We're growing a little fabric forest

We are growing a little forest for FlossyBlossy.

These sweet little blocks measure just 6 1/2" and aren't they lovely. Too bad my photo is so dark.

Three blocks are applique and three are pieced.

Cheers,

Dionne

Quilter's Block ... of the month, that is.

The whole idea of Block of the Month is great in theory. One or two blocks a month, a finished quilt by the end of the year. Brilliant! The commitment is small and the year is just beginning and optimism runs high!

I consider BOMs often; really often if I'm honest. It's almost an obsessive how much I read, and re-read the catalogs that come in the mail; the web-pages I surf.

But I've never taken the plunge. I know myself too well. Quilting is the first thing that gets put aside when time gets short. When I'm working on a deadline and the project is running long. When the children all have tournaments on the same weekend. When my husband is out of town and my father's radiation treatment are all scheduled for the same timeframe. Those are the times my sewing machine gets neglected.

I know this about myself. I know that when the year is just beginning and my optimism is running high, I will tempt myself with beautiful designs and fabric to die for. But I will then close the catalog or the browser with a sigh; denying myself the pleasure of taking part in the BOM.

But you know what, this time I didn't! I didn't sigh and walk away. Perhaps because it was at my LQS, and the completed quilt was right there in front of me. Perhaps because I was having a melancholy day and it was either sign up for the BOM or get a quart of Ben and Jerrys!

At any rate, I've done it. I've signed on for my first (real) BOM!

And now you get to see my first two blocks for June. The pattern itself is called GreenPiece and it's from Moda.

Cheers,

Dionne

A Classic Case of the Cobbler's Kids

I have spent my working life as a writer and a tester. Quality Assurance that is, process improvement and software testing. It's been a nice career. Whether my focus is on software or writing depends on my current contract, and even my software positions turn into a great deal of writing in the end.

My writing contracts have been primarily corporate. But lately I've been moving more towards freelance work. It's been a great deal of fun. It also gives me more flexibility when dealing with my father's health issues and traveling back and forth to see him.

Then I got the brilliant idea to do some writing work in the quilting industry. Something I've never done before. How exciting, I thought, now I can finally merge my income with one of my passions.

So, I approached it from the aspect I have always used and contacted a large company with a proposal. The project is one I've executed many times for many companies, but the subject-matter was new. After some interesting discussions, I was dropped from consideration. Do you know why? Was it because my writing samples and corporate contacts were badly executed?

NO! My resume is brilliant. My clips are solid and my corporate contacts are stellar! Do you know why I was dropped from consideration? It's because my quilting blog hasn't been professionally executed. OUCH!

The worst part is…. The worst part is that it's true. It's a classic case of the cobbler's children having no shoes. I have never considered this blog anything more than a hobby to exercise my quilt-y habits. It never occurred to me that I might lose a job over it.

All I can say is…. OUCH!

The funny thing is I was more disappointed about losing this job over losing a bid on any of my corporate contracts. I've dusted myself off and picked up two more jobs. One of them is even quilt related. Still, now I know how those cobbler's kids feel – neglected and under-appreciated.

 

Something modern and something blue.

That was her only request. Modern and blue.

The possibilities are endless and some would go hog-wild with the freedom of such minimal requirements.

But that is not me. My mind just doesn't think modern I guess. I don't know, my mind went completely blank!

Here is what I came up with.

I'm looking foreward to seeing all the other interpretations!

Cheers,

Dionne