Project Quilting

   It's happening over at  Persimon Dreams .   Like Project Runway, there is a theme and a time limit!   A weekly theme for the challenge is posted on Sunday and photos of a finish are required.    Sounds like fun....but let's see. It is already Saturday and  I have committed to the mystery quilt, aka Easy Street, and to the 2013 Finish challenge each month, and the New FO challenge each month, and the guild's challenge, along with a growing list of want-to-dos.   On the other hand, this sounds interesting and I miss the weekly journal challenge from 2 years ago....so, yeah, I am going to join and see what happens.    

   This week was "square in a square".  Do you think I have squares in my stash for this?  **big grin**  You know I do, so  I hit the watercolor squares and did a small table top project.   It's squares in a square for sure.  Eight rows across and eight rows down of blended 2 " squares that I bordered with a batik.  The size finished at 16" by 16".   I used straight line quilting to finish it off.  But you can't see that in this photo.

 






 That's the back view.....wild fabric and straight line quilting.  
I admit this was an easy out for me....next time I will at least put my thinking cap on.
Now to get this posted on the Flickr group and link up to Persimon Dreams.

   Happy stitching.  

Endless feathers part 2

    Another practice piece on the feathers....I'm getting the hang of it.  This is done with Quilter's Dream cotton batting, so it is flatter and not as puffy.  I still love the effect.   Now for the details.





 Here's a step by step diagram to get you started with the endless feathers practice.

Step 1:  Begins with a tear drop shape.  Attach a plume, and stitch back up just a little over the last stitches.   Then do a bump back plume returning to where you began.    I know the stitching over stitches is not easy, but honestly it does get easier with practice.
  Step 2:  Here you repeat step 1, only on the other side.  In my example I began step 1 going left, and step 2 goes to the right.  A nice "v" shape is formed in the center.

  Step 3:  Add 2 more plumes to the right---extending the length to achieve a nice curve--returning to the center.  Then go back to the left side adding an attached plume and then a bump-back plume returning to the center.  Do another set on the left and vary the size of the plumes.  Note---you can get the "spine or stem" begin to develop in the center.
  Adding more plumes to the left develops a slight curve to the right side over all.  You are creating a turn in direction.  This is the part that took me forever to figure out......longer and deeper plumes to one side develops the curve.  Adding shorter and fuller plumes to the opposite side fills in and follows the curve.

   One big, full continuous feather!  I started at the arrow and just kept working along curving one way and then the other.  Turning the corner...look at those long plumes....they did the work.   Now I need a quilt with some open spaces to fill.
    Like I said before, I think we each have a "quilting signature".   A style that works for me may not work for you.  What others do easily, I struggle with.  Only through the practice and quilting can we discover our signature.   My intent here was to share my journey in learning this motif.   I am hoping you will try it, too.

  This weekend is the start of the new  weekly Show and Tell at the Quilting Gallery.    This week's theme is Favorite Quilts of 2012.  Guess you can figure out which one I entered....Wonders of Color.   Check it out for some inspiration.

  Happy stitching.

Bits and pieces

   This luscious haul of fabric has been waiting for me to enjoy.   The beige  and  neutrals are to restock my greatly reduced stash for backgrounds and the blues and purple just jumped into my cart.   I wonder how they would work in that delectable mountain quilt I saw today?
 
  Today's class was full---absolutely twice what I expected.  It was fun, I was exhausted, and the gals  have lots of homework to do for the next 2 weeks. That should give me time to rest up for round 2.

 
Interested in a quilt  along?  Over at Impera magna's blog---aka Freda ---there is a Disappearing 9 Patch starting up.   She's been talking colors and making plans, so check it out soon.  Things will start rolling soon as her machine comes back home from the " hospital."    Do drop by and offer get well wishes, too.  

I haven't forgotten the endless feather instructions.....I hope to get some step by step info posted in the next couple of days.   One more day of life interfering and I should be able to get to it.

     I got the table runner bound....so I have a finish this month.  So no excuses....I will be piecing at least 2 more blocks tomorrow for the Easy Street mystery.  I made the mistakes (or not) of dropping by Quiltville and saw how many tops were completed already.  I mean  some people have not slept or eaten to finish this one up!   It is great to see all the color variations, and  get motivated to finish this top this month.    Then, and only then can I start something new and dig / cut  into that luscious new fabric.  That's my plan and I hope I can stick to it.  Happy stitching.  
   

Endless feathers --drawing them

   Such a lot of interest in these feathers...endless questions and comments!  Great!  I love them and they gave me reason to really stop and think these plumes through.  Why are they so appealing?   For me, I think it is because they are not static but move and curl.  They are not drawn on the fabric with a line to try to follow.  Some plumes move one direction and others take off in the opposite one.   Instead of following a curve, they flow along the surface of the quilt---- creating a texture of softness around the applique in the case of the table runner.

   Where did I learn to stitch them?   I ran across the video on  Natasha's blog where she was showing how she stitched these feathers.  If you haven't visited and watched, please do.  It is in Russian, so the words must translate and she offers little detail in them.  But the videos are wonderful, and I really enjoyed the music she had playing.  I keep popping back over to re-watch them....after about 5 views I began some practice on paper.  Yes, pencil and paper and lots of it.  The first ones were not pretty.  It was only after about 20 pages of practice that I began to get the idea of what was happening.  Now, you may be a quick learner, or a good visual learner, but me....I am the" hands on"  type.  I learn by doing and doing, over and over.


  Drawing:   Get the teardrop shape down.  That's the first step on this and you need to be able to do a left curve one and a right curve one.   Fill a whole page with them if need be.  Paper is cheaper than fabric!
   The individual  plumes will be different  sizes in this method.  If you participated in the Free Motion Challenge last year you remember all the feathers and feather wreaths with similar plumes.  This motif is full of different size ones and I love the interest that creates.
Secondly, the plumes are created in three ways. I gave them names for ease of explaining.
 1. Individual plume in the teardrop shape  that begins the feather
 2. Attached plume that lays on top of the preceding plume.  
3. The "bump back" plume that can extend longer than the preceding plume.  

  I enlarged a spot on one of the photos  to show what I mean.   Start with an individual plume and then add the attached plume to it.    So far, so good....now what?    Look close and you will see that I traveled back over the last stitches a short distance, and then did a "bump back plume" .  On the labeled  bump back plume I swung the end out and down to fill in area before returning to the central stem.   Once I got back to the center, I was able to continue adding the plumes.
  OK, if you got this far and are not confused,  go practice!  Seriously, give me a few days and  I will work on trying to explain how to get them to curve and curl around.   If you have questions ....ask.
 Happy stitching.

Feathers are flying

   Well, maybe not flying but they are coming along!  I got to moving this morning and took care of my to-do list of  prepping for the free motion class next week, bills and such, so I could play this afternoon.   The little table runner was calling.

   I figured it was now or never---or maybe much later---and I began playing with the feathers.  This runner is only about 15 inches wide so I did not have a lot of open space to really get the swirling effect.  I managed a little wavy motion at most.  
  I have drawn these feathers at least 30 times in my sketch pad to get the muscle memory worked out.  I finally have the initial teardrop shop down well and figured out how to get the shape of the plumes.  I am working on the "endless effect".  Not there yet....so I just break thread and start in another location.  It will come eventually.

 The batting is a polyester with a good loft and the relief of the feathers show nicely.  I don't usually stitch on polyester batt but it does work fine for small items.   And yes, I realize that it needs binding.  I will bind it before sending it off.  
    I was just so excited to show how well the stitching turned out.    Now, I have a new motif to add to my quilting skill library.  Yea, all the work last year paid off in plumes!    And new fabric just arrived....oh, boy, it's a good day.  Happy stitching.  

January Challenge to finish

  Click Here for the Finished Project Challenge .
   Lynne's 2013 challenge is also challenging  me  to create a plan of action for the month.  I have to post or list the UFO or WIP that I am focusing on for the month, so that means I have a direction to work towards.  No flying by the seat of your pants or taking off on a whim for the entire month---both of which I am known to do a lot.    So this is a good thing!
   My basic operational guidelines----no rules here---to keep UFOs  under control:

•  There are 3  big projects at a time allowed in the sewing room.  Stage 1 is being cut and pieced.  Stage 2 is sewn and ready for borders.  Stage 3  is ready to quilt.  
•  If  I am piecing a project, I do not cut or begin a second one until the current project is sewn together. This motivates me to keep sewing and piecing, etc. and get to the next stage.
•  A new project may consume me and move beyond a prior project that is waiting for borders or quilting.  But the rule is still only 3 big projects at a time.  
•  Small projects---like mug rugs, or doll quilts, or small gifts--- that can be finished in an afternoon are an exception.  They can jump in the mix anytime.  

 


  The plan for January is easy to figure out....it will be the WIP of the mystery quilt.  I have it all cut, I hope, and got 3 large blocks pieced yesterday.   It is bright and cheerful, but I am hoping that the fabric I ordered for the border will help tone it down just a little bit.  Anyway,  piecing on the blocks to get it to flimsy stage is the plan.

 
  And I did get the sewing room picked up and cleaned yesterday.  Low and behold, I found a UFO from last spring.  It was a small project I was working on last year just before my fall / step in the hole event.    This was to be a birthday gift......so it needs to be completed and given this year for sure.  It only needs a few more applique pieces added and then quilted.  Hmmmm.......lots of open spaces for some quilting,  maybe some of those curling feathers.  
Yikes, I forgot....I am to teach beginning free motion quilting this month, too.  I need to get my samples together soon, like today!

  And last in the plan is to plan / design / decide on the guild challenge quilt with the "ugly" fabric.  I have reversed course on this yet again......back to original idea of the vertical strip quilt with applique.  Good thing I did not start or cut any thing yet.  I can at least begin hunting for the applique designs I want to use and get them organized.
This sounds like a full month already.   Hope you take the challenge to finish something this month.

One last item to share.  There's a new Neighbor Tour over at Stitchin By The Lake .  Each week she will be posting 10 blogs to visit, browse, enjoy and discover as a  new neighbor.  This is a clever idea I thought for visiting some new blogs.
Happy stitching.

Saved by the stash

      With all the purple flying geese we made for the Easy Street mystery quilt, I thought for sure the last color---that lime green---was just going to be an accent color.  So I was going to use red.  Oh, no!   Halt! Stop!  No can do.....all the alarms went off in my head when I downloaded the last 2 clues from Bonnie.  Red would not work after all.

   To the closet....the stash closet.  Close the red drawer.  Pull down the yellow bin.  Dig through the 6 or 7 scrap boxes.  Look  in the stack of  backing fabrics.  Go  though the box of unsorted scraps under the table.  Check high.  Check low.     Now, cut squares.  Cut more squares and then cut into triangles.  Oops, cut a few more squares.

Right now, every piece of yellow fabric that I own  is scattered across the work table or floor....and I am too embarrassed to even take a photo to show the mess.    The corner units are sewn, and most of the setting triangle units are done, and a block is laid out.    Disaster averted....the ship of mystery  did not sink after all.  It was saved by the stash!     What would we do without that stash of fabric?
    So feeling a bit giddy or maybe just light-headed from panic, I went ahead and re-supplied the stash closet with a little fabric shopping.  I mean, I saved a lot because it was on sale, and I did have that extra coupon.   You know, just  in case the fiscal cliff devours all the fabric reserves, or if a blizzard hits, a quilter must be prepared with an adequate stash of lovely cotton to work with.   So the next time  someone asks, "What's in your closet  wallet?", tell them...... fabric!
    This is my project to finish for January, or at least get it to the quilting stage.   Happy stitching on New Years!