Impromptu pumpkin

I got inspired to whip up this pumpkin yesterday, out of leftover fabric from two pillows I made to go with our newly recovered sofa. 

And the pillow fabric was leftover fabric from window seat cushions (professionally sewn, not by me).

I cut five fabric shapes from this pattern piece and sewed them together. 

The stick came from that morning’s walk. 

Ain’t it grand when one thing leads to another?

What I've been up to lately

Still on a sewing kick. I made this in a size 2 for Valentina in time for her second birthday. Oliver and S Jump Rope Dress, Kaffe Fasset Fabric. 

Another pair of pants made with free Ethan Allen fabric from Sandy. Burda pattern 7058. I love them!

My "Green Dog with Orange Ball" quilt is published in the Dinner@8 book, Personal Iconography: Graffiti on Cloth. You can see this exhibit soon at the International Quilt Festival in Houston!

I don't think I've posted this art quilt yet. I made it for something called Bridges, an upcoming project for the Shannon exhibit space in Whittier. I call it "A Conversation." If selected, it will be part of a collaboration with artists, poets and musicians.  

On a garment kick

With no deadlines looming, I've been on a garment kick. Want to see what I've been up to? Most of them come from one Japanese pattern, that I heard about from Carolee at Fibreye. 

I began my making this top. It's an African hand-dyed batik from Ananse Village. 

I liked it so much that I made another top, with some more African batik fabric. 

Then I made a dress with fabric that my friend Sandy gave me, from Ethan Allen. I wore it out to lunch yesterday with my friend Linda. 

I sewed pants, too, from a Burda pattern. 

Sandy gave me that fabric, too, from Ethan Allen. What fun!

Summer of Love Challenge

I have a wall hanging in the Summer of Love challenge, which is currently up at the San Francisco School of Needlework and Design. It was fun to make! I used a vintage embroidered pillow case for the background. The hexagon block and doily are also vintage. 
Some of you may recognize the peace sign and the VW, which have appeared in my quilts before. 

We lived in San Francisco in the very early 70's, when peace, love and flower power were still very much in the air. 

This is my first time using Blog Touch Pro on my phone. So far, I love it!

Speaking and Teaching at Surfside

In July, I spoke at the Surfside Quilters guild in San Clemente. Such a wonderful, friendly group! It was Nancy Ota's suggestion to invite me. What an honor. I did a trunk show - 46 quilts! I have spoken to guilds and groups before, but it has been a few years. I was relieved that there were lots of friendly faces in the crowd. I also sold my Jukebox patterns and gift cards.

The next morning, I taught a workshop for a very nice group of women. I taught them how to make my halibut, "Just for the Halibut." My teaching experience is limited. I had only taught English paper piecing before. But it went pretty well. I took them step by step in the construction, and everyone ended up with a mostly done fish! I was so proud of everyone - they did great.

Nancy Ota took this photo, better than the ones I took, of all the fish made in class. Most of them still need their eyes.

Debby Myers sent me a photo of her finished halibut. Who knew halibut went with Spam?

Nancy Ota added beads to hers. She used some slippery fabric that I had doubts if it would work, but it turned out great!

Nancy's friend Candy made three beautiful batik halibuts! She has a school of them.

Green Dog With Orange Ball

Forgive me for being so neglectful of my blog. The past few months have been a whirlwind of deadlines for multiple projects, plus preparation for speaking and teaching at Surfside Guild, and then travel for 15 days. I am still under one more deadline, but things have simmered down a bit, so I will try very hard to get up to date here.

First of all, I made a quilt for the latest Dinner @ Eight challenge: Personal Iconography: Graffiti on cloth. It felt like a more complex theme than usual - I wasn't sure I was on the right track - but I am happy to say my quilt did get accepted. Yay!

I was inspired by a photo of my sister-in-law Marti's dog, Gaia. She had such a soulful gaze and graceful pose.  The title is "Green Dog with Orange Ball." Look for it at Houston Quilt Festival!

A visit with Valentina

Photos of lovely little granddaughter Valentina with our son Warren, from a visit in May.