Interpret This!

I have been invited to participate in a 2010 Challenge making art quilts!  I am sooooo excited!  The other invited artists are art quilters and they, plus any followers on the site, will make comments (good, bad, and ugly) about my work.  What an opportunity for growth! 

I know in the art classes I have taken that my favorite part has been when we all had the same assignment and then to see how we each handled it so differently.  That would always open my mind to so many other possibilities that I had never considered.  I am hoping this opportunity will do the same for me. 

Please come and see me at Interpret This!

What is red, white, and black all over?

After working hard to make the Winter Picnic quilt exact (sewing seams, checking points, ripping out seams, *re-sewing seams, checking points, ripping out seams: repeat from * until points match perfectly)  I need a day of the type of sewing I really enjoy.  So, this morning I am rewarding myself with working on an ongoing scrap project, Red, White, and Black All Over. 

I am using red, black, and white scraps along with some leftover red, white, or black blocks or half-triangles left over from other quilts.  I am also using some of the scraps to make blocks from Origami Quilts by Lousie Mabbs and Wendy Lowes.  I especially like the nip & tuck  and the posies for rosie2 techniques.  I may experiment with other techniques from the book but for the most part I want the quilt to just be free.  I want to just sit at my sewing machine and say, "Oh, these two scraps are about the same length and might look good sewn together."  and then to go for it.  Here are a few of my unique-shaped blocks.

This afternoon I will need to get serious again and work on Christmas presents and the Red and White Snowball Challege (and maybe wash dishes and fold some laundry).

November Schnibble--topped is finished!

Here is Winter Picnic on my design wall waiting to be quilted and bound.  That will have to wait until after Thanksgiving but since Sinta accepts quilt tops in the Year of Schnibble Challenge, here is my entry. 

Overall I am pleased by it.  It is very different than the Picnic picture on the pattern package.  Partly that is because of the difference in color palette but there are other changes.  The pattern gave us the option of making different types of baskets.  I dislike sampler quilts so I chose to make all the baskets identical.  I also was not particularly fond of the layout suggested by the pattern so I played with it.  I really liked this layout because of the strong pattern achieved by the positive and negative shapes.  I also decided to only highlight the sashing around the center baskets so the rest of the sashing is made from the background fabric.

Perhaps you can also see the element I added.  I reversed appliqued some flowered fabric  in the Kansas Winter collection that I fancy cut to highlight the flower.  I placed the flower in the center and then in the half-triangles in the middle of each side.  Here is a close up of the center flower.

The last change I made was in the border.  I thought the piano keys might fight a bit with strong layout so I decided to lay them sideways.  I am not totally thrilled with the border but it works sufficiently that I won't rip it out.  Once quilted I will bind the quilt with a black fabric that I used in the first outer border.

November Schnibble

I have my winter picnic started.  The baskets are all assembled and I am ready to start on the border.  Here is a picture of a basket but you will have to wait to see the top till it is finished. I am not sure I am going to go with the piano keys.  I need to live with the basket arrangement for a day or two to decide the best compliment.

Progress on many fronts

Just because I have not posted my progress on my many challenge and Christmas projects lately doesn't mean that I am not working!  I have been making progress and believe I will be making even more progress this weekend and next week when I take several days of of work.

1.  I have completely finished two of the three pocket dolls for Christmas presents to granddaughters.  I have all the clothes made for the third and just need to make the dolly and the pocket.

2.  Now that the handwork is finished for the doll clothes, I am back to working on my Shibori.  My guild has a brown bag challenge coming up in December.  I need to put three pieces of fabric in a brown bag along with some information about me.  I want to include an indigo shibori piece with two coordinated dyed pieces.  This picture is the beginning of my stitching for the shibori piece.

3.  For the UFO challenge, Joy in the New Year, I have tackled my fractured quilt top.  It was too fractured for my liking so I have cut it more (does that make any sense??) and inserted strips ala Ricky Timms.  Here is a picture of my progress.  So far, I like the results.

4.  I have not yet started cutting and piecing the November Schnibble, Picnic, but I do have the pattern and have chosen the color palette (not my typical cheerful, even childlike palette).  Here is a sneak peek at the materials.  It is Kansas Winter.  I am making the Schnibble to hang in the office of a co-worker and he wanted a more subdued color.  I will be starting the piecing this weekend. 

5.  Kate's quilt is still folded waiting for attention. Keep the suggestions coming for it.  I am getting a much stronger feel for how I want to proceed.

6.  Last, I have started adding details to the fabric self-portrait I am making for my Mom. The large pieces of fabric are all fused together and now I am making the faces with various media--currently using water-color pencils but will continue with some stronger colors.  I need to take a picture and get your suggestions.  Later.  This is definitely one of those tenative pieces where I work very slowly.  You know, *do a little, live with it a while, do a little more, live with it, and repeat from *