Blame it on Bonesteel

Yup, gonna lay blame right there on the floor at Georgia Bonesteel's feet.  Yesssiree, Bob!  I will also thank her for helping to define my style of quilting.

When I was first getting started in learning about quilting and developing my own technique for stitching these fabric sammiches together I looked at a lot of different styles and techniques.  To hoop or not to hoop?  Square hoops versus circular hoops.  Machine or hand quilting.  Which is best?  Which is worst?  What is right?  What is wrong?  The opinions on the subject were endless.  I even got caught up in the whole how many stitch per inch quest.  37,000spi (stitch per inch) are just too damn many.  I'm happy with my measly 8-9spi and on some pieces 10-12spi count thank you, very much.

One day early in my quilting explorations I picked up a book at a flea market, Lap Quilting With Georgia Bonesteel and I was hooked.  I loved the hoopless approach to piecing, and the elegant, yet free flow of the stitches.  The look of Ms. Bonesteel's work left an impression on me that I enjoy to this day.

Through much exploration and many started and failed projects as well as one very large project I am perpetually striving to finish (a whole 'nother blog entry on that one!)  I finally settled into my own style.  Now as I have mentioned before I do so love the whole dorky handmade look of hand stitched quilts, so I focused on that look for my fabric arts. 

Through trial and error - many, many errors mind you - I have come to the conclusion that I prefer to machine piece and hand quilt.   Which is just fine.  I will continue to play with the whole machine quilting idea and keep trying to improve my techniques.  But for now that cotton log will lay in a box until I get back in the mood to start wasting thread and time on it.  Good thing it is just a crappy quickly pieced nothing I will eventually give to the dog.  Otherwise I'd be embarrassed to admit I made it.  He will love it.

For now I hand quilt and for each quilt I adjust my stitches to match the look of the quilt, big and bold for some of the baby/crib size, smaller and finer or the wall hangings, the quilt itself seems to help me decide what it wants for stitch size.  Artists will understand this concept, trust me.

Well, it is time to pin another quilt and show off my latest completion.  

Peach Out Apricots!
Morg

Wagging the Quilt



Doggie Quilt


Life is built on best intentions...and so was this quilt.  My second attempt at scrap quilting I originally made this quilt at a prize for a model dog club championship.  Obviously it didn't turn out quite as planned, although I did learn a thing or two about strip quilitng and measurements.  Yeah, rulers are used for more than scratching your ass. 

This particular quilt was made with scraps from the soap bags my friends The Johnsons gave me and I backed it with a wild violet, cream and green floralish print I had gathered at the former Pamida in Vermillion, South Dakota.  I have since successfully created more quilts with this basic scrappy theme, but with greater success and non wagging corners...LOL!  Machine pieced, hand quilted, I drug this thing all over the place including the Sioux Falls Airport (I had to sit in the lobby because my pins and needles would have set off the metal detectors - Post 9/11 security measures).  One of the few "travel-alls" as I call them, I like to have a quilt in tow pretty much where ever I go because you never know when you are going to have a chance to quilt.

My friend, Melissa won this delightful prize and soon this quilt became the cotton hug for her dear little Chinese Crested, Bria.

When Bria crossed the Rainbow Bridge, this quilt was sent with her to comfort her until she is reunited with her mistress.   Bye Bye Bria....you were a legend in your own time.

Peach Out Apricots.
Morg

The Cute the Cat and the Ugly

The FIRST scrap quilt I ever made...

The adorable little baby is my nephew "F." The cat is Bijou and the quilt is the teratogenic nightmare I made for my best friend and her darling son some years ago.  The whole quilt is one big scrappy experiment gone delightly awry. 

The back is a piece of brownish, yellowish floral fabric from the Pamida store in Vermillion, SD which is no longer in business and the fabrics for the quilt top came from my dear friends, The Johnsons.  They are soap makers and these fabrics were all left over pieces from their soap bag packaging. 

I used fleece for batting because I was in the mood to sew and had no idea what else to use and it was there and it was a big enough piece to fit my needs so it was pressed into duty.

The quilt itself is hand stitched using the stitch in the ditch method and was machine pieced. 

For a first shot at quilting and establishing myself as an Ugly Quilter, I have to say it is a personal favourite and "F" still enjoys sleeping with it.   

Peach Out Apricots,

Morg

Kelpie Quilt - Breakin' the law (image intense)

The Kelpie Quilt is a different sort of design for me. Sometime ago my hanai* sister, Carra, had used this design for a hobby site of ours and I was quite taken with this design.  I decided about 5-6 years ago I was going to make this design into a quilt.  I just had to learn how to quilt and figure out how to put the whole thing together into a cohesive design.  Sometimes things have to gel for a while before I complete them.  As it was during the gelling period I got in on a fabu sale on designer sheets in a rainbow of colours, which I had specifically picked out for this and the matching project.  When I finally did start this project I chose not to use regular quilting cotton, I went with my marbled sheet material - a big no no or so I am told.  Whatever, it was there and I used it.  

When I first started this quilt I did the kelpie centre piece.  I did it my way...that is I duct taped the print out to my living room window and then proceeded to duct tape the fabric and start tracing with my handy dandy - untested Crayola Washable Markers.  After I was finished with this process I had to leave things for a while because I didn't know what I wanted to do to finish the quilt...so I let the middle section sit for a year and a half...then when I got ready to work it again, I ironed it to make it flat - GASP!  

At this point I went for broke and used black, brown and green on the rest of the quilt units, what the hell I figured.  If you have not guessed, I am a quilter who likes to bend, break and generally cause mishap and mayhem with the rules.

Design stitched into Moss Green panels

Design stitched into Turquoise corner squares

•  

Overall the design came together perfectly and quilting was fast and fun and I was able to finish the whole quilt in about a month's time.  It was bound in denim - which the quilt's new owner chose for the binding, at first I wasn't sure, but it really brought the whole quilt together nicely.  Note: denim is interesting to work with...

Click to view detail

The backing fabric was done in the marbled turquoise and shows the full design of stitching. 

Click for detail of Back and stitching.

As you can see from the images, all the Crayola Washable Marker ink came out, even after sitting for a year, and being ironed...I washed it on hot and let it soak overnight.  I couldn't be more pleased.  For the Win, Crayola!  For the WIN!

I am currently designing the companion piece: The Phoenix.

Peach Out Apricots!
Morg

*Hanai loosely means: to be adopted in Hawai'ian.

Raggedy Quilt

 

 

Shredded Home Spun

This quilt presented itself as a surprise in a box.  I quickly recognised its potential and finished it up in a matter of a week or two.  Snipping the seams is a ginormous pain in the wrist!  But the results are oh so worth it for that shredded look and feel.

Created from homespun cottons this quilt is a smaller lap quilt I finished for my mum.  She likes this one and uses it quite a bit.  I think I forgot to mention this thing will shed like a persian cat for quite sometime due to the way the seams are treated.  Ooops.

Fun and Fuzzy

Peach Out, Apricots!

Morg

Recycle It!

I started this quilt top some months before I actually assembled it and started the first quilting stitches on 4 July 2009.  The material for this quilt was gathered from my dad's worn out button down shirts.  I had him save them up for me for probably close a year, maybe more before I finally was able to find just the right pattern for them.  I found this pattern at one of the bestest Quilt Pattern Site on the intertoobs:  http://www.quilterscache.com  

 The pattern I purchased was: "Scrap Squares" which is still available for sale in the Tiny Store.  Support the site - buy a pattern or make a donation, please.

The batting is a old woven wool blanket that had come to my possession from who knows where...as I have the great fortune of being "the obtainer."  That is I have a tendency to see usefulness in the mundane and often am able to provide others with stuff they never knew they were looking for.  LOL.

Moose on the loose!

The backing material was harder to find as I wanted something with a moose flavour as my dad is into moose.  Who would have ever guessed?  It was by chance and happenstance that I was at Hancock Fabrics in Lincoln and there it was...the fabric I had been looking for for the back!  I bought a couple yards and then I was set.

I recall it was an early summer day before I started working at my current job I cleared a space in my living room, turned on an episode of NCIS and started putting this quilt together.

It was that 4th of July, the first holiday I volunteered to work at my then new job and I have not looked back.  It took about a month or so total to quilt.  It's about three and a half feet wide by nearly six feet long.  It's a LONG lap quilt.

The colours are a little washed out here, it's actually quite vibrant.

 Peach Out, Apricots!

Morg

Boldly Quilting Where I've Never Quilted Before!

Still strippin'

Thought that might get your attention.

I originally saw the design for this quilt in an advert in one of my roommate's quilt magazines.  Being the cheap skate that I am, I decided to wing it on my own and give it a little twist.  The results were this quilt.  Since I did not have the guidance of the instructions I went about this design a little differently.  I looked thru my stash to decide the width of the strips and then just sort of started sewing and piecing. 

 The quilt went together surprisingly quick and I was able to take it to work and pin it that same day.  Good thing I showed it off before I actually fully pinned it as I had managed to screw up the flow of the lines and had to rip out and hand piece a large section of the quilt back together.  Thank goodness it was a slow day.  ;) 

Once again I used the tumbling cows on red field for my backing - effectively using up the remaining stash of this delightful fabric. Well worth it for such a bold quilt. 

Sometimes you can shout with a whisper.  I feel the colour scheme and design of this quilt does just that. I hope the receiving child person enjoys this quilt as much as I did creating it. 

Go Bold or Go Home!

Peach out, Apricots.
Morg

Eleanor Burns made me do it.

Cross stitch quilting

The idea intrigued me: Making a quilt from a cross stitch pattern.  Some time ago I had picked up a booklet by E. Burns instructing how to make a Cross Stitch Quilt.  The patterns Ms. Burns utilised were of course pretty vintage flowers and stuff.  No such nonsense for me, no way.  I had to make something different, something unique...something that would drive me crazy.  I managed to find my dog cross stitch pattern books and decided that I was going to do a Great Pyrenees like my dear friend Staci's dog, Diesel.

Now began the search for the right size fusible backing material just like Eleanor's examples...I finally found what I was looking for online, only I decided not to go with the one inch squares (which as we all know would end up as half inch squares when all the seams are sewn) but with two inch squares which would be slightly easier to work with...or so I thought.

Choosing the fabrics proved to be a challenge, but a fun one.  I went with a green for the background because Diesel likes to lay in the grass, red for a border as he wears a red collar and a crazy polka dot for the back because Staci doesn't have a favourite colour, she likes them all.

Assembling the squares was insane.  One row at a time, each square was placed and every three rows or so I would run it all over with a hot iron to adhere the fabric to the gridded interface...then came time to sew it...

I will not be labour the details of this misadventure and the times I swore if I ever even finished this quilt I'd never do another one as long as I lived!  EVAH!

Six months of letting it "steep" and I was ready to tackle the quilting of this monster.  I went with the stitch in the ditch method of hand quilting and I was surprised as how fast it went.  I usually stitch about a quarter inch in from the seam but this time I went right along the seam line.

All in all, I couldn't have been more pleased with the resulting quilt and the look on Staci's face when she unfurled it - priceless.  The dog image is roughly half the size of the real Diesel and the quilt itself is about as big as his whole body.

Diesel - Quilted

There Be Dragons!

This Atlas quilt was started in 2010 or so for my nephew, Geoffrey (aka "F").  The second of its kind, I started and completed this quilt in about three and a half months.  This monster is pretty good size at approximately 72 x 44".  Detailed and fairly accurate, I had a grand time studying geography while perfecting my quilting stitches.

The World at his fingertips.

Red Hot Magma.

These panels are no longer available through my source, but I have a small stash for future quilts.  The magma and magma/dragon fabric is my choice of backing.  Love this stuff.

Blanket stitch detail on the edging.

Peach Out, Apricots.
Morg

The 1980s are calling...

A taste of things to come.

It's pink (and black), boldly so.  I did this quilt for a friend in her favourite colours.  I went with the braid design for several reasons.  One she usually wears her hair in a braid and two, it looks sooooo cool with these colours.  I started gathering pinks and black material throughout my travels, a yard here, a half yard there, a fat quarter, whatever caught my eye or tickled my fancy.

Whole shootin' match.

Kinda tacky, definitely unique, this quilt was a fun one to make.  I actually combined brick and braid in the design of this one.  I used the brick as the middle sashing to flesh it out a little.  It adds some more visual interest to an already burgeoning visual palate, but when you are going to go bold, go all the way!  

It was cut and pieced in late 2009 but finished in approximately February of 2010.  I used a bed sheet for the batting as we decided to go with a summer quilt weight.  Sheets make for interesting batting.  My preference is still the Warm & Natural Cotton, but I've done: fleece, poly, poly cotton, and now a bed sheet as my quilt innards...whatever works - right?!

Close up of the backing fabric

The little doggie prints and hearts are in honour of my friend's late little Chinese Crested, Bria.  She was a wonderful dog and left paw prints on the hearts of everyone who knew and loved her.  This backing fabric couldn't have been more appropriate as it all turned out.  

I will probably do more of this design as I like both brick and braid and the scrappier the better.  LOVES me a funky scrap quilt!

Peach Out Apricots,
Morg

Denim, Taffeta, Organza! OH MY!

Since I am not currently featuring a cotton hug I've created I thought I'd talk about one of my favourite fabric sources.

This magical place of which I speak is, of course<drum roll>

InWeave in Hawarden, IA. 

http://www.inweavefabric.com/

When you first rock up on the place you might be inclined to think , "What kind of dump is this?" The outside of the building a bit long in the tooth and looks a little shabby, but don't let the appearance fool you, once inside be prepared to be amazed and hold tight to your wallets, you are going to want to spend a lot of money!

Rug makers, upholsterers, quilters, house hold soft furnishing DIYers, you have come to the right place. Whatever you are looking for you will find, pretty much guaranteed. With so many fabrics to choose it will be hard to decide which project you want to work on first.

Myself, I go straight to the big room to the left and start mentally orgasming over all the bolts of quilting cotton. I've found some delicious hand dyes from Pakistan as well as many other wonderful patterns and colours. In the next room over (toward the stairs) are where the rolls of denim live. As do some of the funky cotton panels I've used in previous quilts. Granted it has been a few years since I have financially bruised myself in this Mecca of Fabric, but I suspect the stash is still there.

Up the stairs you will probably still find yourself in the Fabric by the Pound room. Suddenly surrounded by upholstery odds and ends, end of the roll or end of the run cottons, denim, corduroy samples, stuff and stuff and more stuff. I have, myself, found all kinds of groovy stuff that I have turned to fun soft furnishings as well as the makings of car quilts.

Back downstairs on the main floor, on the other side of the room from the Temple of Quilting Cottons you may well find yourself in the presence of the fleece bin. Be sure to tether off before descending. I have had to be rescued a few times. ;)

Beyond the fleece den of iniquity you should find shelves of miscellaneous fabrics like swimsuit material, rip stop and other goodies you might not otherwise be expecting.

Be prepared to be pleasantly pleased with the courteous staff, the great prices and the unbelievable selection of fabric and materials available to us mere mortals. If you should survive your foray into the interior of the InWeave Warehouse you are sure to want to come back again and again.

Find out more about InWeave at: http://www.inweavefabric.com/pages/about-in-weave-22.html

Peach Out Apricots,
Morg

Success for an Ex

Normally I wouldn't be happy for an ex, but in this case, I am most pleased.  My ex texted me to let me know that he and his new bride were finally pregnant and were expecting their bundle of joy in November.  My ex and I have been friends for more than half our lives.  We bumped around for about nine and a half years before calling it quits (and a few other choice names) more than a decade ago.  He married soon after our split and I had the unique satisfaction of seeing how Karma (specifically: Kamma Niyama—Consequences of one's actions) works first hand.  The word on the street about Karma's nature is true, by the way...

After the karmic retribution he weathered, I could no longer hold bitterness in my heart and I forgave this man for breaking what was left of my heart and tearing what was then my already tumultuous world asunder.  Sometimes you need to be completely destroyed to rebuild stronger.

My ex's new bride is the woman who brings joy to his heart and makes him whole.  She is now bringing a babe to their hearth and they could not be happier.  He will make a wonderful father now that he has found himself and is at peace with who he has become as a person.  I am pleased for them and wish him and his new family all the happiness in the world.  I made this quilt for them:

What's black and white and red all over?

I saw this pattern in a friend's quilt book and decided I HAD to do it for my ex's new baby.  It's perfect. Spatially interesting, baby friendly colours, and a fun pattern that can be used for an educational tool (matching, counting, all kinds of fun games). I love the way it came out.  I will do more like this design in the future as it is just too much fun and too good a stash buster to only do once!  ;)   Not to mention it goes together super fast!

Back detail

 My ex is a cellist, or at least he was in High School.  He was amazing and had a real gift.  I hope he picks it up again once his little one is old enough to be encouraged to explore his/her musical talent.  I chose this backing fabric - parchment printed with musical notes as a nod to his beautiful gift of music.

detail of fabric and stitching

I went with a larger stitch to not only show off my stitching but to add to "that dorky handmade look" (see: http://lisaboyer.blogspot.com/) I love so much about hand stitched quilts.  The fabric is pretty busy, so the stitching gets to stand out or blend in as needed and I feel it just completes the whole picture.

Happiness and joy to you old friend, may you be blessed with long life that is full of love.

Peach Out, Apricots,
Morg

Remembering Madison

My best friend and her family had a Boxer named Madison.

Madison was a special needs girl.  Her early life had been rough.  She had lost a hind leg in the process, and when she came to my friend's family she came with more issues than a New York newsstand.  No matter, Maddie was a kind, loving, silly girl who devoted the remaining years of her life to the family that loved her for her.  She passed away just this year.

I had the pleasure of meeting Maddie, getting to know her and falling for her gentle charms.

Maddie will always be remembered with a smile

This quilt top came to me, as Madison came to my best friend's family, 

through serendipity. 

Full view of the back

 This quilt was completed, as was Maddie, with love.



Hugs and sloppy wet Boxer kisses,

Morg



Angel for a little Girl

All you need is love, love.

When my friend, Aerial Ariel said she was going to have another baby I was so happy for her.  She and her husband are blessed with a bundle of curly blonde joy and had tried for years to have a second baby.  When all looked like it wasn't to be and they had resigned themselves to a family of three, the miracle of life once again blessed their family.  Baby on the way, better get a quilt started!  ;)

I asked Ariel if she knew the gender.  She said they weren't going to find out, but then she told me and I got started.  I knew I was going to do either a Winken, Blinken and Nod - if it was going to be a boy child, or an Angel if is was to be a girl.  As you can see it was a girl.  This is the same artist who did the Cow and Winken panels.

For Baby Girl Pederson

I knew I would have to search high and low to find the perfect backing material.  I wanted something that would be loud, and hide the fact that I was going to be stitching mainly in black, but I didn't want black for the back.  On a visit to my parent's I went to one of my favest Quilt/Needlecraft/Bead stores and there it was!

The perfect backing material!

Lo and behold!  There it was!  You know the right fabric when it comes along, it just sort of jumps out at you and says, "Tah DAH!"  This great teal with white and black polka dots did just that.  Like Tom Cruise in Risky Business, this fabric was a party waiting for an opportunity.  An opportunity I could not pass up and who better to give this gift to but a new baby.

Party on...Excellent!
Morg

Simple as ABC

all

10-12 stitches per inch

This wall hanging type quilt was the first time I was able to achieve the 10-12 stitches per inch I wanted to prove I could do.  Heirloom level quilting is what most hand quilters are looking to aspire to.  I have not been quilting as long as most but I am able to do to a pretty damn good job.  I have had people ask me how I get my sewing machine to do that stitch.  Thank you, I'll take that as a compliment.  ;)  Lately I am working on getting even stitches on both front and back and therefore they are larger, but I like the look the larger stitch gives.  Even stitches are more important to me than the actual stitch per inch count, but with each technique comes time and practice.  I am happy to say this quilt was a huge achievement for me and I am proud to show it off.

Full quilt

I bound it in black as it was the only real logical solution given the backing fabric. As you can see below:

Back and my feet.

Detail of backing fabric.  A loosely woven riot of colour.

I love the way this one came together.  I have two or three more left to do, but it will be a while before I do another.  It is quilted with close to a half dozen different coloured threads...it was fun.  About 200hrs went into this one.

Peach Out Apricots,
Morg

America The Beautiful



My State and detail of the Capitol.  (pronounced: Peer)

Appropriate that I am posting this one today, 4 July 2011.  Anyway, the quilt was completed around the later part of the Summer in 2010.  It was a gift for my dear nephew, Joshua.  I have done this particular panel several times and each time it makes me happy to gift it to a child. 

This panel was at one time available at WalMart, but is no longer in print and is hard to find.  The backing fabric was a State Bird/Flower print I think I got at Hancock or maybe Joann's or perhaps it was at the World (aka WalMart) as well.  My memory does not serve me as well as it should and with the sheer volume of fabric in my ever growing stash it is hard to keep track...and I suck with keeping good records of this stuff.  I admit it.
Hand stitched, this one probably takes me closer to 200 hrs to complete as the detailing is quite exquisite and all those inlets in Alaska are a killer!  Giggle.  This and the Atlas quilts are the few I will repeat but I love doing them for all my bitching.  And I bitch a LOT while I am quilting them, ask my friends and co workers.  But every stitch and hand cramp is worth it to see the look on a child's face or to hear how the map quilt has hooked a young person on cartography.  For The Win folks, FOR THE WIN!

Our Great Nation in a Quilt

Each state capitol is marked with a knotted stringer so it stands out and our Nation's Capitol is marked with Red, White and Blue embroidery thread knotted to show its importance among the rest. 

Detail of our Nation's Capitol and our colours

The backing fabric I usually use is "water" or "dirt" sometimes "grass" but this time I went with something educational.  State Birds/Flowers.  I've also done State Flags.  That was on a different USA Map quilt belonging to my dear nephew, F.  I will have to get pictures of that one as it is a different design.

Backing fabric

TIM-MAY!

Happy Fourth of July and Hooray Team for The United States of America!

Peach Out Apricots,
Morg

Rail Fence Acid Trip Quilt



The Infamous Acid Quit

I am not quite sure what came over me, but I had had so much fun with Shelby's quilt that I asked another friend what colours she liked and started to make her a quilt.  Well, as things turned out she was not the person I thought she was and soon she disappeared like socks in a laundromat dryer.  No biggie, I ended up giving it to another co-worker for her daughter.  She too has left the building, but this was a fun quilt to make.  Unique, different, a conversation piece.  I understand, this gal's daughter was over the moon thrilled with the unexpected gift.

Done in Lime Green, Orange and Black with a pink squiggly design, sashing in dark green to match the back and bound in Teal.  Wait!  Is that the phone?  "Yes?  Uhm, the 1980s are calling and they would like their quilt back." 

Full View of Acid Quilt



Back view

Yeah, it's a strange one. About 120hrs of hand stitching with the piecing done in an evening on the machine.  It's a scary one, but a little girl loves it and that's all that matters.

Peach Out Apricot!
Morg

Quilt for Shelby

Stitch detail

This is a quilt for my friend Shelby.  She had made a quilt for her niece and had waaaaay over bought the necessary fabric for it and didn't know what to do with it.  I asked for the scraps and made this one for her.  I let her pick the pattern, the thread and everything.  She went with crazy wild colours for the thread: chartreuse, purple and green.  This is the first rail fence I've done and yes, I obviously suck, but I am getting better.  It was a lot of fun to quilt.  Took roughly 120ish hrs.  Give or a take a few.  I don't really keep track, I know I should.  I suspect I would be disgusted with the amount of time I was not being adequately compensated for.  However, I do this stuff at work and they are paying me to be nice to people on the phone...and I get the scraps as partial payment for my work and that feeds my stash...so...I guess it's really a labour of love and in the long run "Love is all you need," so sayeth the Fab Four. 

Full image of quilt.

Back and detail shots of the quilt:

Back of Quilt to show colur/stitch detail.



Peach Out, Apricots.
Morg

Winken, Blinken and Nod

b

Winken

This was another panel quilt I did in like April or so of 2010, maybe.  Again, my lousy record-keeping has succeeded in making me look like an ass.  Point taken and will be again and again.  Winken, Blinken and Nod is apparently a fairy tale, no clue, but I love this panel.  It is by the same artist as the Cow Jumping Over the Moon and the Angel (later post).  Inweave will be prominently mentioned in another blog entry, but this is the Fabric Mecca from where these panels came.

The whole quilt

Detail of the Sailing Crew

I hand stitched this delightful number in about a month.  4-8 hrs a day 5 days a week for a month.  That's about the time frame I have to work on most of my quilts as I work at a call center and sew while I am on the phone.  I realise that sounds kind of bad, but it's very calming and I am able to keep a level head when I am concentrating on my stitches.  It's a zen thing I think.

Peach Out, Apricots.

Morg