Animal Kingdom: Henrietta

 When the theme Animal Kingdom was chosen, I spent days trying to figure out what to create. This happens with each theme. I think I need to do something on a grand scale - it takes me a few days to come to my senses. I considered quite a few different animals - the blue-footed booby almost won out (because they are so darn cute!). In the end, I went with a humble chicken. Ms. Henrietta, however, is anything but humble. Once I settled on this idea, I had a little fun. 

My inspiration for Henrietta is the Polish Chicken, those chickens with the crazy head floof. They bring a smile to my face whenever I see them (I think I might look a bit like that when I get up in the morning). It all began with the black and white improv. My plan was to make the head floof black and white, too, but that was not to be. In order to do that, I needed to find my Sulky Water Soluble stabilizer, which I had tucked away in a spot I was not likely to forget - heh heh. I'm still looking for it! 

The head floof (I don't know what else to call it) would have been made by using two pieces of water-soluble stabilizer, a base piece of fabric, and trimmings from cuttings. The trimmings are piled atop the base fabric, then that is sandwiched between the two pieces of water-soluble stabilizer. Then you sew it down with a thread that matches the trimmings, sewing over and over, until you feel that the trimmings are well-anchored to the base fabric. The last step is to wash off the stabilizer and let it dry. 

I used raw-edge appliqué for the entire piece, matching the thread. For the body, I stitched around the outline, then stitched vertical "feather-like" lines in the body and tail. You can't really see them that well, but here's a little peek. 

For the head floof, beak and waddle, I just did a simple outline stitch in matching thread. Henrietta has eyes under that floof, I'm pretty sure, but she didn't bother to let me fuss with them. 

Here's a photo of that floof, up close. 

She has quite the floof, doesn't she?! I told you she wasn't any ordinary chicken! Haha! The trimmings are from the cutting for my Postcards from Sweden quilt; I couldn't bear to throw the trimmings away, they were so bright and fun. Who knew that I needed to save them for Henrietta?

I pondered how to quilt her. In the end, I decided to use the same quilting idea as I did for my Sundance the Rooster quilt (I'll link all of these past quilts in my other blog post). Just simple rays behind her, to show her off a bit. I wanted to main focus to be on her. 

For the backing, I used a piece of bright blue Grunge. You can see the quilting a bit more from the back view. 

Henrietta measures 16" x 20". All of the fabrics are from my stash. This was such a fun theme, once I figured out what to make! 

Wendy

Memories: The Yellow Chair

 We were taking a road trip, heading north, along the shores of Lake Superior. Just before leaving, we had heard of the death of a friend. She had lived for many years in a cabin on Lake Superior, and we had enjoyed staying at her cabin and visiting her. We decided to pull over and walk the shore a bit in her honor. 

As I came down to the shore, there sat a yellow chair. An ordinary yellow kitchen chair, like those I remember growing up. The bright vinyl back and seat, with aluminum legs. It was just sitting there, empty, facing the lake. 

Perhaps it was the poignancy of the moment, but I wondered what memories that chair held. Did it sit in company around a table, filled with the swinging legs of little ones enjoying cookies fresh from the oven? Was it grandma's chair, where she sat as she shucked the corn for dinner? And how did it come to be on the lakeshore? Who brought it there, and why? What memories did it have to tell about life on the lake? Did the old man sit in it while tossing a stick for his dog? Was it a resting spot as the fisherman waiting for a bite at the end of his line? And now it sat empty, looking a bit forlorn and sad. But oh, what memories it must have. 

The greenery behind the chair is simply green scraps pieced together, spliced with light green added, then squared and sewn together. The sand was also improv piecing without the added splicing. The chair is added by raw edge applique. 

This was an enjoyable challenge, and I'll share more details about its construction on my blog this Wednesday. I continue to have fun with each theme, finding ways to challenge myself and create something unexpected. Even that builds fond memories! 

Raindrops Keep Falling on My Head

As soon as I saw the theme for this quarter, the song came into my head. It wouldn't leave. I really wanted to divert myself from making a quilt based on the song. So I spent some time thinking about the phrase "raindrops keep falling on my head" and what that meant to me.

While processing that, I was thinking about the quilt and what I wanted it to look like. The final version I'm showing you today is about three versions beyond the original. I hope I'm not alone in doing that.

Just when I had settled on a design and had actually completed part of it, I happened to watch a series of classes by Joe Cunningham on Bluprint. In one class, he mentioned bias tape and how he used it, and a new, final, version of this quilt came to be.

The blues and gray bias tape represent raindrops. The direction the tape falls is supposed to mimic the way rain sometimes falls against windows - every which way.

As a kid, I used to love rain. I enjoyed being out in it and putting my face up to it, letting the drops fall on my head. As an adult and having more life experiences behind me, rain took on a new, less happy meaning. I realized during this process that with the rain in my life, there also is hope. So in my little quilt, the colored bias strips are there to remind me of hope.

The background fabric is a light gray Grunge. Some of the bias tape is made from solids or batiks. The quilt backing is a batik I had in my stash, and it just seemed perfect for this quilt.

This was a fun challenge; it definitely had me thinking!

Wendy

Improv - how hard can it be?

Improv is a challenge I was looking forward to and expecting to be difficult at the same time. When it comes to quilting, I like to design. I love brainstorming, gathering inspiration, seeing what catches my eye, questioning what bits I like, what I don't and developing a design I'd like to make. Curiosity tends to be my driver. I wonder what that would look like in low volumes, or how would that work if I made it really big? Or both.

I tend to gather like a magpie on the computer, words in a notebook and have some ideas in the back of my mind, not yet made, that pop up when I'm not looking, like a comfortable habit that plays out subconsciously. Improv on the other hand could be considered the opposite of all that. Oxford English Dictionary has two things to define Improvise; the first being: "creating spontaneously without preparation".

Is there really such a thing as without preparation though? Could it mean the absence of a pattern? Definitely. Absence of a sketch? Not sure. Absence of an idea? Don't think so. When does an idea cross over from inspiration to preparation? No clue!

My first thought that popped into my brain was a peacock with an improv made tail. Wonky freeform curves that would be glorious in their vibrancy of colours - teal, gold, green and blues. My minds image had it looking like this:

Large and fabulous in a bed sized quilt. (Bigger curves are easier after all!) The tail being the improv part and the birds head not so much so it's at least recognisable as a peacock! As in the last few challenges, I've discovered my first idea is grand, big and involved and time-consuming and something I really want to make. With 3 months to complete though completely unachievable. There is the day job, committee work and family to look after too!

So onto plan B. Oxford English second thing about improvising is: "Produce or make (something) from whatever is available", McGyver style. Now I have a large stash so limiting myself from diving in could be a challenge. Luckily enough, our branch of the Irish Patchwork Society, had booked Catherine Lawes (a UK based Textile artist) to give a workshop, on layered landscapes, using any fabric but quilting cottons. That I thought could be fun and not bringing any non-cotton fabric with me at all, I had to use what was available in the shared pile.

I was inspired by Kaja@ Sew Slowly who is an improv quilter I admire. She had made a lighthouse quilt and it was really cool so I thought a lighthouse like the Fastnet Rock would be something I'd like to hang on the wall. It is a lonely lighthouse built on a rock off the coast of Cork that people like to race around in sailboats and it can be really dangerous especially in our wild, windy, winter weather. So I made a dark themed lighthouse out of all sorts of materials, it is handstitched and glued through three layers so still a quilt.

The thing with an improv piece is how to know when it's finished? I've added machine quilting in the waves and the outline of the lighthouse. I'm thinking about adding in some bit of a sunset with thread. The nice thing about a piece like this is if I want to do a bit more I can just take it out of the frame, remove the mat and take it back to the machine.

So have I come to a conclusion on improv, not really but I have discovered these challenges are stretching my brain and giving me plenty of ideas for quilts to come!

Improv Patchwork

 I love the look of large patchwork quilts. I find them very cozy and homey. However, this is only my second one. I made my first one a long time ago when I first stated quilting. And never tried again. Coloring outside the lines sort of speak can be challenging. When'd I had trained my brain to work with a pattern or template; conceptualizing a quilt without a pattern to start with feels a bit daunting. But this challenge was the perfect opportunity to give it another try. I had some scraps I wanted to use up and seed where it would lead me. The process was so liberating. I loved letting fabric dictate where this design was going to take me. And the best part I ended up with a large quilt perfect for this  chilly autumn weather. You can see more pics on my blog (sorry I got ahead o myself and blog about it about two weeks ago, I was too excited about my new finish).

XO

Martha

Improv Here I Come!

Improv!
Wow, it is a tough quilting theme.
The only thing I could compare this to is the television show, "Whose Line Is It Anyway?"
I enjoyed watching it off and on during its run from 1998 to 2007.

 But, quilting?

I decided to write down on slips of paper some things to work with. I wrote 3 of my favorite blocks and 5 colors based on which drawers of scraps held the most. I selected one slip of paper from the blocks category and 2 from the colors category. I chose log cabin blocks and the colors blue and orange.

(And, yes, the oranges are bright orange but the lighting didn't help!)

I decided improv would mean I couldn't use any particular measurements (until I was ready to finish it up). I could use the rotary cutter and/or scissors. I couldn't baulk on the fabric scraps I picked or how the seams got sewn.

I am ready to add the quilting and all should be ready for the reveal on November 1!