Quilting & Learning - What a Combo!: improvising

Showing posts with label improvising. Show all posts

Sunday, September 08, 2019

Introducing my Exit Strategy

In the spirit of anticipation, celebration and learning, I am starting a new project.

EXIT STRATEGY →

In less than 3 years and 2 months, I will be 60! People are generally not eager to grow older, but I believe that the perks of age and wisdom more than make up for the laugh lines and grey hair (which I've had for over 15 years anyway!)

60 will begin the next phase of my life - Fibre Artist!

So, how am I going to get ready for the fibre artist phase of my life without living in the future? Well, pretty much the same way that I've approached most things.

Learn
Have a flexible plan
Keep expectations low and gratitude high

I hope that you'll join me on my journey. Let me tell you about my very flexible plan.

Amy's Creative Side

It started with the blocks that I made while participating in the One Week Improv Challenge with Amy Ellis of Amy's Creative Side. The challenge was by subscribed email and through Instagram at #improvwithamy.

As with most challenges, I followed at my own speed. I did manage to make the first five days of seven days (see the post in Related links). At some point after the challenge, I made a few more blocks.

Block 1 - joining strips

Block 3 - playing with triangles

Of course, the next decision is....what to do with those blocks?

The first time I thought about Exit Strategy

A few months later, in late spring, I felt especially tired and needed something besides rest to help me stay positive. What's better than a new plan, a new project to help my spirit soar with anticipation, celebration and learning?

The name, Exit Strategy, came very quickly but the rest took me a while to figure out. It's so easy to get caught up with grandiose plans but more than anything, I want this to be realistic and doable.

These are the notebooks that I keep with me to jot down ideas. The idea for Exit Strategy was slowly percolating.

3 notebooks that I keep around

The next step of this plan came about when I bought a gently used version of the book, Exploring Textile Arts in June at Quilt Canada. The book was published in 2002 by the Editors of Creative Publishing. There is a more recent version, but this one is fine for my purposes.

I've been very inspired by some of the techniques in the book. That's when the rest of the flexible plan started falling into place.

The flexible plan

Try out new techniques
Use the improv blocks as background
Blog and reflect on what I've learned
Repeat
Time frame: very flexible....3 years and 2 months 😊

Using 8 inch blocks as background makes these projects less intimidating. It's about learning, playing, taking chances and trying new things. I'm hoping that I'll be able to put some of the blocks together as they are completed....or not. That's also part of the very flexible plan.

You may have seen the first block that I posted about, without specifically saying what Exit Strategy was. If you didn't see it, the post is below in Related links.

A Felting Miss-Adventure,
part of the Exit Strategy project

I've been hard at work practicing my embroidery stitches and learning new techniques. Here is a sneak preview of my design wall. I will be posting about these techniques in the next few weeks.

A sneak peek at my design wall - things are progressing

I created a page for Exit Strategy, and as I progress, I'll add links to the related posts. I hope that you'll follow me in my journey.

What I learned

I've been thinking about this for a very long time, ever since I discovered what I wanted to be when I grow up 😊
I used to say that I wanted to be a full time artist when I retired, but then I thought about it....I'm going to be retired. This should be fun, not just another job! So now I'm keeping the full time out of the description. I'm hoping to play full time but as far as art making goes, I'll do what I want, when I want, and then, if I feel like it, I'll find opportunities to show my work and accept the deadlines that go with them.

Sunday, August 25, 2019

A felting miss-adventure

Welcome - yes, I did have a felting miss-adventure last week but wasn't going to post about it until I had done something positive with part of my felted piece. I'm quick to admit to ~~mistakes~~ learning moments but I love happy endings 😉

Festival de la fibre TWIST

Festival de la fibre TWIST
They always have the best postcards!

It all started when I attended the TWIST fibre festival last Friday with a fellow fibre artist. The yearly festival occurs in Saint-André-Havellin in Quebec, about an hour away from Ottawa. I had wanted to attend for years now and was thrilled to go with someone who could take me along.

It was a beautiful day and there were both artists and vendors - of pretty much anything fibre. I bought some beautiful roving, a little bit of yarn and a few fat quarters. It was very busy but manageable. I even met a couple of fellow Quilt Guild members. It was a great day.

In the afternoon, we attended a demonstration of a Felted ruffle collar by Anna Mathis of Ploome Fibre Arts. In 45 minutes, Anna completed a beautiful felted collar with ruffles. She was really interesting, full of energy and made it sound so simple!

Angora fibres all in place

Anna working hard to felt it

Pulling the felted collar to make the ruffles

Trying out the felted ruffled collar

Felting miss-adventure

Can you tell where this story is going?

The angora ready to be felted

On Monday I decided that I wanted to try out some wet felting. Anna had made it sound so easy!

I should have started with a smaller project but I couldn't help myself. I wanted a felted ruffled collar, even if I couldn't wear it (I'm allergic to wool).

It started off well. I had bought some angora roving so I used a light pink for the base and a darker pink on top.

Starting to felt. Slowly massaging and then
getting more vigorous.

This picture was taken before I got discouraged. After two hours of felting, I had to put things away to go to a meeting. The next morning I was at it again.

The results looks like something pink that the cat coughed up. I'm not being modest - it was scary!

I put it aside and worked on some of my other quilting projects. But I really wanted to create a piece with this mess, so that I had something to show for all of my trouble.

Here it is!

The finished block - the first square of my Exit Strategy piece.

I cut a strip from the felted piece and cut that down to one side (the purple strip was in the middle), and then I:

Needle felted on top of the scraggly felting. I used both the darker pink and the lighter pink.
Added some curly sheep bits to the edges.
Lined the purple strips with some yarn.
Beaded some amethyst and pink rose quartz along the purple strips.
Added more beads and then the Lotus Flower button.

I've attached the felted piece to the improvisational batik block that I made while doing the One Week Improv Challenge with Amy Ellis #improvwithamy. I continued making improv squares without knowing what would come of it. I'm now working on a project with these blocks, and this is my first one. I'll explain in another post.

What I learned

Someone said that experience is what you get, when you didn't get what you wanted (I had the posted in my room - always the cynical one). I got plenty of experience on this project....but I did end up making something, and learning, from my experience 😊
I believe that my mistake was not using enough angora roving. It just wasn't dense enough to felt, except in the middle.
In hindsight, I can't believe that I embarked on this miss-adventure. It's one thing for an expert to make something in a demo, but entirely something else to expect the same results the first time around.
I paid dearly for my experience. Today, six days later, I can almost walk normally. She wasn't kidding when she said to bend your knees! Since I'm on holidays, I used the time to rest and stretch, a lot!
I am really happy with my finished piece. It's a miss-adventure that ends well (and I have another two feet of the mess to play with!)

Monday, April 29, 2019

Break time with improv piecing

It's DrEAMi! (Drop Everything And Make It!) or Squirrel time again with Sandra at mmm quilts.

Policeman and black squirrel in High Park, [Toronto, Ont.], 10 Nov., 1917
Photographer: Boyd, John, 1865-1941
Library and Archives Canada (see Related links below)

Improv piecing

When I'm up against a deadline, I usually need some serious procrastination time! Maybe it's to let my brain peculate while I distract myself, but what ever the reason, it happens almost every time.

To procrastinate, I've read 3 books in a series (I suspect that they were short but who knows when it's an ebook!) and did a little bit of improv piecing. A little bit as in a 10 inch square that finishes to an 8 inch pocket. You read right....a pocket!

My husband gave me this gorgeous bag that he got at a conference. The front is really stunning, but the back, not so much.

The front of the bag

So now, the bag has a new back, and an extra pocket.

The bag's new back and pocket

To make the improv piece, I used batik fabrics in colours that went with the front. There was no way that I could possibly make anything that could match the front, so I made my piece to blend in, in a way that it's obvious that it wasn't part of the original design.

Once again, I used the Extended-border binding technique. I treated the outside strip of the block as a border and made it about an inch wider than necessary. I then turned it over and pressed it as if it was a binding.

Making the border of the improv piece wider so that it can be used as a binding

I then cut the batting and backing to the finished size of the block and then slipped it inside the "binding".

The backing and batting are now inside the "binding".

I flipped it over and did my free motion quilting (FMQ) thing! I started by quilting in the ditch around the border, then quilted the design in the middle. Since I wanted the "binding" to be securely attached, I FMQ inside the border.

Playing with FMQ

Here's the back. You can see where I stitched in the ditch. The quilting inside the border ensured that the binding is securely attached.

The back of the FMQ piece, ready to be attached to the bag.

I very carefully sewed the finished block to the bag. I left the top open so that it can be used as a pocket and therefore reinforced the top sides and the edge of the top so that it won't come apart.

Attaching the pocket to the bag

If you want more details on the Extended-border binding technique, see Related links below.

What I learned

As I mentioned, this small project was a great way to productively procrastinate! I got to play with fabric but not get too wrapped up in a new project.
If the FMQ design looks familiar, it because I featured it in the last Free Motion Maverick's post.
Isn't the image of the squirrel and the policeman great? It's from Library and Archives Canada's wonderful collection of old images. See Related links.
I'm really happy that this bag is now ready to use. I'm going to try it as a purse, but I tend to like the ones with a long strap, so we'll see. At the very least it will make a great project bag (because we can't have too many of those!)

Saturday, July 07, 2018

Throwback Thursday

I've always liked doing improvisational piecing. Although I don't necessarily do it often, I find it very relaxing to just sew bits of fabric together, and the wonkier the better!

Scrappy Improv Binder Cover

This project, a binder cover, was made in 2012-2013. The only reason I know this is because of the scraps. Many of these fabrics were originally used to make a Seattle Street quilt for my niece. You can see the quilt below.

Scrappy improv binder cover - front

The binder holds my sewing machine information - a stitch chart that I started but never finished, my manual as well as bit of stitching samples. These bits are usually of satin stitching since that pretty much the only stitch that I take the time to make a sample of.

Scrappy improv binder cover - back

Here's the original Seattle Street quilt that I made for my niece during a guild workshop. I think that my niece has more of my quilts than anyone else. That's mostly because I made a couple of quilts for the family, thinking that they would go in their family room, but she quickly took ownership of them!

Seattle Street quilt

What I learned

I can't honestly tell you what I learned while making any of these projects - it's been too long. I do like my binder cover, especially since it was made to be wonky on purpose. Of course if I was trying not to make it wonky, the results would be the same 😊

Related Links

Although I never included the binder covers in a blog post, I did include the Seattle Street quilt in the post below. As you can see if you follow the link, I was very shy and didn't know what to say back then. Oh, how that's changed!

Getting Ready for a Quilt Show, April 24, 2012

Linking Parties
I will be linking this post to Throwback Thursday at mmm! Quilts, as well as many others. Join the fun and see what's happening around the quilting world. Friday Foto Fun, Can I Get A Whoop Whoop?, Monday Making, Main Crush Monday, Oh Scrap!, Design Wall Monday, Moving it Forward, Linky Tuesday, Tuesday Colour Linky Party, Let's Bee Social, Midweek Makers, Needle & Thread Thursday,

Monday, March 26, 2018

Scrappy Triangle Baby Quilt Finish

It's done! Another UFO busted 😊 My Scrappy Triangle quilt is all quilted and bound. You may have been following my quilting journey in the last few weeks.

Scrappy Triangle Baby Quilt

I made these scrappy triangles and placed them with some solid blocks. I knew that I would have to make some setting triangles to make this quilt into a rectangle but I just took the easy way around it by making extra triangles and blocking them off. What can I say, I didn't want to do the math, I had lots of fabric and I didn't have a pattern handy that would have figured it out for me :-) I'm just really happy that it worked out.

Taking the lazy way and skipping the math

Once I squared off and sandwiched the quilt, I decided to quilt the scrappy blocks first since I had no idea what I wanted to do for the solid triangles. I used all kinds of free motion quilting designs on the scrappy triangles and had a ball.

On evening, I took out all of my Angela Walter's books and courses, and drew various designs on paper. I wanted something simple, relatively easy to FMQ but also something that would have a few variations.

Dot-to-dot quilting in the corners with some loops

Starbursts on the solid triangles with some simple filling

Once I had finally decided what to quilt, it didn't take very long. I even added Jacob's name in one of the corners.

Jacob's name in the corner

Here is the finished quilt. Indoor pictures near the window had to do since it's really not nice enough outside for a photo shoot. The weather is warming up but the snow is melting and it's starting to get muddy.

Scrappy Triangles Quilt is finished and is
making its way to Vancouver for baby Jacob.

Here's the label. I love using foundation paper piecing blocks and putting a border around them for the label. I even got to use a tiny piece of Vancouver hockey fabric that didn't make it into the binding :-)

Foundation paper pieced block for the label

What I learned

I managed to run out of thread, twice! It was the blue thread in the solid blocks - and I didn't even use it in the bobbin! OK, the first spool of thread wasn't full, but that's a lot of thread! It's not so obvious when I use my bigger spools.
My daughter asked me how much thread there was in the spool. I figured out that I used about one kilometer of blue thread, one kilometer of bobbin thread and at least one or two more for the scrappy triangles! Wow!
I really enjoyed planning out the quilting of the solid triangles. Angela Walters has some great ideas in her Shape by Shape books (which I now own). Between these and her Dot-to-Dot course on Craftsy, I had tons of ideas that fit my criteria.

Tuesday, March 13, 2018

Lots of projects in the works

My quilting deadline season is coming up with two quilt shows in the works as well as a whole bunch of quilts started, promised or ready to finish. I made a list, with dates where applicable, so that I wouldn't forget anything. I didn't get much done this weekend, but I did start.

Scrappy Triangle Baby Quilt

Second triangle - highlighting the doggy fabric and FMQ leaves

A very long time ago I made some scrappy triangles. I was at an in-town retreat and didn't feel like working on anything. Thank goodness I had a box of scraps with me. I just started sewing them together.

At the other end of the hall, a couple of quilters were working on "Toe in the Sand" quilts. From afar, they looked scrappy. When I got close, I definitely saw my mistake. These were beautiful and very intricate - not at all what I was in the mood for. But they did spark my imagination to make a scrappy triangle quilt.

First triangle - FMQ a large starburst design

I worked on my triangles for a while and even trimmed them all to the same(ish) size and put aside a piece of solid fabric that came in a kit that I will never make. It then sat in a project box for a long time.

Block 3 - FMQ some starburst designs

As I was designing the pattern for the Charming baby quilt for Make Modern magazine, my mind turned to other baby quilts that I could make to practice my free motion quilting (FMQ). Out came the project box. It didn't take me long to make the solid triangles and finish piecing the quilt top.

The first row of the Scrappy Triangle Baby Quilt

Now that I have someone to give the quilt to, it's time to get going. As you saw above, I've FMQ the first row. I'm not sure what I'll do for the solid triangles. I want something simple that won't take away from the scrappy triangles. I FMQ another 3 blocks last night and now have 4 more scrappy triangles to quilt before I start on the solids, so I have a little bit of time to think about it. Any suggestions?

Postcard from Sweden

I've joined another Postcard from Sweden Quilt-Along, this time with MMM! Quilts. I'm really, really hoping that I will get this quilt finished this time 😊

Postcard From Sweden Quilt so far

My version is a variation of the original pattern since there is no way that I could ever go through the trouble of keeping track of all of those Kona solids, even if I bought the kit. I just printed up the original finished quilt in black and white, and then started using light, medium and darker batik fabrics to make it.

HST cut and ready to piece

Cut and ready to go

During the last quilt-along (with Busy Hands Quilts), I cut enough triangles to finish piecing the quilt. I really want to finish the quilt top so that I can start quilting it. I fell in love with this quilt when I saw someone's quilted version of it. I'll look for the link and add it to my next Postcard from Sweden post.

What I learned

As usual, I'm having a great time FMQ the scrappy triangles. When possible, I'll follow the fabric, but otherwise I will probably use Angela Walter's starburst design from her Dot-to-Dot technique course. It's easy, has lots of possibilities, does well in triangles and I generally don't have to mark them anymore.
I'm planning on making the Postcard from Sweden my next OMG to help me get it finished. We'll see what other deadlines I'll still have to meet by then :-)

Thursday, January 12, 2017

Catching up on World Quilting Travel Adventure

World Quilting Travel Adventure

with JoJo Hall

I have a lot of catching up for the World Quilting Travel Adventure with JoJo Hall. We are going on a wonderful world tour and making souvenirs from our destinations.

Souvenir from Oregon

Oregon, United States

Our first stop was in Oregon, where JoJo comes from. I made a smaller, more whimsical version of her landscape. Check out her original landscape, it's gorgeous!

Hawaii, United States

The second stop was Hawaii. It's certainly an attractive destination, especially with the -25 C weather we were having in Ottawa! In November I started making the plumeria flower that is on JoJo's headwrap. Of course, since I need to do my own thing, I'm incorporating the plumeria into an art quilt.

The beginning of the plumeria flower

JoJo warned us that the flower would not be impressive until it was painted and sewn. I have to admit that I was terrified of painting it. I'm sure that's why I waited until late December to attempt it - and that's just because my quilting space was such a mess that I didn't want to go near it.

I took the project to the kitchen table with my water colours and brushes (never been used) and played with the paint. I can't say that I had much fun - I was too intimidated, and I also can't say that I liked the results, but I gave myself the benefit of the doubt to wait until I had sewn it before judging it. As my son remarked, this project had better not be washed, or I'll be loosing my water paint!

I'm glad I waited. Turns out it was better than I expected! The paint and the FMQ really add to it. I didn't sew around the whole flower so that it also has a 3-D effect.

Plumeria flower after the water paint and FMQ

The genesis of this art quilt is a silk scarf that I bought in China. The scarf was very fragile and better suited to art than wearing. In my stash, I found peach and yellow fabrics as well as this amazing purple and orange fabric that my daughter brought back from Senegal, Africa. This is truly a multi-cultural project!

Working on this multi-cultural project

To make the background, I just sewed a few pieces of the fabrics together and then cut them up and sewed them back together again. I just love improvising like this.

Embroidered and beaded flower taken from the silk scarf

I cut out one of the flowers from the silk scarf, bunched up the silk around it and embroidered it down. I added many beads (until I'd had enough!) but as my daughter said - it looked like a colourful blob. To make it look like a flower, in colours that would stand out, I embroidered around the different parts of the flower.

You may have noticed the frilly bit on the right in the picture above. I wanted to add more of the silk scarf, to tie it in with the flower. I originally intended for it to drape on the right edge, then my daughter turned the piece around so that the scarf hangs off the bottom. What a difference 90 degrees makes!

Escape - almost done!

I've been hand quilting the orange and the yellow areas and adding beads to some of the colourful African fabric. I'll have to be careful to not over do it - it's so easy to get carried away.

Canada

The third stop on JoJo's World Quilting Travel Adventure is my homeland. I love Canada and I think that JoJo chose well with her souvenir - it's the Northern Lights (aurora borealis) made of hexies. I have to admit that before this project, I had no desire of doing any type of hexies! I have a UFO - an English Paper Piecing project started last summer made with triangles. It's really fun, relaxing and very, very addictive! This hexie project is even more fun because I didn't try to plan the project first. I just went into my scrap bag of batiks and cut out hexies from colours that might fit.That's my kind of project - jump in and adjust as I go!

Making many, many hexies

I won't say much more about this project except that it's a work in progress. If you're interested in doing hexies, JoJo has two really good tutorial for Basting Hexies and Joining Hexies. Please check them out!

Not sure how I'll be putting these together. Stay tuned!

What I've learned:

As usual, I'm not doing so well with following dates. That's also how I prefer to travel - without strict agendas and time tables, just an outline of possibilities!
JoJo has given me plenty of possibilities. I'm having a blast, and working very hard to not take it (or me) too seriously. This is a perfect opportunity for play,
I'm addicted to hexies (only really cool ones, but hexies none the less!) We'll see if this lasts when I try to join them!