Circle Back in Black

 

I feel like I have slowed down quite a bit on my quilt making frenzy. I think I got a little worn out after working so hard to finish a few pieces for deadlines for the Quiltcon 2024 possible entries. I got the ones I wanted completed and just kind of rested my mind a bit.  I am trying to slow it down and pay more attention to details which is hard for me because I always feel like I'm in a race to finish a quilt so I can start another. LOL. But here is my latest design. I'm calling it "Circle Back in Black" with a bit of a nod to my youth and ACDC rock song "Back in Black" that can always get me singing and dancing. 

I am exploring the use of negative space, in this case-the black. I love how primary colors pop on top of black. I am loving geometrical shapes and as you can see, CIRCLES and curves. I am currently on row 4 and the challenge of this one for me is the whole slowing down and getting the pieces fitting together nicely. The yellow and green blocks are very small and I have seam ripped many times trying to get these suckers to fit right. Geez. Some are really good and others I'm asking myself if I am willing to redo when I get to the end. I tell myself there will be an inspection at the end where I ask myself these same questions. 

I am currently on row 4 and I'm already thinking about how I will quilt this. I'm wondering if I truly am going for negative space, then how will I fill the black squares so as not to draw away from this design. So, happy Saturday. I am spending the day with the family and some quilt piecing. I hope you enjoy your day. I will keep you posted on this piece!. Happy Quilting.

What is Your Message to the World?

 There is a Text on Textiles call for art through Quilt Festival Calls. I have been thinking about this challenge for a while. I have been thinking to myself, if I only had one chance to speak to the world, what would I say? What would you say? I'm not sure what I would want to say other than to be kind to one another. I'm not one to stir up conflict. I don't have any angry messages, not that it is bad to express anger or upset through this means. Just be kind, it's not that hard. That's my big message to the world. Simple. 

I created this on the Electric Quilt 8 software. Not sure I love it yet. I do like the bright letters on the black but not that excited about the blocks I used on the sides. I will keep working on this. The last day for entry is April 18th, 2024 so there is plenty of time to think on this. Perhaps my message will change too. But it seems so appropriate for these days. Happy Quilting Y'all!

Unfinished Objects (UFO's)

I promise I won't start another quilt until I finish all of my Unfinished Objects (UFO's) says every quilter I know. I usually use my weekends to finish and bind quilts I have going. After having completed two very small quilts this last week, my sewing room looked like a major storm had passed through it. I decided I needed to clean and reorganize this morning before I could attack anything else. I successfully stayed focused long enough to give the room a good thorough cleaning and vacuming. 

I also sorted through all unfinished items and kind of prioritized what I need to get done. First, I want to get these two mini quilts binded. I plan to submit these two to the quiltcon 2024 mini quilts competition. Top one is called "Blooming" and the bottom one is called "Fusion". Two friends/mentors recommended the facing type of binding so I had to look at a few tutorials on that process. I will have pics when done. I quilted the Blooming (Top one) with Modern Curves and the bottom was just straight lines about 3/4" apart. 

I have this quilt I need to finish binding so I can get it donated to Community First. I don't have much to go. 

I still need to bind and put label on this entry to the Quiltcon color challenge-deadline is October 31, 2023! 

I'm calling this one "After the Storm". I was very pleased with how this one turned out. Even after all the struggle with the Storm at Sea blocks and that Lone Star. It was worth the work I think.

I have this one that I need to complete. I'm calling it "The Games we Play" because I feel like it looks like a game board. I created this one in the Electric Quilt Program and it is turning out beautiful. Can't wait to show you finished project. 

So, as you can see I have plenty to do. I love that. It made me think of that saying:  

“Happiness is pretty simple: someone to love, something to do, something to look forward to.” Rita Mae Brown

On top of all that, we took time out to view the Solar Eclipse (with special glasses). It was so cool. I had to go and purchase some fabric at Over the Top Quilting Studio today and there were so many people there looking at the Eclipse. It was like a party. I'm signing out to get started on all these projects. Let's see if I can keep myself from starting a new quilt! Happy Quilting folks!  

About Mola Quilting

MOLA QUILTING

 A friend of mine gave me this little Mola piece of fiber art. I'm not sure where it came from, but she knew I would be intrigued by it. She explained to me that these originated in Panama by the women of Kuna. I researched a little more about this art form.  Historically, the women used to decorate their bodies with geometric figures using whatever was available to them for paint. As fabrics became available, the women started incorporating the same concept on their clothing. "Mola "actually means shirt in Dulegaya, the language of the Kuna people. 

These are very intricate pieces put together using many colors and layers of fabric in a reverse applique method. I have seen reverse applique methods used in quilting. I think if I try this method, I will start with a couple of layers. Something a little simpler. I did find some great video tutorials on Youtube for reverse applique techniques. If you are interested, just do a search--of course some are better than others so I won't link any of them here. 

What am I working on now? 

Currently, I have three quilts I'm working on. I am working on the Tropical Storm I showed you before. I keep procrastinating this one because of the level of difficulty I find in the Storm at Sea Block. But, I keep pushing a long with that one. I'm also working on an improv type quilt using some fabrics from Marcia Derse and Windham fabrics. I am loving Marcia Derse!  Having a project like this on the side of a more intense project helps me relax and just enjoy the process. This is the beginning of that quilt. 

The third one is a quilt pattern I ordered on Etsy called "Seafarer" by Quiltfabrication. This one is made with strip blocks in many shades of blue to create an ocean scene with one sailboat. It makes me think of pictures we took while visiting Seattle many times for our anniversary. I am going to add some sunset colors in the top left, not sure how that will look? 

Happy Quilting folks. I would love to hear about what you are working on! Please message me here or come see me on instagram @lesley_chandlercrafts. 

Stained Glass Quilt

 

I have always loved stained glass and I thought I would try to make a quilt that had that look. I had recently taken an online class by Caralina Oneto called Curves and Transparencies. It is a great class if you want to check it out.  So in this class, I learned a technique using Freezer paper to draw your patterns. You draw the pattern on the non-shiny side and then you cut out the pieces after numbering them. I also took pictures before I cut out the templates so I would not get too confused about where the pieces went in the quilt. This is one of my patterns that I drew out. I used plates to draw my circles and rulers for lines. 

Then, I cut out all of my templates from the freezer paper. I ironed the templates on the right sides of my fabric. Then, by using a ruler to add a quarter inch around each side of the piece of fabric, I cut pieces using my rotary cutter. I have learned that for curves, it is much easier to use a smaller rotary cutter 28mm. 

The piecing is a bit intuitive. Although you can kind of go row by row, you have to anticipate what is coming up to see how best to piece them. 

After I pieced everything, I added a 1/4" fusible bias tape to all of the seams to give it more of the stained glass look. You iron it on the the areas you want and then sew it down. This was a challenge to get the seams straight. I tried my best to have a seam going down both sides of the tape to tack it down good. I just learned yesterday that someone actually suggested using a double sewing needle so that you can sew both lines at the same time. This is something I will have to try. I also plan to use a wider tape next time. 

In keeping with the stained glass look, I added first a black border. Then I used a simple rectangle block border alternating the colors with black. Then added another black border. I decided on a black binding as well. This piece was actually inspired by Frank Lloyd Wright who was an American architect, designer, writer, and educator. 

Hidden Agenda Quilts-Secret Codes

    Today I am finishing up a quilt I created that I am calling "Hidden Agenda". I will show it to you later in this post. But first, I want to talk about how quilts have been used in the past and perhaps even today to send secret messages. I find it very interesting and clever that one would take a perfectly innocent object such as a quilt to pass on a message. For instance, the Underground Railroad Quilts. There is folklore that certain quilt blocks were used to convey messages and maps to help the enslaved escape. For example the Log Cabin was supposedly used to convey where safe houses were along the journey. I like to believe this is true. 

   I have always been drawn to fabric with writing, fonts, words, scribble etc. I love to look at other peoples drawings and doodles on paper and journals. What does it mean? I can't help myself, I even like to pick up people's grocery lists left behind in baskets at grocery stores and I have used them in my art. I'm weird like that. 

   I had quite a bit of scraps of fabric with writing to use for part of the sashing on this circle pattern quilt. I wanted to get outside of my usual color pallet on this one so I asked a good friend, Theresa to help me choose my colors. I am so pleased with the outcomes. I never would have picked some of these colors. If you are trying to get out of your usual patterns, colors etc. I encourage you to ask a friend to help you pick out your next fabrics for your project. 

 

Improving My Diamonds in Rectangles

 

Still working on my Tropical Storm quilt that I shared about in my last post. Like I mentioned before, I really struggled with the diamond in the rectangle blocks.  I'm going to share some tips I have picked up from friends and Youtube tutorials:

1. The Deb Tucker's Diamond in Rects ruler will save your life! You get precision cut diamonds and the side triangles are oversized on purpose so you can trim that down at the end. It is so much easier than the tiny little templates that I printed out from EQ8. You just look on the ruler for the size you need and follow the instructions. I'm a little directionally challenged so it took me a few minutes and Deb Tucker's Youtube video tutorial to figure it out.
2. Lay out the corners on top of the diamond before you sew. It is so easy to get mixed up and sew the sides on wrong. 
3. Sew with the diamond on top so you can see placement better.
4. Place the top points of diamond just a tad from top of side. Don't try to equalize the amount of overage on each end. Deb Tucker talks about this in her video. But here is a photo of what I mean, can you see my little black arrow at top and end?
   
   
   
5. I have found that a little less than 1/4" on the seams is better to give you more edge. 
6. Sew opposite ends first then the other two. Press seams toward edge of diamond.

I was determined to have more precision in the cutting out of all the pieces. I have been cutting out all of the square in square pieces with my Cricut maker. It takes a long time but I feel the results will be so much better since I can't seem to cut out the proper sizes on my own. LOL  As you can see, I have my shop assistant, Bentley helping me.