Sept. Weekly Quilt #2

 Bobbin Doodles #2

6x6"

Well, as promised, this week includes both bobbin drawing and hand stitching. I did cheat a little bit on the hand stitching as I outlined the circles with invisible thread before I started working the hand stitches. I know, I know, it looks like a Christmas wreath.I don’t know why I didn’t think of that when I choose this color way for this design, but it’s too late now.

This week, it’s almost all hand stitching, but I’ll be hanging out with a friend who isn’t feeling well on Tuesday, so I should have plenty of time then.The Radiance is nice to stitch on, even with the interfacing, but it isn’t very forgiving of mistakes.

I’m really having fun with the Zentangles designs.I’ve been making some samples for a youth class that I hope to teach, and it’s hard to mess them up.It is very meditative, especially if I remember to breath.

Seed Stitching

 Queen Anne's Lace

8.5 x 11"

Back in June, I posted this bobbin-sketched journal quilt , but I decided that it needed "a little" something extra to make it really pop.  I didn't like the waviness in the background caused by some bad interfacing. So, I started seed stitching it, placing my stitches fairly close together.  Well, about seven hours later (for a 8.5 x 11 inch quilt), I finally finished.  Who knew that seed stitching took so much time?

When I decided to add the embroidery, I had already "finished" it, so I got a bit of draw in and some warping.  I mounted it on my 1x2 stretcher bars (like I do my weekly quilts) and that helped a lot. I like how the dense stitching really makes the flower puff out, giving it a trapunto effect, but I think that next time I decide to seed stitch something, I'll put a bit more space between the stitches. 

This quilt is off to Visceral Gallery in Centerville, where I hope it will be juried into the Color Restrained show.  And I'm off to Cleveland for the SCBWI (Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators) Ohio North Conference.  Yippee!!

Week One, September: Doodles on Radiance

For September, I've decided to use some Zentangle sketches to machine and hand embroider.  Last week, I used bobbin drawing to create this sketch of fern fiddleheads that the Zentangle people call fescu.  I had some problems machine quilting on Radiance, so I added some light fusible interfacing to the back of the fabric before I made the quilt sandwich.  For this design, I didn't need to do any handwork, but all of the next quilts are either entirely or partially worked by hand.  

The Radiance worked nicely with the interfacing to stabilize it; I didn't get the puckers I was getting before.  You can see, on the left hand side, where the machine tension changed, so I'll have to be careful to keep consistent tension even as I switch bobbins.  Oh, and how is this circles, you might ask?  Well, silly, those fiddleheads on the top are circular, aren't they?  That's my story, anyway. 

Finally

Silence in Spring
17" x 46"
private collection

One of my first blog posts was about being blocked.   Though my life and it's tatters were the cause for the block, this quilt was what precipitated it.  Before my life split apart, I had agreed to do this quilt for an auction.  The quilt is of the Ashton Meeting House at Sandy Spring Friends School, the place where the upper school students and faculty gathered twice a week in Meeting for Worship. Quaker meeting is a time of silent contemplation and of sharing our truths in that worshipful silence.  The Meeting House was an important place in my spiritual, emotional, and intellectual growth while I was teaching at Sandy Spring; it was, as the best worship houses are, a sanctuary. 

While I was grieving my old life, I couldn't work on this sacred place.  So, I asked the quiltart list for feedback, and from their advice, I made an agreement with myself to work small, to do what I could do, and to heal.  For a year now, I haven't finished a quilt that was larger than 12 x 12".  Just as I was growing anxious to work on larger projects, I found the strength and inspiration to finish this quilt.  It is much better than it would have been if I'd finished it 1 1/2 years ago.  It is also in a very different style than I'm currently working in, so it felt strange to work on it.  I think the finished quilt captures the essence of this sacred place for me.  Thanks to Barb for waiting so patiently while I healed.