A New Face to the World

"We do not have government by the majority. We have government by the majority who participate."

~Thomas Jefferson

I voted today. Did you? Make time to quilt and to vote.

Quilting

Remember the Faces class with Freddy Moran? This is what I made after lunch. What a hoot!

Clara with emoji pigtails collage quilt top

I found the emoji fabric by Timeless Treasures in Dallas last year intending to use it in a baby quilt. While the scientific fabric was made up, this just lingered in the stash. I cut two rows of emojis and dropped one on the background. It just looked like pigtails and there was the top. Freddy loved this fabric so I cut two more rows for her. I can't wait to see what she makes with it.

Detail of emoji pigtails

The eyebrows were petals {from that wild black and white fabric that was Jane's eyes.} Adding the line of her cheek defines her face as a heart. At home, I plucked some eyelashes, repositioned her lower lip, and found brighter red confetti.

Then I thought about the quilting. Each fabric on Jane's had a thread change. That seems a bit much for an improvisational piece. On the other hand, I couldn't see anything when quilting the background with clear nylon monofilament. I'd like to quilt over/across the collaged pieces rather than outlining them but the pigtails should be highlighted with circles... which is just outlining.

Clara with emoji pigtails collage quilt

I don't know about you, but after noticing something - good or bad - I often repeat it. It suddenly seems like the sole solution. It's either the dichotomy between my conscious and subconscious or simple hypocrisy. So here I am again, changing threads with each fabric color.

Once it was quilted, she really needed earrings. I kept wondering about ears but finally decided to call it done.

This quilt also called for facing. Here's a photo of it in progress.

Sewing a facing on the Clara collage quilt

Quilt Specifics
Size: 25" x 24"
Designs: Collage
Batting: Hobbs 80/20
Thread: Blue, red, pink and yellow 60-wt cotton and black poly threads
Quilting: FMQ and walking foot

Approximate Yardage: 1.25 yd

Off the Bookshelf
The first one wasn't on the bookshelf but I read Mary Robinette Kowal's Lady Astronaut of Mars {the actual novelette is here}, loved it, and then found her two prequels: The Calculating Stars and The Fated Sky {and another to be published next year}.

The series follows an accelerated space program after a 1953 meteor wipes out the east coast of the US causing extinction-level climate change. Like Hidden Figures the women are calculators who run the math for the launch and trajectories. Mary is a writer and puppeteer {interesting combination} with an optimistic outlook on life. There are problems to be faced but most people can change for the better. Let me know if you like this series.

Enjoy the day, Ann

Facing the Year with Freddy

"If you want something to fall in your lap, you have to move your lap to the right place."

~Sandra Bruce

As the time passes more and more junk email arrives in my box. Most are true junk but some are various shops I've inadvertently signed up for. How and where do they obtain my email? Sometimes, it's a lucky break and this was one of those times because Freddy Moran was teaching her Faces class and there were a few last minute cancellations... and I was in the right town... and I had the day free... and the supply list was very short. Two fat quarters, glue stick, scissors, and scraps.

Even better, a non-quilting friend wanted to come. Off we went to play with paper dolls for the day. Not that there is any paper involved but it's as easy as that childhood pastime.

Here's my first face. The hair is leftover triangles from Propellers and Planes - the quilt that will never die. Several smaller quilts have spun off from its leftovers and more of these triangles yet remain.

Jane: collaged face in fabric

Working quickly, the top was finished before lunch. Her eyes were flowers from a wild black and white fabric. Lobster earrings don't show up as much as I wished but they dangle beautifully. Moving her eyebrows made the biggest change in her expressions - frowning, quizzical, surprised. This position reflects the bemused wonder in her eyes.

Jane with a nose job

Before quilting the next day she got a quick rhinoplasty. Now the printed butterfly marks the tip of her nose. I also added a strip of background fabric on the left so some of her spiky hair shows. But once it was quilted, that section didn't work anymore. Off it came.

Jane quilt

Facing seemed the best way to finish this quilt but it took two days to sew correctly. Binding would have taken me a couple of hours. It's not that hard but I don't face quilts often. The consolation is {perhaps} it looks better.

Freddy recommended not trying to make a specific person. However, my kids insist this looks like their favorite aunt.

Quilt Specifics
Size: 23.5" x 19"
Designs: Collage
Batting: Hobbs 80/20
Thread: Various 50- and 60-wt cotton threads, 
and YLI clear nylon monofilament
Quilting: FMQ

Approximate Yardage: 1.25 yd

At the beginning of class Freddy shared her story. After a medical issue and entering hospice she felt she'd lost her creativity and would never make another quilt but, remembering a recent class on Mostly Matisse by Rosalie Dace, she challenged herself to make one face a day. By the time 54 were completed she regained her creativity, improved enough to leave hospice, and started showing the quilts. Here she is sharing one of her collage quilts with several Faces in the background.

Freddy Moran at New Pieces Quilt Shop,
Berkeley CA

Me Made Update

With two dresses under my belt, I felt ready to tackle a new challenge. My friend was not available to help fit the pattern so I sewed a muslin of the top only using a "bargain" fabric that had tiny holes in it. I was so annoyed to discover them but it's perfect for this use. 

It took a couple of days to work out the adjustments because I chose the hard way. Only afterwards did the easier methods occur to me. Sigh. At least now the alternations are completed if/when I make it again.

Dolman sleeved dress

The attached belt wraps around and ties with a knot in back. No bow. I reduced the skirt width twenty inches, lengthened it half an inch, and added deep pockets. Why did designers think mid-century women didn't need pockets? When they are deep enough that items don't spill out, they remind me of Winnie the Pooh's useful pot. A place to put things in.

Clothing Specifics

Style: Dolman sleeved dress
Pattern: Retro Butterick

Fabric: Cotton broadcloth print with large blue flowers
Yardage: 3.5 yds plus 1 yd for the muslin sample

Thread: Gutermann 50 wt blue cotton

Enjoy the day, Ann

Tea and Ephemera with Judy Coates-Perez

Judy Coates-Perez spoke at our guild recently and I was fortunate enough to take her class. A graphic artist, she's taught for decades and has very professional, open-ended classes. Her topics are well-organized; she doesn't try to teach everything in one day.

And the wealth of knowledge she shares! Because she's worked in mixed media so long, Judy knows how almost every paint and dye react, different tools and products that have come on (and gone from) the market, as well as the best uses for everything.

Collage from Tea and Ephemera
class with Judy Coates-Perez

We each started class with a piece of fabric Judy had already treated with ink. It looks like old parchment but those dark spots are from ink rather than dye. Then we worked through screen printing, inking and printing on tea bags, collaging papers, stamping, stenciling, painting and using color pencils.

Each of these could have been an entire day but Judy gave us concise instructions and turned us loose to practice them for a while. She encouraged us to view this class as extended practice sessions rather than worry about creating a single finished work. She uses her class examples in an interesting way - cutting them up before resewing as a background for further painting.

She's a very generous teacher, sharing all her knowledge openly. Occasionally teachers want to hold certain information back but Judy shared everything this class encompassed. Our class fee included a CD with all the handouts for this class. Such a clever idea that saved our hands from cramping while we took notes.

Judy recently taught in Karlsruhe, Germany so Europeans might have an opportunity to take a class with her. If you get the chance, take it!

Photos of her work and information about her workshops, books, and supplies are on her website. She brought Primordial Sea and Moon Garden to our meeting. What a treat to view her art so closely.

Enjoy the day, Ann