Stronger Together! Week 1 and 2

I have been concerned about the color scheme but as time has passed, I think it works. Since the overall theme of the quilt is based on the North Star, I wanted darker colors because the NS is brightest at night.   

Week 1-Stars

I have to be honest and say the bigger stars gave me the business. It was the first time I had sewn stars. It is very important to make sure there is extra fabric at the points, if you don't, when it's time to sew, the seam allowance will cut off the points.

Week 2-Triangles

 The triangles were fun to make and with the HST method, it was so easy!

Week 3 and 4 coming up soon!

Art is Life!

Black History Month Quilt-Along

Im taking a break from my African King quilt to celebrate BHM by participating in a quilt-along. The pattern is called Stronger Together and the design was inspired by Harriet Tubman and her escapes to the North to lead slaves to freedom.  During the month of February, the funds from purchased patterns are donated to Historically Black Colleges and Universities. 

We’re happy to present our first ever quilt and stitch along for Black History Month, to bring our creative community together to support a worthy cause and to highlight the achievements and contributions of several African American women in the fiber arts.

The challenge is being hosted by Fat Quarter Shop (fatquartershop.com) All information and instructions for the quilt can be found on their website. Each week features a different section to be completed. 

Week 1-The Borders!

The fabrics I selected are not fabrics I would usually pick but I wanted to go outside my comfort zone to learn more. The women at The Quilting Square were great in helping me with my choices. The larger star is made of reproduction fabric which I've never used before. I think it was a good choice for the theme of the quilt. 

Stay tuned week 2 coming up!

Art is Life!

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!