Three Projects in Process

By in process I mean the ones that are actually started and not just ones that are in fabric piles on the studio floor - more on those in the next post.  You know I'm a sucker for jelly rolls and layer cakes.  I saw this line Thrive by Natalia and Kathleen and loved the gentle graphics and color.  Against this background of a dark cool grey?  I'm in love.  As I put these shapes and colors together, I kept thinking of how I want to hand-quilt this.  So I made nine 29" blocks.  Each center is a 10" square from the line.  There are 5" squares and 2.5" squares.  Circular quilting?  Yes!  But circles are easier to do in small bits, not as a large quilt.  So I have batted each one of these 9 blocks with wool and an Art Gallery fabric backing.  They are pinned and edges have have been zigzagged.  Voila - my next hand project.  Still looking for an 18" template.  And then I will join these blocks in my reversible fashion. 

Another project in process is this grey-black-white log cabin.  So far there are forty-two 14" blocks.This layout of diagonal furrows pleases me, but these blocks are set aside for a day when I'll try another layout.  It's nice to have all the black and white and grey logs put away for a while.

And the last project I just started this morning.  I have loved working with peppered shot cottons - I started accumulating them 4 years ago.  This morning I was trying to explain to John what these shot cottons are and realized that I have three projects in the living room that are all made from shot cottons - see the end of this post.  The pile is dwindling but still sizeable.  I have been thinking about a Rail Fence design.  You can see below what I have so far.  Each block is 10.5".  It's pretty in-your-face - does it need toning down?  All I know is that I am going to keep making blocks! 

As I worked on the Rail Fence, I realized I have almost enough for a full-size Trip Around the World.  So the strips are cut, just waiting to be sewn.

Here's the thing about these meaty peppered shot cottons - they feel great and have a nice weight.  They are a dream to quilt because their weave is very open and looks good with my primitive sashiko quilting.  I know I want to hand-quilt this Trip.  I'm not sure about the Rail Fence.

This was from a jelly roll of shot cottons. 

This Glam Clam was hand-pieced and hand-quilted.  These curves almost made themselves. 

The quilt that started my love affair with peppered shot cottons. 

For My Neighbor Cristina, thanks to Ebony

When I first met Cristina, she was a 7th grader who loved to touch fabrics.  She was a sponge who happily absorbed anything I showed her about quilting and sewing.  During her high school years she made several quilts in my studio.  One summer I asked her to do this Fence Rail and model this pattern and sew it as grand daughter Nikki made her own Fench Rail.  Cris found these fabrics in my stash and went to town.  And then life intervened, and this quilt was never finished. 

I thought I would finish it for Christmas 2010 and give it to Cris.  But then Ebony Love bought a long-arm quilt machine and wanted quilts to practice on.  Am I the lucky one or what?  Ebony just returned this quilt to me yesterday, and I am stunned at the density and fluidity of her quilting.  This quilt is beautiful, and her curvy quilting lines are a fabulous juxtaposition to the straight lines of this Fence Rail pattern. And Ebony's choice of thread color - perfect.

A word about Cristina's outer border.  I didn't like it when Cris chose it.  And I still remember Cristina tell me it was something unexpected and that you sometimes just have to take risks.  In hinsight?  She was right. 

I think I wanted a brighter gold color for the binding.  However, this yellow batik with the dots coordinates nicely with the border.  Click on this picture to see the details of Ebony's quilting.

Cristina is a sophomore at the University of Iowa and will be home for Spring Break in a few weeks.  I can't wait to return this quilt to her!

"The Quilter's Eye" runs in the family

Cassidy Horvath, a 7th grader, made her first quilt this fall. She and Grandma Terry did a great job of incorporating big pieces of Cass's feature fabric into a traditional Fence Rail pattern. Since Em did her 2nd quilt, does that mean cousin Cassidy's 2nd quilt is in the thinking stages?

John's Great-Niece Emma is a Quilter!

John's sister Terry has really been doing some fabulous quilt work. See the July 23, 2007, entry for one of Terry's quilts. Her enthusiasm for quilting is having an effect on all of her family members, especially at this point granddaughter Emma, an 8th grader. Em and her mom chose some fabulous flannel fabrics, Terry chose the pattern, and Emma really took to the rotary cutter and Terry's new Bernina sewing machine. Terry and Emma used my studio to tie the three layers of Emma's quilt. Then they went back to Terry's where Emma machine-quilted the outer border and the binding. The results are spectacular.

One of the joys of quilting is seeing others get hooked. Another of Terry's granddaughters was here with Terry and Emma. Cassidy took lots of pictures of my stash - hope maybe she left here thinking that she wants to try a quilt! (Meanwhile, I'm about to finish the reversible quilt for Jen Thompson!)