Ta Da! I finished the Beach Picnic quilt that I made for the June blog hop. Joan from Moose Stash Quilting and Carol from Just Let Me Quilt take turns hosting a year long blog hop. They chose a different theme for each month.
The theme for the June blog hop was For the Birds. The project is simple, and just needs a bird on it.
I made the quilt in June, but I had not finished binding it.
I posted the unfinished project here in June.
Now it is finally finished.
I added a pole with directions to other features on the beach for the picnic goers. I didn't add any words so the beach can have everything the family wants: snorkeling, fishing, boating, boardwalk, shopping, parasailing, sandcastle competitions, art galleries, and of course, bird watching. Whatever they want, it is here on this beach.
It adds a story element to the quilt and explains why the people have abandoned their picnic.
This was a really fun quilt to make and makes me want to make even more beach picnic and seagull quilts.
I posted a video on YouTube showing how I made this quilt.
Here's my finishes chart so far. As you can see, there are a lot more starts than finishes this year, so no new beach quilts for me today. I am hoping to get more progress on unfinished quilts this month.
I finished another journal quilt this week. It is a quick project made with leftover strips of fabric from my blog hop project I will be showing you on Thursday.
When I made the Raggedy Heart quilt last week, I knew it didn't come close to approximating the inspiration, which was the artwork of Marcellina Akpojotor. She takes strips of Ankara fabric and glues them onto canvas. I translated that work onto a quilt and I think this looks closer to her artwork. Only the black, white and pink fabric is Ankara in my work.
It is a great technique that adds lots of texture to the quilt. Since the pieces aren't fused and keep moving, this technique requires some careful work to make sure that the fabric is where you want it to be and doesn't sewn around the presser foot.
In keeping with the ragged edging I used last time, I used this trim around the quilt to finish it off.
15 Minutes to Stitch 2024
I still want to try to quilt every day this year. I haven't been updating this every week since I have been so busy working as well as making quilts for the challenges and recording and editing the videos to show them, but I have definitely been working every day.
For this week’s project, I want to see what’s normally hidden!
Make a project with exposed seams or a raw-edge finish. Take on a
bag pattern or other project that is constructed inside out and then
literally “birthed” as part of the process. Or use this as a theme and
demonstrate your unique inside-out perspective.
Rule One: Some part of your project must thematically or literally be inside out.
I had decided before the challenge was announced that I would make a journal quilt if it was possible with the challenge requirements. A journal quilt is the size of a piece of paper. Even though I don't think the size of the previous projects were too big, I thought a smaller project might save me some time. I have another quilt I am making for the blog hop which I will show you on Thursday and I wanted to save time to make it.
I started out with a quilt sandwich. The top is a fabric I used for the Improv Portraits quilt. The batting and backing are leftovers from other Project Quilting quilts. I sketched out a heart on it using a heat erasable pen.
I used strips of fabric that were trimmings from the blog hop quilt and cut some more to applique onto the heart shape I had made.
After I finished sewing all the strips on, I trimmed them to make sure they combined to make the shape of a heart. This was scary to cut while the pieces are sewn on the quilt. Instead of using the shiny ribbon I had planned to use to cover up the raw edges on the outside, I tried a trimming of the fabric I had used to make the heart, and I really liked it, so I cut more that size to add as a border/binding.
Another quilter had made a raw edge border for the quilt and I loved that idea so the fabric is raw edge. I added the strips of fabric around the edge of the quilt using a heart embroidery stitch, then trimmed away the leftover batting and backing.
I think it looks good as is, and doesn't need any additional embellishment. I loved running my fingers through the ragged edges.
Here's a quote I found for it.
“You awaken your True spirit by way of the broken heart: ragged, vulnerable, fierce and finally compassionate. ”
Jack Kornfield
I created a YouTube video for this quilt if you want to see the entire process. I resisted the urge to put suspense music while I was trimming the heart. It will be published Sunday Feb. 11 at 10 a.m. I am going to go ahead and publish this blog post now though, so that I can link it up right away to the challenge.
Take inspiration from the colors of the sky, but exclude or use less than 10% of the usual blue.
I decided to use my Derwent Inktense pencils (affiliate link) to color the sky so I found a relatively plain background. I knew it would need something in the foreground for interest and decided to find a horse pattern to applique on my quilt. I haven't ever used a horse and I am not so sure why I was intimidated by using a horse. Maybe because it is so intricate with skinny legs.
I used a pattern for the horse but I cut the rest of the pieces free form and fused most of the pieces on to the background. Then I colored the sky, which is scary. I should have done the sky first in case there was a problem, but I think it looks fine. I don't know if it is a sky after a storm, or dusk or dawn, but it is pretty and fits the theme. Big sky with enough to keep it interesting.
I secured the applique with a free motion quilting, and I added the wavy lines in the sky. I bound it with the fence fabric. I hope it doesn't feel like a fenced in horse. I put the fence behind the horse so it wouldn't look too contained. There is space for the horse to get to the other side of the fence, and endless space in front where we are standing. I decided to hand stitch the binding.
It looks like a nice calm scene. Here's a quote I found for it.
"There is something infinitely healing in the repeated refrains of nature - the assurance that dawn comes after night, and spring after winter." - Rachel Carson
My quilt was ready on time, but by the time I uploaded the photos and wrote the blog post, it was too late to submit for the challenge. I got distracted while I was waiting for the upload.
I did film the process and will post the Youtube video here after I have finished editing it.
I made my first quilt of the year for the first Project Quilting challenge. Project Quilting is a challenge that was started years ago by Kim Lapacek of Persimmon Dreams. It is inspired by Project Runway challenges.
Every other week for the first three months of the year, Kim's friend, Tricia Franklin, posts a theme. Quilters then make quilts based on this theme. The quilt cannot be started before the challenge is posted, and must be finished by the deadline, which is only one week later.
Where there is righteousness in the heart, there is beauty in the character. When there is beauty in the character, there is harmony in the home. When there is harmony in the home, there is order in the nation. When there is order in the nation, there is peace in the world.
The challenge this week is to make a quilt inspired by a birdhouse.
I did some cursory searches for some birdhouse patterns, but I was attracted by a quilt that someone had made on Facebook based on a quilt pattern by Cheri Payne. It isn't a birdhouse, but it is a house and does have a bird in it so it works in my book. I really liked the fact that it wasn't a rectangular quilt, and decided to make something like that.
For the rest of the week, I kept finding other birdhouse patterns, and it was hard not to switch plans, but my rule is to go with the first instinct. It keeps me from overthinking things, and in the end, I am so glad I stayed with my plan.
There aren't houses where I live with two chimneys, but there are other architectural features. I am not sure whether this is called a gable, but I will call it that until I learn otherwise.
I made the house, added a door and window. I used a stiffer middle layer instead of batting. I am not sure whether this is Peltex or Timtex, but I am pretty sure I bought it for fabric bowls. Since the quilt wasn't rectangular, I think it needs more support. I thought about a binding, but decided to take it easy on myself and birthed the quilt.
I encountered a lot of obstacles in making this quilt, but I was having so much fun making this quilt so it didn't faze me. I nicked my thumb with a rotary blade. My bobbin ran out of thread, twice, because I used bobbins that weren't full. I didn't get a good camera angle for the ironing station and wound up being in the way and the camera kept focusing on my sweater. Then both of my cameras ran out of battery even though I had charged them to prepare for this videoing quilt for YouTube. (I use one for talking, watching the ironing station and the sewing machine, and the phone camera for overhead shots).
I have beautiful fabrics on the table because I am collecting them for an autobiography quilt, and they really helped me make this wonderful quilt that feels very Indian.
Here is a link to the challenge post so you can see what everyone else made. Mine is #198 so there is lots of inspiration to see.
Here is the YouTube video that shows the entire process from start to finish:
I finished the quilt formerly known as Tuxedo Vest. Since the name is based on the fabrics on what is now the background, I am changing the name to African Garden to refer to the applique which is now the focal point.
This was the quilt as I left it in 2021. It was supposed to be a simple baby quilt, but I don't know anyone who would want it as a baby quilt. I thought about keeping it, but I would need a lap quilt so my original plan was to add more columns and make it larger. But it didn't motivate me to continue.
When I finished the Portraits quilt and listed the chart that I include every time I start or finish a quilt, I realized that I needed to get some more finishes in order to meet my very easy goal of finishing more quilts than I start.
I pulled out the Tuxedo Vest quilt but kept it in my bedroom until I was ready to work on it in an effort to keep the sewing studio clean for the YouTube videos.
I bought a bunch of African fabrics and put them in the same staging area in my bedroom until I was ready to film them. Placing them together like that with the Tuxedo Vest quilt gave me the idea that I could use them to applique on the quilt.
I was originally thinking of adding just one or two motifs to help the floral fabric and the stripe fabric work better together. I cut out a bunch of motifs to try them out on the quilt, and I couldn't reject any of them, so I used all of the ones I cut.
I used my general technique to combine the applique and the quilting. I secured the edges of the appliue and then stippled the background.
I tried to add a piece from an older quilt, but they are shiny, and I decided to use this piece from the stash of fabrics. I think I have used some of the background fabric in another quilt so the continuity is there, and I can use scraps of this quilt in another quilt.
I made a YouTube video about the process if you are interested in seeing that.
I've made a lot of quilts this year but I need to finish at least one more to meet my goal of finishing more quilts than I start. One thing about keeping records, I know it is not a record year in terms of started or finished quilts.
Before I create the August folder for photographs, since this is a quilting blog, I thought I would show additional photographs I took of Aminah Robinson's work at the Underground Railroad Freedom Center in Cincinnati, Ohio. Some of these photos are of the same area, but the different angle or zoom leads the eye to different areas so I am including them.
She uses the term, "RagGonNon" which is a play on rag on and on. She makes her work using found objects, like fabric, beads, shells, leaves, thread, and paint.
There is stuffed pieces here, creating dimension.
You can see that there are different "blocks" with different themes, joined together. Some of it is painted.
You can enlarge this label to see more information about these pieces. As you can see, they are huge, and measured in feet instead of inches.
As you can see, the edges aren't straightened.
Because it is so big, it is hard to show the top of the quilt.
A while ago, I showed you the quilt I received for the art quilt swap that was organized by one of my Facebook groups, Stitching with Fibers, Paper and More. Today, I thought I would show you the quilt I made for my swap partner.
I made two so I could choose the best one for my partner. It would also show that I did give my partner a quilt that I would be happy to get myself. I tend to worry that the quilt I like may not be a quilt the recipient will like. Making two quilts helped, because one of those was mine, so I could make it to please myself, and the other one just used the same techniques.
I started out with a variety of fabric and paper scraps. I have been focusing on the blue/green turquoise/aqua color scheme from Ringo Lake and decided to keep with that, but most of these scraps aren't from Ringo Lake. There are lots of upholstery scraps, paper and fabric scraps. I decided to do raw edge to make it more artsy and less traditional.
I added a border fabric on two sides.
The stitching that holds them down also double as quilting lines. I added the heart stitching around some of the edges to secure the edges.
The heart is a separate quilt (three layers and batting) that was appliqued on. I glued on paper hearts in case there wasn't enough paper. One of the rules of the quilt is to use 25% materials that you are not familiar with, and there are only a few squares of paper, so I thought adding more would bring it closer to 25%, although the upholstery and other fabrics should also count in the "fabrics I'm not familiar with" category.
Here are the two quilts. Neither of these stand out better than the other one to me. I mailed the one on the left because I thought it had a neater looking heart, and because it was skinnier and fit the envelope better.
They both have different hanging techniques. That was also one of the guidelines for the swap. I usually use applique pins for quilts this small.
I made a mistake in the mailing address so my partner did not receive the original quilt. I mailed her the other one last week to replace the lost one, and the tracking number shows she received this on Saturday, so I can finally show these to you.
