Way Back When - Day 18

My First Pattern

When I first started quilting I made basic squares that were fussy cut with the image I wanted highlighted. A few years later I learned to use graph paper to create my first quilt with squares on point. I think it turned out pretty well and is still one of my favorite baby quilts.

In 2003, a neighbor passed away had had this gingham fabric in her collection. I was given a lot of her vintage fabric and to this day I am still making quilts from this amazing stash. I love her fabrics from the 1950's and 1960's because of the fun colors and soft cottons. I'll to post pictures of them one day.

What was your first quilt pattern?

Thankful! - Day 17

I am so very thankful for a lot in my life. I know I was pretty grumpy this week because of work but when I sit and really think about all that I have in this life I can stand back and appreciate my blessings.

My Love:
The love of my life gives me the space and time to be creative. I always hear praise for a completed project and suggestions to improve a piece when I am stuck.  My love is a math genius and a spatial relations guru that I use to help me when I can't quite make my math-challenged brain find a solution to a problem. After almost 13 years, I am still in awe of how lucky I am.

My Home:
I love the home I have in Florida. The space is perfect for the two of us. We have decorated it with colorful walls and lots of art. It's also filled with great memories. I have a whole room in the house (our former guest room) to be as messy as I want when I am sewing.

It's two blocks from an amazing lake front and park. I love how easy it is to soak in nature for a bit and take our dog out for her walks. (She doesn't love it as much now that she's getting older and is mostly blind, but we make her go anyway.) Our neighborhood is quiet for the most part and it's our place to call home.

My favorite view of Lake Monroe on my morning walk.

My Art:
Sewing, quilting, drawing. I love it all. It helps soothes me when I feel insane and allows me to be creative when I feel stuck after a crazy day of work. I am making more of an effort to be creative each day. Whether it's doodling in a notebook or breaking out the cutting tools, fabric and sewing machine, I do find solace each day in doing something that's just for fun.
After complaining in a previous post about feeling stuck on a project, I decided to put it away and make something colorful. Here's a quilt top that I started last night to break out of my doldrums. It was a simple and easy way to make a rainbow happen this week.

You:
I am thankful that you are reading this post right now. I appreciate your time and wish you a great weekend filled with fun and creativity.

Way Back When - Day 11

Back in the day, I loved creating art on any surface. I used paper, sketchbooks, and canvas to share how I was feeling at the time. Once I delved into quilting, I couldn't stop. Fabric and thread spoke to me in a way that no other art medium could. Sharpies and oil pastels are still my favorite ways to create my initial ideas that later become quilts. Plus, I like the practical nature of giving something that's artistic and functional at the same time in a quilt. 

Here's a diptych I made a few years ago:

Cosmic Lovers
(Oil pastels on canvas)

I had dreams of making this into a quilt for a long time. I gave it to my brother-in-love in PA and forgot all about it until recently. I am putting it up here to remind myself to make this piece a fabric reality some time soon.

Babies!

I adore making baby quilts. They were easier to make when I first learned how to piece and quilt so I made a few of them as my friends and family started having kids. This little Noah's Ark quilt was created for my nephew 6 years ago. I found this fabric on a road trip to PA and knew I wanted all of those colors to fill his crib with color and love after he was born.

He couldn't stop somersaulting while I was trying to get pictures.
He's quite adorable!

I wish I had close up photos of the variegated rainbow thread used to piece these blocks together and applique the little animals around the front border. I even quilted an A for his name in the center which you can see faintly. The back was hand painted fabric by my girlfriend which I bordered on all sides with rainbow scraps of fabric. (I forgot to allow for the large binding and so you can't even see the hearts and colors that border the back that I was so proud of piecing.)

 It took me forever to do the math on the color blocks on the front and back to make them fit together! This was made long before I had my techniques down and so I see all of these things I would change now if I had to make this quilt again. Nevertheless it's still one of my favorites.

I have come along way in my style and with my designs but do enjoy this trip down memory lane to see where I started.

My First Modern Quilt - Day 4

Flashback Friday 

My first modern quilt was made in 2004 before I knew there was even such a thing outside of traditional quilt making. I used red, black and white to make a baby quilt for friends who were researching the use of these high-contrast colors. (They later decided to do yellow and green instead so this has been in my personal collection a long time.)

I entered it into a local fair as a baby quilt in 2005 thinking it would stand out and be an avant garde design. I came in second place to a quilt that was literally pastel squares in a row because the judges said it did not look like a baby quilt. I saw that as a compliment because I didn't want to make something you would find in a store.

The Design

I was chopping up this red-striped fabric I love and started arranging them in lines. Then I would cut through them and rearrange them sew and cut again. I stopped when I came up with a panel that spoke to me. I took the red, black, and white dots fabric and made rectangles. I cut them in half and added the white. I placed them in a diamond pattern to help frame the center.  I also wanted to use black satin binding because I didn't want a light color that would show all of the baby stains it could potentially acquire. I thought it needed some color to break up some of the black before I started quilting it. The scraps from the red-striped fabric were sewn together to make a top and bottom strip to help break up all of the black that seemed to over power it. (After all, they were not Goth parents.)

Here's the front view:

I wanted to make an interesting pattern on the back and cut the stripes on a diagonal. I lined them up so they would make a diamond pattern when sewn together.  I quilted it in a spiral because it looked so hypnotic to me.

Back view:

My quilting has come a long way since this first venture into what I called an avante garde baby quilt at the time. This quilt started my love for making quilts that are not what you would typically find in books or stores.

The current modern quilting movement has given me a place to call home.

Is it Fall yet?

Summer is the craziest time of year for me. My job keeps me pretty busy from April until September. So, of course, my blog gets put on the later pile of things to do.
I have made time to quilt and sew over the last few months even if I haven't stopped to share them with you. Some projects have kept me sane while I tackle the chaos that is my life once a year.

Picture Time!

Block of the Month (BOM)

Pippi Longstocking Block with an Afro.
I wanted my OMQG August BOM to look like me.

*Somehow I don't have a picture of my July BOM for the Orlando Modern Quilt Guild (OMQG) using the Snail Trail design. I guess in the excitement of choosing the BOM I forgot. It was made using red, black, gray and white colors. I'll be making more of those blocks so you'll see it again soon. (It's on the main website from the June monthly meeting in case you're curious.)

The Geo Swirl
Of course I made a rainbow swirl!

Chev N' Hex
Sewn by hand...never again I say!

Diamond Carat
Sewn by machine using clear thread...so much faster!

The Switz Block

Half way done with the Skillbuilder BOM

Half way done with the Skillbuilder BOM

I'm really in love with these rainbow BOM and can't wait to see how they will come together when they are done later this year. I enjoyed paper piecing more than I thought I would and will definitely take on more of those projects now.

In addition to my BOM for Skillbuilder and OMQG, I've also finished many projects for the annual Wayne County Fair. My "In-Laws" live in PA and each year I share my artwork in their local county fair. This started my passion in 2004 for creating unusual quilts, canvas work, and various household items to enter even if I don't win. I've made "modern" quilts before it was considered an actual art form in quilting and usually came in second or honorable mention next to traditional designs. I don't fault them for not getting my work. I think it was just too far out there for them to see what I wanted to present. If I knew there was going to be Modern quilt movement, I would have found "my people" years ago.

August Fair Items

Quilted Purse-Modified pattern from Modern Patchwork Magazine (2012). I added a strap and finished it with black borders. I also quilted the black and gray portion of the chevron for some texture. The straps can be tucked inside to make a fun clutch.

 

 

    

Baby Bunting-I created my own pattern with a huge poster board and used hexagons to create a fun little wrap for a little one. I sewed down one flap to keep the feet tucked inside and warm. At the suggestion of my sister-in-law, I didn't add any closure for the outside flap so there are no potential choking hazards or scratchy Velcro tabs. I didn't have actual baby or doll to try it out but it's soft and cozy to the touch.

Baby Blanket - Finished baby gingham stripped quilt. I used the left over squares to make a border and added a simple blue gingham backing fabric.

Christmas Gift Bag - Made a simple quilted bag with drawstrings for a holiday gift. I used a simple Santa fabric with green and red borders. (I didn't take any clear pictures of the front but I love the stripes on the back the most anyway. It makes me think of candy canes!)

Finished Home Items

Table Runner -Made from great Shoo Fly block Lotto win. Thanks to Michelle from OMQG I mastered the art of continuous binding and love the result.

French Press Cover- I used left over strips to make a fun rainbow cover for our beloved French Press. It's lined with Insul-bright to keep fantastic coffee warm. It's fastened with Velcro and (thanks to my girlfriend) found that it looks great in reverse too with the fun circle fabric I used as backing.

                                                     

Dog Blanket - My remaining dog blanket for the OMQG charity project. This was the last of my Michael Miller Noah's Ark scraps from my nephew's baby quilt. (He's now 5 and it was time to use them up!)

There is more to come later this month. I can't wait to share notes and photos from my class with Jacquie Gering!

Thanks for stopping by and reading all the way down to the end of this crazy-long post.