Fabrics From St Croix

 My family and I are in St Croix Christmas week. I was determined to buy fabric while I was here. The farmers market is usually open every Saturday but they decided to open the market the Wednesday before Christmas. I’m very glad my husband took me because I found some beautiful fabrics. 

The fabrics are African textiles, I am designing a male version of the Queen Sister quilt I recently made. These fabrics will go well with other fabrics I have already purchased. I will do a post showing all the fabrics together and maybe a sketch of the block. 

Happy Holidays and stay safe,

Art Is Life!

African Queen Pattern for a Baby Quilt

I was so excited to make this baby quilt for a friend for many reasons but I literally had 3 weeks from start to finish to complete it before the baby shower. She is a friend that I hold close to my heart and I was determined to complete it.

I decided on the African Queen block because 1. She is having a Queen.  2. The color scheme was ideal for this design, (pink, grey, white were the colors but I thought the addition of some purple wouldn’t hurt😊). 3. This pattern can be easily modified to accommodate any preference. 

The finished quilt! I love the combo of batiks. These are not all the queens! I rearranged, added, removed a number of times. I tried to spread out the skin tones and balance the colors of the dresses. I could have done that forever but knew I had to stop eventually and commit to a placement.  

The quilting is an embroidery stitch, I do not have a long arm quilter. I have a Janome QCP 9400 and it has lot of stitches. Not ever row is perfectly parallel and at first I was bothered by it and thought I would remove the stitches. But the more I looked at it the more I kind of liked it, I felt it added a little charm to the quilt. Quilting this way, took a very long time but I think the end result was worth it. 

Along the edge, I decided to echo the shape of the triangles. They kind of reminded me of the points of a crown.

I had intended to quilt over the dresses but ran out of time. I think it looks good without it but I may try it on another one just to see how I like it.

My biggest concern was if my friend would like it. Turns out, I had nothing to worry about, she LOVED it, 😊 She loved it some much, that she is going to use it instead of the one she bought. That makes me really happy and even more so because we reviewed the care instructions I gave her. Often people don’t understand the work and time it takes to make a quilt so I’m glad she does because she will treasure it.

Art Is Life!

Ready for Auction

The time has finally arrived!

The auction will take place next month! It is bittersweet for me because I enjoyed seeing all the little faces as I was working on this quilt (and secretly I was completely ok with keeping it).

I photographed each student, resized to make the silhouettes even, cut silhouettes out in fabric/interfacing, and stitched them on blocks. I decided on the piano key boarder to add even more color. This is a very bright quilt!:)

When I photographed the students, I had them to write their name on index cards. I made a scrapbook and put their signatures in order by their location on the quilt. This way the winning bidder will have a way to identify each student.

This quilt was designed for display only, there is sleeve on the back. It will have to be a sizable wall, the quilt measures 68" x 88".

After, I sewed the top, I had knee surgery. Ugh! I was so bummed because the recovery period was long (and still ongoing) and I wasn't sure if I would finish it in time. I decided to do something I have never done before, send it out for quilting. And it was a great decision! Kathleen Haskett was wonderful. She was great to work with and so knowledgeable. I have a new friend in my sewing circle.

What I would do differently! Although, I stitched around each silhouette, I would have adhered the silhouettes to the block with double-sided interfacing. Once the top was quilted, the silhouettes float from the block, it distorts the faces and creates lots of shadows.

Overall, I do like the way it turned out! It definitely increased my desire to get a long arm quilting machine. I really don't have the space for one so I will look at some smaller versions that I have seen online.    

                                                                                Art Is Life!

My First Portrait Art Piece

In a college art class, we were assigned an art project-complete a self portrait in any medium. Being textile obsessed, I naturally gravitated to fabric. I was so excited about this project even though I'd never attempted anything like this. 

I used all commercial fabrics purchased from a quilt shop, got really lucky in finding enough colors in the same tone/value. A few classmates laughed because Im green but I was pleased with how it turned out. The only comment that got a little under my skin was made by the instructor. He advised that it was a bit on the crafty side. I disagreed and suggested he do more research on textile art!

I have learned a lot since completing this piece (I hope) and I am currently working on a piece now. I recently purchased an overhead projector so I can make it any size which is great. Detail pics to follow!

                                                              Art Is Life!

The Beach Quilt Finished

Having the photograph as a color guide was helpful. I don't if it will remind my friend of the

                                           beaches of her homeland but I tried.:)                              

                             I do like the color combinations, so beachy (at least to me)!

During the quilting process, I noticed that the quilt was streeeetching on me. The bottom doesn't lay down flat. I have never had this happen to me so I was like "What the what!". After reading and talking to a "Professional Quilter" she offered some suggestions on what might has caused this to happen. The more I quilt, the more I learn!

Art is Life!

Beach Inspired Baby Quilt-Coming Right Along

The quilt top below is completely sewn and was inspired by the beach photograph. The tan represents the sand and as the colors continue they end with navy to represent the deep blue of the ocean.

The next image is the reverse side of the quilt. The blocks are pinned to my design wall and need to be sewn together. I arranged and rearranged the blocks and I "think" I have settled on this arrangement. I will make a final decision tomorrow and start putting them together.

I don't often work with this many solid colors on traditional quilts, I love patterns. But when I needed fabric, many stores were closed due to Covid-19. I had to order all of the fabric online and it was challenging, I definitely prefer shopping in the store. 

Looking forward to starting the quilting process!

Art is Life!

Fabric for Beach Inspired Quilt

It's here! It's here! My fabrics have FINALLY arrived!!! Yippee! Covid-19 has caused delays on many of my online purchases so I'm really happy.

I think I may need to get one more color but once I spread the fabrics out and arrange them according to my design, I'll know.  

Im still trying to decide between 2 different pattern styles, one of which I have not attempted. I do like challenging myself, soooooo we will see! :)

Art is Life! 

Inspiration for a Baby Quilt

A dear friend of mine is going to have a baby and I am very excited for her and her family! 
She is from Puerto Rico so I wanted to have some element of PR incorporated. So I went ah lookin on the internet. I came across this beautiful beach photo. I love the variety of colors and how they flow. Breathtaking!!! 

         Photography is from adventurouskate.com

So many ways to go with this! I may hand dye the colors or buy batiks. And of design options are endless. These are definitely fun problems to have!😊

Art is Life!

A Fun Replica

My sister in law has a cute children's YouTube channel called Spotty Dotty. The show has great themes for children, fun songs, art, etc. She had a recent show with a painting that was creative because she used different things (a fork, pencil eraser, cotton swaps, etc) to create the painting. When it was finished, the colors reminded me of fabrics that I have and I thought, I wonder if I could replicate the image in textiles.

So I gave it a try!

This is the painting by my sister in law, show link- https://youtu.be/Ory50HaBqFI

This is my replica of her painting using different patterned textiles. I cut out the shapes, glued them together on a pieced background and used fabric from a fat quarter to make the border. When the glue dried, I stitched each piece to secure them to the background.

It isn't a precise replica but an interpretation, which is what makes art so wonderful. You have the freedom to do whatever!

Happy Mothers Day to all the creative moms!

 Art Is Life!!!

COVID-19 and DIY Mask

I was hesitant to write this post but this is such a significant time in our history (World History) that I thought I should take a few moments to reflect. 

In the last few weeks, my emotions and thoughts have been a roller coaster. I generally feel that in time ( I don't know how much time.) we will get past this pandemic but I also feel great concern about the future. I worry about the number of people that will die from this virus, I worry about the individuals that have lost their jobs, I worry about the children that are not attending school, I worry about the hit the US economy is taking, I worry that the cases will increase in the fall, I get angry over the political games that have caused lost lives needlessly, etc.

I have had to reduce the amount of time I watch and read the news, it's overwhelming. Sewing is and will always be my salvation. Since the CDC's recommendation of wearing DIY mask, I have started making mask. I was extremely hesitant to make cloth masks because I know they are not very effective but after doing some research, I learned that using filters and a nose guard help to increase a cloth mask effectiveness. 

There are a vast number of tutorials available now but I found one that I really liked. The blogger made 3 different styles of mask, 4 sizes in each AND included SVG images! This is the link for the tutorial:
https://www.craftpassion.com/face-mask-sewing-pattern/

Huge thanks to those on the front lines! I know you are putting your lives on the line and are exhausted and overwhelmed. I appreciate all you are doing to help the sick. I encourage anyone that has the time and ability to sew, to make masks and donate them to local hospitals and other first responders, there is a great need. 


A few samples of the masks I have made.

As you can see, the elastic is not consistent from mask to mask. Because of the increased need for masks, elastic is sold out everywhere. I improvised and used elastic headbands for some, works just as well. 

As of this writing, there are a total of 557,571 cases of COVID-19 in the US and 1,850,527 cases worldwide. A total 114,245 deaths worldwide. My heart goes out to those who have died and their loved ones. 

My "Corona" Quilt

These are absolutely challenging and uncertain times. Our normal life has changed and no one knows for sure what the future holds. Being home more has given me time to be creative and sew. I made this lap quilt as a birthday gift for a friend. I call it Corona Quilt because I made it during the time of the outbreak.

This is the finished top. It reminds me of stained glass. 

After it was quilted and washed!

The sewing technique I used, I learned from the Quilting Marine. This technique does not follow a pattern but by just selecting random pieces from your fabric stash and sewing them together. The video link https://youtu.be/x4ptBGYZTmY  

for the technique I used. I was gifted some African fabric remanent and this was the perfect way to use them. 

Art Is Life!

Arashi Fabric Garment

I entered my 1st ever sewing challenge, #sewcomfortable hosted by https://www.soveryjo.com and https://faithstjules.com. The challenge was to make a comfy outfit since most of America has been asked to stay indoors. The jersey knit fabric from my last project was ideal for this.

This was created from Simplicity 8790 version C. I modified the pattern a bit. I didn't want to put the big pocket in the front because I did not want to cover up the pattern on the fabric so I added inset pockets. I would classify this pattern as easy. The dress is roomy and soft and feels great, I will definitely make another one.

Art Is Life!

Reverse Shibori-Arashi Style

Shibori is one of my favorite ways to dye fabric. In this particular project, I used Arashi and in the reverse. Most often when fabric is dyed, color is added, in this case, I removed color as an experiment. In addition to removing color, I worked with more fabric than I normally do. Typically, I work in small batches but this time I used 2 yards of fabric.

These are the supplies I typically use for Arashi: fabric, twine (in this case light rope), Rit Color Remover, PVC pipe, and face mask (always use a mask when using powder dyes).

Before I dye any fashion fabric, I wash it to remove any starch or any other finishes. I make sure the fabric is wet (as in the above photo) because it takes the dye better when wet. Squeeze out the water so that it's not dripping wet.

The diameter of the PVC pipe is 4". I folded the fabric in half lengthwise and started to wrap it around the pipe. I made sure the fabric was as smooth as possible.

As I roll the fabric on, I make sure to roll it on as evenly as possible. Keep in mind to NOT roll the fabric on too tight, doing so will make it 1. harder to push down the pipe and 2. absorption harder.

2 yards rolled on!