September 13, 2019

Scrappy and Fabulous things are happening

School started and so has the rain in Portland. We're no longer trying to camp and play in the water every spare moment! We ate soup this week and baked an apple crisp with our homegrown apples. The little delights that make it easier to say farewell to warmer, drier days. And moving indoors more means it's finally time to open the computer and send a report!

I spent a large part of my work time this summer sewing my scraps together. How about these little crumbs and strings??




As you can see, when I use my scraps up I use them improvisationally, without cutting them to a specific size first. I love working this way. It is so intuitive and spontaneous. I feel like it is profoundly therapeutic to just sit down and match fabrics together and sew them up. 




Sometimes using a lot of scraps together can have a chaotic "too much" effect and so I used different techniques to control the chaos. Whether that's adding some solids for visual order, narrowing a color scheme, grouping by color or working light to dark, I think a little intentionality goes a long way. 




I often throw myself into sewing when the kids are at their dads. It makes the time go faster and I can immerse myself in color and shapes in a way I can't when I'm also being a mom. That focused, deep work pattern lends itself to big projects!! All these samples were done as I was preparing a new class for Bluprint! Some shots taken by my producer, Brandon, give you a behind the scenes glimpse.



Shooting these classes is exhilarating and exhausting. There are always three cameras going! I usually come away feeling a funny mixture of warm pride and extreme self consciousness. Ha! Anyway, I think this will be a really fun class! I hope it gets people using up their scraps!

Bluprint's editing of my last class was very well done. It made it feel upbeat and happy, two things I love. But that great work takes time, so it'll be a month or so before this one is ready to share. I'm sure I'll be back here with blog tutorials on a lot of these scrappy things too, because there's only so much you can fit into a class! If you have a request for a tutorial on any of the specific designs I shared above please let me know so I can prioritize!


And there's one more happy thing on the horizon: Just today the news was also released that this year I took on a new challenge in the quilting world: fabric design. Maywood Studio, here in Portland, brought me into their circle of designers. My first collection is called Moongate and we will be showing more of it next month when Quilt Market happens. What we made together is beautiful, versatile, unique and sparkly. I'm so. excited. to share more, but for now, just this little graphic with hints about the collection will have to do!! Happy weekend and happy stitching everyone!