Making Plans

December 31, 20166 Comments

I see all the posts about plans for 2017. I’m feeling pressured to get my act together. I’m pretty good at keeping track of appointments and reminders for things I’m supposed to do, but I don’t have a list of possible blog posts or ideas for what I think I should explore in 2017.

That’s why I like taking classes and why I loved the Savor Each Stitch Book Bee. They make plans easier when there is a deadline.

I have two quilts to finish from the Book Bee so that’s where I’m going to start. I’m hand quilting the quilt from the Emphasis chapter; it’s about a quarter done. The Texture quilt has been deconstructed. That is more than enough for 2017.

It might be nice to take a break from designing and concentrate on these two projects from 2016.

How to Play Hopscotch

December 27, 2016December 26, 20166 Comments

I’m happy to announce that my quilt, How to Play Hopscotch, will be on exhibit at QuiltCon East 2017 as part of the APQ Nine-Patch Challenge.

I like challenges. It focuses my mind, and it’s fun to see what I can create within the parameters of the challenge.

how-to-play-hopscotch-wp

I sketched a lot of designs which were very complicated. I even cut a large stack of squares and played around with them on my design wall, but they all seemed contrived.

About that time I was at a party where two little girls were playing hopscotch. The adults had a lengthy discussion on the rules of hopscotch and of course we researched that on Google. There are many ways to draw a hopscotch board but it’s a simple game — tossing and jumping.

I thought a simple nine-patch would be best and each block could have white lines representing the chalk lines. I also used a variety of fabrics — lightweight denim, shot cotton and regular cotton.

Once the quilt sandwich was assembled, I hand quilted each number in each block. Then, multiplies of each number.

how-to-play-hopscotch-hand-quilting

The finished quilt is 51″ by 51″.

HOW TO PLAY HOPSCOTCH

1) DRAW blocks on the ground with the ninth block being HOME.

2) THROW a stone on One.

3) HOP on ONE FOOT where the stone isn’t.

4) Hop through all squares and pick up the stone on your way back.

5) Start again and throw the stone on Two.

6) Hop on the squares where the stone isn’t as above.

7) Hop through all squares and pick up the stone on your way back.

8) If successful, start again and throw the stone on Square Three.

9) The winner is the person who tossed successfully and hopped successfully.

Texture: the last chapter

October 27, 2016October 26, 20165 Comments

Texture was the the last chapter in Carolyn Friedlander’s Savor Each Stitch book and the last chapter of our Book Bee.

Maybe because it was the last chapter and because a myriad of other commitments this summer, I am still working on this chapter quilt.

Carolyn’s project in the book was inspired by Crazy Quilts. I took that inspiration as well.

I have a Bernina 560 and it has dozens of embroidery stitches. I bought some linen and linen/cotton fabric and started stitching those embroidery stitches.

I had a basket of thread from my mother’s stash. She died 20 years ago this year, and I liked the idea of using her thread in my Texture quilt.

It was fun to see what was on my Bernina. The stitches were narrow and at first I made straight lines.

A fellow bee member said it looked like I had created my own fabric. I made some more “fabric” and didn’t travel in straight lines. Then I experimented with meandering with the embroidery stitches until I was tired of it.

I played around with my own Crazy blocks and added them to my embroidery blocks which I had cut into 6.5″ squares.

That’s where I am. I feel my Crazy blocks aren’t that crazy and I’m unsure if my “fabric” blocks mesh with the improv blocks.

I looked back at Carolyn’s blocks and there is a sophistication to them, and I see that in my fabric blocks, but not in the Crazy blocks. Lots of texture and tension, for sure. I’m going to take a break from them and see where I want this quilt to go. I looking for a better ending to this chapter.

The Savor Each Stitch Book Bee was an enriching experience. By focusing on Lines, Contrast, Scale, Color, Emphasis, Volume and Texture, I learned to trust my instincts, and I saw my design skills improve. I learned so much about myself, and I really enjoyed the experience with amazing quilters who were generous in their comments. I even got to spend some a few days with one of them last year at this time. Susan — you are the best.

I made a collage of my quilts, minus the Color one, to see if there were any trends. I have not finished quilting the Emphasis quilt (far right top).

Use of solids

Improv with structure

Curves with a nod to tradition

Some risk taking

Top Left: Lines: Date Night; Middle: Contrast: Contrast Material; Right: Emphasis: Mod Drunk; Bottom Left: Scale: Roses and Right: Volume: Solitude!