Weaving in Circles and a WIP

 

In the quilting world a UFO is an unfinished project. A WIP is a work in process. This is a work that is in process. In the center is a circular weaving piece. It's temporarily tacked to a piece of fabric of graduated color - it reminds me of an African landscape (yeah, as if I've been to Africa - I don't know where this is coming from). The inner border are bits from the recent scrap quilt. And the top and bottom border fabrics are both strong possibilities for this quilt - I like them both a lot. Thread work will be the only other key design element, except I'm not very good at it.

I'm not sure about this piece and have felt stuck all day. Perhaps seeing this picture will help me make some decisions about this WIP. Maybe this should be a vertical piece...

Laptop Bag 3 for Virginia

This bag is for Virginia, my friend Dodie's daughter. Not only is Gin 33 in a few days, this month would have been Dodie's 60th birthday. Virginia is wisely pointing out that it's better to have birthdays than not to have them. Virginia has moved from Chicago to Durham, NC, and it's been good. I miss the occasional dinners with her, but I'm very happy she's in a good place and closer to family.

Weaving with Fabrics: A Tutorial

I'm making another laptop bag, this one for a laptop that is 9.5 ” by 13”. Cut a foundation piece that is more than large enough for what you want to do. I've cut this foundation to 12.5” x 16”. You will also need 2 fabrics that contrast nicely. As you go through these steps below, remember that you can click on any picture to see the details better.

1. Cut 3" strips of fabrics, making sure some are long enough to lay diagonally across the foundation piece. Iron under a hem – ¼” – ½” - but no need to measure. This kind of weaving is quite forgiving.
2. Position your first piece of fabric. Bottom of piece sits at the corner and above. Upper portion of piece sits at the corner and below. You can change the angle of your weaving by how you position this first piece.

3. Position your second piece. Place a pin in the center to hold these 2 strips.
4. Fold back the first piece, and add a strip, snugging it right up to the first one. Place a pin through all three layers.


5. Continue folding back alternate strips and “weaving” in the new ones, using pins to go through all three layers.
6. Continue working your way toward the edges, turning the piece as necessary and always pinning.

7. At some point you may way to trim up the edges, being careful not to cut away any of the foundation.




8. Quilt (top-stitch) by sewing diagonally along all the folded down edges. Because this is a bag that will be carried, I want to secure all edges. The back of your piece will show diagonal rows of pairs of parallel stitches.

Weaving

At LaGuardia Sunday I saw a woman with a fabulous purse made from seat belts that had been woven together. I love the texture that weaving creates. So I've been weaving fabrics for a new laptop case. Both of these pieces are very attractive. But they might as well have been pieced - it's hard to tell these have been woven.

Gotta rethink this technique...