Project: Ballet Baby Blanket

06/28/2006

I currently work with a husband and wife at my small company, and they are expecting a baby girl in just a few short weeks. In keeping with my tradition, I decided to make a baby blanket for the new arrival.

BACKGROUND
Although I prefer art quilting and non-traditional techniques, there is a part of me that loves traditional patterns. I love studying the history of quilts and am always amazed at the accuracy of the piecing and quilting. Every now and then I get the itch to try out something I find, and a baby blanket gives me the perfect opportunity to do so - big enough to try it out and small enough to not turn into a nightmare!

In one of the quilting forums I belong to someone posted about the pillow quilts. You remember those, don't you? Typically they are done in bright, funky colors, but I thought it would be a nice twist to try the technique in pinks and purples. I found a cute ballerina fabric for the back and it just went from there.







TECHNIQUES
There are two ways to do a pillow quilt. I chose the easiest! (The more traditional method is to do some strange folding & pinning and since I hate to pin anything . . . . . LOL!) Basically, I cut the squares for the quilt top (5 inches - 1 inch larger than the finished size) and cut squares of muslin (also 1 inch). I had a total of 120 fabric squares and 120 muslin squares.

I sewed the squares to the muslin (right sides together) leaving an opening for turning. I clipped the corners, turned and pressed. Next I stuffed the squares with a very soft batting. My son was a real help here since he has smaller fingers. The trick is to get enough batting in there to make a pillow but not too much that you end up having a hard time getting two pillows in the sewing machine.

After all squares were stuffed, I joined them, alternating the three colors. Once the top was finished, I attached the pre-made ruffle. Finally, I attached the ballerina fabric to the back.

Quilt #3: Why Do I Sew

06/19/2006

Indulge me in a bit of a cheat, if you will. I had two quilt projects going on this past week, but didn't quite get finished since I had to travel on business. So, I decided to post one of my favorite projects.

BACKGROUND
I subscribe to Quilting Arts magazine (love it, by the way) and several months back I came across a article about Susan Shie (www.turtlemoon.com). I was immediately enhanted with her technique and style. It is so expressive, so free, so non-traditional! I think I re-read that article 10 times that weekend, and I still refer to it often when I need a burst of inspiration. I knew right away that I had to do something to try her technique out - but what?

A few weeks after reading the article I was at my local quilt club when we were presented with a challenge. Basically, each of us were handed a 12 inch piece of a fabric bolt roll (the kind that the decorator fabric comes on) and were told to make something out of it. One of the ideas was to make a mini-quilt roll. Basically, our instructions were to place felt on the inside to hold quilt blocks, and include pockets for needles, thread, scissors, etc. The outside was to be decorative. Ties were to be included at the end to secure everything inside the roll. I knew right away that I wanted to try out Susan's techniques on this project.

As I drove home - ideas spinning through my head - I decided that I wanted to do something for ME. (Almost every quilt I have ever done has been given away. As of today, I own only one quilt - received it back after my grandmother passed - and the mini-quilts I've been sharing here.) I decided that I wanted it to be personal. So, my idea of a self-portrait was born.





TECHNIQUES
I started with the wonderful orange and yellow batik (still a favorite of mine) and appliqued the fabric pieces using embroidery floss. The goal with the floss is to use big, chunky stitches and switch up the color as much as possible. The hair includes bobbinwork and hand beading with bugle beads. The sewing machine includes seed beads, as well as some chunky, smiley and glow-in-the-dark alphabet beads. The wording and facial features were thread painted, and the background was quilting using what I affectionally call my "stepped on stipple stitch."

Project: Appliqued Birthday Shirts

06/10/2006

A friend of mine has twin girls, and they turned 3 this past weekend. To commerate the event, the parents decided to have a petting zoo birthday party, and I was asked to make some shirts to go along with the theme.

BACKGROUND
I tell you, it was not easy coming up with something to fit "barnyard birthday." My mind was blank! I decided to "google it" and was surprised to find some birthday accessories (plates, cups, etc.) that fit the theme pefectly. Ultimately the parents purchased the party accessories, and the design was born. I adapted the elements slightly. Since I was working on a 4T shirt I had to remove one of the animals and the bird that is in the original design. I then added the birthday cake and party hats.

I decided to hand embroider the girls' names on the banner. I've been expanding my hand embroidery skills lately - more than the simple cross, back and straight stitch. My grandmother use to do lots of hand embroidery, and that's something I plan to continue in her memory.







TECHNIQUES
I started by drawing the design on a piece of 8 x 10 paper, and then went over the major lines with a Sharpie marker. I then turned the paper over to reverse the image. I used Heat and Bond light to trace the pattern, and then attached the pieces to the appropriate color of fabric. I then heat set the pieces directly to the background fabric. (With a small shirt, it's easier to attach one large background fabric to the shirt rather than trying to applique each piece individually.)

Next I appliqued each piece, starting with the parts of the picture that would be in the background first. I then hand embroidered parts of the pig and cow. Next I added beads for the eyes and hat tops, and finally a cow bell. I then attached the entire piece to the shirt and appliqued all the way around. The final step was to hand embroider the names to the banner.

Repeat entire process . . . since there were two shirts!

Quilt #1: Jacob?

06/04/2006

Okay, so my first mini-quilt took two weeks, but it ended up being more of an emotional journey for me that I bargained for.

BACKGROUND
The Friday before Memorial Day my 8-year old son was missing. For two terrifying hours, my husband and I searched along with the police for Jacob. There were about ten patrol cars looking for him and my husband was driving on neighboring streets. I spent the time walking up and down our own street calling his name. I was in tears and very near hysterical. I remember while searching for him that my friendly neighboorhood street seemed evil and menacing. Once we found Jacob, I sat down to capture my feelings that day. This first mini-quilt, entitled Jacob? is a reflection of my feelings that day.

The houses have an accusing look on their face. "How can you lose track of your son?" They also have blood red windows and doors that look more like eyes and a howling mouth. They are also tall, showing how small and powerless I felt. As I roamed the neighborhood, I found it difficult to control the frightful images of what might be occurring. Every house looked like a den of evil. Every person I saw looked like a child molester.

The sky is uncertain. "Will I find my son?", "Will he be okay?", "Is he hurt?", "Does someone have my son?" Those were just a few of the questions that tormented me.

The white street is hope - hope that he will be returned to me safely. The entire time we searched I had this tiny voice inside telling me everything was fine. The longer the search went, the harder it was to hear that voice.

The quilt is bound with staples, barley keeping it together. That's how I felt that day - as if I were coming apart at the seams.







TECHNIQUES
Materials used were lightweight canvas, fabric paints, crayons, poly and rayon threads. I started by drawing the picture with pencil directly onto the canvas, which was not ironed. I then used crayon to color in the major areas. Next, I applied fabric paint on top of the crayons to achive a deeper color. Paint colors were allowed to bleed. After drying, the paint was heat set and low-loft batting was pinned to the back of the picture.

For thread painting, I set my machine for free-motion embroidery and removed the foot. (I seem to work better with no foot, but you have to watch your fingers). For the sky, I used complimentary colors on top of the paint color to add another dimension.

Finally, I cut the piece with my picking shears, not paying too much attention to keeping straight lines. I then used a stapler to attach the front and back together.