Pavers

Pavers is ready to quilt. I am not sure the name suits, but that is what it is. It will be a gift.

Pavers - top
Pavers - top

This pattern is based on a photo I saw on Flickr from Green Couch Designs and related to the Purple quilt I finished a few weeks ago. Both on the Purple Quilt and this quilt I wanted to work with asymmetrical borders. I wasn’t happy with the border on the purple quilt, so I tried again on this one. I think I want to work with the border a little bit more and will make one more quilt in this pattern.

This is an easy quilt to make and I basically finished all of the blocks by using them as leaders and enders.

The photo above has that lovely pink post-it on the top as a direction to the quilter. It just says what I have designated as the top. I do that for the back, too.

Pavers - no borders
Pavers - no borders

Above is a picture of it laying on my ‘design floor’ before I put the borders on. I was amazed at how much better the piece looked sewn together. The duplicate fabrics near each other didn’t seem to matter and the whole thing just came together.

This quilt was made from a group of fabrics I bought from the Fabricworm.

 

Hexagons Tutorial-Preparing to Sew

Hexagon piece
Hexagon piece

Did you follow the directions for cutting your hexagons? Did you watch the video? If so, you are ready to prepare to piece. If not, you can find the directions and information on my previous post.

Note: my hexagons are 7″ unfinished. We are preparing to machine sew the hexagons using Y seams. Leave your fear of Y seams at the door, please. This is a relatively quick method after you do the step outlined below. However, you won’t be able to chain piece.

Supplies needed:

  • Sewing machine
  • Quarter inch foot
  • Thread
  • Ironing board
  • Iron
  • rotary ruler a bit longer than one side of your hexagon (I like the Creative Grids 4.5″x8.5″ rectangular ruler)
  • thin sharp black pen like a Pigma Micron or a Pilot Scuf or a Sewline pencil
  • your hexagons

You will be working on the wrong side of your hexagons at first.

The photo of my piece (above) is similar to what your goal should be. Note that the piece I show is not the final product. I don’t know how large my final quilt will be. That is just how I roll on certain projects. You should check Sandy’s blog and podcast as she has provided some information about sizes and amounts of fabric.

I don’t think in rows, so I don’t always sew in rows (remember the Chunking it tutorial?). This project lends itself to sewing in a circle, which I find very calming.

Face Down
Face Down

Take your cut hexagons and turn them right side down (wrong side up) on a surface you can draw on. I do this step right next to my sewing machine just before I sew. Take your rotary ruler and position the edge a quarter inch from one edge.

Ruler on Hexagon
Ruler on Hexagon

For example, pretend you were going to slice off a quarter inch and position your ruler that way. Note there is no rotary cutter on the supply list so no cutting, please. The goal is to end up with an X at the 60 degree angle spot on the patch.

Hexagon Marked-detail
Hexagon Marked-detail

On the wrong side of your fabric, take your pen and draw a light line where a quarter of an inch should be.

Draw a Light Line
Draw a Light Line

You won’t see it on the front if you are careful, so using one of the pens mentioned above is ok. You will be doing this at the 60 degree angle/where the corner of the patch is, if the patch had a corner.

Draw Line on Next Side
Draw Line on Next Side

When you mark the second side, you will have one X and 2 lines.

One X and 2 Lines
One X and 2 Lines

Do the same thing at each of the other angles.

Hexagon Angles Marked
Hexagon Angles Marked

If you draw lines all the way around so you have little X-es at every angle of your hexagon. No groaning. I didn’t promise this would be a fast project, but it also doesn’t take that much time. If you are rolling your eyes, go buy the American Patchwork and Quilting magazine, because they have a method of doing this piecing in rows. Seems everyone is on the Hexagon bandwagon these days.

If the above process is just too horrendous for you to contemplate, consider the Perfect Piecer by Jinny Beyer.

Perfect Piecer
Perfect Piecer

The 60 degree angle on the right side is perfect for making dots (not X-es) which you can use to sew between. Those circles are actual holes through which you can mark. I bought this to use for my Flowering Snowball and realized it would work with this project as well. I pushed the Sewline pencil lead way out of the pencil and was able to use it with this ruler.

Once you have done the marking, go to your sewing machine.

Do all the normal thread and needle checking stuff necessary for your machine.

Put your machine on the setting for stopping with the needle down. If you don’t have a needle down setting, adjust your sewing so you can stop with the needle down. This isn’t an absolute must, but really helps.

Position the needle right above the intersection of the x. Sew into the intersection of the X and sew all the way across using your quarter inch foot. STOP at the intersection of the second X. Do NOT sew into the seam allowance. Backstitch a couple of times.

I backstitch, because there are no seams crossing one another.

Remedy for sewing into the seam allowance: rip out the number of stitches into the seam allowance. Don’t rip out the whole seam, just rip out the stitch or two that went over.

Take the piece out of the machine and reposition the next unsewn side.Same deal: Position the needle right above the intersection of the x. Sew into the intersection of the X and sew all the way across using your quarter inch foot. STOP at the intersection of the second X. Do NOT sew into the seam allowance. Backstitch a couple of times.

Hexagons Unpressed
Hexagons Unpressed

Take your piece over to the ironing board and lay it face down. Yes, I know everyone says to press right sides up. Not this time, sweetie. Face down. On the ironing board. You are going to make a swirl with the seams near each other. Look for how the other seams connected to the new ones you just sewed are pressed and press the new ones in the same direction.

Hexagon Flower
Hexagon Flower

If you follow these directions, you will get a little flower at the intersections of the seams. That is why you don’t sew into the seam allowance. The quilt will lay flatter and the seams will be in order.

You see a slightly different method at the Blue Chair blog.

Hexagons Follow-up

Recently, I talked about my adventures with hexagons. The adventures continue and a few people are joining in, something I didn’t know, or think, would happen. There seems to be something about hexagons that intrigues people.

Small Hexagon Test
Small Hexagon Test

The above photo shows what I did to test out my hexagon theories.

Much larger hexagon test piece
Much larger hexagon test piece

The test kind of grew.

Hexagon-not a test
Hexagon-not a test

Now I have to admit that this hexagon piece is no longer a test. This will be a real quilt at some point. At this point, I am just sewing hexagons to each other as a kind of treat for myself in between other ‘must finish’ projects. The hexagon piece really helped me get through the pillows. The colors are cheerful and fun. I am trying to keep it even on all sides, but the edges keep creeping out into long lines of hexagons. I don’t know how big it will be – perhaps as big as the amount of fabric I have?

It is good to look at the piece in a photo format, because it helps me see where I need to put the next colors.

Clearview Ruler
Clearview Ruler

The ruler I used is a Clearview Ruler from Alicia’s Attic. They are a bit hard to find, but you can find them at the Granary. I am pretty sure that if you call them they will send you one. Why do you need this one? Because you need the tip. Any 60 degree ruler will work as long as the tip is not blunted.

Pyramid Ruler
Pyramid Ruler

I started out using my beloved Pyramid ruler from Fons & Porter and my hexagons came out kind of squashed looking. I love this ruler, but it doesn’t work for this quick cutting hexagon method. You MUST have the tip to use the quick cutting method described in the video by Kaye Wood, which is on Little Bluebell’s blog.

You can, of course, use a hexagon ruler. You don’t need to make hexagons using the quick cutting method described by Kaye Wood.

Hexagon Ruler
Hexagon Ruler

I bought the Fons & Porter hexagon ruler for the Spin Wheels project. I didn’t start out using it for the hexagon project, so I am not using it for that project. If you plan to do a scrappy hexagon, this ruler (or one like it) is the way to go. The Kaye Wood quick hexagon cutting method uses strips and if you aren’t using strips, there is no reason to use that method. I have an Easy Hexagon ruler by Sharon Hultgren, but it is too big for me and  I am getting rid of it. Check Quilt Trader’s Newsletter.

I have 150 or so hexagons cut. I am sure I could figure out how big that would be, but where would be the fun in that? I just want to make sure it doesn’t get too big. 😉

Flying Geese Tutorial

This is a thinking girl’s tutorial to making flying geese.Knowing how to make Flying Geese allows you to make Sawtooth Star blocks, Dutchman’s Puzzle blocks, borders and other parts needed for your quilts.

You are going to have to use the technique with your own measurements to make the geese that fit your project. There are many other ways to make flying geese.

Cut 2 Squares for each Flying Geese Element
Cut 2 Squares for each Flying Geese Element

This fabric will be used for the ‘wings’.

Draw diagonal line from corner to corner
Draw diagonal line from corner to corner

Turn the squares over and draw a diagonal line from corner to corner. You will need to do this on all of the squares for your Flying Geese.

Cut background
Cut background

Cut background, or goose, fabric.

Lay wing 1 on goose
Lay wing 1 on goose

Lay first square that will be a wing on the goose (background) fabric and pin. Make sure the pin is out of the way. You will be sewing on that drawn line, so you will need to pin far enough away so the pin doesn’t interfere with the operation of the machine.

Sew along line
Sew along line

Sew along line and trim threads. I use a foot that has an arrow on it. I can line that arrow up with the drawn line and sew away.

Trim
Trim

Trim 1/4″ through the wing and the goose away from the sewn line as shown above. Press the wing so the front of the wing fabric is showing.

Lay 2d square on goose.
Lay 2d square on goose.

Place the second wing on the other side of the background fabric.

Trim 2d sewn wing
Trim 2d sewn wing
Sew and trim second wing
Sew and trim second wing

Sew and trim as above. Sew so that you cross the previous sewing line.

Press back 2d wing
Press back 2d wing

Press back the 2d wing and, voila’, you have a Flying Geese element.

You need four of these to make a Sawtooth Star or eight of them to make a Dutchman’s Puzzle.

 

Three Quilts Return

3 Quilts
3 Quilts

These quilts returned to me by mail last week. I just couldn’t open them, because I haven’t finished the hand stitching on the others that I got back last month. Too much piecing and not enough TV watching, I guess. I need to finish the binding on the Frosted Stars and decide if it is getting a sleeve. I may give it away, thus it wouldn’t necessarily need a sleeve, but I have nobody in mind at the moment. We’ll see.

I also need to make and put the sleeve on the FOTY 2010. I am not sure if I will use the Ta Dot in Stone (may not have enough) to match the binding or some blues like the back. I think either would be fine, but am agonizing a bit.Making the sleeve should be a task for this weekend so at least I can have the hand stitching available if I have time. That baby has to be ready by July 11.

Anyway, the three quilts (above) are back.

Zig Zaggy detail
Zig Zaggy detail

Frankly, I never thought the Zig Zaggy would get done. I really like the freshness of the colors and the piecing was just challenging enough not to be boring. That was fun. It is, however, a weird shape , which doesn’t exactly encourage me to work on it, but there it is, binding on and ready to have the binding sewn down. Colleen is a master, though, and it is due to her that the quilt is done. I didn’t expect this quilt back until the Fall. She did a great job on the quilting and really took the design to the next level.

Her quilting reminds me that the quilting aspect of making a quilt is really a design element. Kerr and Ringle discuss this in Quilts Made Modern, which I read and took notes on, but haven’t finished writing the review. In a quilt like the Zig Zaggy quilt, this concept really stands out.

SfSB Quilted, detail
SfSB Quilted, detail

Yes, that is the Stars for San Bruno #1 quilt. All of you who contributed should be proud! In the detail, you can see the quilting. It is a kind of wind blowing pattern. I asked her to do something that would last for a quilt that would be used by a non-quilter household. I don’t usually go for all over patterns, but this one looks good for the style of quilt, I think. I am really pleased that I am keeping up my end of the bargain. I am a little bit excited about giving the quilt to DH’s cousin. I know getting something out of it isn’t the point, but I can’t help being a little excited. I’ll dial it down a bit until I get the binding on. Of course, SfSB #2 is calling my name more and more insistently. 😉

JDJ Quilt
JDJ Quilt

Finally, the bottom quilt is a food quilt that my mom made for my cousin. I may never see this quilt again, so here is a full photo of it minus the border.

Mom made this quilt for my cousin (her nephew) after the first quilt she made for him mysteriously disappeared. This is about the 3rd incarnation of this quilt as she kept rearranging and remaking blocks and pieces. I am sure she will write about it on her blog, so look out for that post.

Various & Sundry 2011 #9

Cafe Press Store

I am getting ready to change out all of the designs on the items in the store. If you want any of the Seeing Red items, now is the time to get them. You know you need that iPad cover. 😉

Supplies & Patterns

I never think to look at Nancy’s Notions for quilting supplies. Not sure why. I saw an update from her on FB and checked a new product she rolled out at Quilt Market. I also looked around at her rulers and such. She has a nice selection of what looks like innovative tools and rulers.

I am sort of interested in needle felting – not actually doing it, but knowing about it and seeing other people do it. I thought this project for a felted iPad cover was a good idea. Useful as well appropriate pattern for the materials.

Fabric

Michael Miller has posted all of their new lines of fabric. They also have an Aqua Red line that includes the Little Plain Jane flower print that I am using on my latest sampler.  I may also buy more of the aqua with the red dots. I love the cheerfulness of that fabric design.

Rouge et Noir looks like it also has some nice prints. I see some of them becoming bags.

Aqua Queen Street
Aqua Queen Street

In both of the lines I have mentioned, I see Michael Miller reusing designs, which I think it is a good idea. I still would like Windham to reissue Botanical Pop in the turquoise colorway. They might have missed their chance, because I am really liking the aqua/turquoise with white dot print in the Queen Street line (above or bottom row, 3rd from left in this photo). I also like the red, which is from the Moda Bliss line.

Michael Miller has spread dots all over their new lines. They have included some of the ‘dumb dots’ (dumb name, IMO) and the Ta Dots in their various new lines. I consider those dots to be staples and am glad to see them reappearing. I will have to search hard in the new lines to ‘replenish’ my supply. 😉

I keep hearing that grey is in for the new season of fabric. I don’t think I am buying into it. I live in the fog. Weeks can go by when I don’t see the sun and the last thing I need is more fog in my workroom.

Did anyone see anything new from Martha Negley at Quilt Market?

Quilt World News

Quilt Market has come and gone. Again I did not attend. I followed along via Twitter, which was ok. The Fat Quarter Shop posted tons of candid shots and that was fun. Stop Staring and Start Sewing has a great blog post recap about it-one of the best I have seen. Camille Roskelly also posted a nutshell recap. There is a great picture of her booth and I just love the colors. I can’t get enough of them. Front and center is a tray of Ruby charm packs. I think I have to get one. Lots of fabulous aqua and red photos in Camille’s post. Kathy at Pink Chalk Studio has a wonderful recap. She posts pictures, but also talks about the trends. Her post feeds my intellectual curiosity about the quilt industry.

C&T publishing, and their Stash imprint, was featured in an article about their phenomenal growth in a difficult industry. YAY C&T/Stash!

I have to admit that I was disappointed in the recent blog list in Quilter’s Home magazine. I like the idea of the 50 best blogs or whatever, but was disappointed (a) because mine wasn’t in there and (b) because most of the blogs were the same old, same old. I have to be honest. I work hard on my blog and it would be nice to see it show up in one of these lists sometime. Still, that isn’t the reason I write this blog, so fine, I am moving on. The other thing, though, is that the blogs they featured are great blogs: good info, gorgeous photos. There isn’t anything wrong with the blogs, but they are the popular blogs. The writers/editors didn’t have to work to make a new and innovative list.

Getting the Word Out

I am excited that another one of my posts, Hooked on Hexagons, was featured on Creating the Hive. This is my fourth post to be featured on Creating the Hive. Creating the Hive is another space for people to talk about their art. Lisa of LisaLizaLou invited me to join. If you want an invitation, let me know.

The other great news is that FOTY 2010 will be hung at the San Jose Museum of Quilts & Textiles. How did I do it? I just sent in a picture for one of their shows. I am pretty excited. I finished putting the binding on, but have to get the sleeve on that baby and then I can consider it done and will show it here.

Hooked on Hexagons

Dear TFQ and Little Bluebell,
This is all your fault.
Jaye
_____________________________
Now that I have that out of the way, yes, I seem to be hooked on hexagons. The test piece is much larger. If you want to cut hexagons, like I am doing, check out Little Bluebell’s cutting directions.

Much larger hexagon test piece
Much larger hexagon test piece

I am also interested in the Spin Wheel design by Fons & Porter. I was watching, what I thought was a Kaleidoscope episode and it turned out to be the Spin Wheel episode. I took notes again so I could do a test block.

Spin Wheel drawings
Spin Wheel drawings
Spin Wheel drawings 2
Spin Wheel drawings 2

I went looking for examples people have made and only found a few. I found a tutorial, which is good since I don’t have the magazine. BeckyF also did the pattern in fun colors, which I found on Flickr. There is one on Webshots that is done more in the colors the Fons & Porter ladies like. I like this progression/gallery of photos making the Spin Wheel. Also, the blue and yellow are cheerful.

This has nothing to do with the Spin Wheel, but Daniel Rouse has put up a really cool hexagon quilt on his site. I like the small and large.

Test Pieces Arranged #2
Test Pieces Arranged #2

I am also starting a scrap project using the Twirling Triangles pattern, which is, ultimately, a hexagon.

FOTY 2011 Triangles - 4/2011
FOTY 2011 Triangles – 4/2011

Oh, of course, FOTY 2011, too. Yes, I have a thing going. Obsessed is probably a better word.

Check out Sandy’s site. She is thinking about hexagons, too. And Pam over at Hip to Be a Square podcast. These two are totally my fault. How can I not want to spread the joy of something fun?

Hexagon Related Posts:
November 13, 2012- Blue Chair Blog Hexagon Sewing tutorial
October 20, 2011- Hexagons Return
June 28, 2013- Hexagon Clarification
June 9, 2011 – Hexagons tutorial
June 7, 2011 – Attack of the Hexies
Little Bluebell’s Cutting Instructions

Follow-up: Design Wall

On Sunday May 1, I posted some information about what was on my design wall.

Sandy commented “You have a lot more going on with your design wall than I do with mine. I get too distracted by a lot going on visually so I can only have one project at a time up on the wall. My other projects are in bags or bins that periodically get pulled out, pawed through, then put away again. Sort of a low-commitment-refresher on what I’ve got going on at any given time. But I tend to be a One Project girl–one at a time, at least until the top is pieced. Then I might move on to something else while waiting for inspiration on the quilting.”

She made an excellent point, which leads me to more discussion about my process.

Shortly after I started quiltmaking, I moved quickly from one quilt project to another. I would most often not return to a project once I had moved on and rarely finished projects. This was how I mostly had crafted in the past and I perceived it as a quiltmaking trend at the time. One day I looked in the fabric closet and found boatloads of UFOs. I rarely finished anything. I realized that the time had come to start finishing those projects before I moved on to new projects. I still haven’t finished all of my UFOs, but I am farther along and keep strict track of my progress and of the UFOs I finish. Many of the older projects are finished and the ones that aren’t are moving towards the top of the list.

As described a bit in the presentation I made recently, I have thought a lot about my process and how I work. One of the things I realized is that I do a lot of prep work before I focus on a project. The cutting and beginning stitching may seem like part of the project, but for me it is prep work. I only cut to have some patches to stitch. I sew the little pieces into bigger pieces so I can really focus on the piece. Sewing small patches together is a great use of the leaders and enders philosophy. Using this philosophy, I can make a lot of progress without focusing on the project exclusively. Then suddenly I am ready to put blocks and a quilt top together.

Also, test pieces are not real projects for me. They are just that: tests; techniques and things I am trying out for one reason or another before I commit to a full quilt. I don’t count them as projects.

I am really trying hard to work on one large project at a time and see it through to the end. I am trying to finish everything I start, which means a lot more testing goes on before I commit. It doesn’t always work like it should because I can’t work on the project if it is at the quilter and I can’t watch TV while sitting at my machine.

I still have a number of projects going at once, but they are all organized and moving forward, even if they are not at the front of the line.

FOTY 2011 April 2011 Pieces

FOTY 2011 Triangles - 4/2011
FOTY 2011 Triangles - 4/2011

Here is the first group of triangles that will end up as Fabric of the Year 2011. I am doing something this year in that I am including many fabrics that I am using this year, but aren’t new. The large triangles are the new fabrics for this year and the small triangles are the fabrics that were already in my fabric closet, but were used in a quilt.

I have already realized that I am not going to be able to cut ALL fabrics that I use. I just am not organized enough. I haven’t developed the habit, but I am getting better.

I have the idea in my mind that I will make this more of a scrap quilt rather than arranging the fabrics carefully in a colorwash kind of order. I may not, though.

The other idea I have is to arrange it like Fons & Porter did in their Kalamkari Strippy.
We’ll see how I feel at the end of the year.

On the Design Wall

Design Wall 4/28/2011
Design Wall 4/28/2011

I have to clear off the design wall so I can create the samples and step outs for the quilt class. Taking a good look at the design wall made me realize that it is kind of being used as another dumping ground and more spring cleaning is required. So, before I clear it off, here is a tour.

Upper left: four patches. I cut scraps up into 2″ squares and sew them together into four patches. I use these patches as ‘Leaders and Enders’ a la Bonnie Hunter.  This means that I sew together squares rather than just using scraps to start off my chain piecing. I do this so that I can accomplish something as I am starting and ending chain piecing.

Middle top: FOTY 2011 patches. More about these later.

Upper right: Sampler quilt patterns/red and aqua quilt. I may do something else with red and aqua, but the sampler is a good project for these fabrics since I can’t think of anything else.

Very upper right: Nine patch made by the Young Man when he was a Cub Scout. I want to do something significant with it, but haven’t decided what yet.

Lower left: more four patches in progress.

Middle middle: FOTY 2010 test piece. I would like to use it to test the border treatment I want to use for the Original Bullseye quilt. I think this test project will end up higher on the to do list sooner than I thought, because I need that space on the design wall.

Middle middle towards right: rectangles for another quilt like the purple quilt. Right now these bricks are being used as leaders and enders.

Next to this series of bricks is a Big T block that will be the front of a Teacher Pillow for the Science Teacher. I don’t like the name of that blocks. I don’t have a better name, but I think Big T is uninspired.

Bottom right: hexagon test piece.

Border: all around the border are things that I enjoy looking at. I have won 2 ribbons (right) in the far and distant past, but I like to look at them to remind myself that I am able to win ribbons.

ATCs 4/29/2011
ATCs 4/29/2011

I find that a good way to display ATCs is using those badge holders I get from conferences. It also prevents the badge holders from being thrown out. I like them for ATC display, because I can clip them together.The ATCs are small and this display makes more of an impact.

It is a little quilt art gallery that I can change easily. I can change both the configuration of the badge holders as well as the ATCs displayed very easily.

 

Show Up. Do the Work.

Change of Seasons
Change of Seasons

I was asked to speak on a panel about art quilt making a few weeks ago, which was held in conjunction with the Primal Green Exhibit.

I was really flattered. I do a fair amount of public speaking for my profession, but it is the first time I have ever spoken publicly about quiltmaking. The request to speak sparked a lot of soul searching on my part about my quiltmaking. I am not a professional quiltmaker, nor do I really aspire to be. I wouldn’t mind licensing some of my images, but I have little to know interest in making quilts for sale, designing patterns, cutting kits or selling fabric. If someone plopped a successful shop in my lap, I might change my mind, but for now I am happy working away on the weekends making what I feel like making.

Part of the presentation was talking about my process, what makes me an art quilt maker and what my process is. I have a fairly good handle on my process, I thought, but the underlying philosophy of my work I knew would create a challenge. I thought about it a lot, wrote about it in my journal and kind of worked through some of the things that, it turned out were holding me back. Here is what I presented:

___________________________________________________________________

Primal Green presentation

Quiltmaking, for me, is about the interplay of colors with each other, and also with geometric shapes. I enjoy working in series, so I can explore a concept through to the end. The concepts I am working with currently have to do with color, and how the geometric shapes affect the relationship of the colors while acting as a vehicle for corralling the fabric motifs.

My quiltmaking work centers on the process of piecing. Once I finish the piecing, I am pretty much finished with the piece, because I am done working through that concept. I have to work very hard to get the finishing steps, such as the quilting and binding, completed.

I add texture to my quilts by embellishing with beads and Perl Cotton or decorative machine stitching rather than dyeing and painting on fabric. I do appreciate having an element of hand work involved in my quilts.

I prefer to work with other artists’ designs on fabric as that “self-imposed rule” provides some boundaries for my work.

I work very much in the geometric space of quilts, venturing only every once in a while out into the world of realism – or at least pseudo realism – such as with Change of Seasons.

For Change of Seasons, my Primal Green show quilt, I had a clear idea in my mind of the image I wanted to depict and I needed to work through the process of moving my vision from my head into fabric. This process required some fabric manipulation techniques and I did some of the quilting at the same time that I appliquéd down the leaves.

My quilts have really come back to the beginning lately. I am making a lot of one patch quilts, which means that I select one shape and work with it in one or more quilts. After selecting the shape, I work very intensely with color and motifs on fabric. The shapes I am using might be simple, but the colorwork makes the overall quilt look more complicated. I also find that the intense colorwork does not compete with the uncomplicated piecing and the work provides an intellectual challenge.

This direction turned my thoughts to what it means to be an art quiltmaker and whether the simplicity of my work fits in to that space.

I am inspired by antique quilts and the wide variety of block patterns available as well as [well photographed] advertising, color in nature and mosaic tiles.

Thank you!

(The following questions were posed to the entire panel. My answers are below.)

Q.   How did you start with fiber/textiles? How long ago? Are there other artists in your family?  Have you always done art?

A.    I come from a long line of needlewomen. I know that my great grandmother crocheted rugs from bread bags, tatted and did embroidery. My grandmother sewed formal dresses for my mother and aunts and crocheted afghans. My mother made costumes, clothes, crocheted, tatted and now quilts.

I have always done some kind of art. Before I started quiltmaking, I made leaded glass panels. I stopped because it wasn’t very portable and didn’t do anything for my hands which were always cut, black and bleeding. I painted, drew and did collages before being a collage artist was popular. I also took up garment sewing as I headed towards my college graduation.

I turned to quiltmaking on a whim. A friend from work wanted to take a quilt class and asked me to take it with her. I didn’t see the harm, but thought it was something grandmothers did! She dropped out after making her top and here I am ~25 years later.

Q.     What is it about fiber that appeals to you?

A.    The Tactile nature of the fiber.

Q.      What artist(s) (textile or other) have had a strong influence on your work?

A.    Wayne Thiebaud and his repetition of simple shapes as well as the intense brushwork.

Q. Whom (if anyone) do you depend on for artistic feedback?

A.    I am pretty much of a lone wolf. I haven’t found a group that fits my schedule in terms of critique, though that is something I would like to find for the future. Julie gives me good feedback in way that I can hear.

Q. What tool/gadget/thingamabob would be the last one that you would give up?

1.    Rotary cutter and my 4.5×8.5” ruler. I practically sleep with that ruler.

The following questions were directed to me specifically:

Q.    Do you have a particular method for acquiring your fabric?  Do you plan ahead with the quilt in mind?

A.    I started out with the Magpie method of fabric buying and still resort to that in times of stress. That is where I see something pretty and buy it.

I like to buy lines of fabric, but I find that I am doing that less as I will buy a line and then remove too many to really make it worth it. I do like buying lines of fabric because it forces me to use colors I wouldn’t normally use.

I am becoming more organized about buying fabric. I keep little swatches of fabrics that don’t work for me when I go to a quilt store and compare them to what I am considering buying.

I often have an idea in my mind and will collect fabric for it. My current “collection” are aqua and reds.

I am also paying more attention to the scale of motifs.

Q.      Have you ever done a neutral/black and white quilt?  Would that be a scary or fun challenge?

A.    I have never done a black/white/neutral challenge. I did use a lot of black in my quilts at one time, but find the darkness too depressing to work with. I have moved away from black, purple, dark blue, forest green, jewel tones and tended towards lighter and brighter colors.

While I wouldn’t rule it out, I also don’t much like doing challenges, because they usually don’t move my process forward. I also have enough ideas in my head to work straight through until the end of time.

I wouldn’t be scared of doing a black and white challenge, but my process is about color so I am not sure what the point would be for my process?

Q. What is the crux of your struggle as an art quiltmaker?

A. It goes back to the old question of what is an art quilt.

My quilts do not seem to fit into what the artquiltmakers at SAQA are doing nor what is being shown at Quilt National.

Still, I do not use patterns, for the most part, so my quilts don’t look like the multitude of quilt-a-longs and challenges out there either.

There is an element of “why am I compelled to do this work?” as well.

My struggle is kind of like being at the bottom of the mountain and not being able to see the fog and cloud shrouded pinnacle. I am not sure where I am on this journey, but I feel compelled to stay on the path and keep moving forward.

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I went back and forth about posting what I said, but decided I would after hearing part of Notes from the Voodoo Lounge podcast where Rice interviewed Zom Osbourne. In it they two women have a long discussion about mistakes, which I really appreciated. Zom talks about posting unfinished pieces and how they look terrible before they look better. She also encouraged Rice to post a picture of a piece that Rice was thinking of abandoning. Zom makes the point that none of us are perfect and we will do more bad or not-quite-up-to-standards work than we will do great work and that we have to talk about the mistakes or mediocre pieces as much as we talk about the great pieces.

I think this is really true. I have to show up and do the work almost every day for at least a little while. The more work I do the bigger chance I have of churning out a great piece. I may only make a pillow or a stuffie with my nephew or a nine patch or press some fabric, but doing the work leads me to better work.

When I say work, I don’t mean something that is a dreary drudge. I mean the cutting, pattern reading, math, fabric selection, piecing, quilting and handwork that it takes to make the pieces that I make.

So, I guess I’ll let history, if my work stands the test of time, decide whether or not I am an art quiltmaker. While history is deciding, I’ll show up and do the work.

 

Making a Double Pinwheel

Here is how I make a Double Pinwheel block.

I found it interesting to break down the process step by step and try to explain it. Here is what I came up with.

Double Pinwheel
Double Pinwheel

This is the block we are making today. You are making 12″ finished block in the Double Pinwheel pattern. The unfinished block will be 12.5″.

Double Pinwheel - Another View
Double Pinwheel - Another View

It is ok if your finished products looks like the above photo.

1. Cut 4 squares 4″x4″ for pinwheel part of block (mine are red in the above photos) and 4 squares (also 4″x4″) from the background fabric (my background fabric is aqua in the above photo). This will allow you to have enough extra fabric to trim the half square triangles before you sew them into the pinwheel. I like trimming. Also cut two 6.5″ squares for the large background pieces. Use your background fabric for the 6.5″ squares.

2. Cut all of the squares in half on the diagonal.

Layout your patches
Layout your patches

3. Lay out all of your patches to you can see how the block will look. Start thinking about how you will piece it.

  • Notice how the patches don’t look like they are the right sizes? That is because of the seam allowances. It will all work out in the end. I promise.

4. Put one background patch and one pinwheel patch right sides together matching the hypotenuse (longest side) of the triangle.

  • Handle the triangles carefully by not yanking on them.
  • Gently put triangles under presser foot
    Gently put triangles under presser foot

5. Sew one background patch and one pinwheel patch together along the hypotenuse of the triangle. I sew them with the background patch on top.

Use your hands to guide not yank
Use your hands to guide not yank
  • Sew all patches with the same color fabric on top. It will help you keep them organized.
  • My fingers are just keeping the hypotenuse up against my seam guide.
  • Chain piecing, baby!
    Chain piecing, baby!
  • I use chain piecing to piece all of the triangles. I try and prevent them from falling off the back of my table so the falling triangles don’t yank on the ones still under the presser foot.

6. Sew all triangles needed to make pinwheels.

7. Press towards the pinwheel fabric.

  • I set the seam like Fons & Porter suggest and then open the seam and carefully press the seam open towards the pinwheel fabric (red dot in my case).

8. Line up diagonal line on your ruler (hopefully you are using a square ruler with a diagonal line) with the diagonal line you have sewed and trim your new half square triangle (HST) block to 3.5″.

  • You will need to make this cut twice for each patch as you cut two sides, turn the block 180 degrees and then trim the other two sides.

9. Arrange your sewn HSTs on your design wall to you can be sure that the HSTs are arranged in a pinwheel block.

10. Make a note to yourself (use a pin, eyeball it, pinch it) which sides you are going to sew together.

Sew 2 HSTs together
Sew 2 HSTs together

11. Take 2 half square triangles and place them right sides together underneath your machine’s presser foot.

Nested HSTs
Nested HSTs
  • The seam allowances on the diagonal should be nested together. This will work if you have pressed all of your HSTs towards the pinwheel fabric. In the above photo you can see how the diagonal seams are lined up when I lift the corner of the fabric to show you. (Professional stunt quiltmaker, please do not try this at home with your machine running!

12. Making sure you are sewing them in the right orientation, sew two half square triangles together.

13. Press these half pinwheels towards the background.

  • You should have 2 pieces of 2 half square triangles ready to sew into a pinwheel.
Important Matching Spot
Important Matching Spot

14. Nest the 2 half pieces together and sew along the middle of the pinwheel. In the above photo I have put the pin in just to show you about where you should sew.

  • When you sew try not to cut off the point of the pinwheel center. You will see a V made by the seams you have sewn previously. Make sure you err towards the seam allowance (on your right looking at the needle of the sewing machine) and don’t cut off that V. Ideally, you want to sew one thread towards the seam allowance on top of that V.
V
V
  • You can just sew over the middle (.5″ on either side of the middle) to make sure your points match, then you can go over the whole seam once you decide if you like the way the center looks. The ripping out is easier if you only have an inch to do.
Middle Sewn to Check Points
Middle Sewn to Check Points

When you open the block (with just the middle sewn) you can tell whether or not the points will match.

A NOTE ABOUT POINT MATCHING: It is really important that you know your tolerance level for points not matching. My points don’t always match and either I leave them or rip them out. If my points are 1/4″ apart, I usually rip them out. If they are 1/16th of inch from one another, I will probably leave them. It is important to know:

  • what you are trying to achieve (practice block or show quilt)
  • if you are going to think about that seam not matching late into the night and it is going to prevent you from sleeping.
  • deadlines
  • whether the quilt is a gift to a prize winning quiltmaker or a baby who will drool all over it.
  • How busy the fabrics are (can you actually see the seams matching?)

Be kind to yourself when you think about whether to agonize over a seam not matching. Have fun, there is always more fabric and don’t make yourself crazy.

15. Sew the halves together, along the whole side, for both pinwheels. If you have sewn along the middle for an inch, make sure you stay on that line when you sew the whole side together.

 Pressing Perfection
Pressing Perfection
  • See that nice little square that the pinwheel makes in the center?

16. Press the pinwheels patches in the same direction as the other triangles. It will look like the seam allowances are spinning.

17. Sew the large 6.5″ background square to each of your pinwheels.

18. Press towards the 6.5″ square/background.

19. Nest the two pieces (which are made up of a pinwheel and a background patch).

20. Sew over the middle  starting from about .5″ on either side of the middle to make sure you have not cut off points.

21. Sew the 2 pieces together starting on one side, sewing over the middle where you have already sewn and continuing to the end of the block.

View of Pressing
View of Pressing

22. Press whichever way the seam seems to want to go. I like to press each half of the seam towards the background. It makes for kind of an ugly pressing job, but I am not going to quilt over that center anyway, so, for me, it doesn’t matter.

  • You could trim the seam in the middle, but I don’t do that. Jo Morton talks about doing that and you might want to check out her website and YouTube videos.
3 Sampler Blocks
3 Sampler Blocks

Look how nice the 3 blocks look together!

In Progress

I seem to be working on a lot of small projects lately. Here is a list:

  1. Cut fabric for Jane Market Tote patterns from Michael Miller’s French Journal collection.
  2. Started Teacher Pillow block for 8th grade science teacher.
  3. Made a Double Pinwheel block for my Sampler class.
  4. Finished binding on Frosted Stars Leftovers. See Finished blog post.
  5. Started binding on Frosted Stars.
  6. Sewed bricks together for second quilt like Purple quilt.
  7. Started NSGW pillow tops. These will be used to raise money for Cleft Palette issues through the Native Sons Charitable Foundation, to which you can also donate, if you want.
  8. Washed fabric.
  9. Pressed, and cut fabric for FOTY 2011. Yes, I am working on it. I’ll have to take some photos of the patches to show you.

This is in addition to cooking, laundry, writing, Facebooking, etc.

Various & Sundry 2011 #6

Doing Good
Modern Relief Japan has their first few auction quilts up. Check them out, buy and donate.

Remember Christchurch had an earthquake as well. Have you made and sent your Hearts for Christchurch?

Other Artists & Fun Crafts

I recently kept Twitter open for a few hours and was actually enable to enjoy the conversation. In the course of popping back and forth between other stuff and Twitter, Little Bluebell pointed me to Carina’s Craftblog. I popped in and saw this GREAT cake post. You know I am a sucker for felt food and this piece of cake is just wonderful. I want one. Will you make it for me? 😉

As an aside, Carina has some lovely embroidery patterns – cheerful colors and designs I would want to have in my house. She makes me think about picking up my embroidery floss again.

You all know that I am making lots of Jane Market totes these days. The bottoms are really on my mind. Without some kind of stiffener the fabric bottoms hang down in a kind of sad floop. I have a lot of options: cardboard as Alicia, the designer suggests; plastic canvas with mailing tape wrapped edges; Timtex (or equivalanet) inserted in the bottom before handsewing the turning seam, interfacing. I haven’t tried all of these solutions yet, so I don’t really have an opinion on which I like better. At work the other day, I was look at the website of a new client . One of their offerings was replacement bag bottoms! WOW! They don’t have great colors, but if the bag bottoms are the right size, I might be able to overlook the color. The description is: “Size:12” x 8” to fit inside the standard reusable shopping bags.” Stay tuned!

Spring Cleaning Continued

I worked a little more after work on Monday and also after work and a meeting on Tuesday. My workroom doesn’t look fabulous, but it feels much better. It feels like I have space to move around and work. I need to take Kathy’s Order Week over at Bliss Habits to heart and clear out some of the unused stuff so I can get to the stuff I want to use.

I have been talking on and off about finishing small projects, which I realized was a kind of spring cleaning as well. Perhaps I was gearing up for Sunday’s ‘big’ spring clean? I don’t think I will ever be a one project at a time kind of girl, but clearing the decks of having too many projects feels good as well.

After all my talk about spring cleaning, I was excited and saddened to see Anna Maria Horner’s new space. Excited, because it is gorgeous and looks amazingly useful. Saddened because it doesn’t belong to me. I now have a goal to work towards. First step: move out the junk!

Julie put up a video of her year long project making a small quilt every week. Great work. Check it out.

Quiltmaking Discussion

I am really bad about keeping up with blogs. I haven’t found a great reader that fits my workflow, or quilt-flow, as the case may be. Google Reader, and other readers, are fine and I have several set up, but I just don’t go to them enough to really keep up. As a result, I nearly missed the Piecemeal Quilts discussion. Pam, the Head Rhombus from Hip to Be a Square Podcast, pointed me to this blog post the other day and the post made me think. (I seem to be doing a lot of thinking about quiltmaking right now! Not sure what that is about, but I digress. ) The writer, Sandi, of Piecemeal Quilt blog, was responding to a  post on another blog that suggested that half square triangles were an intermediate to advanced technique. The Piecemeal Quilt blog writer’s contention was that half and quarter square triangles are not an intermediate to advanced technique. I like the spirit Sandi displays in this post. I liked the fact that she was willing to put herself out there and write this series of essays. I have felt for a long time that the magazines are not providing skill building techniques and are actually making projects so easy that they don’t challenge people at all. Not everyone wants to be challenged and that is fine. I don’t always want to be challenged and sometimes my quiltmaking challenges don’t have to do with piecing. There is absolutely nothing wrong with being a beginner or just wanting an easy project. I, certainly, have done my share of rote sewing in the not too distant past and appreciate the meditative qualities of not having to focus too much on complicated piecing. A friend makes quilts using squares and does really amazing colorwork. Her challenge is the colorwork. A challenge it something different for everyone.

I find that even just reading about magnificently advanced quilts can stretch my mind. Perhaps Sandi was imagining that there are standards for quiltmaking – defined skills on a list somewhere that make a quiltmaker intermediate or advanced once mastered? I think, in the past, many beginning classes were Sampler classes that enabled beginners to learn a variety of different techniques. I think learning using sampler blocks is still a good idea, but sampler classes take a lot of time, people are busy and most people want to learn quickly.

I did take a look at the Single Girl quilt-a-long Photostream on Flickr. These quilts are not easy nor have the makers used all white backgrounds. I saw one with a chocolate brown background that looked very rich. I think there are more complicated pieces out there and people are stretching in their own ways. Still, I applaud Sandi for putting herself out there and responding with the Skill builder series.

Pretty Package
Pretty Package

I received the fabric from Julie of the Intrepid Thread. Isn’t this a pretty package? The bow (real French ribbon!) will end up as the tie for a gift bag. The service was fast and who doesn’t like getting packages in the mail?

I also received my rulers from Soft Expressions. I was disappointed to find that the 60 degree Creative Grids triangle I ordered has the tip cut off. Normally that is a good thing, but it doesn’t work for the hexagon project (from an early BAMQG meeting) on which I am working. Oh well!