Another Quilt Show!

I spent Saturday with a friend; we went to a quilt show.  In our area, there is a quilt show series--four of them in fact.  I was able to catch all but one of them.  This one on Saturday, was held by the Metropolitan Patchwork Society here in Portland.   Here are a few pictures of some of my favorites.

This one for it's flower prints with free motion outlining in black--Hope you can see the detail!

This one for it's creative use of alternating quilting in the center circle. 

and my very favorite was a quilt  by Mary Derthick called "Fairy Bower"  with a semi-watercolor patchwork background and appliqued scenes.

Although I don't have a picture, it has scalloped edges--Beautiful work!! 

I enjoyed myself.  Hope you Enjoy the lousy pictures--BTW, hubby and I looked at a new camera, still deciding which way to go, but that's another story (mine got broken some time ago--using my smart phone camera--not very good indoors!)

Linking today with Create-with-Joy's Inspire Me Monday

Quilt Show!

Went to a quilt show today with a friend and saw some AWESOME  quilts!  The theme was "Red and White~~A Quilter's Delight!" and those of you who know me, know that I love embroidered Redwork, so you can imagine what I feel about red and white quilts!!  Here are a few of the quilts that I snapped with my phone camera (sorry these are not very good pics, but you get the idea):

Love this design!

Machine embroidery/quilting

I wanted to remember this pattern!

Then there were the colorful quilts:

Applique in the middle 

Love the side design!

Complicated, appliqued and gorgeous!

Hope you can see the artistry in the quilt stitching in this one:

So sorry that the pictures didn't come out better!   I had a wonderful eye full and came home with tons of ideas!  Yay!  Now to see if I have any time to work on any of those ideas ;)

Personal Creativity Goals Recap

Last week I discussed by business goals here and promised to discuss my personal creativity goals at another time. I think I will continue this discussion today, since it forces me to look at my progress or lack of it.  It also inspires me to move onward and upward toward obtaining my goals!

To quote myself, I wanted to go . . . . . extravagant this year!
I tend toward practical, utilitarian projects, like this one that I did for my granddaughter--a t-shirt rag quilt.   That is not to say that all of my projects have been like this quilt, I have done more intricate designs, but I'm trying to branch out with prettier patterns and techniques.

In my post at the first of this year:

1)  I talked about trying some new fabrics, not just cotton, for quilting.  I haven't tackled this yet. When ones stash is all cotton, it is difficult

2)  I wanted to do an appliqued quilt, getting away from lattice and square designs. I wanted to try applique, curved piecing and textured trims couched on the quilt. I have not tried the couching technique yet.  These techniques are embellishments that add interest to the quilt and I am anxious try them. But, I have done a couple of appliqued and quilted table runners.  One I liked and one that I didn't like so well.  This is just the precursor to doing an entire appliqued quilt.  I still need to decide on a particular design for the larger quilt. I found a great site, blockcentral.com, with some applique tips.  I want to save it here for my own future use and maybe you are interested too! 

Here is a couple of samples so you can see what I am heading for, although I would like a more contemporary design:



Applique with stipple quilting



Applique with Echo quilting

**Both of these examples can be found on allpeoplequilt.com on this page.  Scroll thru the gallery to find them.

3) I have been experimenting with specialty threads.  Blender threads are my first attempt.  These threads change color every 2 to 2 1/2 inches.  They come in several thread weights and the first spool that I bought was too coarse a thread for my project. I have purchased a second spool and will try again and maybe even do another post about these threads.

So far I have not been extravagant, instead I have been adventurous in trying new techniques and supplies.  I hope this leads to a more extravagant frame of mind that will lend itself to better creativity!

Yesteryear - Applique Art

Last week, in the ongoing "Yesteryear" blog post, I talked about an invisible applique stitch.  I personally like a combination of applique and patchwork, which was a technique used often for many years providing extra art in quilt design.  Many applique designs were done on a white background, so as to highlight the applique motifs.  Designs ranged from scrolls to tulips to bows and flowers patterns.  

A pair of very sharp scissors are a definite must have for applique work.  Designs must be cut precisely. I like to use a fine grit sandpaper to make my pattern.  Then it will not slip on the fabric as I draw the cut line around the design onto the fabric. After cutting out the design, an anti-fray product can be used around the cut edges of the fabric, before the pieces are turned under and sewn.  This procedure guards against fraying and provides extra strength. You will also need a supply of sharp pins to hold the design down before hand sewing.  For machine applique, you will probably need to pin and then hand baste the design in place before machine stitching your design in place.  

Tip:  If you can cut your patterns so that the straight grain of the fabric will allow the applique to lie in the same direction of the straight grain of the foundation fabric, you will avoid puckering and/or stretching of the design.

Question:  Ever tried applique, of any kind, before?

Yesteryear - Applique Stitches

The quilt above is patchwork ( the star pattern ) and appliqued (the curved vine and flowers.)

In the past, applique was quite popular and done beautifully by hand.   Several stitches were used and it was thought that stitches should show as little as possible--for obvious reasons.  Some quilters used an 'invisible' stitch.  Most of the thread, provided it is a matching color, is hidden in the fold of the fabric.

Start the first stitch with a knotted single thread into the fold from the wrong side of the fabric.  It then comes out thru the fold.   For the second stitch, insert the needle into the fold right near the spot where the first stitch ends, then come back out in the fold about a 1/4" ahead while taking a short stitch into the backing fabric. Repeat.  Practice makes perfect!  This stitch was very popular in many old quilts. 

I feel that hand work is very relaxing.  Try it sometime!

Wordless Wednesday-Applique and Embroidery