Rain Drops Falling On My Head

This month's theme was a little tricky for me... I had a hard time coming up with ideas on how to interpret the theme. So I decided to be literal and go with that. I used various techniques to achieve this quilt: raw edge appliqué for the cloud, hand quilting for the rain and embroidery for the girl. It was fun figuring out how to create the hair so it will look three dimensional.
I really like how it turned out. I just love how these challenges push us to try new technique and ideas that otherwise we wouldn't do.

xo
Martha

Texture

Oh this challenge was interesting... there are so many possibilities to create texture with textiles. When I read the announcement for this quarter theme I just didn't know where to begin. I wanted to do so much… but as I began narrowing down my ideas one kept coming back to me. The texture created by the different stitch techniques on quilted cloth. So that's what I did on this mini: I created sort of a sampler of organic improv stiches to create the texture: I machine quilted some wavy lines and then hand-quilted the rest with different stitches. Then added some French knots and raw applique flying geese for a more three dimensional look.
As you can see this quilt is very neutral. I love minimalist quilts, but also I purposely avoided color threads on this quilt. Instead I settled for using different thread weights on the same color as the background fabric so the stiches wouldn't pop to much. Rather let the texture left by the imprint of the stitches on the cloth be the main focus.
I've been enjoying these challenges and the community we have formed on this group. I'm really looking forward to the next one.
More photos on my blog

XO
Martha

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

Spirals

When I fist read the concept for this project I thought - oh this is going to be easy- well it turned out more difficult than I thought. The idea was to create an applique spiral using twine rope;  let the shape be very organic and freehand the applique. I used a zig-zag stitch to applique the twine to the quilt and basically let the stitches go through all the layers of the quilt to quilt it as I was doing the applique. While I liked the technique I'm not sure about the whole execution of this project. I'm really dived whether I like it or not. I like the texture of the twine and the quilt and applique at the same time technique, but I think next time the spirals should be more structured.

I can't wait to see your projects and see what you came up for this concept of spirals.

XO


Martha