Helping out a friend

Helping out a friend.

I was ready to return to my work when I saw a request for help from a friend on Facebook.  I do not have any tight deadlines right now so I decided to volunteer my help.  She is having health problems and was unable to finish this quilt.  And, it had already been sold in a fundraiser many months ago.  I can't help Mary Ann's health, but I can quilt. 

Here is the completed quilt by Mary Ann Vaca-Lambert called Roadside Bluebonnets.  It is about 70" by 47".

I love the blue, it is intense! And the little pops of yellow are wonderful!  I also like that it is a log cabin.  My very first quilt was a log cabin, and I just finished piecing the top of another log cabin.  I think it's my favorite block!

When I received the project, it still needed quite a few things done for completion. The quilting motif was a meandering stippling pattern inside the blue and straight lines on the pale background.  I found this difficult because I don't ever do stippling patterns.  They require a kind of improvisational and yet a bit of planning with your brain that I find really difficult.  I wanted my quilting to look like Mary Ann's, but I am not inside her brain.  I decided to study the pattern and try drawing it on paper a few times to see if I could understand how the pattern flowed.  I did manage to get there eventually.  My pattern is much more symmetrical than Mary Ann's but it kind of looks like hers.  She has a much more intuitive approach.  Here is a photo of that quilting from the back of the quilt.  I definitely had a learning curve!

When the quilting was finished, all the threads needed to be buried inside the quilt.  This took a while, but I find it a relaxing chore.  The next step involves blocking the quilt because it did not lie flat (it rarely does).

This is the part where I move the furniture to make space on the floor.  Then I pull out these big foam floor tiles that piece together like puzzle pieces.  It is perfect for blocking.  I flattened the quilt on the floor, then sprayed some water on it to get it slightly wet.  Very gently, I try to further flatten any parts of the quilt that are being troublesome and quickly pin it to the yellow floor tiles.  Then I turn on the fan, and let it dry completely, usually overnight. 

The next day after unpinning, I trimmed the quilt to remove excess batting and backing.  Then it was ready to bind.  I cut the binding strips, sewing them together, and then sewed them to the front side of the quilt.  The next step is to fold the binding and wrap it around the cut edges of the quilt, and then secure it to the back with hand stitching.  

Most quilters either love or hate putting the binding on.  For me, I find it kind of exciting to get so close to the finish line! And, I would say that I was nearly finished but there is more to do!

The label needs to be made, this one is according to Mary Ann's wishes.  And then sewn to the back of the quilt.  I think it is really important to put labels on quilts, so I include them on all my quilts. 

More still!  One of the last steps is to photograph the quilt.  And, since this quilt fit perfectly on my design wall, I was able to get that done fairly quickly. 

Next is to tape roll all the extra threads off both sides and then it is ready for shipping.  I folded it to fit inside the shipping box with tissue paper in all the folds. And, I always wrap it in plastic to make sure it won't get damaged in water in some unlikely delivery mishap.  Address the label, buy the postage, and drop it off.  I am hoping the new owner will be happy with her quilt.  It was a label of love by both of us.  Here's to you Mary Ann!!

A Day at the Lake

A Day at the Lake
12" x 12"

I Love this little quilt!  It has been donated to the SAQA auction this year, so if you like it, you could bid on it and get a chance to have it for your very own!  The auction runs from Sept 19 to Oct 8 and you can click here to learn more about how it works. The auction is a yearly fundraising event because promoting art is an expensive task. And though the members pay expensive membership dues and entry fees, it is not nearly enough to cover all the expenses, and thus the fundraising begins! SAQA represents a lot of artists and has a lot of traveling exhibits to many, many places.  If you haven't seen the SAQA website yet, check it out.  There are many beautiful art works to browse through, and perhaps one of the traveling exhibits will be coming close to you soon! They also offer many pieces of art for sale if you desire!

The inspiration for this one came from two places.  I have recently remodeled my studio and in the course of moving all my belongings back in to the studio, I discovered my stash of hand made batik pieces.  The second source was from an inspiration I had to make a giant piece for the exhibit Stories of Migration.  I never committed to making the piece though because of it's size and the ensuing shipping costs and difficulties.  And, I was not interested in making the idea smaller!  I wanted to represent fleeing refugees, in origami paper boats.  I thought the metaphor to the actual flimsy-ness of the boats refugees use for dangerous water crossings was right on point.  In fact, as I tried to fold boats out of fabric, they kept falling apart.

This quilt is a more uplifting and recreational take on the idea.  For the boats, I solved the falling apart dilemma with a few little tucks of Mistyfuse in some of the places.  For origami, that would have been equivalent to cheating with glue!  However, for my little quilt, it made it all work out, so I remain enamored with the miracle known as Mistyfuse which allows many of my dreams to come true!  The rest of the piece was just putting together elements from previous quilts I have made.  It could be considered working in a series, as I have done the little pocket buildings many times before.  I still like the colorful nature and texture of working with these little blocks, and then finally filling them with the little people.

Night Ride

Night Ride
18.5" x 23"

This is the piece that I have donated to International Quilt Association for their annual fundraising auction in Houston this year.  It's a fun little piece I made from some left over batiks from my quilt, Blue Towers.

Here are a few details:

I love the cute little paper clip I found in the shape of a bicycle, and the hand stitching that adds some nice texture to the piece.
Thanks for stopping by!

Canoe

Canoe
8" x 10" x 2.5"

This is my contribution to The 100, Fiberart for a Cause, fundraiser for the American Cancer Society.  You will have a chance to get this fabulous little piece on Feb 4, 2015 (apologies for getting the date wrong in the previous post, oops!).

Anyway, I just LOVE this little piece.  It was made from leftovers from this quilt, which you may recognize!  This one reminds me of Austin, TX, my home!  We have a fabulous river running through the center of town, surrounded by a lot of development, but with a lot of park space preserved too!  There are several places along the river to rent canoes, kayaks, sailboats and rowing boats (those long thin ones!).  It is one of my favorite activities in Austin!  Getting back to nature without having to travel very far, and some great exercise.  I have seen many interesting animals along the sides of the river, from dogs playing with their humans, to coyotes, racoons, turtles, many, many types of birds, and occasionally fish.  

For this, I wanted to try folding the fabric like a little newspaper origami boat from my childhood, but I couldn't remember how! Thank goodness for the internet!  In no time at all I was busy re-learning how to do this.  AND it also works with fabric, though my original attempts were too large for this little project.  I was finally able to scale it down enough to slip in the little Guatemalan worry doll!  Do you think I should fashion her an oar?

Fiberart For A Cause

Fiberart For A Cause
to benefit the American Cancer Society

I am honored to be an invited artist for "The 100" to be held on February 4, 2015.  The goal for this fundraiser is to raise $10,000 in one day!!  How?  Check out the details here.

I'm sure you will want to be one of the very exclusive 100 patrons who will be randomly assigned artwork from an extraordinary line-up of international fiber artists!  Fiberart For A Cause has already raised $240,000 thanks the amazing Virginia Spiegel and the generosity of fiber artists and patrons.

Check back in to see what I will be donating.  I am so excited to be contributing to this great event!