Big leaf sewn

Although I have never sewn using freezer paper templates, I pushed through and sewed the whole Big leaf from the Pat Pauly workshop. The finished size will be 24 x 24, but it is a lot larger now until I crop it. I cropped it for the photo. I am ambivalent about it. I think quilting it will make me like it more. Have to find a backing.

Big Leaf sewn and cropped by camera

A fine mess

  Over the weekend, I went to the Genesee Valley Quilt Show (gvqc.org) in Rochester, NY. One day I went with some of my guild friends to look at about 600 quilts and vendors, and another day to take a class with Pat Pauly (patpauly.com) called the Big Leaf. It was a draining day to make all kinds of color decisions and lay out the design. We used freezer paper templates. I had to take it all apart to go home and when I got home, I immediately put it on my design wall so I would not get real lost. This picture is the mess of the design before sewing together. When I get some sewed, I will post it again.

Batik pieces over freezer paper sections

Crumb log cabin finished and gone!

Thankfully, I was able to complete the crumb quilt, sew pockets to the purchased tote bag, make a card, include the book and mail it to the recipient as part of my personal Quilts4Comfort packages to those going through cancer treatments. I just love making these. The Crumbs are so much fun. Some people have given me scraps and I am able to use them in this type of pattern. I sewed all the 8 1/2" blocks on my Singer treadle, and did the other seaming on my trusty 301. I quilted this on another Singer 301. Don't ask me how many I have.

Bag, pockets, book, card before packing

Close up of quilting, (no quilt police comments please)

Finished quilt

Back of Quilt so you can see the quilting

Tulip Fabric Collage

I have been doing a variety of artwork, so I have not been timely in posting. Using a photo from my own garden, I sewed this 12" x 12" Tulip Garden with Batik scraps, a lot of them donated, on heavy weight interfacing with watersoluable interfacing over it, stitched with Superior's MonoPoly. I then added a backing of batting and quilted it again with Superior Metallic thread. I had lots of issues with the MonoPoly breaking so I have to tweak that. I had only excellent results with the metallic thread. Now I have to figure out how to mount this- in a frame, on a canvas or what. That is always the hard part for me.

12 x 12 Tulip Garden

Fabric sandwiches

  I love landscapes. I love batik and batik scraps, so here is a way I combined them. They are done on heavyweight interfacing as a backing, then the scraps are layered on, then overlaid with watersoluble interfacing, free motion quilted (sometimes with invisible thread on top), and then dipped in water to dissolve the interfacing. The first is one that I showed previously, but a better picture. The second is my newest and I will put it in a 12" square shadowbox. I want to make more! I keep collecting lots of value scraps.

I used invisible thread here. I am thinking of not trimming the edges.

Fiber sandwiches

  Here a couple more of my fiber pieces done with watersoluble interfacing that are Free Motion Quilted. The maroon ones are from fiber from The Critter Ranch (local and Etsy). I don't know how I am going to mount them, so I put some possible fabric behind them. I could mount them on canvas boards or in a frame, hmmm.

Interfacing sandwich with quilting

With fabric background

Without fabric background

With fabric background

Without fabric background

More Quilts!

   I finished some projects and keep forging ahead. I have more in my head than I can work on. The baby quilt for Lydia is quilted, washed, and gone. I used glue basting for the binding and it worked perfectly. The pattern was Arcadia. The parents did not want a frilly, girly quilt so I used this pattern and yellow and purple to match the colors they chose for her room. I would like to have quilted it denser, but I ran out of time.

Close up of one corner to see quilting

Quilt with binding

    I also made progress on the crumb quilt.  All the blocks were sewn with my Singer treadle. The strips were sewn by my Singer 301 because it is faster. I love using scraps and keep begging for them for the cancer patient quilts. I trimmed the blocks to  8 1/2" and framed them in white on white. All it needs now is border fabric- nothing I have works, I have to buy some to finish this. I have the tote bag ready and just need to sew pockets on it.

Close up of individual blocks

Quilt that just needs border fabric

       Another cancer patient quilt made it out the door. Hope it is helping her during treatment. The pattern is from Gerbie which I have made before. Just uses squares, no triangles. Very easy.

Tote bag for quilt