Saturday, January 7, 2017

DrEAMi! Moments


I am introducing my very first linky party, a monthly one, to be held the last Saturday of each month.  It will be in celebration of being sidetracked, aka swept off your sewing chair, aka snagged by a squirrel kind of mayhem.

DrEAMi Moments have happened to the best of us. I'm not talking that time in English class when you totally embarrassed yourself because you drifted off to Alpha-getti 9 because your were imagining some alone time with the boy upon whom you had an insane crush, and you totally missed the teacher's question, all heads turned and eyes bored into you, no. I'm talking about
Drop
Everything
And
Make it!

Whether the fabric you ordered (or won) arrived and spoke to you,

or a technique or effect in a quilt intrigued you to the point that you had to try it,
Rows in my second project for the RSC2016 - a quilt in Kim Schaefer's Cozy Modern Quilts made solely of rectangles, fascinated me
or someone started a fabulous Quilt Along and it pulled you in, hook, line and sinker,
First 12 blocks in 150 Canadian Women quilt along project
or you saw an amazing quilt on Pinterest or on Instagram, or on someone's blog, or in a magazine, and you HAD to make one,
The quilt on the left I saw on Pieced Brain; the one on the right on Fat Quarter Shop's Jolly Jabber
both of which were donated to charity in Hands2Help last year

it's true that we probably all have experienced that feeling when a quilt project grips you, you get tunnel vision and laser focus, and your best laid plans get pushed to the side until you get this quilt out of your head and into fabric!
This is my new planner for 2017.  I'm a list maker, a lover of checking off items on those lists, and I like to be organized.  The saying on the cover of my planner is very true, but I do know that some of the best experiences I've had in quilting have been a result of DrEAMI moments.  The examples above are just a few of the many.  Heck, the one and only for sale pattern I have in my Craftsy shop is a result of a DrEAMi! moment!

So just what am I proposing for this party?  It's pretty simple: on the last Saturday of every month, I will host a DrEAMi! linky where you can link up a post about your own DrEAMi! moment for the month. Wait, this seems like an encouragement to be sidetracked...😬 Well not exactly...but I do know that not being too regimented and allowing a little whimsy into your life can often lead to some amazing learning and growth.  Plans are good, but they need to be somewhat fluid.

What counts as a DrEAMi! ?  
  • Maybe it's a cool new-to-you technique for a quilt block that you made.
  • Maybe it's an entire quilt top.
  • A goal, whether monthly or quarterly, would not count. A DrEAMi is a diversion, unplanned.
Does my DrEAMi! project have to be a finished project?
  • Nope!
Are there prizes?
  • Nope! Unless you count discovering other squirrels or DrEAMi! possibilities!
  • That said, I may or may not have a few fat eighths left of the Henry Glass fabric I won for those who do link up for this first party...
What do I write in my blog post?
  • Tell us where you discovered your DrEAMi! because you never know, it may attract someone else; tell us why it snagged your attention so intensely; tell us if you learned something new, or grew as a quilter in some way; tell us where or for whom the DrEAMi is destined; tell us anything else about it that you'd like.
When do I have to write the post?
  • Anytime during the course of the month!  So the January DrEAMi! linky will be for any DrEAMi moments that occurred in January 2017.
    Here is my January DrEAMi! moment:
    It arose because of the Wild Card Surprise from Molli Sparkles' Honey Pot Bee
    You know that I won a bundle of fabric from Henry Glass Fabrics in December which arrived right before Christmas.  I petted it a lot, and its cheeriness kept beckoning me.  Holly the Christmas Hound cushion was made using the white holly fabric and red reindeer fabric, and then I used the stocking fabric, reindeer fabric and holly fabric to make Jingle, a small ornament.  However, the fabric still wriggled and giggled at me, and that, combined with seeing the Modern Christmas tree blocks in a quilt top on Amy Smart's blog that would not leave my head, led to this little quilt.  I will most likely donate it once I finish the quilt top and quilt it up.  During the past few days when I was obsessed with making these blocks, I should have been writing up my Q1 Goals post, should have been writing up the directions for Windfall, should have been testing the Parliament Buildings block for Cindy, should have been doing my Meadow Mystery and the Honey Pot Bee January blocks, should have been working on another design for the Designs Challenge, should have been working on oh, three more rather pressing quilt commitments, but nope, HAD to sew these happy little stack 'n slash (à la Karla Alexander) tree blocks.

    Did I learn anything making these blocks?  Well, one, I am less hesitant to slash fabric that I didn't pay for, ha, and two, a panel can be used in ways other than the shapes on the panel. By this I mean that there is a 6 stockings rectangle on the top and bottom of the huge Santa in the panel, and rather than keep it a rectangle, I cut the 6 stockings into an 8.5" square, which meant only four of the stockings would be in a block.  Using that part of the panel did help to add a little variety to the quilt.

    I take no responsibility for missed deadlines by hosting this party! 😉 The first one will take place Saturday, January 28. Hope to see you there!  I wish you at least one DrEAMi! moment this month!

    Linking up with
    Cooking Up Quilts
    Patchwork Times



    17 comments:

    1. I live for DrEAMi squirrel moments. We both know I've already been swept up in my first one of the month, but it's been so worth it. I look forward to seeing what has everyone else distracted. I've almost got this quilting squirrel out of my system...until the next one hits :)

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    2. Ooooh, this sounds like a fun linky party! I've already had one of these squirrel projects this month! It's now finished, so I can return to the regularly scheduled program...errrr, project. I'll probably have a few more DrEAM items pop up by the end of the month! Great idea, Sandra!

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    3. I am totally a DrEAMi quilter, so I will fit right in! In fact I wake up in the middle of the night and then dream up things I might like to try in the sewing room! Lol! Looking forward to your linky party, Sandra.

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    4. The 30 Block challenge has sent me on a DrEAMi mini. I hope to finish the top today. Of course I had a lot of other things I shuld have been working on but this needs to be made first.

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    5. I'm in....since I have already had a squirrel moment this year!!!

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    6. Cool idea for a new linkup! I'll keep it in mind for these sorts of occasions!

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    7. glad to know my condition has a name, looking forward to more inspiration

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    8. I am working on my DREAM project right now. It is a Mari Gras table runner using the Binding Tool. When I first saw the fabric it grabbed me and I had to make Something! Do do so I have to learn to use FMQ. FUNNY HOW ONE DREAM leads you farther astray.

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    9. Well we all love a linky party so I'm in! I think my supersize economy blocks meet this brief

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    10. This linkup might work out well for me as I'm often getting sidetracked.

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    11. How fun! Does it count if your goal was to finish it in eight weeks and it happened in one instead?

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    12. I love this idea and everything it stands it for. Here's hoping I have a DrEAMi moment in January!

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    13. A very fun idea for a link up. Looking forward to checking out lots of inspiration. But I'll have to resist temptation till the graduation quilts are done.

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    14. Congratulations. You do realize that you just gave us all permission to get distracted. ha ha ha ha Here's to finding some squirrels.

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    15. I love your quilts. So beautiful. Yes I tend to get distracted all the time but it feels good to sew something at the spur of the moment. LOL

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    16. Lots of inspiration in your post...I found myself going back and looking at each quilt. :) The santa's are fun!!!

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