Incommunicado

I know, Gentle Readers, that I've been out of touch lately.  I'm quilting.  And quilting.  And quilting some more.  Yes, there's been a bit of knitting, and some embroidery, and my work at The Shop, and taking a friend to hospital and visiting her several times and bringing her home, and mowing the lawn, and tending my sister's cottage garden while she works in Calgary, and that sort of thing.

But mostly quilting.

The wedding is 2 weeks tomorrow, and I have a quilt to finish.  As of a few moments ago, all that's left to do is hand-quilt 6 whole-cloth blocks (9" square finished) and put it together, bind and label it.

Right now it looks like this:

It's big.  Very big.  Taking up a good section of one side of my back yard.  The white you see around the edges isn't sashing -- it's batting, which will be trimmed and disappear as each section is joined, one to another.

I'm relying on Ann Petersen and  "Quilting Big Projects on a Small Machine" (a Craftsy class) to get me through.  :-)

So...'scuse me, but I'll see you later...I have some quilting to do.  I recommend you join the others at Nina Marie's for Off the Wall Friday, and I hope you have a great weekend!

Ditching It

:-)  No, I'm not about to "ditch" blogging -- or anything else, for that matter.

"Ditching" is how I spent most of this afternoon.  Remember this wee quilt?  It's been almost a year since it was sandwiched for quilting...and put away.  It was being made for a babe that didn't survive to term.

The good news is that the young couple involved tried again, and baby Keiran arrived safe and sound just over a week ago!  Thus...the quilt has been brought out, it's folds opened and pressed, and the quilting has begun.

"Ditching" is what quilting guru Ann Petersen calls the machine preparation of the lines of a quilt -- from the borders inward and back outward again, and top to bottom -- before the body of the quilt is filled with the desired quilting design.

Using my walking foot, with a variegated (greys to black) cotton thread in the top and black Bottom Line thread in the bobbin, I "ditched" both sides of the narrow border of this Magic Tiles pattern, and then both sides of the main horizontal and vertical lines.  Now it's ready for some free motion fun!

Because the pattern is all irregular shapes and angles, I'm thinking of a 'free-hand' Baptist Fan.  This means I won't draw precise, evenly-spaced curves for the fan; rather, I'll aim for smooth curves but some might be closer than others.  I found a neat tutorial on this by Victoria Findlay Wolfe -- on her blog -- and decided to go that route.

It'll have to wait till Saturday, though; I'm working all day tomorrow and in Red Deer winterizing my car (winter tires, replace heavily chipped and cracked windshield, repair block heater cord) on Friday.  It's the windshield that takes the time...I'll be spending most of that time knitting.

These may be finished, but there's another pair on the needles and two more waiting in the wings.  Then there's a Fair Isle cowl and an infinity scarf to finish...

And so it goes.

"What about the needle felting?" you ask?

I returned a week ago from a three day needle felting workshop at the MAIWA loft on Granville Island in Vancouver, taught by Briony Jean Foy of Madison, WI.  Formerly a lawyer, Briony went back to university in 1996 for an MFA, first working in weaving and then falling in love with needle felting, usually using a single needle, by hand, creating unique patterns and shapes.

This workshop was an introduction to her world.

I'd enrolled hoping to extrapolate the information to work on my embellisher (needle-felting machine)...and I believe I still will do some of that BUT I have also discovered more of what I can do by hand to add interest to my landscapes (my miniatures) and to create other pieces that stand alone.  Suffice to say I have a great deal more learning to do in this medium...but here are some photos of the samples I made in the workshop:

Day 1 - first samples with yarn, ribbon & fleece
on commercial acrylic felt substrates

Introducing grids -- roving, yarn, pre-felt strips
on plaid wool suiting substrate

Free-form grid - commercial felt, roving, ribbon

Day 2 - Leaves of yarn & fleece on commercial felt
Day 3 - a free-form tree: yarn, roving, fleece on same substrate

Day 3 - another tree experiment -- roving & fleece

Close up of tree trunk

Although I particularly enjoyed playing with the roving and hand-dyed fleece (brought from my own stash), I also tried my hand at making a more dimensional shape with a single needle:

Manipulated floral shape on 2 layers of commercial felt

Even more than the workshop, I enjoyed the entire experience of being on Granville Island for the better part of three days.  There are two MAIWA shops on the island -- "Hand Prints", the source for clothing and home decor items, largely from India, hand-dyed and embellished; and "Supply", my favourite place, brimming with bolts of hand-dyed fabrics (usually natural dyes), undyed silk fabric and yarn, hand-dyed yarn, wool roving (merino, blue-faced Leicester, Corriedale...), silk roving, mulberry silk yarn...shelves of books, shelves of containers of dye powders -- madder, marigold, cochineal, indigo, logwood, walnut (to name a few) -- fabric paints, stencils, knitting, embroidery and felting needles, packages of pre-felt sheets -- it's a textile artist's dream.

Also on the island was a silk-weaving shop -- with a floor loom in action most of the time; a tapestry shop; B.C. Arts Council shop; Opus paint supplies; stationers; pottery studios; glass studios; a micro-brewery; restaurants galore -- and of course, the indoor market with every conceivable foodstuff for sale.  The colours and scents were dazzling and a bit overwhelming.

Here is a glimpse of one side of our classroom in the Loft -- the table immediately behind mine:

Imagine that abundance multiplied in the rest of the room...and spilling out into the entire environment...and you will understand why I came home not just with samples and a binder of instructions, notes and resources, but also 3 lengths of undyed silk fabric, 2 skeins of undyed lace-weight silk yarn, extra felting needles, a length of madder-dyed Indian cotton fabric, and a package of merino-and-silk roving in shades of greens and blues...and a head full of ideas, such that I've had to put it all down till I can focus.

And yes, there was other scenery too...but this post is long enough and it's time for bed.  I'll save that for another time.

Before I go, though, I'm linking this to WIP Wednesday on the Needle and Thread Network...Catch you later!

Winter School Continues...

Photo courtesy of
the CRM Society and the
Glasgow School of Art.

In my last post, I promised an update from "Winter School".  Recent study hasn't involved a class, though.  Rather, I've been working through books on Charles Rennie Mackintosh for the piece on roses I'm preparing (scroll down).  There are two motifs he favoured that I want to refer to for my work: the Glasgow Rose, which I already mentioned, and the idea of squares/grids/lattices.

To wit, I've been exploring ways to create grids, including surface design, and the work of Beryl Taylor -- specifically her diamond grid hanging shown in Mixed Media Explorations (QuiltingArts, LLC, 2006).  This is a step out on a limb for me, as I far and away favour working with fabric over paper and glue...but in the course of this work, I decided to go ahead and try a couple of samples.

I began by making what Ms. Taylor calls "fabric paper", with a piece of muslin, basic white glue, and assorted paper and tissues:

Paper fabric hanging to dry

Once it was dry, I cut it up and made this sample:

Paper fabric grid mounted on felt-backed silk
with stencil ready for paint

What I did was this:  I had an 8 1/2" x 11" piece of acrylic felt which I covered with a piece of thin silk fabric from a bag of scraps recently given me by my friend C (from her friend, G in Calgary).  I then cut a piece of the fabric paper, and stitched it down over the silk piece.  I further stitched a grid of rectangles over the whole thing, and cut out every other one to make the grid...but left space at the bottom because I wanted to test out the layout and impact of a Glasgow Rose motif stencil.  I did the stencil in gold -- it turned out rather well -- and mounted the entire thing onto a larger piece of the fabric paper, stitching it down by hand all the way around on the pink silk.  (Sorry, no photo taken.  Later -- I promise!)

The upshot of all this was that while I liked the effect, I don't want to work with fabric paper in a large size.  It's messy to make, and -- more importantly -- too stiff for what I want to do.  However, it gave me a sense of what the work could look like if I combined a grid and the rose motif, and I learned something new in the process.  Oh...and I have one more grid sample to make from the left-over material (again -- photo to come; I promise!)

Meanwhile, back in the woods... I made up a large version of "A Walk in the Woods" that needs to be quilted for my 15 x 15 "Contrast" theme, and then I thought about interpreting it on blue background, like this photo:

Yesterday, I dug out some of my own hand-dyed blue fabric, a closely woven cotton, that would be tough to use as sky because it had some 'spots' on it that were very uneven.  I thought about how to paint it, and decided to use freezer paper to create a mask.  Here's what it looked like partially painted:

It's clipped to a piece of foam core for stability, and sitting on the counter in my south-facing sunny back room, but you get the idea.

So...as of today, two pieces are ready for quilting, and a third is on the wall in a life-sized mock-up of paper and plastic film:

(L) Mock-up of "Homage to CRM" (working title)
and (R) painted "A Walk in the Woods II"

Anything else?

• The Japanese Taupe Quilt design is making slow progress: the medallion centre block has half the applique finished;
• And the traditional medallion quilt from the door prize I won a few years back looks like this:

• Pattern: "Carpenter's Star" -- technique designed by Debbie Maddy of Calico Carriage.  The kit contained all the fabric for the top, and the pattern for a 70" square finished piece.  I've gone back to my Craftsy class with Ann Petersen - "Quilting Large Quilts on a Small Machine" -- and will be doing this with her advice and guidance.  There are 4 borders to add; all but the outermost are very narrow.  She's given me some great options for quilting the central motif and then adding borders in such a way that there's not too much bulk in the seams.  That said, I don't have enough batting to do such a large piece, so it will have to wait for now.
• Knitting?  Yes...as always!  
• DD's "Elm" socks continue: #2 is cast on, and I've made my way past the ribbing, past Chart A and into Chart B.  Much easier the second time around, now that all the pattern adjustments have been made and all I have to do is follow my notes.  :-)  
• As a respite from all the brown...I started a quick scarf from stash 'novelty' yarns -- Berroco 'Cliche Colors' and Katia 'Flash', a ribbon yarn in hot pink (both discontinued, I believe):

I recommend this book for those of you who aren't into designing your own knits, and/or are looking for colourful inspiration -- especially for what to do with those fun and funky yarns you might still have in your stash and which are making a bit of a come-back these days.  It's Scarves and Shawls for Yarn Lovers: Knitting with Simple Patterns and Amazing Yarns by Carri Hammett, Creative Publishing International, 2006.  Mine is the hard-cover version, which has a spiral-bound spine so it lies flat when opened -- always a plus!

Now...off to quilt!  But before I go, I'm linking up with WIP Wednesday on The Needle and Thread Network -- because clearly, this week, I've got WIPs!

Finicky Finishing for a Friday

Having had my fun with my first big give-away this morning, I turned my hand to "Tree Line".  I finished the beading yesterday afternoon; here it is, trimmed and on the design wall.

And a couple of detail shots:

Beading on the top left 

Quilting in the grass and trees

Hmmm.  Somehow, it needed a binding rather than an envelope.  A very narrow binding -- to finish it but not detract.  Hmmm...

I turned to an article from American Quilter magazine, the Winter 2006 edition, which was part of a treasure trove of old quilting magazines I bought at my local thrift shop a few months back.  In it is an article by Marci Baker, entitled "A Slim Finish: Narrow Bindings for Miniatures and Small Projects".  I decided on a 1/8" (!) mitred binding in a 'wood grain' fabric from my stash.  (I bought the balance of a bolt of this stuff a few years ago and have had multiple uses for it. I have no idea what I'll do when I run out of it!)

Ms. Baker's directions and the accompanying photos were clear and well done, so even though I'm not fond of fiddly, finicky work, I got the binding on with a minimum of fuss:

After using the usual 1/4" seam, I had to trim and grade the seam allowances down by at least 50% to enable me to roll the binding (1.25" wide, folded in half before applying) over to the back side to stitch down.  Using a tip from Ann Petersen, my Craftsy tutor for "Quilting Big Projects on a Small Machine", I then took my fine, small scissors and trimmed the batting around the corners to further reduce the bulk.

My task this afternoon is to hand-stitch the binding to the back.  As I work, I'm listening to CBC 2 'Shift'...and taking inspiration from Judith Martin, who earlier today wrote THIS...and I'm linking up with Nina-Marie and the gang for Off the Wall Friday.

Blessings for a peaceful start to your weekend, too.  :-)

Borderlands

...where I've been hanging out lately, between the borders and my block-by-block quilt.  It's a new adventure -- designing borders for a traditional-style quilt centre that's already quilted.

Again, I'm very thankful for Ann Petersen, my online instructor (Craftsy.com's "Quilting Big Projects on a Small Machine") for her guidance and timely response to my questions!  She was especially helpful when I attached my first border -- one of the side borders -- and ran into a wee problem: stretching!

Oops!  Check bottom edge -- about 1/2" too long!

She instructed me to 'reverse sew' it (ahem!), re-pin it at the correct length, block it with steam (and a spritz of water if necessary), pin it thoroughly and join it from the backside (the batting side).  I did all this -- and it worked beautifully.  Thanks, Ann!


Next, to remove the bulk in the seams, I had to trim the batting.

Once the sides were attached, I laid out the top border. You can see why it was so important for those corner edges to match!

Satisfied that it's in the right place, I've pinned it within an inch of its life -- and I'm ready to sew!

Today's task: get top and bottom borders sewn on, batting trimmed and quilting done.  Tomorrow: label, binding and hanging sleeve.  Wednesday: wash and pack for the trip to the appraiser.  Photos to follow along the way.  See you soon!

Coming Together

 My priority right now is finishing the Mirror Centennial Quilt.  This morning I got 3 of the four rows together, and I have to say, I really like this block-by-block technique.

Butt, butt, butt

Back sashing

The blocks are attached by narrow sashing on the front and by wider sashing, folded for a clean edge, on the back, which hides the butting-up of the already-quilted blocks.  Before hand-sewing the back sashing, though, I'll herringbone the edges of the butted blocks together for extra sturdiness.

Row Two - Mirror Centennial Quilt

After the hand-finishing, the rows will be attached to each other with long sashing in the same fashion.  Once all four rows are together, the unit will be treated like a 'medallion' and borders will be added.  (The Craftsy Class, "Quilting Big Projects on a Small Machine", taught by Ann Petersen, has given me such confidence to do this project, for which I am very thankful!)

My deadline is May 23, as I am taking the quilt down to Dawn Hunt in Calgary for appraisal, and I leave May 24.  Onward and upward!

Auditions...

Yesterday I was auditioning....fabric and placement!

First, materials for a 12" square for an upcoming regional show -- SAQA Western Canada's "Best of the West", opening sometime in June.  As I played with the materials and their placement, I was thinking about the stitching and embellishment I wanted to use.






And second, with pieces for "The Picnic Quilt", made from the 2 1/2" and 4 1/2" squares I created when I recently sorted my scraps.  I still have a stack of 4 1/2" squares to use up, so it's going to be larger than what's on my design wall -- and undoubtedly what you see below will be re-arranged before the top is assembled, but I'd done enough pieces that I wanted to see what sort of combination(s) I could get if I put 'em up there.  I was concerned I had so many 'darks' and 'brights' and not that many 'lights' and 'neutrals', but once I stepped back for a good look, I was pretty happy with how the top was playing out.

I'm thinking ahead to the quilting, too.  If I decide not to tie it, but to quilt it by machine, I'm betting an over-all design would work best -- and I'm going to check out what Ann Petersen, instructor of "Quilting Big Projects on a Small Machine" over at Craftsy.com, would suggest.  :-)

And Samples...

More and more I'm requiring myself to take those thoughts and put them into samples, rather than going directly to the block itself.  I used to think that the 'direct hit' was a better use of my supply of funky donated fabrics (which cannot be replicated and therefore tend to be thought of as "precious").  However, my recent experience with that three-dimensional windmill has once again reinforced the value of sampling.  In the end, I'll use less fabric making a sample or two than I would if I went barrelling ahead, making the whole piece, only to find it didn't 'work'.

RE: the Windmill -- here are two more samples I made on Friday -- both of which I like better than the first one, and from both of which I learned something about the mathematics in block design and the materials used:

Felt 'sails' with lightweight fabric background

Playing with sheers