Category: Quilting

Vivian Maier, QuiltCon and Why We Create

Posted on Posted in QuiltingTagged , 27 Comments

Has anyone seen the documentary, Finding Vivian Maier?  It is a story of one of the more accomplished American street photographers of the 20th century who took thousands of pictures during her lifetime . . . and never shared them with anyone.  Her amazing art was discovered posthumously and this woman who worked as a nanny for her whole life never claimed the title of artist she so deserved.  Why did she spend every free minute perfecting this art and never share it?

This movie came to mind as I watched the people prepare their art in the form of quilts for Quiltcon 2015 and then acknowledge their entrance or rejection from the show that so many of us are looking forward to attending in February.  It had me thinking  much about art, the judging of it, why we share, what makes it art and what makes us artists in the first place?  In some ways the phrase Art Contest seems like an oxymoron.  How do we judge art?  And for those of us who create in fabric, do we call ourselves artists?  None of my local friends sew but many paint, take amazing photography, create jewelry and are creative ceramicists.  All appropriately so would call hemselves an artist but I would never refer to my work as art.

In our modern age it would be almost unheard of for an artist like Vivian not share their work with the world via Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, blogging etc.  Why do we feel the need to share it?  When we share it, does receiving a ribbon in a contest or acceptance into a festival make it more worthy or more arty?

I don’t know the answers to any of these questions for anyone else but myself.  I create because the process of creating makes me unbelievably happy.  I love exploring new ideas, using my imagination and mastering skills.  I choose to share it because I love kibitzing with and being inspired by other creative folks.  I so look forward to going to Quiltcon this February to meet some of you artists.  And someday, when I am comfortable with how far I have come with my own art I will bravely enter my work for consideration in big shows like Quiltcon.  Then again, maybe not. 🙂

I would be oh so happy to hear why you create and why or why not you share your work to a broader community.

(I am including a little bit of my recent work.  I made my first concentric circle experiment into a pillow and played around with improv curved piecing to make up a quilt top I am calling “Batten Down the Hatches” as we in Northern California face the “storm of a century”.  By the way, I have learned so much about curved piecing with my latest projects.  I may be done with circles for a bit . . . maybe.)

Hillary

IMG_1135

IMG_1123

You Spin Me Right Round

Posted on Posted in QuiltingTagged , , , 28 Comments

Do you remember that song by the 80s one hit wonder band Dead or Alive?  Well after a lot of consideration and great suggestions, it seemed the perfect fit for my new quilt.  What a labor of love this quilt has been.  The design was inspired by a modern poster and per my usual I picked some fabric and started cutting and sewing.  My husband’s woodworking measuring tools once again came in handy and at the end I got pretty good at piecing concentric circles.  I did crosshatch irregularly spaced quilting with Aurifil thread for the first time and used my ever-dwindling mustard linen for the binding.

IMG_1079

9L4A3107

IMG_0968

IMG_1074

9L4A3368

IMG_1081The very best part of this quilt was the practice of making a vision come to life using my own methods.  More and more I find myself straying from quilt patterns made of repeated squares (though this quilt does use 10 inch squares that I cut up and put back together in different order).  The big and bold patterns are calling me and I have so many other ideas waiting to be made.  I hope to come back to this pattern sometime soon as I have visions of one with a bold red background.

Hope you had a peaceful Thanksgiving.

Hillary

I Heart Minimalism

Posted on Posted in QuiltingTagged , , , , 18 Comments

Let me introduce you to my Minimalist Baby Quilt.

9L4A32459L4A3246My son who was riding his scooter all over the property was kind enough to stop and hold up my quilt for a picture.  It tickles me to see a quilt with he and his scooter in the background. 🙂IMG_1001IMG_0749I got the idea for this design from a modern poster that I saw somewhere but can’t remember the exact source.  Yep, I’m all about cirlces these days.  I must admit this was a pretty darn easy design to make with a large pieced circle that I then cut in half and inserted a strip of Kona white.  The striped fabric is Ikea canvas.  The tight quilting I used with the design made up for the ease in piecing.  I used my walking foot with aurifil thread and tried to emphasize the simple pieced shapes.  I don’t know that I have ever done such tight quilting before and it was interesting to see how it changed the feel and form of the quilt.

It felt great to finish this lovely up before I embark on a busy work week.

Have a good one.

Hillary

Circles and Squares

Posted on Posted in Knitting, QuiltingTagged , , , , 18 Comments

9L4A3107

IMG_0968

9L4A2986

9L4A3008

9L4A3001

Recent Creative Work includes a quilt top of my own design: pieced concentric circles cut into 10×10 inch blocks and reworked.  Once again I found inspiration in Modern Art.  You can see the poster that inspired me here: AnuiColor | Flickr – Photo Sharing!.  This quilt top is still in search of a name.  Do you have any good ideas?

The cowl is made from 2 skeins of Malabrigo Rasta yarn.  The free pattern is here: Ravelry: Blue Brambles pattern by Alyssa Heath.

Did you notice the new picture in my blog header?  The pic is a herd of curious Chamois we ran into hiking around Zermatt, Switzerland.  It was such a treat to see them and how lovely are they in the fog?

Best,

Hillary

Experimentation

Posted on Posted in Bags, QuiltingTagged , , 10 Comments

When is the last time your tried something new or set your goal on a project with no guide map on how to get from beginning to end?  October was full of such scenarios for me and how refreshing to experiment and step outside my comfort zone.

IMG_0868

Looking toward participation in the Bee Sewcial group, I’ve been searching for images and themes to inspire me/us.  In doing so, I came across this awesome poster and knew I needed to reimagine it in fabric form.  After considering several methods for sewing concentric circles, I decided to just go for traditional curved piecing with lots of pinning and needle turn appliquéd the smallest circle.  I stumbled across some amazing wood working tools in my husband’s shop and used this Veritas tool to add 1/4 inch to all the circles.  He has several other tools I think will be surprisingly helpful to me as I try to make this in a larger version.  Who knew this “woodworker’s method” would work so well?

IIMG_0896

9L4A2952

IMG_0904

I’ve also been experimenting with more nontraditional fabrics and making up more bag patterns.  The remnant pile silver corduroy and red denim were begging to be a quilt (top or back-still undecided).

IMG_0827

A friend sent me some beautiful Thai textiles that he had been holding onto forever.  I made up a new bag design and combined them with some black Marcus Organic Cotton and left over red denim and made the bag below.  I’m sending it back to him for his wife with one of my handmade Malas in for good measure.

IMG_0891

I also started cutting and sewing with a log cabin diamond idea that is morphing as I progress.  I look forward to the arrival of more fabric so I can finish this one up.

IMG_0872

IMG_0888

Lastly, I hosted my annual Mother/Daughter Craft party and delved into painting (a completely alien art form for me).  Needless to say it was a blast to hang out with these ladies who dressed up as famous female icons and made some beautiful art.

9L4A2841

9L4A2825

Our former mayor and her daughter were especially darling and Mrs. President and Vice President.

IMG_0854

IMG_0856

IMG_0864

IMG_0843

IMG_0853

Let’s hope the end of the year is full of continued experimentation and creativity.

Hillary

Blogger’s Quilt Festival Small Quilt Entry – Flower Pots Quilt As You Go Wrapped Hexagon Quilt

Posted on Posted in QuiltingTagged , , , , 14 Comments
AmysCreativeSide.com

Every Spring and Fall Amy’s Creative Side Blog hosts a Blogger’s Quilt festival. (Follow the link above to see all the lovely quilts there.) My first introduction to the festival was last spring and I am pleased as punch to participate again.  I have already entered Big Blue seen evidenced in my last blog post into the category of Modern Quilts.  Today I would like to introduce to those who are new to my blog my Flower Pots Quilt As You Go Wrapped Hexagon Quilt.

IMG_5548

IMG_5541

IMG_5568

IMG_5576

image

image

image

I gleaned the techniques for making this quilt from a much smaller project in the book Quilt-opedia by Sarah Jane Taylor

Amazon.com: St. Martins Books-Quilt-Opedia 9781250044792: Books.

Using the techniques described in her book and employing Peppered Cotton and Little Folks Voile I designed and made the quilt you see.  My favorite part of this quilt is that it is ALL MACHINE PIECED AND QUILTED.   I used a special flower motif decorative stitch to machine quilt the pieces together.  It measures 38 x 44 inches or 164 inches in circumference.  I call it Flower Pots because it to me it represents the perfect balance of soil and flower/neutral and color.

Be sure to check out all the amazing quilts at Amy’s site.  Thanks for visiting.

Hillary

Blogger’s Quilt Festival Modern Entry – Big Blue

Posted on Posted in QuiltingTagged , , , , 33 Comments

For those who have not already met him I would like to introduce my submission into the Modern Category of the Fall Version of the Blogger’s Quilt Festival, Big Blue. (And for the folks who have already seen this quilt on my blog thank you for bearing with me.)  This quilt along with many of my recent makings is inspired by the clean hard lines of Modern Art.  Specifically, the work of minimalist painter Alain Biltereyst and one of his tiny paintings highly influenced my big quilt.

Alain Biltereyst.

As I made this quilt believe it or not I did not draw up a plan but instead started cutting and sewing pieces together.  Crazy as it is, that is how I make up most quilts and also likely why this quilt that was meant to be a baby quilt became much larger then expected.  I used Kona Cottons on the front and Robert Kaufman Essex Yarn Dyed Linen for the back and it measures 60 by 86 inches.

9L4A0243

The quilt was beautifully quilted by Emily Sessions of Emerson Quilting.

emerson quilting | longarm quilt design.

9L4A0249

9L4A0233

9L4A0245

9L4A0264

 

9L4A0254

image

Please check out my quilt as well as all the beautiful quilts being featured at the Blogger’s Quilt Festival via the link below.

 

AmysCreativeSide.com

Happy Weekend!

Hillary

I’m Done Breaking the Rules

Posted on Posted in QuiltingTagged , , , 9 Comments

Ha, that would be a no! I am done however with my Break the Rules Baby Quilt.  Like most quilts, this one started as an image in my brain that was made into fabric without much planning. There’s some magic for me cutting and sewing without putting it on paper first.  I explain the origins of this quilt in a previous post here:

Let’s Break the Rules. Shall We? | Entropy Always Wins.

9L4A2667

You might hate me if you knew how easy this quilt was.  No question it is a design that could go a few different ways.  This is the third quilt I’ve made with canvas which gives a definite matte look and also adds weight.  I think it will hold up to the rigors of a baby/toddler well.

IMG_0782

My recent love affair with minimalism is reinforced by the fact that I like the back as much as the front.  Though the substrates may have been “low brow” (ikea canvas, remnant bin denim) it was quilted with “high brow” Aurifil thread.  (Oh my, I love that stuff.)

9L4A2636

I’m hoping to break out my newly purchased fabric dyes later this week.  There are a few projects in my brain that “need” hand dyed fabric.

Hillary

Everyone Loves Catwoman

Posted on Posted in Bags, QuiltingTagged 10 Comments

Hey everyone!  I’m back from LA invigorated . . . and determined to get in better shape.  Going to LA and being around all those crazy fit, beautiful folks will do that to you I guess?  Unfortunately I missed seeing my friend Lori.  We were hoping for a quick meet up but her honeymoon trip to Italy got in the way-priorities, priorities.   BUT I did get to meet with some college friends and we had so much fun.  There is nothing like hanging out with gals you’ve known since the age of 18 to help put everything in perspective.

One of the bonuses of the trip was that the Noodlehead Envelope Clutch (Noodlehead Envelope Clutch with Umbrella Prints Fabric | Entropy Always Wins.) I made and gifted made it’s way last week to a Democratic Fundraiser . . . featuring President Obama . . . at Gwenyth Paltrow’s house?!  They confiscated all cell phones and cameras at the door so we didn’t get any pics of the bag with celebrities but it was surreal to get the texts from my friend afterward.  I mean, what do you say to Julia Roberts when she is sitting next to you?  To be honest these famous people sounded pretty grounded and lovely.

IMG_0749Oh, how I’ve loved sewing since returning.  I am completely geeking out on minimalist designs.  The baby quilt top above was a blast to make.  It required a gigantic circle template which was a first for me and pretty darn easy.  I’m looking forward to quilting this and thinking about binding it in a yummy bright solid.  My leather scraps have also been keeping my imagination going and I have made up a few more bags with them trying to use up every last piece.

9L4A2467

At the end of the month I am hosting a Mother/Daughter Halloween party for my friends and their daughters.  Everyone has been tasked with dressing up as their famous female icon to celebrate girl power (the picture below is on the invite).  Trying to encourage the gals to dress up, I made the bag below as a prize for the best costume (at my dress up parties, the young ones always pick their favorite).  I’m calling it the Everyone Loves Catwoman Bag.

IMG_0751

9L4A2565

IMG_0754Well, I’m off to work on my costume.  Happy weekend!

Hillary

Let’s Break the Rules. Shall We?

Posted on Posted in Knitting, QuiltingTagged , , , 6 Comments

Let’s break the rules.  Let’s deviate from the pattern or not even use a pattern at all.  Let’s create with nonconventional/non-flavor of the week fabric. Let’s repurpose when we can.  Let’s think outside the box.  Anyone with me?

9L4A1066

Ha!  I sound like such a rebel don’t I?  Obviously I’m being a bit dramatic but must say I’ve been pondering a lot recently on the substrates I use for creating. I don’t know if anyone else feels this way but I am often left overwhelmed by all the newest fabric lines that seem to appear every hour.  And don’t get me wrong, I cherish my designer fabrics and special threads, etc.  Sometimes though, I feel like bucking the system and deviating from the norm.  This theme helped in the making of my latest baby quilt pictured above.  Not surprisingly, I named it “Break the Rules” baby quilt.  It garnered this name as I used nontraditional fabrics (ikea canvas and denim and cotton from the remnant pile off my local fabric shop), made up my own design that is pretty modern and nontraditional for a baby quilt.  I also mixed techniques making this using both traditional piecing and needle turn appliqué.

IMG_0584

I followed the same theme with a cowl I made yesterday.  Once again though the beautiful green yarn was lovely, my rebel streak made me add a postage stamp splash of orange.

9L4A1046

For some real rebels check out Luke Haynes who often makes his quilts with repurposed clothing.  His fiber art is off the hook cool.

LUKE! – Luke Haynes.

Also check out my friend Bianca who sews almost exclusively with vintage patterns and fabric. She is amazing.

Thanks! I made them!.

Now I need to play with some of my plentiful designer fabric and work on a sweet toddler girl sweater because we modern girls are allowed to be girly and traditional too.

 

Hillary