HAPPY NEW YEAR

I have been busy 2022 even tho I lagged behind on blogging.

Progress on my version of Yoko Saito's Imaginary Garden which maybe I will name Garden of the Honeybees.  About 75 of them have been hand appliqued on the quilt. All that remains is to finish the quilting part.  I have sewn around all the elements and am faced with the quandary of how to fill in the background. ????  All I can think of is a stipple.  Any ideas???

Some sample areas of the applique......

No more quilting is actually needed in terms of stability but rather for enhancement of the applique.

NEWEST PROJECT begun in November:

Fields of Flora by Verna Mosquera

Eight blocks are completely finished tho I have not cut them all to size (8.5 x 10.5)

The fabrics are 50% Art Gallery fabrics, 40% Tilda by the lovely Norwegian designer  Tone Finnanger, and 10% miscellaneous.  

I had a wonderful time collecting fabric for this applique.  I spent many happy hours on research on etsy and on line shops.  I came to appreciate Art Gallery Fabrics-they have become some of my favorites for the modern look, their sense of color, and their lovely hand.

I have not been in a store or restaurant in 3-count them-3 years of covid.  I am not sure if I ever will now that I know how easy life is without them.  We always wear masks in public tho not many people do.

I use only 100 wt Kimono silk thread for the applique.  It is so fine and lustrous and the colors are beautiful.  I had some Yuli 100 wt silk thread but it was coarse in comparison.  I have all the colors of the Kimono thread.

It took forever to find two of the blue prints in this block.

Here is the design wall with the 8 blocks removed.  All are basted and 6 are ready to applique and the others still need some tweaking before I am happy with them.

A PROJECT FOR LAST JANUARY

The wonderful Helen Godden offered a free you tube class which you can still access if you are interested.   Based on those ubiquitous flower panels, we free motion quilted the petals using a black background.  She is the best teacher in the whole world not to mention a lovely person.  We began in the center and worked outward.   After we all got the hang of what we were doing, we took off in individual directions of quilting.  A lot of the designs I choose were from the time I took up drawing Zentangles.  Helen then painted into her quilting designs for a real WOW ending.  I did not do this part as I am 75 and time is of the essence.  You have to pick and choose and I love to pick up little bits of fabric to make designs.

The front-really a big blah.

AND, NEARING THE FINISH LINE.....

The Caswell quilt sat around for a couple years while I got involved with other projects and waited for inspiration to come regarding a border for this applique.  My brain dredged up all kinds of ideas which I vetoed and finally settled on this simple arrangement which I think complements the complexity of the the design nicely and leaves it to be center stage.  I used wool batting.  The applique is all basted and ready to quilt.  When I assemble for the quilting process, I use pins but this time, since I am not sure how long this job will be in a holding pattern, I hand basted the layers and removed the pins fearing rust if I left them in.  I have not worked out the details of quilting yet but I think it will be a random pattern using the motifs as the main inspiration.  For instance, in the lower right side a red bird is singing.  The quilting there will be a music staff to incorporate the notes.  I know I will quilt in insects and leaves and them probably pattern around that BUT who knows...not me for sure!

AND A FINISH...

This is another project which languished in a state of un-being.  Below is a photo of what was supposed to be a completion but I knew it was wrong-I just could not see how to make it right.  So it sat and I stewed.  I don't consider projects in the state to be UFO's because unfinished project implies one has abandoned it and these were never abandoned.  They were constantly in my head while I worked on other things mentally trying out ideas. I am very pleased with how the design spoke and resolved itself but, as you can imagine, lots of work was required to make all that 1/4 bias tape and hand applique it onto the seam of the border and body.  And before anyone asks, NO, I no longer have the pattern.  People email me often asking if I will sell the pattern-it is long gone.   

Well, that is 2022 done and dusted.  I could say alot about this past year, good and bad, but probably no one wants to hear it.

AND NOW....YOUR MOMENT OF ZEN

Two for today since it has been so long in coming

Camera flash on a spider's web by Ben Spurs Miles

AND

Fractal beauty of the mundane purple cabbage

I am linking up with these generous quilt makers and hostesses

Slow stitching Sunday https://kathysquilts.blogspot.com/

Oh Scrap at http://quiltingismorefunthanhousework.blogspot.com/

Patchwork and Quilt at www.quiltingpatch.blogspot.com 

Design Wall Monday at https://smallquiltsanddollquilts.blogspot.com/

To Do Tuesday at https://quiltschmilt.ca/

Midweek Maker at www.quiltfabrication.com

Needle and Thread Thursday at http://www.myquiltinfatuation.com/

Peacock Party at https://wendysquiltsandmore.blogspot.com/

Brag About Your Beauties at https://frombolttobeauty.blogspot.com/

Finished or Not Friday at http://alyciaquilts.blogspot.com/ 

Off the Wall Friday at http://ninamariesayre.blogspot.com/

Whoop Whoop Fridays at http://confessionsofafabricaddict.blogspot.com

  YOKO SAITO IMAGINARY GARDEN

MY VERSION-THE WORK CONTINUES

I cannot believe how fast the work on this has been.  I am using Sue Zipkin's fabric line Good Vibes which offers so many possibilities.

AND NOW...

YOUR MOMENT OF ZEN

Cranes over Gallocanta Lake in Spain.  Photo taken by Catalan photographer Xavi Bou.

I am linking up with these generous quilt makers and hostesses

Slow stitching Sunday https://kathysquilts.blogspot.com/

Oh Scrap at http://quiltingismorefunthanhousework.blogspot.com/

Patchwork and Quilt at www.quiltingpatch.blogspot.com 

Sew and Tell Monday with Bambi at http://bambisyr-evaj.blogspot.com/
Monday Making at http://lovelaughquilt.blogspot.com/
Design Wall Monday at https://smallquiltsanddollquilts.blogspot.com/

https://www.quiltfabrication.com/2021/01/midweek-maker

Finished or Not Friday at http://alyciaquilts.blogspot.com/

Off the Wall Friday at http://ninamariesayre.blogspot.com/

Whoop Whoop Fridays at http://confessionsofafabricaddict.blogspot.com

Happy Stitching and Happy Thanksgiving Day to US readers

 YOKO SAITO'S IMAGINARY GARDEN-

CHAPTER 4...

I love how this is looking.  Tho no embroidery yet.  Embroidery is one of my favorites so I am looking forward to that.  I just don't know if I should wash the starch and glue out first which means I will make the entire wall hanging and am looking at embroidery on a LARGE piece of work maybe 48 in x 64in (centimeters 122x 162).

Did you know that only the USA, Burma, and Liberia use imperial measurements of inches etc?  

The jade border you see will go around the work.  In the photo below, you can see how the border will form on on the other end of this center piece.  That is the section (chapter 5) I will be working on next.

The empty spaces such as the one in the lower left will have flowers pushing up from border piece to be attached later.  I hope the design will be organic, flowing, and coherent without obvious breaks.

I waited 5 years for the right fabric to come along-Good Vibes by Sue Zipken.

I cannot believe I will be 74 on Sunday which is good in a way because for several months I thought this was to be my 75th birthday so, haha, I gained a year.  Time flows differently when one is older.  I cannot remember the year without some thought_2021- as I never write checks anymore.

AND NOW....

YOUR MOMENT OF ZEN

a retweet 

I am linking up with these fabulous quilt makers and hostesses

Slow stitching Sunday https://kathysquilts.blogspot.com/

Oh Scrap at http://quiltingismorefunthanhousework.blogspot.com/

Patchwork and Quilt at www.quiltingpatch.blogspot.com 

Sew and Tell Monday with Bambi at http://bambisyr-evaj.blogspot.com/
Monday Making at http://lovelaughquilt.blogspot.com/
Design Wall Monday at https://smallquiltsanddollquilts.blogspot.com/

https://www.quiltfabrication.com/2021/01/midweek-maker

Finished or Not Friday at http://alyciaquilts.blogspot.com/

Off the Wall Friday at http://ninamariesayre.blogspot.com/

Whoop Whoop Fridays at http://confessionsofafabricaddict.blogspot.com

HAPPY STITCHING

YOKO SAITO'S IMAGINARY GARDEN-

WORK IN PROGRESS

The wall hanging is made using Sue Zipken's digital print line "Good Vibes".  I am deconstructing the pattern and then reconstructing it in (to me) in more fluid lines.  Time will tell how successful I am.  I love the beautiful colors in this fabric line.  So much variation usings only about 6 different pieces.

Lots of careful work.  All this work may seem tedious to some but I love the entire process of deciding on the layout, auditioning different colors, forming the shapes, and then the final step of appliqueing the pieces to the background with my beautiful kimono silk threads.  Every step of the process is enthalling to me and I feel so lucky and fortunate to have this in my life even if the end result is not what I pictured.  

There will be lots of embroidery to add before this project is finished. For instance, in the above photo, all the loose dots will be connected to stems or flowers.  The blue flowers will have french knots in their centers and filigree work to the edges of the petals.  The dragonfly will be given details and the red circle flowers in the lower right will have french knots.  

This is the progress so far.  Don't you find helpful to view your work in photographic form?  You see bits that need to be reworked and places that are "empty" that are missed when looking at the thing itself.

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Another four weeks will be the end of our blog posts send to readers by email.  I have noticed some have found other means such as Feedly.  I am still on the fence-I may just go to instagram and pinterest.  What about you?

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AND NOW...

YOUR MOMENT OF ZEN

I am linking up with these fabulous quilt makers and hostesses

Oh Scrap at http://quiltingismorefunthanhousework.blogspot.com/

Patchwork and Quilt at www.quiltingpatch.blogspot.com 

Sew and Tell Monday with Bambi at http://bambisyr-evaj.blogspot.com/
Monday Making at http://lovelaughquilt.blogspot.com/
Design Wall Monday at https://smallquiltsanddollquilts.blogspot.com/

Free Motion Mavericks at http://lizzielenard-vintagesewing.blogspot.com/

Needle and Thread Thursday at http://www.myquiltinfatuation.com/

Finished or Not Friday at http://alyciaquilts.blogspot.com/

Off the Wall Friday at http://ninamariesayre.blogspot.com/

Whoop Whoop Fridays at http://confessionsofafabricaddict.blogspot.com

HAPPY STITCHING

     BEEN A WHILE....

Though given feedburners abandonment of blogspot, I wonder about the future of blogging.  No matter....here is what I have been working on:

Completed, this will be my version of Yoko Saito's Imaginary Garden.  Here is her quilt...I am working on the center section tho I am changing up the layout of the motifs to suit.  Her pattern has a dense center with more space towards the border where I want mine to be equally dense.  The outer border will be in the lovely jade color.

Below is a better photo showing all the lovely blue, grey, and tan taupes she so excels at.

The quilt has hours of embroidery in it.  Almost all the flowers and leaves will have some finishing touches to them.

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We have gotten thru the pandemic without too much trouble.  We both are vaccinated (team Pfizer) but still laying low.  The most devastating happening was my sweet kitty dying of FIV which is kitty aids.  We were best friends and it was cruel and grueling to watch her fade away.  

She always took an interest in my doings and liked to advise and help out.  I miss her so much.

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I finished quilting my tree blocks.  Black electrical tape on the design wall has divided them into seasons.  The pattern calls for crazy quilt blocks in-between the trees and I tried to do that but crazy quilting is not a technique that is simpatico to me.   I love the look of it but cannot make it work.  I have an idea involving intertwined vines with minimal additions.  But later.....

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    AND NOW....

YOUR MOMENT OF ZEN

Without looking at the photo reference, what is your best guess as to what this is a photo of???? I thought it was a tapestry done is slubby, tweedy yarn.  But no...it is a storage lot in China of disused bicycles.  What is the story here I wonder-so many bicycles?

Rebecca Deming on her blog https://www.rebeccagracequilting.com/

has some info on a possible remedy for the feedburner fiasco.

So long for now, keep up the good work

XOXO