Tag: Susan Carlson

The Quilt That Keeps Giving…

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This past week has been interesting once again.

I am sure that you remember this quilt, made by

Darlene Donohue, from South Carolina. Well, she

got an email this past week asking her for permission

for her quilt to be in the 2018 AQS Calendar. Yup, this is

the quilt that keeps on giving.

Way, to go Darlene!!

Besides this news, I am working away on Connie’s quilt.

It is a real beauty and I will have lots of pictures when it

is finished. Here are a few of what I have completed thus

far.

Lots of grid work and mashing down of the fabric. Using 2

battings also helps the fabric to puff up and give loft to

the less quilted areas. It almost looks like trapunto but

less time consuming than the traditional way of

stuffing areas and cutting off the excess batting.

4 of the 9 blocks have  alot of piecing in them. But it works well for

grid work.

Again, you can see that I have also inserted a circle in one

part of the pieced block.  Mainly to add interest and I am

becoming a little more brave with dividing up this large

space instead of just quilting around all those squares.

Here are my carrots. This was the stage I was at a few weeks ago.

I am really enjoying this color challenge and am hoping to have

it all completed by the end of the summer. That is the plan for now.

This is my new and improved “Yellow ” section. I know it looks like a lot

of green but when you look at Joan Wolfrom’s Color Tool, there is alot

of green when grey and black are added to the color yellow.

If you have noticed all the dots in the picture, these dots are really

pins that are holding the fabrics together. Susan Carlson’s

fabric collage technique is how I am creating this piece.

Eventually, all the fabrics will have to be glued down and then

quilted.

Carrots

Here is where I am currently at. I have to find some time this week to

complete this “Red” section. Again, this color tool has alot of pink  in

the color red.  I am learning so much about color and  am thoroughly

enjoying this exercise.  Hopefully, there will be more pictures and

progress for next week. What do you think thus far?

Enjoy your week. Check out the Needle and Thread Network 

as well.

 

Summer is coming…

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Summer is coming and I am trying so hard to get all caught up with

customers’ quilts. Currently, I have a quilt on the frame  that usually

resides in Florida but is home here for the time being. I promise to

put some photos up next week.

Helena’s Quilt

Helena commissioned me to make this quilt for her. She picked out all the

colors and fabrics so it made my job somewhat easier. I did all the piecing,

quilting, and binding for her. The pattern is one that I designed several years ago.

Helena chose  the “Flirtatious” design and I used a cream Omni polyester thread

for the top and the backing. The backing was a dark brown fabric, similar to the color

of the brown in the border area. It was completed last week.

Cathy’s Quilt

Cathy made this adorable quilt for a special someone in Nova Scotia. I would love

to be there when he gets it. The whole time I was quilting it, I was smiling.

It is so colorful and so much fun to work on and look at.

The quilt  has alot of Dr. Suess fabrics in  it, so how can it not  be fun?

The backing is made of minky. I love this fabric but also hate it.

You have to be so careful when putting it on the frame to be quilted

because there is so much stretch in one direction.

Minky backing

I think I scared Cathy when I explained this to her but I checked several times

when I put it on the frame. I wanted to make sure that the stretch went the length

of the frame and not the other way around. And I also made sure not to wind the

frame and quilt too tight so that the minky would not suck in once it was off the

frame. Ask me how I know that? Yes, I did a baby quilt once with minky and had

to throw it out due to all the puckering when it came off the frame.

So, my word of caution to you is, buy extra of the minky just to ensure that you

have lots of wiggle room.

As promised, I did complete my abstract piece and here it is. Several months

ago, I took an online course with Katie Pasquini Masopust. I love the fact

that you just painted and played and then picked out an area on your

canvas that you liked. This area is then enlarged and you make templates

from the painting.

This was one of the hardest pieces I have ever made; trying to figure out values

of color threw me into panic mode but I kept at it until I was satisfied. Overall,

I am pretty pleased with it but would change some of the steps in the process,

just for future reference.

Here is the backing. I chose a black polyester fabric so I could see all the

colors of threads. And to be quite honest, I think I love the back

better than I do the front. I will have to think about which side the

facing will be attached to.

The entire backing. What do you think?  Add the facing to the

white front or the black backing?

Now, that this abstract piece is completed, I am starting another

larger piece depicting carrots, using Susan Carlson’s fabric

collage technique. I don’t know why I love this picture of carrots

so much, maybe the color? Angela Liddon gave me permission

to make a quilt of this picture that she took of carrots.

Yes, I am crazy but the color bug has

bitten and I can’t help myself. I am already pulling my hair

out in regards to what colors to use. I think that I have finally

settled upon using Joan Wolfrom’s Color Tool. And thus far,

I like what I have done. Here’s a sneak peek.

I really don’t like the brown fabric so it is going to be removed

shortly. Maybe I will be further along next week, so stay tuned.

Have a great week and check out some other Canadian

quilters at The Needle and Thread NEtwork.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cake and a Chameleon

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At the beginning of the year, I made a resolution to try and create

some of my own quilty artwork. So far, this hasn’t gone too bad.

Here is something I have been working on this week.

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Each year, Quilt Canada  has a Trend Tex Challenge at its

National Quilt Show. As a member or non-member,

you can purchase a kit and create a small wallhanging.

The kit contains 5 large fat quarters and a theme.

This year it is “Living A Life in Green.”

Sounds quite challenging, doesn’t it?

When the kit arrived, the 5 colors reminded me of

a chameleon I had seen on Pinterest or Google images.

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So, I had to try it out. The technique I am using was created

by Susan Carlson. She recently created a 26 ft crocodile using

this cut and paste method.

She lightly glues down small colored pieces of fabric until

it creates an image or picture.

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It is alot of fun but intimidating when you first begin.

I had done another piece (8″ x8″), several years ago.

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This lizard caught my eye because of all the texture  he has.

I wanted to try to recreate him in fabric.

SAM_1557

I traced the outline of him onto white fabric and then I stitched

all of the texture on my domestic machine. I used some

interfacing underneath so that the fabric wouldn’t distort with

all the stitching on it. Then I colored in the greens, browns and

blacks with coloring pencils. Finally, I  applied a clear coat over

the whole top so the colored pencils wouldn’t wash off or be

rubbed off. It was so much fun that I am doing it again.

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Here is his leg. I apologize for the blurry photo but you

get the idea. This is what I call the “ugly stage” because

it looks like garbage until more pieces are added.

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Here is the finished Chameleon. I have to finish the background

and add his spikes to the top of his back. The deadline is quickly

approaching so I have to push myself to complete it on time.

I don’t think that I want to give him up though. He is the

perfect pet, I don’t have to clean any cages or even feed him.

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Susan brought me this quilt, this past week. I immediately

fell in love with it. It is called “Cake Walk” by Lori Holt.

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I haven’t quilted it yet but I am so excited to do so. Susan is

so talented. She looks at a quilt and then modifies it, and

improves upon it, in my opinion.  I can’t wait to get at this

baby, it is going to be so much fun. Susan pieced the cakes

together and then bought all types of trim, in order to

create the “icing” for the cakes. What a great idea!

I am so inspired once again by Susan’s creations, that I

have got to make a fabric cake postcard. Wish me luck.

March Break is interfering with my quilting once again.

What about your March Break?

Don’t forget to check out

The Canadian Needle and Thread Network.