Do you journal? I always have the best intentions but that does not get me very far. I have grand dreams of leaving elloquent books filled with wisdom and insight on life. There would be pages full of funny stories, copies of family recipes and historic happenings of the day.
WAKE UP! My abridged version of this is the Happiness Project journal. It is a small 5 year journal with about 3 lines per day. Just enough to jot a sentence or two of gratitude, major family events, a quote that caught my eye or a few words of happiness.
I am on to my second 5 year journal and will be finishing it up in the year 2020. Between these journals and my hot mess of pictures stored on google my family can enjoy a zany look into my mind!
I wanted to share some of the tips from Gretchen Rubin as great reflection and daily inspiration. Enjoy!!
Twelve Personal Commandments
Be Gretchen.
Let it go.
Act the way I want to feel.
Do it now.
Be polite and be fair.
Enjoy the process.
Spend out.
Identify the problem.
Lighten up.
Do what ought to be done.
No calculation.
There is only love.
A Happiness Manifesto
To be happy, you need to consider feeling good, feeling bad, and feeling right, in an atmosphere of growth.
One of the best ways to make yourself happy is to make other people happy; One of the best ways to make other people happy is to be happy yourself.
The days are long, but the years are short.
You’re not happy unless you think you’re happy.
Your body matters.
Happiness is other people.
Think about yourself so you can forget yourself.
“It is easy to be heavy: hard to be light.”—G. K. Chesterton
What’s fun for other people may not be fun for you, and vice versa.
Best is good, better is best.
Outer order contributes to inner calm.
Happiness comes not from having more, not from having less, but from wanting what you have.
You can choose what you do, but you can’t choose what you like to do.
“There is no duty we so much underrate as the duty of being happy.” —Robert Louis Stevenson
You manage what you measure.
I would love to hear what is some of your favorite books.
Friday was a 12 hour whirlwind of a day at Quilt Festival. Several of the Moda team hopped on the first flight out of Dallas for the 50 minute flight to Houston. While we had all been in Houston for Market the week before, it was time to go and see all the festival shops.
Our first stop was to rush to Lisa Bongean at Primitive Gatherings. I had to get some of her new rulers that are designed to cut stems.
Have you seen Lisa’s rugs made using mini charm packs? Perfect Christmas presents!
I snapped a quick pic of Erin Smith and Tammy Vonderschmitt. They had smiles on their faces with no sign of exhaustion even though this was the 9th day or 11 days straight living in hotel rooms and working in convention center settings. (Amy Matheny not pictured)
These gals were manning the Moda booth. They demoed cake mix papers and showcased all the many things that can be done with Vanessa Christenson’s ombre line of fabrics.
Vanessa Christenson and her sweet daughter, Katie were in attendance. Look at the cute skirt Vanessa is wearing that is made from her pink ombre fabric. Vanessa has an entire Pinterest board devoted to inspiration and patterns for her Ombre fabrics. Click here to follow the pinterest board.
Another stop was to visit Karen at Home A la Mode. She is the queen of demo’s and I always have to stop by to see what she is working on.
27 aisles of quilt goodness and almost 4 miles of steps, then rush to the airport in time to find our plane delayed. A little bit more time spent with good friends and then home. Can’t wait until next year to do it all over again.
Winner of the Red and White quilt book giveaway is:
October 28, 2018 at 12:58 pm
Mary Durham says:
My favorite quilt show has been the Outdoors show in Sisters, Oregon. There were so many beautiful quilts, but it was also such a fun atmosphere. Someday I hope to go to the shows in Paducah and Houston.
Please send me an email or DM with your shipping information.
Enjoy!,
Thank you so much to everyone that stopped by on the Splendid Sampler Block hop.
I just returned from Market and seeing the finished Splendid Sampler quilts, I am inspired to put some of my blocks together and work towards finishing my quilt. As of now it sits in the pile of UFO projects!!
WINNERS LISTED BELOW
Have all been contacted and look forward to getting your prizes to you.
A couple of years ago I would have said a 12 inch block is my favorite size. And then I joined the Splendid Sampler 1 last year and even though it was challenging some of the time, I grew to love the 6 inch blocks. I learned how to bring my sewing super-speedy-ness down and my quilting techniques up. This is a good thing for a lead foot like me. Thank you Lissa, Pat, Jane, and all the designers each for all you do for the Splendid Sampler fans. We appreciate you.
Karen Seitz says:
I’ve never really thought about this until now, but I think pattern aside, I would say 8″ finished. 6″ is more practical (will divide and multiply more different ways), but A little bit larger block makes it easier for my intermediate skills to be successful.
Leslie Fitzgerald says:
I love 8″ blocks. They are easily managed and I don’t need Jack the Ripper companionship very often for them. 6″ blocks…Jack and I are really good friends sharing the work on these SS2 blocks. 😉
On Friday I am headed back down to Quilt Festival for the day. The show floor completely transforms from wholesale companies to retail stores. I have my shopping list ready and want to take pics of more of the quilts on exhibit including the Red and White exhibit. Read more about this here. Giveaway for this book announced on the 10th! Some of the other exhibits that I need to visit are Antique Quilts of the British Isles by Chrisopher Wilson Tate.
This is just one of the quilts on exhibit, It is also the quilt that inspired his newest fabric collection, Regency Sussex which will be in stores April 2019.
Welcome to the last stop on the Splendid Sampler 2 block hop.
I have a story about my quilt block, but first I wanted to tell you about a few behind the scenes details. (excuse my analogies, but it fits)
While I did not birth this Splendid Sampler baby, I was indeed there at conception. A few years ago, I sat with the uber-talented Pat Sloan and Jane Davidson as they talked through this little idea they had. I immediately asked how Moda Fabrics can be involved. We continued to talk through the process from beginning to end, organizing the fabrics, creating Facebook pages, building a website, featuring patterns and inviting creatives to be a part of the journey. We all hit the ground running. Over the next fun months the baby grew and grew, we had our version of morning sickness as we orchestrated picking two color palettes, dividing the fabrics into sets, shipping them across the world. Whew! Pat and Jane were contacting designers that could tell a story and teach a different technique all in a 6″ block. The baby was birthed, and it grew, bigger than anyone would have expected. It became so much and eventually turned into a book.
Pretty Awesome!
They survived the stretch marks, morning sickness, and delivery.
Well, Jane and Pat decided that they could do this again!!
June 13, 2017, I received the second invite to be a part of another birth…….
Below are swatches of the color palette for Splendid Sampler 2.
Fabrics were cut, folded and mailed.
My block’s name is Big Sun.
I made this block during the Hurricane Harvey.
We were asked to tell our story about Best Quilting Life as we were making our blocks and this is why I named this block,
Big Sun even though it is a little 6″ block.
I couldn’t help but think about how so many people were affected by this storm,
that I wish a Big Sun would come and dry up all the water.
I have been so fortunate to start quilting at a very young age, to have met many people through the process
and eventually found a job in the industry doing what I love.
What is your favorite color? Mine is red so when I was asked to participate in a collaborative project from Martingale Publishing, I jumped at the chance.
In 2011, I was able to attend the Infinite Variety: Three Centuries of Red and White Quilts exhibit in New York City. If you are a quilter, you would understand when I say this was a religious experience. 650 red and white quilts from the collection of Joanna S. Rose were exhibited in Park Avenue’s 55,000 sq. ft. Armory’s Wade Thompson Drill Hall. Mrs. Rose celebrated her 80th birthday by creating this exhibit and sharing it with all of us.
Walking up the steps to the Armory everyone was a-buzz with excitement, but as soon as the doors opened, there was silence. Everyone’s breath was taken away with the greatness of the exhibit and the venue. Quilter’s from all over the world attended the exhibit along with historians, educators, children, and artists. To read more about this exhibit, visit Park Avenue Armory.
Sweet Dreams by ME!! with massive quilting by Teresa Silva
I left there hoping to make 1 red and white quilt a year. I have made 3 since 2011 so that was another reason I wanted to participate in this book. Now I have 4 red and white quilts along with patterns for several more.
Does it make you want to make a red and white quilt?
Or Maybe even just drool over the pages?
Well, guess what, I have some advance copies of Red & White Quilts, 14 Quilts with Timeless Appeal from Today’s Top Designers, and I want to give away a few.
Leave a comment telling me your favorite quilt show you have ever been to. If you haven’t been to a show, let me know which one you want to go to.
DISCLAMIER: I will be attending Quilt Market and Festival so I won’t be able to do the drawing and announce the winner until Saturday, November 10th.
Next week there will be an additional chance to win, follow my Instagram page, https://www.instagram.com/modalissa/for details.
Books will be available in stores mid November, but if you are attending Quilt Festival, Primitive Gatherings will have some for sale.
The fun of making scrap quilts is that I sew bits and pieces together and let the plan develop as I go. I always ask my quilting friends, “Do you cut out the entire quilt before you get started, or do you cut some pieces and test your color choices before you cut the entire quilt?”
I think I have always done the latter and maybe that is because of my love of scraps quilts.
And because of this I often have some leftovers in quilting, not in cooking. I added more squares and had enough pieces from my Izzy Squared quilt (large version) to make a baby quilt.
Thought this would be a good time to talk value which is basically one word for light, medium or dark. If you haven’t read Oh Scrap yet, the book is full of color coordinated quilts that push the envelope a little bit in the study of value and fabric placement.
Don’t get me wrong, I love everything about all of these blocks, they are scraps so by definition anything is acceptable. So i am going to share some value tips from some of the blocks. The best way to study color is to look at things in black and white. Crazy, right?
In the above picture, look at the grayscale block. What do you see? Look how strong the royal blue block stands out. It is definitely considered a dark. The fabric has very little design in it so also reads as a solid. The other fabric in this example is the red corner square in the bottom right corner. Dark and reads as a solid so it is a strong selection.
When I mentioned leftovers sometimes start my quilts, sometimes they help me finish. I was about out of reds for the centers and came across this tiny 4 patch that I trimmed to just the right size for my center square. I love the quirky little block.
These two pictures are not side by side so you may have to scroll back and forth to see the differences. I have shown the grayscale version above. Look at the bottom middle block, notice how the square in the left hand corner disappears?
Here is the color version of the sweet little aqua fabric that is just perfect for this block. It also reads as a solid but would be considered a light. When studying value, you also have to take into consideration the background fabric. This little aqua square is close in value but different enough in color to work.
Shown here is a larger section of the quilt showing the difference in the values of lights and darks makes you eye explore all the colors. I love the block that is just the 5 red squares.
When asked if I have a favorite version of these blocks, it is like asking if I have a favorite child. I love them all for different reasons! I am always surprised how each block turns out!! Love, love, love.
Then once your quilt top is complete, the quilting is always the icing on top. Maggi Honeyman quilted this quilt for me with an all over design. When studying color, pattern and values keep in mind that quilting does add another layer of art by defining or minimizing some of your fabric choices.
I used one of Bonnie and Camille’s 108″ wide quilt backs from Moda. (leftovers from another quilt back). The backing is so soft and almost silky feeling which will be yummy once it is washed and wrapped around a little one.
Shown below is the larger version of this color way of Izzy Squared quilt. To read more about it, go here.
Ask for Oh Scrap book at your favorite quilt or specialty store for patterns and more color tips.
There is no better description for this book, other than the info posted on the Martingale website as shown below.
Get your patchwork presents all wrapped and ready! The Moda All-Stars are back with 15+ handmade gifts to give or keep. Choose from stockings, pincushions, and coasters to make in speedy multiples. Lap quilts, table runners, and other deck-the-halls designs abound too!
Complete most projects in a weekend or quicker—no need to fear the Christmas time crunch. And just for fun, you’ll learn all about the favorite holiday traditions of the All-Stars in a series of Q & As.
Twinkle Twinkle Star Wallhanging by Me and My Sister Designs.
Just a few of the festive projects by my friends- the Moda All-Stars. There are many other projects in the book, but I will leave some of those a surprise when you pick up the book.
One other story I wanted to share is about when I was a young mom, instead of an old mom, and the holidays were approaching which began the season of gift giving. I made many of my gifts, and I am sure my family still treasures those cute quilted pot holders I made for them some thirty-odd years ago. I was so proud of these gifts but when it came time for providing gifts for the kids that was a struggle.
A friend of mine, you know who you are, Kay Mayor, and I would load up the car at night and go put out boxes for Toys for Tots at designated collection locations throughout the Dallas/Ft. Worth area. We would do this night after night driving into areas we had never even heard of, and this was before google maps. The money we earned doing this helped us pay for our kids’ gifts. Anything that it took to make it all happen including setting up a trampoline in the middle of the night on Christmas Eve created great stories and memories. We could not have done this without the opportunity to help with this charity. So coming full circle, I could not be more proud that the Moda designers and the Martingale team choose the Marine Toys for Tots to donate the royalties of this book.
I hope each of you finds something beautiful to make for someone special in your life. This book is in stores now!!
I am doing a giveaway of a hot off the press Merry Maker book. Leave a comment telling me about one of the presents/ stories about a gift for your kids. I will draw at random, Saturday the 15th.
Enjoy,
modalissa
Giveaway closed! so many great stories
the winner is:
Telera McCullough
I want to tell you about a family Christmas when I was growing up. We agreed to all make gifts for one another. I was about 12 and my sisters were about 8 and 4. The most amazing surprise was coming in the door after celebrating with grandparents and finding THREE dollhouses that my father built for us. Each was 3 stories high, opened on both ends and the top and had wrap around porches. I still use some of the small sachets my 4 year old sister made that year. We are all still makers 40 years later.
Today is the beginning of a beautiful quilting journey. If you did not finish your Splendid Sampler quilt, it is not too late to jump in on the second round. The blocks will be 6″ so any combination of Splendid Sampler blocks will work nicely together.
I am sharing my version of block 1 designed by Alex Veronelli! No better person to start us on our Splendid journey than the king of Aurifil thread.
I must admit I did not finish round 1, so I am combining blocks from both series. I am so inspired by the book
and all the creative settings online that
I have gotten my second wind and will be sewing along.
I hope you will also.
A big shout out to all the designers in the quilting community that have contributed their talent and creativity to share their blocks and their stories.
Book 1 shown above, available now. Book 2 already in the works and will be available later this fall.
My version is going to be scrappy since this will be an ongoing project. I would love to hear what your fabric choices are?
I had to show one more pic of my block mainly so I could show my favorite little tape measure. I am obsessed with plastic animal tape measures.
My grandkids can play with them and not break them!
Enough about me, join the FB group to follow along and get your patterns.
If you are not on FB, then follow the Splendid Sampler blog for all the details and patterns.
If you know of Pat Sloan, stand up and clap your hands.
Now that we all have gotten a bit of cardio in, I wanted to let you know I am honored to be a guest on American Patchwork and Quilting’s podcast, hosted by Pat Sloan.
Tune in Monday, April 16th 3-4 central time. I am segment 4 in the show. I could say she saved the best for last but I don’t know who the other 3 people are so she probably just picked me for last becasue she knows I get nervous!
So tune in.
It should be a lot of fun.
You can listen on the computer, subscribe by itunes (search American Patchwork & Quilting), or download to a player.
Another little goody is that if you go to Pat’s Radio Show page on Monday, she has always has a find of something she likes, recommends or features! I can’t wait to see what it is on Monday.
