The best laid plans... and so on

I used a portion of a Christmas gift to procure several hankies for the mandala.  Soon, I hope to find them in my mailbox - and then I can get rolling on that applique (Broderie Perse) project once again.

Hang on, photos to come.

Bits of this 'n' that

This last week was very busy - Christmas notwithstanding.

I ran from here to there (hither and yon) good-deed-doing (repeatedly), making appointments, hustling a son to computer mecca for innards (good golly, the crowds), and teaching a last-minute crazy quilt class of eight folks.  That last bit materialized out of nowhere, but it sure did make an impact on our Christmas!

Thank you again, Rebecca, if you read this.

So much non-Christmas-y activity (at least, not Christmas-y for my own purposes), and still, a lot of what went on was meant for glad tidings for others. Strange that.

I did manage to make a small dent in "Peacock", finishing (for the most part) the stitching on one of sixteen blocks and beginning the stitching on a second block.  I have to make a final decision on how I intend to treat the round seam of the fan configuration, but I have narrowed down my options to essentially two choices - so that's something!  And I do have a bit of embellishment to do to two seams on the first block, but I have managed to embroider all of the seams down, and this works for me. It is a bit of accomplishment in order to free me for moving forward, rather than to feel as if I am standing still and getting nowhere.

Still would LOVE to find just enough dark blue (NAVY) velvet to cap the fans on at least two of the eighteen pieces....but my search for navy velvet is proving fruitless.  I shall keep looking, though, because at some point material outlets will have to restock it.  Right? ? ?

What are you working on?

And so it begins

I have wanted to applique' since I began to make quilts in earnest, and that was a little over half my lifetime ago.

In all honesty, though, the urge (desire) to applique' probably r e a l l y didn't manifest itself in me until a few years after I began quilt-making, but that's neither here nor there.  What really matters is that the desire (urge) to applique' has only grown stronger over the last two or three years, mostly when I realized there were some quilts I wanted to make that could be created no other way than to applique' them.

So, here I am.

I am cutting my teeth on a fairly easy project as my quilt path diverges yet again.  It is a 2/3 portion of a Picasso line drawing, and the materials were supplied by the mom of the young person it is going to.  The photo is hours old by now, and since I snapped it I've finished sewing down the large black and yellow torso-and-arm piece.  I've also basted down the leg that will be to the far left, and have that appliqued in place (oh, about a quarter of it).

But now, it's time for a little housework and dinner, so all fun stuff halts for a little while.  If I can make myself stick with it tonight, I might be able to finish off the left leg, and maybe baste down the head for this whirling dervish figure before my eyes slam shut.

What are you up to?

A little something

When I am stuck waiting with (or for) Karl for any reason - hospital stays, doctor's appointments, dental appts, while he is in class (rather than wasting gas driving back and forth) - I always have handwork to keep me occupied.

Handwork of the quilting sort (or sometimes a book to read).

Here's a little CQ something I have been needling on for the past good long while.

Out of pure frustration (and middle-aged-lady determination) I decided to devote some measure of time this year to finishing the Statue of Liberty, at least, before the toilet paper it was drawn on tatters any further.Yup, you read that correctly. I drew Lady Liberty on several sheets of toilet paper, stitched the sheets together, then basted the drawing to a section of the crazy quilt top.
After many failed starts (and many more successful retreats), I put the pieces of this quilt away in storage, meaning to someday get it out and finish what I started.

Well, someday is here!

In a few short hours I will have finished the embroidery, and will be able to remove the remainder of the toilet paper and basting stitches to reveal the entire work. I was too eager this afternoon to leave much of the unnecessary paper in place, and thus began removing some of it while still working on the crown and the hand holding the tablets.As you can see, it's not turning out too shabbily. I am very pleased with the results.

Just 'stuff'

"Little Brown Bird" by Angie Witting; 86"x86" Hand Applique/Machine Piecing

Without a doubt, this was the single most breathtaking piece at the quilt show happening this weekend in Detroit. There was a lovely vintage Grandma's Flower Garden which also blew me away, but this applique quilt was phenomenal (to say the least)!

Looking at Ms. Witting's applique work had two affects on me: 1) I just want to start learning and practicing the art of applique right now; and the other is to 2) completely forget about giving it a go, for fear of never being able to get close to her level of expertise.

The quilt guild putting on the event is the Detroit guild my friend Maria took up with more than a year ago, and they've since brought her to a new level of quilt excitement. It was very easy to see why.

There were quilts by individuals as well as quilts from several members representing a class the guild had sponsored. It was interesting to see different interpretations and color schemes of similar patterns and/or guidelines (like making your quilt from one or two materials only).

We had fun walking the zig zag path of quilts (at least 200 of them) and the astounding assortment of vendors.

There was an intricate PVC display system assembled for the display of the quilts, and I just had to study that, too.

I was completely in awe of the sizes of some of the entries, and I felt dwarfed by many of them. Then I found myself wondering how they managed to stretch and sandwich the largest quilts - what sort of rack would allow for such a huge quilt?!?

At any rate, there were a large number of absolutely gorgeous pieces on display, so it was thrilling to see that - even in the big city - the art of quiltmaking is not disappearing any time soon.

We spent hours walking and talking, observing and studying, and collecting inspiration (and dismissing those quilts that were not pleasing). It was a great way to point out things to keep in mind when choosing thread color and quilting stencils or patterns for the topstitching.

Despite the need to get other more pressing tasks done, first, I am so geeked to quilt today that I can hardly figure where to begin!

Handwork

Handwork can be good for the soul.

This is one of two attempts at hand quilting (for myself). From the top it looks grand, but I have to do a lot of pulling and re-stitching (a second, and sometimes third time) to make it look as good on the back as it does on the front.

My great-grandmother was a hand quilter, and I imagine she got a lot of practice to refine her handwork.

In all honesty, I do not specifically remember the hand stitching on the quilt my great-grandmom made for me, because somebody walked away with it years ago while at a volleyball tournament. But I do have childhood memories of tracing the stitching with my fingers, and I do remember they were straight and prominent on both sides of the cover.

I will finish my two little (and I mean "little") projects (this Amish-style offering and a miniature Triple Irish Chain), but then... never again. I will save my hand stitching for my crazy quilting and binding application.
Oh, and maybe a wee bit of applique'.

Other sewing projects

When I am stalled on a quilt (as I am currently with the Ohio Star), or if I am waiting in an office for Karl or for car maintenance, I take along handwork to keep busy.Quite a while ago (years and years) I began making Christmas stockings, table runners, wall hangings, ring bearer pillows, etc., using Crazy Quilting as the medium. I fell in love with the art form quite unexpectedly. <

As a younger woman I always found Crazy Quilts to be especially unattractive, and wondered "what would possess someone to create such monstrosities?" Then, one day while shopping in my first true quilt shoppe, I found a CQ sampler hanging on a wall, with a sign-up notice for a class.

There was something about this woman's work that made me really stop and look at the mixture of materials and embroidery work with curiosity and excitement instead of the typical dismay and repulsion. It was beautiful and compelling, and no longer a gruesome mash of confusion and mayhem. I wanted to learn this art form...I wanted to Crazy Quilt!

I signed up right on the spot! These are some of my Christmas stockings, with a close-up view of my needlework: Sometimes the stockings have themes; either color, or a specific idea.

This particular stocking centers around fishing. For children the themes can be based on toys or cartoon characters, or even Santa himself. Or, perhaps something reflecting what it is they would like to "be" when they grown-up.

Of course, a good theme could be sports- or hobby-related, too. Perhaps a favorite team....or all about travel.

This purple and cream colored confection was my first attempt at creating a stocking pattern of my own. I drew up a stocking shape pattern (with a shape and size I could work with) and set to work collecting remnants of many types of material other than cotton to use.

Sometimes I broused flea markets or barn sales and had great luck. Other times I had to stick with sorting through remnant bins at the local chain fabric stores.

Then I began to add beads, laces, pieces of doilies, old hankies, ribbon and the like to my stash. It's just the thrill of finding another way to use material, and combining different material textures and threads in one place, that keeps me working with it.

This piece is still in process (a lot of stockings are in process), and the yellow thread you see is my method of basting - to keep the pieces in place while I quilt them down.I was taught to use long straight pins to hold the edges over and everything in check while embroidering, but I found it painful to work around all of the straight pins, so I adopted the practice of basting the edges very loosely to accomplish the task.

I don't mind pulling the threads out as I work, and I certainly don't mind not being gored every time I handle the work! As you can see, it doesn't compromise the final results in any way, either.This last little sample is simply to show that I also use traditional blocks in creating stockings. Although, I do allow myself the fun/luxury of adding beads and gold thread to the quilting process. The fun is in the selection of materials for the blocks, and then embellishing like mad on the top (in this case, the front of the stocking). If you look closely you'll see I stitched a holly leaf and berry design at the intersection of the half squares, then echo-quilted the holly leaves with a matching cream thread before adding the gold beads as specular highlights.

Anyhow, besides making clothes every once in a while, I do have other sewing projects besides the quilts. And, as my sons have pointed out, if I would finish them I could sell them (which I have done a time or two in the past). So here goes nothing!