Hot Stitchin'!

Polar Vortex, what...?  Meh!  Go ahead, let it drop to negative "Let's freeze the World on it's axis" temps.  It's been toasty warm and creative in our house!  I'm sure I'll feel differently when I see the oil bill...  but for now I'm loving the creative oasis in our dining room/sewing studio!

A lot of sketching has been happening.  I love Henna/Mehndi floral patterns and am always doodling them in some form or other.  But lately I've been plotting how to get more Henna into my quilting.  So why not just whole cloth quilt it - essentially drawing on fabric with my machine!  EASIER SAID THAN DONE!!

I had a simple flower and leaf patten on paper, drew the basic outline onto my fabric and set to it!  20 minutes later I had a jumbled mess of thread and lost my overall pattern.  Time to back up to something simpler.  Feathers!

I've done feathers in my quilting before, but I've never taken the time to practice or study them.  I just winged it.  When done correctly, they are beautiful!  Flowing, fun, some are formal or they can be more playful.  Whatever you need them to be, you can stylize them to meet your project.

After many, many pages of sketch practice, I came up with these first fabric attempts.  And I'm proud to say that every time it got a bit easier and (at least I think) a bit more artistic.  They really are fun.  And once you have your stem built, the plumage just flows naturally.

First Attempt!

Second Attempt! 

Ok, so not perfect but getting better, right? :-)

This afternoon, I tried adding the Henna back in:

It was also fun playing with thread colors, highlighting here and there...

In addition to feathering about, I've been working on a couple Valentines Day projects!   So far this what I've got.  I cannot take any credit for the overall design as I've seen it done a million times over - postage stamps, tee-shirts, wallets, etc...  This is just my version  :-)

16" by 16" wall hanging.  Thinking maybe Prairie Points to finish it off...?

Thanks for stopping by!  Hope you are all staying warm and keeping creative!!  Feel free to share your projects either here in the comments or on my Facebook Page for M. Rose Quilt Studios!

And here's the link up to Leah Day and The Free Motion Quilting Blog.  I frequent both her blog and her books for quilting ideas - love her! 

Cheers and stitch on!!

Mood: Chipper
Music: "The Clincher" by Chevelle

I'm Back!!!

Hi Y'all and Happy 2014!
 And what a great year it's been so far!  

I'm sorry I haven't posted recently - the Holidays were wonderful but so incredibly busy!  Wow!!  From Thanksgiving till now was one giant whirlwind of friends and food and so many things to get done in a hurry that I didn't have a minute to sit and gather my thoughts!  So much so that we didn't even have the time to get a proper tree - so I made one :-)

Our dining room/quilting studio turned into a snowflake ornament factory.

Advent Stars are made by fusing 2 fabrics together, cutting into strips and weaving then tacking with hot glue

Several years ago, my Aunt M made an Advent Star ornament for me which now stays over my drafting table.  I used her pattern and made a bunch as gifts this year and were a hit at a couple ornament exchange parties! 

 Along with the Advent Star, we made a few 3D snowflakes.  I saw one made out of paper hanging in the window of a paper store a few years ago and played around with it until I figured out how it was made.  After making a few dozen in paper for Christmas parties, I decided to try them with fabric!  Even Django liked the results!

Also made with fused fabrics!

(Both ornaments are super easy and quick to make!)





I'm also just now (hanging head in shame...) just finishing my Christmas gifts for my Mom.  She loves cardinals, especially anything quilty with cardinals.  As any proper quilter would, my mom has a giant stash of fabric, filling many a bin all over the house.  And like any self respecting quilter, she knows every piece of fabric and in which bin it rested!  I, being the young quilter with a healthy addiction to fabric and design, often perused said bins and would try to barter with her for pieces I wanted.  Separate and hidden from the general stash was her collection of winter cardinal fabrics.  I once found them on accident (she has some GORGEOUS fabrics there) but my life was threatened.  Ever touch those fabrics again and fingers would get smacked.  Hard!

DISCLAIMER!!!  My mother is the SWEETEST, most loving mother in the entire world!  Never has she ever been anything but wonderful in every way!  I don't want anyone to have the wrong impression of her in the slightest!  Just know that this cardinal collection of fabrics was on the same level to her as her children and protects it just as dearly!

She is so sweet that she looks more the part of Mrs. Santa Clause than the Mrs. Clause at the hospital that day!! :-)

This year I made a table runner and wall hanging of cardinals for her.  The two are not a matching set but they feel similar as they came from the same fabrics.  Interesting story here - this table runner is another "No Planner" project, just like the Bright Day of Thanks turkey.  A few minutes after I finished quilting it, I relaxed  by browsing pinterest and what pops up?  A table runner of branches with cardinals.  The one I found was lovely, done with branches of evergreens and in wool but I was slightly disheartened.  I'm in awe of how creative our quilting world is but I was going for originality and something unique for my mom.  **deep sigh**  I'm still proud of my little project.

Wall hanging in progress!

2014 has started with a new baby quilt pattern!  This pattern started as a post-it note and got dropped into a sketch book for months until I was asked recently if I had any puppy patterns!  I was very excited to say, "Why, yes I do!"  Let me introduce "Puppy Paws" newest from M. Rose Quilt Studios!  (Obviously the customized name can change or be omitted completely - this was a custom job...)

The paws on the top of the quilt were done by appliqueing the outline in white over a block of print.  I had all these cute left over cut outs and thought they'd be a cute surprise on the back!

Also up and coming with 2014 will be some blogs on costuming!  I've recently signed on with a Revolutionary War era group and will be visiting with a Civil War group shortly.  I love quilting so much, but there is nothing like throwing on "funny clothes" and running around for a few days!  With each of these groups, I'll be recreating pieces to wear and I'm sure I'll have plenty of pictures to share!

So thanks for checking back in!  I hope you're enjoying 2014 as much as I am!  We'll chat again soon!  Be well!

Mood: All New and Excited
Music: "Come a Little Closer" by Cage the Elephant

Decorated and ready to Eat!!!

I am happy to say that I have actually finished my Thanksgiving decorations IN TIME for Thanksgiving!!  I think this is a first for me for any holiday!  And I am so excited!

All decorated and it all works together!

Continuing on from the past 2 posts, the Bright Day of Thanks Turkey ended up in the dining room/sewing room, right next to me!

I had a panel hanging around and quickly put that together.  I'm also very excited for Christmas and got our Christmas card ornaments made this year!  I will post about those later!

My Free Falling Leaves did not become a wall-hanging.  In fact they looked sooooo terrible as a wall-hanging!  I got them up, looked at them for a day and I absolutely hated how they looked (others looked at them for a day and were kind enough not to laugh too much).  In stead, they look fantastic as place mats around the house.  One has been adopted in our front entrance as the key and mail mat.  Django even got to have 2 on his crate!  (Can't leave the fur child out!)

 
The 3rd installment for my Thanksgiving decorations took a decidedly (and surprisingly) traditional turn!  While I was home a few weeks ago, my wonderful Aunt M gave me a giant bin full of fabrics to play with.  Included in this bin are the fabrics for the new piece, "Give Thanks!"  It's not my normal color pallet but I am kind'a in love with this one!

"Give Thanks!" 24" x 26", pieced and applique with free-motion quilting.  Original design by M. Rose Quilt Studios.

I had a lot of fun quilting this one.  I just went crazy free-motion quilting the background to the applique.  But I made one BIG mistake by not pin basting enough!  I thought, oh yeah, this is a small piece, I don't need to pin this while I quilt.  Lesson learned - ALWAYS, always, always pin and/or baste your project!!  Not to point out the problems, but you will notice that the boarders are not square.  Ooops!  I will ALWAYS pin my projects from now on! :-)

In response to emails I have received, Yes, these 3 Thanksgiving projects will all be printed patterns available soon.  As soon as they are published, I will post links on here for you. 

Have a wonderful, happy and blessed Thanksgiving!!  I will check back in with you Lovelies in early December!  Cheers!!

Mood: Decorated!!
Music: "Heaven's Calling" by Black Veil Brides

Paws in the Leaves

We are having a small heat wave today - temps almost hit 60 degrees today!!  Which meant that Django, my gigantic puppy, and I went on a nice long walk and played for a while in the back yard!  It's probably our last chance to get outside without having to bundle up.

Happy Django!

I love being outside but add my pooch and it's just a laugh riot the whole time.  With all the leaves falling and blowing every direction, he was having the time of his life!

This was attempt #2,478 at a sitting still pose.  Just when I thought we had it, another leaf blew past... 

It's from the leaves that I drew inspiration for this next little project.  This is part 2 of possibly 3 or 4 bright, asymmetrical Thanksgiving projects, so stay tuned!

"Free Falling" abstract wall-hanging leaves, each approx. 12" x 17"

The smaller leaves are tracings from actual leaves Django stole into the house.  From that tracing, I drew an exaggerated, larger leaf around it to get the bigger size.  I then took super focused pictures of the leaf veins.  (For anyone into slightly abstract or organic art, I highly suggest doing the intensely up close photos of leaves!  They end up looking like kaleidoscopes and the closer you get, the more you see!)  

I fused and appliqued the leaves on the background and did the thread art for their veins before adding the backing and batting.  Never having done any quilting quite this detailed, I wanted to make sure the details in the leaves came out exact and didn't want any interference from the other layers.  For the quilting I had fun with echo/ripple style quilting.  It is very easy to get dizzy!  I really like the effect at the end!

I made four of these leaf combos and am not totally sure what to do with them just yet.  In the back of my head there is a wall hanging brewing...  We shall see!

Keep on Quilting, my dears!  And be sure to check out and support our fellow free-motion Quilters at Leah Day's The Free Motion Quilting Project - I am always so inspired by the limitless talents in out there!

Cheers!!


Mood: Bright
Music: "Groovy Gravy" by Quincy Jones and Bill Cosby

Bright Days and Warm Hearts

I am back in Boston after attending the most beautiful wedding I have ever been to!  And this one is a bit more special to me:

I grew up in a small town just outside of Niagara Falls, NY and, by a series of fortunate twists in fate, I ended up in Boston after college.  This is where I met my wonderful fiance', Fiance' J, a native Boston boy.  It just so happened that J's best friend, G, is also a native Boston boy and his girlfriend, M, was from Niagara Falls, NY as well!  What are the odds!!  This wedding was for G and M back home in Niagara and was just so sweet the whole weekend.  These two are so in love and were surrounded by incredibly warm and supportive family.  I enjoyed every minute of it!

Even funnier is the fact that Fiance' J and I are doing the same thing for our wedding next summer!  In a way it felt like a practice run for us (I was taking notes!!) and got me even more excited for it to finally happen :-)

Photo by the incredible Alyssa Masucci

The past week, since the wedding, as been busy and fruitful!  I again thank all my wonderful friends and readers.  My inbox has been exploding with such sweet emails and news and questions and ORDERS!!  I'm so excited and most grateful to you all! 

Tonight was my quilt guild, the Proper Bostonian Quilters, monthly meeting.  Every single meeting sends me home brimming with inspiration and overwhelmed with chocolate and hugs!  Our speaker tonight was Marianne L. Hatton.  She shared much of her personal history and her gorgeous quilts.  If you are not familiar, I highly suggest looking her up.  She has at least one book published, Simply Dynamic Sampler Quilts (Amazon.com), with another on its way, as well as being an imaginative teacher.  I'm excited for June 2014 as she will be coming back to my guild to teach a workshop! 

In between all the quilt orders I have been trying to pull together a few Holiday wall hangings.  Saturday night I had the house to myself and tried another "create as you go" project.  I knew I wanted a turkey and that he needed to be colorful.  I also knew that I didn't want him to look anything like the hand-print turkeys I used to make in grade school.  And this is what happened:

"Bright Day of Thanks" by M. Rose Quilt Studios, 24" x 24"

I finished the quilting yesterday (Tuesday), also with no real pattern. 

Today is also huge anniversary in my personal life.  One year ago was my last dose of chemotherapy after undergoing 7 months of brutal IVs and medications.  I am completely in remission and have never felt healthier, happier or more alive, nor have I ever felt more gratitude to God, family and the wonders of medical science.  So it feels particularly important that I take every opportunity to celebrate the Holidays this year!  I am excited for Thanksgiving and look forward to being able to help cook more this year - and decorate more this year!!  More Holiday wall hangings to come!  How I love my "job!"

Be warm and quilt on!!  Cheers!


Mood: Toasty
Music: "Rusted from the Rain" by Billy Talent

Elegant Swooning

I can't say it enough - I love Fall in New England!  I can't remember a more beautiful Fall, but then again I've always been chained to a desk and stuck indoors.  Django and I have been enjoying daily walks through the neighborhood and have found some really beautiful nature trails.  Chasing falling leaves are his favorite thing and amuse his little puppy heart for hours!

Have I mentioned that I love New England Fall??

At home in the quilt studio, things have been buzzing and wonderful!  It's a hard thing to write out a pattern.  For "Baby Birds" I've had to go back and forth between my original notes and actually making pieces in order to get the directions correct in my head and then on paper.  I've learned the value of writing down steps in better detail as I go.

This week also brought out a new quilt, as you might have noticed above!  My love of the Swoon block continues, so I introduce "Elegant Swooning," an original design by me at M. Rose Quilt Studios.  

"Elegant Swooning" by Maer Hatz at M. Rose Quilt Studios, Oct. 2013.  56" by 56", pieced and applique.

This has four blocks, each 24" square, with appliqued sashings.  (Yes, the feather applique is my favorite Positive/Negative applique.)  I toyed with the idea of a large, fancy boarder but it didn't work.  Just a simple 2" black edge was all it needed.  This would be a great weekend-warrior project for someone on a quilt retreat or for someone with a limited amount of time to sew! 

Enjoy the sunshine and the Fall colors!  I'm off for a while.  Dear friends are getting married and Fiance' J and I will be traveling to help them celebrate!  Quilt on and we'll chat soon!

Mood:  Excited!
Music:  "Railroad Track" by Willie Moon

A Day Spent Relaxing

Today I decided to take a break from the norm and did a project just because I felt like it!  I had a bunch of scraps and a faint idea of where I wanted to go with it and just set to it.

(Disclaimer:  Last Fall I miscalculated the amount of fabric I'd need for a particular project and ended up with three times the amount for each fabric.  I am still trying to work my way through that huge amount so you may well be seeing lots of burgundy, teal and white :-)  Luckily, I happen to really like these colors in combination with each other but there will be many projects with these fabrics - including this one!!)

When I started out, I knew I wanted a quilted version of my logo - a swoon block with an appliqued outline of a bird laid over top.

(Insert my ever favorite method of Positive/Negative Applique!)  In contrast I wanted the silhouette of the black bird in a rotation of the swoon block.   Next came the feather applique (P/N again...) and the rest just fell into place.  And this is what happened:

 









 The top was done and I had even more fabric scraps than before I started, including the other halves to my appliqued birds and left overs to the swoon blocks.  It all came together because I simply didn't care how it went.  I just started sewing this piece to this and trimming up that until I have a piece slightly larger than the top and beautifully abstract!  I almost like the back more than the top - funny how that happened, and all without a plan!

I had the best time quilting, too.  I am a huge fan of Leah Day (freemotionquilting.blogspot.com) and her Free-Motion Quilting Project and used 4 of her free motion patterns through out this little project.  I think I used more thread quilting this 23" x 25" wall hanging than I did on my most recent baby quilt, it is that densely quilted.  And I'm particularly fond of how the quilting makes the back even more abstract.  This was my first time going completely improv with my quilting so it is rough but considering the project, I thought it quite suiting.

It was just a fun little project and a great way to break up routine.  Tomorrow, I am back my regularly scheduled stitchery and looking forward to it!

Cheers and quilt on, Lovlies!!

Mood: Music: