Quilting 2020

I know it's March 2021 but it sure feels like 2020 2.0. Nothing has changed and I really haven't done much in the last couple months. So I decided to write a few different post summarizing more of my 2020 craft activities. 

Quilting 2020:

 

I started 2020 finishing a very large queen size quilt. That of course involved lots of sewing, machine quilting separate sections and solving some construction problems because I made the quilt using the Machine Quilting in Sections method as taught by Marti Michell. She has an excellent Craftsy class on the subject that I referenced multiple times.  It was the only way I could achieve my goal because I don't have a sewing machine that can accommodate the machine quilting of something that large.  It was the end of April before I finished and was thrilled to be done and happy with the results.  But by then I was pretty tired of sewing.  It was the third queen size quilt I made in a row. I'd made two in 2019 before I started this on and I needed a break from sewing.

I moved on to other crafts for several months.  After taking a long break I didn't do any more sewing until the annual Project Linus quilt challenge in October.  That is always a fun easy quilt to make and a fundraising event for Project Linus.  The challenge only last about 8 weeks and you receive complete instructions and access to video tutorials if you need them. My problem is I love finishing the quilt tops but take forever to get around to finishing the quilts. I have several quilt tops sitting in my cabinet now just waiting to become real quilts one day.

After I finished the Project Linus quilt top I was ready to finish a Christmas project I'd planned a couple years ago or so.  I have collected a lot of different winter and Christmas themed fabric and planned to make a table runner for a  coffee table out of some blue and white snowflake fabric prints.

 

 

 

I have a list of planned quilt projects that I already have the fabric for.  It's just a matter of deciding what I feel like working on at any given time. But then there are the unplanned projects usually made from leftover fabric pieces that are the remnants of previous completed projects. They end up becoming any number of things. Having just finished three queen size quilts I have a basket full of extra cut fabric pieces and scraps from both the fronts and backs of the quilts. I experimented with some strip piecing ideas and ended up with enough blocks to make another table runner and I have some random small quilt blocks made from leftover project Linus fabric. They may end up being zipper pouches or place mats.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thanks for reading.

 

Aileen

Odd Projects

I've just been working on a few small things. 

I wanted to feel like I was getting something done so I machine quilted this little scrap quilt.  I guess that's the plus side of having a pile of unfinished projects.

And, of course had it Cat approved. Thanks Cassandra.

 And did some more topographic line doodles.  It's sort of meditative and easy to sit a couple minutes, often talking to someone, and just draw lines. Hills, valleys, lakes, rivers, mountains, shorelines, islands, cliffs and whatever I imagine.

This is another of the pearl cotton hand quilted pieces I work on when I'm watching TV.  I finished the edges of this small piece and plan to use it as the cover for a small book.

And this is the 'ugly' experiment completed.  I wanted to try a 'stack and slash' patchwork technique but didn't want to use any of my 'favorite' fabrics on something I might not like so I picked out of my stash 6 of my least liked fabrics, the 'uglies'.  I've see some really impressive and attractive stack and slash quilts and it looks like a fun technique to use but I didn't find it to be any less work really and the end results don't make me happy.  My vision/brain craves at least order and loves some symmetry with that and it would be nice if my favorite colors were involved. Maybe this wasn't a good test. If I liked the colors and prints in the quilt I might be able to overlook the disorder of the whole object.  Maybe.

This is one of our sleepy bees hanging out under the marigolds overnight. With their help I'll have all the seeds I need for flowers next year.

Thanks for reading.

Aileen

Saturday Summary, err Sunday

I've had a busy week. 

I finished two Christmas blocks I showed in  previous post. 

Both have been properly cat tested. 

I made two Christmas blankets from patchwork tops made from pre-printed Christmas storybook fabric with a piece of fleece for the backs. No quilting in theses simple Christmas throws. 

I did get a little side tracked on a scrappy project. Several years ago (~15) I read an article in a quilting magazine about 'mosaic' quilting, a method to use up various odd sizes of fabric scraps. I've done this several times when the piles of scraps grow and I want to organize 'the mess'.

I plan to border all the blocks in white (also leftover scraps) and combine them to make small quilt projects. Maybe place mats, potholders, pencil cases, or tabletop quilts.

 

But at least the annoying pile of scraps is gone. In it's place is a neat pile of scrappy squares. There is a difference. Really...  Now I can start making a new annoying pile of scraps! It never ends, the cycle > new project > pile of project scraps > new project from project scraps > next new project > and so on .....

Thanks for Reading.

Aileen

Purple Collage - Fabric, Paper, and Acrylic Paint

Several weeks ago, after I cut 4" squares from over 100 different purple fabrics, I started work on a collage project.  

First I made paper collages of the purple fabric scraps. 

Then I started on the background canvas. I'm using trash trim strips of fabrics saved from various quilting projects as a texture layer on the canvas. I use gesso or acrylic medium to 'glue' the fabric to the canvas.

 

 

After a texture layer of scrap fabrics has been added I start adding more paint to create a multi-shade abstract background for the pieces of purple collage that will go on last. 

There is really a lot of texture here. But I'm not done painting. I really don't want the colors of the bottom fabric layers to show, just the texture. 

I plan to add more color to this layer and the texture provides nooks and levels to fill in with different shades of purple and colors. 

But the ultimate goal is to add pieces from the purple fabric collage pages for the final composition. 

Here I'm auditioning a possible size and layout for the purple collage pieces. These are 1 1/2" square and the edges have been painted dark purple. The background will have more color than shown here but I plan to have it light enough to provide good contrast.  We'll see how it actually comes out!

Thanks for reading. 

Aileen