Britches- Upcycle for Earth Day

 Playing with Parts and Possibilities is a process more so than a pattern that I have taught and made many times but never before using the fabric from four different pairs of deconstructed pants.  The Aurifil Artisan Challenge for April was the ideal opportunity and celebration of Earth Day. 

Along with my curved improv abstraction blocks, I combined traditional blocks, some freehand cut and others like the half square triangles using the Accuquilt cutter. 

 

Pieced with 50wt 2600, quilted with 40/3wt 4250 variegated and finished off with 12wt 2530 trying big stitch by hand on the binding,  Aurifil threads made for great teamwork . 

The two pants with 100 percent cotton content were much easier to deal with than the other two with 5 percent stretch.  The jean weight took some getting used to but fortunately, unlike my previous attempts with velvet and corduroy deconstructed pants, these did not shed. 

I purposely kept the size smaller 35" x 45" to avoid an unreasonable amount of weight for the finished quilt.

Keeping in the spirit of Earth Day, I also used scraps of leftover batting patched together.   With a graphic design for the piecing, I opted to go with a mix of playful designs on the quilting motif. 

Pressing with steam (thank you Oliso) and open seams helped with bulk and I did take my time stitching over the multiple layers. 

After a long and wet winter, the weather has been beautiful lately.  My finished BeeSewcial blocks for Debbie's April prompt "Albersesque" look so vibrant tossed on my Britches quilt don't you think? From the Josef Albers book Interaction of Color 50th Anniversary Edition, I chose inspiration from the transparence and space illusion chapter. 

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Aurifil Artisan - Night Fancy fabric

 

A few weeks ago, I had the opportunity to receive the  newest line by designer Victoria Findlay Wolfe “Night Fancy “  from FreeSpirit fabrics and a lovely spool of 50wt thread from her collection.  I love being an Aurifil Artisan and am always up for a challenge. 

I knew immediately that the 4 Fat Quarter would make a great Improv Abstraction Log Cabin. Pairing Drift which reads dark but is also packed with lots of color with the black and white Wander for the high contrast portion and the blue tonal print Big Sliver with the solid for the low contrast was the perfect recipe. 

I shared in my (very long!) 2021 recap post yesterday the sixteen quilts finished for the year and you can see that I haven’t gotten this design series out of my system. Trimming the blocks made a pile of confetti and not much waste. 

Another reason I chose this for the project was because I wanted to expand my 16” block pattern to see how big it would grow to if I kept building until I ran out of fabric. Any guess? 

The mini ended up 26” - did you estimate high or low?  

During the photoshoot I attempted to make it appear bigger in some (near the ocean) and smaller in others (next to the mural). I think either way, it’s quite visually impactful 

Matchstick quilting on a long arm with Aurifil Forty-3 in color 2620 was a breeze even though I’m very inexperienced with that technique. I chose an organic wave motif to mimic the block design.  

For the label I matchstick quilted using the variegated color 3840 which has a subtle range to it.  Be sure to check out the full line of fabric and thread collection as well as the projects made by other artisans.  

 I’m going to include a couple more favorite shots in closing- happy stitching, Karen

2019 FAL Q4 Goals

Time is ticking and so thrilled to see so many people linking up to the 2019 FAL Q4 Goals party found HERE, or on any of the other hosts blogs.   Just like last quarter, I'm keeping it simple with just four projects.  Hopefully unlike last time I'll actually finish something!

1. Stripes Challenge Horizontal vs Vertical   : current state is parts and partially sewn with a tentative layout. The deadline for this (and the next) is November 30 if I am aiming to enter it to QuiltCon.
2. Stripes Challenge Games we Play:  hand stitching final parts and then quilt, bind, label and photograph.
3. Pantone challenge (rolling over) haven't named this one but absolutely love it.  The top has been done and it is just waiting on me to quilt and bind.
4. Improv Abstraction:  sneak peak, it's a top and I hope to have it done to enter into QuiltCon.

Well folks, that's it for me.  I'm sure things will come up and interrupt the FAL plans but that's okay too.  It's nice to have these four on my radar.
Happy Stitching, Karen

Dedicated to Design - 2019 FAL Q3 Goals

I've linked up from instagram my 2019 FAL Q3 Goals but I do like to have a reference here on the blog for posterity so this post is two fold.   I realized that the four tops that I chose to (hopefully) finish are All About Design in their own way. There can be many levels of "design" and I think it's important to value them all.

The theme for the month of July #sbbsewfor15 with hostess Isabelle @southbaybella is Quilt Design so I thought I'd take this time to write a post about the topic near and dear to my creative heart.  I'll also link to previous #qdad2reality projects mentioned so you can learn more if you like.

Shown in the mosaic below:
1. Glamp Stitchalot  2015 Medallion - six instructors shared their own original block design and encouraged attendees to combine them into a unique layout.
2. Merge v3, my third color variation of the pattern that I wrote for MQG QOM
3. Nosey Kitten - from Jen Carlton-Bailey's Secondary Design workshop that I took at QuiltCon
4. Pantone Living Coral, an original design influenced by the wedge workshop with Kathy Doughty.

Because I enjoy hearing about the design and construction process from other makers, I've made a point of sharing my own on the blog.  I also find it helpful to read old posts with a new perspective on things.

Whatever method you use to track or document your creative journey (for me it's my blog, instagram posts and random disorganized sketchbooks)  think about revisiting earlier ideas because if you're anything like me, there's a goldmine of unexplored concepts waiting to be made - and remade.

Digital Mock Up Color Variations 

First up is MERGE - mostly because I haven't written a post about it yet and it's sew sew special!  This is an original design that was chosen by the Modern Quilt Guild as a Quilt of the Month.  The pattern is available for free to members.  It is graphic with oversized parts and gentle curves.  Pushing my "Improv Abstraction" into yet another direction was really rewarding.

Merge MQG QOM

This was the first collaboration with my sister who custom quilted it beautifully.   There were two other tops that I made during the pattern testing phase as a way to check my math, instructions and also to play with color placement. Isn't it fun how different the three are?

I straight line stitched and finished the one above FAL Q1 and have included the one below as a Q3 goal.  You can see the slight change in colors used when comparing the digital mock up but I stayed in the same general palette so they read pretty true. 

The vector design program that I use is called InkScape.  It is free and on my apple mini.  I discovered it through the Facebook group Quilt Design A Day (QDAD) and although I've learned just enough of the basics to get by - for the most part it does what I need.  I also do some of the editing in photoshop for publishing.  The mono option when viewing the image on my iPhone is an easy way to check value on a prospective fabric pull.

A post about Merge would not be complete without a picture of my sis and I posing with it at QuiltCon in Nashville and a shout out to Curated Quilts where it was featured in the Gallery of "Curves" issue 7.

Next up is the QuiltCon Swap mini that I made using a pencil/pen and graph paper to design with the intention of letting the final composition evolve during the make.  The sketches are simply a jumping off point, a general concept for a place to start.  Then it's Design As You Go. 

One of the really entertaining things that can happen with this approach is the unintended "object" that sometimes appears - in this case it was a thumb and I didn't see it until after I'd nailed the small inset circle-ish had been sewn in beautifully.  (technique tutorial here)

Laughing at myself, I had to capture a picture before cutting it out and moving on. Here's the finished mini at the swap exchange - my partner Jera gave it the thumbs up!

QuiltCon Mini Swap Exchanged

Another example of translating the "spirit of" a design rather than literally is this inkscape mock up for Marci in May 2015 of Tiny Little Houses for her BeeSewcial neighborhood prompt.  Rather than freeform improv she specifically requested that we sketch an idea, a step that she includes in her process. 

Inkscape mock up

one of several blocks

I found that I spent as much time on the digital design as I did sewing it but that including this step in my process was a stretch - which is a big part of the bee.  Once I let go and embraced the idea that I did not need to replicate it I was fine.

There are other times when the personal challenge for myself is to bring the digital version to life in fabric.  Here are several examples with links to the original posts where I describe in more detail the design process:

RESONATE: An Art Gallery Heartland Fabric Blog Hop

Original Coloring and Revised 

TILT SHIFT: 

GET A GRIP: Shown here with the spark image and palette, digital mock up and finished quilt. 

BEND, DON'T BREAK:  QDAD Special Exhibit - This was a big deal for me :)

Parts On the Design Wall

QuiltCon

Original QDAD

Some of the QDADers at QuiltCon Special Exhibit

SURF CRUSADE: Gloaming Fabric Blog Hop

Digital mock up

Finished Quilt

FREE-RANGE: Fabric Challenge

I hope that you'll give designing a try at whatever level you feel comfortable with - and then push a little further.  Happy Stitching, Karen