Original S&Q Expo weekend

This beautiful butterfly wall was in the lobby of my hotel near Atlanta.  It shimmered and shined in the sun drenched entry as they are all made from metallic paper and pinned to the wall.

It was just breathtaking.  The hotel associate just smiled as I apologized for taking pictures and she remarked that a lot of people do it and are equally amazed.

Anyway, why was I staying in a hotel?  I went to Atlanta for the Original Sewing & Quilt Expo.  There were a lot of classes I was interested in taking, but ended up with 3 good choices.  My favorite was the Shibori dyeing class taught by Cindy Lohbeck.  https://www.handsonhanddyes.com/about-us.htm  There was a supply fee which ended up being a full kit minus the dyes, but at the end of the class, she let us take some mixed dye home to experiment with along with more fabric pieces.

These two photos show my work.  I am so happy with the outcome.  She was a good teacher and explained the technique quite well.  

The second best class I attended was a paint stick class taught by Laura Murray.  

The paint sticks are oil paints in stick form and you do rubbings over the surface of a textured plate and create all kinds of design possibilities.  You can also use the sticks with stencils.  

If you're interested in attending an Original Sewing & Quilt Expo go to https://www.sewingexpo.com
There were classes over 3 of the days, fashion shows, displays, vendors and lectures as well as daily giveaways and a grand prize giveaway.  It was a fun few days away and now I'm filled with inspiration.

May Flowers

Today's inspiration from my garden.    

Round Robin Quilting

Today I have been shuffling through my UFO basket trying to see if any of them strike some inspiration in me to get them finished.  None of them are speaking to me at the moment, so I switched gears to looking at photo files from past projects to see the finishes I have done and this round robin is a good example of what I sometimes do to make it more appealing to my eye and preferences.

My quilt group had a sign up for a round robin which is fun to do if you've never done one.  They vary in direction.  Some are row round robins, some are technique rounds, and some are "step" rounds.  This one was what I call a "step" round robin.  To begin there were 5 of us signed up.  We each started with making 2 blocks and providing the fabrics for the next rounds and passed to the next person in a bag.  There were really no instructions except size (wall hanging, in this case) and what comes next like 2 more blocks.  The third person was to add a sashing to join them, the fourth person added a border, and the final person was to add the outer border.  The theme and tone was set by what fabrics you used and/or the choice of fabrics you provided.   You never get to see the progress of your round robin until it's revealed in the end when you've completed a round with each person on the list.  Each round was given ample time to complete (one step a month) and was passed to the next person on a fixed list.  We had to make sure everyone on the list was ready and willing to take the challenge and stick with it, otherwise it can drag out and back log everyone.

This photo shows the completed top when I got it back.

This is beautiful as it is, however to me, I wasn't liking all the white spaces or the half square triangles and the choppy look of the middle sashing.  So, keeping with the Asian theme and combing through my scrap bag, I came up with some options and auditioned them after ripping out the entire middle section and removing the 4 blocks.  

This is what I came up with.  It was completely deconstructed and put back together.  There were only 2 original blocks saved and most of the outer border.  The very center yin yang symbol was created with tread painting.  The other 2 blocks in the center and on the sashing squares were fussy cut from printed fabrics.  The outer border was salvaged for the most part only adding the green corner squares to bring out some of the greens from the center of the quilt.  

In the end, you have to be happy with the resulting quilt.  It will hang in your house or be a gift, so I don't apologize for making changes.  The pieces I didn't use have been used in other things, so they didn't go to waste.  

Now back to my UFO basket.  Making changes or additions will be a good start to the improv top I have buried in the basket.  Have a good sewing day.  :o)