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

Ed Asner and Noah's Ark



Looks like Ed Asner, no, ah?

This quilt was a flannel panel I obtained somewhere, I cannot recall when or where, but I had had it pinned for some time before I ever started quilting it.  I used about five different coloured threads for each of the different lines in the sections.   It was stitched in 3-2010. 

Noah's Ark in flannel


 I joking called this one Ed Asner and the Ark while working on it.  ;)  This quilt was given to a co-worker for her daughter.  Things came to light later that made me regret giving this quilt away, but at least I managed to get pictures of it.  It was a fun quilt to stitch.

Back of quilt, green flannel



Cow Jumping Over the Moon




 

Close up of the back fabric.

 The Cow Jumping Over the Moon is an all-time favourite of mine I've done probably a half dozen of these panels.  I recall purchasing these at my favourite fabric den in the world, InWeave in Hawarden, IA.  Watch for a future blog entry about this Fabric Mecca. 

The same artist has several other panels out including an Angel and Winken, Blinken and Nod both of which I have done as well.  The free flowing design and wonderful use of colour make this and the other panels a delight to quilt and give.

Normally when I back a Cow Jumping Over the Moon quilt I use a great dalmatian/holstein print I obtain at The World (WalMart) but this time I dug through my stash and found this delightful cow print.  I might have gotten it at this one little pretentious quilt store in Sioux City, Iowa.  Can't remember where I obtained the back fabric, but it's been a fave with all the little cows.  ;)  In fact, I am pretty sure that's where I got it, now that I think about it.  Funny how you remember these things.

Cow Jumping Over the Moon Panel

Back of the Cow/Moon quilt.

This quilt is a panel I hand-stitched and sold in March of 2010 or so.

Quilts Show and Tell

In this blogs I am presenting many of the quilts I have done over the years.

Unfortunately I did not see the point of keeping good records of my work, but I am making an effort to do better.  The order of entries will be chaotic at best as I am putting the blog pages up as I find/finish quilts and some may never be featured as they are no longer or it is not possible to get images of them.

I'm not sure how many quilts/comforters I've done, I think the number is in the 20s or so.

Believe it or not I am still working on my very first quilt: "The Zoo."  This epic quilt and the story behind it will be featured as soon as it is completed.   After nearly seven years of diligent work I am down to two environments and the binding...  It is truly an epic quilt as you will see.

The featured list keeps growing as I recover images and complete quilts.  Please keep reading my blog and hopefully enjoying my many explorations in fabric.

Peach Out, Apricots.
Morg