Note to self: don't skimp on the edges!

I made a zipper pouch bag today.  I used the Kawandi method, except to reduce bulk, I did not turn the edges to make a binding.  In fact, I did not take my fabrics clear to the edge, which was a mistake.  It caused me to have to trim my front and back, thus removing or obscuring part of the design, especially when I made the gussets.

This is the second side and not getting that green piece on the lower right, made me have to make a wider seam across the bottom.  Wah!

Photo of the front and back.  The gussets obscured that dark purple strip running across the bottom of the front part of the bag.  Oh, well.  It is just a zipper bag, and I know I am not supposed to point out my problems/happy little mistakes.

My finished Kawandi zipper bag looks pretty sweet!  I could have made it gussetless, but where is the fun in that?

This is the back of the bag, if there is such a thing.  For some reason I just love that gray with yellow polka-dot fabric (and of course, the little chicks!)

Year-end Wrap Up

It has been such a busy year.  First, Lois and I started an art quilt group last January and they wanted me to teach them how to make Kawandi style quilts and confetti quilts, so that was the Feb and March meetings.  Then BBQ gave our group a place in their quilt show (last Sept), so we each made a 12" X 12" Artist Statement.  I have so much to say about me as an artist, I was thinking that 12" X 12" is awfully small.  But in June, I looked back at some techniques I used in the past and found a cut-layer project I completed back in January of 2011.  I decided I would use the cut-layer technique in my Artist Statement.  Then I scaled back my preliminary design and made it much simpler.  I used bright colors and lots of layered lettering, which Lois informed me is actually reverse applique.  My new process is a lot tighter and less messy than the one I did in 2011 (although I think it looks amazing).  I did another immediately after the Artist Statement, then used the cut-layers in several different projects.  I feel like I have found something that is really me.  I made thirteen Kawandi style quilts in 2024.  #1 I did in 2023. What I discovered after completing number 12, is I am finally beginning to understand it and have a better feeling about the process and what I am creating.  Out of the 14, the last four are my favorites.  

On my Dec 8 post, I have a photo of my #13 Kawandi.  I was conflicted about turning it into a tote bag.  I have gone and done it!  This photo is showing the front of the bag.  The photo below shows the other side.  I hand stitched two pockets inside, so I have a little bit of organization.  One I measured specifically to hold at least one rotary cutter.

I attended an art quilting class in May (Amy Carter) and learned about dying fabric and painting on fabric and using Misty Fuse.  I have been experimenting with this.  Two of my art quilts, I made specifically for 'calls for quilts' by Studio Art Quilt Associates (SAQA).  One I donated to their annual fund raiser auction.  The other I made specifically for the "Story Quilts" trunk show sponsored by the Idaho/Montana SAQA Region, which I belong to.  Doing these two art quilts helped me stretch and learn!  This year I made a total of 29 art quilts, 12 doll quilts, three regular quilts, and one regular quilt top that is at my long-arm quilters at this moment in time.  I designed and built an American Girl Dolls and Friends Quilt show that was showcased in the Home Arts Dept. of the Western Idaho Fair, last August.  I became well acquainted with banjo fabric and learned how to make fork pleats.  I made a wood table and chair for the quilt show and all the pipe and drape.  I spent wonderful hours, in my backyard, painting safety cones with spray paint and Dawn dish soap, while having my camera on a tripod, standing by, so I could take photos of hummingbirds visiting my multitude of Zinnias, none of which got entered in The Fair.  I also made two tote bags, two zippy bags, one Unruly Award, and a set of clothes for Raggedy Ann and Andy.  This was also, my third year of working in the Home Arts Dept. at the Fair for most of August.  Getting ready for the opening day is exhausting, so is taking it all down and getting it ready for pick-up by the entrants.  I have made some good friends working there.  I also continue to meet my cousin most Fridays to play violin with her.  It has been a busy, creative, and fun year!

Christmas Kawandi!

Greetings and Merry Christmas!  I have been on a Kawandi journey this year.  I have made 13 Kawandi style art quilts this year.  I do think each one is better than the last.  I know it is a style I will return to often, as it is so fun and improvisational.  This Christmas one took me three days to construct.  The quickness of this method is one of the main attractions, but also just how different you can make each one.

I feel like I have received good feedback on this one and I have it hanging in our entry hall.  It has so much bright fabric and fun in it, and that is what I truly appreciate in any quilt.  Of course, the word "Joy" was made using my ghetto reverse applique technique.  30" X 38"

Using Fabrics with Selvedge Edges

In my recent tidying-up activity, I found a nice piece of woven fabric that is sturdy.  I have made another art quilt with it as the backing.  I used flannel for the batting and 505 fabric spray-adhesive to hold the batting in place on the backing fabric.  My whole intent in making this piece, was to fold it in half and make a nice tote bag out of it.  I like it so much, on my wall, that I am not sure the tote bag will ever be a thing.  The whole reason for using the nice woven fabric was for it to be the inside lining.  Hmmmm . . .

I may have to take it down and audition it with a strap to see if I could actually make myself make it into a bag.  Yes, it is another Kawandi, and I used scrap pieces that had selvedge edges on them, almost entirely.

There are four pieces in it that do not have selvedge edges, excepting the square silk and batik bits I placed on top at the time I laid the quilting in.  I have a decision to make, so meanwhile, I will work on a Christmas Kawandi!

Kawandi #12 is Complete!

My Kuna quilt group did a "Tear and Share" activity last January.  Each of us ended up with five different fabrics to use together in a project that is due at our November meeting.  I felt the five fabrics I ended up with did not really go together.  Two went together and the other three went together, but they did not all go together.  The one that really did not go with the others, I used for the quilt back, so no one is going to see it anyway.  That, by the way, is the fabric I took to the "Tear and Share".  Since I have taught the Kawandi method of quilting to three different groups of quilters, I decided I should make another Kawandi. 

It is a good thing I decided on Kawandi, because the magic of Kawandi is whatever fabrics you put together just seem to work!  I did not think it possible, but it holds with the thoughts of Margaret Fabrizio, who I believe is the west coast guru on Kawandi.

These are the five fabrics I used to make the project.  The pale blue, fans, fabric I used on the back, as it was the largest piece (1/2 yd).

I auditioned some other fabrics to see what would bring these four fabrics together.  I did not use the blue charm square on the left, but I did use some of the periwinkle on the right.  It turns out the blue periwinkle is polyester, but it worked just fine.  Looking at my creation, a couple days later, I decided this is a "now" piece of art quilting.  The past is melded with today to make the now.  Some of the fabrics in this piece are old and some are new, which makes the now.  Contemporary is now.

Four Art Quilts Completed This Month!

After completing "Spooky Houses" Kawandi style art quilt, I realized I had a chance to enter an art quilt into the Idaho-Montana Regional SAQA Trunk Show.  The trunk show title is "Stories".  I did a couple sketches in July for this, but things got so busy I entirely forgot about it.  Then there was another call, extending the deadline to October 15, so I thought about it on October 5, Saturday night, and decided to do a simpler sketch.  On Sunday, I got busy creating.  I finished it up on Monday night and had it in the mail on Tuesday.  It is a part of my childhood story of growing up on the Boise National Forest.  The piece is titled:  The North Cabin.  It is the required 7" X 9", for the Trunk Show.  I am pleased to participate.

I still had all my Halloween fabrics out, so I decided to do another Kawandi.  I wanted it to be light-hearted and different.  I used my ghetto reverse-applique technique on some of the words, some raw-edge applique, some over-dying, as well as Kawandi techniques.  I just had to have some cake in there!  I completed it on October 15.

Of course, I attended the Fall Frolic up at Cascade, last week.  I did a demo on Kawandi style, then on our last full day, I started another Kawandi.  I had brought my scrap bin to share in case anyone was inspired to try it.  Three people did!  We were all working on them simultaneously, which was a lot of fun.  I worked in some red scraps, I was given about five years ago, and it took me longer than I expected, but it was worth it.  It is titled:  Fashion Statement.  It is also my tenth Kawandi this year.

Fashion is ever evolving, just like quilting!

To be an artist, one must work in more than one medium.

Oh, these last few months have been extremely busy for me.  My art quilt group had a big display at the BBQ Show on the last weekend of September.  I was so inspired by all the amazing creativity displayed at the show, it inspired me to come right home and make another Kawandi quilt in three days.  Oh, then I received an e-mail on Oct 4 about an extended call for art quilts in the Idaho/Montana Regional Art Quilters (SAQA).  So, I made an entirely new art quilt in three days, that I just got mailed out to Montana on Tuesday.  You can see that quilt here.  It is titled: The North Cabin.

Meanwhile, I finally had time (one afternoon last Sunday) to go out and obtain a new printer for my computer.  I got an EPSON ET-3850, and my wonderful husband got it all connected up for me.  I Love My New Printer.  Then of course, I was also contacted to pick-up a truckload of quilt fabric from another amazing quilter who has gone on before; Vesta Bergen.  Her sons had it all in boxes and they put it directly into my pick-up.  I need my pick-up next week to load up and head up to a quilting retreat in Cascade, so I rallied my Piecemakers of Idaho to do a fabric sale this Saturday at my house.  It is happening!   I need to clean my house! and sweep out the garage and muster some tables, etc!

That is what a madhouse it has been for me lately.  Back to the new printer . . . the old did not work so well, so it had a stack of crap on top of it.  I went through said stack of crap and got it all handled, including an 18-month-old clay project for another group of ladies that I belong to.  Done!

Here is my completed clay project, using every bead that I made and decoupaged.  I spray sealed it yesterday and strung it all together last night.  I hung it next to my latest Kawandi, which has a Halloween theme.  It is okay to call it a Kawandi (instead of Kawandi quilt), because Kawandi means quilt.  I love my Spooky Houses Kawandi and my clay Hope art piece.

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.