tea Roses - Progress, a photo by badskirt - amy on Flickr.

I wasn't going to post progress shots of this project for reasons which were all together silly. Progress shots are the kiss-of-death for things I work on. I'm willing to risk it...

I don't do pretty. At least, I didn't think I did pretty until I looked at what remained in my stash after my massive fabric purge. And I generally don't do simple patchwork projects, so this sort of came out of left field. Pretty and simple all rolled into one.

The pattern is based on one in Kumiko Fujita's ABC Patchwork Lesson. I didn't use her measurements or proportions, but her work is very much the source and inspiration. I looked in Encyclopedia of Pieced Quilt Patterns for some historical background. This type of quilt block and pattern has also been called Lattice, A Quilt of Variety, the X Quisite and Floating Star in the past though fabric placements varied a bit. My first and favourite block is the teal Cosmo Cricket print which reads 10 Lovely Tea Roses. I guess that's what I'll call mine.

I've paper foundation pieced all of these blocks so far. It was an easy draft in Word and in the long run, I think it will help me out with matching points. The hardest part has been fussy cutting some of the text centers. I don't want to fussy cut them all, just enough that you catch a few words here and there as you use it.

The Kumiko Fujita pattern calls for 288 blocks. That's a lot of blocks. This is 30. 288 blocks... that's big.

What I love about this is that something so amazingly simple looks wonderfully complex. Do you do pretty? What about easy?

clean.

2011-06-28T15:45:00.002+10:00

clean., a photo by badskirt - amy on Flickr.

subtle note in front of the tv. just in case he fails to notice what I've been up to...

nothing new.

2011-06-27T09:00:00.002+10:00

It's not that I haven't been doing anything. It's that I haven't been doing anything new. I wonder if showing progress on ancient projects is worth posting. It's been cold and I've buried myself with my crochet, and that's all I have to show. I've been busy with the Mars shows. It's all about Veronica, Sam Tyler and 2.5mm crochet hook.

I started this well over a year ago I think. I usually pick up more skeins for it in Japan, but decided not to on the last trip. Subconsciously, I decided to stop? When I picked up the hook again last weekend, I was hoping for 5x5 blocks. It seems I've run out of red. With that, I guess it's nearly done.

The bright colours are CottonNottoc from Japan aka Good Yarn for Happy Knitting Time. The inner red squares are based on Jan Eaton's Granny with a Twist. The freeform logcabin quilting influenced stripes were just a random technique that I made up inspired by my time at the sewing machine. Ravelry says I added this project in April 2010, I'd guess it was started months before then. A few more squares to finish and attach, some ends to weave, and it's a lightweight lappie.

At the other end of the spectrum (both colour and hook size), I've been making some beanies for Craig. Nothing new, nothing to see.

The Beehive - The Sea for Annabel

2011-06-23T12:42:00.001+10:00

The Beehive - The Sea for Annabel, a photo by badskirt - amy on Flickr.

I made a little boat and a little lighthouse for Annabel. For the Beehive in June, she's collecting small ocean themed blocks to create The Sea at Night. She will be surrounding these heavily by the same dark blue that I have on my outline.

I drew the shapes on 4" paper used a paper foundation piecing technique for both. Neither involved any 1/4" joins, so I was quite pleased.

it is about the experience

2011-06-22T16:50:00.003+10:00

If you only have two hours to visit the Darling Harbour craft show...

...spend them with Louise Snook. Her hour and a half screen printing workshop is well worth every cent. You'll come away with your own screen printed tea towel and a wealth of information.

My tea towel isn't perfect. My dogs are a little wonky. But I've come away full of possibilities, I'm eager and energized. I'm happy. Best thirty dollars that I've ever spent on craft. Seriously, that good.

the hem.

2011-06-17T13:24:00.001+10:00

the hem., a photo by badskirt - amy on Flickr.

It's different. But then, so am I. The hem of a new dress. I was going to make a military style shirt from this fabric, but a retro-styled dress won out. I'm attempting a tulle petticoat. If it works, it should make its big debut and a good friend's birthday. Otherwise, it will made its grand entry into the closet of unworn flops.

giveaways are futile

2011-06-16T07:43:00.008+10:00

Let me preface this by saying that I might be wrong. Often, I am wrong. In our house, it's ok to be wrong as long as you keep your mind open to debate, are willing to hear out rational opinions from others and can adjust your opinion when necessary. Being wrong isn't a sign of failure in our home, it's simply an opportunity to improve.

I have no marketing degree or formal research on this topic. I do have a masters degree with a focus in business strategy, and I have an enthusiasm for reading literature on marketing psychology. This is an opinion piece. I do have plenty of those.

I'm certain I'll ruffle a few feathers over this one. It's been nagging me for a while now, but it irked me enough that I tweeted last night to the eight or so people who subscribe to my feed. It's still unsettling this morning, so I felt it was time for a blog post.

-------------------------------
Giveaways are Futile
the decline of marketing value of sponsored blog giveaways

The free fabric she won has cost you money. The bundle of books on his shelf came from your pocket. You, as a shopper, are paying the price for ineffectual ad campaigns that have polluted your blog reader and made you the bear the brunt of not-so-subtle advertising. Sponsored blog giveaways cost you money and are generally ineffectual in their modern incarnation.

Somebody has to pay for them. I suggest that it's you, the consumer, bearing the cost. A few years back, I may not have made this argument as the sponsored blog giveaways were less prolific. Due to their scarcity, they were an effective substitute for traditional marketing. The idea that the prizes had come from the marketing budget proved to be a worthwhile expenditure for many companies. Bear in mind that the marketing budget ultimately comes from you, the consumer.

As the number of giveaways has skyrocketed to exponential proportions, I'd suggest their effectiveness has diminished. I'd suggest that more often than not, you fail to remember if that $50 voucher came from Green Bean Textiles, Go Sew Big or Make and Cut*. Everyday, I see a barrage of giveaways posted, tweeted, retweeted, facebooked and generally bombarding me in every social media outlet. Often, I do not remember the brands being promoted. When I do, it's usually because I am already familiar with the shop or product.

This inundation does not drive me to buy products. In fact, it leaves me cold. Rather than associating a brand with something positive, I find myself fed up. I get agitated. I get annoyed. This is particularly true for blog-sponsored giveaways that encourage news of the giveaways to be spread via multiple social media channels as an effort to further promotion. Seeing the same giveaway posted 63 times does not make me want to buy your product. It makes me want to gouge my eyes out so that I don't have to read your drivel again.

On those occasions that you do remember a sponsor long after the giveaway is over, I propose that your brain creates a subconscious negative association. There is a probably a PhD thesis about this very topic; if not, there should be. My premise, though completely unresearched or backed by scientific data, is that having 100 or 1000 people who associate your brand with loss is not a good thing. It's wasted marketing money that could be better spent.

In my personal experience, I do associate negatively with certain brands for this very reason. This is particularly true with contests of skill when I believe the best entry was not selected. By contests of skill, I mean those sponsored giveaways when a company asks you to submit a project or a 25 word phrase from which the winner is selected. If these contests of skill choose what I deem is an unworthy winner, I will proactively avoid shopping with that particular sponsor. Rest assured, I rarely think my own entry is the best. My negative correlation isn't just that I lost, it's because someone deserving did not win. While I could get into the distinctions between sponsor selected winners and crowd voting, that's a bigger topic that merits a blog post of it's own.

While they were an effective tool of the past, the proliferation of sponsored blog giveaways no longer renders them useful. The prizes cost money which ultimately comes from the pockets of the consumer. With that in mind, I call on those who are willing to host them to stop and reconsider their impact. Recognize that you're being used as a tool of a larger corporation. Celebrate that your readers come to your blog; not because you give them prizes, but because you have something interesting to say. Relish that your readers are there for your stunning photography, inspirational decor or unique sketches. Whatever your talents, whatever your dreams; your readers connect. Embrace these connections. Shun the commercialization. Take back your blog and be you.

*these shop names are made up and any resemblance to actual shops is simply coincidence

the command center.

2011-06-12T09:56:00.001+10:00

grown up kids with a grown up coffee table, a photo by badskirt - amy on Flickr.

awkward comfort.

2011-06-09T17:08:00.002+10:00

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awkward comfort., a photo by badskirt - amy on Flickr.

A visit from a friend spurred me to pull out an slow burn project and make a bit more progress.

I stepped back and found something pleasing. Years from now, a quilt historian might deem it a mistake. Yet, I find solace in the asymmetric piecing. The doorways to a kitchen are never quite aligned.

So it's time to forge onward. I'll change the color, or I'll change the block style. Building it up and letting my instincts lead the way.

Much like its colours and truncated text, it oozes a strange, captivating, awkward comfort.

Ringo Pie - Ayumi's Postal Block

2011-06-06T16:20:00.002+10:00

Ringo Pie - Ayumi's Postal Block, a photo by badskirt - amy on Flickr.

A few days late, I finished up Ayumi's block for Ringo Pie. Ayumi wowed us all with her example block, so most of us were shaking in our boots even before we began piecing. Her fun theme was "delivering letters and packages". After stumbling on my initial idea, I went with the idea of airmail.

This month was seriously stellar. Pop by Ayumi's blog to see more of her mail blocks.

maybe, someday.

2011-06-05T10:26:00.003+10:00

I've got a small wall of miniscule ideas. Things I've tried, liked and taped up above my sewing machine. Personal inspiration. It's as important, if not moreso, than the inspiration from others. A chance to push myself further. Maybe someday I'll find the commitment to take them further.

The newest addition is what I'm called my clipped pickle. I was futzing around in InDesign this weekend trying to work out a pickle dish template in proportions that I liked and came up with this wacky hexagon instead. Craig calls it the bright stabby fish block.

I know the reality is that I'm not a quilt finisher. I like the process of making a few blocks, and then I'm ready to move on. For me, patchwork is about the process. I love to try new things and then move on leaving shards of unfinished blocks along the way.

But that might change and these may rear their head again. maybe, someday?

--------------
A quick note. I am no longer working for Calico&Ivy; but want to thank Sarah, Debbie, all of the Calico girls and customers for six wonderful and inspiring months. I'm sure I'll see many of you there soon. I'll be the one buying armfuls of bolts on the opposite side of the counter.

Something new. Something Blue.

2011-06-03T09:22:00.002+10:00

This terrific mini-quilt showed up on the gloomiest of days last week in Sydney. Rays of sunshine that our house desparately needed. Kristine aka TownMouse drew my name in the second round of the Down Under Doll Quilt Swap.

This was my first time participating in the swap organized by Kate, OneFlewOver. I must say the bar is startling high in this swap. Australia's Got Talent. Yes, it does.

I am so happy with this quilt. The colour palette, the geometric prints, the movement and free style of it. The handquilted running stitches make me swoon. Kristine perfectly dialled in my number. She mentioned to me that it was her first swap, I hope for everyone else's sake that she joins in more!

Thank you, Kristine, for such a gorgeous quilt. Thank you, Kate, for hosting such an amazing swap. And thank you to everyone who joined in, I lost countless hours admiring your work on flickr.

Though I was skeptical about "doll quilts", I'm most definitely a convert. Bring on the next round, I say!

New old hobby - Dymo.

2011-06-01T11:30:00.001+10:00

New old hobby - Dymo., originally uploaded by badskirt - amy.

Apparently this needs to be said and that makes me quite sad: My social media contributions are my own and do not necessarily reflect the views of any of past, present or future employers.