My Instagram account (@quiltingqueerly) features four recurring themes which frequently make appearances: The Seattle Public Library Iggy the dog My quilts as works-in-progress King County Metro buses (while utilizing the hashtag #buslife) Here are a few photos I’ve posted of the Central Library, which is hands down my favorite building: Haven’t been there before? The Central Library is located at 1000 4th Ave in Downtown Seattle in between Spring St. and Madison St. One fun fact about the Central Library is that co-architect JoshuaRead more
Remembering Grandma Boenish
Namesake: I was born on my grandfather’s birthday and named after both of my grandmothers. My last living grandparent, the original Anna Boenish, passed away a month ago at the beautiful age of 99. With death oftentimes comes the reminder to recalibrate toward what really matters. After much contemplation, here are some highlights of what I’ve learned from this incredible woman. ♦♦♦ A Brief Biography: Grandma was born in 1916 (at a time when women couldn’t vote) as the thirdRead more
Artists of the COLOR FORMS Show
That’s right! This Monday, October 5th is the first day of COLOR FORMS at the Seattle Pacific Art Center Gallery. A HUGE thank you to Jessica Vehorn of Gild Studio for curating the group of quilters. I was only familiar with 8 of the 20 artists included in the show before being asked to participate. That’s why I decided to look into the work of each person. Scroll on down to see an example of something made by each artist – it’s listed in alphabetical orderRead more
It’s Official! I Left My Job to Become a Quiltmaker
Becoming a Professional Quilter Three months ago I left my job … to quilt full-time. I keep waking up thinking, “Is this really my reality – that I get to get up and quilt today?” For the last five years, I worked for an amazing non-profit in Downtown Seattle providing permanent, supportive housing to adults who have been homeless. Now I’m living off my craft – selling one-of-a-kind commissioned quilts, teaching youth to sew, showing my work at art shows,Read more
Tsige’s Dress
As mentioned in the last post about Arielle’s hoodie, during the winter of 2012 I told four of my closest friends that I’d embellish an article of clothing for them as their holiday gift. This is the story behind the dress I embellished for Tsige. I first met Tsige about three years ago when Arielle stopped by my work one evening with Tsige and said, “Anna this is Tsige. Tsige this is Anna. I think you two would get along great!” It was aRead more
Arielle’s Hoodie
Back in December 2012, I told four of my closest friends – Arielle, Tsige, Dev, and Aysha – that my holiday gift would be embellishing an article of clothing for each of them. I asked them to give me an article of clothing that fit them well and said they could make requests for how I should embellish it, such as using certain colors, specific fabrics, or particular shapes like hexagons or triangles. In the upcoming weeks, I’ll make aRead more
Binary Two Color Quilt Exhibit
As soon as I got off work on Friday, my friends were waiting for me out front. I hopped in Kaci’s car and we headed to the Fauntleroy Ferry. My parents departed from Sequim around the same time and we all met up at Island Quilter on Vashon Island to check out the Seattle Modern Quilt Guild‘s Binary Two Color Quilt Challenge Exhibit. The challenge was just what it sounds like – using two colors to create a quilt. The creativity and array of ways thisRead more
Sherri Lynn Wood’s First Book
I vividly remember the first time I stumbled across Sherri Lynn Wood’s blog Daintytime. This was about three years ago, which was before I started quilting again. I’d dabbled in sewing in elementary and high school, but hadn’t picked it up since then. When I saw her Mod Mood Quilt (pictured above), I thought, “Whoa! It’s possible to make quilts like that?” Her quilts became a source of inspiration for me to start quilting again. Her work has been a strong reminderRead more
12-Hour Art-a-Thon
One of my favorite blogs is You Know What I Love?. It’s written by Ara Jane, who is a fellow Seattle Modern Quilt Guild member. Here’s a picture of her English Paper Piecing on the ferry. I was inspired by a post she made about a 24-Hour Read-a-Thon, which is exactly what it sounds like – staying up and reading for 24 hours straight. She did this while participating in Dewey’s Read-a-Thon, which occurs every October. I read her blog post lastRead more
The Start of the Star Quilt
Hi, I’m Anna. Here I am with a quilt I made. I love to quilt and I’m fascinated by the creative process, so that’s what I’m going to share on this blog. Here’s a glimpse into how I started the quilt pictured above. I decided to make this quilt to participate in a star quilt challenge through the Seattle Modern Quilt Guild. My first roadblock was determining how I’d incorporate a star into the quilt, since I’m usually not veryRead more
Jen Chu’s Inspiring Small Space
I’m continuously fascinated by living in small spaces. One of my favorites is Jen Chu’s 78 square foot bedroom, which you’ll see pictured throughout this post. What I love most about small spaces are the creative ways people make small living spaces functional and how limitations on size force people to pare down their belongings to their absolute favorites. I’m impressed with anyone who can walk into a small blank space and think, “I can make this into a home!” WhileRead more
Aysha’s Owl Hoodie
About a year ago I returned to my hometown and learned that since the last time I’d been back a Goodwill had come to town – go Sequim! I went to check it out and found a gem of a t-shirt for 99 cents. I’m really bummed I didn’t think to take a picture of it before I started chopping it up because it truly was quite hideous – a purple t-shirt with four owls flying around the cycles ofRead more
Arielle’s Infinity Scarf
Arielle has to be careful about what offhand comments she makes around me because that stuff gets stored away. When we were knitting together one night, she said she’d been looking for a really wide white knitted infinity scarf on Etsy, but hadn’t been able to find one. A few days later, I headed off to buy some white yarn and got started on making her “really wide white knitted infinity scarf” come to life. The final scarf ended upRead more
3 Epic Days of Quilting — Day 3: La Conner Quilt Festival
This year I’ve been reminded of how many fabulous people I know along I-5 and on the Olympic Peninsula, so I’ve prioritized taking mini vacations to see friends who live outside of Seattle. One of these trips was to catch up with Ann and Doug, who live on the edge of the famous Skagit Valley tulip fields. They’ve known my parents since the 1970s and Ann was even the Maid of Honor in my parents’ wedding back in 1983. WhenRead more
3 Epic Days of Quilting — Day 2: My First Seattle Modern Quilt Guild Sew-In
Last summer, I asked family friend and quilter extraordinaire Marla if she knew about any sewing circles in Seattle. While sewing and quilting can be a very solitary act, quilting also has a long history of taking place in groups. Marla let me know about The Modern Quilt Guild and said she figured Seattle would have a group. After conducting a quick Google search, we learned that Seattle does indeed have a Seattle Modern Quilt Guild, which tends to meet at least onceRead more
3 Epic Days of Quilting — Day 1: Bold Expressions: African American Quilts
Anyone who has spent some time in Seattle in the past few months has likely seen a Metro bus go by with an advertisement for “Bold Expressions: African American Quilts from the Collection of Corrine Riley”, which ran from June 14th-October 7th, 2012. October 5th started off three epic days of quilting for me. The Fri, Sat, Sun quilting extravaganza started with a journey to the Bellevue Art Museum with two of my best friends, Arielle and Tsige. It was theRead more
Arielle Learns to Quilt!
Arielle was thinking about moving to Santa Fe, New Mexico, so when there were 100 days left until she was going to depart, I made her a paper countdown chain and said I would teach her how to make a quilt before she left. Her plans to move away from Seattle got postponed, but the quilt making plans live on! We hopped the bus down to Pacific Fabrics & Crafts in SODO and started the quilt making process by lookingRead more
“Joe Metro” by Blue Scholars
I love learning what people listen to in their daily lives and while they’re creating. So, I decided to include some posts every now and again about what I’ve been listening to lately. Artist: Blue Scholars Song: Joe Metro My favorite line: “Marinating in a pair of half broken headphones” To learn more about the Blue Scholars check out their website. What do you listen to while being creative? — Featured image credit: A still shot from the Blue Scholars “JoeRead more
Cornel West Dress
Who doesn’t need an article of clothing in their wardrobe with Cornel West on it? About a year ago, Arielle was at my apartment and pointed out the image I have of Cornel West on my wall and said, “Anna, if you took that image of Cornel West, turned it into a stencil, and put it on a dress, I’d wear it.” I stored her statement away in my memory and when her birthday rolled around, I got to makingRead more
Origami
It’s September and that means my parents would usually be starting up another school year. After being public school teachers for more than three decades in Iowa, Alaska, and Washington, they finally finished up their last school year in May. Mom taught for 37 years and Dad taught for 32 years. In true retirement fashion, guess what they purchased? A camper van! My first trip with them in the camper van was to Lake Easton, which is about an hourRead more
Hexagon Quilt
On my most recent trip back to Sequim, I popped in to see Marla. She is the family friend who taught me how to make a quilt for my 10th birthday. She has a wealth of knowledge about quilting and with literally every quilting question I asked her, she pulled out an example. She sent me home with a bag filled with fabric, as well as paper hexagons so I could begin working on a hexagon quilt using the EnglishRead more
Decorated Hoodies
Meet Arielle and her cute little dog Kingston. Yes, his ears double the size of his head and he’s even more adorable in real life. I woke up to him prancing on my face this morning. A few years ago Arielle gave me a red hoodie as a present and said we could find something to sew onto it. She spotted a peacock on a t-shirt when we were at a thrift shop together and the next thing I knew she wasRead more
Beginnings of a Garden
Another one of my favorite blogs to read is Aunt Peaches. She’s absolutely hilarious and comes up with incredibly creative projects made from cheap and oftentimes recycled materials. When I came upon her Franken Flowers, I knew I had to give making some a try. Below is a picture of her creation which is linked to her instructions on how to make them yourself. After getting off a grave shift the other morning, I hopped on a bus and arrived justRead more
Kuuvangmiut Mushers Pillow
Anyone who knows my dad knows that if he’s not teaching at school or riding his bike, chances are he’s wearing his Kuuvangmiut Mushers sweatshirt. A few years back, my mom started the tradition of giving babies of family friends their very own mini Kuuvangmiut Mushers sweatshirts. Here Dad and baby Sophie sport their matching sweatshirts. Some of my favorite hand-me-downs from my mom are her 1970s sweatshirts from Alaska. Her green and yellow Kuuvangmiut Mushers sweatshirt was the firstRead more
Pi Quilt
One of my favorite bloggers is Cassie of Elegantitus. She made a pi quilt and wrote about it on her blog, which inspired me to make one as a Christmas gift for my parents. It was the first quilt I’ve made all by myself. I figured it would suit my parents well considering how my dad was a math teacher for the majority of my childhood and my mom and a family friend taught me how to quilt as aRead more
Collaged Cardboard Boxes
In order to store things like Sharpies and random scraps of paper for making cards, I took some old cardboard boxes and fancied them up by making collages and taping them to the front of the boxes. Whenever I find a cool image in a magazine or edition of The Stranger, I rip it out and save it for turning it into a future card or project made from paper. Having a collection of random images around came in handyRead more
Book Mobile
The Downtown Seattle Public Library is definitely one of my favorite places in this city. I checked out The Repurposed Library: 33 Craft Projects That Give Old Books New Life by Lisa Occhipinti to learn how to make a book mobile. While the instructions were simple, the big question for me was, what book should I choose to make a book mobile? I decided to go with my kindergarten teacher Carol Kruckeberg’s book What Was Good About Today. Now it hangsRead more
Wristers
When I visited my parents, who live above the Arctic Circle, Mom and I spend a good chunk of time crafting together. She taught me how to make wristers, which conveniently keep the little gap between gloves and coat sleeves warm in the winter. While wristers come in handy more often in Shungnak, AK than Seattle, WA, I still enjoy wearing them around here. Mom taught me how to make two kinds of wristers. The type I created for myselfRead more
Fish Scaled Fridge
Here’s my newly fish scaled fridge. I thought it’d be fun to have a turquoise fridge, but that isn’t really possible when living in a rented studio. Instead I made this by cutting out pieces of paper in a fish scale shape, painting each scale, self-laminating each one with clear packing tape, and then taping them to paper the same size as the fridge. The fish scales can also be conveniently moved to another fridge when the day comes that IRead more
Getting Started
I peruse blogs about crafting on a regular basis and my parents, brother, and co-worker all have blogs which inspire me, so I figured why not create one myself! I’ll use this blog to post about my creative endeavors and in the process hopefully be encouraged to continue making things with my hands. Since I have a tendency to be long-winded, my plan is to keep my posts short and sweet. Interested in checking out their blogs? Parents: http://blessboenish.wordpress.com Brother: http://hansboenish.wordpress.comRead more
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