Happy Thanksgiving!

I am grateful to all of you for your constant encouragement and inspiration!

Wishing you a warm and cozy holiday with friends and family.

Wordless Wednesday

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A Bold Expression

I've had this quilt on the wall for about a month.

  I kept adding blocks, but I didn't like it, and I wasn't having fun.  

I was trying to make my own version of this quilt from the Bold Expressions Show.  

Lesson number one:  You can't make someone else's improvisational quilt.  Duh!

Buffy came over today.  She didn't like it, and I was so relieved to hear it!

We started throwing old tablecloths up on the wall and the excitement began.

Lesson number two:  Find a really honest friend and listen to her.

"A Bold Expression"  70 x 79"

A few hours later, this quilt top was all done!  

Lesson number three:  If you don't like it, cut it up and add outrageous fabric.

  

Inspired by African American Quilts

Many of us are inspired by African American quilts.

  

This quilt, part of Corinne Riley's Bold Expressions collection, was made in Texas in the 1950's.  When I saw it recently, it just took my breath away.    

So I'm working on making my own version of it.  

I can only try to imagine what it was like to be an African American woman in Texas in the 1950's, living with oppression, poverty and long, hard working days.  

As I cut, sew, and discover the surprises in this quilt, I feel like I might begin to understand the joy and freedom that quilt making provided for these women.  

With limited time and materials, these women found ways to express their individuality, creativity, and humor.  It was one small part of their lives they could call their own.   

These quilts were essential, made to keep their families warm.  Yet the makers found ways to have fun with them.  When they were creating quilts, they could do exactly what they wanted to do.  

As one quilt maker friend said, "They never heard of the quilt police."  

I've made a few other quilts inspired by African American quilts.  This one inspired by Anna Williams.

Each one has been so much fun to make.  

Having no patterns or templates, they're impossible to replicate.

Sometimes we call them "improvisational," "intuitive," or "wonky."

I'll call them tributes to African American quilt makers. 

If you make quilts inspired by African American quilts, I've created a Flickr group where you can post your quilt photos.  It'll be ongoing and open to everyone.  Just go over there, add your photos, and enjoy the inspiration!  

This is inspired by an African American quilt in the book, Bold Improvisation, by Scott Heffley.  

Be sure to see Smazoochie's QAL for more great "Streak of Lightning" quilts!

  

Fun with Gwen!

Yesterday I had the great pleasure of spending the day with Gwen Marston in her class on small quilts!

Here's what I made the first part of the day.  I'm calling it "Study in Pink," 16.5" x 14".  It's my first small quilt.  It was so fun and easy.  I can't wait to make more!

Here's Gwen with my little quilt before I put the borders on.  

She is really a gem.  I've taken several classes from her, and will definitely take more.  I never tire of her generous spirit and great sense of humor.  I love hearing what she says about learning from old quilts.

Here she is at the beginning of the class, showing us some of the 450 small quilts she's made.

Can you guess who's wearing those cowgirl boots?

Do you have Gwen's fabulous new book yet?  You can order it directly from her, complete with signature.

The second half of the day I started this one, a rendition of my favorite quilt in the book.  

Fun with Victoria

Victoria came to Seattle this week, and we got to spend a few days sewing together.  What could be more fun than sewing with friends?!  

On Monday, Buffy (Sally) and I picked her up from the airport and wisked her off to Goodwill for supplies.  Here's the loot, and Victoria and Sally with their purchases.  Sally took her purchases home, and Victoria and I got to work.

Mine on the left, Victoria's on the right.  Victoria had a Christmas quilt in mind, so she collected red and green.   I found two long, narrow curtains in black floral chintz.  I saw wonky Chinese Coins immediately.

54 x 80"

By Wednesday morning, here's what we had!  Then we quickly got dressed headed out to meet up with the Rebels.

Gratitude

Thanks to Tonya for getting me going on this orphan block quilt!  And to her Word Play book for the letters.  The Liberated Log Cabin blocks are from my first class with Gwen Marston, and the applique block is from a class with Gwen this spring.  The quilt measures 51 x 51".

Fun in the Sun

 Today was the perfect day to sew outside, a lovely 70 degrees.  Who could resist?

 I sewed the binding on this quilt, which I've been quilting little by little for the last month.  It's called "Red Lightning," and was made with the wonderful gals over at 15 minutes play.

I played with different designs on each block.  Sort of a 15 minutes play with free motion quilting.

Then I made some greeting cards.  Just little scraps on blank cards, sewn on.  It's a good thing to do just before you're ready to replace your needle. 

I hope you had a fun day too!

Vase of Tulips

I just finished the hand-applique on this, and thought I'd make it into a pillow cover. I designed it last weekend in a class with Gwen Marston.


So I laid it out on the back of the couch to see how it would look. It just so happened that I laid it on top of a quilt that lives there. I really liked the way the points looked around it.


So I made some points and tried them on the design wall. Hmm, lay them out like this?


Or this?


Ah, I like this. What next?


How about a solid border. I tried gold, orange, red, yellow and fuschia, then decided on turquoise. What next?


This quilt represents a recent day at the tulip fields. Part of the day was seeing thousands of cut tulips dumped into the back of a truck. So I wanted to have some loose tulips falling around the border. Will it work on an 8" wide border? Yes, but...


After measuring the grey fabric I have left, I found I only had enough for a 6" border. Will that be too narrow? Shall I piece some other fabric with it? Hmm, I'll have to sleep on that.

Meanwhile, I have a question for you. Is this process improvisation? I know it's the process that many of us use. Design as you go, use what you have, don't use a pattern, follow your heart.

But there's no wonky lines! And my points match! And the quilt will hang straight! Does that mean it's NOT improvisational? There are a lot of wonky cut quilts, with points cut off, that don't hang straight. I've made plenty of them. We call them "improvisational quilts." Yea, they're design as you go and all that. But I wonder if quilts like this one can also be called improvisational. My process is the same, although I'm using a ruler this time, and the look is more traditional. Is "improvisational" a process or a look? Or is it both? What do you think?

I've been following the very thought provoking conversations called "Improv Mondays" over at Sherri Lynn's blog, Daintytime. She calls improvisational quilt-making a process of self-discovery. I love that. Plus her quilts are fabulous. I don't think there are any right or wrong answers, but it's a fun topic to think about!

Bits and Pieces

I went on a road trip last weekend, and managed to get this quilted. It's called "Sujata's Basket," because it is! Sujata sent the basket block along with a scrap exchange last year. I was fooling around with monkey wrench blocks, and this is the result.


I used black #8 perle cotton and a sashiko needle. I love quilting with perle cotton.


My virtue word for the week. We quilt makers know all about this one!



A signature block for Victoria. (The color in this photo is awful. It's really not that pink!)


And the starter of a starters and enders quilt. I have a lot of 3-1/2 squares from years back, enough for a very large quilt.

The Virtues Quilt Project

I've been meaning to try out Tonya's letters, and got the idea to make a virtues quilt. Thought I'd make a word a week, and at the end of the year have 52 for a big quilt. But these things are so fun, I've made four this week! I think they look great with this fabric I got ON CLEARANCE at Jackie's online shop.

Have you heard of the Virtues Project? They've got a list of 52 virtues, with definitions and lessons on how to teach them to your family and students. Very inspiring.

If anyone wants to play along, you can post your Virtues Quilt Project over at the Unruly Quilting blog. As my son said to me, "Changing the world, one quilt at a time."

Happy Spring!

Look what sprang up at my house today! This is a group quilt from the very fun gals over at 15 minutes play. I sewed all the blocks together today. I had all these red petal shape scraps leftover from my Eyelashes quilt, and since it's a scrap quilt, and the first day of spring...

I did love the quilt before the tulips arrived. But many of you were good at encouraging me to go that next step and make it my own. I'm so glad you did! Now for some easy hand-applique.



Come to think of it, it's kind of a reverse of this quilt I made a few years ago, based on the cover quilt from the book, Georgia Quilts, by Anita Zeleski Weinraub.

I hope you're seeing spring blooms at your house too!