I did a crazy and spontaneous thing Monday night: I up and took myself to see Coldplay at the Toyota Center for their Mylo Xyloto tour.

Don’t ask me what Mylo Xyloto means (the band has a hard time explaining it, too), but every time I hear the words Mylo Xyloto, I want to make the Mork and Mindy Na-Nu Nan-Nu gesture as if I am offering my salutations to some foreign entity!

Despite the odd name for an album, it is a keeper, and the concert was an amazing musical and visual experience.  If you squint really hard, you can see the graffiti backdrop on stage.

And it reminded me of the graffiti wall we had at Make It University at International Quilt Festival/Houston a couple of years ago…

I like to think that lead singer Chris Martin and his band mates heard about the graffiti wall at International Quilt Festival/Houston, and decided that it was so fun and colorful, they needed to follow suit and feature graffiti for their album artwork. (See how trendsetting quilters can be?!)

Here’s a picture of Chris Martin’s piano with graffiti, perhaps the coolest piano I have ever seen. (And if you don’t know who Chris Martin is, he is married to actress Gwyneth Paltrow.)

Coldplay played a very solid set list, and for the encore, they surprised me by dimming the lights to total black, then reappearing just one aisle over from where I was sitting. I couldn’t stop laughing, I didn’t expect they would pop up so close to me!

And they played one of my very favorite songs of theirs, “Warning Sign.”

And, yes, I came home with my very own souvenir, a Mylo Xyloto t-shirt.

Speaking of music, did you know that we put out a quarterly FREE newsletter called Friends@Festival that is downloadable? In each issue, editor Rhianna Griffin patchworks together a sundry of quilt-y content, including interviews with quilt artists, favorite recipes of quilters, free projects and patterns, and yes, even things like music to quilt by. If you click the image below, you can see the edition that included some of my favorite songs to listen to while quilting. (And, hey, if you have a great idea for an article for Friends@Festival, reach out to Rhianna by emailing her at pubs2@quilts.com!)

So tell me, what kinds of things do you listen to when you quilt? Do you listen to tunes, a specific channel on satellite radio, or just the chirping of birds perched outside your studio window?

I hope everyone had a good weekend! I spent mine pondering my pond. It is located in my side yard where I like to sit quietly and hand stitch after a long day’s work.

My fish pond–home to goldfish, waterlilies, and Houston toads.

My fish pond can be viewed from both my office and my quilt studio, and is a sublime place to relax. The pond is too small for koi, but there are a variety of goldfish that reside here, as well as “Houston toads,” an endangered species of toads local to the area. (For all of you herpetologists, its proper name is the Bufo Houstonensis.)

Earlier this year I began hearing load noises at night from my pond area, and I worried it was some kind of rabid raccoon. But nope, it was the load trill of a male Houston toad. (Have a listen to a male Houston toad here.)

As a new pond owner, I have learned a lot about water plants, how to keep this pond clean, and the fish fed and healthy. What I wasn’t prepared for were predators!

This past Friday morning I woke up to let my dogs out and found one of these creatures just outside on the ledge of the pond, looking intently into the pond’s murky depths…

Night Herons

I had never seen one of these before, and as I was staring at it, mouth agape, all of a sudden–to my horror–it dove into the pond, plucked a Houston toad, and carried it high into a tree. I felt so bad for that little toad, and when I flew out of my French doors in my pajamas and screamed at the bird to DROP IT!, the heron looked down at me and promptly ate it.

I then decided there was no way I was going to be outsmarted by a bird. But this guy was persistent and had a friend, and they didn’t want to leave anytime soon. So I took my fish net, and thrashed it about like a sword above my head, trying to scare them away. But eventually I had to put the fish net down and go to work.

Two mama toads with their babies on their backs in my pond.

This weekend I went to a water garden nursery to ask their advice about how to handle the herons, and I learned a few things that will help me protect the toads and fish from predators. For instance I need to invest in Blue Heron decoys, underwater fish caves for hiding, and more water lilies to protect them from view.

Quilters: Friends of Frogs?

I know I am not the only quilter who has a love affair with frogs, toads, and amphibious creatures in general. I’ve come across a number of quilted frogs in my day.

Take for instance this pieced quilt that was touring the International Quilt Festivals two years ago:

“Sunset Ceremony at the Pond”
44 x 44″ by Susan L. Griffin of Mossomin, Saskatchewan, Canada
This quilt was featured in our “O Canada 2010” exhibit.

Other famous quilters have used frog imagery quite effectively in their quilts, like Ellen Anne Eddy  with her quilt “Balcony Scene” or  “The Problem with Princes” that resides in Caryl Bryer Fallert’s Studio.

Oh yeah…I made a frog quilt a while ago, too:

My little frog quilt; whole-cloth painted and free-motion stitched.

And frogs aren’t just featured in quilts, many folks have named their quilt businesses after frogs, like the quilt store The Purple Frog in Jefferson, Oregon, or the online business The Quilted Frog (not to be confused with the long-arm machine business, quiltfrog.com).

I also noticed that at last year’s Spring Quilt Market, it wasn’t just owls that were the trend of the season, lots of  frog quilt patterns and fabrics were hoppin’, too.

Maudlin-Free Monday Question:

So my question to you is, what do you think the next big quilt trend will be at this upcoming Fall Quilt Market in a few months? Hmmm…what have we seen a lot of lately: owls, frogs, bicycles, mustaches, chevrons, stripes, and polka-dots. What do you think will be next?

And in good Maudlin-Free Monday fashion, I am giving away 15 fat quarters of the Puppy Park line by Bella BLVD for Riley Blake Designs. Maybe quilting hasn’t gone to the frogs, it has gone to the…. (Ok, I know that was corny.)

Make your quilted prediction in the comments area and I will pick someone randomly and announce in my next post!

Previous Book Winner…

And congrats to Ali M as you are the winner of the Weeks Ringle book! Please email me at pokeybATquilts.com with your address, and I will get your book to you!

Last week one of my co-workers, Vicki Mangum was all aflutter when she came into the office. She stopped at my door, slightly out of breath, and said, “I couldn’t sleep last night! All I could think about was your dog Louie in the bike basket and he needed a quilted little pad to ride around on.”

I guess she thought my wadded up terrycloth towel could be improved upon:

Then she whipped this out of her tote:

“Since you are new to Texas, I thought it should have a Texan flair,” she added.

I was very grateful for this unexpected gift. And now while I admire the fabric with hunky men in cowboy hats, Louie can now cruise through Houston in style!

I know Louie looks a little glum in this shot but it’s because he knew this was just a photo op–I wasn’t actually going to take him riding, as I had to go to work!

.

How to Make a Quick & Easy Bike Pad for Your Pooch

Materials

• Batting

• Sewing machine, thread, scissors, and general quilt supplies

Directions

1. Measure the bottom of your bike basket and add 1″ all around. Cut top and backing fabric and two pieces of batting to these dimensions.

2. Pin the two layers of batting to the top fabric. (Extra batting/cushioning makes for more comfortable cruising!)

3. With your sewing machine, free-motion stitch through these three layers.

4. Place your backing fabric on top of your top fabric, right sides together. Pin in Place.

5. Sew all the way around, leaving a 1.5″ opening.

6. Pull everything through the 1.5″ opening so it is right sides out.

7. Slip stitch the opening closed.

This is a very simple project that any pooch would appreciate.

Thanks, Vicki!

A few weeks ago while at Quilt Market, I ordered a couple of sewing tables: one was the Gidgit II, a portable sewing table on wheels that folds up for easy storage. I unpacked it this past weekend and was thrilled there was no assembly required. This is really a great portable sewing table, and it can even take the weight and size of some of the larger sewing machines, like the Bernina 830 series. Below is Gidget in my family room. I can imagine I will be sewing a lot on my back porch, and also at night in my family room where I can watch movies with my boys!

Gidget II by Arrow Cabinets

I also bought a sewing cabinet for my home studio, a space that is much smaller than my previous studio, so I needed something compact with good storage. I wanted a cabinet that was contemporary in style, with an air-lift mechanism to raise and lower my sewing machine, and I found just what I needed in the Sewnatra Cabinet by Arrow. Isn’t it adorable? I love the shuttered door!

The Sewnatra opened:

This Sewnatra  sewing cabinet does require assembly. Here’s what my family room floor looked like on Saturday morning:

And the hardware seemed a little overwhelming at first in the big plastic bag, so I opened it up and sorted the metal and plastic bits all onto a tray:

I have put together a lot of furniture over the past few months–even an entire bedroom set from scratch–so I thought I had this in the bag. (And I almost did.)

Attaching the storage bins, thread holders, and hinges onto the back of the shuttered door.

Some tips for sewing cabinet assembly:

1. Read ALL of the directions first, and really familiarize yourself with all of the hardware.

2. If there is an online video, watch it from start to finish, first. Then while assembling, pause it in places as you assemble your cabinet.

3. When in doubt, reread the directions or re-watch the video. Never assume you think you have it right until confirming, and remember that slow and steady win the race.

3. If they say you need two people to assemble it, take heed. This is because the cabinet—as you assemble it—is unwieldy, and especially when you have the top cover opened, a panel or part of the cabinet cannot support the full weight of the cabinet. Unfortunately I had most of the cabinet assembled, but then it started to fall, and I quickly grabbed the front piece, which then promptly cracked in half.

At that point I decided to take a pool break with my assistant.

The good news? I called Arrow and they are getting a replacement front piece to me ASAP. I will need to partially take apart the cabinet to replace the front panel, but then I should be good to go. Furthermore, Arrow was very helpful on the phone, offering tips and advice to complete the assembly.

I have the vision: I see this Sewnatra cabinet in my sewing room. It is going to look so adorable in there and I know I will enjoy it. The price–let alone its sheer cuteness–are well worth the minor set back, and even though I goofed during assembly, there is something about taking pride in having assembled a sewing cabinet (mostly) by myself!

Weeks Ringle’s Latest Modern Quilt Book Giveaway!

So how was your weekend? Did you quilt? Let me know what you did in the comments area and I’ll randomly choose a winner on Wednesday to win Weeks Ringle’s and Bill Kerr’s latest book!

I hope everyone had a great Memorial Day weekend!

I partook in my 21st B.F.R (Bolton Family Reunion). Since the Boltons took pity on me in 1991 when I was  a junior at Boston College from San Francisco stranded in Boston over Thanksgiving (which happened to also be the time of their BFR), I have been fortunate to attend every BFR since. This is a very, very special family…

A family that indulges in celebrations, including Memorial Day.

A very patriotic bunch…

Each year the BFR is held in a scenic New England locale, this time in the Sunday River region of Maine. It was so gorgeous. I miss mountains as part of my daily landscape, so I just really enjoyed the beauty of Maine.

And covered bridges, too…

On the big day of the BFR lobster celebration, most of the men can be found sporting BFR collared shirts (every year the shirt color changes) manning the steamer and lobster pots.

The first course is a tasty steamer repast. This year we enjoyed wine with my in-laws on the label.

I have always tried to find a way to bring in quilting/ crafting to the BFR. In 2010 I poured almost my entire studio onto my backseat of my car so I could introduce my nieces and nephews to quilting…

And I got them going on my Bernina!

This year, however, coming from Houston with only carry-on luggage, I couldn’t bring anything to stitch or craft with the kids. But the first day I was itching to do something so I went to the nearest quilt store in Newry, Maine, which was a bed and breakfast that had a quilt store in the backroom. The clerk told me that the owner was out of town and she seemed  a little stressed I wanted to go back there. She asked, “Um, do you know what you may want?” And I responded that I’m sure I could find my way around and get something.

And look what I found!

Polka-dot fabrics!

As well as the Clover yo-yo tool! I had been curious about this tool (which proved very easy to use), so I thought it would be a great weekend activity: to make polka-dot yo-yos. I am not a huge fan of yo-yos, but polka-dot yo-yos are a different matter all together!

Imagine my surprise and glee when I learned my fabrics matched the women’s BFR shirts. I wish I had made yo-yo necklaces in advance!

All in all a good time. Lots of family down time with some stitching thrown in.

Johnny, my godson, posing with me.

I hope you enjoyed a fantastic weekend. In honor of Memorial Day, I thought it would be timely to give away some more fabric from Sample Spree from this past Spring Quilt Market. I was very delighted with this new line of “Bella” fabrics distributed with Windham.I will be honest; I want to keep this fabric because it is so whimsical and fun, and I have a hundred ideas for it in a quilt. However, I know it will go to a good home if I give it away.

All you have to do is answer the following question and I will pick a winner randomly on Thursday.

Question: Did you incorporate any quilting in your Memorial Day weekend? If you didn’t have time, it’s ok. Be honest and tell us what you did!

I have read through all of the responses from my last question about studio space and will post something about those later along with some pictures of my new studio. In the meantime, congratulations to Becky Greene! You were randomly selected to win the Riley Blake jelly roll. Please email me your mailing address to pokeyb@quilts.com.

Ahhhhh…It’s Friday. At long last. Weekend forecast calls for partly sunny skies with highs in the upper 80s. The weatherman on the local news this morning said, “Watch out! You are going to feel the humidity start to creep in today…and we can expect the humidity to stay until October!”

I keep hearing about this “humidity” but I have yet to experience it. I have to wonder if this “humidity” is as bad as everyone makes it out to be…

So it’s time for me to name the winner of this week’s Maudlin-Free Monday book giveaway, and congratulations to Marie Hartman Misgen! Please email me at pokeyb@quilts.com with your mailing address and I will mail you a copy of  Alissa Haight Carlton’s Modern Minimal!

In my last post I had talked about wanting to make some fast and easy quilts and stumbled across this video with Jenny Doan of the Missouri Star Quilt Co., thanks to someone telling me about jelly roll races. It’s very funny, and a great way to kick off a weekend of quilting.

Enjoy!

I’ve been slowly putting my home together, but my family room is coming along too slowly for my tastes and I want to speed things up. I love my big white comfy couch and my flat screen TV (which is just crying for two art quilts to flank it). But the room is void of color and texture, and that needs to change ASAP!

So it just so happens that I love this console table I found online at Ballard Designs. It’s been sitting in my shopping cart for weeks, but I haven’t pulled the trigger yet.

I can just imagine placing it right behind my white sofa, and storing a lot of patchwork quilts in it, folded one on top of the other, stacked so you see a lot of color, pattern, and texture right when you look into the room. Problem is, I don’t have any patchwork quilts, except for the one my great grandmother made, and that’s my bed quilt. Louie is especially partial to it…

So now on my to-do list, I want to make about 6-8 lap quilts that I can store in my console table (which I will finally order tonight). I’m not going to make quilts that have terribly intricate designs, I am going for FAST, EASY, and MINDLESS.  My friend Melly Testa posted a blog entry about making a jelly roll quilt that looks quite handsome in her living room. I think I’ll see if I can get some jelly rolls at Sample Spree at this upcoming Spring Quilt Market, and then make a few when I get home.

But I am curious…have you made some quick, easy, and mindless quilts lately, and do you have pictures of them on your blog that I could see? And do you have any suggestions for patterns?

I had a nice weekend. Did you? I had grand plans going into it of all I would accomplish: I wanted to assemble the porch chairs that came in while I was away in Cincinnati, find cushions for them, clean my grill (I had never done that before), finish a quilt project, plant about five pots of flowers, get in a couple of focused workouts, work on my art journal, watch the first two seasons of “Downton Abbey,” finish reading The House of Tyneford, write a blog entry, buy some work clothes, run with Clarence, catch up with laundry, make a Sephora run, and pay bills. Most important on this list was that Sephora run, and I did do that as well as watch “Downton Abbey,” finish the book I was reading, and do some gardening.

Here’s my Little Man, Louie, posing in front of my newly planted snapdragons:

I also went to a favorite consignment furniture store in my neighborhood called Alabama Furniture and stumbled across this little number:

I was looking for a piece of furniture that could serve as a linen cabinet to store sheets and towels for my upstairs hallway, but this vintage piece just grabbed me. I couldn’t decide whether it was super cool or super ugly, so I snapped a shot of it on my iPhone and sent it to my Facebook friends to poll them. They agreed with me that it was actually super cool (minus the sun stencils), so I bought it, and two hours later…

I had it delivered to my house and sorted my journaling and painting goods. I am really thrilled with this piece of furniture as it adds a lot of character to my studio and hides all of my messy jars of paints and things, and has a little fold-up writing desk for me to place my works-in-progress. It meant that I had to move my design wall outside of my studio, and that is when I had a light bulb moment: Why am I trying to stuff all of my studio things into one 10′ x 10′ guest bedroom when I have an entire house? Why am I so hesitant to spread my studio throughout my house and celebrate my quilt-y self everywhere? So I decided I am going to put a wooden frame around my design wall, stain it, and feature it in my living room. If anything, it will give people something to talk about when the conversation slows. (i.e. “What the heck was she thinking when she started that ugly thing?)

I also took my bookshelf of embellishments and dragged it around the corner from my studio and into my guest bathroom so people can admire my pin cushion collection and jars and jars of buttons. I’ll keep my dye supplies in my kitchen, and one of my bedrooms upstairs I may turn into a second sewing studio.

When I get more settled, maybe I will share pictures of my studio and house to show how I’m storing and featuring all of my quilting things.

Maudlin-Free Monday Giveaway

So it is time for my giveaway. Today I have a book that I am guessing a lot of people may want: Modern Minimal by Alissa Haight Carlton, a popular quilter who helped launch the Modern Quilt movement.

All you have to do is answer the following question and on this Friday I will randomly choose a winner and announce on my blog.

My giveaway question: Is there a piece of furniture or tool that had you thinking in a new way, or gave you a light bulb moment about your approach to quilting or your creative process?

Happy Monday!

I just returned from Kansas City, MO–national headquarters for Hallmark, AMC Theatres, and of course… home to the planet’s most mouthwatering BBQ! I went as part of a team to help finalize plans for Spring International Quilt Market, and let me tell you…this is one cool town to be hosting Spring Market! 

For all of us industry peeps attending Spring Quilt Market in just a little more than six weeks, everything you need or would want to do outside of the show (like sleep, make a grocery run, listen to live music, grab a coffee or a bite to eat, see a movie, buy some clothes, go antiquing, or go bowling) is within a two- to three-block radius of the Convention Center. It’s also a beautiful city, and for those who have attended past Spring Markets, it reminds me of a mix between Portland, Oregon and Minneapolis.

Let the pictures do the talking…

This waterfall installation is part of The Plaza, which is right in front of the Convention Center. (You can see the top of the convention hall in the back.) The Plaza is very relaxing and a great place to grab some fresh air for five minutes between business meetings in the hall.

The Plaza also boasts of a tennis court and a large grassy area–perfect for yoga stretches or early morning Quilt Market bootcamp. Hey! That’s not a bad idea! Who wants to join me!?

There is also one of the nicest gourmet urban grocery stores I have come across just two blocks from the Convention Center. So if you want to stock your hotel fridge with beverages or late-night munchies, Cosentino’s is the place!

Just down the street from the Convention Center is the new Power and Light District, home to a variety of great restaurants, a Lucky Strikes bowling alley, an outdoor stage with a number of bars and lively places, and boutiques. This is where you will probably want to unwind with your quilting colleagues.

Above is another eatery in the Power and Light District. I showed this picture to my dog Louie who saw it and is very sad that we do not give out Quilt Buyer credentials to dogs. Ah well…

There is more Market information on the Quilts.com site but I wanted to share with you some visuals of the town to start drumming up excitement for this show. And be sure to leave a comment in the comments area letting us know if you are coming to the show (and if you are a quilt business, please leave the URL).

Results from Monday’s Giveaway!

Lastly, congratulations go to Laura Gamaleri! You won Lyric Kinard’s book from my Maudlin-Free Monday Giveaway! Please e-mail me at pokeyb@quilts.com with your mailing address. 

Have a GREAT weekend everybody!

I hope everyone had a fabulous and creative weekend! I had every intention of quilting outside, but alas, I pulled a neck muscle last week, so I just tried very hard to be still and take it easy. I read a lot outside on a lounge chair where it was just an absolutely gorgeous sunny and 85 degrees here in Houston. (It is going to be very hard for me to get used to this warm weather…in March!) I can’t wait to get a few more plants for my backyard, and hand stitch or paint fabric outside on the weekends.

I just have to train Clarence, my newly adopted pooch, that while I am relaxing outside, it is not ok to dig up and chew through the wires for the lighting in the garden. I got him out of there, but then he ran upstairs and flopped onto my pillows as if to say, “Yeah, yeah, Woman. I’m way too cute for you to get really mad at me…”

Time For My Maudlin-Free Monday Giveaway!

While continuing to clean and set up my studio last night, I realized I own two editions of Lyric Kinard’s book, Art + Quilt: Design Principles and Creativity Exercises. This is really a fabulous book if you want to create art quilts and hone your design skills.

All you have to do is answer the following question and I’ll randomly choose a winner this Friday.

My Giveaway Question…

One of the things I read this weekend was the latest SAQA Journal, and there was an article by Cindy Grisdela who interviewed a handful of art quilters about how they appropriate their studio time. One person she interviewed was one of my favorite art quilters, Charlotte Ziebarth of Boulder, CO, an artist who abstracts her own photographic images and incorporates them into her quilts. Charlotte said that when she wakes up and knows she is going to work in her studio that day, she doesn’t check her email right away—instead she gets a cup of coffee, and spends the first hour of her day knitting in front of her computer, which is set to a slideshow of her own photographs.

Now, I thought that was a pretty smart way to warm up and stimulate her brain for a creative session in her studio.

My Question: What creative exercise or warm-up do you do to get yourself in the creative zone for some studio play? Or do you just dive in and get to work?