crafter’s blog – Page 7

Continuing my series “What’s On The Design Wall” with an update on where I am in my design and piecing of a new piece that I first introduced in the post: “What’s on the Design Wall: Rescued Blocks II“.

I provided an update on my progress in the post “What’s on the Design Wall: Making Progress?“.

Recently, the name for this piece came to me – “The Tree Outside My Window” as I completed 15 blocks to create this art quilt.

As you will see in the photos below, this piece has FIVE images of trees in it (the post “What’s on the Design Wall: Fabric Surface Design Experimentation” discusses how these trees were created) but “The Trees Outside My Window” did not sound right on my tongue. I believe when naming a piece, it has to sound right to you when you say the name aloud.

After creating fifteen 12.5 inch by 12.5 inch blocks from: 1) 4 inch – 10 inch blocks originally pieced by a friend (“Rescued Blocks”): 2) scraps from my friend; and 3) five printed trees from a surface design workshop, I decided to piece the blocks into 3 columns of 5 blocks each.

Now I am deciding what I want to do next with my design. I am leaning towards putting a strip of solid (or solid like) fabric in between each row and then floating it in the same color as a border. Originally I was going to use a cream batik but it did not look right. Next I thought: “Ah a brown batik with texture would work”, but alas, I only had brown batik scraps in my stash.

Then my fabric stash spoke to me (which is good because I did not want to go out and buy more fabric as I am trying to use my stash)! I spotted the perfect fabric – mono color textured design yardage from my collection of Marcia Derse Riverwoods Collection from Troy Corporation. (At one point I was addicted to this amazing collection and tried to be a sample of all fabrics in this line from The Stitchin’ Post in Central Oregon.)

I am going to leave it a mystery for now which fabric from this beautiful collection I selected for the strips between the three rows and the border. You have to wait until the next post on this piece!

Here are photos from my design wall to include some close-ups:

The Tree Outside My Window (in progress)

Studio

Completion!

September 8, 2015September 8, 2015 tierneycreates: a fusion of textiles and smiles

An update to my post Progress and Fear about the 5 quilts awaiting completion:

Finally, I finished binding all 5 quilts back from the long-arm quilter! I have listed 4 of them for sale on the tierneycreates Etsy shop.

I still need to master photographing quilts as they are much prettier in person than my photos seem to reveal.

Designed by Tierney Hogan, pieced by Terry Hogan, quilted by Betty Anne Guadalupe

Designed and pieced by Terry Hogan, quilted by Betty Anne Guadalupe

Designed and pieced by Terry and Tierney Hogan, quilted by Betty Anne Guadalupe

The 5th one, the “Ugly Sunflower Fabric Quilt” I wavered on and was going to keep, then was going to sell on Etsy, and now I am completely undecided.

I might just hold onto it until the Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show entry time next year to decide.

Perhaps I will put the sunflower quilt in the Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show as I am guessing bed size quilts are easier to sell at the show than lap size quilts (of the 5 quilts I had in the 2015 Sisters Outdoor Show, only the bed size quilt sold).

The plan is for next year’s Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show, I put in 5 quilts again and Terry “The Quilting Husband” put in 5 of his quilts!

Quality of Life

Creativity Before Consumption

September 5, 2015September 6, 2015 tierneycreates: a fusion of textiles and smiles

I see a red door and I want it painted black

– The Rolling Stones, Paint it Black

Bohemian Modern by Emily Henson, photo credit: amazon.com

One of my favorite things to do on a Saturday morning it to sit with a cup of tea and look through decorating books (and crafting books of course).

I usually have a large stack of decorating/interior design books from the public library right next to my chair where I sit by the window with my tea.

I recently finished an awesome interior design book called Bohemian Modern by Emily Henson.

Contained in its pages was a wonderful title to one of the book’s chapters: “Creativity Before Consumption”.

This quote has resonated with me and I want it incorporate it into my general philosophy of life.

I think I do already with how much I enjoy working with recycled materials and fabric scraps.

I did recently implement this concept in regards to my front door. I have disliked my plain white front door for a long, long time. I priced at the home improvement stores what it would cost to replace it and the cost has discouraged me from changing it out.

The white door was just not aesthetically pleasing and I have been looking at it everyday for the 10 years we have been in the house and it does not make me happy.

A radical (but simple idea) fell upon me – what about painting it another color?!?! (and why did I not think of this years ago?!!?). So I bought a can of black paint and painted it today! Below are the before and after photos. I hope you agree the black looks better. I am very pleased with my “new” front door!

Before

After

A $8.95 can of paint was a much lower expense than a new front door (whose costs would have included the door plus professional installation!).

Yes, I think this is my new motto: Creativity Before Consumption!

(Be sure to check out Sassy the Highly Opinionated Miniature Schnauzer’s Schnauzer Snips page for her latest adventures and musing)

Quality of Life

Sweet Little Moment of Happiness

August 13, 2015November 29, 2015 tierneycreates: a fusion of textiles and smiles

Today I had a “sweet little moment of happiness”.

That instant blissful feeling that brings a smile to your face and warmth to your heart.

I stopped at my local library to pick up some items I had on hold and decided to wander the craft book section in the their non fiction book collection. While scanning the shelves I found the book that 5 of my quilts are in – Sandra Sider’s 1000 Quilt Inspirations sitting on the shelf.

I love my town library. I have loved libraries since I was a child (where I would spend most of my summers from ages to 9 – 12 in the library reading constantly). To be in a book that is in a library gave me this feeling of immortality that I cannot describe.

I am fortunate to know several incredible quilters who have nationally published books and I know this is not a book that I wrote myself, but still, can’t describe it, but it feels awesome.

(Or maybe I am just really weird…that is a more plausible explanation!)

tierneycreates

In Use!

August 10, 2015November 29, 2015 tierneycreates: a fusion of textiles and smiles

In my February post, 2015 Goals, I shared a photo of the Little Love Note pillows I made for the tierneycreates Etsy shop. I packaged these pillows in sets of 3 with an organza ribbon and a little handmade heart card attached for gifting.

Unfortunately I posted the pillows to my shop too close to Valentine’s Day (3 days before!) for customers to purchase them as Valentine’s Day gifts.

I did however offer them for sale to some friends and neighbors if they were in need of a last minute Valentine’s Day gifts. I sold a 4 – 5 sets of pillows this way, and figured they went as gifts to other people.

However, I recently discovered, a neighbor friend of mine happened to keep a set for herself. While I was over her house the other day I got to see, 6 months later, great examples of how they could be used as home decor.

Instead of displaying all 3 pillows together, she broke them up and put them in different areas of her home: guest room, guest bathroom, and hallway nook.

It is so fun to see something you made being enjoyed in someone’s home!

In the hallway/living room nook on a miniature rocker

Studio

Some Progress Made…

August 7, 2015November 29, 2015 tierneycreates: a fusion of textiles and smiles

Check out Sassy the highly opinionated miniature schnauzer’s latest happenings on her Schnauzer Snips page!

In an earlier post The Quilting Husband Saga Continues, I lament over the fact that I need to do the binding for three of the quilts that Terry, The Quilting Husband, got back from the professional long-arm quilter.

Here is an update – a wee bit of progress has been made. Terry did create folded 2 1/2 bindings strips for two of the quilts and is working on the binding strip for the third quilt. So here are two of the quilts waiting for their binding to magically be put on.

Yes I will go to bed tonight and in the am I will discover that the Binding Fairies, Gnomes, Elves, etc. appeared during my slumber and not only sewed on the bindings but also sewed the binding down! (I am very thoughtful and have left the binding strips draped over the quilts, all ready for the magical creatures to get to work!)

Okay, maybe no magical creatures are coming during the night to take care of the binding, sigh. My main issue is I would rather be designing and piecing a quilt than finishing one.

I think it might be a summer thing and I am just not in the mood to sit for a long spell and sew down binding will sitting under a quilt.

Alright – enough whining – I will get the three bindings done. Sometime soon…

By the way, our long-arm quilter has informed me she has two more of The Quilting Husband’s quilts quilted and will be delivering them soon (look of panic).

Quality of Life

Grab A Cup of Tea and Your Cozy Spot!

August 5, 2015August 6, 2015 tierneycreates: a fusion of textiles and smiles

It is time to settle in and read some quilting books and magazines!

Ok, ok, I know you are thinking: “Tierney, it is not Winter or a blustery Fall day, no one wants to get a cup of tea and settle in with a book in a cozy chair with a quilt and read.” Alright, so you don’t have to sit inside, you can sit outside, with your iced tea and your sunblock. Inside or outside, I happen to have a recommendation for a publication that I think my fellow quilters will enjoy: Missouri Star Quilt Company’s publication Block.

A couple of months ago I was at a quilt retreat with my “quilt sisters” in the Vancouver, WA area, called Sew N Go: sewNgo Retreat. The retreat owner and host, Nancy, had a collection of these wonderful publications strewn around our retreat workroom area (aka the “Quilting Sweatshop” where quilters sew all day and night and pay to do so!).

Many of the retreat attendees were like: “where did you get these awesome books?”

A month after that I came across an online article on NPR’s website about the Missouri Start Quilt Company: “One Family Revitalizes A Small Town With, Yes Quilts“. After reading the article after looking through a couple issues of their quarterly publication Block while at the retreat, I knew I wanted to give my business to this organization.

As a belated birthday treat to myself, I bought all the past issues of the Block publication as well as a year subscription for future issues.

I have browsed the issues, and plan to really settle down into some serious “quilt publication bonding” when it gets more like hot tea weather!

Waiting on the shelf

Awesome publication!

The cozy reading spot

Sitting my my cozy chair with a quilt on my lap, while drinking tea and reading quilting books and publications is definitely something I am looking forward to this fall and winter.

Quality of Life

A Gift is a Gift

August 1, 2015November 29, 2015 tierneycreates: a fusion of textiles and smiles

Yesterday I received an amazing gift: finding out how much a simple handmade gift means to a recipient.

Many years ago (maybe 8 or 9), I made a flannel 12″ x 12″ quilt square into a quilted hot pad and gave it to my friend Cindy as a little hostess gift the first time I went to her house. Years later I had completely forgot about this little flannel quilted hot pad gift.

Last evening I visited her new home in the country, which is a scaled down version of her previous home in the city. She showed me the quilted square I had given her so many years ago. It turns out she has used it as a hot pad for her tea pot for many years, it has been washed countless times, and many friends and family over the years have said: “Wow, where did you get that?”

The best thing I found out last night: when she was scaling back her possessions to move to her new house, the hot pad I made her was at the top of the list of things she was definitely taking. It appears to be one of her favorite possessions.

Wow, I could feel the tears well up in my eyes, I was so deeply touched. Something I made, likely very quickly, to bring as a little thank you gift to someone’s house, turns out to be a constantly used and treasured gift.

Well..in that moment..my friend gave me an incredible GIFT.

Little square for Cindy – washed many times and loved for many years…

POSTSCRIPT: For more thoughts on the rewards of crafting and giving handmade gifts from the heart, see my post Love Wears it Out.

Studio, Sunflowers!

Ugly Sunflower Fabric Challenge

July 26, 2015October 21, 2018 tierneycreates: a fusion of textiles and smiles

I love sunflowers and years ago (maybe 10) I bought some sunflower fabric I found on sale. I never used this fabric and it ended up in the back of my stash, forgotten.

A couple of months ago I was purging the fabric that I no longer loved to donate to a charity thrift store (see blog post The Fabric Purge!) and came across the sunflower fabric again. I do not have a photo of the original fabric, but 10 years later, looking at it I thought “what was I thinking?!?!?”

It was…well…quite ugly fabric. Little sunflower images with a very cheesy looking patterns and other images surrounding the sunflowers. No wonder it had been on sale 10 years ago!

A quilter friend of mine suggested a Challenge: Don’t get rid of the fabric – cut out the sunflowers and use them as centers in a log cabin style quilt. She offered to give me some coordinating fabric that she was purging from her stash!

I took on the challenge and made the quilt! I just gave to my long-arm quilter the 88″ x 66″ quilt top made with just the sunflower sections of the ugly fabric and coordinating fabric from a friend’s stash! I set the 9.5″ by 9.5″ inch blocks in a Moda paper bag colored fabric. I cannot wait to see what it looks like quilted!