Words and Pictures

I completed a small quilted project in March. Yeah! Go me!  I need a Please be quiet! sign at my office so I quilted one.  This is my 'be quiet' sign.  It only just occurred to me I should have used blinding pink or something.

I could go on about my laundry closet remodel, but I think I will just keep it short today.  I admit the size of this photo makes it difficult to view the details.  I did put a casing on the back, should I decide to hang it that way.  A yard stick would work just fine, since the length of this is approx. 33 inches.  I will be using rare earth magnets to attach it to the glass window at my office.  I have decided to add another photo so you can see the pieced Phoebe in the center block.  I tried doing this because of the wonderful quilts in "Collaborative Quilting" that had pieced people in it.  "Collaborative Quilting" is a book by Gwen Marston and Freddy Moran.



Three Projects Finished Last Weekend!

     Last weekend I had the most fun!  I can't remember what I did Saturday morning, but my friend, Teresa, came over in the afternoon and we did a quilted pot holder project.  What I like is that no matter how easy the project, I always learn something new! How does that happen?  I remember that I learned two new things, but now (nearly a week later) I can only remember one of them. Hmm.  Maybe if I look at that pot holder, I will remember! 
     We made the Folded Pot Holder, from Quilt Expressions blog.

I top stitched mine, then afterward noticed the fancy stitching in the photo on the instructions.  They used co-ordinating thread, so it was hard to notice.  The two things I learned are 1) how to make that little angled fold joining the binding up after sewing it clear around the edge; 2) that you can stitch the binding to the back-side, then turn it to the front and use a decorative stitch to sew it down.  I did this on another project to see how that would work, if I used a decorative stitch.

     I had made a kitty quilt for Merlinda, but it needed to be bound.  I had left-over orange binding strips from the pot holder project, so I used the decorative stitch instead of hand-sewing the binding down. On a kitty quilt it doesn't matter which side you sew it to first.  Then I used my special foot, to run along the edge of binding and machine sew the binding on.

Here is the finished kitty quilt with some of the same binding as the pot holder.

 

After those two projects, I used some scraps from Aoi Has Two Sisters quilt to make a pillow cover.  It is a liberated log cabin block.  Liberated log cabin blocks are found in the parts dept. of Collaborative Quilting, that I discussed in my previous post.  Love those liberated blocks!

My Two Favorite Quilt Books

     Someone wanted to know about my favorite quilt books.  I was brain dead that day and could not tell her the titles.  I am getting quite old and forgetful, although, how I can forget Freddy Moran is beyond me.  She is the most colorful person I never met! 
     Anyway, Quilting and Color Made Easy, by Susan McKelvey and Janet Wickell, published by Rodale, Inc. is my first favorite book on quilting.  It has the most overall coverage of techniques for quilting. It discusses batting, fabrics, everything you need to know about color. It is easy to understand, it is a thorough but not huge book.  It is to the point and I have read it completely through once and revisited it a lot.  The photos are informative and colorful, it covers different forms of applique, whether to use a steam or dry iron, and the list goes on.  It has a fabulous index.  Any book with a good size index has got to be good!
     My other most favorite quilting book is not of the technical kind, but the creative kind.  It is called Collaborative Quilting, by Freddy Moran and Gwen Marston, published by Sterling Publishing Co., Inc.  I love it for all the wild inspiration and beautiful quilts.  I like how they are each introduced separately; showing their different styles.  I like the idea of a "Parts Department", because it turns out that I have one! It tells you how to make all the different blocks, and they are Liberated Blocks!  I really like that!  There is an entire section showing the quilts they have made, and what blocks you make to construct a similar quilt. Freddy Moran's color theory is: 10 prints don't work, but 100 do, excess is never enough, pure color works, and black and white makes it alright.  It is an awesome idea book, for quilters who love to mix it up, or need permission to do so.

Modern Quilts: What's The Fuss?

I am still a rogue quilter. I create and quilt what I want. I may find a design or pattern that I like, but I never make it just like the picture or the instructions. I like to add my own twist to it.  I think that is why I like the 15 Minutes of Play, because I am making my own unique sort of fabric design with lots of different pieces and shapes. I also love Collaborative Quilting because of the techniques and styles of Freddie Moran.  I joined the Idaho PieceMakerS four or five years ago.  I have really enjoyed learning, working, and befriending the wonderful members of this group.  At one meeting last year, however, they had a nice young woman from the local "Modern Quilters" group come and give a presentation. She was a dynamic and interesting speaker, with an excellent slide show and trunk show. I thought her quilts were wonderful.  The discussion, either after she departed or at the next meeting, as I recall was very negative toward "Modern Quilting".  I really cannot understand it.  I feel like the large quilt group I belong to are proud of being individuals and "not a Guild".  I thought this meant we were free thinkers and it was all about quilting.  Every photo and object that was presented by the "Modern Quilters" representative was indeed a quilt.  It was not tied, but two pieces of fabric with batting in the center that was all held together by thread in a fashion known as quilting.  I think that is what matters.  Oh, there is some gray in that quilt! Oh, how does that make it not okay?  I decided to look into this "Modern Quilting" debate.  I bought a book titled Modern Quilts from the Blogging Universe, (c)2012 by Martingale.  This book features 19 quilts by 19 different creative quilters.  It features lovely color photos, instructions, tips, and comments by the quilters.  Many of these quilts could be brought in for Show and Tell at our quilt group and no one would even know they were "Modern Quilts".  Many have traditional elements, many have used scraps as a major component, and some have used solids instead of prints, yet they are all delightful.   The "Mini Claw Throw" has wonderful star blocks and instead of black and/or white for the background, she used grey fabric for the eye to rest on.  It is a perfectly lovely quilt. 
I decided to make one of the quilts from this book to give to my Aunt Karen as a Christmas gift.  "The Knotty Quilters" (my other quilting group) named it the "Red Dog On The Left" quilt.  I did all of the piecing at our retreat in November.  It has two dog fabrics in it, that all the other fabrics where chosen based on their colors.  One is red with blue, grey, and brown & white dogs; the other is gray fabric with white dogs and gold dogs.  I had so much fun finding fabrics that went with these core fabrics.  Freddy Moran has influenced me toward dots in a big way, so I had to have some blue fabric with brown dots. It and the others just look wonderful together.  The pattern I chose was: "Across The Quad", by Jennifer Mathis.  This pattern has the "gray negative space" that I have heard other quilters speak negatively about.  Well, my quilt blocks already have gray blocks scattered among the other blocks, so I did not want a gray background. I decided something lighter was necessary to make the part with the blocks pop.  I had purchased some fabric, that I could not live without, last April on my maiden voyage to "The Gathering Place" in Rupert, Idaho. It worked perfect!  I got the entire quilt pieced at the retreat. I got it sandwiched and pinned shortly thereafter and marked straight lines across it with my Friction Pen and I quilted it on my own sewing machine.  I felt that my aunt would really love it more if I did it completely by myself, instead of having someone else long-arm it for me.  I got it done from start to finish in 30 days.  My aunt just loves it and that makes me happy. What more can a quilter want?

Furthermore, Merlinda gave it a "cat scan" and it is much to her liking, even if it has dogs on it.

Piecing Test Complete

I finished my "You had me at Merlot" tote bag!  It was a test. I love piecing new designs and having fun with colorful fabrics, but instead of making a whole quilt from a new block I tried, I just make another tote bag.  I should check my records to see just how many tote bags I have made over the years.  One side of the bag is the house block from Collaborative Quilting, the other is a strip I pieced using the techniques in 15 Minutes of Play.  I showed my husband my finished bag last night, and he took it and held it and asked if it was his.  What I love about him is that he seems to like every single thing that I sew.  Every quilt, bag, and even curtains!  He always asks who am I making this for?  He does not understand that sometime I am just making something and it is for no one in particular.  I love to experiment. So, I do some experimenting between quilt projects.  It keeps me enthused.

 

Wonky House Block

Hi! Just got back from the Second Annual Naughty Quilters Retreat.  I got the quilt top finished for my Aunt's quilt and I did something else, then I got to do some experimenting and made a wonky house quilt block that is not so wonky.  I just love the quilt tops that Freddy Moran makes. I have the book, "Collaborative Quilting" by Freddy Moran and Gwen Marston. It is Fab.  Here is my first (not so) wonky quilt block. Wild and crazy, yes. Wonky, no.  I will have to practice!