Another mini art quilt
I promise I’ll stop posting these little art quilts soon, even though there are about two dozen different ones in the photo archives. Most were donated or given as gifts but seeing them all again is tempting me to do something small to get the juices flowing.
until tomorrow, carol
Mini art quilt #3
Not all of these little pieces were stunning works of art but they sure were fun to make. It was a great way to experiment with ideas on a small scale.
until tomorrow, carol
Art quilt #2
Each of these little art quilts were smaller than postcard size, around 2″ x 3″ if I remember correctly. Similar to thumbnail sketches.
until tomorrow, carol
Textile collage #1
I thought I’d change things up a bit by posting a series of small art quilts I created a few years back. Hope you like them.
until tomorrow, carol
Shweshwe fabrics
When you know about something great the best thing to do is pass it on! Well I’m here to tell you about some fantastic fabrics I discovered at the Saskatoon quilt show vendors market. It is Shweshwe fabric from South Africa and the amazing online business that carries it here in Canada is Meerkat Trading in Elora, Ontario. They are celebrating their 2nd year of online business and they are the nicest people you could ever meet. I would highly recommend checking out their website at www.meerkatshweshwe.com to see the full line of fabric. I purchased some of the newest cottons in the bright spectrum but I’m wishing I had also picked up some of the classic indigos as well. Next time for sure!
until tomorrow, carol
New piece in the works
I just finished putting this piece together yesterday, in preparation for the arts/crafts sale on the weekend. I’m hoping to get the quilting done on it this week and still have enough time for the hand binding process. It is intended as a wallhanging, therefore it will also require a sleeve on the back, and will finish at around 28″ high x 45″ wide. I’ve given it the title “Sunshine On a Cloudy Day”.
until tomorrow, carol
Block #5
I am in LOVE with these blocks! And I’m in love with the process of making them, too. I think it’s the fabric selection part of the process that is my most favourite part, but oh! boy, do I love the results of sewing all those disparate pieces together… and the final pressing… and the standing back and admiring… and… and…
This is one of those projects. You know what I mean. They don’t come along everyday, but when they do, it’s magic. Even though this is a project that requires extra effort because the blocks are a bit tricky to put together, it all seems worthwhile when each one turns out so lovely. The best part is choosing eight fabrics to sew into one block – oh! happy days! :o)
until tomorrow, carol
Ready to kit up!
I’ve been swamped this week, trying to make some last minute gift ideas for the mini arts and crafts fair next weekend. It will be a great opportunity for people to do their last minute shopping for all sorts of treats (maybe even something for yourself).
I will have a selection of quilts for sale, some of the Prairie Girl scarves and shawls that I’ve made, and other handmade goodies. I decided to make up some kits for an I/Eye Spy quilt that I put together a couple of weeks ago. It’s not quilted yet but I think that by having the ‘flimsy’ on display it will be enough to give an idea of how cute the project is. It turned out a great size at 37″ x 43″, even without any borders on it.
I Spy a Super Cute Quilt!
until tomorrow, carol
Every Which Way But Ordinary
To continue along with the conversation I’ve been having with Tammy about quilts I’ve made with flying geese sashings, I thought I’d show a photo of this ‘blast from the past’ quilt.
This was a piece that I taught a few years ago as a year-long workshop, in the form of a block of the month combined with a fabric challenge. For me, it was a wonderful exercise in working with my fabric stash in an entirely new way, leading to how I think differently now when I’m selecting fabric for any new quilt.
Each month I presented a new block pattern and a fat quarter of fabric in crazy colours and prints to challenge each quilter to work with their individual stash in a brand new way. It was a fun workshop with everyone coming up with some very unique blocks and each quilt truly reflecting the makers’ personalities.
until tomorrow, carol
Kaffe Fassett stitching
Years ago I owned a lovely little specialty shop in Calgary, Alberta and carried all sorts of necessities for needlework. I prided myself on carrying only the best of kits and supplies such as needlepoint cushions from Britain, hand painted canvases, turned-wood needlework tools, hand-dyed embroidery threads, and beautiful imported linens by the yard. I also stocked all of Kaffe Fassett’s books in the “Glorious” series, and that’s when I fell in love with Kaffe Fassett.
Kaffe's hands
With titles like Glorious Inspiration, Glorious Needlepoint, and Glorious Colour, his books were bound to be a glorious feast for the eyes and soul. When he finally released his Glorious Quilting and Passionate Patchwork books I knew that I would be immersed in the world of Kaffe forever.
Fassett Flavoured Eye Candy
My most recent purchase of Bold Blooms is one of the loveliest books I’ve bought in a very long time. It’s full of delicious colour and gorgeously styled photographs, if it wasn’t for the quilt and needlepoint patterns contained within, it would be the perfect coffee table book. (The patterns are a wonderful bonus)
A beautiful book!
It seems to me that we are inundated with so many new releases from the big business that the quilting world has developed into recently, and that many publications just seem to blurrily meld together into one cohesive commercial to sell more product. This book had an entirely different feel to me, in that it inspired me in the same way as those earlier books written by Kaffe. As I curled up on the sofa with my cup of chai tea, I was transported to a faraway land of English cottage gardens and heirloom china teacups painted with roses. And that hasn’t happened to me in such a long time. Thank you, Kaffe Fassett!
until tomorrow, carol
Dixie Diary in progress
In order to continue the conversation I was having with Tammy yesterday, I looked up an old photo of my Dixie Diary quilt. I couldn’t find the one I took of the finished piece but this will do for now. This project was inspired by Barbara Brackman’s block of the month from a few years back (2014) and I added extra blocks to make a larger quilt than the original. I also wanted to increase the size of each block, therefore, I added the flying geese units around the perimeter of each one. This would not officially be classed as a ‘sashing’ but it gives a similar effect.
If you’d like to read more about this project, a full post was written on November 15th, 2016.
until tomorrow, carol
