Hawk Studios

 The Race is On…

Here we are - late August and deadlines are fast approaching.  In October, the Guild has its annual quilt show, annual fundraiser auction, and as part of the quilt show, there’s a “challenge” quilt category, which this year is “musically inspired quilts”.  That’s a lot to unpack, there, isn’t it?  Time is short to get everything completed in time.  I’m going to try, though, and see what I can get accomplished. 

It’s a bit surprising to track how long it actually takes to quilt your three-layers on a sit-down machine.  No computer involved to guide you - it’s all you and your harmony with your design and your machine.  Here’s a couple shots of the quilt I’m hoping to finish for the Quilt Show.  There’s definitely things I could have done differently, I think, but I think it’ll turn out okay.  Not a prize winner, but just entering in the show is fun.  What would I have done differently?  For one, I would have used the back side of the printed fabric for the blocks (David Taylor educated us to a front and back side of fabric - not a right or wrong side)...but I didn’t and forged ahead, so it’s what it is.  The Dresden Plates are just more subtle in the design.  I am hoping by heavily quilting the center of each block, leaving the Dresdens minimally quilted, would let the Dresdens stand out a bit more - especially after the quilt is washed.  We’ll see.  Tis a bit of an experiment…  I’m thinking the name of the quilt needs to be “Gypsy” or “Bohemian” or something along those lines…

I am having fun with the free motion quilting, though.  Very freeing to just get ideas in your brain and let go and have fun. I tend to mark a couple of main elements that I want (and where I want them) and then I just fill in around the main elements.

Close up of the free motion quilting I'm having fun with. The applique flowers pull from the background fabric in the block.

Now, the auction quilt.  That’s an earlier deadline, and I just need to get started on the quilting. It’s a wall hanging and this time I’m trying to use some 3-dimensional elements.  Perhaps I’ve captured a sunny fall day in Colorado walking amongst the Aspen trees as they put on their annual show.  It’s a bit conceptual, but I think it’ll work…another experiment, I think. 

I found all this lovely blue fabric and it felt like it would combine to make an interesting “sky”/background for the trees.  If you’ve seen any of the iconic photos of the fall Aspens here in Colorado, folks often times shoot with the deep blue Colorado sky in the background, with the gold Aspen leaves contrasting.  So, now my goal is to get it quilted...like I said, "the race is on...".

Been gone for a while, and hoping to get back to blogging more often as I am shifting gears in life and taking time off from work.  Constant stress is no way to spend every day, so, I’m “tapping out” for a while to see what the universe has to offer.  I took some quilting classes this summer and I’ll share some of those experiences in my next posting.  There’s always something to learn out there and you can be surprised by how much you can use the various techniques.  There’s certainly a world of exploration…waiting….

‘Till next time…happy creating!