Week 16-19: 12/14/09 – 1/4/10

The image of the state of Texas and Maine came from a novelty fabric I purchased for a “Once Upon a Time” quilt I made as a gift.  Many months ago I had the thought that fussy cutting these two states out would be perfect and set them aside.  Working out of the small batch of supplies that will comprise my sewing studio for the next four months, I chose an orange batik print because of the contrast with the blue around the states.  I think it really makes them pop.  I just didn’t feel like quilting all over the background, and chose to “write” in the starting and stopping point and the whopping amount of miles we are about to drive to document the feat.  I wish it was a bit thicker.  Perhaps if I tried that again, I should put a thicker thread in the bobbin, sketch the wording on the back backwards, and bobbin draw it in for better readability.

In any event, here we go. Certainly there are ties in Texas to stay connected to, but I am also excited about this next grand adventure in my life.

Using it as a building point, I pulled out some fabric strips still on hand in those colors, trying to work them into the design on the green background.  I tried tons of arrangements and nothing spoke to me.  On one hand, I considered that perhaps I was overthinking it and should just do it.  On the other hand, I was thinking about the advice Tim Gunn gives on Project Runway, “edit”.  So I opted to keep it simple, and the off-center placement of the ribbon echoes a bookmark I made for my husband with the same pale green ribbon incorporated.  I had just been looking at that bookmark the day before and perhaps it informed my decision making.

But boy did I love all those fabrics I pulled and they looked so good together.  So, how about a border?  At that point I decided to just do it and I think I like the outcome.  The green ground fabric is actually a monochromatic print and I keyed off the print to do quilting in a boxed pattern of parallel lines.  The real surprise for me came when I finished and turned to the back.  The way the prints blend and the quilting overlays them reminded me of one of Fassett’s designs in a garden-themed book of a coordinated floral nine-patch. I’ve always wanted to sew one of those and that may move up on the list.

Given that materials are being packed up for our move, I decided to save a more involved and layered attempt for a later date.  I did take advantage of a recent bulk purchase of Mistyfuse and used some to fuse the quilt’s layers so they’d stay together while I stitched.  I cut the black backing larger and folded it forward for a border.  I then grabbed several colors of some 2-ply perle cotton, needle and thimble and settled in my grandfathers chair.  Without any plan at all, I began to create a grid and kept stitching and adding color until I felt it complete.

In an ironic twist, the squares are representative of the packing mode I’m now in – putting our home and our lives into lots of boxes and stacking them against a wall.  At face value kind of an odd activity, but in the bigger picture a very good and exciting one.

So I ordered 1 yard and it arrived this week.  It is this lovely Pop Garden print by Heather Bailey for Free Spirit Fabrics.   To commemorate what I realized was my first online ordering of fabric I thought I’d cut a piece and make it my journal quilt.  I also wasn’t feeling very creative and decided to just use white thread to roughly outline some of the shapes.  Cutting into it for my journal quilt was actually good for me because I sometimes have the habit of admiring fabrics without the courage to cut into them and use them up.

Would I order from them again?  Yes, I think so, but I’d probably order more to make the shipping cost more economical.  It is the same for between 1 and 5 yards.  I also learned a lesson on this one.  It didn’t occur to me to ask about the size of the pattern and repeat, and while I expected a small to medium size repeat, this one is quite large.

I can’t pinpoint the moment I decided to try and make a circular coaster, only that it was early this week.  I went through about a day of trial and error with measurements, steps, and lengths of bias strips to get it right.  I’m quite proud of myself for figuring this one out, mainly so that I can pre-sew the bias border and have it fit like a glove.  Unfortunately, these are a bit more involved than the square shapes I make.  There is a bit more material waste, some back and forth from the sewing machine to the iron to the cutting mat, and to ensure a finished look I hand stitch the binding on the back.  I thoroughly enjoy making them, but I think I priced them too high because none of them sold at the bazaar.  Ah, well, I’ve got plenty for gifts.

Given how front and center they were for me this week, I thought one of my initial samples deserved a spot front and center on this week’s journal quilt.

I struggled with how to show her calico coat.  I started to construct a collage of pieces of the right shades of fabric but didn’t feel satisfied.  I opted to use a stunning metallic copper fabric with some deep tones as if it was hand dyed.  I used fusible web to adhere the eyes, her white blaze and a small, subtle nose.  Thread outlining and minimal painting helped define her face, along with some starched, white, embroidery floss for whiskers.  I folded some greyed purple ribbon in half and wrapped it around the edge for a more finished look.

I wanted to use a fabric without too much print or pattern so that the words would be visible at least as handwriting, even if they weren’t legible.  I also felt it appropriate to find a bright and/or strong color, not to show anger but to echo the intensity of thought I have had in my head.  I found a piece of cotton that I had done some sun printing on that had enough variety not to read as a solid (which I thought would be boring).  I taped it around the edges to a clipboard for easier writing, grabbed my permanent fabric market and let my thoughts go.  I initially cut the piece larger than my 5″ x 7″ size because I wanted the text to run off the edge once I cut it down.  I had planned on a stippling free motion quilt pattern but just before I committed to that, I thought perhaps the lines back and forth would look better for some reason.  I was worried it might be too much like lined paper but I’m so glad I quilted it that way.  The texture up close, and on the back, is cool.

The words are more legible than I’d wanted, but I really like the edgy look and how it all came together.  I could see using this technique again, either as a focal block in a larger piece or perhaps all over a smaller wall quilt.

Throughout the renovation, my husband and I have had, well, opposing viewpoints sometimes. I stopped short of saying we have butted heads, but there have been a LOT of compromises on both sides. Add to that the fact that the kitchen space in our old house is a complete blank slate. We had agreed to move windows around for optimum southern lighting. However, given it is such a complete redo became kind of overwhelming. We tried tons of different arrangements in an attempt to combine adequate lighting, storage, workspace, and a back door in a relatively small space.

I could go on and on, believe me, with all the discussions and debates and various layouts we tried. I guess as foodies who hope to cook a lot and have friends over, we wanted to get it right, for us, and do so on a budget. So having a final design is a cause to celebrate. Now its time to decide on the cabinets….

I found bits of ribbon I used around my flower bunch from our wedding (what can I say, I’m a pack rat) to add to the collage to further emphasize the design.  I realized it had taken off in a new direction and I didn’t want to clutter what had emerged in my design with the initial 5’s.  I did fuse one on the back.  Funny, I couldn’t have visualized this when I started, it was only as I let go into the creative process.  I’m really pleased with this one.

We decided to stay for two nights and I was a little worried we might run out of things to see and do.  Oh how silly of me.  I spent one entire day just walking around all the exhibits, those by the Studio Art Quilt Association members, historic quilts and reproductions they inspired, and lots of judged categories from digital imagery to hand-piecing.  Then, there were the vendors.  We both thought going this time was the chance of a lifetime, but we both now are thinking in a year or two we’ll do it again.

Back to my journal quilt…. I enjoyed putting this one together.  I like the pattern so much I plan on making a lap or full size one out of scraps for us to use in Maine.  It was helpful to make this one as a warm-up to see how it goes together and get to play around with some bold colors.  I also haven’t worked with small pieces like this in a while (the red and yellow squares are 1/2″ finished size”) and it made me really appreciate the miniature quilt work we also saw in Houston.