Design Wall Monday 5-21-12

I don't have EQ. I've toyed with the idea of purchasing it but my computer is very old and when I looked at the specs for the EQ program I realized I would probably need to buy a new computer. Don't want to do that. Not yet. Because it's a pain in the rear to move the files, reinstall programs, etc. And sometimes I just like the philosophy "if it ain't broke, don't fix it."

So, until I get EQ and a new computer, or in case I never do, this is my way of designing a quilt. I select fabrics I like ...

find some blocks I like, make several color copies of each fabric, then I cut out pieces and fit them together, move them around, and so on until I find something that appeals to me. When my cousin and I were making quilts together via the U.S. Mail service, I would make a paper block using color copies and send a copy to her so we could compare apples to apples. One foundation paper pieced block we made had 96 pieces in it and we were each making 18 blocks! Believe me, we wanted to make sure we were both on the same page with that one.

I'm going to start on a new bed quilt soon and I have my eye on the Swoon block by Thimbleberries. This design is for a 24" block. Yikes! On the bright side I'll only have to make 9 blocks. I'm going to cut and piece and audition the paper fabrics in this photo until I get the effect I'm looking for. I'll also be able to check to make sure I have enough fabric because for 3 of the fabrics I only bought 2 fat quarters so I'll need to be careful. When I bought the fat quarters I didn't have a bed size quilt in mind ... In the design process for this block I asked my friend Lori for her opinion and she brought to my attention the fact that the star in the middle fades away, so we'll do a little switch-a-roo with some of the fabrics to make the star pop out, and I've decided to replace the bright yellow with a blue.

Ocean Jools is finished. This was extremely fun to make. It's small - about 12 x 26 - so it went together fast. My last Design Wall Monday blog gives the designer's name/info. This whole piece was fun - selecting fabrics, cutting them out, appliqueing, beading, quilting. Fun fun fun.

Visit Patchwork Times today and see what others are working on.

Design Wall Monday 5-14

Finally, some noticeable progress.

Life's A Hoot, pattern by Angela Padilla and available through Craftsy.com, is finished. This wall hanging was a lot of fun to do. In the end I ended up quilting it using a simple cross-hatch pattern. Most of the fabrics in this piece are from my stash. I did buy the grass fabric and wood grain fabric, but that was all.

Sea Stable, pattern by Debora Konchinsky, was also a lot of fun to do. Most of these batiks are from my stash. Although I was tickled pink with this piece before the embroidery and bead embellishments, I have to admit that the embroidery and beading really made it come to life. The quilting is simply vertical wavy lines ... trying to reinforce the water theme ...


FYI - Debora Konchinsky calls these patterns by another name - I renamed them to put my spin on them.

Here is a close-up of the featured sea horse. That's a whole lot of beads on that horse! From tip to tail that horse is 8.5" long. 5 of the horses in this piece have beading on them, and there are also beads here and there on the seaweed.

Ocean Jools, pattern by Debora Konchinsky, will be finished before the week's end. Living close to the coast, I love everything and anything related to seashells, which is what Ocean Jools is - a collection of seashells. I've started the beading embellishments on it and am amazed at much a little ol' bead can add to the "wow factor" of a piece. I'll post a photo of that finished piece next week (I hope).

Rebecca - this is the quilt my mother and I are working on together. While it's sad to think that this will likely be the last quilt piece she works on because the arthiritis in her fingers makes handling a needle or rotary cutter very difficult, I think it's ironic that this last piece is not only named after her, but is made from fabrics we used in a quilt for her bed - so it's very close to her. She will be giving this piece to her great granddaughter.

Make sure to take a few moments and visit Patchwork Times for Design Wall Monday to see what some really amazing quilters are up to.

Design Wall Monday 5-7

Not too much to report visually, however I have been busy. This photo shows the 10 blocks made so far this year in the craftsy.com block of the month program. Even though I'm sticking with the red/white/black color scheme, I did add a new black/white fabric and a new red/black/white fabric because I felt it was becoming a bit boring. It's been a fun program. Eventually we'll have 20 blocks made and then we'll finish the quilt which I assume will include sashings/borders

Not shown, but will try to do so next week, is the progress made on Sea Stable, Ocean Jools, and Life's A Hoot - all three are quilted and either reading for binding or ready for embroidery and bead embellishment. The embellishing is one of my favorite parts of creating the wall hangings because it seems to make the piece come to life.

Also, my mother is visiting so we will be working on the embellishing on the Victorian Crazy Quilt together.

In summary- lots of handwork ahead, very little machine work. After the 4 pieces listed above are finished I'm going to make a gray/white/yellow bed-size quilt for me.

Visit Patchwork Times today for Design Wall Monday.