This blog records my experiments and successes with fabric and fibers, surface design, stitching, weaving, photography and whatever else strikes my fancy. Enjoy ...
Step-by-step, I am making steady progress on The Loon Lake Quilt. This
weekend, I quilted the backgrounds for the Air and surface of the lake
blocks.
Background quilting for AIR.
The quilt paper with cloud motifs sewn onto the background of the sky blocks.
I used a light colored blue and lilac thread that blends in nicely with the sky colors-- which you can sort of see in the photo at the top of this post.
I spent the morning tracking down a suitable cloud motif, then right-sizing it and then tracing it out onto quilting paper. All that tracing is time well spent in getting to know the motif, putting it into muscle memory, so that it's easier to stitch out when I get to that stage.
Here I am stitching the clouds onto the sky blocks. From this angle, they kind of look like bat wings -- Or maybe that's just late October spilling through?
The quilt paper is tissue paper that I can sew through and see through
-- which allows me to avoid elements in the quilt that I do NOT want to
sew over. In the case above, I did NOT want to sew clouds over the
green hills. The quilting tissue paper also tears off easily -- esp.
after it's been perforated with the stitches. Having the lines drawn on
paper gives me a road map for sewing, otherwise I get lost.
Here's the goldfinch. The clouds just happened to line up nicely to outline his head. I did not stitch clouds over the irises.
Here it is with the tissue paper torn off.
Background quilting for WATER.
I used a different motif for the surface of the water on the lake.
Again, the tissue paper helped me place the motifs while avoiding the appliques elements of the quilt-- like loons and water lilies and dragon flies.
Here is the same block with the paper torn off.
In real life, the loon is popping out of the quilt, while the background is pushed back.
Now to figurte out what to do with the remaining blocks ...
This is the quilt I've been working on lately, but I could not take it to Quilt Camp because it's not a good set-up there with with round tables. This is where it stands now ... I've done a fair amount of work on it, though it's hard to tell from the last time it appeared on Sweet Leaf Notebook.
Since then, I've swapped out a few fabrics for what I felt were better choices -- on the log (again) and some of the lily pad leaves.
With the top sandwiched with batting and backing, the next step is to start stitching through all the layers with the quilting. At this point, I stitched-in-the-ditch along the edges of each block to add some stability before I did the rest of the quilting. The photo above shows in red (dramatic, but only for the purposes of illustration) where I stitched along those block edges. In actuality, I used clear thread.
The next task was to outline all the appliqued elements. The wool batting (Quilter's Dream) has been wonderful to sew through, and it makes thing pop out 3D style once they are outlined in stitch. In the photo above, I quickly outlined those elements in read (again) to give you and idea of what I did this weekend. It's not hard work. It just takes time and patience. I've been working 1 block at a time, matching the outlining thread with the background of each block.
Note: This is an older photo with some of the older fabric colors for the log.
In this photo, you can see the stitched outline around the loon, and how it pushes the background down, and allows the loon to pop up, giving that 3D effect.
Here is one of the fish. Some of the stitching (embroidery) happened BEFORE layered with batting and backing. That stitching adds dimension and detail, but is relatively flat in the grand scheme of things because it's not attached to the backing or the batting layers. It is limited to the quilt top layer. Here again, you can see the outline stitching that makes this fish pop out of the background.
Here's the third fish.
The next step is to figure out what to quilt into the backgrounds. I have some ideas ... but I'll save that for another post. More to come!
While we were in France, I lost a lovely little red velvet beaded coin purse that I must have purchased at The Holiday Folk Fair in Milwaukee years ago. I am please that the Fair will go on this year in November and I might be able to find another one -- or not.
In the meantime, I thought I would try to make one or two or three or four:
I stumbled across this little video and decided to give it a go. I have 4 7-inch zippers left over from making bags during the pandemic, so ...
In my wanderings through St. Vinnie's this week, I found this petite little velvet patchwork jacket for $5 -- much too small for me to wear, but just fine if I want to re-use the material for other things. And it has a little sparkle, too!
Here are the two velvet pouches.
I followed the direction in the video above. She cut the fabric 4 x 6 inches, which makes the rectangular pouch. Turns out, that's a little bigger than I wanted or needed, so I lopped off an inch (cut fabric 4 x 5 inches instead) and made the smaller pouch.
I made 3 of them to start with, following the video step-by-step. Then I decided to make the 4th. I had one more zipper and thought I could do it without the video -- Ha! I made 2 mistakes she warns about in the video: Not only did I forget to open the zipper before I sewed the lining, I also lopped off the zipper head! A little unsewing and a few swear words got the zipper head re-attached, so I didn't have to start all over (or go out and buy a new zipper)!
No fancy beading on these, but I am quite happy with the results.
Leafy lining. Always easier to see what you've got if the lining is light in color.
That said, the velvet pouches needed a little more glitz. Thus the starry night fabric for the lining.
Over all, these were astonishingly easy to make -- esp. when you consider they all have zippers. I may be making more some day. Also a good way to use up some scraps -- and the fabric stash is piling up again!
Jenny Doan from Missouri Quilt Co. explains the process similarly, but she adds an extra piece of fabric to start and stop the zipper. It doesn't seem to be necessary in the first video above -- maybe because the coin pouches are so small? I can see where the zipper stop would be necessary and helpful in a larger pouch.
Years ago, back when I sold my journals at a holiday craft sale, there was a lady across the aisle from me selling recycled wool mittens (The real thing!). She took some of her scraps and had the grandchildren make some lovely hat pins like this one:
In addition to a pair of mittens that year, I bought this hat pin, which has been on my classic wool "house-is-cold" wool hat ever since.
But back to today's hat:
Recently, I acquired a "new" winter hat that needed some embellishment -- So I was looking for You Tube tutorials that explain how to make these kinds of shabby chic flowers. It's easier than I ever thought!
By the way, that bit of blue silk is a scrap left over from my wedding dress back in 1999. The button is from my button stash.
Here are a few videos and the ones I used as references:
As a quilter, I don't quite feel like I have the right stash for making these flowers. Quilt fabric is a little heavy to put to these purposes. I really like that satin knot flower above ... maybe in a rich green satin?
Yes-- I'm on a stay-vacation this week, so I have a little more time than usual to do and make. I think I'm procrastinating on a larger quilt that is the real project I had planned to work on this week. But here I am working on yo-yo flowers instead!
This is one of the projects I worked on at Quilt Camp this month. They look like spider web blocks to me. At this point, the strip sets had been cut into wedges, and I was auditioning placement -- like pizza pies on the tables -- trying to make sure no two colors were touching.
I started with an autumn and turquoise jelly roll
already cut into prescribed 1-in., 1-1/2-inch and 2-inch strips to make
carousel blocks, according to Donna Jordan in this video:
I
used the 45-degree Kaliedescope Ruler to cut these out. My set yielded
7 carousel blocks in total. I thought it might be putsy to sew together with
all those intersecting seams -- esp. in the middle, but DJ advises
making sure the seams of the wedges are opposing (1 up and the next one
down) so that they sort of nest and don't work against each other. She also advises a slightly wider than
1/4-inch seam, and that allowed things to meet in the middle without a
lot of bulk. It worked!
I am still contemplating how to set them
in order to use all 7 octagons. I also took some of the scraps and cut
2-inch strips and chained them together to make 1 more element in the
final quilt. I still need to pick a background fabric, and possibly a
border.
This is the second sweet little pumpkin I made at Quilt Camp last weekend.
THe body of the pumpkin is made entirely from scraps. I know most of the oranges were left over from this quilt and this one.
The homespun borders came from a kit my mom had. The homespun looks a little wonky, so I think I'll secure it a little more with some simple quilting in the borders.
Here's a detail shot of the stitching and the trapunto effect that makes the pumpkin pop up from the background. There's an extra layer of batting underneath the pumpkin that makes it work.
This is the pattern -- Just giving credit where it's due.
Gifted to Lori Jage to celebrate a tremendous breakthrough in her life.
This fall, The Paine Art Center & Gardens in Oshkosh is running an amazing show called The Nature of Light. My family went to see it last week. We spent about 2-1/2 hours there mesmerized by the play of light and shadow after dark, wandering around the house and gardens. If you are in the area, I highly recommend this show!
I took more than 80 pictures there. The slide show video above runs through about half of them. ENJOY!
My favorite part of the whole thing was in the gardens where thousands of little sparkle lights dance among the leaves-- like so m any lightning bugs, or fairy lights. The video above is just 30 seconds. Imagine it entirely surrounding you -- as if you're in a sea of these sparkles.
You see those lights at Christmas time, pointed at people's house, but they just make the house look like it has measles. This was a completely different effect -- It made the space come a live, like magic was happening, like you were in a sea of fairy dust, just waiting for the fairies to appear. It felt like another world!
It totally makes me want to go out and get one of those sparkle lights and aim it at the black locust in my back yard -- while she still has leaves this season!
Well Done, Paine Art Center & Gardens!
I look forward to the next show that captures my imagination!
Laura Ramseier hosted another lovely Quilting Friends Quilt Retreat at
Camp Lake Lucerne in Neshkoro, WI. There were about 20 quilters attending this year. The camp is on the edge of a
beautiful glacial spring-fed lake (very similar to the one I grew up
near).
[This photo is NOT of Lake Lucerne, but Mueller's Lake in 2014 near where I grew up. I neglected to take any fall color pictures, but this will give you a good idea of what it's like.]
We have a gorgeous view of the Lake from the main hall of the
lodge. The fall color is moving into full swing -- lovely yellows, oranges and a few reds among the trees on the drive out. In the mornings, there would be mist over the lake -- Neat!
At Quilt Camp, as usual, I was back in the corner with Laura and Sheila again. [See the photo above.]
I was working 2 pumpkins -- patterns and kits from my mom's stash, along with some scraps of my own. I finished both pumpkins, complete with proper satin edges along the appliques--just to prove I can still do it! I put an extra layer of batting underneath the pumpkins so they would pop up for more of a 3-D effect. I think that's called trapunto.
This one could use a little more quilting in the borders. Still need hanging pockets or some other way to hang them.
The 3rd project I brought along was an autumn and turquoise jelly roll already cut into prescribed 1-in - 1-1/2-inch and 2-inch strips to make carousel blocks, according to Donna Jordan in this video:
I used the 45-degree Kaliedescope Ruler to cut these out. My set yielded 7 carousel blocks. I thought it might be putsy to sew together with all those intersecting seams -- esp. in the middle, but DJ advises making sure the seams of the wedges are opposing (1 up and the next one down) so that they nest. She also advises a slightly wider than 1/4-inch seam, and that allowed things to meet in the middle without a lot of bulk. It worked!
I am still contemplating how to set them in order to use all 7 octagons. I also took some of the scraps and cut 2-inch strips and chained them together to make 1 more element in the final quilt. I still need to pick a background fabric, and possibly a border.
This year again, we had to bring our own bedding -- It's a great opportunity to USE some of the quilts we've made over the years, though some ladies just bring sleeping bags. This time, I brought one of my woven coverlets. It got down to freezing on Friday night, and I was grateful for the extra layer of warmth!
The food this year was better than I remember it. Laura spoke with them about the food this time. In other years, the menu has been more appropriate for much younger people, very heavy on the carbs. This year, they served us soups and salads, oatmeal and egg bake for breakfast, chicken pot pie with biscuits, and a ham dinner with riced cauliflower -- I've never had that before but with this preparation, I think I could finally become a fan of cauliflower.
Some great things about attending Quilt Camp:
* If you are stuck on a project or a technique, there is always someone there who knows how to get you through it, or can show you an easier way. There was prob. more than 1000 years of quilting experience in that room this weekend!
* Laura always makes something for all the ladies who attend the
retreat. This year, she used her scraps to make a shopping bag lined
with her chicken feed bags. She likes to re-use things and keep them
out of the land fills. So now I have this nifty and sturdy bag with
patchwork on the outside.
The inside is an empty / recycled chicken feed bag. It's a durable plastic material that is perfect for a shopping bag. She laid out 25 of these bags on a table with the chicken feed side out, and we all got to peer inside at the quilting to find the bag we wanted to claim.
* Bev's Apples. Bev has an apple tree that bears apples that are always ripe and ready by the time Quilt Camp happens. She always brings bags of apples for the snack table. I love that she brings a healthy alternative to the sweets on the table. She said it was a bumper crop this year, and several u=of us will be meeting her later in the week to get more apples. Yum! She always brings them in these pin striped and bandana bags -- She used to work at Oshkosh B'Gosh, I think and those apple bags are emblematic of that.
* A few people were still doing kits from my mom's stash that I was giving away last year. Marilyn did a Kansas Troubles Christmas kit with lots of holly. It came out beautifully!
And then there are the tried and true gadgets and innovations that other quilters are using.
* LED lights for the throat of your sewing machine. I think I need one of these for each of my machines! The desk lamps and Ott lamps help, but still don't quite put the light where you need it. This does the trick!
* Sheila at the table next to me had a cutting matt on a turntable from Martelli Notions. It was sturdy and large and worked very well for her tasks. I have smaller square ones, but it's hard to turn them sometimes. I might play around with a lazy susan and see if I can make a DIY model. ;-)
* You see new (to me) patterns and color combinations.
* Pat Saft brought a project using 10-inch squares (layer cake) with a pattern called Angela's Arrows. I found a similar pattern here, called Anita's Arrowhead. I want to give this one a try.
Inspiring Conversations:
* Sheila was working on a Dream Weaver Quilt that was reminiscent of a Japanese garden with paths that turn at 90 degrees. She said that's a design element in Japanese Gardens so that the ghosts or bad spirits don't (or can't) follow you when you make the 90 degree turns. She was using a beautiful line of garden and floral inspired fabrics by Tula (?) I am looking forward to seeing all the blocks assembled next year. The pattern came from a book, but I didn't catch the name of it ...
* Sheila also shared one of her favorite quilt artists: Loraine Roy in Canada, who does some amazing free motion embroidery and textile work inspired. Some of it is inspired by landscapes, some of it is abstract. It's all pretty neat stuff. This is an artist I had not heard of before.
In the same vein, I told Sheila about another Canadian artist, Monica Kinner Whalen at My Sweet Prairie, who does some amazing free motion embroidery. I have one of her postcards that she did of The Northern Lights. I remember years ago, these little fabric postcards were a wonderful way to explore new techniques and practice free-motion stitching, thread painting, and surface design. It sounds like Sheila may want to go in this direction, too with her brand new sewing machine. ;-)
* Janice's daughter made this gorgeous quilt top for Sleep-in-Heavenly-Peace (a local charity), using a layer cake (again). The pattern is called Have a Slice by Timeless Treasures. All those bold batiks pop with the black accents. It kind of reminds me of the color boards they put up on the tv after the broadcast day.
Another lovely weekend with Quilting Friends at Lake Lucerne in Neshkoro, WI.
Laura is planning another retreat for all of us in April. Then we'll have 2 Quilt Camps to look forward to every year. This will be a welcome addition! Since my mother's demise, I have not been attending the one in White Lake, so I'm down a few quilt retreats every year these days!
Carrie Z. posted a memory on Facebook last week: Way back in 2010, my mom, Aunt Rosita, and Carrie Z. attended this same retreat. I can tell by the stonework in the background. And now Ma and Rosita are gone. I'm glad they were able to attend that year, but they realized it was a little too far for them to come again, and they found retreats closer to home after that.
Background quilting for AIR.
