Sea of Grass - Mar de hierba

This is a quilt that I made for my niece Natalia for her 50th birthday.

I started it with the idea of using only blue, yellow and green fabrics. Why did I decide that? I have no idea, I can't remember.

It is about 50x50 inches. All the fabrics are commercial cottons. Some of them are Dutch Wax manufactured in Holland by Vlisco, some I purchased in Mali 15 years ago, some are regular quilting fabrics that I collected since I started quilting in 2006.

It is machine pieced and hand quilted, and it has no binding, I faced it. I quilted it with Rainbows by Superior Threads, a 40wt trilobal polyester. The thread color is Citrus Cooler and it has green, yellow and orange. It is a very shiny thread.

The quilt is now in France and I am happy to say that the recipient likes it.

Monicálida

Phew, my latest post was two and a half years ago! Better late than never, right?

I just wanted to post the pictures of a quilt I made for my oldest niece for her 50th birthday. Coincidentally, that happened back in 2014, I don't know why I did not post them back then. Oh, well, here they are.

I used Vlisco fabrics for the most part and played with log cabin. Some of those fabrics had been with me for maybe 13 years, that is loyalty.

The quilt's name is Monicálida and it is now hanging on her living room wall in France.

Calendars

When I place an order,  Vlisco sends me a couple of calendars made with their fabric. As I do not own a fabric and mortar store, I have no room to display them, so I keep them as just fabric. I got two calendars in 2011, and they have been sleeping on a shelf for two years now, waiting for their opportunity to make an appearance to the world.

A few days back, I had an epiphany. Duh!, if they are fabric, why don't I use them as fabric. Said and done, here is the first actor in this show.

And as luck as you have, it is available here!
Thank you for your visit.

Back in the Mood

Yes, it has been a while since I posted here. I have been really busy trying to revamp my Etsy shop. I have had that shop for some time now, but the truth is that I was not paying attention to it as I should have. Why, I wonder. Well, maybe it had to do with some other life events that took my attention. Last February, my granddaughter Marina was born and I made some quilts for her. I spent some time in Spain, too. Then, Máximo, my grandson, was born in October. A quilt for him, too, and a comforter sham for the bed he will use when he grows up (not far from now, though, the boy outgrows his little pajamas at a fast pace). I spent some time in Spain for that event, too. There is also the work, let us not forget that important part of life. Geez, I am a busy bee!

However...

During the last part of 2012, I started looking at my Etsy shop differently. I have spent many hours taking new pictures of my products, listing new fabrics, learning about SEO (Search Engine Optimization), improving my descriptions, networking within Etsy, translating my shop into Spanish (this is a work in progress), thinking of new ways of doing things and new ideas for products.

Are you exhausted at this point?

I am not, I am exhilarated. I must be doing something right, my efforts are getting some results. The views have increased significantly, the sales are still slow, but they are coming. And most important, I am having fun and a sense of purpose. I think I know where I want to go, the direction I want my business to take. In other words, I think I know what I want to be when I grow up (still more).

So...

I am introducing a new line of products designed and handmade by me. Here is the first member, its name is Victoria and you can find it here. I am back in the mood!

N.E.W. Quilt Show

What a wonderful time we had in Gillette, Wyoming!
The North East Wyoming Quilt Show gathered over 200 quilts, a great deal of talent over there. I specially liked the raffle quilt, "Moroccan Tile", with very subtle colors, calm and quiet, very beautiful. I also liked the ribbons: each one had a tile like the ones in the quilt, very nice idea.
We met a lot of people, and I saw many others that I had already met before at different quilt events. I have to apologize publicly because I cannot remember all the names, but I sure do remember the faces. I had met some of those ladies at the Black Hills Quilt Show in Rapid City, and one of them, Marva, talked to Bobbie about me, so she invited me to participate in this event. Thank you, Marva and Bobbie.
Marva also introduced me to Diana, the Northeast Regional Director of the Wyoming State Quilt Guild, who invited me to do a presentation of Texture Magic for the ladies attending Diana's classes next door. Thank you, Diana, for your interest, and for this opportunity to reach all these quilters.
For the first time, I included thread and fabric in my booth. I had some cotton batiks and rayon batiks from Bali, and also my beloved African fabrics, which drew a lot of attention because they are not so commonly seen.
We also had our jams and preserves, not very usual at quilt shows either.
We would like to repeat this great experience next year.
A final note: what is the expression I most hear when I show how Texture Magic works?
"I'll be darned!"