Having fun with Camp Scrap!

I am participating in May Flaum's Camp Scrap at Big Picture Classes and am so happy I signed up for this class.  I am loving the encouragement May has provided so far to just get started!  I needed that extra kick because I have been procrastinating crafting for quite some time.

At the beginning, May suggested saying what you're afraid of in your crafting to help you figure out what's holding you back.  I realized that I am afraid of being disappointed with my finished project, that it somehow won't look as good as what I have envisioned in my head, and so I stall out with a lot of unfinished projects.

Case in point: two 4th of July layouts that I started last summer.  I had made the base layout for one (cut out the papers and left a space for the photos, see above). I liked it so much, I wanted to use the same papers and layout for another set of photos.  But I didn't have exactly the same papers, and so I ended up not finishing either layout, out of fear that I would use the wrong photos with the one layout I had.

Camp started, and I wanted to get some unfinished layouts done.  So I pulled this one out and finally stuck the photos down.  I also made a 6x12 extra to hold one more photo that didn't fit in the space I had left.

With May's encouragement in Camp Scrap, I also pulled out the papers I did have, a new piece of paper I bought recently and made the second layout.  And I love it just as much as the first one (if not more).  Yay!  So happy to have these layouts done!

Here's the link to the class if you're interested in joining in the fun! http://www.bigpictureclasses.com/classes/campscrap2013/ 

One Little Word Blog Hop for April

I got a lot done on my One Little Word project this month!


I added the "beginnings" frame to my January 5x7 photo and got it printed. It looks great in my album!


I fixed my January layout - I wasn't happy with how I had originally made my card with "embrace" on it. But now I think it's just right!


I got my February photos printed and added captions to them so that I would remember why I took them:

You can click on any of the images to see them larger.

And I made my March layout!! Our task this month was to choose an action related to our word and do it. My action was to submit a COMPLETE draft of my dissertation to my committee by March 20. I came close - I did send something to my chair on March 20, but it wasn't complete. I sent her a complete draft a week later - hey, it's before the end of the month, right?





I never put butterflies on anything (it's a scrapbook trend I have generally avoided), but I decided to go for it this time since they kind of represent change. And part of my goal with choosing "embrace" was to try new things in my creative process. So the butterflies represent the change that comes with finishing a dissertation and the flowers represent the growth that I have undergone in this whole process.

Also, I didn't go into this with a fixed color palette in mind, but it looks like turquoise, orange, and brown are emerging as themes.

Next up, Cheri A! Make sure you scroll down and check out how she decluttered her scrap space -- it looks AMAZING! And definitely check out Margie's blog to thank her for organizing such a great blog hop!

Here's the complete list of participants in case you want to hop around:
1. Margie http://xnomads.typepad.com/blog
2. Amanda http://scrappnbee.blogspot.com
3. Donna http://donnabryantdurand.blogspot.com
4. Joy www.undiscoveredjoy.blogspot.com
5. Jan http://mysimplelittlelife.typepad.com
6. Jamie http://jmpgirl.blogspot.com/
7. Nikki http://www.inkyart.com.au
8. Monica B2 www.questtoperfectimperfection.blogspot.com
9. Cindy http://seriousplay.typepad.com
10. Stacey http://www.TheAcornGarden.com/blog
11. Katrina http://k84mansramblings.blogspot.com/
12. Rebekah http://istampscrapcraft.blogspot.com/
13. Monica http://scraplifters.blogspot.com/
14. Chrissy http://getcraftywithchrissy.blogspot.com/
15. Jill http://jillconyers.typepad.com/
16. Lisa http://makeyourownescape.blogspot.com
17. Kathryn www.katlodesigns.com
18. Jennifer www.studiojenn.blogspot.com
19. Jen www.byjen.com
20. Sam http://learncreatedo.wordpress.com/
21. Miranda http://mirandasscrapsite.blogspot.com
22. Lynn www.crafty-creativity.blogspot.com
23. Cynthia http://paperpapereverywhere.blogspot.com/ --- you are here
24. Cheri A http://cheriandrews.blogspot.com --- go here next
25. Deb http://blakleyhomeplace.blogspot.com
26. Nicky www.seejanebake.blogspot.com
27. Karen D http://womenontractors.blogspot.com/
28. Tina http://ryzmomplus2.typepad.com/my_weblog/
29. Kimberly http://foreverdaisies.blogspot.com/
30. Abbey http://athomewiththerichardsfamily.blogspot.com/
31. Julie Ann http://julieannshahin2.blogspot.com
32. Lisa A http://backtoallen.com/writers_blog

Some "digital" scrapbooking

I have had three scrapbooking tasks on my to do list for a while now. As of today, I can check them off (plus two bonus ones)! Yes, I am totally procrastinating finishing my dissertation. I keep telling myself this is how I work best.

1) Make a 6x6 layout of pictures from my in-laws' Solstice party to put into my December Daily album. This is the very last page I have to do before the album is complete. DONE!


2) Make the 5x7 Beginnings layout for my One Little Word album. DONE!


3) Make a 6x12 layout so that I can print another 6x12 layout I made a year and a half ago. Put the two together to print as one 12x12. DONE!


4) Make the 8x10 February photo collage for my One Little Word album. DONE!


5) Place all of these as a single order at scrapbookpictures.com. DONE! (And even managed to get it in before their sale expired!)

three, yes THREE, quilts finished in 2010

I wanted to post a summary of the three (!!) quilts I finished this year, since I am so so happy to have completed projects.

Exhibit 1: Girls of the World for my cousin Emily


I actually finished this top last, but thanks to the speedy quilting of That Quilter and binding by my friend nanann, it was completely done first! I mailed it off to the lucky recipient and heard that she wrapped her cute 6-year old self up in it on Christmas morning and explained to her grandmother that "C made it for ME!" (And for the record, my sister helped on the design and piecing of the top, so she needs recognition too!)
Also blogged about it here.

Exhibit 2: Sister's Choice, a wedding quilt for my sister

This one was quilted by a friend of my mother-in-law's in Montana. My mother-in-law sewed the binding on (she is in the picture on the left).
Here is a close-up of some of the quilting:

Original blog post here.



Exhibit 3: Troikas, a Russian quilt for me!

This was also quilted by my mother-in-law's friend. There is so much detail in the quilting -- I just love how it turned out, and it is currently on my bed!! (Troika is the Russian word for the sleigh depicted in the focal squares). My mother-in-law did the binding on this one as well. Here is the back:


Original blog post here.

I am now motivated to finish three projects in 2011 -- more on those soon!

Another finished quilt top!

I am so excited to have completed my THIRD quilt top this year. Yes, that's right I have finished 3 quilt tops this year, an absolute record for me, especially since I have only finished 2 other quilt tops in my lifetime!



This quilt is for my cousin. My sister and I planned it as a baby quilt for her when she was in fact a baby. We got everything done in a timely manner except the outside borders. Then as time passed and I hadn't made any progress on it, I decided that it would be more practical if I made it bigger. I figured out that I had enough fabric to enlarge it and then put it away again. I finally added the bottom third this month. My sister was in town this past weekend, and she helped me get the outside border on, the backing made, the quilt top ironed, and the threads trimmed and voila, it's done! It only took us six years -- my cousin will be 7 in February!

I am having it quilted on a longarm by That Quilter - I am excited to see what she does with it!

And because I finished three projects this year, I allowed myself to buy fabric for three more projects at Quilt Festival this year. Logical, right?

What I did on my summer break, Part 1

An astute eye will notice that the quilt is upside down in this picture - it's hard to get a good angle when it's so big! The picture is flipped below if you want to see it right side up.

I just finished reading Quilting Lessons, a book by a woman with a PhD in Native American Arts who is also a quilter. She suffered from writer's block many years ago and turned to quilting at the worst of it. This book describes how quilting actually helped her get out of the writer's block. I felt that it was hard to get into, and at the beginning I could only read it in bursts. Towards the middle, it was exactly what I needed to hear. I could have practically written one of the chapters on finishing (or not finishing) projects. The metaphors in this book are so rich! Below are some thoughts I wrote mid-way through reading.

I am a good shopper, planner, and starter, but not so good at the finishing process. That is why I made my word of the year “finished”, so that I would actually get some projects done. So far, I have finished four of my 16 items. One quarter of the list, but the year is halfway done. I have been feeling frustrated, trying to articulate why I can’t finish projects and trying to pinpoint my motivation. What I read today helped me see that I need to recognize the creative cycle and pay more attention to what I am getting done.

This book talks about how finishing in writing is a lot like finishing in quilting. There are spurts – times when you feel really amped about working, and get a lot done in what feels like a short period of time. And then there are lags, times when you put it aside and don’t come back to it for a long time. That is part of the process, something you come to expect and even rely on. Your project gets better in each of those stages, even though you wish you only had the spurts of productivity and not the long lags of putting things aside. I have put a lot of projects aside in the past and I am trying so hard to bring on a burst of productivity, but it is a slow process and I am easily frustrated.

On top of it all, I have been feeling 'meh' about the green border that I added to my Russian quilt, something I did in a recent bout of productivity. I was so excited when I found the fabric, but then not so excited once I saw it on the quilt. But the author gave me a new appreciation for that too. I started that quilt when my mom was sick, with fabrics in my mom’s collection, particularly the Russian troika fabric that she had purchased with me in mind. I picked the pattern a long time ago (8 or 9 years ago!), the fabric a long time ago, and committed to taking it on a long time ago. The bulk of the quilt is grounded in the past.

I did not choose everything though. The outer border, the binding, and the backing were still outstanding. As I finish it up, I have had to pull together these outstanding pieces at a time after a lot of loss and growth, maturity, and at a point where my tastes have changed, and I feel less into the act of quilting. This green border is a metaphor for all of these things, and a symbol as well. It is a lighter, brighter fabric that contrasts the dark toned fabrics in the main part of the quilt. Just like I am at a lighter period in my life, happier than during my mom’s illness, or the period after her death, and more at peace with where my life is going, the path before me, and the decisions I have made. It is a "scrapbooking" fabric, made by a scrapbooking company (Basic Grey) for Moda. So it also blends in my interest in scrapbooking that has grown since I started this quilt. It has a modern "grunge" feel to it, which contrasts with the old world feel of the troika fabric that is reminiscent of Russian lacquer boxes. Thus my dark, heavy quilt is contained by a light, modern border. I have emerged out of that point in life.

The backing comes from the leftover pieces from the original planning that I did. My mom’s excess in quilt fabric purchasing saves the day, just as she herself did so many times before. It is a reminder that my mom still provides for me, even a decade later, when I really truly need it. She will literally back me up in all my endeavors.


And the binding. Again from my mom’s stash, but not in the set of fabrics that I originally picked out. The perfect color combination that pulls all the fabrics together. A weird, wild, untraditional print, that looks like cells, the foundations of life, but a statement on the new growth that is beginning with the finishing of this quilt. Not something I would ordinarily pick out and certainly not something I would purchase for myself. It is symbolic of the unexpected that is to come. A reminder that what holds us all together is something unpredictable, outside of our comfort zone, but the perfect fit nonetheless. (Doesn’t that describe the future perfectly?) And it is also a fitting tribute to my mom who was definitely weird, wild, and untraditional in many ways.
I chose to go with the fabric on the lower left side.

I am trimming threads and pressing this week, with the goal of sending this quilt off for quilting by the end of the weekend! It will be the third quilt I have ever finished and the first top I have completed since my mom died. I am so energized by finally completing it, that I feel motivated to finish a lot more. Let's see if I can become a finisher.