Another Improv quilt

Lots of snow here in Lancaster this past week!

I had started a new Improv quilt awhile ago

and just recently finished.

Disguised Harmony

 I have strips, squares, rectangles and pieces of 

various fabrics. Some are from my hand dyes,

some are treasured pieces that I bought years

ago and some are new. There is also a touch
of batiks.

 What I enjoy most about making Improv quilts

 is the process itself.
There are no rules, no boundaries or measuring

pieces.
And best of all - you don't have to match seams!

There is no pattern to work from - It is intuitively
pieced  - You make the choices of fabric and 
shapes  as you go.

I cut on angles or just straight. On some pieces 
that are cut straight; I make just a slight curve 
while I'm sewing. It makes for an interesting effect.


To me, intuitively pieced quilts are playful and fun!
Anything goes!

I do like to color coordinate - otherwise it can look 
too harsh and busy on the eye. It has a certain 
amount of harmony

White or a lighter color fabric will also show off some
of the odd angles and also give the eye a resting place.



Improv quilts do not have to have angled seams
you can also add  straight cuts and circular.

The result is an abstract looking quilt!


Don't have a lot of scraps?

Most of us quilters have remnants from other quilting projects.

Cut them into strips or large squares.

I had a lot of left over cuts so I made this
Table Mat to match.

For both the quilt and the table mat I used
DMC threads for the Big stitch quilting.

I was inspired years ago by Nancy Crow  Gwen Marston
Freddy Moran!

(These are for sale in my Etsy shop)

Happy Quilting!

Oldies But Goodies

It's an overcast day here in Lancaster County

today. We're supposed to have snow flurries

today - I am not ready for winter!

My computer has been slowly dying. It's been

making a loud roaring noise. I brought it to

the Geek Squad and the guy told me that it's

my motherboard - )o:

My daughter was visiting from NY and brought

a Laptop that I could use in the meantime.

My old computer won't read any of the CDs

that I have; so I decided to use the Laptop

to look at the old Cds and then store some of

the photos and files on a flash drive.

I found a couple of quilts that I had made

when I first started to quilt.

The photo is not very good; I took it with one

of those disposable cameras. 

I took my first quilting class back in 2003 and

then joined my Guild at the end of that year.

In 2004 we had a challenge to make  a Black and 

White With A Touch of Red quilt. I forgot the size

that it had to be but I know that I went over about

2 inches. I was frustrated that I had to cut off part

of my quilt on the right side which changed the 

whole look of it. I was so frustrated that when

the challenge was over - I threw it into the garbage!

I was so sorry that I did that I could have learned

so much from my mistakes! So now I'm glad that

I found this photo so that maybe someday I can 

do something similar and better.

Here's another one from that same year. It has

some  3 dimensional flowers and also the butterfly.

 The next year was the first quilt that I gave away.

I was so nervous because it was for my cousin's

baby shower. I didn't know if she would like it.

Well, she loved it and stood up and walked around

to show everyone. I was relieved! It's a bento box

pattern that I just loved. 

Again, the photo was taken with a disposable

camera. That God for digital! 

It was fun going through all my old photos. 

 BEING CREATIVE IS NOT A HOBBY IT'S A WAY OF LIFE




Happy Quilting! 

Hobbyist?

When I have the time; I love reading blogs. 

 Two of them made me really stop and think.


One said, I'm paraphrasing, "....exhibit or show 

your work, have it published or teach" other than

that - it's a "hobby". 



Now to me personally, when I'm creating something 

that pops into my head; I'm not doing it thinking - 

Can I enter this in a show? or I wonder if I could 

have this piece published or maybe I can have a class 

and teach it to others."   This would stress me out - it 

would have to be perfect, in my mind anyway. 

"Will a judge find this good enough, Is it perfect?" 



I am not putting quilters down who do this - definitely

 not! I so enjoy looking at and admiring their work! 

As a quilter; I can appreciate the time and effort that

they put into a piece.



But it's just not for me....yet.


I make what I feel even though it may not be perfection. 

 I do have to point out that I do use all of the skills that 

I have and learned  and try my best to make quality pieces.

But To me it's about the creation process and it 

shouldn't be stressful; it should feel like a release -

 releasing - like freeing a bird from it's cage - go out 

into the world,  sing your song and be happy.

I don't consider it "just a hobby" because I don't "show, 

exhibit, publish or teach."

I love making and designing functional quilts, to 

display in my home, to give away, to donate to

charity or for a cause and also I make quilts to sell.

 All of this brings me joy, peace and happiness

- just like Christmas.

And what the heck is the definition of a "hobby" anyway?
 


According to wikipedia:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hobby

"A hobby is a regular activity that is done for pleasure, typically, during one's leisure time. Hobbies can include: collecting themed items and objects, engaging in creative and artistic pursuits, and playing sports, along with many more examples. By continually participating in a particular hobby, one can acquire substantial skill and knowledge in that area.

Generally speaking, a person who engages in an activity solely for fun is called an amateur (or hobbyist), as opposed to a professional who engages in an activity for reward. An amateur may be as skilled as a professional, the principle difference being that a professional receives compensation while an amateur does not."

(I guess that  explains it some what )


If you're a beginner quilter - learn all of the techniques 

that you can to develop your skills,  just have fun - do 

what you feel - and enjoy the creative process. You're 

in your own space - there's no one standing over you

telling you "you're doing it wrong" - just "go with it" 

and be yourself. Make  it "your own". Then you can decide 

whether you would like to "show, exhibit, publish or 

teach" it or ......you can be just a "hobbyist" (o:

The other blog that I mentioned will have to wait for another post.

In the mean time -

Happy Quilting!

Star Wars Quilt Progress

Still working on the Star Wars quilt.


I had taken down my design wall to

clean the sewing room. It's not

very large anyway and I might have

to re-do it. I covered it with

batting and there was lots and lots 

of tiny pieces of thread stuck

to it. It drove me nuts!

So, the bed in my spare room is 

the design wall for now.

 
R2D2 is put together (over 500 1" squares)

and I was debating whether to put an extra

row of white around his block. I was really 

stressing about this!

 I thought it would be too much white 

around all of the dark fabrics. I realized that 

I don't really work with a lot of dark fabrics; 

I'm used to a lot of mediums to light.

I don't like working on the dark side (-; 

I couldn't resist.

Along with the printed Star Wars fabrics 

comes this mint green and pale blue - personally,

I don't think it blends well with the backgrounds 

of the other fabrics. But I have to work with it 

cause that's what DD wants.
 
Then I got this brainstorm to make blocks to 

go with R2D2....

I think it's going to work.

I like this idea but now I have to make 16 

of them - consisting of 36 - 1" squares !

wish me luck!

Happy quilting!

Blogger"s Quilt Festival - Chasing Rainbows

I entered my quilt in the "Wall Hanging" category. 

                                                                Blogger's Quilt Festival

 Please check out the Blogger's Quilt Festival! Several different categories
and all the quilts are wonderful!


I started this quilt back in February, 2009 and just finished quilting it just recently.
(Sometimes life gets in the way)  I blogged about it here:
http://uniquelyyourscreations.blogspot.com/2009/02/improvisional-quilts-2.html


I was so inspired by a book that I was reading "The Quilts of Gee's Bend"
that I decided to experiment with 2 bundles of colored fat quarter fabrics.
I used no pattern; it was totally improvised.



I was also inspired by  a book
on my library shelf by Jenny Beyer - Quiltmaking by Hand.
On pg. 7 Jenny says "...generations of quilters made do with minimal supplies ... All it took was a needle and thread, a thimble, a pair of sharp scissor, cardboard..." - And this is all
that I used.

That's how my Chasing Rainbows quilt came into being.
Although it looks like a modern quilt - it has it's roots in traditional quilting.

I  wanted to add a piano like border - those were cut with the rotary cutter BUT they were all hand sewn also - 1 1/2" x 5" abt. 166 pieces! And thought "I must be nuts!"

I  used various colors and different weights of threads - thinking that it would give the quilt a nice textured look. 
I used DMC #8, Perle Cotton #8 by
Thread Art (on-line)and Superior Threads,
Hand Quilting Thread.
100 % cotton warm and natural batting
100 % cotton fabrics

I Blended Big stitch quilting along with traditional quilting(small stitch);
I created a maze with stitches. They are not meant to be perfect as the blocks are not.

I titled it "Chasing Rainbows" because it just reminds me of one with all of it's bright colors. I think that it's a very happy looking quilt; and I'm very satisfied about the way it turned out.

And so after all of this work; I didn't
want it to be a throw quilt and decided
to add sleeves to the back and make
it into a wall hanging.

I added the lower pocket so that the quilt will lay flat and straight across.
You can use a yard stick or same size piece of light wood.

I hope that this quilt and my story
will inspire and encourage many quilters
to try hand piecing or even better
hand quilting. 

With everything computerized in today's
world - take the time to do some "slow"
quilting - it's creative - it's 
meditative - and it's relaxing! And 
don't worry about the size of your
stitches - Just have fun!


Enjoy the Quilt Festival!

Happy Quilting!

Star Wars!

My daughter sends me all of this 

fabric

 And more!

She bought it at the Fat Quarter shop and had

it mailed to my house. 

"I would like R2D2 to be the main character."

I found a pattern on the web that said "free"

but it wasn't a quilt pattern block it was for

beading. So I thought that I could translate

that into a quilting block.

I printed it out and went to work and work and work.

I decided to use 1" squares and there is over 500

of them! But it was a challenge and so far so good.

R2D2 is going to be the center block - he's is

about 24" x 24". Then to decide what to do with

the rest.... hmmm. 

Have a great week and

May the Force Be with You!

Autumn

Lady Autumn, Queen of the Harvest,
I have seen You in the setting Sun
with Your long auburn tresses...
You sit upon Your throne and watch
the dying fires of the setting Sun
shine forth its final colors in the sky...
Lady Autumn, You are here at last...
~Deirdre Akins

I love autumn, love the colors, and
the smells.

And so gathering up some of my hand
dyed fabrics; I decided to make something
to celebrate autumn.

A skinny table runner - 10" x 36" I love the colors!

There's some of my sun prints in there and
I use decorative stitches to frame it.

I tried for the very first time "wrap around binding"

I found a great tutorial here: http://www.maubys.net/2011/07/maubys-binding-series-part-six-wrap.html

at Maubys.net.  I found that the corners can be

very tricky.

And here's the back - I'm really loving these colors!

So much so that I decided to make some fabric

coasters!

 And quilted them with a modern flair!

Also made with my hand dyed fabrics.

 Here's the complete set - so bright and cheery!

My color inspiration ---

Autumn is a second spring when every leaf is a flower.
Albert Camus