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!