Another Week, Another "Everything in the World" Baby Quilt!

I have a theory that Covid and/or the vaccine got a lot of people pregnant - I can hardly keep up with the baby onslaught! The last two posts showed some of my recent baby quilts, and here's the front of my newest:

Long before "gender-fluid" was a common phrase, I debated with myself about how girly or (why isn't boyly a word?) to make a baby quilt when the biologial sex was known.

And nowadays, of course, I'm even more conscious of stereotyping. There's a whole lot more girly fabric in the quilt world, than the boyish kind, and I'd like to use it! My solution for this particular quilt - knowing the baby is a biological girl - was to make the front as gender-balanced as I could. 

And then I threw a Kaffe Fasset pink party on the back! (Kaffe's a guy, so that balances it out.)

The front is built from 4" blocks, 12 across by 16 high - which adds up to a staggering 192 different fabrics. How do you acquire 192 fabrics? See the end of this post. How do you organize and sew them? I always start by creating thematically-linked 9-patches.

For example, there's a "people" block on the left, and a nature block on the right.

Can you see RGB and Harry Potter? There are also some child Olympians and an Egyptian princess. The nature includes a cactus, pansies, and autumn leaves. 

Here's part of two 9-patches with some of my favorite creature fabrics. (I don't happen to own any Mickey Mouse fabric, but I do own Minnie).

Next, below, a sports-and-games block, plus the 2nd vertical column on the left, which is all food (and not in 9-patch form).  I scored that woman golfer fabric on the upper right 200 years ago, at Michael Levine's in downtown Los Angeles. The bicycle fabric was bought in the last couple of weeks from Remainders in Pasadena CA, a wonderful arts-and-crafts community upcycling shop. The row across the bottom shows part of the music-themed 9-patch.

And speaking of games, in the outer rounds, I played completely different games. The second horizontal row across is all black-and-white images. I am on a personal mission to teach babies about typewriters. This one looks like the one my Dad used. 

To the right of the typewriter, there are keyboard letters (to help the kid figure it out), and punctuation next to that. On the typewriter's left, there's an alphabet block, and  then hands spelling out sign language letters. 

In the outermost border round, mostly solid color blocks alternate with additional black-and-white prints. 

If you want to make a quilt like this, with just 4" blocks, it's extremely simple. 

1. Spend 30 years as a fabriholic with a driver's license. Ideally some of those years should be pre-1998, before you could order fabric online, when you had to go to every quilt shop you could whenever possible, and buy virtually everything, because you knew you would never see that fabric again.

2. When you're creatively blocked or need a little exercise, cut all your family-friendly fabrics (and solid colors, and black-and-white fabrics) into 4" squares. Let these pile up.

3. When anyone declares a pregnancy, sew your squares together into 9-patches, and then join those into a quilt.

So easy! (Except maybe the time travel!)

My Newest City Quilt, a Triumph (for the Cat)

Fresh from the photographer! My newest quilt - it's about 70" high. I should have blocked it, look at that top edge, curved like an archery bow, oy!

This quilt started out with a pile of buildings from my earlier city quilts. Playing with leftovers is SO much more fun than starting from scratch. Along with not having to face a blank design wall, trying to redeem flawed fragments makes me feel environmentally noble - like I'm keeping them out of landfill and thereby saving the world! 

The biggest decision I had to make was whether to turn my leftovers into three quilts or one. It did occur to me that the top row could be finished by itself and called Emerald City....

...which would make the middle row Amethyst City....

...and the bottom row, Sapphire City? (Plus, whatever gemstone is orange. Are there any orange gemstones?)

My stash has way too many large-motif prints that can be challenging to use. I decided to use them for the skies. Two of the prints came from well-worn 50s/60s aprons. 

The first apron - from my family - was this groovy rainbow fabric, a weave so coarse it might be linen. There's a stubborn 1/4" bloodstain that probably makes it unshowable; and the apron was small and oddly shaped, so I had to set one strip sideways, down the far right edge. Despite its limitations, I love its happy, Peter Max mood.

The second old apron, from a thrift shop, was the hallucinogenic print below, in colors (beigeish-orange, burgundy & neon green?!) so horrible they were almost good! 

The pyramid in the Amethyst neighborhood - arguably inspired by the Louvre - is set against another vintage fabric sky, a mostly white floral that I'm guessing is from the 70s. 

Because I myself happen to be a vintage quilter (quilting since 1991, breathing since much earlier), I have sadly learned that old fabric - no matter how intoxicating the design, or how good the condition  - is likely to be weaker than new stuff. It rips much more easily. A quilt with old fabric simply won't last as long. 

I considered this, but what the hell, psychedelic rainbows and beige-orange flowers are worth it. If Covid  has taught us anything, it's that we should live for today! I did throw in some new fabric skies; in the purple section, I used this Kaffe Fasset floral print: 

And others, like these light green polka dots. 

In the blue section, below, the half shell was my first draft for two Hollywood Bowls that wound up on two Los Angeles- themed quilts. The mostly black-and-white tower to the left resembles LAX's control tower. The structures are set against a new blue print (by Frou-Frou) with floating triangles on a pale blue background. Initially I thought of the triangle print as the sky; but now I think it looks more like a building with triangular windows, which works, too!

And speaking of triangles, there's another triangle-based building on the far right of the blue city: 

This was based on the Hearst Tower in New York City. Here's my photo of it. (Taken way back in the old days, when people "travelled.")  

And below is a more careful version of it that I made for one of my New York quilts. The points match and there's perspective because it's not improv pieced like the one above; I made a foundation paper piecing pattern.

This quilt itself a sort of landmark. It's my first quilt which was fully embraced by a cat during and after construction. 

Here's the story: My newly-minted college grad daughter, Class of '20, moved back in with us a year ago, when the pandemic broke out. She wanted to adopt a kitten, an idea I'd always resisted because I worried it would endanger itself in my sewing area (which doesn't have a door, and is challenging to block off), not to mention that I didn't want cat fur all over my stash. 

Well, the best laid plans. Cleocatra turned out to be charming, brilliant, and sneaky; she easily moved and slithered past the heavy folding doggie gate that we placed in different configurations at the entryway.

She also outcharmed my emotional resistance to cat fur. So here is Cleo, celebrating her victory, right after I finished the quilt and laid it on the floor.

I surrendered completely.

To see my earlier city quilts, click "Cityscape quilts" in the word cloud on the right. My booklet, with the methods I use to make quilts like these is in my Etsy shop, here. Cat fur removal methods will be gratefully accepted! (I already ordered a Chom Chom roller.)

Road to California, 2020, Part 2: Shopping!

Last week, I showed off some of my favorite quilts from Road to California 2020 show. Now let's get to the fun stuff: Shopping! Disclaimer: If you click on these links, I don't make any money. But you might lose money, because this merchandise is (often) thrilling!

If there's one attribute that unites Road to California quilts - whether the top is pieced, appliqued, embroidered, fused, stapled, and/or mutilated - it's this: dazzling, immaculate, professional-grade quilting - the stuff that holds the three layers together.

That's why, every year, I walk out of juried show. and into the vendor area, thinking, "Gosh, I urgently need to buy a $46,000 computerized robotic laser-equipped longarm quilting machine, because otherwise I will never get another quilt juried into Road!"

And every year, the only thing that allows me to resist that urge - besides the price and the divorce - is that I would then have to learn how to use the damn thing.

Well, a girl can dream. There were longarms galore in the vendor area. Smallish longarms...

Medium longarms....

And longarms so long that you can operate multiple machines on them.

It's always scary asking prices, but the Innova booth should be lauded for their transparency. The machines they refer to in the bottom poster really are robotic, computer-controlled, and laser-equipped! For less than $20,000!

If you can't afford a longarm, you probably can afford an old standby - a Flynn Quilt Frame. (This is not an endorsement, I haven't tried it.) The show price was a mere $150. (That's just a little more expensive at the Flynn Quilt Frame website.)

Here was my favorite sign from the show (in front of the Aloha Quilt Shop.)

And here's my favorite couple. They run Rochelle's Fine Fabric. Look very closely at their heads....

Wait, I'll make it easier for you by whiting out the background:

I told them they're not normal, and they heartily agreed. It will not come a surprise to you that Rochelle's specializes in conversational (aka novelty) and licensed prints, including the broadest collection of sports team fabrics that I've ever seen. They were also well-stocked with one of the newer fads in the quilt world - giant panels, that you quilt in one piece - great for beginners or quilters in a rush. Find Rochelle's fabrics (but not the headgear) at http://www.rochellesfinefabric.com/fabrics.html. 

The colors in many of the booths were intoxicating. Here's another of my favorites - from the shop 'Applique After Hours.' 

Some of these are wool quilts. Their equally thrilling web shop is here. 

Another huge trend at this show - maybe all shows - are backpacks, bags, totes, zippers, and purse hardware galore. 

Here's the 'Sew Many Creations' wall of patterns. 

For bag making, the cork fad rages on, as it has for several years. The cork keeps getting more interesting.

'Sassafras Lane' displayed a yummy rainbow of cork wallets. 

And there were a whole lot of bags made from Kaffe Fassett Collective fabrics. I think this booth was ByAnnie.com

Speaking of Kaffe - his fabric was ubiquitous.AllaboutcolorQuilting.com carried only Kaffe collective fabric. 

Villa Rosa had some of the best prices for Kaffe fabric (the sign below says $10.96). But for the most part, fabric of all descriptions at this show ran $12.00 a yard and up - often, way up.

As an antidote to all those brilliant colors, there were more booths than I expected selling primitive/country style quilt stuff. It's not my thing, but clearly plenty of quilters love it. Here's the One Sister Designs booth. 

Liberty Homestead: 

At The Cottage Rose/Debb Eggers booth, I saw this adorable game board. (I would make it in jewel tone batiks.)

Carriage Country Quilts showed off these embroidered creatures - the pattern is "Forest Friends" by Kathy Schmitz. 

The Primitive Gatherings booth had a different take - instead of browns, there were shades of black, grey, and navy blue.

The serene quilts in front of their booth drew admirers. 

And speaking of blues, there were several booths dedicated to Japanese arts, including fabrics, threads, and quilts. Here's a fabulous sashiko quilt on display at Kimonomomo LLC.

Shibori Dragon's wares included patterns for fascinating small Japanese bags. They sell a vast array of Japanese fiber art delights from their website. 

There were several booths selling African fabrics (and other stuff). This booth was AfricanEverything.com. They specialize in baskets as well as textiles.

And there were South American fabrics and wearables. Kuna Prints Mola Shoes sold shoes, boots, backpacks, and more, crafted from gorgeous molas that were created by the Kuna Indians of Panama and Columbia. More here.   

I forgot where I saw these. My kind of swimming pools. 

And for the quilter who thought she had everything, the shop 'Classy American' had something I don't - light sets that you push through holes in your quilt. These can be plugged into an outlet, or battery operated. The photo doesn't show that both these quilts are covered with twinkling lights. Snap your light sets up at their website, here. (This company primarily sells roll-up design walls.)

I learned that 'Quilt in a Day' is now working closely with Accuquilt.  From what I could see, 98% of the merchandise in the QIAD booth was Accuquilt Go appliques and supplies.   

When I got home I checked QIAD's website - thankfully, the company still sells books and patterns. (It was an Eleanor Burns' book - "An Amish Quilt in a Day" - that turned me into an enthusiastic quilter, in one day. Finishing the Amish quilt took a little longer than a day.) 

There were Singer Featherweights everywhere - that is, Featherweights belonging to people doing sewing demonstrations. There weren't a lot of them for sale, but one booth (whose sign I forgot to photograph) had stunning, custom-painted machines, including this glossy patriotic number.

 Continuing the red-white-and blue theme (plus black): 

The 'Spirit of the Artisan' booth sold this intricate applique tape, made in Thailand

Boxes of luscious silks:

Next, their "Chiffon Pintuck Ombre Polyester."

I don't know what you do with it, but it looks awesome! (I cannot find the Spirit of the Artisan website - if you know what it is, let me know.)

My second favorite place to shop is thrift shops. So it was not surprising that I was enthralled by 'Paganoonoo' - a pattern company that shows you how to cut up old shirts, jeans and such, and turn them into funky new wearables. I watched one show attendee look at their mannequins, shake her head and declare, "I don't get it!" For me, on the other hand, it was love at first sight. Find their offbeat eco-sensible patterns here.

Another unexpected booth, Chenille-It, focused completely on chenille quilts. I have always associated chenille with bathrobes, until I saw what they'd made. 

Especially this: 

So there you have it! A teeny fraction of the shopping sights at Road! Once again, my tour of some of my many favorite quilts is in the last installment, here.