Gee’s Bend Experiment

Earlier this year I listened to the MQG webinar about modern quilting.  Heather provided a list of books and resources for further information about the origins and practices of modern art, quilting, and graphic design.

Have you ever heard of Josef Albers?  Please don’t laugh, but I never had.  I didn’t know that those square in a square in a square paintings at museums were actually color studies—how colors interact when different shades are placed next to each other.  I think one of the reasons I was never able to see that is normally there are one or two of those pictures on display.  It takes seeing several together to be able to discern the color play at work (at least for me).

Although I picked the colors for my next quilt from a computer screen, the way the navy and the fuchsia interact is better than I could have ever hoped…the blue starts to look almost purple with the fuchsia next to it.

So why is this a Gee’s Bend Experiment?  The quilt design is a popular variation of a Gee’s Bend quilt, called the bricklayer.

And then I decided to approach the quilt construction from a Gee’s Bend perspective too.  The quiltmakers didn’t use rotary cutters or rulers for most of their designs, they ripped strips from whatever fabric they had on hand.  No measuring, just ripping.  The first rip was a little scary, but after a few strips, I wasn’t afraid of ruining the fabric anymore.

I used a little bigger than normal seam allowance, 3/8”, to make the piecing more stable.  And I just trimmed each strip with scissors, no rulers or rotary cutter.

I’m not sure exactly how this quilt will develop after I finish the bricklayer section, but I’m using this photo of a Gwen Marston quilt, on the left, as my other piece of inspiration.  The quilt on the right is the Gee’s Bend quilt I studied.

Have a great week!

Time Flies

This past weekend we gifted this quilt to my friend’s daughter who turned 9.  She is the first baby I held besides a few times as a teenager babysitting (I worked in a restaurant all through high school so I didn’t get much of a chance to babysit).  She was born about 6 months before my first baby, so I learned everything from watching her grow up.  Not only does the quilt have cute retro clocks on it, but making this quilt reminded me how quickly our babies grow up.

The finished quilt measures 58 x 58 and is the perfect size for a lap quilt and definitely big enough for her to snuggle underneath. 

The fabrics are a nice mix of Lori Holt and Denyse Schmidt.  The binding is a Holly Holderman print originally slated to bind a Valentine’s Day quilt, but it just went so well with this quilt I had to use it.

The quilting is a mix of flowers, loops, back-and-forth lines, and meandering. 

I’m not sure if making the photo black and white makes it any easier to see the stitches and texture, but the quilting adds another dimension to the mixture of busy fabrics on the front.

The backing fabric is this pretty pastel and gray floral print by Lori Holt.  I ran out of gray thread just as I was finishing up the quilting, so I used white for the bobbin.  Boy, is it noticeable if you know what you’re looking for!  I will never do that again!!!

So there you have it!  I wish we could have stayed at the party for the unwrapping of the gifts, but that day was my daughters’ dance recital and they were all just so exhausted we had to leave a little early.  (Plus, we narrowly averted a pool party disaster, so it was time to go!)  Linking up to Fort Worth Fabric Studio and Crazy Mom Quilts.

Dreamcatcher {a finished quilt}

This quilt was made with Kate Spain’s new Daydreams line from The Intrepid Thread.  The colors are deep purple and pinkish corals with a hint of orange thrown in for good measure.

I modified the Criss-Crossed Quilt from February to make this quilt appear to have wonky 4-patch blocks, like this:

Or wonky crosses like this:

I don’t know which one my eye sees better when I look at the quilt.  But either way I like it!

What do you think of the texture of the quilting?  This double loop pattern came straight out of Angela Walters’s first free motion quilting book.  I never was able to do loops on my domestic machine, but I practiced on a drawing pad and then drew a diagram on an index card which I taped right on the front of my longarm machine.  After a few minutes I was able to take the index card off.  My brain knew what it was doing (for the most part).  Of course my quilting is nowhere near as good as Angela’s, but not too shabby for a first try!

The back is pieced with leftover gray fabric and pink striped fabric long forgotten but re-discovered to finally fulfill its destiny as the back of a quilt, along with a big section of Arcadia in Scarlet.

Arcadia features hummingbirds, rabbits, butterflies, and roosters and has such a fanciful feeling.  One thing is for sure, pieced backs always take longer.  I put this one together with four girls running amuck through the house this past Saturday and, for the hour or two it took, questioned my sanity several times, but the effect is worth the effort in the end…right?

I framed the cloth label in leftover purple and coral.  This quilt is for Veronica so I will write her name on there with an indelible fabric marker and date it.

She loves the quilt and even volunteered for a photo using it.

It finishes at 70” square.  The binding is Kona Punch.  The lattice is Kona Silver and the background is mostly Kona Shadow, but I ran out and had to improvise with some other grays from my stash.  I owe one to Bea for coming up with the idea of ombre.  How did she even know that word???!!!  I tried to cluster the darks in the bottom corner and have the color attenuate into light gray.

What do you think?  Would you classify this as a modern quilt?  Wonky with an edge?  I loved every part of making this quilt and hope it shows.

Linking up with Crazy Mom Quilts and Fort Worth Fabric Studio on Friday. 

2BB (Two Bee Blocks)

I sewed curves!!!  That’s the beauty of bees, trying something new.  Maybe there’s a block you’ve been wanting to make—the x & + block for example, but you just don’t have the time to make a entire quilt of the block.  I’ve made it twice this year already, without the commitment of making an entire quilt top and actually quilting it.  I love picking the fabric for a block, sewing it up, and mailing it off.  All in one day! 

Sewing these curves was easier than I expected.  In fact, I’d say it was easy as pizza pie (which is what my daughter nicknamed this block).  This block finished at 24” square.

Don’t you just love the crossword puzzle fabric?  The recipient requested fabric appropriate for a young boy.  I had so much fun picking fabrics that are outside my usual girly tastes.

And this is my blocks for Make It Modern.  I used some of my all-time most favorite fabrics including Farmdale, Washi, and Flea Market Fancy.  What a great scrap-busting take on the snowball block!

Are you in any bees?  Two bees I’m in are on hiatus after this summer, but after a little break I’ll be on the lookout for another one to join.  Any suggestions?

Hungry Caterpillar in Progress

This quilt is perfect for attempting new free motion quilting designs.  I have been wanting to try new designs besides stippling for a long time.  Unfortunately, every time I’ve tried something new, it hasn’t turned out very good.  (Disclaimer:  By no means is this free motion quilting very good, either, it’s just not hideous!)

I think the saving grace is that the drawings have a “scribble” quality to them, so my quilting can be scribbly too.  I quilted all over this butterfly and then did pointy stippling around it.

I also did some outlining and lines on this caterpillar.  I had the crazy idea to try pebbling for the first time and outline all the little circles in the center of this quilt.  I think it might have been a little harder to “stay in the lines” by outlining rather than try pebbling on my own, but it’s all pebbled and I love the texture it gives the frames around the center panel!

My favorite design is this flower.  How easy it was to do and looks okay, too!

A couple things I did this time to make free motion quilting more of a pleasure than a pain:

• taped down the supreme slider
• wore my Machinger’s gloves
• remembered (after just a few minutes of quilting) to set the speed control on my machine to a much slower speed than I use to piece
• used Aurifil 50 wt. thread which runs so smoothly through my machine
• changed out my bobbin case and throat plate for a special model made specifically for fmq for my machine that I’ve had for years and forgot about

The basic premise of a Malcolm Gladwell book I read a few years ago was that people become “experts” in their field after putting in 10,000 hours of practice.  So, I have about 9,997 more hours to go!

I also wanted to share this funny photo from this morning.  Our squirrel-proof bird feeder needs to be replaced! 

Have a great day! 

A trip to the library

About a week ago I started taking the girls to the public library again.  When my oldest was little, we went nearly every single week to story time.  For one reason or another, we stopped going when my youngest was born.  While browsing the kids’ shelves for books, this one caught my eye.  With “quilt” in the title, it was right up our alley!  (Actually, there are a surprising amount of quilt themed books in the children’s section.)

After reading the book to my girls, Esther asked if I would make her a Mooshka quilt.  How could I refuse!  The fabric came yesterday.

I’ve got a good start on my design wall (and a Hungry Caterpillar quilt in the works, too).  When I called Esther in this morning to see it, she told me that the black leaf fabric is not in the Mooshka quilt.  Smart little girl!  I couldn’t help add in some fabrics that aren’t in the original.  Maybe I will take them out.  I’m not sure.  Esther said it would be okay if I keep them in.  I also included some fabrics from Julie Paschkis’s Chickadee line to make it a little easier on me to have variety throughout the quilt.  I am going to leave those in.

I couldn’t resist getting these pretties along with the Mooshka fabric.  It’s called Painted Summer by Lida Enche for In the Beginning Fabrics.  I have a not-so-secret obsession with hummingbirds, really birds in general.  If you’ve never seen the movie The Big Year, I highly recommend it!  It made me see birdwatching in a new light.

This is my newest hummingbird feeder for the front porch.  So far we’ve had three different visitors.  If you don’t have your hummingbird feeders up, now is the time!

Pinwheels

In honor of spring finally showing herself around these parts (sorry people who just got snow), I wanted to make a bright and cheerful quilt using Happy-Go-Lucky.  I started with a layer cake and subtracted out all the red fabrics.  Added a few 10” squares of Ruby to make up the difference.  And sashed it in a red Vintage Modern print.  I think it all adds up to bright and cheerful Bonnie & Camille medley!

This blue pindot and floral is my favorite block of the bunch.  Not the most flashy, but it has a classic, clean look I am drawn to.

I did learn something about making pinwheels from constructing this quilt top.  I didn’t pay attention—or rather I thought I was paying attention and I wasn’t—to the direction of the darker print in each pinwheel.  Next time I’ll get it right!

Linking up to WIP Wednesday.  Have a wonderful day!

Make It Modern March Sponsor

The Fat Quarter Shop is sponsoring an amazing prize for members of the Make It Modern quilting bee on Flickr.  The winner for March is getting a fat quarter bundle of Bonnie and Camille’s newest line for Moda, Happy Go Lucky!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

How sweet is this fabric?  And how sweet is the Fat Quarter Shop for being such a generous sponsor?!!?

The Fat Quarter Shop has a seemingly endless array of fabrics, thread, patterns, and a huge sale section that I frequent every chance I get.  I love to stock up on great deals on everyday fabric basics like this one--only $6.30 a yard for Annie’s Farmstand dots on red…

and get a few yards of fabrics that might make perfect backing fabric for a project I’ve got in the works.  Like this…

At $5.38 a yard, these Cabana Blooms Tiles would make an bright and bold statement on the back of a quilt.

What I am waiting with bated breath for is Sarah Watson’s newest line that should be available in stores in early April.  It’s called Indian Summer.

Yes, I am totally psyched about this newest line of fabric and have already very conveniently signed up to be notified when the fabric is available for sale.  The Fat Quarter Shop lets you sign up your email address to be notified as soon as it’s available.  How convenient is that?!!?

The Fat Quarter Shop was the very first online shop I purchased fabric from back when I was in a sock monkey phase and needed lots of Erin Michael’s Funky Monkeys and Monkeyin’ Around fabrics.  I’ll tell you, the Fat Quarter Shop had them all!  I’ve been shopping with them for about 7 years now, and every experience has exceeded my expectations---through the roof! 

The Jolly’s run a very professional, yet fun, fabric store.  And their generosity to bloggers and quilters everywhere is unparalleled.  Thanks, Fat Quarter Shop, for making March a month to remember for one lucky winner!!!

I’ve created a monster!

For Christmas, Bea got a Janome DC1050 and the book Pretty in Patchwork Doll Quilts from Santa. 

She and I marked the quilting lines with a washable pen. I was a little worried that since it sat around 2 weeks before she actually quilted it that the blue marks wouldn’t wash out. But they did!

Santa also brought two doll clothes books that came with instructional DVDs.  We sewed this dress on Christmas day.

I love the little appliqued daisies with button centers.

According to Bea’s first grade teacher, she writes about sewing in her morning journal nearly every single day.  And these came home in her folder in January.  Of course I saved them!

I’m not sure what one person would do with 100 sewing machines, but it sounds good to me!  I love the little drawing of a sewing machine she put at the bottom.

My husband jokes that one day “the student shall become the master.”

Linking up to Crazy Mom Quilts Finish It Up Friday.  Have a great weekend and hope you get lots of sewing done!

Seeing Straight

Have you ever heard someone say, “If you can sew a straight seam, you can make a quilt”?  I can make a quilt, but I can’t seem to sew straight lines very well!

I attempted to quilt this with parallel vertical lines.  I followed the edge of my walking foot to try to make all the lines evenly spaced, but they are neither perfectly straight or evenly spaced!

My favorite block is this butter yellow version with the bird in the middle.  Every single piece of every single block was made from scraps only, which I’m kind of proud of.  I almost cracked on the last green block and used some fabric from my stash, but then I pulled myself together and looked through my scraps one more time to find two strips long enough for the last two sides.  Victory!

The binding is this great Loulouthi stripe I had in my stash.  And the backing is a SSI yellow swirly fabric I bought in my early sewing days.  It’s not something I’d probably buy today, but I’m glad to finally have a use for it! 

The finished quilt is made of 42 9 1/2 inch blocks and measures 54” x 63”.  It will be gifted at Christmas to relatives visiting my great aunt.  She asked me to make a quilt for them.  Hope they like it!

Linking up to Ellison Lane Quilt’s Scrappy Stash QAL.  Thanks, Jennifer, for putting together such a fun project!