Long time no writing. I apologize for the time lapse in posting. Cold season has hit me hard and I have been slow to recover.
Now that I'm feeling better it's time to continue the applique on my Quilted Symphony project. The circle patterns for this section have been drawn directly onto the fusible web. Rather than tracing the circle patterns, I found round household items such as a thread spool and dime to trace around. This is easier for making the circles round. Press the fusible web onto the back of the fabric and cut out.
Press applique circles onto background segments.
Free-motion stitch around circles. I used a free-motion zigzag stitch.
I love the free-motion zigzag stitch. It is so versatile. Creating foundation pieces is the next step. I'll post soon (I promise!).
Once base pieces are prepared, time for applique. The applique designs are traced onto freezer paper. Fusible web is affixed to applique fabric. My new favorite fusible is "Soft Fuse." It comes on a 37" roll and is a light web-like fusible. Similar to MistyFuse but paper-backed. Now press freezer paper to web-backed fabric and cut out.
Now comes the fun part: thread embellishing!
I used a free-motion zig-zag stitch (my new favorite) to this one,
and this one. I used wool for the embellished yellow circles and free-motion straight stitched the spiral.
Free-motion straight stitching was used on this one. Boy, am I having fun!
Last year I led a monthly art quilting workshop. Every month we learned a new technique with the opportunity to complete one project. This year we are beginning with projects from one book "Quilted Symphony" by Gloria Loughman. It will take 4 to 5 months to work through the book. Completion of this book will give all an opportunity to turn an abstract design into a quilt. I will record my progress on my blog so follow along and see where it might take you.
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| Project Base |
Using a tear-away stabilizer, trace the drawn design, numbering segments in order of placement.
Draw segments onto freezer paper, cut out, and press onto right side of fabric. Cut around shape approx. 1/4" away from freezer paper shape. Layer each shape with tear-away stabilizer and stay-stitch 1/8" away from paper shape. Remove freezer paper.
Segments are now ready to decorate with applique.
Mystery quilts and I have a love/hate relationship. It excites me to see if I can pick the right fabrics for the unknown pattern :), but I'm not that crazy about piecing:(.
On New Year's Day I attended a mystery event at Bigfork Bay Cotton Company and was pleasantly surprised with the pattern and results of the fabrics selected. I enjoyed my fabric selections so much I couldn't wait to get home and put it together. Here is the result: "Tossed Greens."
Now that it is together I have decided to add random appliqued flowers in these pinks.
My flowers are designed and I hope to have the flowers fused on in the next few days.
The new year has begun and I couldn't be more excited about 2011. Rather than making New Year's resolutions I have chosen a word to work toward. My word for 2011 is "action." I came across this idea while reading other quilter blogs and took it on. Here is my word as I created it for my first art journal page which I am starting this year. My goal is 2 art journal pages a week with a time limit of 1 1/2 hrs to create. I am going for being creative without thinking about it too much, whether it's an idea or a technique or a product I want to try. I'll keep you updated and share the results.
I wish you all a happy, successful, and creative 2011.
Here is a blog worth watching: Feathered Fibers. She is a talented quilter in many ways: she quilts, draws, makes jewelry, very creative. I love reading her cartoons. They are very quilt appropriate. She has great tutorials and creative exercises. I want to grow up to be like her! (Seems like I've said that before about another site. Oh well, at least I always want to keep growing. LOL)
Happy Day to all. I am off quilting a quilt of my own, not someone else's. I am going to practice some new motifs I am going to put on a customer quilt.
P.S. I am going to Seattle to pick up my quilting machine this weekend. It will be set up around the 1st of November. I can't wait to have full-time access to my machine again. Watch for photos as I move into the realm of machine quilting once again.
Sunday's Solace
The wind whirls
The leaves dance
A silent ballet
Quiets the heart.
Notice the heading change. My company name has changed and my logo has been created. What do you think? Keep watch as I get back to writing and share all the bumps and joys of starting my business.
It's 4 a.m. and I just completed quilting this wonderful Christmas quilt whose pattern "Crazy Nine Patch Lattice Quilt" I got from Oh, Fransson!.
QUILT BACK
It is a free downloadable pattern from this talented designer that I am teaching this month as a class that needs to be photographed this morning (I generally accomplish much under deadlines). I am especially enjoying what I did for the backside.
BACKSIDE
Although I have been a longarm quilter for several years now, I am new to meandering on my home machine. Elizabeth Hartman of Oh, Fransson! meanders a vast majority of her quilts. They look so good that I thought I would try it and I love it! As I was quilting in my zone during the middle of the night my thoughts drifted. I began to become aware of the rhythm of the machine, the motion of the fabric. I realized that as my meandering is becoming practiced, my quilting is evolving into something I feel good about; good not only because I can actually do it, but it looks good too. My thoughts then began to drift to thinking about how through my quilting I myself have evolved. Quilting has taught me to relax, to be patient, to let the flow goes where it wants to, not where I want it to and to be okay, if not overjoyed, with the results. Through my quilting I have experienced many life lessons, met many generous and open-hearted people, and evolved to the person I am today. It's exciting to realize that quilting is an evolution and that as my quilting continues to evolve, I, as a person, will also continue on the path of personal evolution. 
