Welcome to week 565 of Free Motion Mavericks. I managed to totally forget about having to post last night or even this morning! I hope that you got to see my Project Quilting 15.1 - Bird House. If not, you can check it out in Related links below.
Playing with scraps
Last week I played with green scraps. I managed to piece together a green placemat for hubby. I think that it'll look good! This is for the Table Scraps Challenge, hosted by the Joyful Quilter. It's only due at the end of the month so that's when the free motion quilting (FMQ) will get done.
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| Green placemat for hubby |
The placemat will be roughly the same size as the blue (mine) and the yellow (my daughter), which are about 16" x 11". There are many variations of green in there, including a pop of other colours. I'm looking forward to FMQ it.
Meditation block
After watching the first season of the Great Pottery Throw Down this week, I was so inspired that I had to create a meditation block.
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| Mediation block inspired by the Great Pottery Throw Down |
You might be thinking that this doesn't look like pottery....and you'd be correct 😁 The inspiration came from the finalists making a bone china chandelier. They were so lovely, translucent and flowing. That reminded me about the pieces that I'll be making for this spring and summer outdoor exhibition. I want my piece to be translucent, shimmering and flowing.
I'll start with three suns, one in the morning, a bright yellow noon sun and then a sunset sun. Then I'll add blue for the sky, possibly with clouds and birds. The next level will be flowing green leaves in cascading greens while finishing with bright bold flowers.
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| Sun in the morning, at noon and at sunset |
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| The sky, possibly with clouds and birds in flight |
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| Green flowing leaves in various greens |
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| Colourful flowers |
I'll be making these using Solvy water soluble stabilizer. I found an article in a 2016 Stitch Magazine called Dressed for Dinner. In the article, Carol Coleman used water soluble stabilizer as well as pieces from silk or other types of scarves to make napkin rings. This technique sounds perfect for making an outdoor sculptured hanging piece.
Other than the nest last week, I have made a few items with the Solvy. The flower shaped sculpture is the last piece that I made in the second course that I took with Amanda McCavour.
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| Flower shaped sculpture made with thread and Solvy |
I have a number for gorgeous scarves that I bought at great prices that would be perfect for this.
What I learned
- I love being inspired by other types of art. I didn't know much about pottery before watching this series. It was a real eye opener.
- As I was looking for a link to the Great Pottery Throw Down, which is produced by the BBC, I found out that there is going to be a Canadian version of this coming this year. I hope that it is as respectful and enjoyable as the BBC series.
- I loved making the meditation block and thinking about both the show and the piece that I'd like to make.
- I've been hand-stitching a lot lately with my daily stitching on my tablecloth. I realise that some of the stitches that I've been doing are better done with a stabbing stitch, especially the leaf stitch. I'm going to try to pay attention to see if this applies to other stitches that I'm not so good at.
- I'm looking forward to doing the FMQ on the green runner. Somewhere, I want to add a snowflake since that's the theme this month. I might use designs of the 4 seasons.
Related links
- Project Quilting 15.1 - Bird House Challenge 1, January 14, 2024
- Working on Project Quilting 15.1 at Free Motion Mavericks, January 11, 2024
- Scrappy Yellow Placemat on Free Motion Mavericks, September 06, 2023
- Little Library and Table Scraps Challenges, July 01, 2023
- The Great Pottery Throw Down
- Embroidered Botany Workshop at Free Motion Mavericks, July 07, 2021
- Amanda McCavour
- So much slow stitching going on, January 09, 2024
- Stitch Magazine
Linking parties
I'll be linking up to many fun linking parties. Why not check them out, after you've link up below? Put your foot down, Needle & Thread Thursday, Sew & Tell, Off The Wall Friday, Can I Get A Whoop Whoop?, Patchwork & Quilts, Oh Scrap!, Slow Sunday Stitching,
Free Motion Mavericks
We have some wonderful FMQ to showcase this week. Thank you to everyone who linked up 😊!
Donnalee quilted 3 small quilts for her guild's charity group. She uses a serpentine stitch to quilt them. They look lovely!
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| Donnalee quilted these small quilts with a serpentine stitch |
Melva made this gorgeous t-shirt quilt using a reverse tie dyed fabric for the sashing and backing. She quilted it in a grid on point.
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| Melva's finished t-shirt quilt quilted in a grid on point |
Preeti of Sew Preeti Quilts had a wonderful finish with her Prismatic quilt. If you're interested, you can purchase the pattern in her Etsy shop. This quilt is made with Island Batik solids.
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| Preeti's Prismatic quilt |
Sandra Walker of mmm quilts hosted last week's TGIFF. Her finish was another amazing Postcard for Sweden quilt (her third one!) She FMQ "flowing lines interspersed with various FMQ flowing motifs". It's very effective.
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| Sandra's third Postcard for Sweden quilt |
It's now your turn!
Wow, your pottery inspired piece is wonderful so far! I agree with you that other forms of art can really inspire creativity in quilting. That pottery show sounds interesting, I want to try to find a way to see it. I loved the "Great British Sewing Bee" but could only see it when people posted episodes to YouTube long after each season.
ReplyDeleteThanks Vivian for your recommendation. I'll try to check it out! I find that all kinds of art are inspirations for quilts and I'm so looking forward to working on this one. I just have a few things to do first, otherwise I'll never get to them :-) Take care.
DeleteThanks so much for featuring my Postcard quilt last week. It has safely arrived at my niece's, and she will transport it to her elder once she heads the couple hours north that requires! Solvy is a fun thing to play with but I'm ignoring the squirrel urge to play with it again! Isn't it amazing the variety in greens in our stashes?
ReplyDeleteHi Sandra, I'm so looking forward to playing with Solvy but I really have to get a few things done before that. Then I'll be able to play to my heart's content :-)
DeleteOh là là, c'est beau tout ça ! J'aime bien la version verte de tes placemats, et ton bloc Méditation est superbe ! Il rappelle tout à fait la fragilité de la porcelaine de Chine. Bravo !
ReplyDeleteMerci beaucoup Frédérique. Que j'ai hâte de jouer avec le Solvy pour créer ma pièce extérieure mais j'ai quelques projects à finir avant de commencer.
DeleteI love love love the mediation block. Thank you for linking up to Put your foot down.
ReplyDeleteThanks so much Denise. I really can't wait to make that outdoor piece a reality. I just have a couple of projects to finish before I let myself play :-)
DeleteBest of luck with the quilting on your TABLE SCRAPS Challenge entry, Andree! Did you attach your stitch meditation piece to the journal page? It would make a lovely art quilt, as well.
ReplyDeleteThanks Joyful, the stitch meditation piece is in my journal but it can easily come out. I just have sooooo much stuff on my studio walls that it's better in my journal for now. I can't wait to work on the real thing!
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