New Toy, Old Project...

First, thanks to everyone who stopped by during Amy's Creative Side's Blogger's Quilt Festival.  I've been amazed at how many people have come by my little blog over the last week.  With over 600 quilters involved, it was very cool to see other's work and flattering that people were interested in mine.

So, we got a new toy the other day.  Ever since I started infringing on, if not commandeering Ang's sewing room, she's wanted to get another sewing machine.  We've been looking around for an affordable second machine, but one that would be at least one step up from our old machine.  Considering our old one is a cheapy Brother that we bought at the PX years ago, it was not hard to find machines that were a step (or more) up, but keeping it on the affordable side was our challenge.  It turns out that Costco was running a special on another Brother model (XR7700), still one that would be probably be considered entry level, but with more options, computerized and a dozen attachments included.  Boy, this is starting to sound like a commercial, sorry.  But hey, if any Brother reps do see this, I'd love to talk about an endorsement deal:)

Anyway, Ang had started on this little bag a while back and since she's in the middle of two other projects with deadlines, she asked me to see if I could finish it for her.  Great chance to play with the new toy! 

Below is the simple pouch she had started made from old jeans and a Moda print.  My job was to finish it some how. 

                 

Ang's beginning...

My finish...

It turned out okay, especially for not having done this before.  It is a cute, simple functional messenger bag/purse kinda thing that'll do well for holding her wallet and stuff, as well as her knitting.  Now what's going to happen is a couple weeks from now, she'll say "This is cute and all and I really like it, but I can't..... and I need......can you make me one that has X and Y too this time?"  So, I'm sure I'll be posting about another bag at some point:) Meanwhile, she's asked for me to make a couple small zippered pouch for inside.  I tried my first zipper the other night and man, that sucked.  I get it now, but you should see how lame that little pouch looks, well no, you shouldn't, I'm not going to post it.  It went together okay and works, but, oh man, it's all lopsided and looks like something out of a Dali painting!

The new toy...

   

Blogger's Quilt Festival: Fall 2011

So, Amy's Creative Side is hosting a Blogger's Quilt Festival. 

Since I noticed this event this morning and this afternoon I finish the quilt below, it seemed like a perfect thing to take part in.

Amy asks participants to:

 "Share one quilt, and it’s story.  Why you made it, why it is special to you, what you learned about quilting/yourself while making it."

Wow, I'm gonna actually have to think about this stuff...

Why'd I make it...I enjoy solids, wonky/improv shapes and bright colors. This one started with me just playing around with greens and that odd print in the center.  I was really digging what was developing, so I just kept going.  You can see the print in the 'center' of the blocks provided my colors and something to unify the blocks.  Why is it special...Heck, I'm still new at this, everything I finish is special to me! But seriously, because of the things I mentioned above, the colors and wonky factor.  I like just diving in and experimenting, especially when it turns out well :)  What did I learn...Ha, I learned fleece is not a bad option for a batting!  I used black fleece for the batting on this because I was afraid of the regular cotton batting poking through. Other than being a bit stretchy, it worked great.  I also did the binding in a different way for me.  I don't know what it is called when you do this, but I made the backing a bit larger and wrapped over the top to create the binding. I know purists will be up in arms about that, but oh well. The quilt's not going to be in a big competition and the whole point is to try new things and learn from them.  So, "Quilt Police" you'll just have to deal with me:)

Thanks for visiting my blog, I'm still trying to get the hang of these things, quilting and blogging.

I don't post that often because to be honest, when I have the time, usually I'd rather be working on a quilt than trying to figure out what to say about them.  If you have the time, please check out some of my other posts, my last post was part of the Men Quilt Too! online show and has a little bit more about me.

Men Quilt Too!

 Welcome. My name is Jay Martin and I'm a relatively new quilter.  When I saw discussions about the Men Quilt Too! online show hosted by Thearica Burroughs at Pigtales and Quilts, I was excited to take part.  Now, after seeing the talent and workmanship of the men who've already submitted for the show, I am a bit intimidated, but what the heck, they all started somewhere too right?  Plus, it might be beneficial to show the various levels of experience and technique of men quilters and the fact there seems to be a lot more of us than people think!

Who am I and how did I end up quilting?


Well, I'm a musician by training and profession and currently live in the D.C. area.  As for the quilting thing...it just kinda happened.  Really, it came down to a couple of factors; 1. I need a creative outlet that wasn't related to my 'day job.' 2. My wife is involved in a variety of fabric arts, so she's got a ton of books & magazines and a pretty good fabric stash! So, finally one day after always looking through her books and stuff (just at the pictures, I didn't bother to read anything) I decided I needed to give quilting a try.  She showed me how to use the sewing machine and sent me on my way.  The result of that first attempt is the quilt above.
That was just over a year ago.  (I still haven't read any of the books, I prefer to just dive in and figure it out.)

At some point, I'd really should take a class or get to a workshop and really learn some things, but I'm enjoying the freedom that comes with ignorance:) I do have the benefit of another quilter in the house though, so Angela helps me out when I get stuck and has been a great tutor.  We have also worked together on some quilts and are looking forward to combining our styles and strengths as we both grow as quilters.

Not being active in any quilting groups and the only other quilter I really know is my wife, I look to blogs and Flickr for inspiration and motivation.  There are a couple quilters in particular who's work constantly motivates me Marianne Haak , and Victoria Gertenbach.

What I've been up to:

Gavin's Quilt.

Luke's Quilt. 

Improv 1

Improv 2

Amish-ish

Mini-Mondrian

Yep, it's a clock.

Okay, not really a quilt, but it is pieced! 

 A couple of WIPS:

This is the top panel of a quilt Angela and I are working on. When completed it will have a large tree of life applique in the center with this panel and its mirror above and below.

Um, not sure where this is going yet....I like it that way.

Baby Quilt for Project Linus DC!

It has been a while since I posted (as usual) but, I sent off my contribution to the 100 Quilts for Kids quilt along yesterday so I had to post something!  It's a simple little quilt, but very comfy.  These cute flannels had been sitting around for a while, one a left over from a project and the other from an abandoned one.  When I saw the info about the 100 Quilts for Kids drive on the DC Modern Quilt Guild's page, I knew what to do with them.

I will be getting better about keeping up with this blog.  Between family visits, work and a broken car, quilting time has been minimum.   Ang and I have a WIP that's starting to take shape and I'd like to share a bit about that soon.

Q&A: Ben Venom - my love for you is a stampede of horses.

Cool article.

Q&A: Ben Venom - my love for you is a stampede of horses.

Pojagi Curtain

"I don't know whether I like it, but it is what I meant. "

Ralph Vaughan Williams 

Well, that may be a bit dramatic of a sentiment, but it is close to how I feel.  This project actually came out right in line with what I had envisioned, but now that it is done, well, maybe my vision was flawed.  I don't know, I have keep mulling this one over for a while.  It is not that I'm unhappy about how it turned out, but rather assessing the choices I made in designing it.  For the size of the piece, I think some of the smaller pieces are too small and the smaller color blocks in particular might be more effective if they were larger.  One consideration I had was that I wanted this to let as much light through as possible, so that led to smaller colored blocks.  The purple one really doesn't look as dark in real life as it photographed.  Still, it is a bit out of character with the other.  But, overall, it is what I imagined and I am pleased I was able to create what I imagined and it was fun.  Ain't that the point?  Now, to work on my design skills.

Just playin'

So, clearly I'm on this solids kick.
I like to go down to the basement and play.  Pick some colors, start sewing, cutting, see where it takes me.  Right now, since I'm trying to figure this whole quilting thing out and find my way or style of doing it, this is a lot of fun for me.  Just messing around without a lot of expectations or some set pattern to work from. I learn better by just doing stuff, so, I'm trying to just do stuff.

There's not really much to say about this quilt. It was play time.  Playing with colors, shapes, quilting, etc.  The over all shape was dictated by the piecing.  It just kinda happened to fall into this general shape, so I trimmed a bit to hopefully improve the balance. I think my favorite part is the 3 lines of colored thread in the quilting.

Pojagi Curtain Sorta Thingy...

I saw these Pojagi style pieces in BooDilly's (Victoria Gertenbach) Flickr stream and they are fantastic.  You should check them out. (When you're done here of course. In fact, look at ALL of her stuff. She does amazing work, one of my favorites.)  So, anyway, they seemed like a great way to try something new and come out with a curtain for my office window.  I had been stumped as to what to do for that window for months.
Since I'm trying to get the hang of this blogging thing and post about works in progress, things I'm trying, heck, post somewhat regularly...

Here are the beginning stages.

 And, yes, still playing with solids.

You'll see the seams are a bit different. She had a tutorial on a couple of seam options posted on her blog. I'm trying the first option and there's certainly a learning curve, well for me at least.  But, I do like the look of it.  I think part of the trouble I'm having has to do with our machine.  It's a cheapy, low line model that just may not be able to be as precise as I want it to be.  Oh well, the machine works great over all, especially for my skill level and needs.

We'll see how this turns out. I held it up against the window pane earlier today and it is shaping up pretty well. I think it'll be neat.

Regardless, check out BooDilly's blog!


Oh, and leave me a comment or something.....please...