Nearly finished with what has become my longest-running project, by far.
Showing posts with label quilting. Show all posts
Showing posts with label quilting. Show all posts
Sunday, January 8, 2012
Wednesday, August 17, 2011
Tuesday, August 16, 2011
Friday, December 18, 2009
Trio update
All three pieced tops are now embroidered, and ready for quilting. See?
But before quilting must come basting. I always sigh at basting; I'd rather get right to work. It really is necessary for this sort of thing, though. Plus, when you need to draw a line that is sure to leave no mark as soon as you're done with it, nothing beats a thin piece of thread.
While I'm showing you pictures, take a peek at these pages from my work book (sketch book? idea book?). This is the basic planning I began with, the careful plotting out of the pieced tops. Pre-planning is helpful.
But before quilting must come basting. I always sigh at basting; I'd rather get right to work. It really is necessary for this sort of thing, though. Plus, when you need to draw a line that is sure to leave no mark as soon as you're done with it, nothing beats a thin piece of thread.
While I'm showing you pictures, take a peek at these pages from my work book (sketch book? idea book?). This is the basic planning I began with, the careful plotting out of the pieced tops. Pre-planning is helpful.
Friday, December 11, 2009
Mid-December quilting
I've been hoping for a nice, clear skied afternoon on which to photograph the recently completed doodle piece (otherwise yet unnamed) but alas, it is southern California's brief rainy season, and photography-friendly conditions have been elusive. So until that changes, check out something about the piece that I am enjoying:
This is the back of the piece. It is as carefully bordered and presented as the front is.
I've always been intrigued by the backs of embroideries, the unexpected imagery that develops through the path of the stitcher's hand, the contrast between the intended image and the secret, hidden one. I'm often tempted to display work backwards, but always choose not to- I don't want to sacrifice the intended imagery for the unintended.
This time I decided to give both sides their due, so that the piece can be displayed as a finished work from either direction. Front and back have differently pieced borders in the same fabrics, related but different, just as the front and back of the image is.
It's an experiment, one I'm rather enjoying right now. I think it's fitting, as well- after all, the entire thing is an experiment.
In other news, here's something fun:
These are the first 1,000 pieces of what will eventually be a 3,969 piece quilt top. I've been wanting to tackle a full-sized quilt for some time now, but was putting it off because I simply didn't have fabrics I wanted to work with in the quantity needed for a really well-matched quilt. My hands and mind have been anxious for this sort of project, though- something long term, something full of order and repetition, something soothing- so I decided to go for it anyway. I picked a double nine patch pattern (like the one below) and plan to break up the intended large-scale pattern to create my own variation.
The neat part about this design, for me, is how it doesn't require (at least for about 54% of it) carefully matched fabrics. In the tradition of truly purposeful patchwork, the double nine patch gives me the chance to go through my stores of fabric, picking out even the smallest bits and finding use for them. If I can squeeze even one 1 1/2" square out of a scrap, it is useful.
Of course, by now I've gone through all of my basic pattered cottons, and have barely a quarter of the squares I need! That's another nice thing about this project, though- it lends itself to mismatching, so if some parts are composed of the materials I have now and others from scraps of future projects, that's ok. It's nicely frugal. It makes me happy.
This is the back of the piece. It is as carefully bordered and presented as the front is.
I've always been intrigued by the backs of embroideries, the unexpected imagery that develops through the path of the stitcher's hand, the contrast between the intended image and the secret, hidden one. I'm often tempted to display work backwards, but always choose not to- I don't want to sacrifice the intended imagery for the unintended.
This time I decided to give both sides their due, so that the piece can be displayed as a finished work from either direction. Front and back have differently pieced borders in the same fabrics, related but different, just as the front and back of the image is.
It's an experiment, one I'm rather enjoying right now. I think it's fitting, as well- after all, the entire thing is an experiment.
In other news, here's something fun:
These are the first 1,000 pieces of what will eventually be a 3,969 piece quilt top. I've been wanting to tackle a full-sized quilt for some time now, but was putting it off because I simply didn't have fabrics I wanted to work with in the quantity needed for a really well-matched quilt. My hands and mind have been anxious for this sort of project, though- something long term, something full of order and repetition, something soothing- so I decided to go for it anyway. I picked a double nine patch pattern (like the one below) and plan to break up the intended large-scale pattern to create my own variation.
The neat part about this design, for me, is how it doesn't require (at least for about 54% of it) carefully matched fabrics. In the tradition of truly purposeful patchwork, the double nine patch gives me the chance to go through my stores of fabric, picking out even the smallest bits and finding use for them. If I can squeeze even one 1 1/2" square out of a scrap, it is useful.
Of course, by now I've gone through all of my basic pattered cottons, and have barely a quarter of the squares I need! That's another nice thing about this project, though- it lends itself to mismatching, so if some parts are composed of the materials I have now and others from scraps of future projects, that's ok. It's nicely frugal. It makes me happy.
Friday, November 6, 2009
Mocked up images
This past year I've begun to really enjoy quilting. To be more precise, I enjoy piecing. The actual quilting together of layers I'm not yet so keen on, but I do really love the piecing. One type of quilt that has especially caught my attention is the Crazy Quilt, in which there is no discernible repeating, organized pattern, but rather improvised whimsy. I've been bringing this idea of the crazy quilt into some of my recent pieces. I have found, however, that the improvisational quality doesn't work with my tendency for pre-planning my pieces. As such, when approaching this look, I am making not quite what you could call Crazy Quilts, but more Controlled Chaos Quilts. I plan out the entire piece first on paper, which I then cut into pieces that can be puzzled back together when recut in fabric. That's a process explanation for another day, though. Today is about imagery.
A couple months ago I pieced a few small quilt tops, only about 18" square. I began with 6 white-on-white prints, divided the prints in thirds, then dyed 1/3 a mid tone and 1/3 a dark tone to create, with the white, a transitionary trio. I enjoyed the way that the printed pattern came out or hid more depending on the dyed background cloth, and the way the patterns persisted in their small pieces no matter how I changed the Controlled Chaos pattern. I decided to use an identical self portrait image on all 3, to echo the repeating quality of the patterns. Today I narrowed down my images to 2 choices, slightly different in size, proportion, and shape. I pinned some mocked up paper patterns to the darkest of the quilt tops to get an idea for how the shapes might fit on the cloth.
Choice 1!
Choice 2!
The thread with which I will embroider these images will allow them to fade into the quilt top far more than suggested by the white paper, but for now it's still a useful aid.
I feel as though Choice 1 is perhaps a cleaner image, easier to understand, when subtle, without closely paid attention. I'm not crazy about how it fits on the quilt top, though. I much prefer the way Choice 2 fits, the larger difference between height and width in the character, the way it relates to the shape of the background. I like the way the shorter character allows the quilted patterns to dominate the overall image.
Hopefully I won't stare at these pictures too long before making a decision. Feedback welcome.
A couple months ago I pieced a few small quilt tops, only about 18" square. I began with 6 white-on-white prints, divided the prints in thirds, then dyed 1/3 a mid tone and 1/3 a dark tone to create, with the white, a transitionary trio. I enjoyed the way that the printed pattern came out or hid more depending on the dyed background cloth, and the way the patterns persisted in their small pieces no matter how I changed the Controlled Chaos pattern. I decided to use an identical self portrait image on all 3, to echo the repeating quality of the patterns. Today I narrowed down my images to 2 choices, slightly different in size, proportion, and shape. I pinned some mocked up paper patterns to the darkest of the quilt tops to get an idea for how the shapes might fit on the cloth.
Choice 1!
Choice 2!
The thread with which I will embroider these images will allow them to fade into the quilt top far more than suggested by the white paper, but for now it's still a useful aid.
I feel as though Choice 1 is perhaps a cleaner image, easier to understand, when subtle, without closely paid attention. I'm not crazy about how it fits on the quilt top, though. I much prefer the way Choice 2 fits, the larger difference between height and width in the character, the way it relates to the shape of the background. I like the way the shorter character allows the quilted patterns to dominate the overall image.
Hopefully I won't stare at these pictures too long before making a decision. Feedback welcome.
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