Hexy from a Stash...

Thanks to patchwork in the park , er um Starbucks...I began a Hexy quilt with my stations...Thanks to "The Red Headed Mermaid", I started slicing into fabric that had not seen the light of day...Dare I say trip down memory lane...  It was a bit scary at first.

I was afraid that I would need every stitch of that fabric I bought seven years ago to finish the project that I thought I was going to do...but now forgot why I bought the fabric.  Then, I thought, my what lovely goodies, I will use all of this for some new idea.  Then I remembered what she said she told herself, "Its just five inches...it won't make much of a difference."  So, I began to hack away...

This is where I am now....and I am loving the idea...and still have another section to go...seek, find, and cut up the fabric thats in the stash.

I SPY.....

Today, I decided to walk on down to my favorite city quilt shop around lunch time to get some more fabric to add to my winter quilt.  As I walked in, I spy'ed "a little collection"...I was wondering where she had been, because I had not seen, nor heard, nor read her (blog) for the majority of the summer.  Needless to say, it was a pleasant NYC Metro Mod I Spy a Member surprise.

So, of course what did that mean...we shopped and shopped and shopped...and their 20% of 1/2 a yard or more on a bolt sale did not hurt either...

So, I was able to pick up a number of items that I had been looking at over the past few months.  And for 20% off, who could complain.  Definately, not me.  A little collection was there to pick up some fabric for an I Spy quilt...hence the title of this post....smiles.

I am actually going to go back and pick up some Kona solids...I did buy a bunch some time ago to get my solid stash going.... but they are bundled so nicely at home...I should just get some to play with... smiles.  It is on sale, after all.

So here is a pic of some of the yummy goodies I picked up this afternoon. (Didn't bother taking a picture of the fabric I went in to buy...You will see that in the finished winter quilt.)   Oh, and some of the fabric is to create the back of the winter quilt...."spring quilt".  While in the store, I decided to make a reversible quilt...Winter and why not get some yummy fabric for Spring...a two fer...smiles.

Victoria's Abstracts in Fabric Show Opens for all too see....

I am so excited, I went to the opening of Victoria's show last night.  Through the storm and all...smiles.  It was truly a wonderful sight to see.  She is very special to me.  In case I have not told the story....my beginning days of quilting began in January 2000 when a work colleague's wife had a dream that she would revolutionize the world with a quilting bee.  (No, seriously in December 1999 she had the dream, and that's really what she said...it went along with empowering women, etc..)  Anyway, in January 2000 about 9 of us met at her house on East 86th Street, NYC armed with a book "Quilting for Dummies", quilting needles, fabric, and thread.  We read through the book, decided on our projects, and agreed to meet monthly to quilt, sew, and talk.

A year later, we had completed some projects, others fell off, and we sort of disbanded, but my desire was stoked.  I went on to find other groups and classes to expand my skills, and then I created Cocktails and Thread after taking a sewing class near the bowery.  The name came up because we always went for drinks  after our class, and by our second series of classes, we began to bring a bottle of wine or a wine cooler, to sip as we stitched...  Now, as life happens, people come and go but I continued to quilt, and sew and teach knitting etc.

In about 2007 I met a fellow quilter through the New York State Bar Association, so then I had a pal to chat with about all things quilting.  Over the years, her and I would meet after our events and go to see all things quilt related, i.e., quilt exhibitis, fabric shops, quilt shops, quilt classes.  This is still ongoing.  However, late last year I realized that I wanted to be in a community of quilters.  The problem was, I was never in a guild, never sought out a guild, because I was not sure I would belong.  I was not a "traditional" quilter, I never took quilting classes, etc. and I simply was not sure.

So with the use of the trusty internet I began googling quilting groups and guilds.  I saw the Empire Quilt Guild (which I am now a happy member, and realize I could have been getting discounts from my favorite Quilt shop all those years...).  I was a bit overwhelmed because they were so large and organized, that I was not sure if that would work for me.

So I searched some more, and then I found a group on ning called the NYC MetroMod Quilters and they also had a blog.  I joined ning...drooled over the blog and decided I wanted to hang with them.  I reached out and met a lovely person named Victoria, also known as BumbleBeans, Inc.   I went to my first meeting in October, armed with my woven strip, and I was excited.  The people were so wonderful, welcoming, exciting, interesting, and just truly amazing.  They are indeed a talented group...And Queen V was especially encouraging and welcoming...so I was hooked...

So, as you see I am soooo thrilled and pleased to attend her show...and am so happy to say that I know the woman that created these lovely works of art.

Welcome in the New...

Its the beginning, again.  Where does the time go?  Above is an unfinished piece that I am working on entitled Exhale....it has been photoshoped and enhanced to provide a New Years wish to all..  What promises will you make in the year to come?  What have you left unfinished? 

In this New Year, I vow not to promise to do anything more, better, different, etc.  Instead, I intend to continue on this journey.  Implementing things that I have learned, while seeking new skills and talents to further develop.  This stage of the journey, I am choosing to Exhale....I am releasing all that is bottled up, all that has been unseen, all that desires expression, I am exhaling to breathe in again.

This year, 2011, marks some pretty cool milestones...and I have been preparing for them.  I have had the Freedom to Reveal all that needed to be released.  I have learned to Embrace Love...and I charge forward into this new season with Joy and Strength. 

I wonder what this year will bring.  Stay tuned...Lets discover what my GGI  (Goddess of Good Ideas) has in store.

Have a Blessed New Year.