The Red, White and Blues

     My latest Jaftex packet arrived last week.  I am always super excited to see what treasures will tumble out of that FedEx packet.  The anticipation and then the reveal is a huge part of the fun.  It might seem weird, but that challenge really is fun for me.  I enjoy working with fabrics I may or may not have selected on my own.  The problem solving aspect of the job will normally jumpstart my creativity.  The idea of the challenge is to not simply "make something", but to make something WOW!

    When the FedEx guy delivered the package last Monday, I dropped what I was doing and opened it immediately.  I was already anticipating the possibilities.  I was surprised when the packet contained "My Happy Place" by Sharla Fults for Studio e.  

    Either I seem like an extremely patriotic person to the Jaftex sample department or simply by the luck of a random assignment I have now been sent three red, white and blue fabric lines to work with.  Between those bundles were two black/white fabric lines.  I know the design department at Jaftex has the biggest box of crayons. I'm also sure that they have access to far more color than red, white, blue and black.

    To be honest, the Scarlet Stitches line that I received in July was really a red/white line with a touch of grey.  I added the light denim blue fabric to the group.  I chose that because over the 4th of July I had discovered that I didn't actually own any red/white/blue quilts to display.  I have made plenty of them.  When they had served the purpose of promoting a book, pattern or fabric line, those patriotic projects were donated to Quilts of Valor.  I decided to keep Scarlet Stitches for my own.

    Shortly after completing the Scarlet Stitches project, another red/white/blue line arrived via the FedEx pack from Jaftex.  I dug into my pattern stash and recreated a QOV project from 2004.  That finished quilt was returned to Jaftex so that they could use it for promotion and then donate it to QOV.  I had the Scarlet Stitches quilt in my collection.  How many does one person need?

    Then last week I opened the packet and I sat staring at another patriotic line.  Actually, My Happy Place is a summer fabric line.  In addition to the stars, stripes and flag prints the group includes watermelon slices on a checkered cloth and a cute strawberry print.  The coordinating panel print includes 10" squares, perfect for pillows, that feature bicycles and travel trailers.  I chose to use the bikes, because I'm not excited by travel trailers or motor homes.  There are also 8 smaller images that would be perfect to feature on Four Square Placemats.

     I just couldn't find the "wow" in another red/white/blue fabric line, so I decided to go back to basics.  Having to use all of the prints in the line in one project makes it tough.  Especially when the scale of the prints is pretty similar and even the coordinates are high contrast.  This is the type of line that screams to be partnered with tone-on-tone blenders so that the prints really shine.  Unfortunately Jaftex didn't send any blenders and I have a limited selection of their favorites in my stash.  Luckily one is red and the other is blue.

    Back to basics it is!  The table topper was made with my original set of Scrap Crazy Templates.  I used the white on white print for the "A" template and mixed the other prints for B, C and D.  Those white slashes remind me of fireworks and they give some order to the overall design.  The strawberry print became Easy Mitered Placemats that can be used all summer long.  I partnered the bicycle squares with my favorite basic navy "Just Color" for the borders and backing of the throw pillows.  Not exactly the high point of my creativity, but the projects are done and they look good.  

    While cleaning up the scraps, I began trimming them into 1.5" by 4.5" strips and started sewing them together with the scraps of the previous groups.  I tossed in some more solid navy prints to break up the busy prints.  I'm not sure how large this is going to get, but it will definitely be one firecracker of a quilt when it is done!

A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To Lunch

 

     For the last two weeks I have been playing the "Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon" game with new quilting friends.  I truly needed to connect with new quilting friends.  Having made the move south a few years ago I left my in-person quilting buddies up north.  

    I now live on an island.  If you are picturing a lump of sand with a few palm trees and no land in site, it is not that kind of island.  We have plenty of sand, but we are also connected to the mainland by a bridge.  Our island is just your normal coastal small town, it just happens to be surrounded by water.  

      What makes it feel more like an island to me is that the quilt shop that was within walking distance of my house CLOSED about a month after we moved in.  Now I have to cross that bridge to the mainland, drive the 12 miles to the interstate and then head 30 minutes north or south to find an actual brick and mortar quilt shop.  For nearly 30 years prior to making this move The Quilt Company was the center of my social life.  It is where I worked, but it is also where we talked quilting, celebrated the quilts that other people made and watched quilters make social connections.  It was where friends gathered.  Then we moved.  Then this thing called a "pandemic" happened.  THAT really threw a wrench into forming new friendships.

    Don't get me wrong, we socialize with a few neighbors, I have friends from yoga class, they just aren't quilters.  People that aren't into quilting just don't get what I do.  When the opportunity to have lunch with another quilter arose, I was excited about it!  I have known Karen Taylor, owner of A Scarlet Thread in Georgia for over a decade.  When I told her where we were moving to, she suggested I get in touch with Kay, a woman that had worked for her and had moved here too.  It took some time, but Kay and I finally connected and decided to have lunch.  

    Meanwhile I sent birthday wishes to another quilt designer friend in Minnesota.  She replied letting me know that her quilting friend was moving to this island too.  We should get together.  Sounds like a plan right?  Not as easy as you think in the days of annoying "We are contacting you about your extended car warranty" phone calls.  How often do you answer a call from an unknown number in a strange area code?  After several voicemails and texts we finally managed to get together for lunch yesterday.

    Keep in mind that none of us had ever met.  Kay arrived first and recognized me from my Nine Patch A Day Group video's.  The hostess offered to seat us and we let her know that Connie would be joining us, but we had never met her.  She assured us that she would send her right over when she arrived.  After sitting down and chatting for just a minute a woman, looking a bit lost approached out table.  I said "Connie?". She replied "Yes".  We asked her to have a seat.  She looked very confused and said "But I don't know you".  "Aren't you meeting new friends?" we replied.  Still looking confused she said "No, I'm meeting....." At which point we explained that we were waiting for a Connie we had never met.  What are the odds?  The two ladies at the table next to ours couldn't miss hearing what happened and had a good laugh.  A few minutes later when the real Connie arrived she was told that the two of us were waiting and she was confronted with two tables of two women, both equally excited that she had arrived.  

    Having finally met, it certainly didn't take six degrees to make connections.  We talked, and talked, and talked.  More than once we thought that we should probably get going, but another comment would be made and we settled back in.  The restaurant wasn't busy so I was less concerned about monopolizing a table for an... let's call it an extended period of time.  Hours later we finally decided we needed to go... or order dinner!  

  It felt so good to be out, socializing with other quilters in person and not just via Facebook or Zoom.  If you have quilting buddies, friends or cohorts, I encourage your to celebrate them!  Don't take those relationships lightly.  Don't take access to your local brick and mortar quilt shop lightly either.  You never know when they won't be around for you to enjoy.