May I please go back in time?- Molly

Here it is the last weekend of August. So not ready for September yet! Opened the May bundle today and wow! Gorgeous colors and an interesting challenge for me.

Beautiful reds and some scraps of tulle. The card reads that I must make a traditional block and use the tulle to create visual effect. I have to ponder this one...and look through my quilting books. Off the top of my head I'm thinking a churn dash...but we will see....

May complete - indigo

May's challenge done! 

All damaged digits aside, this was a really fun technique to play with.  I found taking the rorshach like flora print made and then going free motion quilting on it with several threads to be very freeing and really interesting.

I decided a checkered border on 2 sides would give it a bump in color.

I used a bright pink, olive green and steel blue threads for free motion quilting around the dyed pieces.  I may go back and add a few more along a few spaces.

The back is a few strips of fabrics I thought would contrast with the threads.  I love how the reverse image came through - the back is almost prettier than the front!

The flora used were actually small berries, a few weeds and some clipped leaves from house plants.  With the free motion quilting I made no attempt at realism - and it creates a floral that is not quite of this world.

This makes a really lovely addition to the year of challenges!

June - Package and Inspiration indigo

When i opened June's package I had to laugh.  Here are these gorgeous batiks in dark neutrals, and embroidery floss, needles and a pocket guide.  

I have been starting to play a bit with embroidery in quilting.  It's like M read my mind!

Hmmm, a lovely silvery tan floss and a rich red.  With the inspiration word 'haiku'.

Being a literal sort I gave serious thought to embroidering a haiku poem.  Just 2 problems.  I do not know how to embroider words yet and feel that might be a bit advanced.  And I don't write haiku poetry.  Now, i went through a poetry phase in my life.  And I love to read poetry.  But my version was generally dark and a little sad.  That is not what I want for this project.

Then I did a bit of research on haiku.  I read it is syllable based - 5, 7 and 5.

Hmmm.  I could do something interesting with that number sequence in a block.

So, then I went looking for eye candy - otherwise known as inspiration.  Percolating ideas!

Found on pinterest - love it!

Haiku Fabric quilt

From a Haiku Challenge

May Update - indigo

I know, May update in July!  Its getting better but we are still working on timelines!

So for May I blogged about how it had this white fabric, a hammer, some dye and a book about pounding flowers.  I finally got some flowers out of the yard and started hammering.

And thus begins the cautionary tale part of our story.

I decided the little hammer M sent me was too small.  Surely my 5lb rubber mallet would work better.

Well, it's louder.

Then, I forgot my hand - eye coordination is a bit iffy.  and I happily hammered away until "OWIE!"  I 5lb malletted by left pinky.  Searing pain, I hipped up and down a lot, laughing like a moron because I knew it was my own fault!

After my finger went numb and I determined it was still attached, I returned to pounding flowers, keeping my fingers well out of the strike zone, and got the following;

This is a few leaves from a house plant, some kind of berry from my yard, and a few flowered weeds.

 It is an interesting mix now.  I am thinking about seeing if I can add a bit with some of the following pickings from my front yard today.

Some grasses, and some budded flowers.

 I think this is a cool way to play with fabric and various flora - just don't leave yourself with a purple finger for the wrong reasons!

ow ow ow ow ow ow...

April is complete! - Molly

"I think I can, I think I can...."

The last many months in my world have been uphill. With perseverance and support of people I love I am slowly climbing to the top. This quilt journey has been a bit of a guard rail. Although I've not been as on top of it as I would have liked, knowing it was here waiting for me was calm in the storm. (Whoa, that's a lot of metaphor). Anyhow, my April block is complete at last! And I quite love it. 

Indigo sent me a pile of batik scraps in blues and greens and purples, along with a packet of buttons and some gorgeous handmade skeleton leaves. I immediately thought water. And have created, what I think, is like a pool with ripples and rocks and leaves and sunlight creating a myriad  of colors on the surface. 

I have not trimmed it fully yet. The quilting caused the bottom to shrink in a bit and I need to make the wudginess go away, figure I can make it work when I put the final pieces together. 

I pieced the block entirely without a plan. Which is very much outside my comfort zone. I imagine paper piecing with a layout may have been easier. But I really enjoyed the: grab some scraps, sew, iron, trim, grab another scrap...wash , rinse, repeat. And it came together much how I initially envisioned it when I received the package.

It feels good to be getting caught up. I'm going to open my May bundle tomorrow and see what it brings. 

I got mail!

Fun little bundles in the mail today! May, June and July. I am almost done with April. Will explore what the packets contain when it is complete. So (sew) excited!!

May Package - indigo

This project is so fun.  I get things in the mail that make me smile, miss my friend, and inspire.  I am so so lucky.

May's package was opened after I finished April.  I actually opened it right before bed, though I should know better.  I wound up staying awake for several hours with a smile thinking about what I can do with this treasure.

 Inside I found - white fabric, blue fabric dye, a mini hammer, and a book about flower pounding to dye fabric.

SCORE!

So from a quick read flower pounding is exactly what it sounds like.  You take the petals, stems and/or leaves of a plant, and using tape or another removable adhesive affix it to the right side of your prepared fabric.  set on a hard surface that will stand up to abuse - and hammer away.  The pounding squishes the flora which will give you a kind of relief image of your flower on the fabric as a dye.  Let it all dry and treat for permanency, and voila!

I can't WAIT to do this!  I am sure all my chores of Saturday may get swept aside just to play with fabric and flowers, and pound my stress away!

Below is an example of some of the flora I have in my backyard to potentially dye fabric.  I may also see of our local store has a summer bouquet on sale for some added colors and flora.

April Finished - indigo

Ok, ok, I know its not April but its April's blocks.  We might be time-challenged.

This package came with 3 lovely blue fabrics (some of which I already have, blue being the color I reach for most!) and a package of roving.  Along with it is a snort note with 'inspiration' words.  Simply "April showers".

Being the literal sort I immediately thought water.  Specifically rain.  So, I thought I would try out some applique rain drops.  I have been wanting to play with this shape in applique for a while.

So I made 3 sizes of an elongated drop of water.  I traced them on the backs of the blue fabrics and added in a wild blue and red batik on my desk.

Once I got them prepped with folded under edges, I tried several layouts.  I thought the neutral tones of the batik I would give it a soft watery look.

However, after trying several layouts I discovered the one I wanted looked more like a flower.  Hmm, well ok, lets roll with it.

Next I went with a machine stitched blanket stitch.  I then, since it was looking like a flower, decided to add contrast colored threads.  It is a bright pink thread on the blue fabrics and a dark teal on the red/blue batik.

Back of April Block

Then I had a thought.  I wasn't sure I liked the muted neutral background.  Hmmm, what If i do a pieced background for interest... and I grabbed the music fabric in white and grey and another wild batik in shades of pink to yellow.  Used a form of a disappearing 4 patch to create a simple block with lots of movement.  However, once I auditioned that for the background - I didn't like it.  Now back to the nuetral shows of the all over batik.  I elected to use my citric colored pieced block for the back of this block.

Front of April Block

I elected to do an all over grid of quilting in a wavey line available on my Bernina.  Then I appliqued wach raindrop with my pink and teal threads in a blanket stitch.  I was thinking I would use the roving in handmade beads as a center.  But the more I look at the result the more I think less is more.

Now it reminds me of the movement of water after it hits a surface, like a splash.

All that being said, this is how your 'vision' of a block can and does change on the fly.  The more I look at the result, the more I love it!

Time to open and use May's goodies!

First quarter and April inspiration- Molly

Looking at my completed blocks for the first three months makes me really happy.  I like how they fit together and sort of flow. I'm excited to see what comes for the next months and how the story changes with the addition of the block through the rest of the year.

My April package arrived awhile ago. When I opened it, I immediately had ideas of what to do. Beautiful water blues and greens. Gorgeous skeleton leaves and a pile of buttons reminding me of stones....now that I have completed March I am ready to wade in and get started. 

The birdie is a bonus present for me. I think he needs to come to work with me.

Time Marches On- Molly completes March's block

March is complete! And I like it. I wasn't too sure at first. The colors were not quite what I envisioned when I first got the package. If I were more familiar with dye and how to get the hue I want I'm sure it would have been closer to my vision. But as I put the finishing touches on it I have decided that I do indeed like the thing. 

I used the dark blue and the green from the tie dye kit, hoping the lime green would be more like a lime, Using that inspiration picture of the cut citrus. In the end I got much darker color than I anticipated. I also had blue hands...

The block itself came from a pattern I drew up myself several months ago for a different idea. I'm thinking it may have worked better paper pieced, I used templates. After piecing them I wanted some sort of embellishment, including the beads that Indigo had sent. The block is quilteed with embroidery thread, with some of the beads added with the blue. I used a running stitch with the blue thread and a crazy quilt inspired stitch with the green. I had known I wanted to frame it with the crazy red print, it made me think of a picnic table cloth. Once I started playing with the shape and size I felt it should all be a little off kilter. 

So here you go, March!

April Inspiration

We are BACK!  After a fairly brief hiatus due to life happenings M and I are getting back on track.

I got this amazing box of packages in the mail - 4 packages in one.  I feel like a kid opening at Christmas, only I am only allowed 1 per day!  I figure I will open 1, do that months, then go to the next.  By mid July I should be all caught up.

 For April I opened the very neat package - and found blue fabrics and off white roving.

My first thought - what is roving?

So I looked it up.  It is most often used in hand felting to add dimension, new colors, or texture to a felting project.

Well how interesting.  Hand felting is something I have wanted to learn.  However, i don't think I want to actually FELT for this project.  But, i am looking around and finding some seriously interesting textural possibilities.  And apparently roving takes various dyes like a champ.  I am already wondering about sharpies and alcohol.

It came rolled into a ball, but when I unrolled it I find it peels apart like string cheese.  I also have some Ritt Dye around, this could get interesting...

Slacker I am

I shouldn't really say that. It's not that I purposefully ignored this project. It's just that life kinda happened. But now things are returning to a more balanced disequilibrium. Friday I mailed a package to Indigo. It contains supplies and inspiration for April, May, June and July (yes, I sent even for a month ahead). 

Currently I am working on my March block. Hope to have it done early this week. I have the supplies for April and will conquer/blog that next. 

March Block Completed - indigo

Bella the helper - or the hungry hippo!

Whew, this month snuck by so fast it's almost over before I know it!

This month's block should have been easy as pie - instead I was very stuck.  I was inspired by fabrics sent with music and Paris themes; and the anniversary of a choir tour to Europe taken 20 years ago this month. Somehow the memories and nostalgia stopped me cold.  How could I put all I feel about that trip; the friends, the places, the music, in one 12 inch block?

Ultimately of course I cannot put everything in one block, but I was still in a dither.  Do I applique one of the Eiffel towers?  Should I thread sketch one?  How can I include some of the other amazing places visited?  Can I include Alaska themes from our hometown?

The dam breaker was a box of scrap fabric sent by a friend in Alaska.  She sent me a very packed box of batik scraps from her own quilting.  In it were lush greens, bright blues, moody purples and so forth.  Playing with those made me think - what if I could intersperse those Alaska colors with the monochrome music notes and Eiffel tower?

Finally I decided on 1 inch strips of 2 blocks which will turn into 1/2 inch finished strips.  1 block of pieced batiks in blues and purples - like Paris in the spring and Alaska in winter - and a set of the eiffel tower and the music notes.  I set the eiffel tower strips off center and surrounded it with the music.  Again like Paris in spring.  Then, cut and sew, and sew some more.

I wound up blocking the block as piecing that much took the block off kilter.  I am discovering the joy of blocking - mist or soak the block and then pin it out square.  The water will let the fabric stretch a bit without distorting your threads - as long as you don't go crazy.  Let it dry (and maybe help it a bit with a hot iron) and then work with your blocked piece.

Then I backed it with the Eiffel tower fabric and had to decide on quilting.  I wanted something with some curve to contrast with the straight lines of the fabrics.  What to do?  I went and explored Leah Day's site for inspiration and found sea weed flower.  A little funky, and I like how it radiates out.  I also elected to use a contrast thread in burgundy to add to the sunset colors.

I love how it turned out.  Nothing like I originally thought, and absolutely what was needed for this bit of nostalgia.  I actually would love to go back to Paris and explore those streets 20 years later!

Time to start pulling together a package for M for April.  I definitely see some batik scraps going in there, but what else...

Happy sewing!

March Inspiration - indigo

It's March already.  Every year I hear myself saying that more and more.  Its odd, with age time goes faster every day.  At least in my case.

This month's inspiration is about time passing.  Memories and joy.  It's made me quite reflective.  March is an anniversary for me at my job.  And M reminded me is an anniversary of a life changing event.

We were blessed to attend a high school with a remarkable music teacher who takes one of her choir classes on an international tour every few years.  The year after I graduated I had the chance to go with the group.  We went to Europe - starting in Spain and ending in Paris.  2 weeks of singing, touring, and generally being teens in a history ridden land.  It was March.  It was windy, and starting to bloom, and absolutely lovely thru the eyes of memory.

This is the packet I got in the mail for my inspiration to start.  Monochromatic and elegant.

I am not sure yet what fabrics I will add.  I am thinking about keeping it to a cream and shades of black landscape.  I am inspired by flying geese with all their movement, and the way they help the eye travel across the quilt.  I sketched out the below as a possible pattern, we will see.

Sadly for me all my photos from traveling various places - including Europe - have been lost in moving at various times.  I went looking for pictures online and here are a few that seem very familiar - these are the places and feelings I remember.

The streets of Barcelona.  Where siesta is lived.

St Sernin - where singing mass is a heavenly experience no matter what god you believe in.

Toulouse, France - where you can get lost in 2 minutes or less, and find a kindly shopkeeper to send you back on your way.

Paris - where if your hotel is within sight of the Eiffel tower, you can't get lost as long as you can still see the tower.  At least if you are 15-19 years old  ;)

So, don't get lost - stay in sight of the tower!

So, next to figure out some additional fabrics, and figure out if I should fussy cut a Eiffel Tower - I may not be able to resist!

happy sewing!

March Madness - Molly

I Got home today after 3 long days of chemo with my son, and my March package was waiting. A nice bright spot on a dreary rainy day. First off I had to thoroughly enjoy the assortment of stamps used to ship it:

There is a quilt in that, I just know it.

Opening the package I found a tie dye kit with blue, green and turqoise, a gorgeous card with a bowl of citrus fruits, 2 print fabrics, some white fabric, some muslin and a small container of beads in blues and greens.

Loving it all so much! The image on the card is really sticking in my brain and I'm enjoying the circle shapes and how that can be created with tie dye. I have been wanting to dry some fabric dying and here is my chance. May have to wait for a nice warm day (wait, this is Oregon in March), a nice not as rainy day with little wind, and play with the dyes out in the back yard...I can see my self dying anything that isn't glued down....

I'm hoping to get my package for Indigo to the mail tomorrow...will depend on if I can be awake enough tonight to package it up.