What a difference a year makes

Twitter and the blogosphere have been abuzz the last few days all about Spring 2011 International Quilt Market in Salt Lake City, Utah.

I attended Spring Market last year (my first ever) and I loved it! It was a glimpse into the world of all things textiles, sewing, and quilting and its many possibilities. I really needed some inspiration as I was beginning to feel burn out creeping up on me.

So, while I'm missing out on the fun in Salt Lake City, I'm delighted to be working on my first quilt pattern (with three more in the queue).  I've been sewing and writing all week. Once the pattern has been tested I'll have it available on my Etsy shop as a pdf file (not posting a link right now since my shop is essentially empty). I dying to show you the quilt tops I've pieced so far, but I'm going to keep them a secret until the pattern is completely finished. Here's a tiny sneak peek:

Have you had a transformative experience in your creative life? What do you do to avoid burn out? I'd love to hear about it!

Best wishes,
Annik

DIY Royal Wedding

Given all of the events of the last week, it's hard to believe that a mere 7 days ago the world was abuzz with all things Royal Wedding. I was happily wrapped up in the euphoria myself. Kate's dress! Two kisses on the balcony of Buckingham Palace! Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie's their wild outfits! The hats and fascinators!

Which leads me to the most amazing blog giveaway that I just happened to win. Check out this collection of all things Royal and U.K. from Patchwork Queen of the blog Patchwork Palace!

Isn't it fabulous? I can't to start knitting my own royal wedding. Of course I'll put William in red and long lace sleeves on Kate. Don't you think Prince Harry looks spot on? I absolutely adore the Kokka fabric and my 5 year old son desperately wants the double decker bus stickers (not sure if I'm willing to share, though). Make sure you check out Patchwork Queen's blog because she posted the sweetest photos of her daughter watching the wedding.

I remember watching Prince Charles and Lady Diana's wedding with my mom oh so many years ago. We sat in front of our little black and white television and marveled at the adoring crowds, at Diana's beauty, and of course, the most amazing dress with the longest train imaginable.

My very first airplane ride was at the age of 11 with my mom and a group of her students (she's a French teacher). Our final destination would be France, but we landed at Gatwick and spent several days in London. The minute I stepped off the plane I was instantly smitten. I remember arriving in Victoria Station and seeing young people (teens/20's) with multi-colored hair and wild clothes and I was so impressed (my mom, not so much). We stayed in Hampstead Heath, which struck me as shear magic. Frankly, I didn't really want to go to France.

I returned to Britain again at 18, 20 (for 3 months in London), and for my honeymoon at age 28. Now that I'm a mother of 3 little ones, there are no plans on the horizon to return to England. But I'll happily knit the royal wedding party and share my love of my favorite country with my children.

Thank you, Patchwork Queen!

A Mouthful Monday

I'm pleased to report that I finished Log Cabins for Japan quilt #8 yesterday. It's washed and dried and sitting on top of the stack with the rest of the quilts. This afternoon I'm packing up the kids and the quilts and we're off to FedEx to get these babies on their way!

Want to see what else I've been up to lately? Here's the laundry list (no dirty undies, I promise). A warning that we've had next to no sun for what feels likes months. Sadly, my photos are a bit blah.

ONE - A vendor apron for Melissa, creator and owner of Earth Grown Crayons. Do check out her shop. Her soy wax crayons are TO DIE FOR!

TWO - A baby shower gift for my friend, Rebecca, who's expecting baby #3 in about a month. She's having a home birth and I'm so excited for her. Two of my three children were born at home and it was amazing.  I promise not to get on my soap box right now, instead, I'll just share a few photos of the outfit I made for the baby girl on the way.

 

The tunic dress is an Ottobre Design magazine pattern from the 1/2009 issue. The leggings are also from Ottobre, but I don't know the date off hand. I'll look it up.

THREE -  I wrote a pin cushion pattern. Hooray! My first pattern. I'm not quite ready to release it yet, so this is all I'm sharing:

I've also been busy, busy working on not one, not two, but three quilt patterns that will be for sale as pdf files in my Etsy shop. I've very excited to show them to you, but I've got a ways to go until they're ready. I'll give you a hint, though. My new banner is a preview of one of the patterns.

That's all for today. Tomorrow I'm going to share the amazing giveaway prize I received all the way from the West Midlands. I can't wait to show you!

What have you been working on lately? Leave me a comment. I'd love to hear from you.

-Annik

Log Cabin Update

I'm so far behind on blog posts I barely know where to begin. Suffice it to say, I've been sewing like a mad woman these last few weeks.  I have a million things to show and tell, but this post is dedicated to the most important thing - Log Cabins For Japan!

I have another stack of blocks that I'll be piecing into a baby quilt today. Despite the fact that it's May 1st, it's a miserable 33 degrees and overcast here in Minnesota today. Dreadful weather for Minneapolis' annual May Day parade, but great weather for quilting!

The current quilt count is seven, but I'll have eight by the end of the day. This week I'll be shipping them off to Mission of Love. The original plan was to send the quilts to Quilters Newsletter (to then be shipped to Japan), however, I was unable to meet their April 30th deadline. I'm so glad another organization is still collecting quilts! If you have an extra quilt in your stash, please consider making a donation. Mission of Love's deadline to receive quilts is May 7th.

Best wishes,
-Annik

Gratitude

Wow! By April 8th we had received 101 blocks from around the country for Log Cabins for Japan. Thank you so very much for your contributions. I wish to extend a special thanks to the NOVA Modern Quilt Guild. You guys made an incredible number of blocks and I am deeply grateful!

Check out just a fraction of the many blocks we received.

By the end of our sewing day on Sunday we were at around 140 blocks. We had enough to make SIX quilts of various sizes. Three are completely pieced and three are in progress, so don't worry if you don't see your block(s).

Pretty pastels

Nikol strikes a pose

Vanessa of Punkin Patterns pieced this beauty

Words cannot describe my gratitude to all of you who made blocks, donated fabric, and donated your time and skill. Props to the Sunday Sewing Crew: Vanessa, Rebecca, Tina, and Nikol. I'm especially grateful to Nikol of Sewtropolis for giving us a headquarters and sewing space for this effort.

We have about 2 weeks to complete the six (maybe more?) quilts. I'll keep you posted on our progress! Please send speedy vibes our way.

My sincerest thanks,
-Annik

A Whole Lotta Blocks

Nikol from Sewtropolis just sent me a photo of the stack of envelopes at her store filled with log cabin blocks. Wow! I'm delighted and eternally grateful for your generosity.

I hope to see you on Sunday afternoon for some serious sewing. Stay tuned for photos of our progress.
A huge thank you and best wishes!

-Annik

Bee There

My 4th block

A huge thank you to everyone who has sent in log cabin blocks for Japan! And thanks to those of you who have posted photos on the Flickr group. It's so fun to see people's quilting points of view. What a wonderful variety we will have for this project.

I'm excited to announce that piecing and quilting will begin this weekend and you're invited!

When: Sunday April 10th, noon and 4 p.m.

Where: Sewtropolis
5 West Diamond Lake Rd Minneapolis, MN 55419
Located on the southwest side of Diamond Lake Rd and Nicollet Ave S.

Bring: a sewing machine, a rotary cutter, a ruler, pins, or just bring yourself. Bring fabric scraps if you plan to make log cabin blocks. If you have any extra pieces of batting or backing fabric, that would be great, too!

I promise we'll put you to work!  Not only will you get the chance to meet other local sewing folks, but you'll also have the opportunity to check out Sewtropolis' beautiful selection of quilting and apparel fabrics and their cool sewing studio. I'll bring snacks.

See you there!

-Annik