The Christmas Gift - 2
Quilting can be a way to maintain a bit of stability when your world is turned sideways. The focus of having to spend a certain amount of time doing something you have control over allows you to momentarily forget the world. In - out- in -out pull, repeat, repeat. The turmoil in your mind subsides. Then you stop and voila ! see how much has been accomplished.
I bought 3 blended/variagated colored threads for the OZ quilt; a yellow, green and a pink.The center panel of movie stills is all done. I used the pink and green alternately in the 4 small stills in the center, outlining elements of the pictures as I felt necessary. For the BIG Glinda pic- pink, Wicked Witch - green. For one of the large Dorothy?Toto pictures I used a light bright blue and in the other a dark purple.I outlined elements of these pictures also.Think reverse coloring book.
Three of the four narrow yellow brick road borders around the center panel are done with the yellow thread in horizontal rows. Two the wider long side borders of the Munchkinland montage are done in pink thread, vertical rows. It will be back to the green thread for the two W.W.W. corner squares. Not sure what color thread I will use for the ruby slippers on yellow corner squares, then back to horizontal rows of yellow for the outside yellow brick border.
Laid the quilt on our bed the other day to see how it is all coming together. I was very happy. I also needed sunglasses- the colors in the fabric are very bright.
Visit to the Past
Quilting from present to past
Last weekend my wife and I went to the Shelburne Museum, in Shelburne Vt. it was museum day - sponsored by the Smithsonian. We figured if they are going to give us free admission - why not!
The Shelburn is a variety of life style snapshots back thru this countries history. One of the exhibits was on Quilting past and as present Art. The older quilts on display - one made with 1″ squares - over 12,000 different squares, were really something to see. Although they were made for the most part as practical everyday quilts the way in which they were crafted by hand - they are works of art.
Then there were the present day Art Quilts - a couple of them were very nice, the rest were quilting craft gone wrong. One in particular had started out very nice then the “artist” just went nuts with freehand stitching, there was no rime nor reason, in fact it detracted from the original work.
I can’t say that the Quilting Art exhibit was the highlight of the days visit, but getting the chance to see some of the 100 year old handcrafted quilts was very interesting - the older quilts where very much “works of art”.
Where it begins I can begin to tell you
sorry neal
This is the start of my adventure with my first quilt. It will be a wall hanging. I don’t want to take on to much to start with and if it does not come out to well it can hang in the back of the closet.
My wife who is the quilter has had me help some on a new baby quilt. Yes another one, remember the Wedding Quilt saga - well we got the news that the newly weds are to have a blessed event.
I have helped to cut squares - sounds easy but it does take some careful laying out with the template to make sure that they are all square and the same size.
The squares then had a small triangle sewn onto each corner. The fabric of the original square was then cut off and the resulting new corner was then ironed flat - which i got to do - so that each square now has a corner triangle of different material.
I was then handed all of the squares and told to lay out the quilt top - making sure that the squares conners did not match and that i had a good random pattern. The original squares where cut from color prints and pattern print fabric.
With just a little bit of rearranging we soon had a quilt top laid out we both like. Each square was then pinned to the old sheet they were laid out on and we now have the top ready to begin sewing together.
I still have not quite settled on what I am going to do for my wall hanging but should have it planned out for the next blog entry - wish me luck
Jaden’s World - 2003
Wall Hanging
Pattern: My own based on the pattern from Once Upon A Quilt by Bonnie Kaster and Virgina Athey
Machine pieced and hand appliqued. Hand quilted
This was the fourth grandchild’s worlds quilt, and the second based on Once Upon A Quilt. The third grandchild’s quilt is very similar but with Hansel and Gretel’s Gingerbread House in the center. In addition to fussy cut fabric applique there are also commerical appliques, home printed fabric, buttons, beads, and faux jewels.
New Grandchild Quilt
July 2008
Pattern: Designer Log Cabins, June Ryker
Quilters Newsletter Magazine Dec 1992
Machine Pieced, Hand Tied
This is the fifth quilt for a new grandchild made using this pattern. I use FAT batting for the filling so it can be used under the child. I rarely use blanket binding on a quilt, but the Finding Nemo binding just called out to be used with the border fabric. The design on the binding complimented the backing fabric with a rubber duckie design. The quilt is hand tied using 3 strands of embroidery floss.
The star of the show!
Four Seasons
1980’s
Wall Hanging: machine pieced, hand quilted
Pattern: Star’s over the Smokies
Adopted from: More Lap Quilting with Georgia Bonesteel
Using the Flexi-curve technique, explained in the book, I made blocks for each season, with topical quilting motifs; (examples) pumpkin-fall, mittens-winter, ice cream cone-summer, tulip-spring, in the four corners of each block. The four squares have the same block pattern motif so when they were joined they create the diamonds and triangles. This makes it look like four suns that flow from one season into the next. The quilting on the light blue border is a continuous weave which ties the four blocks into one whole world as it were. The two oldest boys enjoyed this in their room for years, and it is now part of the kitchen wall rotation.
Stars and Scopes
2008
Bed Quilt: Machine pieced, hand quilted
Pattern: 6 triangle hexagon on a paper pieced hexagon back
Milky Way from Quilters Newsletter Magazine jan/feb 1998
This is the second quilt I have made using this block combo. I fussy cut the 6 kaleidoscope triangles and then sewed them into hexagon blocks. The Milky-way blocks were paper pieced. (When I first read about paper piecing I got the impression this was a good way to use up scrap material - not so!) The blocks were then machine joined together into a rough center piece rectangle. The rectangle was then hand appliqued to the border frame. The gold lame bias tape was then hand sewn around each block. Spider web hexagons were hand quilted onto the border frame. Each of the star blocks is outline quilted and the kaleidoscope blocks are quilted following the design on each block. It makes for a very spectacular bed display. My husband uses the first one of these as his bed quilt when he goes to run the kitchen at summer camp for the Girl Scouts on Cape Cod each year.
Courthouse Steps - 199?
Bed Quilt
Pattern: Traditional Log Cabin Block, variation
Machine Pieced, Hand Appliqued, Hand Quilted
There are twenty courthouse steps blocks with fussy cut animal print squares as the centers. The five border strips make one large courthouse step. The two cats were cut from a panel fabric, backed with a layer of batting and appliqued on after the quilt was finished.
Wedding Gift/Quilt update
Just a tad over two months until “W” Day.Thankfully the injured
thumb has returned as close to normal as I think it ever will so
quilting is much easier. Also the weather has remained cool (and rainy)
which also helps. Ten of the blocks are quilted, five more backs are
cut, ready for the sandwich process. I am using a white chalky pencil
for marking the quilt pattern and the darn thing is happiest breaking
off in little chunks.
The crafting project is nearing completion, I think. Three of the
four boxes are done…maybe…and I have a good start on the fourth.
But I feel something is missing, so they may not be finished until I
have to wrap them.
Took a day to make “Happy Summer” cards for the grandkids. Folded
a piece of lightweight cardstock, left over from another card project,
in half pattern side in. Collaged beach scene/summer/fun stuff on the
front. Inside another biggish picture and the words happy summer (
alphabet stickers and whole words). The back has another small summer
picture.
For this kind of card making and box decorating you need a
stash of paper/picture/words. Find a box or three and start tearing
and clipping from magazines, newspapers, sale fliers, old books, etc.
Throw into another box ticket stubs, travel/tourist broucheres, old
buttons and sundry bits and pieces of stuff that just has to have some
use someday. Be careful, these boxes can mutliply like rabbits.
The Wedding Quit Phase 4
Major glitch! Major Owee!
My right thumb became the filling in a firewood sandwich**. I am right handed. NO quilting, or sewing, not much of anything for a few days. Two weeks later and the joint is still stiff and sore, but i am back to the projects at hand.
The baby quilt is done. Hurrah! The final bit of binding all sewn, although a four year old could have done it faster.
On the craft front I have the base backgrounds glued inside the four Santa boxes. Lovely gluey fingers even though I use a brush. What am I doing wrong?
Back to the quilt. Four of the Wedding quilt squares are done. I can hold the needle and put 4 or 5 stitches with no problem. Gripping the needle to pull through - - - ouch! So now I’m really glad I’m Lap Quilting. Left hand to the rescue. Right hand stitch left hand pull.
The thumb has now improved so quilting goes - right hand stitch, pull, stitch, left hand pull. I can still only do one length of thread at a go. Slow and steady wins the race.
Ice cold water soothes the thumb, while producing the ooohhh thats cold whimpers.
**Happened while stacking the spring firewood supply - which is now done and drying for the first cold this fall.
