Monochromatic Art Quilt

Greetings!  I belong to the Unruly Quilt Artists, based in Meridian, ID.  At our meeting, earlier this month, we each chose a number from one to ten.  I picked nine.  I got the top tray, which had all green fabrics on it.  We were each given a piece of foam-core board to pin our pieces to.  This is a wonderful challenge!

I kind of knew what sort of thing was going to happen, so I came prepared with my backing fabric and a piece of batting, so I was a step ahead on that.  Above is what I started at our meeting.  I picked some of the fabrics I liked and trimmed them unevenly.  The one fabric reminded me of planet Earth, so I made an Earth.  Then I thought, all this green is for trees, so I made a tree trunk.  

When I got home, I pulled out my little stash of green fabric scraps, (I have very little green), and found one piece of mottled green that would work as a total background to work upon.  So, I removed everything, then added the background, the Earth and tree trunk back in.  Then I thought about orbits around the Earth.  I cut smaller pieces and made the tree top and some orbits.  I need to add more of the very deep green for darkness and depth.  I also want to add some words.

I recently bought a book of art projects for kids, using cursive.  Creative Adventures in Cursive, by Rachelle Doorley, copyright 2018.  I like this method of making a cursive word template.

Use a Friction pen to trace around the template, any ink left on the word will disappear when hit with a hot iron.

I think it is going to look amazing, when I get it finished.  You'll have to check back in a couple weeks to see the end result.

More Kawandi Quilts!

Greetings and happy spring rainy stormy days!  Last month, I finished Kawandi #6, but I never posted it, so I am doing that now.  I used a mostly green and blue pallet. I just really wanted to use that blue with chartreus bubbly looking fabric, but I ended up reining it in a little, which I think was a good decision. 

A couple friends came over, today, to have a sew day at my house.  It was just good to do some catching up and sewing.  I decided to make a Kawandi quilt with solid colored jelly roll strips.  I planned the layout with the solid fabrics, but I just could not do it completely solid.  Using solids is fairly new for me, as I love wild prints.  I used one, non-solid color fabric.  I really think it did come out better with my modifications.  Below is Kawandi #7!

At first, I was hesitant to put that pink in, but it really goes with the print I chose.  I made the pink strips one-quarter inch narrower than the other strips.  I think that toned it down a tick.  Also, it helped move the composition a little to the right, so it is not exactly centered.  I was excited about trying a Kawandi with strips instead of odd sizes of rectangles.  

I am considering challenging myself to use all the left-overs in another Kawandi quilt.  Just thinking . . .

String Quilt With Homey Fabrics

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.

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.

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.

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.

It's a good thing I have pins!

I carefully read the instructions two or three times, to make sure I got it right.  I had to connect that top part to the pants part.  That is what makes his dandy little suit so adorable.

I put some Velcro on the back so he does not get a chill, and viola!

He is so much happier, now that he has clothes.  And these are the official pattern clothes.  I chose the fabrics from my extensive stash.  It took me one entire day to make this outfit.  The next day, I spent the entire day making the outfit for Raggedy Ann.

It would appear, I did not take any photos of my clothing construction progress for Ann's outfit.  It was plenty frustrating.  I thought it would be easier than Andy's.  I shortened the pantaloons and the sleeves, to make them fit this doll correctly.  The sleeves, pantaloon bottoms, and waist of the apron all have elastic sewn in.  I was so glad when I finished!  I decided she is a modern girl and does not need a pinafore.  

I have to admit, it is quite satisfying to successfully complete such an exercise in clothing construction.  Now, my aunt tells me she does not want them back and either does my cousin.  What?  They are adorable!

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.  

Making multiples of one style can really help me explore the possibilities.  My art quilt group was inspired also.  One said they would not worry about the little flaps that can occur if you always sew straight lines (do not swerve to sew the flaps down).  I said, "Embrace the flaps, alright!"  Another said they would like to try one with raw edges.  I love it!  In March, I get see what they have created.  They are called "Unruly Quilt Artists."

This is my #4 Kawandi quilt, measuring 21.5" X 21.5".  I used the same fabric for nearly the entire quilt.  Each piece I added, I rotated in the opposite direction of the previous piece. It is a large geometric print that has been transformed by being cut into small rectangles, then reassembled in the Kawandi quilt.  The original fabric is pictured below:

My Aunt Karen bought this fabric for me, when we visited the quilt shop in Colby, KS, in our RV adventure in 2022. The shop was called Curtains, Quilts, & Cabins, but now I think it is called The Quilt Cabin.  True, the #4 Kawandi quilt was not made from scraps, but from this amazing yardage.  I urge every quilter to look at some of their fabrics and see the potential in them, to be used in a different way.