Opal - More Adventures with Improv Applique

Opal

43” x 38”

A sweet soul, always there for others, full of love. Opal is a kind women, volunteering for her church, providing extra bandaids for the neighbourhood kids as they ride their bikes by her house, and always with a batch of cookie dough in her fridge. She loves a good cup of coffee and isn’t opposed to a little gossip on the side. Nothing mean hearted though! And you can always count on her for potato salad at the picnic.

A year ago I was teaching Improv Applique at the Edmonton District Quilt Show. I made up a new sample for the show - piecing a background of low volume scraps. With the guidance of the participants I cut this bowl shape to demo the techniques I teach. It was a fun shape and the impact was strong. Come fall, I would add another bowl, as I called them, here and there. During the depths of winter I finished the top and it sat patiently, waiting its turn for quilting. It’s me, so it could be waiting a long time for that!

But then I realized I did make a baby quilt for a recent addition to the extended family. Like, I totally forgot. As I consulted my Quilts Under Construction list looking for something appropriate, this applique treasure came up. It’s absolutely perfect for the recipients! Maybe it was meant to be?

I quickly made a backing. Birds and more birds! I know that the baby’s Mamas love to watch the birds in their yard, so it was perfect. And I think I used the Charley Harper fabric on the back of a doll quilt I made for their first kiddo. With some simple straight line quilting it was a quick finish - once I decided to do it!

To bind the quilt I raided my green stash. I’ve used green in their wedding quilt, the first baby’s quilt, and a doll quilt. Plus, the dark green went well with the one darker purple bowl.

Ready for all the baby snuggles. Well, once summer is over! Unless I make a quilt out of a mosquito net or rubber boat, I doubt it’s getting used this summer.

Almost There on this Epic Quilt

Years ago - I don’t even remember when - I started marking the places I’ve travelled to for quilting. They started as samples for my Improv Lettering class, and have continued to be so. Folks, I am so close to finishing the Canadian place names. Just one more left to do: Carseland. After that, it’s the challenge of puzzling them all together for a quilt top.

Not too long ago I put them all up on the design wall, just to see what they looked like. As a single quilt it would be massive. Bigger than king sized. And frankly, I don’t want a bed quilt of the places I’ve travelled to for quilting. Not the bedroom vibes I am going for. That being said, if I split up the Canadian places and the international places I will have a generous quilt top, and a smaller one that I can add to for a backing. A double sided quilt!

While I only need one more Canadian location, I need at least a half dozen on the international side. Just a little bit more sewing to do.

A New Foray Into Handstitching

This past summer the doctor finally confirmed something I’ve suspected for years. I have arthritis. It isn’t shocking, it runs in my family and I am 50 now. It’s my feet that plague me, but one look at my mother’s hands and I see what my future looks like. That may be the reason I am so obsessed with all the handwork these days. Getting my kicks in while I can!

It was also the move to the studio in the fall of 2024. Without a machine or place to put one at home anymore I found myself turning to handwork for both Morning Make and to fill time in the evenings. The kids are older, the girls are driving, and so my evenings are slowly coming back to me. I read a lot (more on that soon) but I’ve also really embraced handwork.

In my 27 years as a quilter, though, I’ve not done much hand piecing. There is that epic English Paper Piecing project which is ready for basting, finally. I can’t discount that. And once, many years ago, I pieced together a pile of scraps with no rhyme, reason, or technique. Of course, we know how much I love needle turn applique. So when, as we headed into some days off over the holidays I decided to bring home a stack of fabrics and my big book of blocks. Over a cup of tea I picked a block that looked interesting, without being a bit too much, and watched some You Tube tutorials so I was doing it right.

In 10 days of Morning Make, plus some hours here an there, I made 3 blocks. They are a completely odd size because my math skills were seriously lacking. I thought I was cutting those squares in the corner so the whole thing would finish at 15.5” x 15.5”. Not quite. They are actually 16 5/8” x 16 5/8”. As long as I am consistent, right?! I’ve decided I will make 16 in total. At least 16. I’m digging in to the stash for now. And supplies are minimal. I’ve already got pins and needles and had some lovely Aurifil 80W on hand that the dog hadn’t managed to eat yet.

They are very peaceful to make. And they come together much faster than you think they will. Not as fast as by machine, of course, but still fairly quick. It’s the cutting and marking of the fabrics that feels like a slog. So I just do it one block at a time and embrace the process. One stitch at a time, right?

Kai - The Quilters' Playcation Adventure Sewalong 2024 Quilt

Kai

70” x 70”

Kai is full of adventure. They live life in a just jump in and see what happens kind of way. If someone asks them to try a new food, they don’t even ask questions, they just open wide. If someone wants to climb a mountain Kai packs the snacks. When the airlines offer a deal and there is money in the bank, Kai hops on a plane. They want to see all the things, meet all the people, try everything. And the one thing that brings them the most joy? Rainbows. Rainbows are experienced the world over and never fail to make you smile.

The 2024 Iteration of the Quilters’ Playcation Adventure Sewalong is now a finished quilt. Well, one of the versions I made. (The other one remains an unquilted quilt top.) For 49 weeks in 2024 I hosted a live session on Instagram where we made an improv block. My theme for the year was Rainbows so each block contained the 6 colours of a rainbow (or any gradient chosen), and half the blocks included an additional background fabric.

Want to catch the replays and make your own? All the tutorials are saved on You Tube.

Unlike previous years, I decided on a size for the blocks at the beginning of the year and planned out this 7 x 7 layout. That way I was alternating the background/no background blocks for a somewhat checkerboard effect. It came out well.

The rainbow on this quilt was made from a selection of pastel colours of Moda Grunge. This textured, not quite solid colour at all made for a lovely rainbow. I liked that it read as rainbow without being overly cliche.

When I started the quilt I bought a meter or so (I can’t remember exactly) of each colour. At the end of the day, I had a lot of the fabric left so I used the remainders to piece the quilt back in a rainbow stripe. Look at me being all coordinated! And while the quilting on the front amounts to great texture, the pattern itself is very visible on the back. I combined spirals and lines in a free motion pattern that I did on a rented long arm. Full credit to Angela Walters and one of her books for the idea. It is pretty densely quilted and feels a bit stiff now but as soon as I wash it the cuddles will come out.

The background fabric I chose is this terrazzo inspired fabric with a creamy base. It had all the rainbow colours in it so it was perfect. Midway through the year I did have to go buy more, thankfully my local quilt shop still had it in stock! Of course, I bought more than I needed that time so it was ready for me to round out the rainbow stripe backing AND use it for the binding. We know how I love a contrast binding, but this quilt asked for something more subtle. Sometimes it is good not to introduce something new when the original is already working.

There is no doubt that I chose rainbows deliberately for the theme. They really do make me happy and never fail to stop me in my tracks. But this is - for me - also a political quilt. I have queer family members, my kids have queer and trans friends, and I want the entire community to know that you are welcome here, and everywhere. It’s just a quilt, I know, but I can use it to share my support, amplify your voice, and wrap everyone in the love and joy they deserve. I can’t give every single queer and trans youth a hug, but know that that is what this quilt intends.