Category: perspective

my point of view, inspiration, and what I see

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Welcome to “my makin’ space”

A new year is here and that means time for clean up and organization of the studio.  Every January I try to use the turn of the calendar year as a way to take a fresh look at my space and how I use it.  This helps me figure out what I want to focus on and how I want to use my space to reach my goals.  I want to share with you the space I use to make all the things.

A new table was added to my space last year and I needed to make more room for getting around in the studio.  I moved one of my IKEA Ingo table into my fabric room [yes, I have a room for fabric….but there is a bed in there too…sorta]  and slid these two under the window.  The Ingo table on the right has a cutout for my machines to sit in and allow more flat sewing space.  The other Ingo table I moved has not been altered so it is used for all the other messy making and fabric cutting.  I use the trestle desk for machine embroidery and photo staging.

This is the new table added to my space.  Yes, it is tall!  It is tall because I now stand and sew.  Oh it is so much better for me than I ever imagined.  This table was a find at Costco – and on sale!   The pressing station to the right is a new addition to my makin’ space too.  I purchased a sheet of 3/4 ” plywood at Lowes and asked them to cut it to size.  After covering the board I screwed it to my extra wide ironing board and….voila….a full FQ fits for one pressing!!

The quilt frame is still in the same place because there isn’t another space big enough for it.   This works because it gives me space in the center of the studio to move around in.

This little cozy for my Bernina 635LE was a must make and my first make of 2020.  I did a little quilt as you go and some applique embroidery and a lot of strip piecing.  I have two more machine covers to make.

I feel like I have been hibernating the past few months.  In a sense I have because I have been dealing with a lot of stress and haven’t been able to focus on this side of my life.  Getting my makin’ space set up and refreshed is a good way to gain perspective and focus.  I hope sharing my space with you will inspired you in some way.  And I look forward to sharing more of my makin’ space with you soon.

think creative – be creative

 

 

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SewPro Stars and Ten Squared…again

SewPro Schedule

Sew Pro Stars Blog HopWelcome to my first blog hop.

In September I was fortunate to attend in the first Sew Pro Convention in Chicago.  The experience was amazing in so many ways.  I tried to go into the event with no expectations because I wanted to absorb and learn as much as possible.  I came away having learned more than I could have imagined.

 

The event was organized so we had time to learn in lecture style classes followed by Q & A sessions with the instructors.  There was time to network with other soon to be and current Sew Pros and make connections for collaboration.   The mornings started with key note speakers who had so much to share with us they didn’t have enough time to fit it all in.  And they were so amazing to open up and share their experience in the sewing industry with all the tips to help us get started and keep going.

SewPro Schedule

My brain was so full of ideas and inspiration after leaving this convention…and I am working everyday to put all I learned into practice.

“Do the work”

I heard this so many times from every single instructor.  Do the work and keep doing the work and do the work again.

And this rings so true…practice, practice, practice.  Practice will only make you better at what you want to do.

I took a pattern design class taught by Sara Lawson of Sew Sweetness.  She shared information on instructions, design, layout, and printing.  It was amazing to get the information I needed to design patterns.  My takeaway from the class was that I could make my patterns so much better.  So I decided to revisit the only pattern I have released and re-work it to make it better so I can set a standard for all the patterns I plan to release.  I didn’t realize until after I released this pattern how much I really enjoyed designing, writing, and developing patterns.  I have so many pattern ideas and having an identity to make them all recognizable is important to me.

The pattern is called Ten Squared.  I developed this pattern through an experimentation with Half Square Triangles (HSTs).  Setting out to challenge myself to create an entire quilt with HSTs without any repeating blocks, I designed a dynamic graphic pattern and set out to recreate it in a quilt.

In the re-work I updated the directions for assembling the quilt and redesigned the front cover so I can use the same design for all my pattern covers. Be on the lookout…Penguin Feats are on the way!

Ten Squared made with Alison Glass fabrics

I also created this quilt top using the new instructions and some really bright Alison Glass fabrics.  The pattern is available in my Craftsy Pattern Shop and my Etsy Shop.  Download your digital copy for only $6 until Monday Nov. 21, 2016 at 8pm PST.  After that the price will be $8.

Making connections at SewPro was an important tool I didn’t realize would be possible.  It has been difficult to establish connections over the years as I have moved a lot.  So I was grateful for the opportunities given to us to network and build relationships.  I really feel connections are important because we can all use the support to help us reach our goals.  And those connections create collaboration, which only makes everything better.  Two are always better than one.  And three or more can make everything just awesome….just like this blog hop. The collaboration among us has created something bigger than one individual blog.

There are some fantastic prizes on this blog hop.  A prize package including a fabric bundle and patterns will be offered to a lucky winner on Saturday, Nov. 19th.  In order to enter for a chance to win that package follow the Rafflecopter Giveaway Link below.

Foldover WristletIn addition, I will be giving away this colorful foldover wristlet made with beautiful Alison Glass Ex Libris fabrics and cork.  In order to enter the drawing for this please follow me on Instagram @penguinfeats and tag me @penguinfeats in your favorite make on Instagram.  I want to see you “do the work”.  Please make sure your Instagram account is public so I can see the post you tag me in.  I will choose a winner from the tagged posts on Monday Nov. 21, 2016.

Please take some time to visit the other blogs on the hop.  Since I am pulling up the rear with Becca, Holly, Teri, & Deanna you don’t have much time to enter the giveaway, so be sure to get your entry in before 12am on 11/19.

 

Monday Nov 14

Lisa and Lorelai

Rebecca Mae Designs

True Blue Quilts

Tuesday Nov 15

Vintage Barngirl

The Stitch TV Show

Powered by Quilting

Canuck Quilter

Lisa Lisa and the Quilt Jam

Wednesday Nov 16

See Carmen Sew

Hudson Valley Quilts

Desert Bloom Quilting

Sweet Little Stitches

Thursday Nov 17

Marvelous Auntie M

A Quilting Chick

LovinglyLissa

Creations by Paula

Friday Nov 18

Pretty Piney

Lighthouse Lane Designs

Day Moon Quilts

You are here >>> Penguin Feats

 Stitches Quilting

 

A Rafflecopter Giveaway>>>The Rafflecopter giveaway has ended!  You still have time to win the Foldover Wristlet.  Please read above for that giveaway!

 

 

 

 

 

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Halfway there….

raspberry lemonade quiltHalfway there…and this challenge has been more than I imagined!

Back in August, Angie at gnomeangel.com announced on her Instagram account (@gnomeangel) she was going to be starting a sew along following Tula Pink’s City Sampler: 100 Modern Quilt Blocks.   She tagged it #100days100blocks .  

I bought the book in 2013 and I figured this was my opportunity to challenge myself to complete all the blocks from the book. All 100 of them!  

Almost all of my fabric is in storage while we search for a house, so I wasn’t sure what fabrics to use.  And when I say it is in storage, I mean it is packed into large wooden crates behind locked doors somewhere in California.  

I wanted to be able to use fabrics that are missing from my stash, and there are only two colors I know my stash is lacking; purple & pink. Honestly I haven’t sewn anything for myself using those colors since the 80’s…when pink was in and I paired it with every other color!

I also wanted to be able to use my favorite color…yellow!

sunprintsphereraspberryOne of my absolute favorite fabric collections is Sun Print by Alison Glass. I kept some of it with me for my in between time.  And that is where I found my inspiration for #100days100blocks  >> Sphere in Raspberry

It was the perfect duotone fabric for the idea that was hatching in my head.

Raspberry Lemonade

The only difficulty was finding the range of raspberry colors that matched the two tones in the sphere fabric.  And shopping online can be tricky when trying to match that kind of fuchsia color.  I didn’t want to end up with blackberry purples in my raspberry lemonade.  So I made a long trip to Fabric Depot in Portland with a swatch of Sphere in Raspberry in my pocket.  If I could match at least 9 fabrics within the tonal range of that swatch I would go ahead with the #100days100blocks challenge.

I made the trip to Fabric Depot on August 15th, the challenge was supposed to start on August 17th.

raspberry lemonade swatchI struck raspberry gold at Fabric Depot. At the end of my shopping trip I walked out with 12 different fabrics to go with Sphere in Raspberry.  And I also found some new lemonade yellows too.

So far I have used 79 different fabrics in 53 different blocks.  I had one error block I had to redo and I made 3 different versions of block #20.  I have been using a swatch kit to keep track of the fabrics I have used in which blocks. This system has also been very useful to match colors when shopping local.

Now I am to the half-way point of this challenge and I had no idea this challenge would be what it has become.

raspberry lemonade quilt
#raspberrylemonadequilt

It has become way more than a challenge to complete 100 blocks in 100 days. It has become a growth challenge for myself.  I challenged myself to use new colors and combine colors in new ways.  I challenged myself to stitch something everyday.  I like to call this stitcher-cise.  I challenged myself to look at new perspectives and revisit old ones.  I challenged myself to stick to my choices.

It’s Wednesday…Let’s Bee Social!!

How do you challenge yourself?

Are you working on the #100days100blocks challenge?