By admin on September 23, 2011
I have had this quilt design available for a while now, and I have been meaning to make it up in a different colorway, but I have just not gotten around to it.
Then recently I had a custom request for the design in grey and cream. I usually am all about bright colors, but the limited palette really emphasised the design, making it sort of calm and meditative.
Plus with grey fabric I used the has a life of its own. I hand dyed an organic cotton sateen. It catches the light different ways, so depending on which angle you are looking from, the fabric looks lighter or darker, which really makes the log cabin piecing pop out. The hand dyeing left the fabric with a bit of marbling, so that adds an extra dimension of color too.
If I get a chance I am definitely making up another of these for the winter shows I have coming up. Here are a few more angles.
Posted in Creative Process | Tagged design, geometric, Geometric Spiral Quilt, hand dye, modern quilt, patchwork, pattern |
By admin on September 17, 2011
I have been laboring over this quilt for a while now. I intended to post the progress, but I got distracted by sewing!
This quilt was custom made, bravely purchased from the sketch, as I mentioned in earlier posts. The main requirement was that the quilt include the wall color of the room it would be in, which turned out to be a sort of maroon/mauve color. Very difficult to match. But oddly enough I discovered in my stash the stripey hand dye in the picture. It had shades of maroon, aqua, and grey, so I had my jumping off point. I also found a solid Kona cotton in a deeper tone of the wall color, you can see that as the border in the picture.
I guess I am in a bit of a design rut, because I had trouble working with these colors, the composition was not coming together until I realised I needed another color. When I added the orange everything just fell into place.
The flowers just needed that pop of color to bring them to life. I quilted the flowers in a spiral. I initially intended to quilt the background with spirals too, but I ended up only doing that for the border. I think using a more vertical design for the main panel really made the flowers stand out.
Posted in Creative Process | Tagged applique, design, poppies |
By admin on September 15, 2011
I have finally finished the Poppy Quilt. This is just a quick shot of it, I will take more tomorrow when the light is better. I think it turned out amazingly well, and very like the initial sketch. I was working with the wall color of the customers room, and I found the great stripey hand dye fabric that is in the inner border, it matches the tone perfectly. From there it was just a matter of choosing the other colors that looked good with it.
Posted in Creative Process | Tagged patchwork, quilt design |
By admin on August 24, 2011
My latest creation.
For some reason this quilt had a difficult birth. I made the Yankee puzzle blocks months ago in a burst of enthusiasm, but then they got shuffled off to the side when I couldn’t figure out a layout I liked. Then a few months later, during a dyeing binge I decided spontaneously that they would look great set in a grey background with a bit of a green tone. But I wasn’t sure about how the color looked once I saw them together. Back into the UFO pile it went.
Finally last month I took another look at it, and decided I did like the two grey tones together (I am so glad I did, I think they look so good in the finished quilt), decided on a layout and put the top together. But then I started thinking about the back. since this is a throw size I wanted to make the back interesting too. I had a few blocks left over from the front, and a width of grey, but it took a while to get the layout to feel balanced.
The quilting is always my favourite part, and for this one I decided on a sort of ’mad basketweaver’ pattern, but I ended up quilting it very densely, so of course I ran out of thread 3/4 of the way through. I hate going to the fabric store for just a spool of thread, so it wasn’t until Monday that I needed other fabric and supplies. Finally yesterday I got it finished.
Hubby took one look and said ‘intense’. I feel pretty flattered.
Posted in Creative Process | Tagged basket weave, design, modern quilt |
By admin on August 22, 2011
I have been on a creative binge recently, and I am constantly waking up at 3:00am with ideas that I have to get down on paper before they evaporate. My follow through is not so great however. I am coming up with ideas faster than I can sew them, and of course a new idea is always so much more exciting than an old one.
Luck me however a customer recently contacted me that was willing to take a chance on a quilt based on the rather vague sketch above. I call it Poppies, although the flowers look only vaguely poppy like.
I am going to be working on this one for most of the week, I will be posting updates so you can see the process.
Posted in Creative Process | Tagged design, modern quilt, quilt design |
By admin on August 11, 2011
Patchwork, the awesome local craft show, has just released dates for their November show schedule. These shows only come around twice a year, so make sure you keep the date open if you live in the area. I hope to be exibiting at the Santa Ana location again this year.
hello friends…
SAVE THE DATES!!!
PATCHWORK INDIE ARTS & CRAFTS FESTIVAL’S FALL SHOWS ARE COMING TO TOWN…
PATCHWORK LONG BEACH
NOV 6TH 10-4PM
MARINE STADIUM BAYSHORE @ APPIAN WAY
PATCHWORK CULVER CITY
NOV 13TH 10-4PM
HELMS BAKERY VENICE BLVD @ NATIONAL
PATCHWORK SANTA ANA
NOV 27TH 10-4PM
MAIN STREET @ BUFFALO
WHAT IS PATCHWORK SHOW…
patchwork indie arts & festival showcases over 100 local independent artists, crafters and designers in an outdoor setting. come down and eat & drink from local restaurants & cafes as you listen to live music & dj’s and peruse goods from the best southern california creators. look & shop… clothing for men, women & kids, handbags, accessories, art, ceramics, home goods, garden finds, plushies, jewelry, paper goods, edible treats, pet gear, crochet & knit goods, kits & patterns, bath & body goodies & more!
*to get updates on the shows, become a fan of PATCHWORK INDIE ARTS & CRAFTS FESTIVAL on facebook click here
PATCHWORK SHOW IS BROUGHT TO YOU BY…
delilah snell of the road less traveled store for sustainable eco organic products for you & your home & eco-workshops
&
nicole of random nicole & the craft kitchen for art & craft workshops in sewing, screenprinting, soap/candle making, jewelry & more.
Posted in Events | Tagged craft show, patchwork |
By admin on August 4, 2011
I was looking at this http://www.prettylittlegreenthings.com/2011/08/woodnotes-bed/ yesterday, and what really caught my eye was not the bed, that was the focus of the post, but the throw blanket on the top. I love the lacy open stitch, and soft natural color. This morning I woke up thinking about it. I had to take another look, and I decided to make something similar for myself. After digging around in my studio I came across some yarn I bought a couple of years ago, to knit a sweater. I abandoned the project as too hard. The light weight yarn and correspondingly small needles were too slow for me, plus the the bamboo acrylic blend had no give and split easily. I am not what anyone would consider a skilled knitter, so the combination made me begin to hate the project and into the UFO box it went.
I sized up the needles to 10mm and decided to try turkish stitch. It is a open work lace stitch that looked pretty in my knitting book, plus the yarn I am using is made in Turkey. It is probably not the stitch used in my inspiration, but hey that is why it’s an inspiration, not a pattern.
After about half an hour I had this.
Just ignore the mistake, I did say I am not very good. Amazingly the things that made this yarn so frustrating while knitting the sweater don’t seem to matter here. The looseness of the stitch style mean that the yarn does not seem to be spliting, and the lack of stretch actually seems like an advantage, to help the stitches hold their shape.
If you were wondering, here is how to make turkish stitch.
Cast on an even number of stitches. begin with one knit stitch. Then repeat this pattern “yo, sl1, k1, psso” until you have one stitch left. Knit it. Turn and repeat. Thats it. After a few rows it becomes mindless (always my goal when knitting). The trick is to work quite loosely. I decided to make my blanket 110 stitches wide. Based on my sample piece that should make my blanket about 40″ wide. Who knows how long it will be. I plan on just knitting until I run out of yarn. I’ll post a picture when it’s done.
Posted in Creative Process | Tagged blanket, craft, knitting, turkish stitch |
By admin on July 25, 2011
I have been refocusing and changing direction over the last few weeks. I have been realising that I am not really enjoying my craft and I finally took some time off to figure out why. I have been trying so hard to make my business profitable I have lost sight of why I am doing this. I originally wanted to make some money doing what I love. But I have been sidetracked. Reading this blog entry http://www.scoutiegirl.com/2011/07/the-power-of-questions-and-how-to-find-what-you-didnt-lose.html has been the final tipping point to putting my new goals out there. Here’s what happened.
I was feeling very uninspired and decided to finally, finally make quilts for my sons. They have been asking for a long time and I have always been too busy, ‘making quilts for other little boys’. That makes me sad just thinking about it. Anyway I decided to use an improvisational piecing technique from Last Minute Patchwork and Quilted Gifts . I had so much fun. I loved making something that I wanted to do, not for an order, or what I thought would sell, but just what made me happy.
My sons were thrilled with their quilts, and I had started thinking. A few weeks later I bolted awake with a new plan fully formed in my mind. I am going to write a book. I have been writing patterns for a while, but the idea of actually putting them together in a book and publishing it is amazing to me. I feel a bit giddy and a bit terrified.
Will I be able to get a publishing company to take a chance on me? Who knows. I am putting together a submission now, but I am not waiting on a reply. As soon as I redirected myself down this path I have not been able to stop the ideas from coming. I am making quilts and writing patterns as fast as I can go, so if I am not accepted I will epublish this book myself.
I feel like a load has been lifted off my shoulders, even though I am actually piling on the work. Funny how enjoying your work makes all the difference.
Posted in Creative Process, Plans and Goals |
By admin on June 7, 2011
I have been so busy sewing lately that I have let my resolve to blog slide a bit. But no more, I am back.
I received some new fabric from Ink and Spindle and I have been busy making it into bags, as well as participating in the Patchwork Craft Show over the Memorial Day weekend. So I have been busy.
As part of my plan to reduce use up the fabric I have on hand, instead of constantly adding to it, I have been finishing up some half made quilts as well. I am actually starting to reach the point where I simply do not have enough fabric to finish off items. And it feels good. I no longer feel like I am drowning in fabric, or wastefully hoarding materials instead of turning it into usable goods. I have also been able to sell some fabric that I no longer needed. It is a wonderful feeling to send a package of fabric off to a new home, where it will hopefully be turned into something that is loved and needed.
Here are a few quilts I have recently completed.
I am so happy with how this one turned out. The graduation of color on the spiral looks amazing. And my husband, who has not yet loved a design enough to have it on our bed feels that this may be ‘the one’.
Posted in Stash Reduction Quilts | Tagged design, modern quilt, stash reduction, studio |
By admin on April 12, 2011
This block is a simple design that does take a bit of planning. finished size is 12″x18″
1. Begin by taking the print fabrics and cutting them into different widths. I have used sizes from 1/2″ to 3′ wide. Then cut to length. You will notice that while the block is 18″ wide, none of the printed strips go all the way to the edges, the maximum length I cut the print strips to was 15″, you can go as small as 8″. Make sure you have a variety of widths and lengths.
2. Arrange the strips stacked on top of one another, and check to make sure you have enough to add up to 12″ (don’t forget to take seams into account). Add more strips if necessary.
3. Cut strips from the solid color fabric to add to the ends of the strips. Make sure they add up to more than 18″ to allow for adjustments from side to side. The most efficient way to do this is start by cutting the largest width strips first, and then working your way to the narrowest. That way left over wider strips can be cut down and used for the narrow pieces.
4. Once all strips have solid color fabric sewn to each end, arrange them in the order you want to sew them. If you do this right beside your sewing machine, you can simply start at the top and work your way down.
5. Trim the edges down to 18″ wide. If necessary trim to 12″ top to bottom.
Posted in Tutorials | Tagged modern quilt block, patchwork, pattern, quilt design, tutorial |
Then recently I had a custom request for the design in grey and cream. I usually am all about bright colors, but the limited palette really emphasised the design, making it sort of calm and meditative.
