New York - Photos Around the City

View of the city and the Manhattan Bridge photographed from the Brooklyn Bridge. This was a glorious day for walking.
The little pond in Madison Square Park near my office.

View of the Empire State buidling

Knitting Needle Case

This is a little knitting needle case that I made, using a pattern from the book Stitch and B*tch. It allows you to customize the pockets so they fit your needles exactly. I used Japanese fabric for the interior and soft as butter, turquoise suede fabric (recycled from a dress I never wore) for the outside, so it's very durable.

Fabric Coasters

Here are a few coasters, made from Japanese fabric pack containing a gorgeous array of 4" squares, purchased at City Quilter in NYC. I used a temporary basting spray (which I adore and use for all my quilts, no more hand or pin basting for me!) to attach the batting to one side of the coasters and then simply stitched them up as you would a pillow.

Fabric Notecards

Here are a few notecards with their coordinating envelopes made from fabric scraps and paper, a variation on a project in Denise Schmidt's book Quilts. I used Claire Fontaine note paper for the card because I loved the color. The gorgeous colors helped to inspire different fabric combinations.

Color - Green

A few shots of saturated green, love the lushness of it.

Lavender, Pink & Turquoise Quilt

This quilt was made from the same pattern as my black & white quilt, by Denise Schmidt. This is actually the very first quilt I ever made. I later learned (in quilting class taught by Joelle Holverson of Purl Patchwork) that "solids allow your quilt to breath", an important lesson, as I was imagining a sophisticated quilt when I'd picked out my fabrics. This ended up with a more tropical, fun feel to it.

Crazy Log Cabin Quilt

This is a crazy log cabin quilt, inspired by another adorable baby in my life, Maxwell. I simple cut small strips of various fabrics and sewed them onto fondation squares. This was a fun, creative process, although a bit tedious as I'd cut very tiny pieces of fabric, but I think that added something to the finished piece.

Here is a close up shot of one of the squares.

Pinwheel Quilt

Another small quilt, designed for a baby, inspired by my cousin's daughter Riley. Making this was a fun process, as I just used fabrics I had on hand and allowed my idea/vision to evolve as I went along. I'm finding that method works best for me (at times I do run out of fabric, but I view it as one of the hazards of creativity).

Here's a close up. The striped fabric in the center is by Alexander Henry, one of my favorites! I had it long arm quilted by New Pieces in Berkley, CA and was very pleased with their work. http://www.newpieces.com/about.php

Color - Pink

Tropical incredibly pink plant on vacation in Puerto Rico.

Pink, pure unadultrated petunia pink, actually nothing more than the painted edges of a screens at a neighborhood bodega, but beautiful to me because of the intensity of the color.

Black & White Denise Schmidt Quilt

Here are photos of a black & white quilt made last year using a pattern from Denise Schmidt which is available for free on the Free Spirit website. It is also included in her book, "Denise Schmidt Quilts" which is wonderful.

Treehouses in the Park - Tadashi Kawamata

This lovely exhibit by Tadashi Kawamata was recently installed in Madison Square Park, which I view as "my park" since I walk through it twice a day to and from work. It was marvelous to smell the pine boards and watch with wonderment while these works of art were being built high up in the trees. According to the New York Sun, Mr. Kawamata creates "site-specific sculptural installations." Please google him and look at his other works which vary amazingly.

PS - The squirrels in the park seem to love the tree houses as much as I do.

Pink & Brown, Japanese & Batik Quilt

Here are photos of petite quilt I made last year from Japanese and Batik fabrics. This was a wonderful creative experience for me, the two patterns "sang" when placed next to each other. I hand quilted this one using a bright navy thread.

Rectangle Log Cabin Quilt w/Japanese Fabrics

Just completed this quilt for my friends' wedding gift (I believe Miss Manners says you have 1 year to give gift after wedding, right?). This is a rectangle log cabin quilt made from primarily Japanese fabrics, purchased at my favorite store Purl Patchwork in Soho New York. I hand quilted this one at a rate of about 1 square per 2 hours.