Medallion Quilt Finished and Gifted

Seventy is when your body gives your brain a list of things it's not going to do anymore.

~Unknown

I'm there. Ah, well. Still recovering; the doctor says it will take several months. 

This top was made in January. I'm glad to have several tops to finish. Since they are small they don't take much effort to work on and I can break the time into very small pieces. 

The usual spiral quilting that coordinates with the center. 

When a LQS closed a few years ago I purchased many 1.5 yard cuts to fit the backs of baby quilts. Often they need an addition/insert to fill out the width like here. 

Quilt Specifics

Size: 41" x 41"

Block: None; Medallion

Batting: Hobbs 80/20

Thread: Tiger Lily (orange) Masterpiece cotton

Quilting: Spiral with walking foot

Approximate yardage: 4 yds

Friends of my youngest son are having babies now so these quilts are gifted as quickly as they are finished. Can you tell the dad is a fisherman?

Enjoy the day, Ann

End of a Quilting Blockage... Maybe

Serve the people at the bottom. The people at the top don't need your help.

~Yuri Kochiyama

Quilting

I lost my quilting mojo this fall somewhere between family and medical. I've been looking through old sketchbooks, rereading books about quilt blocks without interest. Finally, reviewing old photos struck a spark. 

Anna Maria (Horner) Perry designs gorgeous fabrics and had an exhibit at Quilt Festival a few years ago. The quilts highlighted her then new fabric line {remember those coneflower prints?} and several intrigued me. I saw simple blocks, large shapes to utilize large scale prints, and of course, beautiful appliqué. 

Many of her patterns are for sale but I chose to start with one that isn't - a mix of courthouse step log cabins, dresden plates, and appliqué.  After analyzing it I began simplifying because the idea is to look at my stash in a new way. 

Eventually I realized the log cabins are HSTs with a dark and light side arranged into furrows. We all already know that; I just forgot. Ok. I don't need to make lots of logs. Good thing because my strings are depleted after the previous forays. With the blocks on point, there are five "rounds" of color. So I pulled a few sets to see what that might look like. 

Possible color palettes

I thought it was time to start pulling more fabric for each section when another epiphany struck. Those furrows are simply rounds for a medallion. I don't need to make log cabins or even HSTs. I can just cut wide strips. A new fabric pull is needed and here it is.

The outer border of fish was a no brainer. That established the center circle print which has exactly the same colors. The light blue and yellow vary the value and print scale but which print for the darkest round?

I chose the one on the right but when it was ready to cut, there was too much brown {that didn't show in this view.} So the print at the top was used instead. And here is a very, very, very simple baby quilt ready to baste. Bright colors for a gloomy week. How good to be back to sewing!

Practially everyone else in North America is suffering under a winter storm. It is expected to arrive here soon and bring a hard freeze. {I know. Nothing like the terrible temperatures elsewhere.} Covering my plants I found monarch caterpillars. Fifteen or twenty on a few remaining milkweed. Neither will survive a freeze. The milkweed only made it because it's been so warm here this fall {and I forgot to cut it back to encourage the monarchs to keep moving.}

Monarch caterpillars on milkweed

DH found a cage online which we set up. It may need more twigs on the bottom. 

Now daily cage cleaning  adversely impacts sewing time. They are fun to watch and worry about. IF they survive, they'll need nectar just when all my plants will have died. 

In the meanwhile, The Texas Butterfly Ranch suggests cucumbers or pumpkin for fifth instar caterpillars. I'll be trying that when the milkweed runs out. And those guys ate most of the milkweed before I brought them inside.

Stay warm and safe. 

Enjoy the day, Ann

Final Border for Bramble Blooms 1

Life, though it is a gift, is not a privilege.

~Ross Gay

Quilting

Audrey's linkup encouraged me to push on BB1 but it's still not complete. Here's the second round, a pink zig zag. All those points took way too much time and didn't all turn out as well as my usual work. But I'm pressing on.

These are leftover Crossroads blocks from a class with Sujata Shah. {There are still more. Sheesh.} I love them as a border but it may be too bright. 

So I made a few more. {And this is how I end up with miscellaneous piles of leftover blocks.} Some haven't been trimmed because the border needs some coping. 

And this is where it sits today. 

Mostly I've been working in the yard. The zinnias are coming along.

I found a solar fountain sprinkler and created a temporary water feature with an old melamine bowl. The basin needs to be wider so I'll keep looking.

My son helped put the new glider chairs together. Acutally, he did the work and I helped hold a few things. Now we have a place to sit and enjoy the flowers and pollinators. 

Enjoy the day, Ann

Second Border on Bramble Blooms QAL

Earth’s crammed with heaven,

And every common bush afire with God,

But only he who sees, takes off his shoes, 

The rest sit round it and pluck blackberries,

And daub their natural faces unaware.

~Elizabeth Barrett Browning

Quilting

I quilted and mailed the quilt my granddaughter put together while visiting last month. Just in time for her sixth birthday. How exciting to see another generation of quilters in our family. It took most of the evenings. My remaining time involved moving bits and pieces around on BB1.

Yes, Audrey suggested applique in the first border. I didn't do that but thought it would be great on the second border. My grandmother's family joked that she would walk three miles to ride horseback one. That's how I feel about applique. I love, love, love other people's but go to great lengths to avoid it myself. 

Here are several attempts at the second border. Some may have room for applique; many do not.

Reprising the pink/red/coral print would be nice but it's not exciting me as a narrow border. 

HSTs in pink and blue vs plain strips.

Back to HSTs. Or what about QSTs? Better but not quite.

Throughout these pinups narrow blue and brown strips were added as potential coping strips. None work as well as hoped but I may try again. Eventually I recalled the pretty dogtooth borders on Baltimore Album quilts. Much of my fabric is now cut into tiny bits so what about a zigzag with triangles?

Using a coping strip to both offset the zigzag and blend with the background may be my favorite - in actuality rather than imagination. Of course, there's not enough of any white or pink for all the pieces. Here's a test varying the fabrics. I also think I like the zigzag without a center strip. 

Handling the corners will have to wait. Also, I may add some yellow bits. Thinking and testing. 

Reading

DH had surgery recently and I was present for some of the pre-op. Interestingly, they used checklists similar to the ones Dr. Gawande proposes in his 2009 book. Communication and safety are primary reasons for implementing checklists. Some of the best are used in the airline industry. Engaging and informative. I wish I’d read it years ago.

This weekend - May the Fourth be with you!

Enjoy the day, Ann

Medallion Chinese Coins III Quilt Finished

"When I say it's you I like, I'm talking about that... deep part of you that allows you to stand for those things without which humankind cannot survive. Love that conquers hate, peace that rises triumphant over war, and justice that proves more powerful than greed."

~ Fred Rogers ~

While {I'd like to say} quilt designs are rarely reprised or repeated, I've recently completed a second pair of baby/toddler quilts. This pair is even more identical than the previous ones except the sizes vary this time. That makes them a perfect older sibling/new baby gift. Not that there's one on the horizon, but it will come.

Chinese Coins III Medallion quilt with appliqué

Adding appliquéd flowers made these tops into something more special. Remember they were the bottom of the scrap bag. It took both quilts to actually empty the bag that time. The technique is a variation of raw edge appliqué. Check Lara Buccella's book Crafted Appliqué for more information.

Chinese Coins III Medallion quilt
appliqué detail

To make it more like the other medallion, I quilted Baptist Fans again. Free motion quilting is a good change of pace from all the simple walking foot lines I've been doing. And so relaxing.

Chinese Coins III Medallion quilt
Baptist fans FMQ detail

When it was time to bind the quilt I found a pile of orange leftovers in the scrap bag and trimmed them to size. Unfortunately they don't look good on this quilt. They are simply too bright. So...

Chinese Coins III Medallion quilt
with possible bright orange binding

I found a lighter peach remnant in my stash. This shade isn't as bright plus the white design printed on top brings the intensity down further.

Chinese Coins III Medallion quilt
with light peach binding

Here's a view of the back showing the Fans and the quiet binding.

Partial view of back of
Chinese Coins III Medallion quilt

And here's a view of the binding itself with the outer border and parts of the back showing. Yes. This works much better.

Chinese Coins III Medallion quilt binding detail

This pair will go on the stack until two children need them.

Size: 50" x 58"

Pattern: Medallion with Chinese Coin borders and appliqué

Batting: Mountain Mist Cream Rose 100% cotton

Thread: Aurifil 50-wt grey cotton 

Quilting: free motion Baptist fans

Previous posts:

1. Starting the medallion
2. Chinese Coins III top finished
3. Chinese Coins IV finished

Enjoy the day, Ann

AHIQ #35: Maps

I thought the next AHIQ invitational was ready but have found myself repeatedly drawn to a new idea. Whether my mother’s passing made me consider past events or all the journeys by plane and car allowed time for reflection, traveling through history and over these long distances refocused me on diaries, connections and maps. I propose Maps and Mappings for our next six months’ study.

"Maps ultimately testify to our belief in the value of exploration, whether the compass is pointed inward or out. To do so is to appreciate the value of the mind as a dynamic vessel of exploration; it does not travel according to the limits of the compass rose, but moves by association. And when the mind comes to rest, when it ceases its orientating leaps and shunts and association, we find ourselves back where we started, where Here intersects Now." Stephen S Hall

Wikipedia defines a map as "a symbolic depiction emphasizing relationships between elements of some space, such as objects, regions or themes" that  "may represent any space, real or imagined, without regard to context or scale."

Road maps, geologic maps, treasure maps,

Texas Geologic Map, UT Austin 1992

landscape and house plans.

Eichler home floor plan

Instead of large-scale geography, it could also be the location of genes on a potato chromosome ...

 Schematic representation
of the shape of DNA
and the base pairs
from PotatoGENE website

Or an imaginary or spiritual journey. My mother had an old needlework picture of the human heart. Not the Valentine heart but a realistic model with all the veins and arteries showing. Religious virtues were inscribed in different regions. I'm not sure where that picture went. She did have some downright scary art.

It could be as simple as a garden or as complex as the paths of every person in a city. Ed Fairburn combines portraits with maps. It could be as small as a pinhead or as wide as the cosmos.

The Milky Way Collapsing by Kukicho-san

"A map is a means for discovery, to be used for any kind of territory. It is a way to get from A to B, sometimes by way of Z. Most simply, a map is a cry from the wilderness, saying 'I am here!'" Katherine Harmon

Maps can relate time and frequency. David Ramsey’s post on cartographic mapping  revitalizes all my the timelines we made in grade school. Who knew they could convey so much? Many bloggers map their label frequencies on the sidebars. The more frequently the label is used, the larger that phrase appears.

Want to read up on mapmaking?

Map Art Lab by Jill Berry and Linden McNielly (2004) is a series of creative weekly exercises for mixed media. Only a few directly address quiltmaking. This book is also suitable for teenagers.

Map Art Lab by Jill Berry and Linden McNielly

Alicia Merrett has made map quilts since 2008. Her book, Mapping the Imagination (2014), is out of print but she has three Contemporary Quilt Demonstration videos on YouTube. You can find examples of her work in her gallery.

Valerie Goodwin's Art Quilt Maps (2013) specifically addresses making map quilts reflecting her training as an architect and professor.

Art Quilt Maps by Valerie S Goodwin

Her work involving imaginary and real places can be seen at:

• Valerie Goodwin's maps of real places
• Valerie Goodwin's maps as abstractions

Other artists working with maps as the foundation of their painting, collage, or quilting include

• Mary Bryning
• Janet Browne
• Diane Savona
• Matthew Cusick
• Scott St. John

"Maps have been used to demonstrate position, location... but they can also teach history. They can be used to hold stories and feelings about a place." Diane Savona

This Pinterest board has more links but is certainly not inclusive.

The opportunity to express history and feelings in patchwork, collage, stitching, painting, and stamping makes me believe this could be an interesting challenge. I hope you'll join us.

Also posted on AdHocImprovQuilts blog.

Enjoy the day, Ann