Tiny Quilts

How are you on follow through? I'm pretty bad at it, which makes me wonder why I started this new project. Starting with my birthday last June, I decided to make one tiny quilt each week for the next year. Not sure what the heck I was thinking, but I'm hoping for once to make it to the end of a project!

So this is the deal. These quilts are mounted on 6 inch canvases. I'm trying to use a lot of the mixed-media techniques that I've been learning (see my sideboard for the LifeBook class info.), so they all have collage, paint, some incorporate paper, and of course a wide variety of fabric. I'm also doing a lot of reading on Symbology, so I've been exploring personal symbols with these little bits, too.

This was the third TQ. There is a vague tarot reference with the diamonds here, and the acute triangles which are masquerading as swords. The rest is obvious.

 The latest finished TQ is below. It includes part of a handkerchief that I doodled on, and some fused bits of scrap thread.
 Here's a detail shot where you can see the threads.

 

 

 

This is an almost finished Work-In-Progress. That reddish square has some writing that I did on other piece of hankie. The writing is cryptic, as it goes in two different directions, one over the top of the other. Did not intend the blotchy effect, but the red marker bled, and I kept it because I liked it. I also did not intend the unibrow. I guess I need to plan ahead on the thread sketching if I'm doing people! It's all a learning process....

 

And finally, the very beginnings of a new piece. The next step is some paint, but I haven't made any decisions yet.

 

It looks like this is going to be a fun journey. I hope I make it all the way through to my 52nd birthday. Have you ever tried a year-long project? Or are you doing one now? What are you learning from it?

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I enjoyed your comments on my last post. Brandi, I'm sheepishly admitting that you are right. I tried to hurry Jensen and Buttercup along too fast. Jade, he doesn't just take the greens off her plate. He rips them out of her mouth! Bit of a bully, my Jensen. And if you are on FB, you know he is having a bit of a stasis issue. We are not out of the woods yet, but he did "produce" a little. Poop is a wonderful thing!

Please Don't Say Tulip!

For our upcoming quilt show, the Material Girls Quilt Guild is working on a special project. We are making at least one quilt from each year of about 20 years or so of the Great American Quilt Book. This week I've been working on the one I said I would make. Need to have it done by the show, on June 28th and 29th.

I'm remembering why I stopped making large traditional quilts.

1. My house is tiny, quilts are not and,
2. I can't stand to do the same thing over and over again!

I have been cutting out hundreds of tulips this week. Now I'm trying to decide on sashing. The original has blocks and sashing of solid white. This style has come around again, with the Modern Quilt Guild Movement, but it's just not happening here. My block backgrounds are white with black lines. I got a pale blue fabric, intending to use it the wrong way around for sashings, to make it even lighter. Now I'm thinking I want to use the brighter, right side. Take a look. (Sorry for the bad pics, see item number 1 above.).

Here the options are together.

 

This is the brighter side.

 

And the lighter side.

 

Jensen thinks this is too much tulip, since he's not allowed to nibble. He's been napping at my feet as I cut out pieces all week.

 

So what do you think, lighter, or brighter?

Building People

Working on a new project here. Making some rabbit slaves. And struggling. The fusible will not release its glue from the paper to the fabric. I've never had this happen before. What a pain. I would switch to Misty Fuse, but you should see the mess that I can make with that!

Those are carrots, that they are carrying, nothing more.

All ready to apply to their background, if I can just figure out how to build that. The fabrics I have aren't quite right, and I have left my self no time to create others. Time to improvise.

Bunny Dancing, Blue Roses, And Something Missing From My Garden

Weasley says "You did NOT just try to take a picture of me dancing, did you? Some things should be private!"

Ginny says "Darn right some things should be private! And your dancing is definitely one of them, Old Man!"

Kids. They are all the same, no matter what the species. No respect for their elders! Now if only my camera were not so old and slow, so that I could show you the dancing that goes on here. 

On the quilting front, I have finished the Blue Rose quilt. This is not the greatest photo, as rain was threatening, and I had to be fast.

Well, almost finished. It still needs a sleeve and label. The green line between the center and border is yarn, stitched down with a running stitch. My border is not what I had planned. I actually pulled off a log cabin-style border, and started over. Funny how things sometimes just do not look like what you think they will, isn't it? Here is a closer view.

I do use fusible for my applique, and in this case I zigzagged the edges. I always do some sort of stitching on the applique, because I seem to be fusible-challenged. My edges seem to want to pull up, no matter what the brand of fusible I use. Maybe I'm just too impatient during the process.

I like to sew my binding on by hand. Maybe because most of my quilts are given away, and the hand sewing gives me some quiet time with them before they go. But, I do not like sewing on sleeves! As for the labels, I will print the labels for several quilts at one time, and then sew them on, so that part will wait for a few days.

While I was outside taking these photos, I took  a quick walk around the yard. We have these:

Lilacs always remind me of my grandmother, because of the big, old bush she had next to her front porch.

We also have these:

But from a crabapple, not from a giant apple tree like the one our tree fort was in when we were growing up.

As for these, we do not have as many now that the lovely, long-legged lady strolled through our yard.

I hope this is not a sign of things to come this summer!

Have a sunny day, everyone!

More Work In Progress

Building blue roses.