What I’m Working on Wednesday: Writing, Writing, Writing!

July 16, 2014July 15, 201410 Comments

I’m working from the beach this week, which I think is the perfect setting for productivity!

Each year we travel with Jason’s family to Hermosa Beach, California for a week of fun in the sun. It was in the summer of 2012 that I discovered modern quilting and read my first modern quilting book on the beach! (See my 2013 beach pick here.)

My 2014 Beach Reading Pick – Savor Each Stitch by Carolyn Friedlander

Last year at this time I was brainstorming ideas of what I wanted to write about myself, and this year I’m finally working on my own manuscript (which will hopefully be ready by next summer)! I’ve realized that even though summer is a busy time with family and vacations – it’s the perfect time of year for some intense pattern writing and editing due to our relaxed schedules and long summer days. (And the scenic views help a lot, too!)

Getting in our daily run – Jason finds new trails for us to try wherever we are!

I’m also planning some upcoming work for a magazine series which I’m not quite ready to reveal yet, but will make an announcement about soon (once contracts are in order).

Never one to miss a moment to sew, I’ve brought along my Singer Featherweight and have set up a makeshift sewing station in our room. With 10 people in one beach house, space is at premium, but who says you need a large quilting studio to be productive?

A small machine and portable table can fit in nearly any empty corner!

Summer is definitely my favorite time of year for a working vacation!

Postcard from Pagosa Springs…Wish You Were Here!

July 2, 2014July 1, 201416 Comments

This week, the whole family is in scenic Pagosa Springs, Colorado for a family reunion. Jason’s step-dad grew up here so we’ve been able to check out his youthful stomping grounds as well as enjoy some fun R&R.

The first day out, we went tubing down the San Juan river which was such a blast! The water was pretty cold, but the journey ended near some hot springs, so we were able to get out of our tubes and warm up in some relaxing (though sulfurous) hot water. 🙂

The next day, we cruised around town, checking out the sites and sampling the local cuisine. We discovered a fun little local museum that just happened to have some fabulous antique quilts on display! I fell in love with this antique sewing machine setup with some gorgeous pineapple blocks folded up. If it hadn’t been blocked off, I think I would have wanted to go over there and touch it!

Wild Goose Chase Quilt, Circa 1840-1850.

I also discovered that I have a fondness for bold geometric quilts, whether they are brand new, or over 100 years old. 🙂

Speaking of quilting, I’ve even managed to sneak in a little sewing in the mornings and evenings, in between activities. We are staying in a nice homey timeshare rental (courtesy of the in-laws), with plenty of space for a makeshift studio. Since I’m sewing on a deadline, it’s nice that I can can still be productive during downtime.

20140630_colorado_4_sewing

My studio on the go – quilters gotta quilt!

There are lots of fun things scheduled for the rest of the week: swimming, parades, fireworks, and even a rodeo – the 65th anniversary of the Red Ryder Roundup Rodeo! I’m looking forward to it!

Original Red Ryder comic strip on display at the local museum. Very cool.

What fun things have you got planned this summer?

The Early Days… My First Quilt!

June 30, 2014June 26, 201432 Comments

Today I have to blame Kristy Daum from St. Louis Folk Victorian for inspiring me to write this. She wrote a post awhile back showing her first quilt from back in 1994. Well, here’s mine in all it’s flannel and polyester glory:

My First Quilt

My First Quilt – It was love at first stitch!

I also started quilting in ’94 and finished my first full-size quilt in ’95 at the ripe young age of 22 (feel free to do the math now). I was so glad to be sewing that I didn’t even care how the end result turned out – it was just a thrill to create. I remember making each 9 patch block, one at a time and I felt so proud of myself each time a new one came off the machine.

Trends cycle every 20 years right? Deer fabrics have been hot again this year, LOL!!

I used a bunch of flannels I got for cheap at the discount store and knew nothing about seam allowances. I wanted 4″ squares so I cut a bunch of 4″ squares, not realizing they’d shrink up after sewing, LOL!

tied blocks

I was able to “hide” the seam intersections by tying at the corners. I don’t know what possessed me to think that sports fabric & flowers went together??

I hadn’t tried machine quilting yet so I just tied it together with yarn using a flannel sheet for the backing. From the get-go I was determined to finish my quilts myself! I had no clue how to bind so I just folded over the back to the front and sewed it down with WHITE thread and felt a grand sense of accomplishment.

I put the label on the back at the TOP of the quilt, even! My title was very original, too – “Jason’s Quilt.” It’s worn and faded over time, but every stitch was made with love.

I gave this first (ghastly) quilt to my husband, and he’s been a great supporter of my hobby ever since. We still use the quilt to this day and it’s held up pretty well. 🙂

When did you make your first quilt? I’d love to hear all about it!

Quilt Stats:

Size: 62″ x 82″
Block Design: 10 1/2″ nine-patches set 6 x 8
Materials: cotton flannel, polyester flannel, polyester batting, flannel sheet for the back
Finishing touches: tied with yarn, machine binding

My Son, The Aspiring Anime Artist

June 9, 2014June 7, 201432 Comments

We love to encourage creativity around here. So it makes me happy when I see my kids exploring their artistic sides. My 14 year old son has really taken to the Japanese style of cartoon drawing, usually called Manga or Anime.

It’s fun to see him sketch and watch the pictures develop as he draws. He sketches with pencil, draws the outline in ink, then colors and shades with professional markers.

It started off with his fascination with Yugioh, an animated Japanese cartoon and card game. He would make up his own cards and draw detailed diagrams of the game playing equipment.

Several months ago, he got a drawing book from the craft store and he’s been going to town with his drawings ever since, enjoying the coloring and shading just as much as sketching the outlines of the characters. He’s studied proportions in detail and isn’t afraid to draw a line and erase, over and over again, until he gets it just right.

Ryan’s Drawing of a Character from Legend of Zelda

Being the supportive mom that I am, I wanted to incorporate some of his favorite things into a quilt I’m making for him. I’ve recently finished a quilt top that matches the colors in his bedroom. The double chevron design is purely for my own aesthetic pleasure.

I then let him pick out the backing, which I’m sure will get displayed more than the front! The sheet we are using isn’t quite wide enough so I will add some extra fabric to the sides.

As I have been working on his quilt, he has been improving his drawing skills and learning all about the best tools and supplies to use for the job (wonder where he gets that from?)

He has a healthy collection of Copic markers, which are not cheap! I’ve been very proud of him though – he works for us, and uses the money he earns to buy his own supplies.

Each hobby has its own set of tools and supplies!

In this drawing, I love how he added a swatch chart, so he knows which colors he’s using when adding ink to his drawings.

I really like this one, too. It’s a character from another show he watches (in Japanese with English subtitles), called Naruto. Just look at all that detail and expression! I really don’t mind that he enjoys TV and plays video games for inspiration (in moderation of course), especially when it leads to such creativity!

He’s very good at adding details and shading to make the characters really come alive. He’s also becoming fascinated with Japanese culture and even longs to go there on his church mission when he gets older (though of course you don’t really get to pick).

A current WIP – we all have them!

Although he’s never really said he wants to do this as a career when he gets older, he’s always had a knack for drawing detailed diagrams and schematics, and he’s really good with math. So who knows – maybe he has a future as an architect or an engineer some day. Whatever path he chooses, we know from experience that the joy is in the journey. 🙂

Christa’s Soap Box – We Can Do Hard Things

May 26, 2014May 25, 201428 Comments

We Can Do Hard Things

That is a family motto of ours. Jason and I did a really hard, yet fun thing this past Saturday night. We ran a half marathon, on a trail, in the dark. 🙂

Jason and Christa at the start of our race, before the sun went down.

The race started off at dusk and we were required to run with headlamps so we could see our way once the sun went down. I had been having a particularly rough day and wasn’t quite in the mood for such a stroll, but I was determined to see it through. After all, this race was a goal of ours, and if you know me, I like to set pretty high expectations for myself.

How the Online Community Saved My Run

I had shared the above picture on Instagram just before the start of the race. A couple of miles in I wasn’t feeling so hot, and was entertaining the thought of giving up right then and there. I took a walking break, checked my phone and had this nice outpouring of love and support from my IG followers, cheering me on. It was just the support I needed to keep going and to not quit!

View of Las Vegas at night, as seen from my run.

Then, about 4 miles away from the finish, I hit another wall. It was fairly dark at this time, but man, I got a beautiful view of the city lights off in the distance!

I usually like to listen to audio books or podcasts while I run to help distract me. I was listening the latest episode of Modern Sewciety (which had been broadcast earlier) when all of a sudden, Stephanie the host gives a little shout out to me during the show! I couldn’t believe it! Little did she know that was like an extra spring in my step at just the right time. 🙂

Date Night

Jason and I train together, but when we run races, we go at our own pace. He was able to finish his run, and then he came back for me and ran me in to the finish. He’s not a competitive person with running (like I am with quilting), but he ended up finishing in 2nd place!

Our medals from the race.

Another one of our family mottos is “Work Hard – Play Hard.” We have a lot of hard but good things coming up in the next year or so, mainly due to some intense goals I’ve set for myself.

The next time things get tough, or I feel like giving up on my dreams, I’ll just remember back to this night, and how I was able to make it through with the support of so many of you!

Christa’s Soap Box – Running to Clear My Head

April 28, 2014April 27, 201418 Comments

What do you do when things get hectic and it’s all you can do to keep up with the pace of life? I go for a run!

I’ve always enjoyed exercise as a way to clear my head and think about my daily tasks at hand. I do it first thing in the morning, before things get too busy, and it always gives me an extra boost of energy for the day.

Run, Christa, run!

Over the years I’ve dabbled in different types of running – short distances, long distances, road running and trail running. I’ve competed in the occasional triathlon and have even completed a couple of marathons (when I was in slightly better shape)! Lately though, I’ve really enjoyed getting out in nature and running with Jason out in the desert behind our house. We don’t worry too much about speed or distance, and it’s been very freeing just to run for the sake of running.

I compare running a lot to quilting. Some days I’m on and other days I’m not. At times, the task at hand may seem like it takes forever to complete. Sometimes I feel like one hurdle overcome is just a drop in the bucket compared to what I want to achieve. But when I step back and look at the larger picture to see how far I’ve come (with both quilting and running), I get a deep sense of satisfaction with a job well done. 🙂

The Las Vegas skyline off in the distance – what a view!

Sometimes I’ll listen to books or music while I run; other times I’ll tune into quilting podcasts, or have an impromptu business meeting with Jason while we run. Many of the ideas we have put into place have come about through nice long chats while we cover the terrain!

Many times while I run, I’ll come up with blog topics I want to explore. Ideas come to me when my head is clear, and it is very therapeutic to write down my thoughts into words and share them with so many of you. As I continue to grow my blog and expand my presence in the quilting community, I’ll keep reminding myself to keep things in perspective. There will be many things I’ll continue to share, and a few projects that will have to wait until the proper time to be revealed.

Jason often leads the way on our runs. He’s a good man to follow!

Blogging for me is like a journal, chronicling my quilting life with a bit of personal narration thrown in from time to time. I enjoy it so much, that it has become part of my almost daily routine. I’ve made a promise to myself that no matter how busy I get, that’s one area that I don’t want to neglect. I’m just so grateful that so many of you are along for the ride!

Ski Weekend and Nature’s Inspiration

March 28, 2014March 25, 20148 Comments

A couple of weeks ago, the family and I had the chance to take a ski-trip with the inlaws. My MIL is a lucky gal, and she happened to run into the owner of a ski resort who was passing out extra lift tickets. So she happily agreed to bring up the extended family for a fun ski weekend!

Ski Weekend at Eagle Point, Utah 2014

We had a great time. Our first day was beautiful with sunny skies! It was our daughter’s first time skiing the “real” slopes and she had a blast. Her 2 older brothers have taught her to be fearless and by the end of the weekend, she had even tried a few intermediate slopes.

But what a difference a day makes! The next ski day was quite different – with raging snow and blowing wind, it was all we could do to bundle up and stay warm.

A much colder day full of snow!

The snow day was still incredibly beautiful. Everything had a fresh dusting of snow and all the trees had a beautiful silvery cast. We even caught individual snowflakes and marveled at how they really did look like snowflakes!! (That’s what we get for growing up in a desert landscape!)

During the weekend, I was constantly inspired by everything I saw and want to turn these all into quilts somehow! The ski tracks on the snow looked like a modern white-on-white free motion quilting pattern.

My view from the Chair Lift

This snow-covered doormat is just itching to become a modern design:

I was even inspired by the clothes a lot of the kids were wearing. This ski outfit totally reminds me of my Spiraling Out of Control Quilt!

You can always look to fashion for graphic inspiration!

I just love these simple, graphic shapes, aka warning signs:

Just imagine the possibilities with these simple shapes!

At the end of the first day, we watched a few advanced snowboarders participating in a “trick” competition. It gave me butterflies just watching these amazing skiiers perform their stunts. What an adrenaline rush it must have been for them!

But when I stop and think about it, this is exactly how I feel whenever I quilt!

Christa’s Soap Box – Teach a Friend to Quilt….

January 25, 2014January 25, 201424 Comments

Teach a friend to quilt… and you’ll have a fabric-friend for life. My longtime friend Janice popped in over Christmas and she asked the best favor that any friend could request – she asked me to teach her how to machine quilt!

Janice and Her Quilt

First a little backstory – Janice and I have been friends since just after I got married and she’s always been crafty. In fact, I’ve mentioned her on my blog before and we’ve swapped a few artistic creations over the years. Way back in those days when I started quilting I told her I’d make a quilter out of her someday… and now that day has finally come!

Janice reads my blog on a regular basis and recently told me she was inspired to learn to quilt because of my quilt alongs. Living across the country from me, she sought out her local quilt shop and signed up for a class. Although her beginner’s class only focused on piecing the top, she proudly showed me her beautiful piece. (Why, oh why, do shops not teach how to make the entire thing from start to finish?? That’s another soap box post for another day!)

Minky on the back is super cozy!

She backed it in soft minky and had the shop quilt it for her in a pretty swirly design. Then she promptly sat me down and asked me for a lesson in free-motion quilting. Yay! 🙂

So I started her off how I usually do when introducing machine quilting to my students, with a paper and pencil, and we set to sketching out some interesting designs.

Doodling on paper is so fun!

First she filled up a page with some simple stipples…

Practice on paper first!

Then we went to town trying all sorts of fun motifs like pebbles, swirls, geometrics and loops. After a few pages, she had the rhythm down and started to make that muscle memory connection between her brain and her hands. After all, the hardest part of machine quilting is knowing where to go next!

Next, it was time to hop on my machine and try out what she’d learned.

FMQ can be fun!

While she practiced, I made sure to tell her all about my favorite FMQ tips and I gave her a mini tutorial on binding by machine. I mentioned that it may take awhile to get the knack for free-motion quilting, but she can feel proud of doing it herself!

(These pictures remind me that I really should pretty up my hands when I quilt, LOL!!)

By George, I think she’s got it!

I fully expect that when Janice comes out for her annual visit next time, she’ll have completed her next quilt completely – from start to finish. I can’t wait for the show and tell!

Happy New Year 2014 – Live Long and Prosper!

January 1, 2014December 27, 201313 Comments

Wishing you a happy and prosperous New Year!

Happy New Year 2014!

My husband’s family has this fabulous tradition of dressing up and going on a scavenger hunt each year to find our big family Christmas gift. This year’s theme was Star Trek and we were on a quest to seek out new life forms and new civilizations while solving clues along the way!

Solving clues requires simple logic!

We had to answer trivia questions, solve puzzles and think like Captain Kirk while we journeyed through our quest.

Solving clues is logical, Captain!

What would Captain Kirk do?

Each answer led us to another clue and we really had to work together as a crew to discover our final destination!

Seeking out new life forms on our journey!

At the end of our journey we were rewarded with generous gifts and fun memories from our quest. You can see our antics from previous years here and here.

Christmas – the final frontier!

Live long and prosper!

Merry Christmas 2013 from all of us at Christa Quilts!

December 24, 2013December 23, 201326 Comments

Merry Christmas from the Watsons!

I love Christmas time because it’s the only holiday I’ve made a lot of quilts for! (Note to self – get a jump start on those other holidays right away in the coming year.)

Nutcrackers with an earlier version of my Log Cabin Wreath Mini

When we first moved into our house 8 years ago, I let everyone pick out any fabric they liked for their stockings (the kids’ tastes have changed a bit since then). My mom embroidered the names for me on a separate piece of fabric which I then appliqued to the front of the stockings.

And the stockings were hung by the front door with care…

I’m not much of a decorator and I like to recycle many of my ideas so I don’t have to think too much! (I have made two “tree” quilts and two mini’s from pretty much the same patterns I created about 10 years apart.)

This is the original Christmas Trees quilt and the updated Log Cabin wreath mini.

I like how Modern Trees looks hanging down over the bannister from the second floor of the house. It’s the first thing everyone sees when they walk though the door. I think I’ll eventually add some loops on the back that I can velcro around the wooden spindles so I can show the whole quilt.