Change or Transformation: The Endeavourers

Id. Ego. Super Ego.

This month's challenge prompt for the Endeavourer's art quilt group is 
Change or Transformation. 

How do you interpret change or transformation with cloth and thread? 

Art is meant to appeal to your past experience, emotion, and senses. An art quilt is simply art made with fiber transformed into cloth and thread, and a batting sandwiched between the layers. How does one convey the meaning of something so abstract as change or transformation through fiber?

Modified En Provence

En Provence: Tweaked

Bonnie Hunter is a favorite of mine. I love her books, her blog, and when her En Provence quilt along came around a year ago, I convinced a friend to join me. It was a mystery quilt along, too. Ooo-o-o! Exciting! So off we went collecting our fabrics. I did not choose the suggested palette, but used what I had the most of in my stash and scraps. Lots and lots of warm colored pinks, oranges, and violets, low volume background in a wide range, and navy-like blue. We sewed our little hearts out each week with the new clue, and it was fun to feel the camaraderie of the big group. When the big reveal came out, I thought, "Meh. My values are completely reversed." A little broken hearted at that point, I packed my thousands of pieces away, and said I would figure it out another day. (I'm lying. It just felt like a thousand, but there were a lot of pieces!)

Giant Rose Star Quilt Finish

Good Kite Weather!

What a blustery week we've had! Snow, thunder, rain, and even barefoot days. The weather blew in with heavy winds each time, and I was lucky to have a day with both sun and calm skies to get a picture outside. I wanted you to see the true colors of this quilt at least once. I was shocked at how hard it was to photograph the color violet inside, and this quilt has the full range.

Giant Rose Star Quilt

The Kite Shape:
Working with 60 Degree Shapes

The kite shape was never on my bucket list of "Have-to-make that!", but likely because I didn't know its capabilities. I hadn't had much experience with it, and needed to know how it related to other shapes in the 60 degree family. 

Did you know the kite shape is a combination of a hexagon and a small triangle married together at one of the six sides? Many of our first shape experiences are as children, and most of us did not encounter it. It's rarely included in shape sets or math books, and we have limited exposure.

Big Hapi Quilt Top Finish

Hapi Quilt

My design wall has been dominated by this large quilt for a few weeks while undergoing a slow design process. Slow design is just that at times. Slow. But when you do figure out what a quilt is asking for, you'd like it to happen right then--that day, and have it done! Unfortunately, big quilts take a long time simply because they're much bigger. This one finishes at 92.5" x 93.5". That's the same size as about 4 baby quilts. I asked myself how long 4 baby quilts might take to finish, and relied on patience.

Fussy Cuts Tips & Template Play

Machine Pieced 60 Degree Star in 
Digitally Printed Fabric

After my short experience with English paper piecing, I decided I needed a better method to achieve 60 degree piecing. See 60 Degree Shapes. Measuring with standard quilting rulers was successful with 60 degree diamonds, but my interest piqued in specialty templates for more complicated shapes. I was travelling light for a few days, but 2 new Marti Michell template sets, G & H, were small enough to pack in my carry-on. Both sets are based on 60 degrees shapes, but in different sizes. I'd bought them several months ago, but had no time to really spend getting to know them since. Now I had a weekend ahead wide open for play. Off we went!

Quilts, Groups & Little Dresses for Africa

Four Borders

This picture is turned on its side so you can get a good idea of the colors in all the border pieces. Nothing was sewn yet as I was moved things around to see how it all worked. I never know for sure until I see it from across the room.

Scrappy 60 Degree Hexagons

Adding More Blocks

Last week I played with some scrap blocks built around these 60 degree diamonds on Make It Happen Monday. I was curious if the diamond backgrounds were too busy, and how a solid would change the block. I had a teal print that read more like a solid in my scrap box, and gave it a whirl. I added 4 more blocks, and made some observations how they all worked together.

Exploding a Standard Block Setting

Flower Power Prints
 "Hapi"

The print is a past line named Hapi from Amy Butler. It's been on my design wall for a few weeks while I tried to decide what to do with it. I'm glad I waited.

Make It Happen Monday

My work is play.

I need some color play every day--especially those that the sun won't shine. Some 60 degree diamonds cut 2", and some 1" scrap strips made a few interesting tumbling block variations. I really like the look of the weave in the intersection. I'm not sold on whether they would look better with a solid for the block, or some value changes between the block and strips, but they were fun nonetheless.

How to Piece a 6 Pointed Star from Scraps

Harlequin 
Six Pointed Star Hexie

My last post 60 Degree Shapes talked about experimenting with these blocks, and many of you said this was something on your own bucket lists. It's opened the door to another world of quilts to make, and I thought you might want to join me.

This is a picture heavy post for those of you who need to know before continuing, but you'll know all my tricks from cutting to problem shooting by the end. Shall we do this?

*This tutorial assumes basic sewing techniques of a intermediate sewist.

60 Degree Shapes

Cut from 2.5" Strips

A 60 Degree Play Day

Today was a catch up with laundry and ironing. But when the stack of shirts was done, I switched over to some scraps I keep at the house. I've wanted to play with some shapes to make stars based on 60 degrees angles. Though I've made a 60 degree triangle quilt, I've never pieced with diamonds, and was curious how hard it could be. 

The Lone Star is based on 60 degree diamonds as well as many other vintage quilts I've been itching to make. See, I do have a carrot dangling out in front of me! As soon as those PUPs are done, I have big plans. Well, at least one good one.

Doing the Quilting Shuffle

An Embroidered Beauty

One day early this winter I visited my friend, Irene, and we put our heads together on different ways to finish up some of her numerous 'outstanding' projects. I saw this top across the back of her chair, and asked what she was going to do with it. It was headed for a local longarmer that only did pantographs, she said. Hmm. I thought and I wavered. I was not taking any customer quilts at that time, but I positively could not allow someone to quilt over top of that embroidery either. On the way out the door I told her I was taking it, I was quilting it, and that was that.

AMH Loominous Quilt Finish

Anna Marie Horner Loominous 
Quilt Kit from Craftsy

I've written about the charm of quilt kits from Craftsy in the past, and how they're great to have on hand when you need a quick quilt. The fabric is pulled, the pattern is included, and they mail it to you. (It's like pizza delivery.) I think, "A lot of bang for little effort (and buck) on my part." When this kit went on sale, I snapped it up. I had seen the Loominous line in stores, and it was not your run of the mill quilting fabric. This woven draped more like luxurious chambray with light body, and felt so soft! I knew I would love it next to my cheek when snuggling with a quilt.

Saltwater Jelly Roll Quilt

16 Patch Stars & Diamonds
Full/Queen at 76" x 97"

My goodness, am I glad to have this quilt top together! Whew. Talk about a project going on for-ev-er. This is Tula Pink's Saltwater line, and was the first jelly roll I EVER purchased or worked with!

Yesterday was devoted to cleaning off my work table as I have my monthly group coming in this week. With the ironing surface freshly vacuumed, I pressed all my recently laundered fabrics and backings. I sat to rest when this caught my eye from the Pink Doxies' PUPs table...Pile of Unloved Projects. (Big wink!)

QST Scrap Quilt

A Second Chance Quilt: 
Scrap Blocks and Stash Borders

One of my favorite quilts ever is my 'Chicago, 2007' QST Quilt--Entry for Blogger's Quilt Festival 2015. There is such a good story behind it, and it was the first I ever long arm quilted. While combing my shelves for old projects, I came across a box full of extra blocks I'd made for it. These were too good to waste! These dark winter days needed a charge of happy colors so I set right to it.

3D Groovy Wrapped Star Finish

Wrapped Star

I have been buried deep in books about making 8 pointed stars. Construction methods, math, templates, names, and yes, new quilts I want to make this year! I think I'm in love with these versatile blocks! Technically, my 3D Groovy star is a Wrapped star as it has 4 strips to each star point, and perhaps also because of the 4 patches in the corner. I could not tease out if the pattern would still be called 'wrapped' without those, or if there were variations related to how the colors/values were used. It's nitty-gritty, but good to know.

You can see the first post about this project Star Quilt from Strips: 3D Groovy

Tricks, Tips & Common Sense for No Pin Quilt Borders

Black Tie Affair
Bee Blocks 2016

I can't imagine this pretty, little thing was from 2016 already! Alone on a shelf with no finish in her future. I read the note I had stashed with it, the accompanying fabric, and set to pressing out the wrinkles. Each project that comes out has some story behind why it didn't get finished--some problem I encountered that wasn't easily solved. This gal was lacking fabric for the borders, and some finicky seam work. I had searched high and low in stores and online for that fabric, and it had all disappeared. Until...

Two Not-So-Teeny Texas Braids

A Texas Three Step 

There were several tongue-in-cheek titles I had for this quilt. Texas Three Step because there were really only 3 different pieces in it, and 3 sewing steps for the whole quilt. The other was Crazy Quilt because of the repetition. Now that I'm done, I do appreciate the true vintage braids all the better, though. Will I do it again? No way, but don't let me sway you. You may enjoy it, but I'll say I've crossed this one off my bucket list with a marker.

There is good information on cutting and organizing such an array of fabrics on the first post: A Texas Braid Christmas Quilt

Drunkard's Path & High Water

Drunkard's Path
67" x 89.5"

These blocks were found in a little store miles out in the country, tucked into a basket under piles of other vintage textiles. You must dig for buried treasure, you know. They came home with me, were carefully washed and pressed, and sat in another box for about two years. As I systematically pull out unfinished projects, they have been brought to life.

Read A Sweetheart of a Quilt to see the original condition the blocks were in when I started, and how I trimmed them.