Recycled Project Update

I've been working on the recycled clothing quilt project in between other things.  First, I made 30  blocks like this.

 I also needed some smaller squares and rectangles to get the dimensions I need for width & length.

Today I spent time on the layout and am working on putting the rows together.  Here's a peak at how its shaping up.

I'm happy with how it looks and the progress I made today.

Quilts as Ambassadors

Walking into church this morning I was pleasantly surprised to see a quilted banner hanging in the sanctuary that was made by our small but mighty quilt group.  There were 3 of us who came up with the concept for this quilt; the other 2 contributed fabrics and traced hands, but I put it together and did the quilting.  And other than seeing it hang each fall, I forgot about it. So it was nice to be reminded today.  And to look at it and be happy with the work.

That got me to thinking about how the quilts we make and send out into the world - as gifts, charity projects, donations in support of a cause - are ambassadors.  They embody the care, time, dedication, skill, comfort and love we put into each one.  Almost like a child you have nurtured and watched grow, until they are ready to go off on their own.  And wherever they end up, we have faith that they are providing warmth and comfort, and surrounding their owners with the love that went into making them.

Quilt Documentation at Virginia Historical Society

I spent Saturday in Richmond, VA at the Virginia Historical Society to help with a quilt documentation day, co-sponsored by the Virginia Consortium of Quilters and the Virginia Quilt Museum.  We are hosting documentation days around the state to gather information about quilts and their makers in the state of Virginia, and to build a database of that information which will be housed at the museum and available for future research on textile history, genealogy and material culture.

It was a very busy day!  Documentation began at 10 AM; it was scheduled to end at 4 PM, but people were still patiently waiting with their quilts so it was 6:00 by the time we finished.  I spent the first part of the day helping with photography - that was a great job because I got to see every quilt during that part of the day.

 

I didn't get to take many pictures, though, because the day was so busy.  Quilts ranged from pre-Civil War to late 20th century.  Quilt owners could bring up to 3 quilts.  These pictures show the documentation teams at work and the owners patiently waiting for their turn.

I spent the afternoon learning to look carefully at a quilt to document its fabrics, patterns, methods of construction, time period, batting, backing, quilting, and anything else you might think of to identify.  It was quite an educational and fascinating process!  And many of the quilts were spectacular, despite the effects of time and wear on the fabrics.

Above is one I helped document, notable for its "cheddar" yellow fabric that is typically 1850's time period.  I took 3 family quilts along to document, but didn't get a chance to do them.  There will be more dates in October, November, January and February.  I'll share some pictures in another post.  All in all, a tiring but very worthwhile day.

 

Sacred Threads Quilts 2013

Back in July I was fortunate to visit a quilt exhibit held locally but with participants from all over the US.  Held every 2 years, the Sacred Threads exhibit features art quilts that seek to touch the viewer on a spiritual and personal level.   Quilts fit the themes of joy, spirituality, inspiration, grief, healing and peace/brotherhood.  The maze-like layout of the show with music quietly playing in the background make it easy to lose yourself in the spirituality, beauty and excellence of the quilts.  Here are a few of my favorites - just a very small sampling of the amazing work by incredible quilt artists.

Another Finished Quilt

The annual guild quilt show is not till June, but quilts we want to show have to be finished NOW for photography and planning, so along with Song Sung Blue which will be in the show, I was also working to finish another piece to put in the show.  This one actually got its start a few years ago at quilt camp, when I made the colored rectangles.  They were some hand-dyed pieces that I created textures on using paint sticks; I did each texture in the same color on each piece to see how the colors interacted.  Last summer I finally fused them to a black background, added the border and started the hand quilting.  Since it was kind of plain, and a color study, I decided to emphasize the colors with perle cotton and big stitch quilting. It's been a slow process, since I don't spend a lot of time on hand work, but it is finished!  This one is 24" wide and 40" long.

Quilting Blue Song

I've been working on the quilting for 2 days - first the blue flowers, then the sky, and finally the stems and leaves.  The colors blend in pretty well, so it's not super visible, just gives it some definition.  I still have the grass and butterflies to do.

Home Is Where the Quilt Is

In early October I went to the Sewing and Quilt Expo. This year's expo was very enjoyable. I missed it last year, so it was like a breath of fresh air - exceptional quilt displays and a great variety of vendors, different from the usual quilt shows. Here are a few pictures of "Home is Where the Quilt Is"; these house-shaped quilts will be auctioned in November to support the work of The Alliance for American Quilts. The auction begins on Nov.12, with a different set of quilts offered each week for 4 weeks.

 

Arts & Old Lace Sneak Peak

Arts & Old Lace is a quilt challenge put together by two local quilters, Judy Gula of Artistic Artifacts and Cyndi Souder of Moonlighting Quilts.  The challenge was simply to create an 18" quilt with this theme; a kit of fabrics and laces was provided, but not required to be used.  I made 2 pieces for the challenge which will debut July 21.  I won't show the completed pieces until after that date, but I thought I'd share a few close-up shots of what I've been working on for the last month.

  Need I mention that both pieces contain screen printing?  Visible in the first picture but not so much in the second.  Stay tuned for more pictures later.

Baby Gifts

This is the year for babies at work.  We've already had 1 adoption and 3 births (1 set of twins).  This week there's another shower coming up for 4 more expected late May through early July. Back in February I purchased ribbon balnket kits to make for this group, and got them sewn up this past week.  They are super soft minky fabric on one side and flannel on the other, with a layer of batting in between. The colorful ribbons provide additional texture and things to grab onto. They are about 13" square.  The ribbons are cut to 5" and stitched to the flannel/batting layers before sandwiching with the minky.  Kudos to Quilting Adventures quilt shop in Richmond for this cute pattern/kit.

The babies receiving these are 3 boys and 1 girl.  The strawberries, of course, are for the girl; the flannel side is green.  The navy with large dots has an Eric Carle dotted flannel on the back side.  The dots with white backgrounds have a navy and an orange flannel on the reverse sides. All washed and ready to gift!

Block Lotto

Celebration, our bi-annual quilting retreat for Virginia Consortium of Quilters, is coming up in a couple of weeks.  There is usually a block lotto, where people make blocks according to a selected pattern/fabric, and for each block contributed, get a chance to win a set of blocks for a quilt top.  I finally made my 2 blocks yesterday; this year's block is a traditional design.  The blue is the focus fabric selected by the committee; everyone adds their own white and gold.  Should make a striking quilt.

Previously I posted  a picture of blocks I won 2 years ago.  They are still awaiting borders, hoping to get those done in the next 2 weeks to take along for show & tell!

Secret Projects

I've been working hard to finish some gift items for a quilting retreat later this month.  While I can't share complete pictures of the projects, here's a sneak peak at what I've been working on.

Look forward to showing the whole thing in a few weeks!

Playing with Baby

Today I finally took some time to play with my new Babylock.  I have a small quilt from a Karen Eckmeier workshop 2 years ago that needed to be finished.  It needed some more quilting and binding & sleeve added, so I pulled it off the design wall and got to work.  I wanted to get the binding on, but realized I hadn't quilted the border, so that was the first step. I learned how to wind the bobbin and set the machine up for free motion stitching.  After quilting the border, I went ahead and added the binding and a hanging sleeve.  Then I decided to add some more quilting to the landscape.  I have a bit more quilting to do and maybe some more embellishment, but it's closer to being done, AND I got to play with the machine!  Happy with my purchase so far - lots more to explore.

Going Dotty - Finished!

Back on Jan. 2, I posted pictures of the Dotty challenge in my local guild.  This past weekend I quilted it, and added the binding, label, and hanging sleeve.  Tonight I finished the hand stitching.  Here is the finished piece, ready for the unveiling at Wednesday's guild meeting.

Bird on Pine Branch

In my last post I shared pictures of another screen printed mini quilt in process. Here is the (almost) finished Bird on a Pine Branch. Both the pine branch and the bird were printed with thermofax screens made from original photos.  I took the photo of the pine; my friend Elizabeth took the photo of hte bird on her trip to South Africa. All it needs is to have the binding stitched down on the back. I'm happy with how this one turned out.  This is also my entry for the January Color Palette Challenge at Patchwork Times. (The January entries appear at the bottom of the February challenge information.)

My Blue Heaven

Every 2 years my Virginia state quilt guild (VCQ) has a Celebration retreat with classes by national teachers.  Another fun aspect of the weekend is a 'block lotto' where particpants contribute blocks in hopes of winning a set.  I won these blocks in 2010, and finally pulled them out to try to have a finished quilt to take along this year for show and tell.  This weekend, I squared up the blocks, remade 2 that were a bit too small, and sewed the blocks and rows together.  I'm pleased with the layout, as there was quite a range of color in the blues.  I found a couple of great batiks for borders that should further pull all the colors together.  Stay tuned to see if I get this finished by late April!