Thirty Twenty Five

Can it be that I’ve now crossed the line of 30 years of quilting?  I’ve celebrated by streamlining my garden shed, tossing out all (well, most!) unwanted/unused items that I’ve collected over the years and always thought I’d get back to, someday…  And many of the picture frames that lurked in dark corners are now up on the wall.  Dress fabric I’ll never use has been donated and now I’m eyeing off boxes of quilting fabrics I purchased all of those 30 years ago…  Will they ever come back into fashion? I think not.  I’ve slowly been reducing magazines and sorting patterns.  It’s all so cleansing and I feel quite virtuous although at times it can be hard to let go. 

From this to

This in 30 years.....

I’ve also realised that I’ve been with the RLI girls (yes, I know we hardly meet that definition now) some 20 years and although at times I wondered whether I’m feeling a little “P&Q fatigued”, something happens; someone finds yet another perfect quilt to make, a new pattern or exciting magazine finds its way into our meetings and I’m inspired.   I think of summer lunches in the garden, the many “I don’t need any more fabric” shopping trips and visits to exhibitions and galleries.
 
It seems hardly possible that it was 5 years ago that I started this blog, a personal voyage documenting my journey so far.  This process too has helped me sort and sift through collections of “stuff” to assemble a physical quilt journal of sorts.  The value add of blogging is that I can post photos and diarise this, my quilting life.

Its all been a wonderful journey. 

Christmas Lunch at Fiona's

Visitors arrive on Dangar by ferry

A Grand (Purple) Idea

Moroccan Mosaic: 2016  (Started:2011)

When it’s finally done, I think I’ll have to call this one the “Will I or Won’t I Quilt”….

Source: Quiltmania #68, p21
Now I look back, my quilt doesn't look anything like this at all!

It all started as a grand idea – an inspiration stemming from an old quilt (19^th c_Piece 67) I’d seen in a QNM, then again later in a 2008 Quiltmania mag (#68 p21).  After lots of sketching and thinking, I gave up the idea of circles on squares (but not before cutting out a heap of fabric circles) and went with another idea I’d sourced from a new Kaffe Fassett book^^ I’d picked up in Camden ME (11/9/10), land of the real windjammers.  Kaffe’s quilt design is called Tilt and it’s a delicious field of colourful rectangles.  Those rectangles spoke to me.

So, with the few leftovers from my already cut circles (damn!), I managed to scrape together enough pieces from my Purple Patch collection plus a few little extras from the stash to put together an interesting background  of rectangles.  The circles however looked insipid on it and I was really searching for “Something Flashy” so it was back to the drawing board for a (long, long) while. 

It was those wonderful paper pieced circles made from scraps (Circles of Fun) pattern that jolted me back to this quilt.  Some of the girls were working on a COF quilt in late 2013 and that inspired me to make scrappy but colour controlled circles which would float on top of my restrained rectangles.  Wow!   It worked and saved the quilt from being wholesome, predictable, and a tad boring even. 

So here we are in early 2015, still piecing this top.  Only the borders to go now!  On reflection, isn’t it rather odd that I’ve yet again decided to branch out on a design your own quilt based on grandmothers fan.  Ring any bells?  Why yes, it’s those still unfinished silk stumbling fans….still crazy after all these years.  Perhaps I should rush out and buy a lottery ticket.

^^(Kaffe Fassett’s Simple Shapes Spectacular Quilts, Tilt p46.)

So here we are in March 2016 and finally I can call this one finished.  I used bamboo wadding and whilst it needled beautifully, it also fluffed a bit and needed fairly close stitching.  Not sure I'd go for it again.  For the record, I quilted this one using Perle #8 in three colours; a lush fuchsia, a rich dark purple and a cakky green (yes, that’s cakky! not khaki & I realise there’s a joke in there somewhere). 

Just for the Record:
Quilt Finished Size: 134 x 191cm
Block Sizes: 11.5 x 6.5”rectangles; 14” & 8.5” circles (diameter)
Cut in: 19 Feb 2011
Piecing Began: 14 May 2011
Pieced & Basted: 3 Apr 2015
Quilted: Hand 2015-16
Quilt Type: Interpretation of Traditional Quilt
Quilt Finished: Mar 2016
Exhibited: No
Collection: Home# 052
Pattern Name: Own Design
Pattern Source: Background - Kaffe Fassett & Wheels - Sue Ross
Fabrics Purchased: Purple Patch
Fabric Design: Purple Patch Collection & Kaffe Fassett
Fabric Style: Modern
Materials Type: Printed Cottons
Wadding Type: Bamboo
Backing: Pieced using left-over remnants

Absolute Magic

Garden Games: 2015  (Started:2014)

Garden Games

In March 2013, some of the RLI Girls were busy working on a pattern called Circles of Fun by Sue Ross.  Fun - sure!  What I really did like about it was that the pattern could handle a variety of colourways (antique, vintage, and classic to modern) and still look great.  Best of all though, was its paper pieced rings of scraps (the classic pattern is called wagon wheels) and the dreaded scrap basket certainly could take a beating with this one. 

After some convincing (almost 12 months) and the gift of an enormous bag of leftover scraps (Did I really need more?), I started work on my very first paper pieced project.  The machine hummed and so did I.  My bin began to fill with teeny fabric bits, and although I rescued a few large enough for applique pieces, I rather enjoyed seeing a diminishing scrap box.  Work on the quilt resumed after a long break and by mid-March 2015, the borders were ready to go on. 

Fitting the borders was the most touch & go part of the whole process – fitting a curving border is especially challenging.  Despite all my concerns, it went together quite well and I had the quilt backed & basted only a few weeks later.
 
Quilting is the bottleneck in my part of the woods, so I didn’t quite get to hand quilting until October of that year.  I wanted to use a few shades of DMC Perle #8 in yellow– perhaps to tone down that “interesting” choice of green that I’d made for the background.  One thing about using Perle #8 is that big stitches makes the task a lot faster and luckily, this effect seems to rather suit the look of this project.  I’d wrapped it all up just before my self-imposed New Year deadline in late Dec 2015… Yahoooooo!!!

Somehow, the dreaded scrap box has appeared to replenish itself.  Is it related to the Cut & Come Again Pie?  (“The Magic Pudding” by Norman Lindsay is one of my all-time favourite Australian children’s stories.)

Anyway, so began my obsession with wagon wheels…..

Just for the Record:
Quilt Finished Size: 158 x 158cm
Block Sizes: 55cm
Cut in: Apr 2014
Pieced & Basted: Apr 2015
Quilted: Hand; Oct 2015
Quilt Type: Modern/ Vintage
Quilt Finished: Dec 2015
Exhibited: No
Collection: Home #058
Pattern Name: Classic Wagon Wheel
Pattern Source: Circles of Fun by Sue Ross
Fabrics Purchased: Scraps from the burgeoning stash…
Fabric Design: All Welcome, especially uglies
Fabric Style: Random selection
Materials Type: Printed Cottons
Wadding Type: Cotton
Backing: Pieced using left-over remnants

Fiona's (top) & Erica's (above) versions of this quilt. 
That stripe outer border fabric is all machine pieced too!

Bran New Day 2016

2016: Project List

Graphic with thanks to Graphics Fairy

New Year, new broom and definitely a much needed update for OTS!  Welcome to 2016!

As with all resolutions, my list of UFO’s needs attention – some just need a mere photo for a post but trying to find a “perfect day” for a little photography has been something of a challenge lately.  Then the silly season just got in the way of progress.  So, here’s my revised list from late December 2015:

#1.  Stumbling Fans (1980).  Silk cushions made from this era have already been consigned to the bin.  Fabric fatigue, I’m afraid so I’m wondering whether it’s actually worth spending the time, effort or financial commitment to start quilting this project. 

#2.  Christmas Fairies (1989).  Will they ever see light of day?  Tough one!

#3.  Bear Jackets (1996).  Do said bears need warm, appliqued & embroidered jackets?

#4.  Fairy Quilt Medallion (1999).  Currently on the design wall undergoing a revamp into a Dutch Coverlet design.  Too many fairies, so birds are the go to trick this whole thing up.  

#5.  Thai Embroideries (2002).  This is a personal challenge and I need a week locked in my garden shed to get this one from a fuzzy idea onto the design wall.  Let’s hope 2016 – only 14 years on from the workshop, (eeek!) – will see it started.

#6.  India Exchange Blocks (2005).  Yes, yes!  I’m planning to start this one soon but as I plan a fairly complex applique border, it’s going to take years to finish.

#7.  Antique Toys (2006).  Just waiting on embroidery – a few details to add character to this quilt and it’s done.

#8.  Explorer Series (2008).  Repeat after me…one day I’m going to finish this art quilt series.  Only 3 little guys to go.  Let’s get the pressure on!

#9.  Flash Purples (2011).  Never let a box of UFO’s get in the way of starting a new quilt.  This was especially challenging as I made up my own design and then slunk off back to Kaffe’s books – as you do (when nothing’s going right)!  This one’s in the quilting hoop right now.

#10.  Windom Quilt (2012).  I fell in love with this design though managed to incorporate an even older UFO (from the Armidale Symposium, 1989) as the medallion centre.  I’ve posted a few “progress” photos already.  This one too, is waiting in line for quilting.

#11.  Horta Calling Cards (2013).  On a dull day what better to do than fiddle around with “photofabric” pieces and a perfectly good printer.  Look Mum, no hands - and now I’ve got a rather too large selection of photos on fabric to do something amazing with. 

Phew – that’s it.  Not too bad I suppose, so I’ll just keep slogging away at the fabric mountain in my garden shed.  No new bits until I’ve made a bit of a hole in the assembled collection.  (You know that’s never going to happen – buying new fabrics is ESSENTIAL, right?)  My plan now is to post as I progress and when I’ve finished each quilt, new or UFO, round out the detail I’ve managed to record.  It’s taken me ages to find (or not find, as the case may be) information about quilts my own fair hands have created.  Who would have thought it so hard to find facts about your own history…

So begins another year full of hope for the future.

Nature is an inspiration in itself, isn't it?

Be It Ever So Humble

There's nothing quite like progress!

Well, it's great to be home and have some time for sewing.  I've eventually put together enough of those little petal squares on my Windom Quilt adaption to make an informed colour selection.  After putting them up, "pales" won out.  Although now, a reasonable stack of "bolds" sit waiting for inspiration and yet another "something" quilt...

So, here it is - photographic proof of being busy at work in the Garden Shed!  FINALLY.

Above photos - 19/3/15

As I worked (photos above), I realised that the pale petals looked better.  Having them up on a design wall allowed me to juggle as I worked and by not stitching until I was really happy with the arrangement, I saved a lot of time and unpicking.  : )

The central medallion is, she said proudly, a UFO from a workshop at the Armidale Symposium. Yes, that was 1989!  It just goes to show that some things should not be rushed....

Photo taken 6/10/15

Back to the Books 2015

Spice Market is my last finished quilt and despite being almost there with another one, I won't be able to make it over the line before we take to the hills again.  Somehow I've developed a backlog needing machine quilting or handwork.  Not to mention finding time to take photos and do a little more research for my quilt album.  Are there ever enough hours in the day?  Still, it is nice to be up-to-date.  Well, kinda! sorta!

Also, I'd better put some time and effort into Textile Tourist, who must be feeling rather neglected this year given all the empty promises of tales of exotic places to be written up.  Still, there's the call of new horizons, lots more adventures on the high seas and quite a few stories to tell.  Just where will it all lead and what lovely textile finds will I discover....  So, I'll be back in time to see those glorious Jacaranda trees in bloom. 

Discovering treasures in humble Viscri, Romania

Game for Colour

Spice Market: 2013

You can understand why I was smitten....

The moment I saw Colour Game in Quiltmania (2009 #72), I knew I had to have a go - one day.  Aside from the colours, I saw a fantastic opportunity to use those lovely fabrics I had coloured in 2002 at the dyeing workshop with Gail Simpson in Mittagong.  Great, FINALLY using up fabrics from the stash and especially those not so easy to incorporate - hand dyes.  I also had a small selection of stripes left over from my Delhi Days and they seemed just a perfect fit too.  I think I’d planned to do something else with them but as they say, strike whilst the iron is hot!

At last, in April 2013, I made a start (that's only a mere 4 years later!).  It was certainly challenging, although fun, to scour my fabric boxes for just the right prints to match my Indian stripes and colour wheel hand dyes.  I must add that this quilt was designed by Roberta Horton, who along with Mary Mashuta must be two of my all time favourite quilt (& clothing - sorry wearable art) designers. 

The pattern was just so easy to cut and I used my “design wall” to place them ready for sewing up.  The design wall helped so much because after a while you get a little “same block” crazy and pieces can end up upside down or mirror imaged.  It also helped me with positioning each individual row of colour – this is where most of your time goes.  The fabric I used for my patterned yellow row happens to be from a vintage piece given to me by my mother.  I suspect it may have once been tagged for a dress for one of us.  It was fairly sheer, so I had to back it as well.

Now for some reason, I decided to keep notes on what I was doing with this quilt but only after I’d found myself well and truly into the process.  Never done it before but it was interesting that I’d spent:

• 2 days finishing the piecing after starting in May,
• then a day to baste it, and
• finally to quilt it, 17 hours (roughly calculated) by machine, using 15 bobbins & 2 reels of Signature Cotton Threads (variegated).

To all this, it is necessary to add time to cut, sew and stitch bindings – a couple of days at least, and then an hour or two to embroider on my label.  How long I spent (at the start) contemplating the pattern deciding on fabrics, cutting and arranging them on my piece of beige flannelette (Kaffe specified, of course), I’ll never know.  And this will most probably be the first and last time I take such detailed construction notes.  There is more to life – unless you are a professional of course and charging to make a living.

I can't help but think this would make up beautifully in a collection of Kaffe Fassett fabrics too.  I want to be clear here, that I am not a total Kaffe tragic!  Well, maybe not on Tuesdays…  ; )

Finally, here is my version, which I must say I am very happy with:

Just for the Record:

Quilt Finished Size: 141 x 168cm
Block Sizes: 22cm
Cut in: Apr 2013
Pieced & Basted: Nov 2013
Quilted: Machine Dec 2013
Quilt Type: Modern
Quilt Finished: December 2013
Exhibited: Never
Collection: Home# 057
Pattern Name: Colour Game
Pattern Source: Quiltmania #72, 2009 p65
Fabrics Purchased: From the Stash…
Fabric Design: Prints, Stripes & Hand Dyed
Fabric Style: Brights
Materials Type: Printed Cottons
Wadding Type: Cotton
Backing: Pieced using left-over remnants

(Photos & measurements eventually.  I have to clean up my sewing room first!)

And a little close up to admire the machine quilting