Tuesday, March 5, 2013

Budget or No Budget


                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  

This post is a question for all you fabric lovers. I am quite sure that for the group of quilters, sewers, etc whom profit from your quilting/sewing have a budget. However, for those who sew and quilt for the fun and love of it(not that profiteers don't enjoy it) do you have a budget for buy fabric and other supplies. I always want to by new fabrics but never seem to have the money at the time. But when the money is available, there are newer fabric that I want on top of the old fabric.  At that point, I am just overwhelmed.  So I want to know how those of you like me that maybe a one income family with kids, shop for fabric.  I have wanted to do a monthly stash building club but that isn't practical right now, nor is buying by project.  



Tell me what you do.

Friday, March 1, 2013

QUILTCON

     After all the post out there about QuiltCon, what else is there to say right? Especially from someone who didn't attend. Well, Wednesday was my birthday and the hubby stayed home and schooled the kids while I went to do whatever I wanted.
 I went to QuiltCon
by way of Craftsy.com. 
 Let me explain.  
While sitting inside Panera Bread and blog surfing, I stopped by My Go-Go Life and there it was, posted that Craftsy was offering the lectures from QuiltCon for free. 
WHAT!!!!  
I could not believe it. Nor did I expected the experience that I acquired from my Kindle. While I was excited 
about the ability to see these lectures, I think my intent was really just to skim through them and just get a quick peak at a few of them. 

Let me tell you, not only did I learn a lot. I was completely inspired and a creativity was unlocked that I have been trying to conjure up for a few months now.

When I was growing up I was not exposed to art nor was there a hint of a creative side to me. Not that I can remember any ways. Arts and crafts was not something that happened in my home. I'm sure it was a part of elementary school and I remember tie die at summer camp. However, that is as far as it went. It is not until the past 2years that I have begun to think creatively and have a passion for art of just about all kinds. So finding my own style and inspiration has been a little difficult. I love modern quilting but had not been able to enter that area of creativity that was not the mimicking of someone else work. But on Wednesday, after listening to Jacquie Gering on Honoring Tradition, something clicked.  She said that a lot of her work is largely the result of some type of influence from her two boys.  Suddenly I thought about my 2 boys. I am reading The Wizard of Oz at bedtime, and at that moment I saw a quilt of the yellow brick road.

 I did say that I did not draw when I was a kid. I have a lot of practice to do.  The vision in my head is much better than this drawing.  

I invision patterned yellow fabric along with some solids


Still searching for the right fabrics but these stood out to me the most so far. Who knows, it could become the green or blue brick road. Next came pattern.
For a while now I have been trying to sketch quilting designs and could not get it to look like anything. But Wednesday, things began to come together. 

My husband even looked at it and said, "your getting better, huh". Believe me when I say, that that is a lot coming from him.

OH My Gosh!
Some where on someone's post about the lecture's, they said that Mary  Fons was the most animated. She was awesome. She really spoke to me as a beginner and made me feel special for being a beginner.  Please look at the lectures if you were not able to attend.  The panel on fabric design was also very insightful.

I thought that my machine was broken therefore have not been sewing. I was finally able to get it to the shop on Wednesday and the only issue was that my bobbin was not aligned correctly. The lady at the shop seemed frustrated that I was back with yet another waste of her time.  Mary Fons responded to this type of attitude towards beginners and I really felt understood.

Well, I plain to get somethings accomplished this weekend and hopefully will have something to show.