WIP Wednesday 11/27/2013

In Verdant Dreams

 For retiring co-worker Cecilia K.

Inspired by a tissue box in shades of green, Cecilia's favorite color.

Raw edge applique. Partly from stash. 

Original design. 60" x 72". 

Completed 11/26/2013

Inspiration for In Verdant Dreams

Part of a tissue box donated by co-worker Margarita A. after another co-worker Veronica B. did some spying and learned that green is Cecilia's favorite color.

Close-up

Petals are from the tissue box, magnified many times.

Also from the tissue box

The "eyes" bothered me for a while, but I came to accept them when I set them upright like this. I think of them as eyes on peacock feathers.

I just finished In Verdant Dreams for co-worker Cecilia K., who will retire tomorrow (Wednesday). Update: I delivered the quilt to Cecilia and she loved it.

For many more photos and details about the quilt, please read on.

Using a light box to complete the "circle" shape

Drew in horizontal and vertical lines to keep each shape oriented properly. Using just one paper pattern for all four layers of the circle, trimming as I go.

Wrote "top" on the paper pattern, used flower pins to mark the top of each cut shape, all in hopes of maintaining the proper orientation of each layer.

Three layers stacked

Blue sewn to dark green with zigzag

Completed circles

Circles laid out close to flower

Background - lots of 6.5" blocks plus a few large squares

Wasn't till after the sections were sewn that I realized piecing them together might be a problem, particularly around the 4-piece square in the lower center. Had to really think about it to avoid painting myself into a corner. A partial seam in a strategic place would help.

Trying out the circles

Another possibility

This and next few photos: Trying out the flower with circles in different ways.

Trying with a green circle. Doesn't bring much to the party.

My favorite for the circles. They remind me of the eyes of peacock feathers.

Circles sewn to background

Trying out the background fabric. Looks good!

Moving the bottom circle to different locations

Didn't like this one, either. Decided to stick with the original layout.

Paper circle - 3" (golf ball printed from Electric Quilt)

Will use as the center of the flower, temporarily.

Ball centered on background

First four petals spaced evenly, although they won't stay like this since there are seven petals, not eight.

Seven petals spaced pretty well

Petals held in place with safety pins. Will zigzag stitch around each petal, one at a time. Leaving paper circle for now, in case a petal should wander.

Petals sewn down, paper removed. Leaving center unfilled. Implied is more artful, I think.

Close-up

Back - silver thread in bobbin, which I figured wouldn't show too much on front.

Sewing sections together - bottom left section and the left edge of 4-piece center.

Stopped sewing about an inch from the bottom edge. This is a partial seam, which will be finished later.

Flower section added (horizontal seam)

Basically, I'm making my way around clockwise.

Upper right section added

Lower right section added. Left side of this seam meets the partial seam area.

Preparing to complete the partial seam

Black pin is where the partial seam ended. Nothing to the right of the pin has been sewn yet.

Seam completed

Pressed seam. Pencil points to the partial seam area. Nice, smooth and straight line. No Y seam!

From the right side of the quilt - very nice

Main part of quilt top done

Wide background added to top and bottom

Border completed

I have to say that I was floored at how good the quilt looked with the border added. It isn't often that I'm blown away by my own design, but I was this time. The border, with its busyness, adds a lot to what I was afraid was an otherwise too-simple design. In my mind it more than makes up for all of the white space where I "didn't do anything."

Close-up

I tie nearly all of my throw-sized quilts. I usually have blocks to help determine the spacing of knots. But in this quilt there's just an awful lot of white space, with some white square blocks. To help create a grid in the wide open spaces, I used safety pins to mark 6" lengths.

Then using the pins and seams from the 6" blocks, I applied masking tape. The plan is to tie one knot per 6" square.

All done

Close-up of flower area

Close-up of a circle

Next, I'll make a quick fundraiser quilt. The theme is Christmas. I found a cute Santa fabric in my stash, which was probably a donation from someone, because I don't remember buying it. Anyway, I'm hoping to make most of the quilt top from stash. I may need a little for the border. Right now I'm thinking nine-patch blocks, and I may throw in a few snowball blocks to reinforce the theme. I'll get started in the next few days.

Debbie

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WIP Wednesday 11/20/2013

I've been working on a quilt for retiring co-worker Cecilia K., concentrating on making petals for a large flower. There are seven layers for each petal, and I've been using just one printout, trimming away each "ring" as I go to reveal the new pattern.

I got partway into trimming when I realized I was cutting on the wrong line. Horror of horrors!

A piece of Scotch tape saved the day and I trimmed away the correct part.

I'd been sewing on one layer at a time, trimming out the centers of the "old" layer as I go. I must have forgotten during one of the last layers, and had to trim away a double layer on most of the petals. On the left is what the back should look like after trimming; on the right is how most of the petals looked. Oh, well. That mistake didn't add much more bulk overall. Weirdly, I scared myself a couple of times, thinking I'd cut through too far. But they were all fine. Stress!

Petals from the photo above, flipped to the right sides.

For the last two rounds, I decided to sew them simultaneously. The pieces were very small, and the edges touched in the lower halves. The zigzag would easily cover both fabrics.

Finished petal

Back

Seven petals arranged like a flower. I will probably add a center circle.

Petal inspiration - from a tissue box

I copied the shape, magnified from a couple of inches tall to almost 11", the size of a piece of printer paper. Personally I love the contrast of dark with light, but I subbed in the coloration of the partial petal seen to the left. It has a softer color combo, which reflects Cecilia's soft, gentle personality.

Next I'll make a set of three circle shapes, each four layers thick. I'll use similar methods as I did with the petals. They should go pretty quickly.

Debbie

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Make It Monday 11/18/2013

I've been working on a quilt for retiring co-worker Cecilia K. I got the petal shape from an image on a tissue box.

Two stacks of petal shapes, seven petals all together.

Before I pinned the white layer on top, I cut a slit through the green. This was to make it easier to trim away the green later without damaging the white layer.

White layer pinned to the green

Zigzagged over the edge of the white with invisible thread on top, silver on the bottom. I figured the silver would blend with the white if any of it peeked through.

Back

Back - green fabric trimmed away to reduce bulk.  Used small scissors to lessen the chances of cutting through the white.

First two layers. Left - as seen from the front. Right - as seen from the back.

Left - three layers. Right - four layers.

There are seven petals total. I add a layer to all of the petals before I move to the next layer, in an assembly line fashion.

There are seven layers all together. Each round seems to take less time, probably because I've had some practice, and partly because each new shape is smaller than the previous one. Once the petals are done I'll begin constructing three multi-layered circle shapes.

Debbie

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WIP Wednesday 11/13/2013

My current quilt is for retiring co-worker Cecilia K. Co-worker Veronica did some spying and learned that Cecilia's favorite color is green. Soon after, another co-worker Margarita discovered she had a tissue box with just the right colors. Margarita sacrificed a piece of her tissue box, and I have used it as inspiration.

The shapes on the bottom look like petals from a flower. I decided to multiply them to form a flower. Also, I decided to use one of the circle shapes.

Electric Quilt sketch

The petals of the flower, as well as the circles, will be similar to ones on the tissue box.

Fabrics

Background is a white-on-white print.

Border fabric

I decided to make the flower pretty large. If I made the petals the size of a regular piece of paper (8.5" x 11"), I would end up with a flower about 22" in diameter. Plus I'd be able to print a pattern easily. I played with the photo, cropping it to 8.5" x 11".

I repeated for the circle.

I printed to regular size paper, in black and white. These are the actual patterns. The circle is the third version. The first was too small and the second was too big.

I printed 9 wallet sized petals, just to see how they would look together.

One petal

Eight petals

Four petals laid out

Filled in to make eight petals. Seems a bit crowded.

Seven petals (my favorite and the one I chose)

Six petals

Five petals (a little too Hawaiian for me)

Printout laid over green rectangles

Cut out the petal

Traced the petal

Stacks are three and four layers thick. Cut with scissors for accuracy.

Ta-dah!

Background fabric

Using the wrong side of the fabric (see bottom half of photo) in the petals because I think it's more subtle. For the actual quilt background, I'll use the right side.

Original pattern

Cut away the first layer to form the new pattern. Will repeat with each new layer. I'm saving on paper and ink by using just one printout.

First two layers (not sewn yet)

My plan is to use invisible thread and zigzag around the edge of the white to join it to the green. Once sewn, I plan to cut out most of the green under the white layer, to reduce bulk. Will repeat with each layer.

My other quilt project is for retiring co-worker Edna. For the past little while I have been making signature blocks, about a dozen at a time, then passing them around my office for co-workers to sign. In a short time I have collected 37 signatures. I still have a few dozen to go. The quilt isn't due until late January, but I'm glad I started early. I'll be concentrating on Cecilia's quilt for a while, but I'll get back to Edna's quilt soon.

Debbie

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WIP Wednesday 11/6/2013

Electric Quilt sketch of signature quilt

Signature block

White-on-white print is purposely sewn wrong side up to provide a little subtlety which will let the signatures show better.

Signature blocks in a variety of colors

Masking tape prevents people from writing in the seam allowances.

Blocks are backed with freezer paper to keep the fabric from wiggling during signing.

I'm working on a signature quilt for retiring co-worker Edna N.  A few months ago I gave Edna a list of employees and asked her to highlight the names of people she has worked with in her units - Admin and Legal Clerks. There are 67 names! I chose a simple signature block in a variety of colors. I'm hoping to make all of the pieced blocks from scraps. Alternating plain blocks will be in a pale solid, possibly pink. (I learned today from Edna that her favorite color is red.)

The quilt isn't due until late January and normally I wouldn't start working on it until 2-3 weeks before the due date. But since it will take a while to gather the signed blocks, I'm getting an early start.

Debbie

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