Graffiti Quilting - Cool Stuff!

This week (okay, it’s been over a week now…), instead of going to work one day and plowing through piles of paper, I took a day off and attended a Graffiti Quilting class taught by Karlee Porter http://www.karleeporter.com/ .  Now, I don’t know if you’ve heard of her or not, but she is one of the most enjoyable, likable, upbeat individuals I’ve ever met. She truly loves what she’s developed as an artist – and a quilter – and neither done in the traditional sense.  She developed Graffiti Quilting and was teaching a class to the Guild that I belong to.  The full-day class was so much fun and she is such a great teacher that you just come away feeling inspired and rejuvenated – even though you just spent a while day sitting and listening….well, we did do some free motion quilting to try out our new found skills and knowledge.  

This is one of Karlee's quilts.  The colors are great and the stitching is amazing.  Inspirational for sure!

What makes Graffiti Quilting different?  Well, in the words of Karlee, it breaks the quilting rules.  “Don’t overstitch”, traditional quilters might say.  Karlee says, “The more overstitching, the better”!  “Keep your quilting pattern consistent throughout your quilt”?  Yeah, not according to Karlee – the more changes the better!  “Match your bobbin thread to your quilt backing color so the quilting blends in….”  That would be a “No” again in Karlee’s world.  Keep your top and bobbin thread the same color and allow the great quilting you’re doing to show on the back of the quilt.  So…break some rules.  It actually feels quite good – and liberating. 

She taught us the various components that you can use in your Graffiti Quilting design, and we sketched along as she showed us how form the various parts.  Here’s some of my sketches and notes as we were going through the class. 

I thought I might be able to use this on a quilt I'm working on....ideas...ideas...

We then had time to practice this new type of free-motion quilting and so we did.  Here’s my rendition of the graffiti quilting.  I chose to do a more structured pattern to start, just because, honestly, I was afraid I’d forget which direction I was going and I’d mess up royally.  So, I started with something where I didn’t have to think too hard about the structure, I just had to keep quilting in a half-circle.  Really cool, huh?  It’s exciting…this is just thread and whole cloth, but what an impact!

This is my attempt at Graffiti Quilting.  This is addictive and great fun.  It's exciting to see what you come up with.

My brain has been storming on how to incorporate this type of quilting into a quilt.  I happen to have a red and black quilt I’ve been working on for some time.  Yes, I’ve set it aside for many months, unsure of how I wanted to set it together and/or quilt the thing.  I just put it back up on my design wall to start setting it together – just before the Karlee class.  Now, my brain is thinking of ways to quilt it and here’s some of my sketches that I’ve started…I think I’ll do the graffiti quilting itself in red and gray and then maybe just do straight line stitching in areas to let the graffiti quilting shine, but complement the overall quilt.  I’m getting excited and want to get started on this one soon….

Meanwhile, I’m trying to finish up the retirement quilt I started for a colleague.  It’s moving along…now quilting out the border areas.  I’m on a time crunch…just a few weekends left until I have to have this one finished….so, I’ll have to just dream and think about the red and black quilt until I get this one done and off to its intended. 

I almost didn’t get into Karlee’s class – was on a wait list, but boy am I glad I got in.  What fun. What inspiration.  What a way to spend a day.  Hope you are finding inspiration to keep you going or jumpstart you in your projects. 

Retirement, Enlightenment, and Value – Oh my!

January 16, 2018

As usual, there’s too many projects and not enough time.  It’s been almost six months since we had to say goodbye to our beloved Shepherd, and while I’m still having a tough time with losing him, I am slowly starting to have some creative ideas slip in the fray.  The projects are stacking up and it’s really surprising how just a little bit of work each day or each week on a project can slowly accumulate and make the project finish seem not so far in the distance.  Of course, having multiple projects already ongoing doesn’t preclude me from starting another. 

A colleague of mine will be retiring this spring after 25 years of service to the company and so I volunteered to mark her retirement with a signature/retirement quilt.  I’d selected a more traditional pattern, since she’s a traditional kind of gal, and figured out where and how I could include signature blocks while still assembling a quilt that would fit her taste.  I’ve gotten the Hole in the Barn Door (or Churn Dash) blocks finally completed.   

Now, after finally getting all the signature blocks, I’m working on framing them out so that the main assembly can begin.  I have to have it completed by May…I’m pretty sure I’m in a good position to get it completed (quilting and all). 

Just one of the signature blocks. 

Working on a quilt, jointly with my sister, I’m seeing the fun of a tessellation quilt and the associated use of value and color to make an M.C. Escher-influenced quilt design.  The majority of the quilt is going to need to be pieced using Y-seams, but it’s a challenge and should be pretty cool once it’s completed.  My sister is working on the top half; me the bottom half. 

 

Darks, lights, and mediums make this quilt dimensional...now to sew it all together...

The challenge becomes using the right value of the pieces we’ve cut to make the quilt look three-dimensional.  If you want a lesson in how dark or light a color reads next to another color, try one of these types of quilts.  They’re quite intriguing and are really cool when you step back from them and view the whole.

Meanwhile, through all of this, I mostly completed the quilt top I was working on just after my Shepherd went to dog heaven.  I still need to design some applique to finish out the squaring triangles, but I’ll get there.   

The center applique is taken from the background fabric.  Very saturated pattern...I think I like it...

Other priorities are taking hold. Plus, I’m on the cusp of completing my 11^th block of 12 for the red-background applique quilt I’ve been working on – for what seems like years now.   

This is block #11...almost done, just working on the center.  Still have to figure out block #12...

One more block to go and an applique border and then I can set the thing together.  Just a couple more years on that to go (probably)…but that’s the “just work a little at a time and you do get there”…amazingly!!

Maybe the moral of the story is to just not give up.  Things happen in life that rip your heart apart and you don’t know if it can ever be repaired.  I don’t know that my heart will ever get over the loss, but I hope that having my pup in my life – even for the short time I had him – made me a better person – a richer person – for knowing him.  And maybe quilting for other people – offering them a heartfelt gift enriches their lives, too. 

Happy Quilting!