Overlapping log cabin - part two

This is a continuation of the making of the overlapping log cabin quilt.  I chucked the first 6 blocks, and recut all of the fabric strips to 1-1/2" wide.  The excess 3/4" strips were put into a scrap bin for an idea that will come to me in the future, or maybe not.   The smaller size strips worked so much better to give me the color effect that I wanted to achieve.

Since this will be a quilt for our charity group, I shopped the fabric stash held by our charity leader, and came home with lighter gray fabrics and some more blue.  I'm pretty sure that I have all the fabric that I need now to continue.

Here's a picture of the progress so far.

And the set up that I had at the quilt retreat.

I hope you like it so far!

Quilt retreat with Clark County Quilters

It was another fun retreat with other women from my quilt guild.  I wasn't sure that I would make it because I had a brother that passed away.  It was a very sad time for me, but being around cheerful and creative women really helped.  I was excited to meet so many new members, or members that were new to the retreats.  The committee put together great games for us to play, provided a multitude of gifts, and arranged for discounts at quilt shops.  We enjoyed great weather, great meals, wonderful snacks, and tons of socialization and sewing.  Here's a few pictures:

Can't wait for next time!

Overlapping log cabin - part One

I saved a picture of an artful version of log cabin that was done in silk fabrics a long time ago.  In fact, it was a picture from Quilter's Newsletter Magazine in 1988.  Do you remember when Quilter's Newsletter was the only magazine for quilters and everyone saved them for their personal collection?

This is my colored in sketch:

I pulled black, gray, red, burgundy, fuchsia, purple, and blue fabrics from my stash and colored in the pattern with those colors.  I knew that I would need a guide to follow since the log cabin blocks lock into each other.  It was a project dedicated to a future quilt retreat, where it would not be so easy to focus on the sewing.  If you've ever been to a quilt retreat with 30 or more other quilters, you know what I'm talking about losing focus!  

Here is the pile of fabrics that I picked:

I made 6 blocks with 2-1/4" strips and I didn't like the look of it at all.  It doesn't look like the picture to me.  

I am going to figure out a way to use these blocks, but also start all over with narrower strips.

Double Portrait - Part Three

This is a continuation of 2 previous posts about the making of the Double Portrait of my husband.

I stitched around all of the edges with invisible thread, and then layered and quilted it.   Several colors of blue, tan, silver, and black were used in both free motion quilting and with a walking foot.  I had to bury a lot of thread starts and stops, but it was fine to have some hand work to do on Thursdays and in front of the TV.  It is faced and ended up being 38" W  48" H.

I hope you like it!

Double Portrait - Part Two

This is a continuation of the post about making the double portrait of my husband.

I picked a fabric that I had in my stash for the background and played around with a light gray organza overlay for the mirror.  I also tried using 2 layers of organza on the background in the mirror and one layer over the face and body.  Previously, I had made a reflection of my granddaughter using similar techniques.  

Its fun to try different layers to get the right effect, but it is also maddening when you have a concept in your head that doesn't translate into fabric.  I thought about using clear vinyl (like what's used in making bags) but I didn't think it would work with quilting.  In the end, I picked an entirely different fabric for the background that was a black/gray/white print from Leslie Tucker Jenison produced by Robert Kaufman, and dark brown for the border on the mirror.   I didn't have enough of a light gray organza and tried a white one.  No way.  So, I had to go out shopping for organza.  I found it on an Etsy site.  I used one layer over the background in the mirror; laid on his face and body, and added a second layer on top of it all.  I think it is just the right effect of a mirror.  Anyway, here is the piece put together on the design wall.

Both my husband and I felt that the layers on the back of his head made it look like he had a mohawk hair cut.  In fact, he is bald.  So, I had to fix the light parts and make it a true shadow.  I like it a lot better.

Next up, the quilting!  I hope you like it so far.

Double Portrait - Part One

I've challenged myself to do a double portrait of my husband.  I took a picture of him looking into a mirror while we were vacationing in Yellowstone National Park.  

We've stayed at the historic lodge at Old Faithful Geyser several times and love the rustic rooms and the architecture of the building.  If I'd had my way when I was younger, I would have liked living in a log cabin in the forest somewhere.  Now that I'm older, I prefer living near the resources that old people need - like medical, social groups, family, and friends.  So, I live out my fantasy while on trips, and much prefer rustic lodges to fancy hotels.

Well, back to the topic.  I liked the picture because it reminded me of one done in 1960 by Norman Rockwell, when he was looking into a mirror and painting a self portrait. 

I used the posterizing method of taking the picture into Photoshop, where you change the image to gray scale, then blur the edges.  That image was traced and enlarged and became my pattern.  I picked blue fabrics for his shirt, and light flesh tones for his head.  Here are two sections cut and fused and ready to assemble.

I didn't trace enough accurately to do his face, and tried to draw them to scale on the pattern.  But, my drawing skills are horrible and I couldn't get his eyes and nose correctly.  If it wasn't a portrait of somebody that I know, I could have just winged it.  But it had to actually look like him and not a characterization.  So, I took the picture back into Photoshop and enlarged just his face to the same size as the pattern, then traced that and overlayed it onto the posterization to get the 4 shades placed in the right spots.  Believe me when I say that these design details stretch my brain - both during the day and at night when they keep me awake.

I have a lot of supplies to do this type of work, but ran out of Teflon coated poster boards after I had only done 2 sections.  My solution was to use parchment paper taped to a couple of other poster boards instead of buying more Teflon pressing sheets. (It's not likely that I will need more than 2 boards in the future.)  Anyway, here are the reflection parts of his shirt and his face.

I hope you like it so far!

Leftover Improv - Part Two and Final - Landscape Improv

This is a continuation of a previous post about the making of the leftover improv piece.

I kept adding hand embroidery to this piece in colored thread and in simple embroidery stitches.  They added texture and interest to this piece.  And then, I decided to do some big stitch hand quilting.  This takes so much longer than machine quilting (which can be done in a few hours).  I chose a variety of threads and after doing a few lines with pearl cotton, size 8 and very large needles, I ditched using them for quilting.  They were fine on the hand embroidery, but pulled the batting through to the front while quilting.  I liked the WonderFil spaghetti thread, size 12.  And pearl cotton, size 8 as well.

Here is a look at the work in progress.  For some reason, my camera picks up pink, but it is really black and white.

I worked on this when I needed handwork with my small quilt group, and occasionally worked on it while watching TV at night.  I wasn't in a hurry to get this piece done.  It was more about the slow stitching.  So, after many months,  it was finally done.  It was faced and left wonky.  It measures 30" W x 40" H.  I'm calling it "Landscape Improv".

I hope you like it.  It's going to be auctioned off in November at the Clark County Quilters guild meeting.