Quilting on my Mind...

The inaugural meeting of the Vancouver Modern Quilt Guild was last night. It was a good event, with a lot of energy in the room. Not to mention a lot of people - I think the headcount was 43!

The show-and-tell portion of the meeting was really interesting - there were so many different quilts on display - all with different approaches, patterns and colour-stories - made by a range of quilters from veterans to total newbies. The crowd was super supportive and excited - I loved the communal 'oooohs' and 'aaaahs' when the quilts were held up!

It's definitely nudging me to start on one of the quilt ideas I've been thinking about in the past little while... I have 2 that are on the must-sew list - and after last night, I now have an idea for yet another quilting project...

Which reminds me: I never posted photos of the last quilt I made. I made this quilt just before my nephew was born... and he's about 15 months old now. Better late than never! :)

I wanted to use a palette of modified primary colours - something bright and fun - rather than whites or pastels often found in baby quilts. They have a chihuahua (Hello, Nacho!) so I knew I wanted to use this awesome puppy fabric. Love the teacup chihuahua detail!

UPDATE: Great photos from the meeting here and here!

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Making a Quilt from Photos

Here's a fun project from the fabulous Victoria & Albert Museum in London.... V&A's Patchwork Pattern Maker.

Just upload a photo and the Patchwork Pattern Maker will create a custom quilt pattern for you! You can even use images from the V&A's collections, which is pretty awesome.

The results can end up quite abstract or detailed, depending on the image you choose, plus how many squares and colours you want to use. Check out the gallery to see what patterns people have already created - at least virtually. It would be interesting to see some of the finished, fabric results!


If you're looking for a comparable program to make knitting patterns from photos, have a look at MicroRevolt's KnitPro application for creating custom intarsia patterns for knitting.

(via the ReadyMade blog)

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Parties and Quilts and Cupcakes, Oh My!

June is a crafty month in Vancouver! Here are just a few of the fun happenings around town this month...

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Vancouver Modern Quilt Guild

The Vancouver Modern Quilt Guild is holding its inaugural meeting!

Thursday, June 17, 2010
7pm to 9pm
Spool of Thread Sewing Lounge
101-649 E. 15th Ave.

Join us on Thursday, June 17th, 2010 for the inaugural meeting of the Vancouver Modern Quilt Guild at Spool of Thread Sewing Lounge! This is the place to be if you love fresh, modern quilts!

Come to this informal meeting to meet other fabric lovers, show us your modern quilts, and share your ideas for what this guild could become! Stay tuned for more details (door prizes anyone?).

Find out more about the Vancouver Modern Quilt Guild, the larger Modern Quilt Guild movement and get more deets on the Vancouver meet-up.

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Etsy Party!
Friday, June 18, 2010
2 pm to 5pm
East 15th Avenue, between Fraser and Kingsway

Got Craft along with Collage Collage, Spool of Thread Sewing Lounge and RubyDog's Art House; will be opening their doors for the Vancouver Etsy Craft Party! Bring a craft project and join us for a day of making, good conversation and support your local community.

Get all the details and RSVP here.

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Cupcake Challenge
Sunday, June 20, 2010
11am to 3:30pm
Yaletown Roundhouse Community and Recreation Centre
Free Admission

We are inviting you, the cupcake connoisseurs and lovers of Vancouver and the Lower Mainland, to join us in sampling and judging Vancouver's Best Cupcake! Through collaboration with notable Foodies and Bloggers in Vancouver, as well as the general public, we will present awards and notoriety for the business voted as baking the most favourable cupcake at the event.

Mix and mingle with yummy bakers and test a variety of cupcake flavours and recipes! With prizes awarded throughout the day, this is a tasty event that you will certainly not want to miss.

Get all the sugary details on Miss604 and Eventbrite.

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Swap-O-Rama-Rama Vancouver
Saturday, June 26, 2010
11am to 4pm
Museum of Vancouver, 1100 Chestnut Street
Admission: $6.00 at the door or $5.00 in advance plus a bag of clean clothes and / or a bag of craft supplies to swap. (Leave with all the clothes and supplies that you can carry!)

Swap-O-Rama-Rama is a clothing and craft supply swap in which a community explores reuse and creativity through the recycling of used clothing. A series of DIY stations will be on-hand to unleash your creativity including screen printing by Blim and sewing stations by Plush On Main. Take as little or as much as you like! All remainders will be donated to local charities.

Heaps more deets over on Got Craft? and on the Facebook event page.

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craft rock friday with freelance whales

Freelance Whales. Not only do they have a great band name, they also use an impressive list of impressive instruments - including banjo, cello, glockenspiel, harmonium and bing carbon telephones.

To add to all that - and why I'm talking about them on Craft Rock Friday - is that their upcoming album, Weathervanes, features some sweet quilted artwork. And for double hit of craftiness, check out the old school bedsheets that they use as a background image on their MySpace.

Weathervanes will be released on April 13th. In the meantime, here's a video of Freelance Whales playing "Generator^Second Floor" at Grand Street Studios in Brooklyn.



P.S. If you just can't get enough harmonium, also check out the ever-adorable Lisa Hannigan.

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i'm quilting, baby

Any tiiiiiiiiiiime now... I'm going to be an aunt!!!

As I wait for the call, I thought I'd share the results of the first duty I undertook as an aunt: making a baby quilt.



I've made two quilts before: the one I made 12 years ago was pattern-free and all hand-appliqued, based on friends' drawings; the second I made 3 years ago, out of 200 of so cardboard sleeves that I rescued from used disposable coffee cups. This time I decided I should do things "properly" and follow a pattern. I used the "Speedy Baby 2" Quilt from Taffy Talk, which they've made available as a free PDF download. I ended up diverging from the pattern a little, and just figuring out some of the steps along the way by myself. Which, for me, is part of the fun.



The best part was choosing the colour combinations for the quilt - and having a good excuse to buy cute fabric!

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more tutorials than you can handle

Looking for something to do? Looking for a kazillion things to do?

A couple of months ago, Whip Up went a bit crazy (in a good way) and posted HUGE LONG lists of links to online tutorials. You're sure to find something to keep you busy. If you missed it then (like I did), here are some links to those links...

• Tutorials for bags pouches and purses



• Tutorials for boxes, containers, baskets and buckets



• All round linkapalooza: stuff to wear, more purses and bags, random goodies, and quilts... I really want to make the Amy Butler Mid Mod Quilt at some point.

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campaigning with craft

This one's for the Americans out there, y'all.

Slate.com has compiled a funny slideshow of US campaign crafts. My favourite is the Department of Homeland Security Blanket (pictured here) -- who knew the war on terror could be so cozy?


Slate's got most of your typical election topics covered (in craft), from gun control (Gun Cozy) to abortion (Pro-Life Baby Onesie), to religion (The God-Free Cross-Stitch it replaces the old saying "God Bless This Mess" with "Rational Secular Humanism Condones This Mess".)

Sadly, Healthcare and Education aren't really covered... do you have any crafty campaign ideas that might work for these issues? Share your ideas in the comments section below!

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crafty co-workers

Heads up from your cubicles, people. There might be crafters in your office.

A couple of my co-workers in my day-job have are starting up craft side-lines and are selling their wares on Etsy. I wanted to give a shout-out to them here not only because they're super people, but also because they're also super-talented.

Right now, my fave in Clockwork Sheep's shop is the Storm Trooper tote bag (what Storm Trooper doesn't need a purse, right?). As the shop grows, I expect to see lots of fab sewn items for goths and geeks.

Heike Kapp makes some beautiful quilts and wall hangings in a range of styles - from her Tofino quilted wall hanging (The Best Place on Earth!) to her photo transfer quilts. Heike will also have a website up and running soon.

Now if we could only figure out how to make crafting into our day-job instead...

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thanks, coffee lovers!

Hi everyone! Like Lindsay said, it's been too long. It's weird how we both decided to start posting again today. Telepathy, I guess.

There was also another possibly-telepathic event of the day: Whip Up wrote some kind words about my coffee sleeve quilt! The timing of this lovely surprise was perfect, as came at the end of a very long day, much too much of which was taken up staring at an Excel spreadsheet (ugh!). Nothing counteracts the harmful effects of Excel-overload like a nice dose of craft and love. Thanks, Whip Up!

Also thanks to Natalie at Craft: and to everyone one else who brightened my day.

(Oh, and can I just say how hilarious it is that that photo of me sleeping is now all over the interweb! Hee!)

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my first quilt ever

Back in January, I started a quilt. I looked online at various quilts I liked, planned, and drew out the layout of all the squares with careful colour coordination. I started cutting. I cut about 120 squares. I put them together - first in pairs, then in squares of four. Then, I got busy. Over the next eight months, I've had time to put some of the four-squares together, but that's it. I had a load of excuses, but as of last week - no more!
Now I have all the squares sewn together (so what if not all of them line up perfectly? That just adds charm!) and am working on choosing the border. I have a nice purple stripe planned (as pictured), but I think it needs something else... maybe a white or cream? A nice dark blue? I wouldn't mind putting a lot of stripes around the centre part... the quilt ended up being smaller than I anticipated (even though I planned it as a lap quilt, it was frustrating to have done so much work and to end up with something so small!). Comments and suggestions welcome!

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canadian content quilts

Calling all Canadian politicians and activists - and quilters.

Capital Matters was the theme of one of the exhibits at the 25th anniversary conference of the Canadian Quilters Association, which took place in Ottawa this May.


Based on this theme, crafters created wallhangings in a range of techniques - from quilting to hooking to embroidery, and other fibre and textile arts. The pieces cover many Canadian issues, such as the spending of public money, sponsorship scandals, the mad cow scare, and other Canadian politics and icons.

Visit this flickr set for photos and with explanations of all the Capital Matters pieces. Oh, Canada!

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quilted rainbow pencil case

I adore this roll-up case for coloured pencils, with stripes of fabrics to match each pencil. It was made by Kathy at Pink Chalk Studios and was one of the Whip Up Whiplash contest winners this week. Definitely a project to add to the I Want To Try Make One Of Those list. Oh, that list just keeps growing.


There's a larger photo of the case here,plus some helpful tips about making the case on the Pink Chalk Studios blog. Also lots of other quilty goodness.

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things I want to make and do

quilt(s) - finish the one I have on the go, start another (larger) one... in pinks and oranges

a blackboard - one that I can hang on our diningroom wall, hopefully also that is framed (for example, this one)

coin purses - with silkscreening, and with elison cutouts

t-shirts - out of old shirts, whether it's silkscreened or frankenstein shirts or both

paint - my room (whether I stay in this one or take the other)... but what colour?

pillows - recover! But actually measuring this time, so the covers will fit.

house organization - it's getting kind of crowded and messy in here

Suggestions? Tips? Pointers?

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quilt photos

I posted some photos of the Quilt Show here. Good times. The show's on for another week, then I have to find a home for my quilt - I think it'll either go in the pantry or in the living room.

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friday night is quilt night

Here's the press release about The Quilt Show - it opens tomorrow night. I'm curious and excited to see what others have created - and to see my quilt up on a wall...

If you're in Vancouver, check it out!

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Seamrippers Gallery of Contempory Craft presents:
The Quilt Show

March 3 to 18, 2006

Opening Reception Friday March 3, 7 pm to 11 pm

Seamrippers Gallery of Contemporary Craft is pleased to present a group show of textile artists from Vancouver and Toronto.

The Quilt Show will be the final gallery show for the Seamrippers at the West Pender location. The exhibit opens on March 3 and will remain displayed through March 18, 2006.

The Quilt Show is a collection of various textile pieces that expand from the traditional notions of quilt making and the one of a kind hand-made object.Using these notions artists explore ideas such as: gentrification, cultural identity, queerness, hairdos and geometry. Artists include: Lois Klassan (founder of The Comforter Project), Maya Ersan, Vanessa Kwan, Richard O'Donnell, Sarah Van Snellberg, Siobhan Long, Amanda MacDonald, Darryl Vocat and participating and members from the Seamrippers Craft Collective: Gaile Addison, Charlotte Hewson, Tiffany Monk, Chrissy Poulos, Amanda Hill and more.

Started in the summer of 2003, Seamrippers Craft Collective formed from a common need for craft community and resource. Seamrippers is a D.I.Y. project with the goal of supporting the making craft and the people who make it. The center is designed to serve as studio/resource facility, gallery, and hosting venue. The Centre will be moving at the end of March. New location will be announced soon.

Seamrippers Craft Collective
436 West Pender
Vancouver BC
604-689-7326
www.seamrippers.ca

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coffee quilt, fully caffeinated

Here are some photos of my finished quilt. It measures 4'3" x 5'6" and used up very close to 200 used coffee sleeves, at least 80% of which came from Starbucks (welcome to Vancouver!).











So much sewing. Now it's time to rest...

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a slight delay

Looking at my quilt tonight, I realized that I am not actually finished! Gah! I forgot to attach the inner border to one side of the quilt. I don't know how I didn't notice that before. Too much caffeine, perhaps.

Fortunately, I only have to rip out one seam to add the piece. And I'll be adding it to the edge of the quilt, which is a relief - though the quilt got pretty hard to sew towards the end, as the size, weight and rigidity of the cardboard make for quite the balancing act while I'm sewing and trying to keep the rest of the quilt level and on the table at the same time. I'll fix it tomorrow evening and post some pictures then.

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my first quilt show!

Tonight I finished my project for my first art / craft / quilt show. The Seamrippers craft collective in Vancouver is hosting a quilt show, which opens March 3rd. I submitted my piece last week, and the jury accepted it! Woop! So exciting!

My quilt is made out of close to 200 cardboard coffee sleeves. The majority of them came from my co-workers - surprisingly, in only a few weeks. My idea behind it is that traditionally quilts were made out of scraps of materials, making good use of everything you had available. These days, everything's readily available - and even more readily disposible. Coffee sleeves are an object that I feel exemplifies this - especially here in Vancouver, where there's a coffee shop (or two) on every corner. Coffee sleeves are something you really don't need at all, but are now conditioned to "need". They weren't even invented of until 13 years ago, and we survived just fine before then. What really gets me though is the sentence that Starbucks prints on their coffee sleeves: "Intended for single use only" - essentially, use it for 10 minutes, then throw it out. I wanted to merge these two ideas in the quilt.

Here are a few pictures of the process. I'll post a photo of the completed quilt tomorrow.

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where the wild things are

Today's been quite a cozy winter day. I've been inside for most of it, working on my new-year's-resolution-to-make-one-who-ever-thought-it'd-happen-so-soon quilt, taking breaks for some kitchen sink* stew and hot chocolate with marshmallows.

Then, I find out that there is to be a movie version of Maurice Sendak's Where The Wild Things Are. Script by Spike Jonze and Dave Eggers! ...!

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* Where "kitchen sink" means "throw in everything you have that is stew-worthy". Highly recommended. Further: kitchen sink casserole.

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