Tangential Creativity

One of the best things about having a large list of Quilts Under Construction (currently at over 40, but I don't know the exact number today) is that I can never get bored. The other great thing a large list affords me is the luxury to not give a hoot about having a large list. So if I want to start something new, I will. And I will never feel bad about that.

Being open to inspiration and being inspired to act is one of the key reasons I quilt in the first place. Because I want to create, I want to explore, I want to try new things.  And with quilting I can do that with pretty much zero danger (compared to rock climbing), a minimal investment (compared to travel), and no ick factor (compared to trying some exotic foods). The idea hits and I can run with it and the only thing it impacts is my stash.

Last week a friend in the neighbourhood popped by with a beautiful gift. A stack of unique kimono fabrics direct from Japan. Her mom, a new quilter, was visiting from Japan. One morning they came over and I shared my quilts with her. We talked (via my friend, translating) inspiration, style, fabric, what we knew of the Japanese quilting community, and making in general. It was lovely visit and I wished her well as she left, a bag of scraps and some books for her to carry home for new inspiration. I told her to come by next time she visited Canada and we would stitch together. The beautiful fabric was a wonderful, and unnecessary gift. It sits on a shelf, where I pet it and smile - for now.

But, the colours reminded of another stack of gifted fabric. This one given to me by my mother in law over 5 years ago after a trip to India. I had to look up just how long ago she gave me these treats! Thank goodness for having a 10 year old blog.

Back in 2012 I think I made 4 blocks with the fabric. Just to play. Those blocks, and the fabric, sat in a bin with all my other materials for teaching Circles. A few times a year I dusted them off and never thought of them again. That kimono fabric got me thinking, my hands got twitchy, and a few days later I already have 50 quarter circle blocks sewn. With enough background fabric for maybe 40 more.

Oh no, I have too many quilts on the go I couldn't possibly start another one. I'll have to park this idea and put the fabric back in the bin until I finish a few more quilts.

Yeah, that's not me! I relish the opportunity to see the tangent and take off down the path it opens up. I realize that not everyone is this way or that even reading about this might cause twitching in someone else. I knew that if I didn't embrace the idea right then and there I might never go back. And if it wasn't for that kimono fabric I might never have thought about these Indian cottons. If, if, if. I don't want to live a life of what ifs, I want to see what happens when I respond with Okay, now what? 

Who knows how long the kimono fabric will sit and be admired, or tucked away for safekeeping. I could try something next week or it might be 5 more years. I'm good either way.  One day it will make it to the Quilts Under Construction list. 

Oops

A certain Britney Spears song is running through my head right now.

I was on a finishing quick. Trying to turn blocks in to quilt tops, basting a few quilts, and making more blocks for others. No real reason other than a desire to have things move around on the list and maybe get a finish or two. Then this happened...

You see, I was prepping for a class. Wanting to augment my existing class samples I decided to try something else. I did that one thing, shared it on Instagram, someone commented on it, that led to another idea, and I went ahead and played. So bits of that piece on the bottom left became an attempt at shark fins on the top. But I couldn't quite get the shark fins to look right so I kept trying. Frankly, then, they started to resemble orcas more than sharks. It was at that point that I got the idea for a whole pod of orcas/sharks. 

That bit on the bottom left also greatly intrigued me. I decided to pick two other high contrast solids and play some more. The blocks are made up on different sorts of improv triangles (that's what my class was on that day). I am completely in love with the interesting shapes that come from sewing the different components together. Positive and negative space at work.

So I did what any respectable quilter would do when faced with two fun ideas would do - I went shopping. My solids stash is actually quite minimal. I picked up a whole bunch of blues to add to the pod and add variation to the ocean background. Then I snagged a bunch of random coloured solids. 

These are both excellent Morning Make projects so they will certainly be in the rotation. Let's see what I can finish before the fabric arrives.

Kawasaki's Theorem Quilt with Maze and Vale

Kawasaki's Theorem 1

28'' x 28''

It's a bold and cocky move to name anything Number 1. It completely implies a series. That's a lot of pressure to put on yourself... if you care that much.

I met never get to Kawasaki's Theorem #2. That's okay. In my head this was just the first round of play though. So maybe, just maybe, there will be more.

This particular quilt started before there was fabric. It was an image in Uppercase Magazine, an issue on paper. The image is actually about a paper folding and angles. There is a formula and everything. It was the image that illustrates the theorem that got me though. It immediately screamed quilt block. I sketched up some repeats for fun, then dated and parked the idea.

When in Australia I had the great chance to take a private silk screening class with Leslie from Maze and Vale. Rather than use her screens she encouraged us to create our own stencil. I pulled out my ever present sketchbook to see if anything struck me as a possibility. My Kawasaki's Theorem sketches were there and my brain was broken for any other ideas so I went with it.  We printed fabric and went on our merry way. 

Then I had the idea to go very meta with my fabric. Sometimes I can be rather cheesy. I designed a block based on the theorem and used the fabric in the block. Then I made a few more. And then, as I contemplated my quilting plan, I extended the design there and quilted it to reflect the theorem as well. I am a total nerd.

Who knows if Number 2 and 3 in the series will ever get made, but there are sketches. If not, the play is still totally worth it. It is in the play that new ideas grow, techniques get better, and the joy is found.

Forgiveness - Scrap Vortex Meets Improvised Words

Forgiveness

80'' x 77''

When two quilts become one. When emotions transfer to your making. When the morning make becomes all consuming. When making a quilt is cheaper than the therapist.

This particular quilt started a few years ago. I called it Snippets on Dates back then. Take two little bits and sew them together. Repeat a thousand times, press. Sew pairs to pairs and so on. I had a small quilt together and there was no end to the little snippets. Around the same time Amanda Jean launched her Scrap Vortex Quilt Along. It got a lot of people looking at their scraps differently. Here and there I would take my overflowing bin of snippets and sew some together. Doing it bit by bit makes it less daunting, especially when most of the pieces are 2'' or smaller! But I never really moved further than that. Everything just sat around in my Quilts Under Construction pile.

Cue last summer. For one, my Morning Make became a serious commitment. As in, I wanted/needed to do it every day for my sanity. I like my Morning Make projects to be no brainers so I pulled this one out to start. Then my heart started turning over the word, the act, the emotion of Forgiveness. I decided sewing the word would help it burn into my brain and body, like I was taking notes for a test. Initially, I didn't actually see the two projects working together, I just happened to have them both out on the cutting table. They did really want to go together.

At this point I could go on some spiel about symbolism: the chaotic nature of our emotions with the quilt as metaphor. Uh, no. It really came down to the fact that even though I was making letter blocks to spell Forgiveness, I had no clue what to do with a really long, skinny quilt with just that word. While I thought about other words I put more snippets together. It seems obvious now, but it took me a few weeks to let the two projects play together. And then they became creative partners, propping each other up, no metaphors needed.

I rather like that the word is a bit tough to see. It wasn't bad Value work on my part, it was intentional. Forgiveness is an internal emotion, I don't need it, or me, to shout its presence.  Oh wait, I just got symbolic. But I did tone down the value contrast intentionally. Rather, I didn't do really darks and really whites on purpose. But it is there. Another confession, I made that V three times.

The fabrics go all the way back - some 20 years, some last year. There are bits and pieces from other quilters in there, including leftover components already pieced. I did zero editing for style of fabric so everything is in here - batiks, civil war, 30s reproductions, modern, solids, linens, you name it!

The backing was a piece of yardage I picked up in Arizona last year, something random that reminded me of a painting in my childhood home.

As usual, I used Quilters' Dream 100% cotton Select weight batting.

It was quilted with a combination of Aurifil and Wonderfil threads in yellow, grey, green, and blue. Just things I had in my stash. I did wavy lines across the quilt and outlined the letters for a bit more emphasis.

When it came to binding I wasn't sure. Scrappy seemed to make sense, instead of suddenly adding one bit of order. Conveniently, I had a bowl full of binding scraps. I sewed them end to end and made my way around the quilt. 

The last stitches actually went in the binding on New Years Day. Felt great to start the year with a finish, symbolic as it is.