As we did the first time we ever worked together in person, we found time to celebrate a birthday with tea at Lovejoy's in San Francisco last week. The owner was nice enough to offer to take a photo before we started in our our sandwiches.
It reminds me of the photo our server took the first time we went for tea. But I can see the changes that mark the passage of time.
When in the Bay Area, do tea!
Amy and I send a lot of stuff back and forth through the mail. On its way south is a box with bits and pieces of projects we are working on. One baggie in that big box has these two jelly rolls. If you visit fabric stores, you are familiar with jelly rolls. These are my jelly rolls. The mostly black and white one is a collection of 2" strips I cut from fabrics we are working with, and the orange one is a collection of 30 pieced strips I made which will be joined with Amy's strips to become a beautiful quilted piece.
Amy posted a photo of her space yesterday, and this is mine on the same day. We are working with colors we seemed to be drawn to, and this, my scrap bin, is bulging with bits and pieces from some of our current work which will become future projects.
Yet another bin of project scraps and pieces which KittyBoy thought was his bed. He jumped in and scared both of us when he and the bin went tumbling to the floor.
And a few minutes later, here he was, nestled in his little bed, sleeping on layers of soft Minkee which cover a heating pad. This is where he is most of the time unless he is walking on the keyboard of my computer or rubbing against the corners of my sewing machine, of sitting on my lap while I'm trying to use those machines...KittyBoy.
When this quilt top arrived in the mail from Amy, I knew it would be fun to quilt. This is just a peek at the palette Amy used, one of our favorites. It is ready now to have the binding stitched on.
The machine is my industrial strength Juki 98E...the Janome is in for much needed service. If you have ever sewn with the Juki, you know that it is the race car of sewing machines...It takes my undivided concentration to keep the path of the quilting line ahead of the needle. The automatic thread cutter on the foot pedal is the best!
After two weeks away on vacation, I couldn't wait to get back in my studio. This quilt makes me smile. The sweet bird sketches from our journals are framed in lush greens and blues...and the quilting lines add a bit of whimsy and texture to the pieces. My Janome 6600 is being serviced. So I'm using my industrial strength Juki 98E...it is so fast...using it is like playing chess...I have to think two or three moves ahead of the needle...But I love how it moves on the fabric. And, that foot pedal thread cutter is amazing...
This is one of our latest projects which I quilted yesterday. Using our pattern, A's Cranes, with a pirate theme, we created a happy kid's quilt. Choosing the perfect color for the binding is next.
A peek at a sweet baby quilt which we have been working on and is now almost finished. The quilt was commissioned, and Amy and I both wondered about the color palette, but in the end, we are quite pleased with the look of it.
Our dream pillows are now at Etsy.com. We will be listing more in the days to come, but these four are so sweet. They are the perfect size to tuck into a travel bag and take with you in the car or plane...and have in a hotel room. They look great on your bed, and add a bit of whimsy to your bedroom decor...We have kid pillows also. These measure about 7" square, and are backed with soft Minkee. Great idea for gifts. And, besides being just about as sweet as they can be, they are machine washable. Check them out at Etsy.com.
Two more placemats to complete a set of four purchased at Art by the Bay. Amy pieced these, using a great fish fabric framing the focal bird houses. I love the way they turned out.
Thank you for the support and encouraging words from those of you who came by our booth last weekend at Art By the Bay on Camano Island in Washington, and especially those who braved the cold and rain on Sunday. We had the most colorful booth at the show. Our birdhouse placemats were a hit. In fact, we sold all of them and took special orders for others. Our pattern for A's Strips was popular for the quilters, and our quilted art totes found new homes. And I smiled when I saw someone walk by with one of our quilted coffee sleeves on their espresso drink....
This is our booth before it was set up,,,,10 feet by 10 feet, with a climbing rope hanging right in the middle.
Still not ready, but almost...these are some of our items we had on display.
Everyone commented about our soft colorful Dream Pillows.
Today, the day after, we are busy completing special orders and planning for the upcoming shows.
Amy and Opal are two artists living in different states on the west coast who have teamed up to create fiber art together. Their journey and process is captured here.
