An Overconfident Quilt

After completing two lap quilts for my two daughters for Christmas, then returning home from England with a mere four days to finish a baby quilt for a cousin's shower, I admit I was confident that I could complete a queen sized bed quilt for the wedding gift for the daughter of a very close friend whose nuptials were a whole four months away.   After all, once you finished the top, the rest was a piece of cake, right?

Not only would this be an easy and gratifying endeavor, I was going to design this one myself based on a modern quilt that caught my eye.  I would incorporate a few design additions and the brides favorite color, purple.  I figured in a month or two I'd have it back from the long arm quilter and wrapped well before May.

Then I got a reality check.

My inspiration

How had I forgotten that I hated math?  How had I not noticed that this design required a lot of math?  Nevertheless, armed with my pad of graph paper and my organized, if OCD personality, I was guided by my mentor, Mary at Quilting Seasons. 

My plan on paper

I did manage to complete the top after a month.  But when I lay it over my queen size bed there was a definite problem.  For some reason, after all my calculations, the pattern did not lay correctly.   There was not enough fabric on the top and the design was lost on the sides.  So I set it aside...for awhile.

Eventually, I pulled it out, and after returning to the shop for more advice, I began taking the top apart.  I added additional white fabric at the top and shortened the areas re-figuring things by the seat of my pants.  Forget the math!  Then I made myself pull out all my leftover fabric because, Oh that's right!  It needs a back! 

The back actually was the fun part.  I used no design book, and simplified the process by using 12"x12" blocks alternating the white with blocks of the purple that was used on the front.  (I hate to admit it, but I love the back more!)

See!  Isn't it cool?

 By this time, it is fall.  Obviously the wedding was back in May... Well, as soon as I finished the back, in a day, mind you, I hustled that baby over to the quilt shop to send it off to be long arm quilted. 

When I got it back, I suddenly remembered that I had to attach binding.  All.  The.  Way.  Around.  It.

I set aside for awhile.

The next thing I know it's January, then February.  The joke had been, "As long as they get it by the winter."  Not funny. I wanted that thing done.  Finished.  Out of my house!  Plus I felt super guilty that these patient newlyweds were going to start believing that I was not a woman of my word.  That got me moving.

At that point a most fortunate thing occurred.  I got sick.  Really sick.  I almost didn't leave my house for 3 weeks.  When I was better, but still not up to normal life, I took advantage of my home boundness, pulled out my beginner quilting books and studied how to create, attach, and blind stitch the binding.  Once I got moving, it all came back quickly, and I remembered how relaxing the blind stitch was for me.  I love sewing that stitch!  So I hunkered down and had that binding finished in 3 days!  Whoo hoo!

 

 Then I remembered.  I had planned to embroider their names and the date of their wedding on the quilt.  Shoot!  Was I supposed to do that before it was sent off to the long arm quilter?  Should I add a tag?  What were my options?  I mean I just finished the binding!  And as much as I enjoy the blind stitch, I did not want to remove the stitches I had just so lovingly put in.  I wanted this thing out of my house!!!

Ok, deep breath...Off to the internet to research my options.  Much to my relief, there were a lot of options.  However, my friend was planning to visit her daughter and son-in-law the very next weekend.  I opted for a more personal, and YES, a faster solution.  I do have to state for the record that everyone who knows me, knows how much I treasure the writings, handwritten notes and recipes from family past.  So in the honor of heirloom treasures (and speed), I signed their names, the date of their wedding and my name in my handwriting... but in purple of course!

With a sigh, I handed this completed journey to my friend on a Sunday, relieved that it was still winter, when she informed me that she wouldn't be seeing them until Easter.   So much for in time for winter!  If I hadn't wanted it out of my house so badly, perhaps I should have presented it to them in May, on their first anniversary!

Ah well, live and learn.  So I'm starting to design the wedding quilts of my grandchildren.  No, I do not have grandchildren yet.  In fact, my children are not married, but I learned my lesson about procrastination!

Landscape, Lace, and Long Ago

When I'm not working, I'm generally found in my studio...working!  Lately I've been obsessed with fiber.  My fiber guild decided to show some of our work at Saline library next week, so I've been up to my ears in fiber, fabric, and thread!  Here's a couple of examples of what I've been working on step by step......

Landscape

Did you notice the onion bag I incorporated?

Lace

Long Ago

This piece you might remember, was for the Paris Challenge.  I called it "Paris 1940's"

Fabric, Layer, Stitch, Repeat

It seems this last year of my life has been about rediscovering art.  I've never given up working with my hands, but it has been in a more practical way.  Planting, harvesting, preserving, caring for animals, perhaps creating the occasional greeting card, or putting together a few scrapbooks have been the extent of my creating things.  It appears I left having art in my life when I left college. Until this last year, that is. 

The last 12 months I have been rediscovering the art of creating in many different media through classes at Two Twelve Art Center and Quilting Season.  I've worked in creating acrylic paintings, recycled sketchbooks, needlework and embroidery, felting, mobiles, glass, photography, drawing, collage, paper weaving, encaustic, and quilting.

In that time, I have discovered  an affinity for encaustic collage and fabric/fiber collage.  I've used my sewing machine more in the last 6 months than I did since owning it in the last 17 years!  I've enjoyed the process of experimenting and collaborating with other artists on their techniques.  This fabric collage I am working on currently is from verbal instructions I received from fellow artist, Kat, a gracious teacher who is always willing to share her knowledge with others.

This is not a finished piece, mind you.  It is still a work in progress.  As I continue to put my composition training to work, and experimenting with different textures and color theory, I have a long way to go!  This piece is taking a bit more time as I have been working with all hand sewing and embroidery.

Here are some details:

Here are my first steps in the project:

I'm hoping to work on a series of this type.  I'll post more as it unfolds.  If you have any tips or comments on what I've done, please post!  I welcome all comments and critiques.  Happy Creating!