Friday, December 26, 2014

Pendleton Patchwork

I hope you've all had a very sweet holiday with loved ones.
Here's what I gave to my 24 year old son for Christmas.
A lovely friend named Merry gave me a bag full of Pendleton wool scraps last month.  

I used the scraps almost exactly as they came out of the bag.
The wool is already heavy, so I didn't add backing or batting.  

Pendleton Woolen Mills is based in Oregon, where I grew up.
I have fond memories of going to their factory store with my grandmother when I was little.

The company started weaving woolen blankets to trade with Native Americans over 100 years ago.  
The symbols and colors carry meanings for various tribes.

I'm happy to say that my son was thrilled with his new blanket!

Wishing you all a very happy and creative new year.
I'm looking forward to seeing your starts, your finishes, your struggles and your successes.
Happy 2015!



  

Monday, December 8, 2014

Another Finish!


"Contentment"  49" x 49"
I've been going through my pile of flimsies, thinking about the ones I want to quilt.
This one cried out to me recently.  



I put it together a year or two ago, with leftover blocks from five different projects.
The words came from instructions in Tonya Ricucci's excellent book, Word Play Quilts.

On second look, the original house block seemed a bit muddy.
So I decided to do a little "home improvement."



Hmm, not exactly what I was looking for.




The third time was the charm.  Now for the quilting.




After stitching in every ditch, I sewed thin matchsticks around all the letters.
Then I added easy back and forth designs and small stippling.
I used puffy wool batting so the letters would pop out.



The half-square triangles got their own simple flower shapes.
Dark binding popped the colors.
Wa-la!

Don't you just love finishing?
I surely do!










Wednesday, December 3, 2014

Cultural Fusion Quilts Blog Tour!


I am so happy to recommend Sujata Shah's beautiful new book, Cultural Fusion Quilts!


You may know Sujata's gorgeous quilts from her blog, The Root Connection.
If you've visited her there, you know she has a unique and fanciful eye for design and color.  

She grew up in India, where vibrant color and pattern are everywhere.
In the book, she tells the story of coming to the U.S. as a young bride, feeling like 
"a character from a color film that had walked into a black and white film."

With Cultural Fusion Quilts, she introduces us to her world of color and design, 
and helps us step into that joyful place with our quilt-making.


Sujata taught quilt-making at a shop in the Seattle area for several years.  
I had the good fortune to receive her help while selecting fabrics for some of my quilts.
Over the years, we became friends, and I was invited to try the technique she presents in the book.  

I found it easy, fun and new.  The results create unique quilts with just enough quirkiness to add a sense of the maker's own hand.  No two quilts could ever be alike with this technique!

You'll find my quilt in the book.  Today I'll show you some of my process in making it.


I started with pinwheel blocks.  I just love the way each one dances in its own way!
This is one of the many configurations of the Rail Fence block on the cover.




Once I made many, I tried out different arrangements.
Above, I've alternated warm and cool pinwheels.



Each cut set made a group of four. Here I tried grouping the sets 
and placed all the red ones in the middle.



I kept making blocks, (I couldn't stop!), and decided to alternate the sets by warm and cool colors.



I had enough leftover to make another quilt. 



I decided to add them to the border, and make it queen size. 




Now it's my favorite quilt to sleep under!




To win a copy of this book, enter a comment, and make sure I have a way to email you.   I'll do a random drawing Saturday night, 12/6, at 9:00 p.m. PST, and post the winner on Sunday.  If you're in the U.S., you'll receive a print copy.  If you live outside the U.S., you'll get the ebook.

Here are the dates and locations for the next blog tour stops.

Thursday December 4 Victoria Gertenbach @ The Silly Boodilly

Friday December 5 Rachaeldaisy @ Blue Mountain Daisy

Saturday December 6 Lori Dejarnett @ Humble Quilts
  
Sunday December 7 Casey York @ The Studiolo

Monday December 8 Malka Dubrawsky @ A Stitch in Dye

Tuesday December 9 Sherri Lynn Wood @ daintytime

Wednesday December10 Bonnie Hunter @ Quiltville's Quips and Snips

Thursday December 11 Jake Finch @ Generation Q

Friday December 12 Jan Burgwinkle @ Be*mused

Saturday December 13 Janet Treen @ Quiltsalott

Sunday December 14 Lindsay Conner @ Lindsay Sews 

Good luck!