adopt-a-project

Ragamuffin, 2009, 33" x 39"
GIFTED TO MICHELLE FARRIS

Pat Brim-Williams abandoned a series of 4" squares—checkered fabrics in bright red, green, purple and gold—that she had sewn together in long strips. Being allergic to 4" squares, I snipped the strips apart. Without a straight edge or measurements, I cut the fabric into smaller pieces and stitched everything together in a folksy, asymetric pattern.

The baby boy blanket is finished with hand stitching and backed by a red organic cotton. The 1/4" binding is mostly a purple check with insets of contrast fabric.

celebration of creativity

Harriet Naf—our sign maker, me and Priscilla Orr

Last Sunday morning, the Piecemakers brought quilts and racks to Plymouth Church to share our artistic endeavors. The Lounge was also filled with paintings and drawings, photography, sculptures, even a floral display—to celebrate the creativity of our congregation. And during the service, there was a remarkable performance of the one-act opera “Amahl and the Night Visitors.”

I must say that our colorful and crafted quilts, over 25 in all, made quite a splash for everyone to enjoy.

finally finished

Folk Baby, 2008, 38" x 33"
GIFTED TO OLIVIA DUNHAM

The top of this quilt is made with just seven strips of fabric. The piecing took about twenty minutes to cut and sew, and the hand stitching about 55 hours—over a five-month period.

Minimal piecing, maximum stitching. I chose this approach because the boxy patterns of the central fabrics, including one by Nancy Crow, already looked like little quilts.

The recipient of this quilt is Liz Holland, the soon-to-be mother of a little baby girl.

okadaya, tokyo

Japanese Narrow Goods

Yesterday I made it to Okadaya, a five-storey fabric store across from the East exit of the Shinjuku train station. I had a 35-minute window of time before I needed to regroup with my family and head back to our apartment in Nakano.

I walked up the stairs to check out the merchandise on each floor. If I had known in advance that all the quilting (pronounced "kilting" in Japan) fabrics were on the first floor, I could have saved ten precious minutes. There were elaborate Liberty of London cottons, Michael Miller and other American designer fabrics, and cutesy Japanese novelty prints galore.

My big find was a collection of narrow cottons (approximately 15 inches wide) that are hand-printed in only one or two colors. They took my fancy because their simple motifs looked genuinely Japanese. I bought 8 meters for 8,000 Yen each (approx. $9 US), plus a couple of remnants at a good discount. The cutter was very generous as he added about 3 inches to each meter, something that is never done at my local Seattle stores.

FYI: Be advised that there are two Okadaya stores within a half block of one another. The one for quilters has bins of fabric outside it.

quilting in japan

Details of a Japanese quilt in “Path to Edo” at La Conner Quilt & Textile Museum, Summer 2008

I am off to Tokyo for seven days to noodle around the big city and look for signs of Japanese quilts and their makers. I found another blog (goatinacoat@blogspot.com) that talked about different stores in the city to buy fabric, so that will help me out.

The Japanese, with their built-in meticulousness, are fabulous quilters. Although quilting may be considered an original American art form, the art/craft form translates well to the sensibilities and fabrics of the Japanese.

With my eyes open to all things quilted, this should be an exciting trip. Sayonara.

quilting weather

Backyard, The Longest Night, 2008.

With two major snowstorms in four days and a third storm just beginning, Seattle is homebound. This is a great time to start a quilting project. Especially since I want a lap quilt to stitch during my upcoming one-week vacation.

I have pulled out some fabric to begin a runner for an East Coast friend, Grace Lynch. A key part of the piecing will be Martha Negley’s Vegetable Leaves fabric. I bought three yards of two color lines (with turquoise and cranberry backgrounds) to make 20 dinner napkins for Grace. Now with the scraps, I want to make an additional gift.

Grace has a remarkable collection of Majolican cabbage leaf china. She has upteen plates and bowls, and at least five big fat teapots with little rabbits peeking out from under the green leaves. The napkins and quilted table runner will hopefully be used when she hosts her big family gatherings.

an expectant great grandmother

Cats for Liz’s Firstborn, 32 x 40 inches; Fish for Vik’s Firstborn, 33 x 41 inches

This past weekend I visited my mother and father in Victoria, BC. It was a fun weekend, made memorable by a blizzard that dropped five inches of snow in a city devoid of plows.

My mother, Jane, is a happy quilter. Her joy is making baby quilts with bright colors and novelty fabrics. Only one of her grandchildren has produced offspring, but that doesn’t stop Jane from believing there are many more to come.

She sent me home with a wonderful quilt for each of my daughters’ firstborns, even though my girls are just single college students right now.

the loaner

Before Maurine Noble migrated to the sunny climes of California for the winter, she lent me her second Bernina. It’s a 20-year old baby that her guests from afar use when they visit her home. What a thoughtful hostess!

The afternoon of the hand-off, Maurine took time to show me all the features that make a Bernina the perfect machine for quilters. With the two-task foot pedal, knee bar and stitch memory, I had a brain-opening lesson.

This weekend I have used it for the first time to piece a baby quilt for a special newborn boy. The machine just purred as it stitched together the woven plaids and checks.

After story: At the end of the winter I bought the machine from Maurine. I couldn’t live without it.

lap quilt series: no. 3

A Blanket for Babar, 2008, 44" x 59"
PURCHASED BY ANNA RHODES FOR HER GRAND NIECE

“An elephant in the room” is a problem that everyone knows well but no one talks about because it is taboo or embarrassing. That is the theme of this month’s Art Chix challenge.

What does a quilter do with such a project directive? My idea was to make a cover-up for the elephant so the difficult subject could be ignored a little longer.

This quilt is made with Indian batiks that I bought at Winmill Fabrics in Boston last spring. I scissor-cut the fabric without measuring so the design lines are softly irregular.

The center square of fabric is hand stitched around the flower pattern while the surrounding bands of fabric are machine stitched in-the-ditch. The binding is made up of leftover bits of fabric from the quilt top.

baby ezra's quilt

Little Men, 2008, 38" x 42"
GIFTED TO EZRA COX

I finished Ezra’s quilt in the wee hours this morning. It is a design-as-you-go production which I started a few months ago with some scraps of Kaffe Fassett fabric.

Just before noon today I visited the new baby with his mom, Naomi Cox. Although Ezra slept through our sweet tea party, it was obvious he is a contented new being.

lap quilt series: no. 2

Italian Rainbow, 2008, 45" x 53"
COLLECTION OF CHRISTINE CARLSON

The luscious multi-colored sateen fabric from Italy shouted to be noticed. "Use me, use me."

This quilt is loosely styled after a Gee’s Bend one, with scissor-cut top pieces and uneven sides.

my quilting rules

Marbled Mania, in progress

I have only been quilting for 15 months but I have some rules I like to follow:

1. asymmetry I don't like making quilts with a repeated pattern, especially a symmetric one—as the eye only looks at one part of the design and then mentally finishes it.

2. express the fabric Instead of using published patterns, I like to have the fabric inspire the design of a quilt.

3. an unexpected element The addition of a non-matching fabric or an unusual detail adds delight to a quilt. Sometimes a fabric that would be considered “ugly” is the perfect touch.

for hannah mae

Little Dutch Girl, 2008, 25" square
COLLECTION OF HANNAH MAE COX

For Naomi Cox’s daughter Hannah Mae, I whipped up this doll quilt. The self-imposed exercise was to make a quilted piece with only two fabrics. The pieces were all cut with scissors—purposely a little uneven in shape.

I wanted to create a completely naive feel—with the simplicity of the fabrics and the messy quality of the piecing design. I even trimmed the outside edge with scissors so the quilt is not quite square.

The final touch is a 1" wide binding. The fabric for this was cut 6" wide, on the bias. What a lot of fabric it takes to make a wide binding!

lap quilt series: no. 1

Dreaming in Russet, 2008, 60" x 42"
COLLECTION OF CINDY ANDERSON

I have just finished no. 1 of 10 in a series of lap quilts. My intent is to try different piecing and color combinations, essentially to sketch with fabric.

This quilt has wedge-shaped blocks in long strips with machine quilting in-the-ditch along each seam line. The printed fabrics are global, from Maurine Noble’s stash and scraps.

In the spring I plan to have an Open House to sell the collection, with the proceeds going to a worthy cause. If you read this blog and would like an invitation to the event, just let me know.

ruby’s daughter

Our Piece Makers’ meeting this month was at Sarah Stine’s home. A stay-at-home mom, Sarah has an online fabric/pattern/accessory store in her basement for quilters. The bulk of her business is from eBay where her handle is Ruby’s Daughter.

After Story 1: Sarah has abandoned eBay and now sells her fabric and merchandise on Etsy under rubysdaughter.
After Story 2: Sarah opened a store in Magnolia named Fabric Crush.
After Story 3: Sarah secured space in the Wallingford Center and is moving her fabric store there in March 2010.

sans studio

I don't have a quilting studio or special room for my obsession. Instead the borrowed Pfaff sewing machine sits at one end of my dining room table and my cutting surface at the other.

Being in the middle of everything suits me. My family is usually up to something in the adjacent living room and I am only steps away from the kitchen — which is handy for making tea or a meal.

Right now I am working for on a lap quilt with lots of browns and rusts. The whole composition looked lifeless until I added a bright color — a little accent of turquoise.

The pieces of fabric are lying across the floor between the dining and living rooms so I can get a sense of the color combinations. At times like this a studio with a design wall would be a lot more convenient!

dachshund circus quilt

Dachshund Circus Quilt, 2008, 52" x 42"
GIFTED TO MADDY JOHNSON

The inspiration for the Dachshund Circus Quilt came from vintage fabric I bought in Astoria last January. With a turquoise background, the pattern includes a big top, freak show, balloon man and Ferris wheel.

The whole cloth quilt has an appliqued dachshund and big ball. I pieced the appliques with fun, bright fabrics. Maurine Noble helped me by satin stitching a pale yellow thread around the two shapes with her fancy Bernina sewing machine.

On my machine (a 20-year old borrowed Pfaff), I free-style stitched around all the circus elements in the background. It took almost 40 hours! Just trimming all the threads took another three hours.

My big learning with this project had to do with contrast. Due to its patterning, the dachshund applique did not show up well. I added an eye with a highlight and little black nose to make the colorful blob look more like a jumping dog!

The quilt now belongs to baby Maddy, the daughter of a designer at my workplace.

artist inspired

Crow Barn Quilt, 75" x 52"

This month’s Art Chix theme was “Artist Inspired.” Our assignment was to create an art piece inspired by a well-known artist.

I chose quilting superstar Nancy Crow. Nancy has transformed quilting into a modern artform with her work exhibiting in high profile museums.

Partially finished with some hand stitching, my project was a twin-sized quilt. The three dramatic areas of black and white piecing in the center were created by Maurine Noble at a one-week workshop led by Nancy Crow. Maurine had tossed the class samples in her scrap bag and forgotten all about them.

I don't expect to finish this quilt until Spring. It will be given to a high school graduate at Plymouth Church. There are a lot of young men in this year’s senior class, so I assume this will be a big boy quilt.

imported from africa

Out of Africa, 2007, 72" x 48"

I made this twin-bed quilt from fabrics that Maurine Noble bought home from a teaching gig in South Africa.

The top is very colorful with quilt-as-you-go horizontal strips. The back has a black-on-beige pattern in the center area and a beige/rust-on-black pattern on the sides. Lime green sashing connects the sandwiched and machine-quilted fabric.

Note how the 1/4 inch binding changes where the background fabrics meet.

little men

(From top left, clock-wise) Hippy Man in a tie-dye shirt, Metronatural Man in a graphic shirt, Enviro Man all in green and Messy Man in work clothes.

I made Little Men for the baby boy quilt I am completing. The quilt is a design-as-I-go project and I wanted something simple for the four corners as the rest of the quilt is visually busy.

Each Little Man is made with 22 pieces! I had to count them to believe it.

The design is modified from a magazine photo of a folksy quilt. The historic-style quilt top was laden with little men, little women, a barn, some roosters and sheaths of wheat.

I like the idea of the baby boy one day realizing that his quilt has little men on it. And when that happens, he will be a little man himself!

chinese coins

Batik Baby, 2007, 42" x 26"
GIFTED TO MIA AGUILAR

This is Quilt No. 3 for me. A sampler really, as it isn’t very big. The fabrics are from Maurine Noble’s bags of scraps. The inspiration was a set of pre-made squares I found in the collection of castaways—mauve triangles with coral heart-design batik triangles. I added some sashings of hand-dyed fabrics and a wrap-around border of random-width Chinese Coins to finish the quilt top.

I can’t find the origin of the name, Chinese Coins, anywhere. Instead I have found that there are other quilt patterns with similar names, such as Roman Coins and African Coins.

The quilt was machine-stitched “in the ditch” to make the triangles and Chinese Coins puff up. It was the first time I used Dorrit’s Pfaff with a running foot to stitch a quilt together with the batting.

Baby Aquilar is the recipient of this stroller-sized quilt. Her mother, Laura, worked at Belyea before getting pregnant, selling her condo and moving to Arizona. With only two week’s notice before her departure, the baby-to-be received an existing quilt instead of a new one made specially for her.