No. 20

No. 20

36.5" x 36.5"

This one started from a small watercolor sketch in my notebook. I was surprised when I finished the quilt at how closely it resembled the sketch. 

It is difficult pulling a color palette when using solids. They never seem to look like what I think they are going to look like. For this one I used only fabrics I had in my stash. This meant I had to do some planning and some math. As you will note, each additional row outward gets bigger, which means that for the outer rows, I needed to make sure I had enough fabric. This quilt is small enough that it did not ultimately make much of a difference.  However, when I started it, I loved it so much, I thought about going really big! And, I probably can still do that on another quilt, it just takes more planning to ensure I have enough fabric.  

I really enjoyed working with all the blue combinations for the blocks.

I also enjoyed adding the pops of thin color strips on the design wall, and then slowly filling in with the blue blocks. The process of working with the colors was enjoyable!

Also of note: the building of this type of quilt, starting from a small point and building outward, tends to distort the shape after a few rows.  To adjust for that, I carefully trimmed each row after adding it to the whole using a large cutting mat with a grid on it. The unintended consequence is that while adding each row and handling the quilt top a lot, previous rows will come unstitched. It is really important, right after trimming, to add a small stay stitch across the seam (at the edge). This prevents the unwanted unraveling of my work.

After completing the top, the basting is next.

Then the quilting. I opted to work from the middle outward to machine stitch the pink and orange strips. Then I tucked the thread ends inside the quilt sandwich. This allowed me to remove all the safety pins before doing the hand quilting. 

I really love the combination of machine quilting and hand quilting. Although this example is not the most innovative of artistic choices for this quilt. Quilting adds texture to a quilt, and I like to balance that texture in a way that does not interfere with the design choices of the quilt top. 

Last up with the binding, hanging tube and the quilt label.

I had fun with the hand quilting for this project even though it takes longer. It is nice to add balance to my work by slowing down.

Altered Trading Cards

Altered Trading Cards

I spent yesterday afternoon making altered trading cards (ATCs). They are basically a playing card that has been artistically altered on the back side. I have not had that much fun in ages!! I made more than I was planning. I used up a lot of prototypes and samples from earlier quilts I had made. It was fun to revisit the older works. And, it is really fun to make something so small and that I can finish in ONE day! Completion was great. 

These first 4 came from art journal pages that were never bound into a book. I just cut them to the size of the playing card, and used gel medium to attach them. I think they look fantastic with my little succulent collection, who were quite kind to hold the cards up for a photography session. 

The next set came from WAY back.  These cards have little quilts stitched to them, in a way that forms a pocket for the little Guatemalan worry dolls. The dolls slip inside the pockets, and are not stitched in. I think I like the one with the batiked flower the best, but it might also be because of the hand stitched edging, which was significantly harder than I thought it would be, but worth the effort!

Next was a postcard, made from a leftover paper koi from my HST project, No. 16. It is propped up on my favorite new plant, a Queen Victoria agave. And while I love the plant, and hope it thrives on my deck, I mostly like it because it doesn't freeze. Love it with it's spike tipped leaves holding up the postcard!

Next up, a couple from my Quilt National works.  The first is from the most recent QN piece, Where the Walls have eyes. These little quilts lift up off the surface of the card to reveal an eye inside! I almost cut a circle out of the center....

Here is the 'open' part...

The last two cards, one an ATC, and the other a postcard, are from pieces left over from my first Quilt National work, from 2009, Little Fish in a Big City. No, they are not flat. Yes, they are 3D.

So much play in such a short time! Now I am looking forward to returning to my HST series! The top for No. 20 is finished and now awaiting the quilting! Cheers!

No. 19

No. 19

27" x 33"

It is easy to get caught up in the small details, but it is increasingly vital to look at the whole field. A somewhat vague statement, but applicable to a number of scenarios. It surprises me how much the national political situation infiltrates my work subconsciously.

Design Process and 'Issues':

This one started as a sketch: (Note the orientation is different from the photo above. This one started with a vertical set of blocks).

I wanted to create depth by using different sized HSTs. Then I thought it might be interesting if they were separated by solid colors, one side darker than the other to imply shadows. And then I would quilt in the lines of perspective. 

1. I was unsure of what color values to use. So, I opted to try 4 different blocks in 4 different sets of values to see which combinations looked the best. This one was the winner! The darkest center seemed to create the most depth.

2. After finishing the quilting, the design looked very flat. The quilting lines for perspective did not show up enough. They needed to be bigger, bolder, and wider. So, I got out my handy Pfaff, and started satin stitching. It used up so much thread that I was scared I would run out before I finished. Luckily, I had enough! Yeasss!!

After finishing the black lines, it looked like this. I loved the depth that I could now see.

The individual blocks look great, but combined with each other, it created an unexpected secondary design, and a problem (for me).

 

3. Unfortunately, now I could only see the concentric diamonds in the center. They jumped out so voraciously, it was ALL that I could see. Like big EYES!!

Sorry, that is probably all you can see now too. I decided that it was a worthy experiment. It failed because of my lack of imagination and foresight. And it was okay that it failed miserably. It was worth the journey. It is how you learn, by trying something new, and then doing it, and learning along the way. And then my son walked by the studio and suggested rotating the quilt.

So, I did...

I could see the depth now in a horizontal orientation, and the 2 concentric diamonds that were now stacked vertically....well, they no longer looked like eyeballs staring back at me. 

It is still not my favorite quilt. It does not bother me that it is not my favorite quilt. I have had a number of comments on my FB post that suggest I would like it better if I turned the quilt horizontally...um, I have actually already tried that. Ha ha! And, I have already stitched the hanging tube on the back in this orientation. 

 

I guess if someone wants to purchase it, and turn it back to it's original orientation, I would be happy to change the hanging tube for them. I hope the big eyeballs won't bother them too much! Ha ha!

Here's a few closeups for you.

and another one...

No. 18

No. 18

53" x 40"

I love this one so much! The saturation of color, the shapes, the theme. It all rocks!

Making it, I encountered a lot of delays. 

1. The color palette drove me crazy. The first thought was to make the background out of the orange and pink on the left, but I didn't have enough fabric. Wanting to get started as soon as possible, I drove to a local quilt shop to search for something else I could use, or possibly they might have more of what I already had? They did not. I opted to make the background out of the 'so pink it's almost red' and another saturated but lighter pink--the two colors on the right side. However when I got home, I didn't like them as much as I thought I would. 

Then I realized it might be really good with both color sets! Yeah, let's do that!!

Then I ran out of the orange and pink on the left, got out my color swatches, and ordered some more of the same fabric. Then I had to wait for it to be shipped. Agonizing wait!! 

So, I started making the blocks, and ........eventually the new fabric arrived! And, the colors were different! Nuts!! 

Ultimately, I realized that the new colors were lighter, just barely, and would be PERFECT as the background under the light rays, right in the middle. Standing back, and looking at the journey of sourcing fabrics I wanted, the universe had other plans, and this assemblage landed in my lap. And, I believe it is so much better than what I thought I wanted.  

And, this theme played out 2 more times before I finished.

2. I thought the light rays had to be white. White in that spot looked so bad and I couldn't resolve what my head thought and what my eyes saw. My next thought was yellow. Wrong again. Then I tried something less conventional than what my brain wanted, and the light aqua blue looked amazing!!

The last one...

3. I wanted a specific shade of red for the binding. I only had a small scrap of it. The only other red I had enough of was the wrong color--too orangey. So I dug out my samples again, and ordered the red. And, I did not get the memo.  That Missouri Star sends crap damaged fabric. Which after significant effort I managed to get a refund for the fabric, but not for the shipping. I emailed 2 times, no response to either email. Then I gave them a bad review. After a week they reached out, and told me to email them for help. Um...nope, not falling for that again. I guess they wanted me to believe that if they were going to ignore me for the first 2 emails, I should trust them to do what is right for the 3rd email? Suffice to say, I will not be doing business with them again. 

The fabric they sent was faded in a grid pattern, so by definition, not a SOLID color. Very irritating.

I was so frustrated, I decided to just use the red I had, the one that was too orangey, and you guessed it, it was PERFECT. 

Lessons learned: Stop making drama for myself. Expect the unexpected. And, sometimes the wrong color is the right one!

Stitching the HST blocks.

Trimming them to size.

Repeat many many times, and stitch the blocks together. 

Then play with them before committing...because why not? oooh, fun!!

Then quilt the whole quilt. (You can see the minimal stitching below)

Then it is ready for applique!! Yeass!

I typically cut freezer paper in the shape of the finished piece to iron to the back side. With scissors, I cut out the fabric 1/4 " larger for the turned under seam. Next, fold the the seams under, using the paper as a guide, and press in place. Pull off the paper and hand baste the turned under edges. Pin to the quilt, and hand applique. 

This piece uses the last 2 humps cut out from No. 9. They were re-sized and re-shaped for this quilt. 

Next up, quilting the appliqued pieces, and marking the quilting lines. The big lamp humps were marked with 1/4" masking tape. The marking for the necks of the lamps was different. It probably would have been easier to just use a marking pencil, but I have had experiences that were difficult to get the marking pencil out...so.

I pressed freezer paper on top of the neck. And, then traced the shape with a blue pencil. Next was to draw the lines I wanted to stitch. 

I pulled the freezer paper off, and cut it to shape, and then pressed it back on. 

Then I added the 1/4" masking tape to the edges and marked the points to where the stitching would come. 

Then I removed the freezer paper again, left the masking tape in place, and started stitching straight lines to each point. Again, overly complicated...

Finishing up with the orange thread directly on the neck.  You can also see the quilting lines on the lamp shape in this photo! It looks so good!! I am happy!

The last part to show you is the overly complicated hanging sleeve. I don't know why. I cut out a bunch of different pinks and stitched them together. 

I think maybe I wasn't ready to be finished with this one yet? And now that it is finished, I am happy to have it hanging on a wall, and enjoying looking at it every day!

No. 17

No. 17
84.5 " x 84.5"

I am the little one. The big one is my baggage. Sometimes, a lot of times, it is grief, a lifetime accumulation of losses. And it hovers immensely large and just above me threatening with it's crushing weight. 

Sometimes it is fear.

Sometimes it is mental illness, depression, unregulated chemicals in my brain that can only see gloom.

Lately it is the staggering loss of democracy in the land that I love. The trauma of violent and illegal kidnappings of our people wrapped the unsubstantiated cloak of vilified 'illegals'. The invasion of our military on our home ground and people. Or the vengeance of an unhinged leader also vilifying everyone who disagrees with him. I cannot forget the incitement of violence during the Jan 6, 2021 change of leadership, and the current pardons of all the violent felons...by a felon. The denial of science, climate change, the politicalization of vaccines, and the loss of women's rights to control their own bodies. The criminalization of using words like science, climate change, and DEI. The government censorship of education and ensuing retaliation. The loss of separation of church and state. The erasure of our history. The removal of health insurance, and jobs, and closing of our government. The sell out of our national parks. Corporate bribes, grift, the wanton greed and pocket lining of the president, and rising inflation. The loss of the value of truth. The loss of freedom of speech. The list is long and begs for accountability and the rule of law. Where are the spineless and mute leaders of our elected Congress?

This is my personal story. I am hoping that you will notice the little me is fully formed and not squashed flat. This is a quilt about suffering and resilience, and even though small....the mighty of the individual. And it is written in a visual language of abstraction. For my viewers it can be whatever you think or feel that it is about. Maybe grape flavored gumdrops? It is all valid. It is art.

The selection of a color palette was easy. Finding all the fabrics was not. I picked from my stash first, and then supplemented with a 'few' more. Here are the squares, cut out, and paired with some friends!

Here are the blocks, sewn into half square triangles, cut apart, and stacked. I love how the stack takes a star shape. 

Finally, I get to open them and see all the lovely color pairings. After pressing, they are trimmed to size and put on the design wall. 

This little quilt had a number of false starts and detours. I originally thought I would put a set of fabrics for the little hump from this palette. 

These are all batiks I made from my early days of being a quilt artist.  I love how they pair up with solid fabrics that I already had in my stash.

I was still liking it, not yet aware of just how awful this is going to look when stitched and paired with my dark cool big hump. I will spare you that one!

Once I changed color palettes, and remade the smaller hump, I knew it was a good decision, and I was happy with it!

The blocks were then stitched together, and cut out into their hump shapes. I used a paper template for both humps. And, drawing the big one was harder than drawing the little one!

Cutting into the smooth shapes... And cutting out the background from a whole cloth. 

I like to baste by hand, and decided to try individual ties, instead of a long running stitch. It is so cute how the ties ended up looking like faces! A perfect complement to the theme of the quilt. 

I wasn't sure what quilting stitch, or stitches I wanted to use for the hand quilting, though, I was quite sure that I wanted to hand quilt this one. I took a scrap and made a sample quilt sandwich. I spent 2 days working on different ideas, some that worked, some that did not. It was time well used!

Then I set about handquilting. This was another one of those false starts I referred to earlier. At about 2/3 of the way finished, I realized that the tension had a big problem, one that was not going away with increasing amounts of work. I still can't believe it took me so long to decide to rip it out. I think that once I got invested in the hand work, and then did it, it seemed an impossible choice to rip it out. But, it looked really bad. And, I didn't need it to look perfect, or be perfect, but this was far beyond my comfort level. So, in 4 hours, I ripped out 20 days worth of work. Sigh...

Then I had to start over. I rebasted it with safety pins this time (because it was faster, and I wanted to get started correcting the problem). Then I machine stitched the entire quilt in chunks along the seam lines and removed all the pins. This made it so easy to do the hand stitching later because I was using a hoop, and the pins weren't there to get in the way! And, the backing was now securely attached to the front, so it wasn't shifting at all. 

Loading the needle with stitches.

I also used varying weights of thread for the handstitching, some thicker, Sew Sassy, and some finer, variegated King Tuts threads. I loved the diversity of using different colors and different weights of threads for this project!

Last was the trimming of the quilt and the binding. A nice bonus of all the handstitching was that the tension was so incredibly even. I did not have to block the quilt to straighten it out! I applied the binding to the front of the quilt by machine, using white fabric to bind the white sections, and blue fabrics to bind the hump sections. 

And then I flipped the binding over the edge and hand stitched to the back. 

And right after I finished sewing the hanging sleeve on, the sky was filled with bright intense light from the sun behind the clouds, and there was no wind. So, I RAN outside with a hanging rod and ladder, and snapped some photos! YEASSS! A perfect finish!