Lava Meets Sky - progress report

I know there has been a long silence on this project but that doesn't mean we aren't making progress.

The design for the borders finally got worked out - took a lot of math to determine how much material was needed and to get the angles just right but the customer is happy and so am I.

The backing material is from Robert Kaufman - Raspberry chambray. It is a combination of red and blue that totally changes color with the light and angle you are looking at it. My pitiful photography skills certainly do NOT do it justice.

We took it to the long-arm and selected the quilting design and thread. I was really glad that Angie was there the day we took the quilt in - she had great recommendations for the thread. And it turned out just gorgeous!

I'm working on getting the binding done - and the label put on it. The customer will be in Seattle for Labor Day weekend so it will be ready to deliver. It is the biggest quilt I've done so far - wow is it big. Seemed a little silly to be tacking down binding on a queen sized quilt in the hottest part of the year but it just takes a little fussing to keep it off my lap but still close enough to hand-stitch the binding. Boy the things we do just to get a project completed, huh?

Stacks of Support

A very long time ago, I bought a pack of fat-quarters and from then on, I've wondered what I was going to do with them. I loved the old-school feel of the prints and the muted colors were just beautiful so I knew I needed to find a pattern that wouldn't distract from the fabric.

I've been on a mission this year to work through all the "above the table" project in my work room. I have a lot of counter space but I love open/naked counters so I wanted to get some of my space back. This older pack had been pushed to the side of my cutting table and had actually started to collect dust.

I didn't really look for a pattern but one time when I was just wandering around looking at quilt-type stuff, I found the Stacks of Support pattern and knew it was the right one for this old-school material. The pattern was very easy and went together in just a few hours.

It's now at the long-arm being quilted. Can't wait to get it back to show off what can happen when I'm on a mission.

Sassy Bag

I recently spent a couple months going to downtown Seattle on the bus and began to notice that everyone (even most of the men) had a bag of some sort. I've always carried rather conservative brief cases - no surprise there. But in looking at the amazing variety of bags, I started designing one in my head and convinced myself I could make one.

So I went to JoAnn's - because I knew they had upholstery fabric on their sale table and I didn't want to spend a lot of money on such an extreme experiment. And when I got home, I discovered I had a Charm Pack that would make a lovely compliment to the fabric I bought.

I took my lead from a couple online patterns I found but most of the results was just me wanting certain things to fit in certain places. I'm pretty pleased with the results. I just might fit in on the bus a little better with this rather unusual bag.

Memorial Quilt

A few weeks ago, I met a customer who wanted to have a quilt made from clothes worn by her partner who had passed recently. These kind of projects always make my eyeballs sweat a little – I never know what I’m getting myself into when working with used clothes. Plus, this one was emotionally charged. BUT, I was interested in doing something I haven’t done before and after meeting the customer, I knew she would be great to work with and maybe the quilt would help her get through this period in her life with a smile.

So, she gave me a box of clothes and we found a pattern she liked. The pattern is from Laurie Shifrin – it’s called Crosswalk and it’s for a table runner and placemats. So right off, I know there is going to be some “design as I go” in this quilt. I went to The Quilting Loft and talked with Laurie about how to convert this pattern into a lap-sized quilt and her recommendation was to create three panels and sew them together.

Original Pattern

The 3-panel mock up

The customer asked if the original design could be done in a lap size – instead of 3 panels, just one panel but broken up with the three slices. So that’s what we are going to do.

The box of clothes had T-Shirts, ties, running gear and a kimono. All very subtle colors so even though there isn’t a color theme, they are all going to look very nice together. The biggest challenge is there isn’t enough of most of the fabrics to create a row the size of a lap quilt. So we decided that the rows could have a couple different fabrics in them – as long as the colors in the row were coordinated. It will create a little extra interest (or chaos if you want to look at it that way), but every row will be something that looks good together. The solid borders on both sides of the slices are going to be from dress slacks – beautiful olive and black material.

Here are some pictures of the original garments and the resulting rows:

And here is where we are now… all the garments have been made into rows.

The next step is to meet with the customer so she can help put the rows in the order they will be in the quilt. There turned out to be more material than we expected so this could be a larger quilt if she wants. We have already talked about putting a border on this quilt – to help tie everything together and make it look finishes/framed. The border will be a great place to put the patches her partner has from working for the forest service (rather than trying to figure out how to make them part of the pieced quilt).

More pictures to come, I’m sure.

Lava Meets Sky Quilt

Now that the quilt top is done and we've all had some time to think about how to finish this quilt, we met to select the 3 B: border, backing and binding.

Fortunately, Laurie Shifrin was at the Quilting Loft and her help was instrumental in designing borders that will not only make this quilt big enough for a queen sized bed, but they also put a logical end to all the angles (just my opinion).

Its a little hard to explain how the two borders switch places so I did this little drawing - forgive my lack of skill with drawing tools. I think I could have just sewn the borders on the quilt and taken a picture in the time it took me to create this drawing. BUT, it was a great exercise and will give the customer a chance to see what we are talking about.

The binding is going to be the same blue as the border so it will blend in some places and pop in others - that will add a nice element to the finished quilt.

We narrowed down the options for the back but didn't make a final decision. It is definitely going to be one of Robert Kaufman's Chambrays - just not sure which one. Right now, the options are light blue - which to the customer looks like grey so that's not likely to win - Cardinal (94) - which is my favorite - or maybe Boysenberry (253) - which is a nice combination of red and  blue.

The thread for the quilting is going to be red and blue variegated so any of the backings will look like show off the design nicely.

I'll get to work putting the borders on. By the time that's done, I'm sure the decision about the back will be made and we can start talking about the quilting - what fun!

And speaking of Quilting, there are thousands of quilt designs for a long-arm machine. The general rule that I like to follow is that if the piecing is angular, the quilt design is curved and visa versa but the ultimate decision is for the customer. Just to inspire you (and the customer), take a look at the free designs I found - and go from there.

Stars and Strips Quilt

I'm happy to say that this quilt is now done and ready for delivery. Although the colors aren't my favorites, I love the way this turned out. I used variegated red/white/blue thread for the quilting and just did straight (well almost straight) lines 3/4" apart.

My computer gave up a few weeks ago and it took me some time to find a new one and get used to the new systems. But, lucky for me, I don't need a computer to quilt so here's a quick update on what's happening...

Lava Meets Sea Quilt

This quilt has been an exercise in trust - at least for me. The idea came from a blog written by a rather experienced quilter so not very many details. And the customer moved out of the area just as I was getting started so we've been sending pictures and emails to keep on track. Several times, I just trusted that my instincts were going to work out and today, I finished the top. I have to say, it's the first time I've felt this level of pride in something I made.

For this customer, the next step is to decide on the backing and binding material. The quilt is supposed to be queen sized but as you can see from the pictures where it's on the bed, it doesn't hang over the edges too much. The option would be to put a border on it - wasn't in the original discussion but that would make it wider if that's of interest.

Because this quilt top is so "busy", I'd probably go with a back that is simple, maybe even wide enough so there doesn't have to be a seam. And the binding on the blog was black but it could be any of the colors in the quilt if you wanted to emphasize one. OR we could do a pieced binding and include several of your favorites.

Here are some pictures of the original lay out - it took quite a while to figure out how to show off this beautiful material.

After fussing for quite a while, I had to just trust all the pieces were in the right place and start sewing. Here is the final quilt top all sewing together, ahh!

Here  it is on our queen sized bed. Plenty of length for pillows but not so much on the sides.

Stars and Stripes quilt

A friend of mine sent her son to Army training this fall and when she returned from his graduation in December, she told me the story of the honor he was given. It's called Solider of the Cycle - which to my understanding means that of all the soldiers in that training class (over 200), he most closely represented what being a solider meant.

The next day, I was wandering around on Pinterest and saw a quilt that was red, white and blue and immediately dug through my stash and pulled some material together. This is the first quilt I've done without taking pictures at different stages, I didn't have anything more than the picture on Pinterest and I didn't even put it into the database until I was done with the top and back.

All the time I was making this one, I was thinking this is kind'a a silly idea. But then Mom sent her son pictures and his reply told me this is going to be a well used quilt.

Here are pictures of the top and back. I'm going to do the quilting myself - just straight lines. He is now in school - he's studying to be a doctor - but will be home in May for a break. Don't know if I'll be able to get it done by then but I always work better with a deadline than without.

Other Quilts In Motion

The Wedding Patchwork quilt is now done and in use. The owner was really happy with it and I was quite happy she liked it.

 

 

The Wedding Quest quilt just came back from the long-arm. It is really pretty with the custom quilting all around the blocks the guests signed. I'll get the binding on today and start working on getting it tacked down.

 

And, the Kaleidoscope quilt is now done - in the wash as we speak. I get to deliver it in May when I go to Juneau for a visit with my Sister.

 

To the Manor Born came back last week from the long-arm. It isn't spoken for so I've put off working on it until the custom work is done. It has the binding already on it so just need to get it tacked down and it'll be ready to sell.

 

 

Busy, Busy, Busy!