I took another brief drive, in whatever remains of what is rural around here, and took another quilt-on-a-barn photo. It has the spirits of at least five quilters in it. It has fabrics from Wanda, Donna, Betty, Teresa, and I. Although my mother was not a quilter, she was a sewer and the chili pepper fabric was hers. These days, it feels as if barns and quilters/sewers are vanishing.
The barn, on which I pinned up this quilt, is located on Ustick Road, strangely not far from where I spend my time. Click on the photo and it will be enlarged, so you can see all the different fabrics. String quilts are pieced on a foundation of fabric or paper. The strings are narrow strips of fabric, that are typically scraps left over from the construction of other quilts. This one was started by Betty, who had eleven blocks already pieced on squares of jungle print fabric. There were more squares of jungle print already cut, so I thought "Why not just make some more?" I made 41 more, then sewed them all to each other and added the border with little spikes of color coming out. It was very nicely long-arm quilted by Virginia.Gluten Free Quilter
Monday, March 18, 2024
Sunday, March 10, 2024
Kawandi Meets Crazy Quilt Bag is Completed!
I am so pleased with my perseverance and learning new embroidery stitches to get this bag completed. Completing it now, instead of putting it down for months or maybe never getting back to it, is such a good feeling. It is done!
Ta-da! It has just the right amount of quirkiness and character. It is a smallish bag, but it holds just the right amount of extra things one may need as they head out the door, or to go a meet with a friend.
Monday, March 4, 2024
Kawandi Style Tote Bag aka Kawandi Meets Crazy Quilt
Before I went to visit my aunt, in February, I started a hand-sewing project. Yes, I know; where did that come from??! I wanted something I could work on at my aunt's place. My friend, Teresa, gave me a small canvas bag several years ago (to say the least). I decided to decorate it up. I sewed some Kawandi style patches around the top, then cut some more pieces to hand-stitch on. I did practice some stitches, while I was out-of-state and worked on it a little bit.
Since I made "The Raggedys" some clothes, I have worked on the bag quite a bit. This is how it looked about nine days ago, after I realized I had not taken a photo of it. My friend, S, came over last Saturday for a sew day. I decided to work on my bag, and I continued on Sunday. Below is how it looks now. I have only one section left to put a couple pieces of fabric on, then add a lot more fancy stitching.It is really taking shape. It is Kawandi meets Crazy Quilt! Click on the photo for an enlarged view.Saturday, March 2, 2024
Rag Doll Clothes
I went to visit my aunt, who lives out-of-state. She sent me back with a Raggedy Ann and Raggedy Andy that she made for my cousin forty years ago. They did not have any clothes on. It seems that was not an issue with the TSA folks who opened and inspected my luggage. My aunt asked me to make some clothes for them, so I brought them back to see what I could manage. Good news! Simplicity, it seems, has been producing pattern number 8043 for many years. I looked it up on the internet, wrote the number down, and went to JoAnn's, where they actually had it. This pattern has the doll patterns for three sizes of doll and the clothes for all three sized for both dolls. That is a lot of patterns in one pattern. Needless to say, I was impressed.
To get rolling, I started with the hat. It turned out alright, so I was motivated to make the rest of Andy's outfit.
After I got the collar completed, I thought it would be smooth sailing. It was not exactly smooth, but not too rough either.Friday, February 16, 2024
Kawandi Quilts
I made my first Kawandi quilt last October. Then a new art quilt group wanted me to teach them how to make Kawandi quilts, at their very next meeting. I had only made the one, so I made three more in January, so I could really learn the ins and outs of the process. I started two more for the class, one to show how to get started on the outside edge, and the other (on another sewing machine) to demonstrate where one needs to make decisions as one proceeds. I think it was a huge success. They were all so excited! So, I got excited too. Yesterday, I finished up one that I started for the class. It is red, pink, and white. It measures 16" X 14".
These quilts make great use of scraps, which I have expounded immensely on in past posts. The large print with red and pink flowers are scraps a friend gave me a few years ago. It is lovely fabric, and I am glad I saved it for just such a project. This red, pink, and white is my #5 Kawandi quilt. I have another, from the class, that is partially completed. I may get back to it in a week or so.This is Kawandi #3. It measures 19" X 17.5". I actually did some layout planning on this one, so the four colored roses on black background would be in the four corners. The entire quilt depicts a flower garden, with blooms, stems, water droplets, trellis', garden art, birds, bees, and a butterfly.Tuesday, January 30, 2024
Eye Spy Quilt Completed!
My first completed quilt of 2024 is my Eye Spy Quilt. This is officially my first one. However, my friend, A, says I have made Eye Spy quilts before. She mentioned how so many of my quilts have an abundance of fabric prints and colors, so one can look at them for a while identifying all the unique prints that make up the quilt. I know she was specifically thinking of my Random Chickens Quilt, and she is not wrong. But this one was intended to by an Eye-Spy quilt.
To enlarge the photo, click on it. Then you can see the details a bit closer. I have determined there are 76 different fabrics in here, and some graphic for each letter of the alphabet. There is also a secret fork, knife, and spoon fabric in here. Of course, the polar bears and cows are for Teresa. The backing is seersucker!Wednesday, January 24, 2024
String Pieced Quilt Top and Tea
I am having some tea right now, in my smancy mug. I made the border and finished up my string-pieced quilt top. I have delivered it to be long-arm quilted.
See, I did have an idea for the borders. I think it looks so much sharper, now that it is completely pieced together. I made the backing out of one ginormous piece of granny fabric. Granny fabric is what this top screams for.