1 in 8

I love these fabrics?  Aren't they the greatest?  I love them for so many reasons....

My niece-the-quilter gave them to me.
I love pink.
I love that salmon can be pink and that the "white" one is pink when compared to white.
I love the hot pink.  It is really HOT!
I love they are Konas and feel like a dream.
I love that I have leftovers.

Here's what I don't love.
I don't love that we still have to have a month devoted to breast cancer.
I don't love that 1 in 8 of the females reading this blog will get breast cancer (at least in the US).
I don't love that we do not have a cure.
I don't love that too many women I do love have had breast cancer.

If you're a reader of my blog periodically, you may have read this post entitled a Quilter's Fairy Tale last year.  This is a tribute to a special friend who successfully fought IBC (Inflammatory Breast Cancer).  But it was a terrible battle.

This year I happen to be reading the book "The Emperor of All Maladies" by Siddhartha Mukherjee. Subtitled "The Biography of Cancer" -- it is fascinating and horrifying at the same time.  I am particularly interested in the references to breast cancer early in the book.

Would you believe the first documented case of cancer was breast cancer and was noted in an Egyptian papyrus believed to be from the teachings of Imhotep who lived around 2625 BC.  It's a very clinical description.  The next documented case of cancer appears to be IBC and Atossa, the queen of Persia, around 440 BC. What's the irony in that?  The first two cases of documented cancer are still being battled today!

Since it's October and Breast Cancer Awareness Month -- and this is a pink pink pink quilt -- I'm linking to Amy's Creative Side's Blogger's Quilt Festival.  If you have a chance, check it out.  She does a wonderful job of providing an opportunity for all quilting blogs to post and for us to wander through a quilt show of blogs.  There are prizes and voting and, most of all, inspiration.  I'm going to link under the "Throw" category (I did think about 2 color but I thought that was stretching it!) -- not because I'm soliciting votes but because I hope a bunch of women will read this post and make sure they are doing breast exams and getting mammograms -- and pestering other women they love to do the same.

Details on the quilt:

• Modified from Cozy Modern Quilts by Kim Schaeffer
• 65" x 65"
• 21 shades of pink from Robert Kaufman's Kona line
• Phillip Jacobs fabric for lattice
• Quilted with Lava by Superior (no rush to do that again although I love the color changes)
• Bobbin was So Fine by Superior
• New overall pattern I wanted to try -- learned a lot and will use again

For a giggle -- here's how I started my month!  It's given me some opportunities to talk about breast cancer to people I might not have -- servers in restaurants particularly!  I'm happy to stay they are still intact. I wasn't sure if we would get through the month together.  I now think we will.

I hope you are

Playing with fabric you love
Finding inspiration at the Bloggers Quilt Festival
Doing breast exams and getting mammograms!

Jan

Bouncy - Bouncy - Bouncy

Well this has been a week of bouncing around like a rubber ball.  

I had a perfectly good plan of action -- try to re-purpose the florals that didn't work in the D9P, finish the challenge quilt top out of the fabric line you see above, clean up the quilt mess that has exploded in my quilt room.   A good plan.  And then this happened:

My-niece-the-quilter came to visit and brought more goodies than should be allowed.  The tote had strips and strips -- yards and yards of strips.  The bag had 1" cuts and some selvages (one addiction I don't have), and a few other scraps.

I love her good taste in fabric!  Modas.  Batiks.  Sock monkeys.  Kaffe.  The list goes on.....

Did I mention a jelly roll of batiks that are pre-cut to 10.5" and pinned together?  WHAT IS SHE THINKING?

My head has been bouncing like a rubber ball since all this came to live with me.  I had already cut the circles that you see above out of the balance of the challenge fabric (that was instead of finishing the challenge quilt which I decided needed 8 more blocks).  

But, I kept being distracted by the batiks.  I mean really distracted!  I have never had a jelly roll of batiks and these colors are incredible.  This is the perfect chance to try Wanda's (Exuberant Color) tutorial on separating lights, darks, mediums.    Wanda is a master (mistress?) on value and you will love reading her blog and learning from her if you're not already a follower.

This is my design wall after bouncing around.  A few circles from the challenge fabrics led me to think about my shirts and what a circle quilt from the plaids/stripes might look like so I made a block.  I had the templates out anyway, right?  The workmanship is not the best but I think I like it and believe I could get king sized quilt out of just sleeves -- never mind the backs and fronts.

I also made two practice string blocks from the 1" goodies -- I think this will make a great donation quilt for a child.  And these are very different fabrics from my normal stash. How can you work on these and not smile?  They are cut at 5.5" to finish at 5".  Aren't they the cutest?

And, because I had to go a funeral three hours away in the beautiful Appalachians, I decided to take a break on the way home and see if I could find a companion fabric (besides black or another solid) for my pink FQs that was my birthday gift from my-niece-the-quilter.  I love this -- it works with the light salmon on one end of the spectrum and the deep pink on the other.  

What a week!  I love the fabrics but I honestly don't understand gifting such a treasure trove.  This young woman buys good stuff -- and I've been telling her since before she was born that I was her favorite aunt.  I think she believes me, don't you?  And -- to add more joy and anticipation to the future quilting here at iquiltforfun -- my-niece-the-athlete has decided she wants a large queen out of batiks.  I can't wait to go shopping with her to see what she selects or what jelly rolls she decides on.  She's doing lots of research and will pick the fabric and pattern.  I get to the the cutting and sewing and quilting.  I love my girlies!

I hope you have had a wonderful week full of good quilting surprises and family that loves and appreciates you!  I certainly have.   

Jan

The Three F's

What a fun week....

We'll start with my big adventure on Saturday where I made my first ever pickled beets.  I don't care for beets in any form -- but mr iquiltforfun asked if I could pickle some beets my sister had given me.  Well, of course -- I've pickled lots of things before....but I have NEVER pickled anything that you can't "poke" with a fork while they're cooking for fear of them "bleeding out."  Seriously?  I have no idea if they are any good -- we'll open them this weekend.  Whether they are edible or not -- they are beautiful.  What a great color.

F:  And I'm thrilled to say that I was the lucky winner of these Robert Kaufman fabrics from Frances at One More Quilt.    Aren't they the wildest things?  They are from the RK Aquatica line and I love them.  Thank you, Frances.

I love the colors in this one.  How fun is this!

This is a great blender for all kinds of brights -- doesn't it just sparkle?

And, this is my favorite!  The details are incredible and I am going to be searching for this on Quiltshops.com as soon as I post this!  I think this would make a wild and wonderful One Block Wonder, don't you?  It is a half yard cut and I can see the repeat is every half yard so I know I need at least three yards and four would be better in my mind.

If you are in the market for taking a chance on more free fabric, check out Frances' blog for a chance to win more fabric on July 15th.

F:  I'm also happy to say I finished a quilt this week.  It's been in the works for a few months (off and on) and I'm glad to have it off the design wall and floor.  Unfortunately, I can't show any pix just yet as it's a gift.  But it's very different from anything I've ever done before and I really really like it.  Stay tuned.

F:  Last, but certainly not least, is a special friend and her husband are coming for the weekend.  While quilting created the opportunity for us to be friends while we were in Chicago, I'm convinced it's not what keeps us friends.  In my mind, our friendship transcends our love of fabric and creating.  To be able to enjoy those is just icing on the cake.

I hope you're having Fun, playing with Fabric, and enjoying the satisfaction of a Finish!  Jan

Playing Favorites!

Oh, my -- what a wonderful week I've had with great surprises coming from a number of directions.  Don't you love those? I was fortunate enough to win a $35 gift certificate from Fat Quarter Shop when this quilt won Quilting Gallery's contest for quilts made with "Squares and Rectangles" two weeks ago.  I'm hoarding it because I can't decide!  Such a good problem to have.

Late in the week, my-niece-the-quilter brought me these yummy fat quarters for my birthday.  I had asked for a FQ of orange or pink fabrics (the weakest link in my stash) and she took it way over the top!  What to do....keep them together and find a quilt that uses all of them or break them up and put them in with all the solids?  For now, they are on a shelf as art and I'm loving them!  Yummy, don't you think?  Maybe I'll use my gift certificate to get a different bundle of Robert Kaufman solids and use them together.  What to do - what to do - what to do....

And to keep the surprises coming, my-niece-the-athlete gave me this beautiful counted cross stitch replica of a Frank Lloyd Wright window.  This is surprising in many ways.  First of all, the image could not be more special as we used to live in the village outside Chicago where FLW's studio was and the impact of his brilliance was everywhere.  I love the lines and colors and design.  What is more surprising is that she has never done counted cross stitch (and was apparently wrapping it as I walked in the door -- literally finishing it minutes before we showed up).  I do not have the patience for this and have sworn off counted cross stitch forever.  I hate to backstitch and this pattern requires perfect backstitching in order for the impact of the design to be effective. She nailed it.  The beauty of never doing something is that you don't know how hard it is!  Additionally the designer who was licensed by FLW organization lived three blocks from my house and I had met her at a quilt trunk show a few years ago.  So -- like the FQs, this is a surprise and special in many many ways!

When it comes to 'playing favorites', I have always let these two young women know (from the day they were born) that I am their 'favorite aunt' and insisted on being introduced that way to friends.  It was a joke but it was real, too.  I love them with all my heart and consider them my 'psuedo-daughters' and I know they love me back and have been there for the good times and those that were not so good.  I love hearing from them -- emails, texts, calls and especially face-to-face time.  We can talk about anything and they know it's private -- thank you, girlies.  Love you both a "bushel and a peck and a hug around the neck".

I did a bit of work on my dollies and managed to get 76 done and assembled.  I am currently auditioning border fabric and hope to have this done by the end of May so I can donate it locally as a fundraiser or whatever they want to do with it.

You may have seen my first post on these little jewels. If not, you can read about them here.  These absolutely touched my heart and I knew I needed to make them.  They go together perfectly.
I feel really blessed this week - a week full of goodness and surprises and some quilting.

I hope you have family members that you love and who love you back and that you're having some good surprises too!  Jan