Wander Not

Oh, I’m slow.  Been meaning to post a final finish and I’ve just been packed up getting life situated for fall and winter. But, I’m going to make it this week and show you the finished version of my pieced leaf.  I’m quite happy with it and have named it “Energy” because when I look at it, it lifts my spirits and gives me a bounce in my step.  But, I’ll have to make another one, if I want one for myself as this one has gone off to auction for the Longmont Quilt Guild.  Here it is - I kept the quilting pretty simple and just added a couple small flourishes including some cool, modern circles to just give the piece some motion – and ENERGY!  Ha!  There it is…full circle.  It has an art binding finish and is about a 20” square, all complete.

 

The leaf is made from jelly roll 2 ½” strips; the background is just several red and white fabrics I have collected over time.

You can view the items for auction – and register to bid and buy some if you’d like.  Check it out here charityauction.bid/LQG .  The auction formally starts on October 22nd, but you can look now - and you can look without buying, too, just for inspiration.  This is part of a Jelly Roll Challenge that the Guild promoted to provide a fundraiser for the Guild since we can’t do in-person things. There's some unique quilts out there - even bags, pillows, and more. 

Well, meanwhile, I took a day off from work – you know, for just mental health purposes – and spent the day doing things for me…including dropping in to my local quilt shop.  They have quite abbreviated hours and are only open during hours I have to work, so I took the opportunity and just went shopping – Not for anything in particular.  Often times, I just go look for fabric to see what fabric might speak to me, spark my imagination, and inspire me.  I must have wandered for a good 45 minutes, just looking. I had some ideas, but nothing that made me go, “ooh!”.  Until…until I found this fabric. 

 

It’s actually a panel – a “Tree of Life” panel (and this is only half of it).  Cool in its own right, however, I was struck by the scale of the print and the colors.  The randomness of the design also caught my eye.  So, I grabbed the bolt, admired the fabric for a bit and then realized I could use it for a background.  I worked to “marry” it to other fabrics in the store and found two that I liked.  Here’s what I’d put together for a background combination.

 

I have some fabrics that I’ve been collecting for a while and was looking for an inspirational idea to use for the background.  I now think I’ve found it.  I wanted something that would complement the colors in my stash and provide a nice change of tone.  My imagination wants to create modern Dresdens (you know, instead of the traditional Dresden Plate pattern, but highly similar) with a lot of the colors and then have a complementary background.  So, this is what I’ve landed on.

 

Now, with all the other projects I have going on, I’m about ready to start one more.  Suppose, though, that I will attempt to finish a couple of my UFO’s first, and then get to work on this one.  Like any quilter, I’m pretty sure I have far too many quilts I want to make and not enough time to make them all.  But still, I’m going to try. You just have to, right?!

I have at least two more art quilts that’ll be pieced, that I want to work on, but I need to refine those designs – they are my own, and like the leaf above, will be assembled in the same manner.  Maybe as the weather gets cooler and the yardwork less, I’ll have more time to play with fabric.  One can only hope.

Remember, “All who wander are not lost”.  Wander more.  Fret less.  Quilt on.

 

Observations and Musings While Creating

What an interesting several days it has been.  Like other states in the West, Colorado is suffering from wildfires and one of the worst droughts we’ve had since 2012.  I know that sounds like nothing to folks from California who have things much worse than us in Colorado.  Still, the days feel weird because we’re getting all the smoke (and ash) from the wildfires, even though we’re many miles away from them.  The days are unusually hazy, ozone alerts are in effect, you can feel the burning in your lungs and eyes, the sunrises and sunsets are highly colored red, there’s an odd reddish/orange glow to the natural light, and a distinct smoke smell fills the air.  Hot and dry.  I’ve hoped for rain for some time now, but it generally seems to pass us by.  When we do get any, it gets gobbled up by the earth so quickly you can’t even tell it rained.  I’m hoping weather patterns will shift…and soon. In the meantime, I try to appreciate the flame red glow of the circular sun as it sets in the evening.  You can look straight at it and not bother your eyes because the smoke is so heavy; it feels almost like the light of an eclipse.

There is beauty, even in this smokey haze.  And, I guess maybe it teaches us to appreciate different things – or to just learn to develop an appreciation for what comes your way, knowing that, eventually, this too will pass and things will get back into some level of balance.  That’s how I view the pandemic, too, I guess.  There’s a reason for it – the reason, though, hasn’t made itself known. Maybe the reason is within ourselves to learn to develop appreciation for simple things – or get us to start invoking our creativity.  I get a post from one of our local eateries that we frequent – the owner writes the posts himself and ponders a lot of the things going on today.  I find his posts interesting as he and his crew work tirelessly to stay in business – and stay sane, themselves, through all of this, and how they invoke their creativity to stay afloat.

The quilt guild I’m a member of started a “jelly roll” challenge as a fundraiser for the year, since most of the general fundraising activities were curtailed, because, well, you know…  The challenge was to make a quilt using a jelly roll (or 2 ½” strips you cut from your stash).  I decided to invoke my creativity and create something that is made with a jelly roll, not exclusively, but in part, because I wanted to try to create something different. I invoked my creative inspiration (as I often do – being inspired by the likes of Ruth B. McDowell, and others) and drew up a leaf, standing tall.  I knew, when I drew up the pattern, I wanted to use red as the background (I’m not sure why, I just did), and I wanted the leaf to be a prominent strong point – BOLD – in color and stature. So, here’s where my creativity landed me for the last couple of weeks. 

The start of figuring out what fabrics to use...and cutting apart the pattern...

I’m now piecing the “piece” and hoping I can get it completed in time for the fundraiser.  I’m slow in starting, but sometimes seem to work better under pressure of a deadline.  The leaf is made from jelly roll strips – those 2 ½” wide strips that normally I don’t use.  I buy yardage (grunt, grunt), not precut items (we all have our preferences!).  So it was a bit of a challenge for me to figure out how to use 2 ½” strips instead of whole pieces (I may have cheated but they never said the WHOLE quilt had to be made with the strips… Yikes…maybe a technicality…).  I wound up sewing strips together, then cutting out the shapes I needed, which helped create the leaf structure itself, even if in an abstract way.  The piece is about 20” square, so hopefully I can get it done in the next two weeks.  I love using fabric with varying scale, and was able to select all the reds from my stash (they aren’t jelly roll strips).  We’ll see where it goes. I admit, when I look at it, it makes me smile.  Maybe because it is bold – or maybe because it’s a design I created and executed…

More fabric choices made... I just love the red and white contrast to the greens...

Arrgghh...a little yellow on the photo coloring, but you get the idea of where it's headed...

Meanwhile, I finally sandwiched another quilt – a retirement quilt.  I might get it completed for a friend who retired 2 years ago.  (I think I said I could be slow…)  So, it’s on the quilting table and I’ve started on it.  This hot weather will drive me to the basement where it’s cooler, so I’ll be doing some more quilting on it soon.

Pinning always takes a while, but it's ready to go.  I offset the quilt with an applique border on one side.

I noticed on Pam’s blog (Applique Paintbox), that she said the selection of Kamala Harris as the VP candidate with Joe Biden gave her hope.  I am glad to see a woman potentially making it to the White House.  I think our country is long overdue.  I think we’ve been so polarized in this country for far too long.  We need to get back to a place where we can respect each other – maybe not agree all the time – but come to a place in the middle where we can function again – creatively solving issues instead of stagnating.  We just might make it this time.  Time will tell. 

Keep on finding your creative voice.  It’s there – channel it and watch it grow.

Cheers!

Linking up with Nina Marie at Creations-Quilts, Art, Whatever

Enjoy your "Quilt Family"

I look at numbers all day long.  Probably to the point that I can’t really see beyond them sometimes and my brain gets fogged out on trying to process everything, often wondering how what I’m doing on a daily basis is helping the world be a better place.  I don’t have an answer, but I do wonder.  At times, I think, I’m making the world a better place by providing beautiful things to use, enjoy, and provide comfort. And maybe that’s just the purpose of creating and creating art – whatever that art is.  Whether it’s comforting or meant to stir emotions or release feelings, it’s all what we need throughout our lives.

I recently received a notice from the magazine, Quiltfolk, that they were searching for stories about “family” as they realized that family was a common thread, especially during this weird time.  I struggled to develop a story idea about family, but couldn’t quite come up with a concrete idea to present.  As I pondered the topic, though, it got me to thinking.  Family isn’t just your blood relatives – family also encompasses your friends and those in the quilting community, whom from which, you draw inspiration.  It’s the people who share the same love you have for the art.  It’s the folks at your local quilt shop who know you because you visit so often.  It’s the guy who comes to service and repair your sewing machines, who you can have political, intellectual discussions with while he’s taking apart your prized possessions to make them purr like a kitten again.  It’s folks in your local quilt guild who make you laugh and smile as you see what they are inspired by and how they put their own love into their own quilts. And yes, it’s your linked family that also quilts – those who you can inspire, and glean inspiration from, or just share the latest “fabric find” with.  That’s family – a quilting family.   And, no, it’s not a glamorous storyline, nor does it make for a fantastic headline.  But, it most likely represents 90% of us who are quilting today.  We love it.  It might be the colors in the fabric.  It might be the pattern design that intrigues us.  It might be the constant complexity of trying something new.  It might be because we can define a little piece of who we are by what we love to do.  And, we can share that love.

Suppose, for me, that’s why I share what I love to do.  Sure, looking at numbers all day provides an income, but it doesn’t satisfy the longing to bring hope and joy into this world.  I hope that by sharing  what I love, and the passion I have for quilting, that you’ll find inspiration – or joy, or hope, or a revelation that “if she can do that, so can I”. 

View from below.  The quilt is approximately 80" x 96" (maybe even larger), and this is at the bottom looking up.

So, this week, I’ll share with you a quilt top I finished setting together.  I never thought I would get it made as this pattern has given me fits for a long time.  I’ve tried several times to make this pattern – all different techniques – to no avail. Finally, I’ve done it! And I told my sister one time, that if I could accomplish this pattern, I’d feel like I was a good quilter.  I’ve put it together and now I want to push even more (that’s my own weird brain).  It’s made with all Kaffe fabrics and I attempted to arrange the pieces by tone (I think that’s right) so it would blend and move. 

I didn’t applique the pattern – it’s all hand-pieced.  All 120 blocks.  I finally decided to trace my seam lines on the back of the fabric and follow them as I was stitching.  

Hours and hours of hand stitching, but it paid off as the middle parts of each block came out great!

Previously, I just cut the pieces – with the allotted seam allowance – and then started stitching and the middles never would work out.  Plus I read something that said, “you’ll be stitching on top of the seam you just made”, and somehow, this time, that sunk in.  I got the centers I wanted, and I can’t wait to quilt this one up.  I think simple rounds will be the pattern, to accentuate the rounds that the blocks made.  I’m quite happy with this one.  I’ve got mistakes in it, but after ripping out one seam three times and getting the same result each time I re-stitched it, I figured, when you look at it in totality, no one is going to notice that flaw. 

Meanwhile, I’ve started another kaleidoscope block.  Yep, I’m nuts.  I like these – they are fun – and a challenge to make.  

It's a start.  Clearly, I'm trying to figure out what to do next; hence the fabric pinned up before I cut anything.

I still have several pieces to figure out, but here’s where I am so far.

I hope you take time to appreciate and enjoy your family – quilting family, too.  We don’t know what this world holds for any of us, but we can enjoy our small slice by doing what we can to keep us happy and feeling like we’re helping out in some, if even small, way.

Cheers!

Almost done…

What progress we can make when we chip away at things a little at a time.  Don’t ever think that everything has to get done in one day…the little things do add up, and they add up in a BIG way. 

Slowly, mainly on the weekends, I would take a bit of time and at least quilt one block; maybe two.  And, over the last couple of months, while all staying at home to stay safe from the virus, here I am just about ready to complete the quilting on a quilt I thought I might never finish.   I’m so excited and pleased to at least be getting this completed – after about a year of it sitting on my quilting table and my lamenting at the mistake I had made…  I’ve gotten past that; it won’t be show quality, but maybe it wasn’t meant to be.

The teardrop on the border really sets off the quilt.  Such a fun pattern to quilt, too

My last push was the teardrop quilting around the edge of the border.  I got the idea by watching Christina Cameli – she’s doing daily “draw with me” type tutorials during this pandemic as we’re all eager to continue exercising our creative outlets.  I saw her do the pattern and thought, “hey, I could use that”.  She’d noted that she had done a whole quilt in this pattern and that she “loved it”.  I can see why…after quilting a portion of the border, I have to say, “I love it”, too!  It’s just a beautiful, wandering design that thrives on variation.  I can see me using this pattern on other quilts…

I am quite pleased with the quilting on the quilt…I strove to make the quilting pattern in each block different; so each is unique.  And, I’m so happy I chose to simply use a non-pattern backing for the quilt as you can see all the wonderful quilting (mistakes and all).  I especially like how you can see the outline of the applique pattern among the various quilting patterns. 

Meanwhile, I hit my own milestone on a quilt pattern I have struggled with for years to get right.  I finsihed my 120^th piece and now am ready to start arranging the blocks for my Wheel of Mystery quilt.  I always thought if I could piece this quilt, why, then, I’ve become an accomplished quilter.  I’ve done it – but now, I think I can push for more.

This is only part of the stack of 120 blocks...they're up on the wall, being "arranged"

I have several art quilts I have drawn up and want to work on ( I already started a Paula Nadelstern kaleidoscope – the challenging method), so I think those will come next as I work on getting at least one more of the 5-8 quilt tops hanging on my banister quilted this year.  Paula’s method is time consuming, but really allows your creativity to flow – and you don’t know how it’s all going to turn out in the end.  It’s a surprise, no matter how much you plan…

My first block using Paula's technique.  I'm excited to try more!

Little by little, we can accomplish much. 

Enjoy the little things for they add up to monumental achievements, even if only in our own eyes.

Happy quilting!

Renewing Interest

I haven’t posted in many months – in fact, it’s probably been a couple of years.  I’ve been meaning to; really I have.  A new job with more responsibilities kind of took away some freedoms and so I find I have less time to devote to the things I love. Now, though, time is a bit of a fog with the whole world being turned upside down.  Who knows what to think of all of this; I certainly have mixed reactions – melancholy in that I really can’t do much to change anything, anger and frustration because reasonableness seems to have gone out the window, and the calm that comes with now having to work from home.  Human interaction is virtually at a standstill, and who knows how long it all will last.

What it has given me, though, is some time.  Time to think and time to sew – or escape.  There’s just only so much Netflix one can watch, and only so much news one should watch. So, I find, it’s time to start getting back to things that matter and back to things that do make sense.

I figured it’d be fun to show several projects I’m working on.  Are they UFOs?  Well, not really. They're simply work in progress at various stages.  I don’t know about you, but when I get stuck on something that I’m not sure what I want to do with it, I set it aside for a while.  I figure if I let my mind rest from it, at some point I’ll get an epiphany and the light bulb will shine. Once that happens, then I’m off and running on that project again. 

We’re quilters.  We have more than good intentions, yet we can get sidelined and get stuck in the “I’m trying to make this my best quilt ever” mode.  I did that with one of my quilts – sandwiched the darned thing incorrectly, started quilting it, and got too far along to rip it all out once I figured out I sandwiched it wrong. So, instead of just dealing with it and moving on, it has been sitting, on my quilting table, for almost a year now.  I get lost in the “perfect” world, get mad, then don’t finish something.  I look at it every day – because it’s near my workout area, so I see it nearly every day.  It’s too pretty to just give up on.  It’s too much work already invested to be angry at it and want to toss it aside.  That’s not what quilting should be – it should be an expression and it should be enjoyable – not something that makes you mad and frustrated.  So, I finally decided to just get on with it – resign that it’s not “perfect”.  No, it won’t win awards, but every quilt doesn’t need to, nor should it.  Every quilt needs to be enjoyed.  It needs to be loved and cherished because a lot of work goes into these beauties.  They are phenomenal works that folks produce, and they should be enjoyed. 

So, here’s some of what I’m working on these days…

A “wheel of mystery” quilt that I’m hand-piecing.  I have almost 100 pieced made; think I need 120 and then I can start to set it together. This has been my nemesis quilt pattern….I’ve tried to piece this for years, never being successful. Then, this year, for some reason (really, 2019) I figured out how to piece the pattern, and now, I’m close to having the pieces ready to set together.  Wow!  I always thought to myself, “self, if you can piece this quilt, you truly are a good quilter”.  Achievements; those are always nice things.

95 pieces and counting...we'll get there...it just takes time...which most of us have now that we're at home more...

Here’s my Circle Play pieces that I’m working on from a Jen Kingwell pattern.  What I love about this is nothing – and I mean literally nothing – has to match.  You don’t have to fuss about what works together and what doesn’t – but, magically, it all works.  Only 4 more pieces to go and I’ll be ready to set this together.

The Jen Kingwell pattern I'm working on.  Nothing HAS to match, which makes this fun.  Circles, though, are challenging...but hand-piecing works best for me in these situations...

And, here’s a quilt I’ve intended to make for  a friend and his wife who both retired about 2 years ago.  Yep, I’m a bit slow.  But, the front will be this happy farm-like pattern and the back will have Dodge cars and Dodge fabric on the back – you see, my friend is a Dodge car fan.  So, the front is for his wife, the back is for him.  Fun, huh?

And then, here’s the applique quilt that almost didn’t get quilted.  It’s in progress and at least I’ve decided it makes more sense to quilt it and enjoy it rather than toss it aside.  I’ve got hours – I don’t know how many hours – of needle-turned applique work on this quilt…the first, and probably only all-applique quilt I’ll ever do.  So, it needs its place in the sun, and finishing it only seems fitting.

Two blocks and part of the border is quilted.  I'm making headway, but it's slow because the quilting is dense.  But, like most things, in time, it'll get finished.  I have to get it quilted so I can get it off the table and get others on...

This world isn’t perfect.  Nothing is.  But that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t enjoy it for what it is.  And, every quilt doesn’t need to be a “winner” in some show.  Every quilt needs to be a “winner” in the eyes of the owner.  As you look at your stash, find those “misfit toys” that still want and need to be loved.  Sure, they’re not perfect, but they’re perfect in their imperfection.  Remember what’s important, and get to enjoying things from the base level. 

Life is going to be okay.

Breathe.