Wool and Cotton

In a post a couple of months ago, I showed some quilting I was doing using wool batt.

2 looks in one......this is the back view

What I did not share, was that this was part of a project I was doing while preparing an article for the Canadian Quilter.   It is a quarterly publication, this is the 9th article/design that I have created in my role as Artist in Residence for the Canadian Quilters' Association

In the Autumn issue, which is now out, I provide directions for working with cotton and wool to create a cushion that could be made from leftovers to co-ordinate with a quilt

It started with charm squares

                           

I cut lots of circles from wool and stitched a variety of  "pennies" that could be added to the cotton.

Pretty simple, easy and fun way to use charm squares and leftover bits.

this is the front view

I am currently preparing the article for the Winter issue........summer is going by far, FAR too quickly

My little Janome inspired quilt

A few weeks ago, I showed you the start of this little quilt..........at the time, I was just working out the design/layout in this post.

Here is a look at some of the stitch lines I used in the quilting.

Once it was all quilted and bound, I added some common sewing room items as embellishment......I'll grab some photos and show that soon. I still need to create a label, but first, I need a name for it....any suggestions?

"Going to Seed" - a few details

 "Going to Seed" is the quilt I designed and created to enter into this year's Grand National Quilt show. The show has a different theme each time and this year, it was "Local Colour" instead of depicting a local landmark, landscape or culture, I decided to"USE" local colour

This is the Artist Statement accompanying the piece:

We often overlook the beauty of a bloom as it fades-- no longer fresh, vibrant and full of energy-- but nurture that which has “Gone to Seed” to be rewarded with new emerging and exciting possibilities. The transformation is complete. This quilt is made up almost entirely of “local colour”, unwanted and discarded items, their beauty and usefulness gone, banished to the thrift store.

It all pretty much began with a few cotton remnants and a wool coat I found at a rummage sale. A few more cast off garments went into the mix along with some discarded belts and costume jewelry.

I dyed the fabric to create that inky night sky background, the rest of the colour pallete was dictated by the things I found, a terrific apple green jacket, a deep plum skirt, as well as a light blue, cream and tan plaid one.

here you can see what the elements actually are

and a look at the quilting in the background.

next time I'll show you what I did to that wonderful wool coat to get that gradated look along with a few more details.
 
It's Friday so I am linking up to Nina-Marie's Off the Wall Fridays   featuring lots of inspiring artists to visit.

Quilting....Free Motion, continued

In my last post, I talked about some of the basic steps I take when doing free motion quilting. In this post I thought I would share how I decide "what" to quilt.
It really depends on the quilt itself, if I am working on a utilitarian quilt, I will generally use simple shapes, stencils, feathers or basic meander. I let the size and purpose of the quilt dictate what I choose to do.

But art quilts are a different matter, art quilts tell a story and I want the stitching to continue the story. Below are some examples of ways that I use stitching to compliment the images on my quilts.

Sometimes I just add a little something in the background....can you see the spirals that break up the stippling?

pebbles stitched using pastel variegated thread kind of looks like snow

Simple "echo" stitching is often a great choice when you just want the stitching to stay in the background

Carrying an  image in your stitches out into the border  adds interest and continues the story. Here the roots spread out into the border.

In between the roots, I wanted the feel of earth, jagged, uneven stitching, pebbles and stippling worked well.

wavy lines and bubbles surround these turtles for a watery feel

This is another example trying to get the feel of the movement of water

sky.... gentle breezes

Sometimes, it can be as simple as following the pattern of the fabric, for excellent effect.

I just noticed....this is my 300th post.....Wow...have I really have that much to say?

Quilting.....Free Motion

I have noticed that as I continue to produce quilts, more and more time is spent on the actual quilting. The quilting, the addition of those stitch lines, has become my most favourite part of the whole process. I am aware that there is a lot of information out there regarding the subject of free motion quilting, but I believe everyone needs to develop a way of working that best suits them. I thought I would share a few things that I feel are key to success in my quilting.

I think one of the biggest myths is that you need to go  FAST,  that is simply not so, you need to be in CONTROL. You need to develop a rhythm where your hands are moving in sync with the speed at which you are running the machine. It takes time to find it. It doesn't happen overnight. It does take " practice"  but not just grabbing a bit of quilt sandwich and stitching with no purpose....you really won't learn a lot from that. you need to actually "quilt" the more you quilt, the more you will learn and the better you will get. Most of the newer machines allow you to adjust your speed, try experimenting with different settings until you find something that is comfortable for you, something that feels right.

A topic I often hear discussed, is what music to listen to while quilting......I do NOT listen to any music at all. I listen to my machine. I almost "zone out"  as I stitch at a steady rhythm, I am extremely aware of the sounds the machine makes and will know immediately if a problem begins developing on the underside.

If you have " Needle Down" function. use it. As soon as I have pulled the bobbin thread to the surface, I engage the needle down feature, I essentially take 1 stitch in place before moving and do this every time I start and stop to ensure I don't get any jerky stitches...the goal is a nice smooth line.

When I quilt, I put my machine up on top of my cutting table so that I have a large surface to support the quilt, no pulling or dragging from the weight of the quilt is extremely important.

Finally, where to look when you are stitching, you need to know where you are heading and have your eyes focused there. Do not look at the needle, instead, look ahead, follow the line (even if only imaginary) with your eyes and your hands/machine will move in the same direction.

I plan to do another post later, about how I decide what to quilt, sometimes what you choose to quilt can make all the difference

Quilt Circles without Marking

I like the look of circles in quilting. When doing a pebble type background fill, random sizes look best, BUT if you want your circles to be the same size, and you don't want to measure and mark each one........here is what works for me.

I use these sticky dots, they come in several sizes. I just eyeball a line of them, stitch around each one, then peel them off and reposition them to another spot so that they can be used many times.

Just teasing

Not too long ago, a guild member told me she was considering opening her very own quilt shop. I told her that if she did, I would design a pattern for her to commemorate the opening. Well, that shop will be a reality in just a couple of weeks and I did design a pattern that the shop owner will be giving away on opening day. It is really just a block, but by adding a few borders, it could be turned it into a nice little wall hanging, a cushion, a table topper, multiple blocks repeated would create an interesting quilt.......well you get the idea.
I made mine into a small wall hanging that I will show soon, but for now, here is just a tease.


I have noticed recently, that the word verification process has become very frustrating for those wanting to leave comments, so it has now been removed.

Machine Quilting.....Starts and Stops

One of the first things we covered at the machine quilting workshop on Saturday, was how to start and stop your stitching. What I showed at the time, was how to simply begin and end with very tiny stitches, but while this is effective, it is not the best method.
I think the best method is done in such a way so that you (or judges) can NOT detect where your starts and stops are, AND that your stitches are absolutely locked and will not come out. This of course is also the most time consuming way to do it.You will begin as always by taking 1 stitch and bringing your bobbin thread to the surface, hold the tails in your left hand and begin stitching.Now you want to separate these two threads and then tie a knot, lay that knot right tight against your work......then do it once again.....you have now knotted these threads twice, below is a close up of the first knot as it was being pulled tight.Next you will thread a needle.........one with a larger eye and a needle threader helps or you can use a self threading needle if you prefer. (both thread tails are threaded into the eye together)The next step is to insert your threaded needle into the quilt right where that first stitch was taken, carefully slip the needle into the batting/quilt middle only, bring it out about an inch and a half away, give it a gentle tug to cause the knots to "pop" into the quilt and then you can clip your threads closely
To do this method in areas where you have ended your stitching, you will first need to thread a needle with your bobbin thread so that you can bring it to the top....now that both threads are on top you simply repeat the knotting/threading/burying process.
and there you have it, yes it requires a little effort but your starts and stops will be secure and undetectable.

Edit:  Just a note about dealing with your threads at the end of a stitch line....there is a way to do it at the machine, without threading a hand sewing needle....I do it this way but a commenter Rebecca Grace has described the process perfectly so I will use her words

Rebecca says... when you get to the ending, there IS a way to bring up the bobbin thread without using a hand needle. When you finish the line of stitching, DON'T clip threads, but just raise the presser foot and pull the quilt a few inches to the side. Then move the quilt back where it was, holding onto the loop of excess thread on the top of the quilt, lower the needle into the hole of the last stitch and bring it up again. Give a little tug on the loop of top thread, and the bobbin thread will pop up just as it does when you were starting out.

Samples and something different

I have been asked by my guild, to conduct a machine quilting workshop, I did one a few years ago and it was actually a lot of fun. Workshop day is fast approaching and I understand that quilters of all skill levels have signed up, so I have been busy working on getting prepared for it, as I hope to have something of interest for all. (from beginner to the more experienced) Maybe some cool tips and tricks to share.
This workshop benefits our outreach program, instead of having to "pay" to attend, participants will work on and complete quilts destined to be given to children at the Children's Aid Society.

............and now for something completely different.........A couple of months ago, I picked up this cute little loom at a vintage/antique/nostalgia show. I have no idea what I am doing, but am always intrigued to try something new. This is how I found it (actually is was folded flat in the box.) this little loom measures a mere 14" long by 11" wide by 11" tallLooks like someone had started to "warp" it with string, I removed that stuff and replaced it with about 4 yard lengths of this brightly coloured thread/yarn. I don't expect to be able to do much with this set-up, but I plan to have fun "experimenting" with possibilities. As you can see, I began doing a very basic weave to start with. I think it might be fun to try selvage edges, maybe some unconventional materials?

Creative Gift Wrapping

How do you wrap a gift card? Gift cards can be a great choice to give to someone who loves to shop, but they sure don't look like much on Christmas morning. So here is what I did for a gal who has a great fondness for turtles. First I did this doodle.From my fabrics, I selected this terrific print but my hand painted blue fabric seemed "too" blue so I overdyed it with a bit of green textile paint to tone it down.After printing the turtle in a few sizes onto a sheet of TAP, they were then transferred to the new fabric.Bubbles and wavy line quilting worked great.here is the finished bag that the gift card was tucked into.

Marking Feathers

I have spent a little more time designing feathers and I wanted a way to mark them so that I could repeat a feather over and over if I so desire. So using my Jenny Haskins Magic Heat Cutting tool and some Mylar I created a couple of stencils. They can be used from either side and they should stand up for a very, very long time.
I pounced the design and as you can see I have lines that are clear and easy to follow.


I realized today That I had not posted last week's doodle. This is my response to the 75th word prompt which was Violet

Feathers, Feathers, and more Feathers

I LOVE the look of beautiful, graceful curving feathers on quilts but for some reason, drawing/designing them has mystified me. I am determined to be able to do them on my domestic machine, so I have been practising on paper by filling shapes and spaces with feathers. Here are a few that I have drawn.I stitched out a couple as well. This is going to take more practice but I WILL conquer the feather!

I have spent more time drawing than sewing this week. Here is my response to last week's prompt word ........... Celebration.