Sunday, September 20, 2015

Tile Quilt

Often, as I go about my day, I say to myself "I can make that."  This happens a lot when I am at a store, a show, a festival, or a museum.  Usually, I continue on and never actually do that.  There isn't enough time to make everything I know I can make.

One of those moments happened when we were at the Islamic Museum in Canada a couple of months ago.  And this time, I am actually following through.  There was a tile wall - simple squares, and I decided to replicate it.

I started making this quilt with fabric I had at home, but I just wasn't feeling it, and I hadn't thought through the size I wanted and wound up with not enough fabric to make it.  This meant a few trips to the store to find the right fabric.  This background fabric was one that I rejected originally, because it has a design that looks manmade. I wanted a more mottled look that would look natural.  But it is hard to find the right shade of beige with a mottled look, at least at that store and on my budget.  I rejected this fabric a couple of times I went there, but the last time I went, I decided it would work after all.  So what if it looked man-made?  The quilt will be made out of fabric, so it already has that man-made look.

I like the design on the fabric now. I think it does add to the variability and doesn't look too man-made.  But by the time I finally decided to get the fabric, someone else had gotten to it first, and it was cut into three pieces.  I was okay with that; after all, I am going to cut it into even more, but after I washed it, I realized that someone had cut off the selvages too.   I guess that is okay too, since I would have done that too.  I think it was returned because it is not a regular cotton fabric. It is more like brushed cotton.  It is a little more stretchy than regular fabric, like flannel, but thinner.  I think it will be just fine in this quilt, and the soft fabric is nice to touch.

The design has a lot of squares next to each other that are the same color.  I decided for this quilt to cut everything into squares and sew together instead of leaving them in long rows.  I wanted to have that variability of tile.  Mmm, this looks like my tile bathroom.  I didn't need to go all the way to Canada for this design!



Don't worry. The tile design at the museum had other colors in it too. Or should I say colours?  Mostly red with a few green pieces in it.  This red is so much better than my original red. I am keeping my original green since I don't need a lot of pieces of it.  I am happy with all the fabric selection now, and this quilt is coming along quite nicely now.

It is just a matter of finding time to sew. The weather is very nice, and I want to get as much work done outside as possible.  We managed to demolish two of the flower beds completely, and just need to demolish a few more.  The yard looks so much bigger now, and I am very happy with my decision to reduce the number of flower beds I have. The driveway is looking much better now too.

There are still lots of unfinished projects to do, but progress is being made on them.

Monday, September 7, 2015

Full House for Elephant Parade!

People who have been following this blog will be happy to know that the final paraders have arrived for the Elephant Parade.  They have been trickling in slowly here and there, and many have been waiting in the staging area for months.

Let me introduce you to the latest arrivals.  First the bugler in a band uniform.


And a fox.

I have to admit that I really didn't enjoy making these last arrivals. I think this is because I had specific ideas in mind about how they were to look instead of simply letting them grow improv.  But they are finished and I think they look okay - the bugler turned out to be quite handsome, and the fox will look all right hidden amongst all the other animals.  And I thoroughly enjoyed making the other participants, so it all balances out on the positive side.

The next step is to choose a layout. Originally I was going to arrange the elephants as they are in my family, but with the new animals, that plan has been abandoned, and they can go wherever they look good.   I laid them all on my bed so that there would be a white background, but then I had to stand on a chair and take the camera up to the ceiling to take these pictures.


So what do you think of the layout?

I am going to move the turtle away from behind the fox. He needs a better view.

And if I use the tiger, he will need a tail. My sister was thinking of a person for each row, but I think they work better together.  The dancing couples are already sewn together, and the musicians look more band like if they are together.

The twirly girl was a reject, but I think I could get her to fit if I decide to keep her. The giraffe is not supposed to be a reject but I am not sure that there is enough room for him.There are only two left facing rows, and they have a variety of animals already.



I also forgot to show the original bird I made for the quilt.  I had also rejected this one, but now I am wondering if I should make room on the quilt for all of them. I made too many on purpose, so that I could take out the ones that wouldn't work. What do you think - which ones would you reject? Or move around?


This post has been linked to:
Pieces by Polly Block Party

Wednesday, September 2, 2015

Music has Arrived at Elephant Parade


Progress continues to be made on the Elephant Parade quilt.  All of the participants in my Elephant Parade have gotten some work done, and they are no longer blind. I also fixed little bits and pieces that I noticed and didn't like.  I have to sew down all these applique pieces.

 Also a drummer has arrived for the Elephant Parade.  He has a lot more applique pieces than all the others.  His hat / hair and drum strap will get some more tweaking tomorrow.

The drummer come with another band member, but I was trying to have him have bent knees, and for some reason I am having a lot of trouble with bent knees.  I need to be fresh to decide whether to leave him with straight knees, or keep trying to bend his knees.

My summer vacation is coming to a close soon, and I want to be able to get this quilt done if at all possible, at least get it into a top.  But my mind is distracted with other projects I have started around the house and I keep coming up with new ideas - how about a float, a banner, a flag, a fox - and a dog - and a horse - and a panda . . .

It is just too much fun to stop.

This post is linked up to:
Let's Bee Social #88 
Pink Doxies Pet Project