Saturday, March 30, 2013

recent work



This is a large disappearing 9-patch I-spy that I made as a donation quilt for our Guild's Covers for Kids project.  Since this photo I have added a greyish-black tot border.  I still need to find the backing fabric.  My friend Donna in our friendship group will quilt it.  Beneficiaries are Ronald McDonald House, a homeless daycare and a group that works with abused kids.  The large 8-inch squares feature boy-friendly novelties.  (The quilt is sideways, sorry).


This is another disappearing 9-patch but in a mini-style.  Each square is 1.5 inches.  I have a large stash of 4-inch I-spy squares that I have obtained though on line swaps, and I selected the ones with very small prints and cut them in quarters to get the starting 2-inch squares.  I donated this mini (about 22x22) to our Guild's mini-quilt auction, which this year benefitted Search One Rescue.  It is a non-profit that trains individuals and dogs to search for missing people.  (Some of the people and dogs attended the show!)  I quilted this one myself.  I called it "Dolly's Bedtime I-Spy."
For those of you new to I-Spies, the concept is that the quilt is a conversation starter with young children.  I spy a whale, can you find it.  I spy something orange, can you find it?  Or the objects can be selected to create a story...

And here's another quilt with a lot of detail.  This is my Beatles quilt, called "A Beatles Rebus," which I entered in the show.  In addition to some of the overall Beatles fabric used in the outer blocks, in the inner blocks, I have references to 57 songs or albums written or recorded by the Beatles.  It's a rebus, because some of the references are visual puzzles.

 
 
I think this quilt is more interesting up close where you can see this visual detail, and I could have done a better job in spreading out the colors as I created the blocks and then assembled the quilt.  But I worked on this about 2-3 years to gather the different fabrics to represent the songs, so when I finally got on a roll to put it all together, color impact wasn't so much on my mind. It is also so big that my very temporary design board was my den floor. 

Saturday, March 23, 2013

Patriotic Star quilt

This patriotic start quilt was designed by Shelly at Quilter's Connection, our local quilt shop in Northeast Dallas.  She had a civil war and contemporary red white and blue color way, and I chose the latter.  I made most of the blocks in 2011, and it took me several months in 2012 to get the 51 sashing blocks made (those devilish red diamonds!).  Maria Davis Hall quilted it for me this spring.  Shelly's kit suggested a deep blue background fabric, but I didn't like the color with the other blues in the blocks, but needed some color to contrast with the white triangles surrounding the square blocks, so I selected this red, blue and white star print.  I think this quilt looks better from far away than it does up close (my piecing errors aside), because the white triangles really pop the blocks.  Up close, I fear the background print is a bit busy.  But my husband likes it, so it will be his gift.  The backing is red and white polka dot print, and the binding is the same red fabric as the accursed diamonds!


More Dallas quilt guild photos


This quilt is "My Crazy Heritage" by Sally Brown of Colleyville, TX. This quilt won a special ribbon for its handwork.  It is composed of antique handkerchiefs from the women in the quilter's family, with individual embellishment with small keepsakes or symbols of the women involved. This is a quilt that is lovely from the distance but really worth a close-up look.  the quilt below is a similar family remembrance of the quilter's family background in England, with the center representing events or English cultural practices, and the border containing English pub signs.  The quilt is called "In the Blink of an Eye" and the quiltmaker is Sylvia Showers of Brenham, Texas.
 
 
 
 
 

Sunday, March 17, 2013

additional quilts from Dallas quilt celebration


This is a very nice pictorial quilt that did not win a ribbon, but I liked it very much. "Headwaters" by Gay Young, based on a photo of the headwaters of the Rio Grande near Creede, Colorado.

Friday, March 15, 2013

Dallas Quilt Celebration

Last weekend was the Dallas Quilt Celebration, sponsored by the Quilt Guild of Dallas.  There were more than 350 entries, as well as several exhibits.  As a general impression, I would say the show was dominated by applique, album, and mariners compass quilts.  Lots of amazing workmanship.  I'll post some of my photos.

"Proud Ladies by Dot Collins of Port Neches, Texas; antique embroidered blocks with pieced feedsack prints, scallop borders.
 

The gold above is the "Best in Show," by Linda M. Roy, "Vintage Button Bouquet." The green-bordered is "Springtime," by Germaine Reconnu, Sachse, Texas, 1st in Seniors category.
 The red and white above right is "American Vortex" by Marilyn Hardy, Tyler, Texas. The red and white album is "Baltimore Snowflakes" by Sunisa Cote, Southlake, Texas, which won first place, artisan Large Applique.  I'll post more tomorrow!

Sunday, March 10, 2013

Weekend tip: quilt label

Probably everybody else but me knew this technique for making labels, but until I read this, I struggled with just turning under the edges of the label, and since I was using a computer-printed label, the fabric was stiff and contrary, and I could never achieve a smooth straight edge.  this is a link to a tutorial for making a framed label with a border, and then attaching a backing, so all the edges have a nice seam.  For the computer label fabric, this results in the label lying flat (because the seams are pressed outward, so also reduces bulk.  It's so important to label your quilt, and this makes it easy. Here's the link:  http://sewmeblog.blogspot.com/2011/12/simple-quilt-label-tutorial.html

I would add one more tip.  this tutorial suggests leaving one of the seams slightly open for turning.  Other tutorials have you sew all around, and to flip, just cut a slit in the lining fabric and use that for turning.  The slit won't show or ravel since it is behind the label.

Friday, March 1, 2013

I-spy mini quilt

Our Quilt Guild Show starts March 8, and we have a mini-quilt live auction to raise money for a charity.  This year the charity is Search One Rescue Team, which trains people and dogs to do searches for missing people in our metro area.  (We had 2 gorgeous bloodhounds and their people visit our Guild meeting a month or so ago!).  Since I collect novelty fabrics for I-spies, I decided to make a mini with my 4"  novelty squares, but I cut them in quarters, so just used 2 inch squares and selected the really tiny prints.  I put them together with the disappearing 9-patch pattern, and here is the result.  I've stitched in the ditch and then need to do some quilting on the border.