International and Local Quilters at the International Quilt Festival, Chicago - The Mod Squad

Today's pictures are all from The Mod Squad exhibit - open only to quilters in the U.S. and Canadian midwest. 

Survivor is by my friend Jennifer Benoit-Bryan.  I purposely didn't crop out the background because this quilt has such a big visual impact.  Look carefully at the word beginning with the V of Survivor.  Intentional for sure.  This quilt of Jen's is in the same category with the powerful quilts of Chawne Kimber.

Bill Stearman is a quilter from Ontario.  He contacted the Chicago MQG and asked if one of us would be willing to take pictures of his quilts in these two exhibits.  I told him I would.  So imagine my surprise when I saw his quilt and my quilt side by side in the Mod Squad Exhibit.  Like it was meant to be...

My World by Bill Stearman was begun at a Men's Quilting Retreat in Vermont and is loosely based on the disappearing 9-patch. 

This is mine:  My Answer is Yes with the fabulous quilting of Frank Karls.  See my blog entry about this quilt.

Leftovers a la Gwen by fellow Chicago MQG Laura Hartrich.  She is a young powerhouse of a quilter.

Deconstructed Lone Star by Amy Struckmeyer is one of fellow ChicagoMQG Amy's many clever quilts.  She is one of our many architects in the guild, and she just sees things differently.  Below is Amy's quilt next to my friend Wayne's quilt.

Atomic Age Color Study by Erin Davis, a fellow Chicago CMQG member although originally from Canada.  This quilt focuses on the colors and textures from the 1950's. 

QFF Rhodes submitted his Purple Prisms piece.  He insists it was an easy pattern - tumbling blocks variation using squares and rectangles.  This piece was in my front hall for a few weeks - everyone who came in the house was captivated by it.


 Enough of the Mod Squad.  Tomorrow?  Drunkard's Paths Exhibit! 

International and Local Quilters at the International Quilt Festival, Chicago

I often discover what I like by taking pictures of quilts that catch my attention.  The following quilts fall into this category.  All were displayed at the International Quilt Festival this past weekend:

In Carrboro by Chawne Kimber.  Check out Chawne's blog Completely Cauchy - she is the most thoughtful modern quilter and the absolute master of tiny piecing.  Each one of her quilts moves me.

Ablaze by Helen Scheffer, Quebec.  The power of reds and improv piecing speaks to me.  I wonder if the maple trees and fall foliage inspired this. 

Emilie Whispering by Kye Sun Yoo, South Korea.  The inspiration for this piece was a mosaic from a Klimt mosaic painting.  She captured the rich golds so nicely.

Bamboo Forest by Hong Joo Kim, South Korea.  The simplicity of these elegant lines and monochrome richness of the greys appeal to me.

Mysterious Letter by Noriko Nozawa, Japan,  reminds of Paginini's Variations on a Theme.  This quilter took one key letter, the Kana letter, and varied the placement, scale, and color.  

The Remarkables by Camilla Watson, New Zealand.  These tessellating triangles are based on a mathematical formula by John Conway and Charles Radim on 1994.  The two things about this quilt that caught my attention:  First, I have been in the Remarkables, a mountain range in New Zealand.  Second, that bottom border?  LOVE.

Gelmorodo IX - 1926 (Lyonel Feininger) by Katrin Schroeder, Berlin.  I like architectural pieces. 

The City:  Past, Present, Utopia? by Anna Hergert, Moosejaw, Canada.  Who doesn't love a tryptich?  But what really caught my eye was the design inspiration:  Austrian artist and architect Fredensreich Hundertwasser.  When my Chicago MQG did an art swap a few years ago, my partner Terri Karls used this same artist as her inspiriation! 

Rooflines #10:  Mountain Village by Colleen Kole, Grand Rapids, MI.  The colors of this piece caught my eye, and then I realized this is a quilter I know.  I met her at Camp Stitchalot in November, 2014, when I also met Chawne Kimber.

Meridian Hill Park - Fountain by K. Velis Turan, New York.  I love the low-volume of this winter scene.

Thus ends the international and national portion of what captured my attention.  Tomorrow I'll post quilts of the "local" quilters of the International Quilt Festival. 

 

Work vs Art vs Play

"Work is what you do for others - art is what you do for you."  I love these words of Stephen Sondheim from his musical Sunday in the Park with George.  For today I am changing the word ART to PLAY.  And here's what I've been playing with today.  I have cut into my last yardage of Art Gallery Fabric's Hello, Bear line by designer Bonnie Christine.  Last week I gave my good friend the Sloan Travel Bag made from this fabric, but I need to make another one for myself - and one for another  good friend who just had a birthday.

After two days of "play" I have all the bag parts prepped for sewing.  What you see above?  Exterior pieces, interior pieces, pockets (there are SEVEN with each bag, pocket flaps, zippers - 4 for each bag, magnets, d-rings - ok, ok, you get the idea. 

The interior of these bags is another Art Gallery Fabric - all cotton but with a nice "slidey" feel - from Pat Bravo's Floral Elements collection.   The lighter grey is the interior of a rather large inside pocket.

Because I had a fixed amount of the feature fabric, I had to get creative with the straps and bottom of the bag.  It's hard to tell from these photos, but the stripes on this dark fabric are wonky and match the feel of this feature fabric.

Making purses and bags is like solving puzzles in 3-D, a task which for me isn't work - it's just wonderful play. 

That Fast-Forward Button of Life

I'm not quite sure how to get out of this fast-forward mode.  But I must also say this is the happiest I have ever been.  So maybe this speed is a good one.  The Firefighter's Mom picked up her son's 23rd birthday present yesterday.  This project turned out great, and the mom was very pleased.  There's a hanging sleeve on the back.  Several times while working on this project I got a bit teary, mostly because of the picture of this young man as a 3-year old firefighter.  Frank's longarm quilting is, as usual, exquisite.  I love that he won't quilt through any faces.  And Terri had the perfect red for the backing on this quilt.  There are two more t-shirt projects in queue, one of which is already at Terri and Frank's.

While I work on bigger projects, it's fun to have smaller things to work at.  John needed a door prize for last week's Brookfield Jazz Society  meeting.  He even came up to the studio and looked through my pile of musical fabrics.  He pulled this piece, which wasn't quite big enough, but it looks great with black fabric around the feature fabric. 

And these little fabric key chains are the best use of little leftover bits of fabrics.  

Sarah S and Holly are leading the Chicago MQG in a Medallion Sew-Along, and this is so much fun.  This picture represents 3 rounds of instructions and is 27" square.  I think the finished project will be 60" square.  My goal with this piece is to use scraps and not cut into any new fabrics.  So far, so good.  The fun part is seeing the fabric and design choices of others.   Every month we are bringing what we have, and it's a Gawker's Paradise!

Next up in another Sloan Travel Bag.  I made one out of this fabric, but I gave it to my long-time friend Cathy whose birthday is today.  However, I love this fabric and bag so much that I must make myself one and not give it away this time.

Being busy and happy?  In the words of Martha Stewart:  a good thing.

This Week in the Studio

My sister-in-law picked up her "Hey Mercedes" bag from Sara Lawson's Windy City Bags.

Of course I had to make myself one, too.

Only one side of the bag has an outer pocket.  There are two zippered pockets inside.

Adding the gusset/bottom of a constrasting fabric worked well.

Meanwhile, it's t-shirt quilt time.  This is the second one I have done for this mom.  The first was for her older son, the hockey nut.  This younger son is all about firefighting. 

All the bits are connected and currently at Terri and Frank's being longarmed. 

Yesterday at the Chicago Modern Quilt Guild meeting, we did our pin cushion swap.  This is what I received from Iris, and I love it.  Victorians thought tomatoes ensured prosperity and warded off evil spirits.  Since tomatoes are seasonal, the sewing community co-opted this symbol for their pin cushions!  I love the strawberry filled with emery sand so I can keep my needles sharp. 

Thanks to Melissa, I learned how to make this pin cushion and did one for my partner Sue R in Marcia Derse fabrics but forgot to photograph it.  This "practice" pin cushion has been gifted to guild buddy Mary.  

It's time to turn to and get into Easter mode - lots of lamb cake baking this week and minimal sewing. Which for this week is fine. This will be a time for some creative ideas to percolate.

The Chicago MQG Retreat at Siena Center

Eleven 6" rows of every color in the spectrum.  My design wall is 7' across and 8' down.  So this quilt - whether the background is black or light - will be spectacular and big.  I'm pretty happy to get this in process - its been an unstarted project for over 4 years. 

 The other project I started is something that will hang in my living room.  It's a smaller version of the Elliptical Drunkard's Path in a much narrower colorway. 

The weekend was a good one for many reasons - beautiful setting, excellent table mates, wonderful friends, great walking weather, and tons of creativity. But one of the things I loved most was working on my mom's 1948 Singer Featherweight - it's the machine I learned to sew on. I even took it to college with me in my sophomore year at Milligan. It is the perfect machine for piecing. I will for sure do the entire Elliptical Drunkard's Path on this machine. It will never be good for quilting or going through thicknesses, like purse straps, but it is a honey of a machine for piecing and I was glad to remaking my acquaintance with it!

Today in the Studio: A Picture Post

Using these peppered shot cottons and a smaller version of my elliptical drunkard's path template to make a 40" by 45" wall hanging for my living room.

Packing up "Jazz Piano" to gift to the Siena Center for one of their auctions or for their gift shop.  Since I started this piece there in 2014 and it has yet to be claimed, this seems appropriate.

Packing a prepackaged set of Jinny Beyer palette fabrics to make something.  There's the picture of the suggested project.  Also taking my bag of Allison Glass leftovers from our Ann Arbor Modern Quilt Guild Swap.  Just in case...

Finishing today - I hope, among the madness of packing for the weekend retreat in Racine - these two Hey Mercedes bags from Sara Lawson's 2nd book, Windy City Bags.  

Rejoicing in the completion of this scrappy Log Cabin project

Really Stepping Out of my Safe Zone

 (forgive the rather long introduction of how I came to evaluate the Craftsy Class on Essential Techniques for Sewing Knits...)

I am a quilter who also loves - thanks to Sara Lawson's various bag patterns and books - to make bags and purses.   Sara unwittingly pointed me into a new direction - wanting to make clothing - when she created a new fabric line, Jungle Avenue.  I saw Dotted Boulevard in a knit and thought it would make a great something.  So I bought three yards.  And this lovely fabric has been sitting in my studio for the past two years, being very very patient.  In full disclosure I must admit that I am no stranger to Craftsy and have bought clothing patterns and kits there during this time, all with the three yards of Dotted Boulevard in mind. See below.

This past winter I bought a knit top, perfect for outdoor walking in the spring and fall.  It was super on-sale - and also several inches too long.   And I still didn't know how to work with knits. When Sara asked if I would take a Craftsy class and evaluate it, it took me just a few minutes to find the Essential Techniques for Sewing Knits knits.

My goals in taking this class were to be able to hem my sports top using my regular sewing machine,
make a t-shirt and/or a dress, and figure out what to do with my Dotted Boulevard knit.  And I definitely reached these first two goals.

This class was divided into five chapters - 1) Different Knits  2) Cutting and Marking Patterns 3) Hemming Knits  4) Garment Details, and 5) Sewing a V-neck Binding.   Look!  Chapter 3 - just what I wanted!  I did watch all five chapters in order, and each one was more than useful.  I am a genius with quilting cottons but knew nothing about knits.  Something basic like cutting out pattern pieces one at a time rather than in multiple layers (like you would do with quilting) was good for me to learn.  So was you should not pin pattern pieces but instead use weights.  After Chapter Three I had to start putting into practice what I was learning. 

marking the folding and pinning lines - using double-sided fusible to stabilize the hem while sewing

I don't have a serger and don't intend to get one. So I was thrilled to learn how to use a double needle, which all of our machines are capable of using. On the fabric top there are two parallel rows of stitches. But on the bottom side there is a zig-zag stitch, perfect for hemming knits.  One of the instructors was very clear to use the appropriate needle, one with a ball point end.  The hem on my purchased top turned out very well.

My machine ready for the twin needle

Just like purse making, it all starts with cutting out the pattern pieces

My sporty athletic top (not the look I was going for) on the bottom, and a striped tunic.  I'm proud of the workmanship on these sleeves and the necks. The top is Rowe's Tunic/Top, and the grey stripe dress is The Bess Top by Imagine Gnats. 

Yoke detail from the back of the shirt

This Craftsy class gave me a context for knits and the skills and tips needed to work with them.   Like anything else, working with knits is a skill;  I'm confident I'll continue to improve this skill, especially since I can go back to any of the lessons at any time.  The first top I did is the one to the left.  That neckline was a traditional v-binding, and it went very well.  However, the grey-stiped dress did not have a pattern piece for the neckline - directions said to bind with bias.  But something said in Lesson 4 came back to me:  the neckline binding is 7/8" of the finished neckline.  And using this little gem, the neckline on the grey dress worked quite well!

So next week, perhaps I will use the shirt pattern with the interesting yoking, using a solid black knit for the sleeves and neck and add pockets and turn Dotted Boulevard into a summer dress with pockets.  Perhaps.  If I can drag myself away from the two Hey, Mercedes bags I've started.  At least I know I can!  This Craftsy class was a huge success! 

Top 10 of Quilty Procrastination

 10.  Finish basting the cheery scrappy Log Cabin and make the binding.

9. Retype my log-in and password cheat sheet.

 8. Study what's on the design wall, a piece named "Carolyn Friedlander meets Yoshiko Jinzenji.  I know I want to sashiko quilt this piece.  I just don't know how. 

7.  Talk myself out of doing the machine quilting on the Scrappy Log Cabin, like right now.  I really like doing straight line machine quilting with my walking foot.  (Of course I would prefer to have this quilt long-armed, but My Answer is Yes really drained my long-arming account....).  Quilting this quilt will be my reward for doing the Knit class evaluation.

6.  Dither about which fabrics to use for the sleeves on the back of the Elliptical Drunkard's Path and My Answer is Yes.   I don't want to use fabrics I love, but I also don't want to use dorky fabrics (***For cry eye, Donna, these are just sleeves for the back of a quilt...***)  Remember to tell Jacquie G how much you rely on her Quilt Sleeve tutorial.

5.  Start a new project box for The Chicago Modern Quilt Guild Medallion Sew-A-Long.

4.  Rearrange the studio tables.

3.  Vacuum.  Seriously.

2. Wonder if John's sisters weren't right when they questioned why I wanted to work with knits and do clothing...

1.  Blog about what I am not doing.  Not only do I have several kits of knits and clothing patterns, I have told Sara Lawson I would be a guest blogger at Sew Sweetness on March 7.  My topic is the evaluation of a chosen class from Craftsy,  Essential Techniques for Sewing Knits.  I've watched 3/5th of the class and have learned a lot.  And it's time to put what I've learned into practice.  But I'm dragging my feet.  Perhaps tomorrow....