Artless Fabrications

Flying Geese

Each week, as I create a new Blindman’s Fancy block, I am forcing myself to make at least nine segments of flying geese blocks. The entire quilt will be sashed with flying geese and there are hundreds, if not thousands, of them to make. I just know that if I leave them until the last, after all the blocks are made, I will be so bored that they may never get finished. It takes great discipline for me to stick to a plan such as this, but luckily I know how my brain works – I just need to set down the rules to get the job done.

until tomorrow, carol

Blindman's Fancy Block #4

Well, I’m really pushing it to write a blog post today. Sundays tend to be a busier day of the week for me, designated as a catch up day. I had my fourth Blindman’s Fancy block finished yesterday and snapped a rather hasty (blurry) photo in order to get it up here in a timely manner today. These blocks may not look too complicated but they sure gobble up a fair chunk of time.

until tomorrow, carol

Gateway to a winter wonderland.

This year I tried to put more time and effort into my blogging and attempted to write a posting every week. Some months were full of posts and some fell by the wayside, but I found that by making a point of taking more photos of works in progress and seasonal changes in the garden, there was almost always something current to write about. It’s all about making new habits, really…

So this is post #1/31 in response to the online challenge put out there by Cheryl Sleboda at www.muppin.com. 2017 marks the third annual 31 day blog writing challenge and for me, it’s all about setting a new pace and developing more consistent blogging habits for the new year. Meet me back here every day for the entire month of December to see if I can keep up with the challenge :o)

until tomorrow, carol

Frosty morning

So this is what winter looks like on the Saskatchewan prairies and I’m afraid to say that it’s here to stay!

Stark beauty

There is a bitter cold that seems to creep up from the earth, rather than settling downwards from the air above, and in all the poetic hush there are moments containing the sound of tinkling crystal bells as the earth turns brittle with ice.

The garden has been sprinkled with winter fairy dust and has now settled in under a downy white blanket for a long winter’s nap.

I, however, have not been napping but have been making blocks until the cows come home! I’m quite sure you’re probably tired or bored of seeing these blocks continually showing up here but they have finally come to an end. I made a decision on how large the quilt will be and I’ve completed the final block! There is a total of 120 of these little lovelies and my quilt will measure 80″ x 96″. Hopefully the next time you see these they will be all sewn together and awaiting their turn on the longarm. I’m looking forward to curling up on the couch with a quilt on my lap and doing my favourite activity of binding. Aaahhh! Now that’s the perfect winter sport, as far as I’m concerned.

Stay warm, and happy stitching!

carol xox

Well, there are just a few more photos I can share here on the blog, in regards to the other quilts that I had entered into the Saskatoon Quilter’s Guild show.

Whisper Sweet Nothings

First up is my Whisper Sweet Nothings quilt that I made as a birthday gift to myself this past February. This quilt was not judged in the show but it was still a thrill to see it hanging there. Sorry for the slightly askewed photo, but it was difficult to get a straight on picture due to the size of the quilt and the location in which it was displayed.

Love Birds Anniversary Quilt

I’m not sure if I’ve ever posted a photo of this second piece that was entered into the show, (again not judged). This was a great opportunity to get a full photograph of this quilt for my own records. It was hung in a lovely spot in the show, at one end of the rows, just as you entered the exhibition hall. Looking at this quilt makes me want to start a new English paper piecing project, which is one of my favourite techniques to do, as well as a favourite class to teach.

Holes In the Rabbit Proof Fence

This abstract art quilt was entered into another non-judged category – Innovative Quilts. I had created the quilt top about a year ago and hadn’t completed the quilting on it, therefore, entering this piece into the show was a great motivational tool in finally getting it finished up.

Follow the Yellow Brick Road

This was another quilt that was entered into the show with similar motivational intentions, and obviously it works! Unfortunately, I didn’t get a show photo of this one as each time I attempted to photograph it there were too many people milling about in front of it. This was one I had blogged about while it was in the process of being created and it’s hanging here on the clothesline just prior to being quilted. Follow the Yellow Brick Road turned out to be a generous size, 88″ x 88″, and the most important lesson I learned while making this one was to have the courage to follow my own instincts and to trust where it will eventually lead me.

Canadian Women: Strong and Free

And last but not least, is my Canadian Women quilt which was entered into the “Celebrating Sesquicentennial” Large Quilts category. I began this project with the online blocks presented by Next Step Quilt Designs in Calgary but didn’t continue to make all 150 blocks as sent out. I decided that my project would be large enough, finishing at almost 100″ x 100″, if I only made one hundred blocks, some of which were my own designs. Although this quilt didn’t garner any awards in its category I’m really pleased that I pushed myself to have it finished in time to enter the show and it is a lovely way to commemorate Canada’s 150th birthday!

That concludes all the photos of my show entries for Saskatoon 2017, and it is hard to believe that it’s all over and done until 2019. I’m now working on a list of pieces that had been put to the side in preparation for the show but I’d like to get at least some finished up before this year is done. Time is definitely running out and a few might just have to move onto 2018’s list… well, at least I’ve got a good start to my resolution/to-do list already.

Happy stitching, carol xox

Time is Non-Linear

That was the theme of this year’s Saskatoon Quilter’s Guild quilt show and I was extremely inspired to work within that theme, as there were so many different ways to interpret it. After much consideration, I decided to combine the past and the present into a piece of work that kept creeping into my imagination, with the resulting quilt shown in the photo above.

Here is the story of how it all began:

A few years back my dear friend, Tammy, handed me a shoebox containing some vintage 1970’s ninepatch quilt blocks. She wasn’t too sure where they originally had come from or who had made them, but she knew for certain that she was not interested in making anything out of them (and to be perfectly honest, I wasn’t convinced there was anything I could do with them either).

You see, these blocks were absolutely scandalous by today’s quilting standards and the quilt police would have a heyday with the unmatched corners, wacky seam allowances, lack of pressing, and crazy mix of non-quilting fabrics obviously sewn by a novice quilter. The pieces appeared to have been cut with scissors from all sorts of clothing and leftovers from other projects, some of which looked like nylon nightgowns and kitchen curtains. Without a consistent seam allowance, the blocks were various sizes and to make pieces fit together, sometimes a pucker was stitched in here and there. In other words, these were true gems! and although I say that with a hint of sarcasm, I also truly admired the tenacity by which this seamstress fearlessly produced these unique blocks, even though she hadn’t seen it through to a finished quilt.

But that’s where I come in! I took those crazy blocks as is, flaws and all, and began cutting them up and inserting some bright orange quilting cotton, in an attempt to ‘modernize’ them. My original concept was to interpret the show theme, “Changes Over Time”, by not only simply combining the past with the present, but by making it appear as though time was layered, rather than linear.

Time on the design wall

Time on the longarm machine

My intention for this quilt was to have it appear as though two quilts have merged together to form a double layered piece. The background areas created with the vintage blocks were tied with yarn and the areas created with new fabric were quilted on my longarm, using some intense custom designed stitched freehand. I hope that my quilt demonstrates the connection we all have to the quilters that have come before us, and how everything we do now is built on the path that was forged by them. When viewing this project it is difficult to tell if the new quilt is layered on top of the old one, or if the old is layered on top of the new.

My own work has changed over time, as my skills and experiences have grown and developed, giving me the courage to experiment and create from my imagination the quilts that haven’t been seen before. This piece was awarded first place in the Unique Textiles Studio Innovative Quilt Challenge and I am currently awaiting the arrival of my brand new Husqvarna sewing machine!!!

In the meantime…

Nine more blocks

...and nine more

... and another nine!

It appears that I’ve been making a few more blocks. This quilt may end up being a tad larger than I had originally thought! The blocks have been a real treat to make and they are certainly addictive. I’ve enjoyed digging through my scrap bags, ‘kitting’ them up, and then sitting down to do some mindless sewing in small snatches of time, in between real life daily activities. At some point, I’m going to have to decide on a size and get them all up on the design wall for final positioning, before sewing them together. I’ll keep you posted.

As always, happy stitching,

carol

Nine bags of quilts!

Well, it’s been a long haul and a load of work but I’m completely ready to hit the trail! Phew! and with a few days of reprieve, too!

What appears to be a pile of Santa sacks are actually the special carrier bags that I made for each of my entries into the Saskatoon Quilters Guild Show that is opening this weekend, October 27 & 28th. So much of my recent quilting has all been top secret due to the fact that some of my pieces entered into the exhibition will be judged and need to stay anonymous until the show opens. Some quilts have been posted earlier, before I had decided to enter the show but five out of the nine are entirely brand new works, so there has been quite a marathon of quilting happening in the studio lately. And then there were the BAGS!!! NINE of them… and I thought they’d never end. But I made the decision early on to create bags which would be sturdy and well made, that could be used over a long period of time for many years to come, and hopefully I’d never have to make another one in my lifetime, ha! ha! Oh, don’t get me wrong, I truly love how they turned out – they are made of a heavy upholstery fabric on the bottom half for strength and protection, with a bold bright print on the top to make them unique and therefore, easy to identify. I obviously didn’t have to make them so elaborate but I wanted them to have personality and I know for sure that I will make good use of them for a long time. But, Boy! Oh! Boy! were they tedious to make!

All nine quilts will be delivered to Saskatoon at 7:30 a.m. on Thursday morning and I will be attending the Grand Opening on Thursday evening, and the regular show, which opens at 10:00 a.m. on Friday morning. There will be plenty of photo opportunities and I’m hoping to have some great quilts to show you over the next week or so, as I finally get back into the swing of regular postings.

In the meanwhile, I’ve been working through my scrap bins again and started making a new series of blocks as a ‘winter’ project. I find this is a fun way to use up those leftover stash fabrics and end up with a lovely scrappy quilt, that also serves as a documentation of fabrics from past projects.

The first twelve blocks for a new project

I can’t wait to make more of these blocks as they are fast and fun to sew together. Although I’m not sure yet how large I want this one to be, I’m quite sure the blocks will add up quickly and I’ll have a lovely new winter quilt in no time at all. I may have to resort to using the blocks as an ‘in between’ project as I still have a couple of  quilts on my list that need finishing up before this year ends. Keep watching for lots of new posts and in the meantime…

happy stitching,

as always, carol

… But I’m back! Somehow the month of August seemed to get away from me. I’ve been noticing that others have felt the same, with bloggers commenting on summer just flying by and now we have autumn right around the corner.

I’m secretly heaving a great sigh of relief that the gardening season is coming to a close because, as much as I love the beauty and the bounty, it becomes all consuming at it’s peak. I’ve been canning and baking and clearing out the raised beds as they empty of their produce. The pantry is filling for winter and I’ve officially run out of jars (hip, hip, hooray!).

The crabapples glowed like red Christmas lights

Jellies and jams have been carefully simmering on the stovetop and now the sealed jars are lined up like sparkling jewels on the shelves.

Fall's harvest

I have one true apple tree that provided us with its first little bushel of good sized eating apples, six jars of apple sauce, and plenty leftover for a pie.

Can you smell the sweetness with a hint of cinnamon?

There has been activity happening at the sewing machine and there is a quilt top mounted on the longarm as well. I completely finished my O! Canada competition piece last week, with only the label to attach and I can now officially state that the very last block for my Canadian Women project was sewn together this afternoon. There is quite a bit of time in on this project and I’ve still got some work to do putting the last quadrant together with its sashing, but I can finally see the light at the end of the tunnel. I’m hoping to get this one on the longarm next.

A first and a last!

My Canadian Women quilt is going to be a bit different, in the sense that I’ve added some of my own blocks and omitted others. The final block I chose to make is a classic pineapple log cabin block made with some narrow leftover strips and scraps from the project. I wanted to go out with a bang, to make a block that I’ve never attempted before, and I truly LOVE this one! It turned out ever-so-slightly wonky on one side but considering I was winging it on my first try, I’m fine with that. This little stinker took ages to make and was totally worth the time investment. I have already decided that as soon as all my Quilt Show entries are complete I’m going to start building blocks for an entire pineapple quilt with all my scraps, perhaps as a weekly goal project over winter. Well, that’s the plan for now… we’ll see how far I get :o)

as always, carol