A New Addiction

Oh, what have I started? I felt the need to get quilty last week and I wanted a start to finish project. The Monster started playing with dolls recently, so a doll quilt seemed like a good choice. From start to finish it took me about three hours. That includes the time spent with The Monster picking fabric.

I've had this Dick and Jane fabric for a while. She is obsessed with the Dick and Jane books. Do you know how annoying those are to read and reread to the enjoyment of a 2 year old? Maybe I was hoping that the quilt would quell her desire to hear the stories by encouraging her to make up her own with Dick, Jane, Sally, Puff, and Spot on the quilt. Yeah, foolish thinking on my part.

This is very simple construction. Two pieces of fabric sewn together and some circle appliques covering the seam. To quilt I simply outlined the circles and copied the diamond pattern on the big piece of fabric.

There is one more bit of work to do, or rather, re-do. I did the binding by machine - a big mistake. I've never done that before and I won't do it again. One quiet night I will take the seam ripper to the stitches and sew it down properly, by hand. Of course, I have about a dozen more sketches of other quilts to make. And a list of little girls I know who would love a doll quilt...

Inspired Improvisation Ready for Delivery

My Inspired Improvisation quilt is done. Oh, and I finally got my new camera, so I can share the pictures with you.

This quilt was truly an improvisational piece. In a fit of insomnia a few months I bundled up and headed to the basement. On the table was the doodle I'd saved. The Monster was only scribbling, but it captured me and I kept it. From that drawing I started pulling fabric, cutting some squares and strips, swiped my rotary through the squares, and sewed. As you can see, some blocks only got swiped once, some twice, some here, and some there.

When I started I had no plan. This was definitely about the process. Hell, I didn't even know if this was going to end up as a quilt. Sometimes you just need to start something and see what happens. Along the way I realized that it was going to turn into a vibrant quilt and I needed to start thinking about the end result. At that point I began to plan block sizes and total number of blocks. And because I didn't cut enough fabric that first night I could actually cut to better size and end with less waste.

The back was pieced with the few remaining fabrics in large enough quanities. This was entirely stash-built so I wasn't about to buy fabric for the backing. It required a bit of creativity, but I thought I captured the energy of the front on a large scale for the back.

The label had to include The Monster's scribbles. I scanned the original and used it as the background for my label. Unfortunately our ink was a little low so the colours weren't as vibrant as the original, but that paper is damn expensive so I wasn't about to reprint.

The quilting is in sharp contrast to all the angles of the front. I debated with myself for a few days over whether I should contrast the design or mimic it. I started it and then let it sit for a few days because I wasn't sure about it. To be honest, I went ahead still unsure merely because I was too lazy to rip it out! I'm glad I did. It gives a nice weight to the quilt and the contrast is striking.

Finally, the quilt was finished with this multi-fabric binding. It was the perfect touch. A solid binding would have been too boring.

I can't wait to deliver this one. My boss is still waiting for his heart. He's home now. We'll be heading up in a few weeks and with luck I can present it to his family for his transplant recovery. If not, then I can get a visit with a remarkable man and show him some gratitude for all he's done for me.

Breaking Free

Improvisational quilting is not just about making wonky log cabins or wavy strip quilts. it's about not buying kits and patterns and fabric lines. In the spirit of Project Improv, and because I still don’t have a camera, I thought I could offer some encouragement for those just breaking into improvisational quilting.

Where do you start? Well, that depends on your goals and inspiration. Are you trying to make a baby quilt to match a room? Have you fallen in love with one particular fabric that you want to showcase? Are you simply interested in playing around at your machine? Heck, maybe it's all three.

For the nearly 50 quilts I've made or contributed to in my 10 years of quilting I can honestly say that maybe 5 were from a pattern - a straight out of the package or book pattern. I'm not one to be told what to do, so early on I started adapting ideas I saw, or creating my own to make my quilts. I would really call it an evolution of technique and effort, not a style.

The first foray into my own designs was simply taking traditional block patterns and putting them together without a pattern. I never understood how companies got away with putting together a pattern for a traditional block, like a maple leaf or churn dash, in a simple setting and convince people that they should pay $10 for it. Maybe it made sense before the proliferation of block patterns available on-line or in books? But you still see them in the stores. I digress.

My favourite places to search for blocks were here or here. If I was making a quilt for someone in particular I would try to pick a block that related to the person. For example, a Monkey Wrench block for a friend that likes to make furniture. Generally I would make a few blocks before I decided where I was going with the quilt. I almost never decide exactly what the quilt will end up as before I start. It is always an iterative process. Sometimes the settings were even quite traditional, with sashings and everything. It just depended on the recipient (if there was one planned) or simply what looked right.

Another favourite thing for a while was to take a block pattern and make it big. This works nicely for baby quilts. A 12 inch block translates nicely into a 36 inch block. This evolved into what I called jazz quilting: taking that original block pattern and repeating it in different sizes.

Then I got my new sewing machine. Thus started the obession with circles. I've made a whole shwack of circles quilts, all very different. The first one I did is one that still requires a label, but it already keeps Hubby warm on the couch in the evenings.

Subsequent circle quilts have included pieced backgrounds. This move then got me thinking about different ways to do these backgrounds and new shapes to applique. It's amazing how a simple shape like a half square triangle can look so different depending on what you do with it. Three of my most recent quilts all have half square triangles, but fabric choice and placement change the way they look. Often I cut the fabric first and make the blocks, then worry about placement and setting. Such was the case with this, this, and this quilt.

Along the way I've tried new things too. I had to get my Denyse Schmidt on and made this quilt a while ago.

And I liked the idea of the popular Yellow Brick Road quilts. But again, I couldn't bring myself to buy a pattern for what looked so simple. Rather than try and copy it I drafted my own pattern. When I went to make the quilt I decided I didn't want the look of a whole bunch of squares and rectangles. So I combined the wonky log cabin look with the pattern I drew and came up with this.
(Sorry about the crappy photo, I could only find a tiny one. The original is on the old computer and that's packed away for the renos.)

My latest projects have been about shapes too, and a lot of seeing what happens as you sew. Cut some fabric and sew, then see what happens. It's kind of like what would happen if Jackson Pollack quilted. Sometimes it is more about the process and not the end product. But you can still make something beautiful out of it.

When you are looking to break free from patterns and kits, remember you don't have to throw out everything from traditional quilting. It is always still a good idea to use a scant quarter inch seam, press well, and trim your blocks square. You can still take those traditional ideas and make them into something new. Don't be afraid. Just start sewing.

Piecing for Others

One of my quilting friends was recently diagnosed with cancer. The ladies in a group I belong to got together and made blocks for a quilt for her. People sent me the churn dash blocks, I pieced together and appliqued the lighthouse block, and another friend and I put the top and back together this week. Another lady is quilting and binding it before we send it out to provide some real hugs from virtual friends. I'm excited to see how this gets quilted. I'll let you know.

My apologies for the crappy photo. We were in a rush to get this out for mailing.