Community of support

I have been pondering this post for a while now. I completely understand if this is a topic that does not interest you. Otherwise, thank you for taking the time to read.
Robin Williams recent death has affected me in ways I would never have anticipated. Typically, while I love the gossips mags as much as the next girl, celebrity deaths are simply a sad passing. But Mr. Williams death has stayed with me this week as I work, on my drive home, when I read to my kids in bed, and as I sit at my sewing table with the quiet hum of my sewing machine. Perhaps it is because, as a child of the 80s, Robin Williams was seemingly everywhere.  I grew up watching reruns of Mork & Mindy. I fell in love with mystery and adventure while watching Hook.  Jack and Patch Adams impressed upon my young soul the value of laughter and unfailing generosity and compassion. 
The movie What Dreams May Come first hit theaters as I entered my senior year of high school.  In the previous 6 months, I had my first experiences with death as a schoolmate died tragically in a car accident and a close friend's mother committed suicide. This movie would forever color my perspectives on death, heaven and hell, providing striking visuals to accompany my traditional Catholic upbringing. If you have not yet seen the movie, it touches upon some of the darkest themes and personal struggles many individuals and families face with the warmth that only Robin Williams and Cuba Gooding, Jr. could provide to such grave subjects. 
Three years ago, a close friend and coworker of my husband's committed suicide and it was heart-wrenching. Much like Mr. Williams, he was the life of the party, everyone's best friend, and the funniest guy in the room, and he also suffered from depression that overwhelmed him. 
Why do I tell you all of this? 
Because these events remind me that as I struggle with my own mental health, that I have an outlet that helps me each time I come to it and I have this wonderful community to thank for it. Quilting has given me a place to be creative when my accounting brain and sensibility thought it couldn't be creative. The hum of the sewing machine is the peace that my heart longs for after the chaos of life with 3 kids under the age of 5 and a full-time day job. 

GenX 2014 BOM January

On any given day I can choose to work with bold, vibrant colors or perhaps something more subdued. I can choose to work on a pattern where my mind can rest and simply follow directions, or I can choose to follow my own direction and piece together as the fabric speaks to me.

Making a plan

So I want to say thank you to each of you for supporting me by reading, by visiting, by commenting here on my blog, but also providing me a community where my work is safe and valued and for the inspiration that each of you provide to me.

Good enough?

Are you a "good enough" quilter? Or a perfectionist in your piecing?   I am working on a mostly low volume top that will probably end up in some sort of floating nine-patch.

Happy pile waiting to be pinned

Because I am really pretty new to quilting, I read a lot of quilting world blogs and I adore them.  They are so inspiring with their gorgeous mix of colors and inventive design ideas.  I'm definitely not there yet so I'm just working on the basics of piecing, basting and quilting. But I am in love with the process and get a huge sense of satisfaction as the pieces build and it all starts to come together.  

Perfect Points (sorry about the terrible fuzzy picture!)

How do you get to be that good and quilt such beautiful art?  By putting a lot of hours into the craft!  So my question is: Do you recommend that beginners piece until experience breeds perfection? OR do you recommend that beginners focus on the details, unpick and rework mistakes, and the experience will come?  And how big a mistake warrants getting that handy tool out to pick those stitches?

Pucker in the navy blue too much?

Are those points close enough?

Linking up with Fabric Frenzy Friday at Fort Worth Fabrics, I Quilt Thursdays at Pretty Bobbins (see sidebar) and Let's Bee Social at Sew Fresh Quilts (see sidebar).

My Joy

One of the things every bride stresses over is her wedding day photographer.  I was so lucky to have found mine in 2008 when Sean and I were married.  Diane of Diane McKinney Photography has an artful eye and a love for families.  Although she has always been a wedding photographer, I nudged her into taking newborn shots of each of my kids as they were born and I am so thrilled she obliged.
In June, I asked Diane to spend some time with my family as I wanted some new photographs that weren't taken from a cell phone ;)  I wanted something fun, light, and playful.  The reality is that when you have three kids under the age of five "portraits" are hard to come by and really just not an accurate reflection of our life. Diane delivered more than I could have asked for as always and I wanted to share a few of my favorites. All pictures are copyright Diane McKinney Photography.

 

Double Bundles

A few weeks ago I mentioned that I had come into a streak of good luck and here are the rest of my winnings! These two bundles are from the new fabric line found at Target stores, Fabric Editions.

The first bundle is a gorgeous but still adventurous bundle of browns and greens. I can't decide if the bird print or the floral is my favorite, but I love the total combination of the bundle. I was thrilled to win these one-yard cuts from a contest on Instagram!

This second bundle is a much more lively and bright grouping that my 4-year old daughter just loves. I won this fantastic grouping, also from Fabric Editions for Target, from a Twitter contest. I was sure that I should run out and buy a lottery ticket the day I found out I won this second bundle.  
I usually decide on a pattern and then choose fabrics to go with them, so I am at a bit of a loss reversing my process. What patterns would you suggest? Would you add other fabrics or keep these bundles as they are? Perhaps you would make something other than a quilt.  I can't wait to see your suggestions!

The 2014 Directive: July

So I am totally behind the ball on this, but I am jumping in anyhow!  The 2014 Directive is sponsored by Kate and Trudy. The idea is to have a SMART goal each month of the year rather than getting bogged down by one big goal in January that you forget about by March (if you are lucky)! 

I've been working on the setup for this blog for a while now but I want July to be my semi-official launch.  My goals are to post 3-4 times a week, develop an editorial calendar in order to accomplish this, and follow through by utilizing link parties and commenting on others blogs as well.  I feel like July is going to be a great month for me and I am off to a great start.  I hope to show you more as the month progresses, but I have a great blog notebook setup and some ideas from my brainstorming session written down.
Do you prefer New Year's Resolutions or does this Directive ring true to you?  How do you plan your blog posts?  Any recommendations you can send my way would be greatly appreciated!  

QuiltCon 2015 Registration

Holy Cow!  I had no idea how stressful QuiltCon planning and registration would be.  There was so much anticipation on instagram with #quiltconplanning popping up all weekend up until the moment registration opened at 11AM this morning east coast time.  

Now this is my first QuiltCon, but it seems that I was lucky twice over this week.  First, I was selected as a QuiltCon super volunteer.  In exchange for 16 hours of volunteering during the conference, super volunteers receive free four-day pass to the quilt show, a goodie bag including two t-shirts, and a great group of other volunteers to chat with and get to know during the conference.  I am most excited about meeting/spending time with some of my quilty blogger friends.  I'm thrilled that I will be able to spend 4 hours at the registration table meeting quilty friends as they come into the conference center, 4 hours assisting in lecture halls (and hopefully listening in to great lectures!), and a whole day assisting in a workshop as well.  
Then this morning, I was lucky and was able to register for two workshops.  I am stoked to learn more about curved piecing with Sarah Nishiura in "Consider Curves" and learn about applique (which I have never tried!) with Carolyn Friedlander in "Aerial Grove".  I was drawn to the photo of this quilt in the workshop materials that I just couldn't pass it by.  These are two techniques that I am thrilled to take on and expand my piecing/quilting options. 
I'm hoping to go back and register for some lectures later but these were my top priority today.  Are you going to QuiltCon?  What workshops are you taking?  Are you going to the Moda Party?  Are there any lectures you recommend?

What Luck!

I've had a streak of luck recently in the quilting world and I am thrilled!  I recently entered a giveaway on Diary of a Quilter and won a $30 gift certificate to Bloomerie Fabrics.  I would normally drool over fabrics on a site like this for hours, but I decided I would try something new ;)

Hooray for winnings!

Please excuse the terrible photo as it was nighttime and I was just so excited to get my new toys!  I chose a package of small Clover Wonder Clips, my first spool of Aurifil in Dove Grey, and the Night Sky pattern by JayBird Quilts.  I broke open the wonder clips right away and used them when binding my Penny Patch quilt for my mom.  They were amazing!  Because I only had the 10, I used them in conjunction with pins, but I will be purchasing more of these little guys.  The were so simple to use and held the binding without distorting the fabric, which has been my experience with pins in the past.  They were especially helpful for getting the crisp mitered corners.  I definitely recommend these clips.  Have you used these clips before?  Do you have experience with the other sizes of Clover Wonder Clips?  What size would you recommend?

I haven't used the other two items yet, but I will let you know how it goes when I do!