Sunday Morning

Maxi-Skirt

We called them maxi-skirts back in the '70's. Now they are popular again. Even kindergarteners want one, it seems! I used some double gauze fabric purchased recently from Sunny Day Fabrics to make Lula's dream come true...

I've used this Burda 9442 pattern before and knew that it was a great fit and cute style. The double gauze is so soft and drapey...perfect for a skirt.

This time, I used a coordinating fabric for the yoke, left off the bow and created the longer version.

 Some things never go out of style!

Sunday Morning

Distraction Sewing

 Stephanie's block for the Mid-Century Modern Bee took a little bit of time, but the end result is this Gorgeous Gertie designed by Lily's Quilts.

 The little parts all come together precisely with paper piecing. It's even neat from the back!

 I love the block and am looking forward to seeing all twelve together. You can check out some of the other combos here.

 The truth is, it felt good to be sewing again. I've been pretty distracted by news from Nepal as my son helps with relief efforts there. He has been interviewed several times by Skype for local stations. It's been wonderful seeing and hearing him! Lauren and the children have left Nepal and will be coming back to the U.S. soon...so happy about that. 

You can read a couple of Drew's latest blog posts written since the earthquake here and here. Thank you for praying for Nepal.

Timberlaketrek

Some of you know that my son, Drew, and his family have been living in Nepal since late March. They are there through May doing a support effort for a medical mission agency who works with the disabled.

Here in the US, my husband and I learned of the earthquake in Kathmandu, where they are, via Facebook in the early morning hours on Saturday. Fortunately, Drew was able to call us a few hours later and assure us that they were all safe. He had just helped rescue two toddlers from their crushed home! He, Lauren, Oliver, Ezra and Lois were getting ready to all head back outside to a field to wait out another heavy predicted aftershock. The blessings of our present day communication systems are never more apparent than during tragedies like this! We are so thankful. 

view from their headquarters building before the earthquake

I've decided to share some of the blog posts that Drew and his wife are posting describing what life is like for them right now inside Nepal as they live through this life changing event and strive to help the people suffering there. Read them if you are interested. I'll get back to quilting one of these days.
Working for Water
Timberlaketrek

Sunday Morning

This photo of the Himalayas was taken last week by my eleven year-old grandson, Oliver. He emailed it to me after he and his family took a 4 day trek in Nepal where they have been living for the last 5 weeks. My son, Drew, his wife Lauren, and their 3 children are staying near Kathmandu, helping with a medical mission there for the disabled, mostly children. Their plan was to stay another 5 weeks. Then the unimaginable  happened. We know that they are safe after the earthquake that hit Saturday. If you would like to read my son's post about their experience, you can find it here. Please pray for them and for Nepal. 
Thank you so much,
Carla

Do You Doodle?

That's the first question that Sherri Lynn Wood asked of the class last Friday morning.  After an interesting and entertaining presentation by Sherri Lynn to the Kansas City Modern Quilt Guild the night before, I could hardly wait to take her workshop on Doodling with fabric the next day. Here's the project that I made...course, I've got more doodling to do before it's finished...crazy, huh!

With only six quilters present, our class was a small one, so we had room to spread out and got close-up-and-personal input from our attentive instructor. I especially enjoyed the evaluation exercises spread out over the day. Here's our small beginnings, all grouped together, awaiting input from the class. 

Several hours later, our projects had grown in size and we were beginning to feel a flow to our work. Some of the questions that we were to ask ourselves included: What surprised me? What did I discover or learn? What was satisfying and dissatisfying? We gave each other constructive feedback and it felt like we were truly creating modern art!

Here's Sherri Lynn showing us one of her completed Doodle quilts. It looks pretty in the photo, but believe me when I say that, in person, it is even more  beautiful and happy!

Sherri Lynn's first book, detailing her methods for improvisational piecing, will be available for purchase later this month, but our guild was privileged to get to purchase it early. Of course, I snatched one up!

 The Improv Handbook for Modern Quilters is a gorgeous book full of beautifully photographed quilts and tons of detailed pictures of the techniques used to make those quilts. I own several books that describe improv piecing but this one is, by far, the most stimulating how-to. Here's a glance at the table of contents...

 Reading Sherri Lynn's book from cover to cover will be a delight and I already have a good start! In her book, she outlines 10 different scores (Her term for deciding a set of rules or limits to work within as you create an improv project.) to help the quilter jump into this exciting and modern way of creating a quilt. 

Honestly, I don't know when I've ever taken a workshop that was more fun or purchased a quilting book that has gotten me more excited to try new things!

In fact, I'm seriously considering going through the book, chapter by chapter, and creating a project. Anyone game to join me? Get the book and let me know!