Habitat

This past Monday night at the LAMQG meeting, Jay McCarroll showed up via Skype to talk to the group and for some Q&A. He was funny and down-to-earth, definitely someone who was just real. At one point, he laughed as he saw everyone whip out their phones to take a picture of him on the computer screen.


But we had to, right?

We also presented him with the Habitat challenge-- using his latest fabric collection from Free Spirit and making it into something quilted by just adding any solid color fabric. Here's my entry.

He shared with us his design process and it was a great insight on how his mind works. Jay also showed us a preview of his upcoming collection and it is spectacular. I can't wait to get some although it probably won't be out until this time next year. I just checked out his online store and everything is priced reasonably so go check it out!

In other quilting related news, I just finished piecing a queen-sized top and backing for a very special someone. I made it with blocks from my Seams Perfect Bee group and it turned out really well. Can't wait to get it back from Tanya, who will quilt it for me.

Quilting Bee Blocks

1. Jennifer's January Blocks, 2. quiltalong, 
3. Seams Perfect February Block #2 for Liberty, 4. Seams Perfect - February Block #1 for Liberty, 
5. March Block #2-Seams Perfect Bee, 6. March Block #1-Seams Perfect Bee

A quick update on the quilting bee blocks I've made so far (picture #2 is part of a quilt-along and this block is for me).

So far, the quilting bee group has been a really good experience for me. It's pushed me to be creative and to try new things. April is my month and I'm looking forward to seeing the blocks come in.

A Challenge

Working from home with no one to bounce off ideas with, I always second-guess myself. What am I doing? Is this good? Will people like this? And so on, the questions and doubts fill my head every day.

That's why joining swaps has been a satisfying endeavor. It makes me feel part of a bigger community, puts things in perspective and provides me with challenges and constraints.

This year, I joined another letterpress swap involving coasters and the alphabet and a quilting bee. More on these later.

Plus, my LAMQG group has provided each member with a challenge: to create a small quilt using these charm pack made up of solid fabrics and adding just one other solid fabric. A challenge indeed but I've started and so far, it's been a good exercise. Due in March, I'll show the end-result then.