Artquiltmaker Blog – Page 260 – Commentary about works in progress, design & creativity

What Works

I mentioned the Stitched in Color blog the other day. After I looked at the ticker tape information, I browsed around recent posts and found a post called ‘Dare.’

Both Pam and Katie have mentioned recently feeling anxious, not feeling like sewing, etc. I have been feeling old. I am not old, though I am older than both Katie, Pam and some of the other podcasters. I never felt my age before and I don’t know if I really am older now, but I just feel old. It could be that the Young Man is talking seriously about colleges and we have gone to speak to some people about a university he might want to attend. I was never really a gooey mother and all of a sudden I feel gooey thinking about sending my “baby” off to college. Perhaps gooey goes with feeling old?

Also, I have been working on small projects. Small projects are like eating M&Ms. You eat a thousand of them and still don’t feel full. I am glad to be plowing through some yardage on napkins, receiving blankets and gift bags. However, the small projects seem insubstantial, unsatisfying and I don’t feel like I am accomplishing anything.

Sigh.

So, somehow all of the above made a connection in my mind to the Stitched in Color blog. Reading Stitched in Color’s blog post reminded me that I don’t have to do what everyone else does to be successful at quiltmaking. She writes:

“*you don’t have to keep a fabric stash”

to which I add: It is also ok if you do, or if you keep a few pieces of fabric by your bed to pet. Remember: fabric is a cheap alternative to drugs and therapy.

“*you don’t have to buy designer fabrics”

to which I add: buy fabric you like. If you like to work with velvet and quiana, go for it! Just go and make stuff and make yourself happy. Banish the quilt police from your mind.

“*you don’t have to hand sew bindings”

to which I add: when sewing machines became popular household items it was a sign of wealth to machine quilt and machine bind. Quilts from the end of the 19th century have been found with machine bindings. Sewing machines were seen as timesavers. *I* enjoy hand sewing the backs of bindings onto my quilts, but I would love to learn to do a really nice looking machine binding. Do what you like. If hand binding is a terrific trial, don’t do it. Whatever you do, focus on having fun and having good technique. Practice.

“*you don’t have to press seams open or even to the side”

to which I add: Press in a manner that is best for the piece. You may press to the side and open in the same quilt. The seams will be on the inside of the quilt and nobody will see them once you put the back on. Just make sure you don’t have lumps of seams (like the center of an 8 pointed star) that can be felt when your quilt is used.

“*you don’t have to care when your points don’t match”

to which I add: I try my best to get the points to match. Sometimes it just doesn’t happen. If I have ripped out a seam more than once, then I try to let it go. I try for good technique, but am not perfect. If I can live with the boo-boo, I move on. None of my quilts are perfect, but neither do the errors take away from the overall effect. The goal is to not have the errors be so obvious that they are all the viewer sees. Reach a happy medium

“*you don’t have to have a tidy or pretty sewing space”

to which I add: I like a tidy sewing space, but the reality is that I don’t have enough horizontal space or storage space, or the right kind of horizontal and storage space. I make due and dream about the future studio that is perfect. Try not to compare your space to others. What matters is what comes out of your sewing space.

“*you don’t have to make anything “original””

to which I add that there are plenty of fabulous patterns out there. I recently followed a pattern, including the fabric, exactly. What I found was that I could see a method to the “madness” of the pattern designer that was more than just “use this pattern and fabric to make this quilt”. By doing an exact replica, I could see her vision. This has made me think about using the same concept myself later. It also make me think of how different fabrics would look using the same pattern. You can copy everything in a pattern exactly and just use the process as meditation. You can also use a pattern, change the fabric and the construction and make the piece your own. There are a multitude of levels between the two as well. We all need something different from our quiltmaking at different times. Do what works for you.

“*you don’t have to blog, Tweet or Instagram”

to which I add: no, you don’t. If you just want to sit in front of your sewing machine by yourself and sew, do it. Tweeting and blogging are fun, but they are not sewing.

“*and you definitely don’t have to have a fancy sewing machine to turn out really great quilts”

to which I confess that my machine is nearing 17 years old. Would I love a new machine? Of course, but don’t let having a very basic machine stop you. I make great things with my machine. We are pals and I know him/her well. Keeping this machine is also saving me the time it would take to shop for a new machine. Use what you have and go make stuff!

The blog post also reminded me that I don’t always do what others do. When was the last time you used pink as a neutral?

What works for you? Do THAT!

***all of the quotes are from a post called ‘Dare‘ from the Stitched in Color blog written by Rachel.

Meditation on Swoons

Perhaps I should have called this post “Second Guessing Myself”.

Back in January I finished the Swoon top and a short time later I sent it to the quilter.

I got it back last week. As usual, she did a fantastic job. I am merrily sewing down the binding, generally enjoying my cheerful Swoon in all its pink and orange loveliness.

THEN.

Camille Roskelly, the designer of the Swoon quilt, posts a new Swoon she has just finished.

Sigh.

I love her work. I love her fabrics. I would probably love her if she were a friend. But this newest quilt makes me wonder if I should have made the background all the same so the Swoony motifs float. I thought I was being so clever making the blocks different. Now I don’t feel so clever. I feel like I did it wrong. 🙁

The post is making me wonder if I should make a Swoon out of the Joel Dewberry Notting Hill fabric. I do love that fabric. Perhaps this all isn’t so bad after all.

Creative Prompt #222: Hollow

Post the direct URL (link) where your drawing, doodle, artwork is posted (e.g. your blog, Flickr) in the comments area of this post. I would really like to keep all the artwork together and provide a way for others to see your work and/or your blog.

We are also talking about this on Twitter. Use the hashtag #CPP

The Creative Prompt Project, also, has a Flickr group, which you can join to post your responses. I created this spot so those of you without blogs and websites would have a place to post your responses.

Definition: “A low, wooded area, such as a copse, A term meaning a small vee-shaped riverine type of valley,Tree hollow, a void in a branch or trunk, which may provide habitat for animals”

Godric’s Hollow, a fictional village in J. K. Rowling’s Harry Potter books

The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, a short story by Washington Irving (1783-1859)

The Hollow, a 1946 detective novel by Agatha Christie

series of books by Jessica Verday

The Hollow (Sign of Seven #2) by Nora Roberts

The Hollow (2004 film), a 2004 teen horror film
Hollow (2011 drama film), a 2011 American drama film
Hollow (2011 horror film), a 2011 British horror film
Hollow (Charmed), a fictional entity in the television series Charmed
Hollow (Marvel Comics), a mutant formerly known as Penance
Hollows (series), a series of novels and stories by Kim Harrison
Hollows, fictional beings in the manga and anime series Bleach, see List of Hollows in Bleach

The Hollow Hills by Mary Stewart

hollow of her neck

Hollow Coffee Shop, Sunset District, San Francisc0.

The Hollow Kingdom series of books by Clare B Dunkle

Hollow Earth theory, the idea that the planet Earth has a hollow interior and possibly an inhabitable inner surface
Hollow-point bullets

pixie hollow

Sand Hollow State Park, Utah

Tennessee Hollow watershed

Briar Hollow comic

Frog Hollow Farm

Hollow Flashlight -project was to create a flashlight that runs solely on the heat of the human hand.

Happy Hollow Park & Zoo in San Jose provides an affordable, sustainable, conservation-centered outdoor adventure for families with children

My Hollow Drum is a collective of dj’s/musicians/artists/friends devoted to their fixation of art & sounds alike.

Hollow, a progressive power metal band from in Umeå, Sweden
Hollow (Cut Off Your Hands album), a 2011 album by Cut Off Your Hands
Hollow (Digital Summer album), a 2008 album by Digital Summer
Hollow (Cesium 137 album), a 2006 EP by Cesium 137
“Hollow” (Pantera song)“, a 1992 song by Pantera
“Hollow” (Godsmack song), a 2006 song by Godsmack
“Hollow” (Alice in Chains song), a 2013 song by Alice in Chains
“The Hollow” (song), a 2000 song by A Perfect Circle
“Hollow”, a 1997 song by Edge of Sanity
“Hollow”, a 2011 song by Icelandic singer Björk
“Hollow”, a song by Submersed from In Due Time
“The Hollow”, a 2011 album by Post Hardcore band “Memphis May Fire”

Various & Sundry #12 2013

Free PR
One of my blog posts was featured in Alex Veronelli’s paper.li newsletter. I am not sure featured is the right word, but the post was in the newsletter and I was thrilled. I’ll have to mention that I use Aurifil almost exclusively and am using up my Mettler basting fabric to paper in my EPP Stars project.

I am also going to be part of Purse Palooza. Sara Lawson of the Petrillo Bag fame and Sew Sweetness invited me. Now I have to go pick a pattern and make a bag and review the directions. Yikes! Check out last year’s event.

On the Web
The Getty Museum now has over 4,500 high-resolution images of its collection available for free use, modification, and publication. Thanks to ResearchBuzz. Go forth and be inspired!

Aylin-Nilya has written a bag love-fest post on her blog circling around the new book (due out in November), Big City Bags, by Sara Lawson of Sew Sweetness. One of the things I like about her blog is that she writes in English and German, so I get to practice.

Remember the bags I am working on perfecting that will be the basis for my gifts when I am Queen Poobah? Well, here is another tutorial that shows, with great pictures, how I make straps for as many bags as possible. The author also has a photo of the kind of interfacing I tried as well. It makes the bags stiff, which is a good idea. As an update, I haven’t gone any farther in my explorations than the previous post. I was thinking about the project yesterday, though and will need to get back to it.

Also, I saw this ‘sleeping bag’ pouch on the Aylin-Nilya blog as well and wondered what you thought about making it part of the gift bags? I would have to put in 12 zippers, but I bet I would be really good at zippers once the project was over.

Those Eff block girls were talking about ticker tape blocks recently. I asked what they were, but didn’t understand the answer, so I went surfing to see if I could figure it out. Stitched in Color has a reasonable description (raw edge applique’ teeny tiny scraps on a background). She also points to a Flickr group that shows a lot of different examples. I think I am officially out of the loop. This concept didn’t even get near my radar.

I am guarding what is on my iPod until I get iTunes on my computer back in order. Some of what I am listening to has been on my to-listen list for awhile. The other day I listened to an interview with Pat Bravo on the Jackie’s Quilting Chronicles episode 32 podcast. It is from December 2011. What a GREAT interview! I don’t think I have ever heard Pat Bravo speak and her enthusiasm was fantastic. Just listening to her made me feel better about my life. Don’t worry she is not so gushy that she makes everything seem perfect in her life; it is her attitude that was a good reminder for me. Take a listen!

Katie talked about practicing an invisible ladder stitch, which is the preferred way of closing stuffed animals, bag linings, etc. She talked about it in a recent podcast (you are listening, right?) I didn’t know what this was, so I checked out some web tutorials. Taffy has some nice photos in her tutorial. I don’t understand the first couple of pictures from the Sewing for Beginners tutorial, but it turned out pretty well, so I’ll probably go back and look at it more carefully. There is also a video from another blog, which I didn’t watch, but may.

Media
I listened to an older podcast of Daisy‘s about Quilt Mythbusting. I loved it! She doesn’t give dissertation quality references, but she does give references to her information as well as practical advice and tips surrounding the alleged myth. Good job, Daisy!

I listened to a really interesting podcast about creativity from a radio show called On Being with Krista Tippett. Worth a listen. For you quilt/science geeks (Pam!), there is a lot about the brain and other science-y stuff.

Speaking of science geeks, Pam saved me some time by trying out the iron-on vinyl. This a product that makes any fabric (probably not upholstery fabric, but certainly quilting fabric) into a laminate. She used a different brand that the link above, but I wanted to give you some idea of what we were talking about. The idea is to make part of the bag waterproof. For example, you might want to put some on the bottom of a bag in case you set it in something wet or icky. Jennifer Paganelli mentioned using leather on the bottom of a bag to reduce wear (Jackie’s Quilting Chronicles, April 15, 2011). Same idea. I talked about it when I mentioned the changes I want to make to the Petrillo Bag pattern. That updated bag is still on my radar, in case you think I forgot.

Another article on how to find free eBooks and free audiobooks, in case you need some entertainment when you are not sewing.

Stuff to Think About
Tanesha over at CraftyGardenMom podcast and blog posted an essay about the low cost of Anthropologie ‘handmade’ quilts. People made some good comments about the post on Reddit as well. This has been on my mind as well, but from the Garnet Hill quilt perspective. The prices are outrageously low. All I can think about when I look through the Garnet Hill catalog is an ugly room full of desperate women who can’t feed their families without making these quilts. I think about the garment workers in Bangladesh who were injured and killed when the building they were working in collapsed. I could never make a quilt for the price they quote and I couldn’t buy one of Garnet Hill’s or Anthropologie’s quilts, because that is all I would think about.

I think we have a problem with value vs. cost in this country. We will drive for miles for a ‘deal’ and not worry much, or say “oh well” when it breaks next year and can’t be fixed. Some of this is why I stopped listening to one of the podcasts that others love.

Someone will be reading this and thinking “well, I wouldn’t be able to make a quilt and I couldn’t afford a quilt if the cost reflected its true value.” Handmade craft – any kind of craft – has value. The beauty of the hand labor has value. It is hard to put a dollar value on it. I make quilts for myself – to keep myself sane, to have something different from my job work to do, to work with beautiful fabrics, to feel soft texture in my hands. I don’t make quilts to sell, partially because it isn’t worth it. When people inquire I say that my quilts start at $1000 and that usually stops the conversation right there. If a person doesn’t make anything, they can’t conceive of the time and effort it takes. Go make something, even a toothpick house and see how long it takes you. There is effort involved in handmade and we should all be glad to pay for it.

Richard's Templates for Russian Rubix — Richard’s Templates for Russian Rubix

Cool Tools, Thread and Fabric

Susan talked about the Russian Rubix pattern on her podcast recently. I mentioned it also, in a recent post. I looked around the web for version of the quilt and came across the Tiffany is Sew Busy blog where she talks about the pattern and her friend, Richard. Richard is my new hero because he offers to make templates for the Russian Rubix pattern. I ordered two sets, one for me (ruler junkie) and one for Susan. I received them, but I haven’t tried them. They look great, though. Very professional! He even offered to make templates for other patterns as well. I want to take him up on that! He followed up to ask if I had received them and told me he is working on getting them up on Etsy and on his website. I don’t see anything yet, but you can email him by going to Tiffany’s blog and getting the information there.

Why didn’t you tell me Camille Roskelly hooked up with Aurifil and created a Simplify thread pack? I want it. I want it now and I want YOU to buy it for me. Thank you. 😉

Challenges and Group Projects
EBHQ’s Voices in Cloth Show will be held at Craneway Pavilion on March 22 & 23, 2014. The show will include the WWII Home Front Quilt Challenge, which has recently been launched! Please visit the Home Front Challenge website for information and to view the Call for Entries. You can print the call for entries from the site. To request a copy be mailed to you, email your request with your mailing address to: 2014challenge@wwiihomefrontquilts.com.

Quilts selected from the entries will be exhibited online and in a special exhibit at Voices in Cloth 2014. EBHQ is working on other venues and hope to show the quilts throughout 2014.

There is additional information on the website, including a list of partner organizations. you probably need to be a member of the group to participate, but the membership fee is very reasonable and the Voices in Cloth show is one of the best guild shows around. Email 2014challenge@wwiihomefrontquilts.com if you have any questions, or if you need information in a different form. Please help us get the word out and thanks.

The cat beds were delivered to the Homeless Cat Network this past week. Look at this van! Amanda took the photo to show us how much work we had done ‘for the kitties’ as she likes to say. She had to fill the beds with her stash of schnibbles, so she had plenty of work to do after I (we) sewed the beds. You can see some of the cat beds I made in the photo.

Housekeeping
We are up to 39 email subscribers! Yay! I know it is silly and so far below some of the way more popular blogs, but I don’t care. Thanks, chicklets!

More Small Projects

Another thing I made in my ongoing small project extravaganza sewfest were two pillowcases. I had been wanting to make them and finally was able to spend the time recently.

I bought some Boy Scout Fabric at Scottie Dog Fabrics on the North Coast earlier this year.

One will be a birthday gift for a friend of the Young Man and the other I will give to the Young Man, perhaps as a Christmas gift. We’ll see.

I have a little of the fabric left, but not enough to make another pillowcase. I don’t know what I will do with it. I am sure I’ll think of something.

Continuing to Choose Colors

I wrote about choosing colors a few weeks ago. If you recall I am looking to make my own Jelly Roll (Jaye Roll??) to make another sample for the Super Secret Project. Since I wrote about that I took the Bill Kerr class and that class helped to inform my additional choices.

Since I took the class I tried to apply the principles Kerr taught to my attempts at selecting the 40+ fabrics. I have to say that it is difficult to apply the principles we learned at the Fabric Smackdown, because I didn’t start with two completely unrelated fabrics. I started with one Philip Jacobs. You saw it in the previous post as well.

Remember I also had a lime and a couple of orange solids?

What I did NOT want to do was think of the PJ fabric as a focus fabric and just pick matchy-matchy fabrics to go with it. This fabric was to be the jumping off point, but not the full color spectrum for the quilt.

I still had the essence of the class on my mind, so I grabbed some additional fabrics….

I was going to say “that I thought would work”, but that isn’t quite right.

The fabrics I chose do work together, but I don’t think they would be typically considered “a group.”

Keep in mind, not all of these fabrics will definitely stay in the group. They might, but they might not. I think the group is interesting and it makes my eyes move around. The ones that bug me are the dark pinks from the Notting Hill group (upper left, second column). I don’t hate them. My eyes are drawn to them. I don’t think they are quite right.

I also need some more medium scale prints. Dots? Ta Dots?

I am moving forward and making progress. I need at least 12 more fabrics, if not 15. I think I am going in the right direction. I am not there yet, so I’ll keep working at it.

Learning Never Stops

Joel Dewberry Notting Hill Pristine Poppy (midnight)

I hate to shatter your illusions, but on many things I am no expert 😉 and can always learn something. Recently I bought some home dec fabric to make a bag (or a couple of bags, really). I got it and realized I didn’t know how to deal with it.

I always pre-wash. I even pre-wash Jelly Rolls and Layer Cakes. The smell of the chemicals from the fabric when I iron unwashed fabric makes me break out in a rash. I am not ranting or proselytizing; I am not telling you what I do. There are no quilt police on this blog. I encourage you to do whatever you want that allows you to make many, many quilts.

I have made accessories and small items with home dec fabric before, but it wasn’t yardage. Mostly I used scraps from various sources, such as FabMo. I almost never buy home dec yardage so the question of pre-washing has never come up. Most of the home dec fabric I have used doesn’t smell (off gassing) by the time I get it, is in relatively small quantities and is made from specialty fibers so I don’t think of pre-washing.

However, with the bags I want to make, I am going to be pressing a lot and don’t really want to wear a mask while I make the bag, thus the question of pre-washing came up. I contacted Lindsay and Charlie over at Hawthorne Threads and they pointed me to a post on Make It Love It.com. It talks generally about pre-washing, but not specifically about home dec fabric.

I am using home dec fabric for the bag, because I want the added body and strength beyond quilt weight fabric. Will the finishes wash off and leave me with a limp mess? Can I replace the body/finishes with Mary Ellen’s Best Press?

Do you have any ideas, thoughts, wisdom to share? By the time you read this I might have already washed it.

Receiving Blankets

I made about three quilts as baby gifts for friends and then stopped. I like to give baby gifts that people are going to use rather than put in the closet for ‘good’. Receiving blankets are good for lots of things, not the least of which are superhero(ine) capes and playmats. I wrote about a full list of the possibilities which I could think up the last time I did a big post on receiving blankets.

I don’t always make receiving blankets for people. Sometimes I just go to Target and get the something off their list. I just felt like sewing some receiving blankets this time.

I think I said this before, but for new readers:

I use 1.25 yards of flannel.
I wash all the flannel in a baby friendly laundry soap,
then I hem the edges with a decorative stitch. I don’t hem the selvedge edges. It works for me, they are relatively quick to make and I get great feedback on them.

The red piece in the upper right hand corner is more of a wrap. Sometimes something a little smaller is nice, especially if the mom is layering.

Great gift! Try some!

August 26 Projects List

I just noticed that I have only 8 projects on my WIPs list. EIGHT!!! I have really made progress.

Finished 2013 Projects:

Corner Store: Finished on 1/1/2013 YAY!
The Garden. Finished on 1/5/2013 YAY!
Stepping Stones: Finished on 2/14/2013 YAY!
Fabric of the Year 2011: Finished on 2/27/2013 YAY
Calm: Finished on 3/14/2013 YAY!
A-B-C Challenge: Finished on 3/31/2013 YAY!
Petrillo Bag*: Finished on May 5, 2013 YAY!
Super Secret Project #1: Finished on June 13, 2013
Super Secret Project #2: Finished on June 23, 2013

Other non-quilt Projects finished

5 donation Pillowcases
2 fabric handbags/project bags
6 cat beds

Still WIPs

Aqua-Red Sampler – Frances is working diligently, though I know she feels frustrated with the foundation pieced block. I think part of that is because she is left handed and I am right handed. I finished the foundation piecing tutorial, along with my block for this part of the class. I am not giving up on her.
The Tarts Come to Tea: I still haven’t worked on this since April 2011, though I did think about working on it. I hope that counts for something. I really do need to get back to the quilting. I am still a little mad at myself for making such good progress and then getting sidetracked. I thought quilting the Whole Cloth quilt would get me back in the swing of quilting, but apparently not.
Pointillist Palette #4: Fourth is a series of 6 quilts; needs tiny square patches sewn together. Mrs. K. gave me more PP fabric and I won some from a giveaway. I still think it is a sign that I need to work on this. Leaders and enders.
See: needs satin stitching. Small, also a possibility for finishing. I really have the feeling I came so close to working on this project this month.
Self Portrait: started in 2006 at a class at Quilting Adventures in Richmond, Virginia. I like the piece, but don’t know where to go from where I am. Mouth? Hair? The attitude I need to have is that I can’t ruin it; there is always more fabric.
Under the Sea: class project; like the design, but not the colors much.
Flower Sugar Hexagon: I thought about sewing more hexagons together. Although not difficult, sewing Y seams is a bit of a chore, so I get tired of doing it after awhile. I could, perhaps, use leaders and enders to get this piece moving?

Ready for Quilting

Original Bullseye: At the quilter
New:* Wonky 9 Patch: needs basting, quilting and binding. Not on original list
Infinity blocks: blocks sewn together into a quilt top, borders on. Back and binding made; ready to be quilted.
Spiderweb: Top is together, binding is made. This is at the quilter.
New:* FOTY 2012: top, finished, though I can’t decide if I need a quilting border. Back and binding are complete; I am waiting to take it to the quilter.
New:*Star Sampler: Top finished, back and binding finished. Ready to go to the quilter (not on original list)
New:*Fresh Fruit: Top finished, back and binding finished. Ready to go to the quilter (not on original list)
Young Man’s t-shirt quilt: Top, back and binding are all ready to go to the quilter.

Please note that even if you combine the two lists above, I do not have 26 projects on this list anymore. I have made progress!!!

In the Finishing Process

New:* Sparkle Pink – quilted, working on binding it. (not on original list)
New:* Swoon – Quilted; ready for binding.

Abandoned

Nothing so far for 2013

Hunting and Gathering

Spin Wheel: really not started, but supplies gathered. I probably have enough fabrics and just need to decide to start.
Windmill quilt: Still hunting and gathering.
Stepping Stones #2 using Bonnie & Camille fabrics Bliss, Ruby, Vintage Modern: made two test blocks, but still in the thinking stage while I decide on the background colors. I want the contrast to be good.

Last update for the 26 Projects List. Read it. There’s some interesting stuff there.

I thought you might want to take a look at the first list I made, the one with the 26 Projects. I started the list in October 2011. I have made progress. I plan to stop this post when I have no more projects from the original list to write about. I wonder when that will be?

*New – Project started after I started working on the 26 Projects list

Bill Kerr Quilts

I meant to post this right after the workshop and I even worked on getting the photos in shape to be in the post. Life intervened and here it is late on a Saturday morning and I am just getting to post it. You East Coasters are already off doing whatever it is you do at 1pm on a Saturday. 😉

This is the quilt that we discussed the most and made the idea of choosing fabrics for their role in the conversation stick in my head. The thing about this quilt is that each fabric has a role and is related to, at least, one other fabric and is a bridge to another. I really like this idea of bridging fabrics to each other. Even if fabrics don’t look like they fit together in a quilt, there is a story the maker can tell through the fabric. Read the Fabric Smackdown post for more information.

I have been reading through the color sections of the Bill Kerr/ Weeks Ringle books to try and find a reference to this method, but so far I haven’t been successful. I also haven’t found tow of the books, which I know are buried in one of my quilt book stacks, so stay tuned.

I knew all the names of the quilts after the workshop, but now I don’t. If I get them wrong, let me know nicely and I will make the changes.

One of the questions I have heard numerous times in workshops that deal with using fabrics is how to use the fabulous large scale prints that are so popular now. Follow the Leader is a good example of how to use large scale prints. One of the things that brings these fabrics together is the literal connection of the grey bits connecting the rectangles. He still followed the other guidelines we discussed, but that bit of grey (could be another color) adds a connection.

One of the things I found in almost all of the Kerr/Ringle quilts was that my eyes moved around. There was interest in the selection of fabrics in the quilts. Their method of selecting fabrics is a lot of work, but, clearly, for my eye, it works.

There was, also, a consistent message throughout the ‘trunk show’. Each quilt provided another lesson in the same things we discussed at the beginning: scale, pattern, role, etc.

In the detail of Follow the Leader, you can see that fuschia-maroon dot on a greyish-beige background (lower right hand corner). We discussed that fabric a lot. It is related to the paisley on the sea green background. The shape of the dots is also related to the green/gold dot next to the paisley. The relationships are some part of why both fabrics work in that quilt. The class discussed that dot a lot, though, because it was an unexpected choice. Not wrong, but it might not be the first choice when choosing a selection of fabrics.

We had an unexpected discussion about kid quilts as well. I am sure many of us have made quilts for our kids (see T-shirt quilt, Eye Spy, etc), grandkids, nieces and nephews or even for Project Linus and other kid charities. The default is something like the T-shirt quilt or a quilt using novelty fabrics. They give us a place to start.

As a parent, I have always tried to talk to my kid like a person rather than a kid. I have also encouraged others to do the same. The conversation we had about kid quilts in the workshop was all about kid quilts that encourage play and grow with kid. In other words, quilt as more than a bed covering.

Duh.

The quilt he brought to illustrate this point was made from all solids and would be suitable for a dorm room bed as it would be for a toddler’s play mat. The quilt comes with bean bags and Bill said that Sophie made up a lot of different games using the quilt and the bean bags. This quilt is on the cover of Modern Quilts Illustrated issue 6. I presume the pattern is in the magazine, but don’t have that issue.

I know that I could make this quilt with solids I have on hand. It would be great with tone on tones as well. You could try changing out some of the squares for suitable novelty fabric and add to the game playing fun. I wonder how it would look in black and white fabrics with one color?

Pam has a series of holiday and seasonable quilts going that she uses to decorate. When I saw this quilt, it reminded me of a stack of eggs and I thought it could be used as a sophisticated Easter quilt in the colors shown or, made with pastels, a more traditional kind of spring quilt. I believe they use raw edge applique’ for the construction. This quilt is still available in the Kerr/Ringle Modern Quilts Illustrated issue 2 and there is a much better picture there as well. ;-)

I think that the quilt is interesting, but what I really like is the construction technique. They made it by sewing the grey and white, then cutting the strips apart and inserting the yellows. I thought that was brilliant. Why make yourself crazy trying to piece those angles if you don’t have to? The quilt is in their MQI #3 issue.

Remember: Every quilt is an opportunity to learn

Creative Prompt #221: Velvet

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Velvet TV movie, 1984

Velvet Underground

Velvet magazine

Velvet Light Trap – A journal of film and media studies, edited by graduate students at the University of Texas at Austin and the University of Wisconsin at Madison.

Velvet Taco

Definition: “Velvet is a type of woven tufted fabric in which the cut threads are evenly distributed, with a short dense pile, giving it a distinctive feel.

The word ‘velvety’ is used as an adjective to mean “smooth like velvet.” Velvet can be either synthetic or natural.

Traditionally, velvet is associated with nobility. Velvet was introduced to Baghdad during the rule of Harun al-Rashid by Kashmiri merchants and to Al-Andalus by Ziryab. In the Mamluk era, Cairo was the world’s largest producer of velvet. Much of it was exported to Venice, Al-Andalus and the Mali Empire. Musa I of Mali, the ruler of the Mali Empire, visited Cairo on his pilgrimage to Mecca. Many Arab velvet makers accompanied him back to Timbuktu. Later Ibn Battuta mentions how Suleyman (mansa) the ruler of Mali wore a locally produced complete crimson Velvet caftan on Eid. During the reign of Mehmed II, assistant cooks wore blue-coloured dresses (câme-i kebûd), conical hats (külâh) and baggy trousers (çaksir) made from Bursa velvet.^{[citation needed]}

Velvet with Medici Arms, Florence or Venice, 1440–1500

King Richard II of England directed in his will that his body should be clothed in velveto in 1399.^[1]

The earliest sources of European artistic velvets were Lucca, Genoa, Florence and Venice, which continued to send out rich velvet textures. Somewhat later the art was taken up by Flemish weavers, and in the sixteenth century, Bruges attained a reputation for velvets that were not inferior to those of the great Italian cities.”

Velvetpop.com

Red Velvet Cake

Velvet Elvis Painting

Finished Donation Blocks

I did diligently work on these donation blocks until they were done a week or so ago.

They are fun to work on and I am happy I put the blue square in each block. I think it adds interest.

I am thinking that my next effort will be sans background, e.g. no grey, and just have different scraps all in the same color make up the blocks. Where the blue is in these lovelies, I will substitute a complimentary colored patch, similar to what Pam did with her Rainbow Baby quilt. I guess I keep saying this over and over so I must really want to do it.

Yes, I still want to put sashing between the blocks. I’d love to get this done by the September meeting. We’ll see. Apparently, crawling up into my fabric closet for a blue bin is a problem. I don’t even know if I have the right blue for the sashing.

Inspiration Wednesday

The people with whom we stayed in Georgetown over the weekend had little shrines all over their property. Many were devoted to Mary or seemed Catholic in origin.This was a very beautiful piece that was laying on a table on their deck. The simplicity and smoothness really appealed to me.

Surprise Quilt Show

As part of DH’s duties as Grand 3rd Vice President (PooBah!), he participates in dedications of historic places in California. This past weekend I went with him to Georgetown for the dedication of the Josephine Mine Cemetery. The mine is off a road near Volcanville called Paymaster Mine Road. This deep into the California back country ‘road’ is a kind word.

The Georgetown Parlor that worked towards unearthing this cemetery from the ravages of time did an amazing job. The cemetery is very small, but someday there will also be a NSGW memorial park at the site as well.

Last night I had a dream that the guys set up a souvenir shop near Wentworth Springs Road and Volcanville Road selling postcards and cemetery knick-knacks from a little wooden shed on the corner. They also had the cemetery added to the Automobile Associate guidebook. We joked that it would be a 3 star destination.

After the dedication there was a barbecue. It was a very nice BBQ at a nice location. I brought my own food, which was a very excellent steak that DH cooked for me. It was relaxing to just sit and chat.

Sunday we got up with plans to drive home, but it took us quite awhile to get on the road. It is hard to rush around from event to event. I would love to have time to just go when we wanted. Work is so inconvenient. I guess the way they get people to show up is to pay them.

One of our stops was in Auburn, California where all of Placer County was having museum free day. This is the heart of the gold country so, I guess, there are a lot of museums. One of the museums was called the Bernhard Museum. We went up there to see the wagons and carriages owned and maintained by the Natives at Auburn Parlor.

In one of the Bernhard Museum buildings, the Foothill Quilters Guild had put up a small quilt show. The wife of one of the Past Grand Presidents went with me to look while the boys chatted about carriages and boy stuff.

There was quite a bit of applique’, both raw edge and needle-turn.

Feelin' Groovy by Ronda Kucala — Feelin’ Groovy by Ronda Kucala

This is a Verna Mosquera pattern and this rendition was made by Candy Brown. Candy Brown was one of the ladies manning the Foothill Quilters Guild table. We spent a few minutes talking with the two ladies. I also bought a couple of raffle tickets for their opportunity quilt and signed Mrs. Past Grand President’s name instead of my own. She would love to win and the quilt wasn’t really my colors. Candy turned out to be an unknown cousin of Dave, the Past Grand President. It suddenly hit me why people move from large urban places like the Bay Area to the boondocks.

As an aside, I have had many discussions with my Austrian friends about how stupid Americans are to move from their lovely urban homes close to public transportation, amenities like hospitals and traveling nurses when we retire. They claim to do the opposite, though you should understand that their large cities aren’t nearly as large as our large cities and the country is very close to the ‘city’ in many cases. Talking to Ms. Brown and listening to her and Mrs. Past Grand President talk as they found this connection, which expanding into knowing other people in common and having another cousin or uncle or something in common made me realize that in small towns people have the opportunity to meet people like this and have these kinds of conversations. We are rushing around from place to place trying to get everything done and there are sooooo many more people that we never have time to stop and talk to any of them. I felt like a bunch of puzzle pieces fell into place.

I saw this and thought immediately of Pam. There are cats in each window. I didn’t just take the photo because of Pam. I really like the shape and size of the houses.I also like the symmetry.

Fortunately, they told me where the quilt shop was so next time I head to Auburn I’ll go take a look. Stay tuned for that.

Many Journal Covers

I am really in awe of pattern makers. The reason I am in awe is because of the journal covers. I have a tutorial for them for the Miquelrius journals, yet it is not perfect. I tinker with it all the time. Tinkering with it makes me loathe to expand it to other types of journals, though I know it would be useful to have the standard measurements for, say, composition books or even paperback books.

If a pattern maker is good s/he tests and tests until the pattern is right. I assume that is what the pattern maker does, anyway. I assume that s/he tests many, many variations. I also assume that there are fewer variations with quilt patterns than with patterns like bags and journal covers.

I really do have the measurements for the Miquelrius journal correct now. I don’t need to trim, unsew and retrim and resew at all anymore. This is really a good thing and makes me very happy. Unsewing is part of the process, but I don’t like it as much as sewing fabric together.

Now I am tinkering with the filling. After the bonanza of journal covers that was my activity for sew day, I have decided that I need to find something else to fill the journals with. The batting is too fat. This is really a shame, because I have a lot of batting scraps. It would be nice if the batting were perfect.
It isn’t, though and we need to move on.

I tried the Pellon 806 Stitch-n-Tear interfacing on the combination journal cover. This is the cover I made with many different types of scraps. I didn’t try and keep the scraps from certain quilts together. I just sewed whatever pieces of fabric together that would fit and not look terrible.

I like the weight of the Stitch-n-Tear, but I don’t like the stiffness. I know that Stitch-n-Tear tears away (I use it for machine embroidery), but I don’t think that will be a problem. I have a lot of it on hand and it was convenient. I didn’t want to have to run out and buy something else.

For one journal cover it will be fine. I really like the thinness of the Stitch-n-Tear. Long term, for the tutorial, it won’t work. I am not sure what else to try. Perhaps I’ll try the Shape Flex I used in the Petrillo Bag?

What is your favorite interfacing?

Is there a garment interfacing that might be the ticket?

Did I say that I liked working on the same type of project over and over? I do. I was reminded of that when I made the journals. I liked trying different things and making small changes and trying again. It is a great way to get better at something and lessen the fear factor.

Certainly, I am not afraid of sewing and I am not afraid of journals, but I really want these to be an easy, fast project that is more about the fabric than about the construction. I can challenge myself in construction techniques with quilts.

I just got two quilts back from Colleen. With them came a bag of scraps from the edges. I am still working on journal covers, but this means I will be working on more Any guesses what else I’ll be making more of? More small projects!