Done! Done! Done!

Eight years in the making, the two Otsego (oversized) twin-bed quilts are finished!  So many lessons learned in this quilting journey from total novice.  Even at the end, between quilts #1 and #2, I learned a lot.

For example, with borders such as these (not mitered and quilted separately), quilt the shorter borders first, so they can nudge the longer ones back from the seam if necessary.  That way you don't end up with a fold along the seam line.  Even though I was using a walking foot and had measured the borders carefully, the weirdness of the (unintentionally) wonky blocks caused a lot of fabric build-up along the way -- build-up that even the walking foot couldn't compensate for.

No SilkPurse from This Sow's Ear!

If you remember, I designed these quilts in a program (kind of like EQ, but available for a Mac; I've since abandoned it for EQ8, now available for Macs).  Anyway, I didn't know what a flying goose was, and just bumbled along.  Cutting and sewing were rather poor.  When it came time to stitch-in-the-ditch along the first border, the fabric gathered badly along the flying geese (among other places).

Although I pre-washed all the fabrics in these quilts, I like to think (hope!) that the wrinkles, puckers and pleats will just add to the homey, hand-made feeling.  I tried mightily to smooth everything out, but my efforts were mostly in vain.

For the binding I chose a dark red that fits with the reds in the quilt top (though darker) and works nicely with the ladybugs in the backing.

This is the first time that I machine-stitched both sides of the binding, and I hate it!  The edges on the back are uneven (of course, I picked a nice area to photograph!).  Parts of the backing and even the batting poked through, and I had to rip out about 50% or more of the backing and re-stitch it.  Arghhh!  Thought I was saving time...  not!

In any event, everything is as done as it's going to get.  I *LOVE* this backing fabric.  If it were up to me, I'd probably put the backing side up!

I plan to whip up a couple of pillow shams with the leftover fabric, and then ship everything off to my brother and sister-in-law to haul up to the cabin in the spring.  By then I'll probably be over the detail-angst and will be excited to photograph the quilts on the beds.

On to the next adventure!

Making Waves!

Hi, everyone, and happy National Sewing Month!  And guess what...   I treated myself to a new sewing machine!

I got my Brother NX-650Q nine years ago just after I retired and had decided to learn to quilt.  It's a good machine -- I'm planning on keeping it -- but the harp space is way too small to quilt even a twin-size quilt, especially if one is stitching in the ditch on the diagonal.  I was replacing a 35-year-old Kenmore, and I did a lot on on-line research to figure out what I wanted at a price that seemed reasonable.  (BTW, I wish I'd kept the Kenmore, with its single-hole needle plate and strong engine).  Oh well.  I LOVED the Brother.  It came with a large extension table, a gazillion feet, a ton of stitches, including alphabet.  I was in awe.

But over time, as I did more quilting, I became aware of its limitations.  In addition to the small harp space, the motor just didn't have enough strength to power through heavy seams, and the zig-zag needle plate just sucked up triangles.  Single-hole plates are $$.  Earlier this month I decided that it was time to quilt the Otsego Lake quilts.  It was so frustrating!  The walking foot and/or the needle would stall where flying geese came together at the points.  The thread kept breaking.  The vibration caused screws to come loose, causing the needle to drop and break and the walking foot to come apart.  Garrrr!  Yes, most problems were resolvable, but still...

Again I did some internet research, this time with more understanding of what I needed.  My friend Deb told me how much she loves her Janome Memory Craft 6700P, and she does FMQ on huge quilts on hers.  Kelli, the owner of Riverhead Vac and Sew, offered me a very good price.  And the Janome has 3" more harp space horizontally than the Brother.   Not the biggest available, but just fine for me.  Ultimately, although I did find a couple of used machines on line, I decided that it was worth the extra money and peace of mind to buy from my local dealer.

My playground!  Janome standing confidently in the background, Brother in the table, Featherweight to the side.  I was so excited to get to work on the backlog of quilting.  I soon discovered that the Janome doesn't have a stipple stitch that I wanted to use, so she moved back and the Brother went back into the table for a little while.  Soon enough she came back out.  I keep my Featherweight set up on the side of my sewing table for opportunistic piecing.

Now, as National Sewing Month wraps up, I'm happy to say that one of the two twin-bed Otsego Lake quilts is quilted and ready for binding.

You may notice some (!) less-than-perfect points and seam matches.  This was the first "real" quilt that I had embarked on (not counting a baby quilt that was the product of a DVD-based how-to-quilt class).  The cutting was not very good, my sewing was not very good, etc., etc., you know the drill.  I squared up the top as best I could and started quilting and by stitching in the ditch along the diagonal lines.  But since there were few genuinely straight lines, things quickly got out of whack.  When I started stitching along the horizontal lines of the border, nothing wanted to stay flat.  And yes, I used a walking foot.  

There were pleats and folds everywhere.  I spent hours and hours trying to ease the fabric, with little appreciable improvement.  This afternoon I decided that I was wasting my time.  Step back!  Can you see it from the Mackinac Bridge?  Maybe when the quilt is washed, these won't be so noticeable.

So I decided to move on:  binding!  I'm not sure how that will go, either.  The edges are going to be very wavy.  But that's not a flaw!  It's a feature!  They represent the waves on the lake!

When you can't decide what to make, make excuses!

Crosstown Arts Quilt Show, Part 3

Memphis Blues

Last winter Crosstown Arts in Memphis sent out an invitation to quilters within a 200-mile radius of Memphis to submit one or more quilts for a summer show.  The only requirements were (1) the quilts had to be 24" square, and (2) they had to be blue.  Some were arty, some traditional.  There was a quilt by someone who also had a quilt in the Art Quilts show, one by a teenage boy, one by a group of kids.

The quilts were hung in columns of 3, so it was hard to get photos of the ones on top,  There were 230 in all!  I didn't take photos of all of them -- my poor phone was barely limping along at this point.  There was no handout with information about the quilts, so most are shown here with only my own comments.

I'll start with one of my two favorites and end with the other.  Enjoy them and everything in between!

Antarctica was created by a high-school boy.  What I truly love is that it is quilting in reverse.  Look closely -- this is a wholecloth quilt made with a single piece of white fabric.  As a geographer and a quilter, I was entranced.

A wholecloth quilt with beautiful free-motion quilting.

Close-up of the previous photo.

This was by a quilter who also showed in the art quilts exhibit.  You can see that the apparent curves are created by very small change in the sizes of the horizontal strips.

Yes, these are miniscule pieced squares, giving the appearance of a cross-stitch.

Close-up of previous quilt.

Captivating straight-line quilting.

Close-up of pineapple quilt above.

Needle-turn applique.  Wonderful quilting enhances the appearance of a koi pond.

This quilt held me for a long time.  How I wish that I could have learned more about how it was made and what inspired the quilter.  Machine- and hand-stitched, hand-appliqued and quilted.

Close-up of the girl fishing.

The fish in the river, considering the lure.

Satin fabric, machine appiqued and quilted.

Close-up of previous quilt.

A traditional sampler quilt with whimsical touches.

Beautiful use of similar fabrics to add depth.

Close-up of previous quilt.

Hand-stitching adds nice texture.

Use of alternative materials, both hard (shells) and soft (tulle) bring this quilt to life.

And finally, one of my favorites from this exhibit.  How can you not love the invention and humor while meeting the show's requirements.  Anonymous quilter, I love you!

I'm already hoping that the Crosstown Arts quilt show will become an annual event!  If it does, you can visit it here again next year!  

Crosstown Arts Quilt Show, Part 2

Crosstown Arts Quilt Show, continued

Here are a few of the other art quilts from the quilt show that was held in Memphis, TN in June and July.  Again, the words are those of the quilters themselves.

SYO #32, Harue Konishi, Tokyo, Japan.

I wanted to take two-dimensional quilt works to the next level.  However, I did not want to achieve this by creating a concave-convex surface.  My idea was to create something that appears flat from which another world could emerge.  I let threads hang in front and in back, which created another space below.

Dutch Colors, Willy Doreleljers, Dordrecht, the Netherlands.

The windmill has traditionally been a striking presence in Dutch landscapes.  This work celebrates and old technology that still has bright prospects.  Hard lines and color contrasts bring to life the windmill's struggle against the elements.

Close-up of Dutch Colors

Realization, Karen Rips, Thousand Oaks, California.

It is believed tht the first sounds made by human beings was the Om, which is created by forming the mouth in the shape of an oval.  When ritualistically repeated again and again, it is poissible for one to come to a true state of consciousness or realization.

Crazed 16: Suburban Dream, Kathleen Loomis, Louisville, Kentucky.

We like to think we're masters of the univserse,  but really our civilization is a collection of six billion people held together by an increasingly fragile set of connections.  We neglect our children, our poor, and our homeless; we disrespect our government; we overstress the social bonds that should unite us.  What happens after some people achieve the suburban dream, while others remain in crowded cities?

Commercial cotton, machine pieced and quilted.

Wedding in the Wind, Jim Hay, Gunma, Japan.

I had recently watched a very windy outdoor wedding from my 9th flool Tokyo hotel room, and this is my interpretation.  The fallen priest reveals his skinny legs, the bride's father lose his wig, and the groom holds onto the wig but lets the bride blow away.  I included a self-portrait with my wife since we were celebrating 10 years of marriage that year.  We are hanging onto the edge of the quilt for dear life.

Close-up of groom holding ring while the bride is blown away.

The quilter and his wife.

The topsy-turvey priest.

Stay tuned for the final installment of the Crosstown Arts Quilt Show, with the local quilts made to meet the show's Memphis Blues criteria:  must include blue and be 24" square.

Fabric Fun in Michigan!

Well, I haven't gotten as much sewing done here at the cabin in Michigan as I'd hoped.  The first couple of days were dark and rainy, and the lighting isn't very good, so scratch that.  But I did drop in at Delphine's, the wonderful quilt shop in town (https://www.delphinesquiltshop.com/ and https://www.facebook.com/DelphinesQuiltShop/).  One of my favorite things to do is to head to the back of the store, where you can find sale fabrics, very affordable fat quarters, and an overflowing bin of scraps.  Since I love scrappy quilts,  I always stuff a small ($5) bag or a large ($10) one with scraps.

Blue water!  Orange dots!  Pink ladybugs!  Moths (well, the colors are pretty!).

The prints are always the luck-of-the-draw, depending on what classes they've been having.  Lots of times there are squares or strips that had come out just a little shy (e.g., 2-1/4"), easy to quickly trim to a usable size.  It's fun to see fabrics that we don't find at home, and to bring some home lots of different ones without overflowing your stash.  The larger pieces I keep whole to go into bins sorted by color.  

I'm also always on the lookout for neutrals, since they can be used no matter what I'm making.  Any of the scraps (all smaller than a fat quarter) I press and cut into strips or squares as soon as I get them home.  For neutrals, even fat quarters get cut up.  I have a small cabinet (getting too small!) with separate drawers for different sizes of pre-cut pieces.  I'm a puzzle junkie, and figuring out how to get the most usable pieces out of a wonky scrap of fabric is kind of a fun challenge (for me -- I know some of you would rather have a root canal!).  The squares below are 1-1/2", 2", and 2-1/2".

Sorry this is dark, the light was poor but I guess not poor enough to set off the flash!

Of course, there are always bits from odd-sized scraps that can't be used in a quilt.  I saved these for a long time, intending to make pet beds for local animal shelters.  But then I read that the shelters don't really want these, because the scrappy filling gets all wadded up when the bed is washed.  So these leftovers are now intended as the filling for an ottoman!  I found a couple of tutorials on the web, but haven't started anything yet.  But the bin almost can't be closed, so I guess the time is coming!  Nonetheless, when I'm sewing away from home and have to store the bits and pieces in a baggie, it's labelled "DOG" -- who wants to waste time writing "OTTOMAN"?

Cheers, all!  Hope you're having a lovely summer!

Crosstown Arts Quilt Show, Part 1

Memphis, TN (not so far from Paducah, KY!) boasted an amazing quilt show at Crosstown Concourse, an equally amazing location in midtown Memphis that is worth a visit in itself.  The building is a former Sears warehouse/fulfillment center that has been converted into a multi-use complex that maintains much of the building's history and includes retail, apartments and condos, a charter high school, and Crosstown Arts, a nonprofit mecca for artists in many media and those who appreciate the arts.

In June and July Crosstown Arts hosted its first annual quilt show, "Stitched".  With family in Memphis, I was dying to go, but had to wait until nearly the end.  What a blast!  The show included a curated show of art quilts, a display of quilts made by local quilters with specific parameters required, and a film with interviews of quilters in both groups.

At the top of the winding staircase on the second floor at Crosstown, a visitor is greeted by a wall of squares and half-square triangles and invited to create a quilt.  What a great opportunity for people to discover how quilts come together and to enjoy creating a "quilt" without even knowing how to sew!

The show featured 29 quilts  in the Art Quilts galleries and another 200+ from the local-ish quilters.  Not all quilts are included.  I've divided the photos into three posts, since the number of photos would make the posts unmanageable.  The descriptions of the art quilts are from the program, in the words of the quilters.   Full acknowledgments to the quilters and to Crosstown Arts.  

Art Quilts, Part 1

Composition IX, Deidre Adams (Littleton, Colorado)

" ...my effort to find a quiet place within while paying homage to forces greater than myself.  What we have learned about our world through science is balanced by the mysteries of the unknown and the sense of wonder at what we have yet to discover."

46" x 48", commercial fabrics and acrylic paint

Round and Round It Goes, Paula Kovarik (Memphis, Tennessee)

[This is an astounding piece of art.  The quilter provided little description, perhaps because it is beyond words]

Repurposed table cloth free-motioned quilted, 54" diameter

Above and below, close-ups of Round and Round

We, Elly van Steenbeek (Veenendaal, the Netherlands)

"Two parts

Different

But also common

Connected

One piece together

After so many years

WE"

Altered cotton with rust and tea...monoprinted, hand-stitched, machine-stitched and quilted.

Close-up of We

My Mended World, Judy Martin (Ontario, Canada)

"Made with community assistance as part of the Manitoulin Circle Project."

Hand-pieced, machine-pieced, hand quilted, hand embroidery.

Close-up of My Mended World

Waking Up, Judy Rush (Bexley, Ohio)

"Waking Up is an exploration of how seemingly disparate parts come together and somehow make sense.  The pieces are sewn onto a background one by one, encouraged to interact with one another.  The stitching acts to blend shapes and colors as well as to hold all the pieces together."

(This reminds me of an African village, with small plots of gardens near the huts.)

November 2, 2012 - February 4, 2013, Toot Reid (Tacoma, Washington)

"I want to convey the depth and subtlety of life.  How parts of our lives fit together to make a whole."

Note that the quilt is constructed and hung in four separate pieces.

Generated Topology,  Kathy Weaver (Highland Park, Illinois)

"In Generated Topology, there is a world full of magnified, fantastic organisms.  Using this exaggerated scale I invite viewers to imagine themselves as emotive nanorobots exploring alien environments."

Satin, airbrushed, hand-quilted.  42" x 48"

Close-up of Generated Topology

Sine Me Up, Kent Williams (Madison, Wisconsin)

"I call this quilt "Sine Me Up" because the piecing arranges itself into a series of overlapping sine curves.  Putting it together required a lot of measuring -- down to eighths of an inch."

Look closely.  Note that there are no curves in the actual sewing.  The curves are a trick of vision.

Close-up of Sine Me Up

Translucency and Kaleidoscope, Judith Larzelere (Westerly, Rhode Island)

"After 33 years of using the tools of color theory and intensely saturated colors, I embarked on an exploration of translucency and delicate, ephemeral hints of tone."

The depth of shading in this quilt changes according to the viewer's distance. The close-up below shows how the quilter achieved the on-point squares.

Close-up of Translucency and Kaleidoscope

To be continued...