Springtime - Mixed Media Quilt

Springtime

Mixed Media Quilt

Paper, fabric, silk flowers, lace, semi-precious stones, glass, beads.

Original design, made mainly from items on-hand.

9" x 13". Completed 4/15/2012.

Pink stones are held in place with tiny beads.

Needed a dark green in this spot. Large glass heart with flower inside was just right. Quite heavy. Love it!

I intended to make the quilt for Easter, but missed that deadline. However, the card was springy enough to last through April and May. I love the soft, feminine feel of the card, and chose elements that seemed to support that vibe.

To see how the piece came together, please read on.

Started with greeting card from grocery store. Four different possibilities for background fabric.

Love this fabric, but can't get past the snowflakes. Tried to imagine they were lace doilies, which would be great for the romantic feel I wanted to create. But still saw snowflakes.

Seems too dark

Like the pink, but too much like the card. No zing.

Green print is the winner. Card and fabric seem to hold their own even when close together.

Gathered different bits and bobs. May or may not use all of these.

Background fabric

Sizing up for a cut

Folded back on itself. Size is good, back will be same pretty fabric. Note: cut free-hand with scissors, not with straight-edge and rotary cutter.

Cut along fold, placed scrap batting between layers, aligned edges of fabric as best I could.

Using flower head pins to hold layers in place

Auditioning threads for quilting

My picks

Sewed about 1/2" from edges

Close-up

I've had these Dollar Tree scissors for a few years. They don't work well on fabric. They barely work on paper.

Tried a wavy cut with regular scissors. Don't like it that much.

Trimmed edges straight, used fancy stitch to enclose layers.

Cute stitch, first time using it

Did some free motion quilting with darning foot (first time using it).

I like this group of embellishments.

Trimmed card to very narrow white border.

Card taped in place. Silk flowers tucked behind card, to be caught in edgestitching.

Card stitched in place

Laces stitched with very small stitches to deliberately paint myself into a corner. Wanted to make it difficult to undo, force myself to find creative fixes.

Pretty good so far

Added pink lace flowers. I like the off-balance.

Here's what I accomplished in one evening.

Side view of silk flowers. I like the 3-D effect.

Took piece with me to fabric stores to find more embellishments. Found the green glass heart, among other things.

I love the green glass heart with the flower in it. It filled the spot with the dark green that was so needed.

Small pink stones held in place with tape (upper part of quilt)

Using long, thin beading needle to sew on stones, which will be held in place with tiny clear beads. Although the stones are angular, I like the different texture that they add to the piece.

Pink stones sewn

Considered using embroidery floss to hold glass heart, but opted for ribbon which seems stronger.

Once again, the finished quilt.

State of the Stash Report 2012

I am a member of Stashbuster Yahoo Group. Members are expected to give a stash report during their birthday month. I’ll compare my results to those of last year as I go.


Before I start, I should mention that last summer I gave away one-third of my stash to Vacaville Binky Patrol. That big reduction of stash helped my numbers for this year.


Most of my fabric stash is made up of smaller sizes, fat quarter to 1 yard. I keep them in gallon zip bags by color family. Total: 26 bags (down 9 bags from last year).


Scraps 2.5" to 13" wide of various lengths, organized by width and cool/warm colors: Six 12" x 12" drawers plus 2 gallon size zip bags--most quite full, about the same as last year. I do not keep all of my scraps. I have a grocery bag near my sewing machine where I deposit the scraps that no longer interest me. When the bag gets full I donate to a quilting charity, lately the aforementioned Vacaville Binky Patrol. Also, recently I have been using scraps and leftovers from previous projects to create charity quilts (the Echoes series) that have similar fabrics as the original quilts. I'm hoping this will help to keep my scrap collection manageable.


PIGs (Projects in Grocery Bags): 20 (23 last year), with about many of those set aside for charity, including a good deal of Echoes quilts.


UFOs (UnFinished Objects): I tend to do my projects start to finish, so I have just 3 items that sit unfinished (down 4 from last year). Of those, two just simply need to be finished; one will be given to charity. The remaining project I am quite proud of and would like to be quilted professionally with the intent of displaying in a quilt show someday.


WIPs (Works in Progress): Linda's Plaid, which I have just begun. Also, Quilter's Playtime, which I will continue working on during my at-home retreat in May.


I weighed all of the above to have something to compare to from year to year. All told, my stash weighs 118 pounds, down 20 pounds from last year. Woo-hoo! Giving away a bunch of my stash last summer helped.


I made 17 quilts last year, many of which were from new fabrics. I’m not in Stashbuster’s No-Buy group but my fabric purchases would have been okay since the projects were gifts. However, leftover fabric from those projects increase my stash. It helps to make the Echoes quilts, but I may do another stash giveaway this year to lighten even more.

WIP Wednesday 4/11/2012

Springtime - Mixed Media Quilt

Not quite finished yet

Started with this collection

The light pink flowers are actually a little stem of silk flowers. I tucked the stem behind the card and caught the stem in the edgestitching to lock it in place. I like the 3-D aspect of the flowers.

I haven't done much quilting this week. After I finished Larry a week ago, I got caught up on some bookkeeping. Also I've been trying to sew some pants before I start a new project. But I just couldn't resist the urge to create tonight, so I worked on Springtime, my second mixed media quilt. Aside from the new greeting card, the quilt is made from items on hand. The quilt still needs some embellishment, perhaps some pearl beads, but it will look pretty much like the picture. I tried a new fancy stitch to finish the edges of the quilt, and I tried out the darning foot for some free-motion quilting. I like the quilt a lot so far.

Linda's Plaid Electric Quilt Sketch

Patriotic Plaid Block

Linda's plaid shirt that inspired the quilt

The original coloration based on the shirt

The next quilt I'll work on is Linda's Plaid, inspired by a shirt worn by co-worker Linda P. After trying to create my own pattern that mimics Linda's shirt and getting frustrated, I decided to use the Patriotic Plaid block that I found online. The quilt design doesn't look exactly like the shirt but it's still a plaid. Recently I spoke to Linda to find out if the color scheme would fit her home, without tipping her off that I'm making a quilt. I found out that she has a lot of burgundy and green, so the quilt's color scheme changed immediately. I'm so glad I talked to her while I could still make an adjustment. 

During the same conversation I learned that Linda likes roses, too. I will find a way to work them in, possibly as a tone-on-tone in the white areas and/or in the little cornerstones where the strips intersect. Similarly to a plaid, I want the cornerstones to be color combos of green/green, burgundy/burgundy or green/burgundy, determined by the colors of the strips that they connect.

I'll probably start Linda's quilt this weekend.

Blog Tag

My friend Jenn of Jennifier's Sometimes Creative Life tagged my blog, challenging me to answer some questions, and then to pass along a set of questions of my own to fellow bloggers. Okay, I'll play.

Here are Jenn's questions:

1. How big is your stash?
Good question. I am a member of Stashbusters Yahoo Group, and we're encouraged to give a report on our stash during our birthday month. So, as it happens, my birthday is this month and I'll be doing a stash inventory this weekend.

I tend to measure my stash in terms of pounds. All told, this time last year my stash weighed 138 pounds, up 5 pounds from the year before. Last summer I donated one-third of my fabric (2 large bags) to Vacaville Binky Patrol, so I'm hoping my stash will turn out to be considerably lighter when I weigh it up in a few days. I would call my stash medium size, maybe a dozen paper boxes full.

2. What is your favorite treat?
It's hard to say. I don't cook much, let alone bake. I usually have some sort of store-bought baked good on hand. Sometimes it's shortbread type of cookies, a frosted white cake or fruit pie. In the summer I might keep a box of Skinny Cow Chocolate Truffle ice cream bars in the freezer. Also I keep Yoplait yogurt in the refrigerator for a cool, fruity snack/dessert.

3. When do you usually quilt?
I am a night-owl, so typically I don't start quilting until 9 or 10 at night, calling it quits at midnight or 1 AM.

4. How many projects do you have going on right now?
I tend to work on one project at a time. As it so happens, I am between projects, having finished my last quilt this past Wednesday night. I'm trying to get a pair of pants sewn, and perhaps a shirt to test a pattern that has been on the back burner for a couple of months. After those are done, I plan to work on a small mixed media quilt using a greeting card, fabric and embellishments. This will be my second mixed media quilt, and it was intended to be for Easter, but it's Spring-y enough for the next couple of months. After that, I will work on a throw sized quilt for a friend at work.

5. What is the weather like?
 It's clear skies outside, about 60 degrees at nearly midnight. Very nice Spring weather during the day.

6. What keeps you from quilting?
Not much. I quilt pretty regularly and I can get away with not doing housekeeping. Usually what stands in my way is having to catch up on bookkeeping after ignoring it to meet a quilt deadline. Too often on Friday (my day off) or Saturday I intend to quilt all day, but end up websurfing or taking a long nap or two.

7. What color fabric do you buy most often and is it your favorite color?
Judging from my stash I buy blues most often. I would say it is one of my favorite colors, along with purple.

8. What is the largest and the smallest quilts you have made?
The largest quilt I have made is a queen size for my son's bed 10 or more years ago. At the time I used the living room floor to lay out quilts. I scooted all of the furniture to the walls and the quilt took up all of the available floor space. I swore I would never make another quilt that big, and so far I've stuck to my guns. My preference is to make throw sized quilts, good for cuddling up on the sofa or as an extra blanket. Now that I live in a smaller space, and I'm (ahem) older, I use my queen size bed to lay out the quilt layers. and the throw size fits quite nicely, with just a bit of hangover on the sides.

Mug Rug

The smallest quilt I've made is probably a mug rug, last year's Christmas gift exchange for Sacramento Modern Quilt Guild, measuring 8" x 10". My first mixed media quilt was just a tad larger, at 9" x 12".


So, now it's my turn to tag some fellow bloggers. I've chosen:

Bea at Beaquilter
Katie at Sew Katie Jean
Jen at The Quilty Home
Marilyn at North Hills Quilter
Michele at With Heart and Hands

Ladies, here are your questions:

1. What is your favorite part of making a quilt?
2. If you could choose anywhere to vacation this year, where would you go?
3. What is your least favorite color, and have you challenged yourself to use it in a quilt?
4. Which quilt are you most proud of? Post a photo, if possible.
5. What is your favorite season of the year?
6. If you could keep just one of your quilting books, which would it be?
7. What quilting skill or technique are you hoping to learn or further develop by the end of the year?
8. If you have one, tell us about a piece of fabric that you just can't bring yourself to cut.

WIP Wednesday 4/4/2012 - Updated

Larry (formerly known as Darrell)

For Worship Pastor Larry B.

Featured fabrics: Guitars, musical symbols, cameras

Quilt Block: Framed

60" x 72"

Partly from stash

Original design

Completed 4/4/2012

Close-up

Back

Close-up of Back

At last I can tell the real story of this quilt, which now has its true name of Larry. The quilt is for Worship Pastor and my boss of many years, Larry B., who will be leaving our church soon. Larry plays guitar and is a photographer. He is also a Facebook friend and I post photos to Facebook as I go. So to keep the quilt a surprise I needed to give the quilt a fake name, something I would be able to remember easily.

Moe or Curly (of the Three Stooges) wouldn't work. So I chose Darrell, from the 80's TV show Newhart. During every show Larry would introduce himself and his brothers: "Hi. I'm Larry. This is my brother Daryl, and this is my other brother Daryl." He said it in every show! Yes, I know the spelling is different, but I didn't know that until later. By the way, Larry and the Daryls never revealed their last name during the many years of the show. To give "my musician friend Darrell" more credibility, I gave him the last initial N., from Newhart. Sneaky, aren't I?

The quilt block I chose is called Framed, referring to (the real) Larry's photography. I also used a camera-themed fabric for the back of the quilt. Of course, I couldn't talk about the block name or show the camera fabric without Larry suspecting that the quilt might be his. When I gave him the quilt after Thursday's orchestra/band/choir rehearsal, he seemed surprised. Success!

Original post from 4/4/2012: "I've just finished Darrell, a quilt for musician friend Darrell N. I expect to see him within the next week, so I'm glad I got his quilt done.

I have quite a bit to say about about the quilt, but it's very late, so I'll add to this post with details soon."

Darrell Quilt Progress

Nine main blocks for Darrell quilt

Sampling of the blocks

Lower left was not in the original plan. Substituted in the plain light khaki (found in my stash) when I figured out there wouldn't be enough musical symbols fabric to make five blocks.

Auditioning fabrics for checkerboards that will go top and bottom of the quilt, for added length.

Eliminated a couple, tried a couple more.

In the end, I decided to go with the speckled gold fabric. It should bring a spark to the quilt.

I've finished the main blocks for the Darrell quilt, for musician friend Darrell N. Tonight I'll make two rows of checkerboards for the top and bottom of the quilt, then sew the top together. I plan to piece the back together, also. Perhaps I'll get the quilt layers sewn together in a pillowcase finish before bed. Time will tell.