Shiver

Shiver

Roughly 70'' x 70''

Uh, so I finished this quilt months and months ago. It was just hard to be motivated to take a picture of it. You know, with that long Prairie winter we had it didn't really feel like the tropical waters of the quilt. And I did mention that I live in the middle of the Prairies, right?

Shiver is done though and I am happy to share it with the world!

Did you know a group of sharks is called a Shiver? Things you learn. And things that you learn when someone makes a random comment on instagram and suddenly you are making more shark blocks than you could have imagined. 

The quilting emphasizes the oceanic inspiration with its waves repeated across the quilt. I stitched in the ditch to outline the sharks and quilted the waves on my home machine. The thread colour changes as you move down the quilt, to match the gradation of the fabrics. Some were Wonderfil threads, some Aurifil, whichever colour works (especially because I find them interchangeable in my machine). We will not mention the amount of threads I had to bury to make all this happen.

This was totally one of those quilts that is just for fun. It was all about play, play, play. Sometimes it turns into something your son begs to sleep under while insisting you call him Great White Niki Shark and sometimes things get cut apart and put in the scrap bin. This time it worked and it is awesome. 

Ripples - A New Start

I literally woke up with this idea.

We all know I am a morning person, rising to practice Morning Make. I've never confessed that it is still tough to actually get out of bed. So I take a few minutes to breathe and think about what I want to do as soon as my feet hit the ground. If I haven't prepped my Morning Make the night before I decide what mood I am in that day in those few minutes. Sewing? Sketching? Writing?

A few weekends ago I had the pleasure of participating in The Creative Jam in Prince Rupert, British Columbia. Wonderful people, the ocean, and a phenomenal creative spirit. It was an incredible weekend. Total bonus for me was my morning walks. The rain and fog held off each morning and the ocean was still. I could watch herons, seals, boats, and the fog roll in like a quilt being pulled over a sleeping baby. 

The morning after I got home I woke up with this idea. Ripples. 

Two rough 4'' squares layered right sides up. One light blue, one dark blue, value being relative. A wavy cut with my good scissors. Sewing opposites together. Square up to 3.5'' x 4''. Repeat and repeat, a meditation. 

How could I not, with this as inspiration?

Itty Bitty Curves to Carry Me Through the End of Winter

Oh these improv curves! 

In sharp contrast, at least when it comes to colour, I pulled out these little blocks last week. With my Names for Snow quilt top finished it is great to play with bold colours again. 

Here's where it stands. 

I'm running out of fabric. But I am nowhere near running out of motivation to sew these little blocks together. So now I am debating finding more fabric - it is a mix of random vintage solids, Kona solids, Connecting Threads solids, and I think some Essex Linen. It wouldn't be hard to figure out what I've used so far and buy just a little bit more.

As it stands, this is about 65'' tall. But only 38'' wide. I have baggies of blocks, but they are little and get used up quickly. Hmm...

Names For Snow Quilt Top

Yup, still winter.

At least that means that when I finished this winter inspired quilt the other day I had ample opportunity to take a shot of it in the snow.

It started with a stack of neutral solids fabrics and a beloved pair of Japanese tailor's scissors. I became so enamoured with the process of improv half square triangles and only using my scissors that I kept going and going. I actually have more blocks, but this was the size of quilt I wanted in the end. 

I think the bunnies might like it too...

It would be lovely to get it quilted before the snow totally disappears. Knowing Calgary and the winter we've had, that is about a month away! But I need the quilting pattern to percolate a bit. I've got a couple of ideas but nothing is settled yet. I'd like to move beyond cliche snowflakes.

This is technically the second in a series of quilts inspired by my Alberta landscapes. Actually, more like third, although I only consider this one to be a study and not the full quilt planned. Mountain Meadows would be the first. That one dictated the size of this quilt and the subsequent ones. They are improvised so I can't be exact, but close is good enough.

PS As of last week I am sold out of my Japanese scissors but Knifewear still had a few pairs.