Southern Accents Exhibit Part 1 of 2



Crotons by Ellen Lindner of Melbourne, FL
cotton fabrics

This past week a friend of mine and I were lucky enough to catch the quilt exhibit, Southern Accents, at the Ruth Funk Center for Textile Arts in Melbourne, Florida.  This exhibit has been open for the last several months and ends on August 22nd.  I highly recommend it to anyone in the central Florida area if you have an interest in art quilts or quilts in general.  The textile museum is a real treasure for Florida and we are so lucky to have something that supports artists and exhibits quilts, textiles and fiber art in our state! 

The show was juried by Sandra Sider for Studio Art Quilt Associates.  There were a total of 43 art quilts in this show, all by southern United States quilters.  The show's theme was based on the question, "What makes the southern United States special?"  Various aspects of fashion, food, family, crafts, décor, music, literature, architecture, nature, and social issues comprised the subject matter of these quilts. 

The only requirement of the art quilt is that it consists of three layers, a top, batting of some sort and a backing.  The artist is free to express their idea in any way they choose using any number and variety of materials. 

I am dividing this up between two blog posts of just some of the quilts that I found of interest.

Swampwise II by Jane Broaddus of Dahlonega, GA
clothesline, silk, cotton batik, lace, beads, threads



Swampwise II (detail)



Everglades Sunset by Candice Phelan of Wellington, FL
batiks, hand-dyed fabrics & variegated, metallic and iridescent threads

Everglades Sunset (detail)

Beach Path by Candice Phelan of Wellington, FL

batiks, hand-dyed fabrics & variegated, metallic and holographic threads

Beach Path (detail)

Southern Hospitality by Marianne R. Williamson of Miami, FL

cotton, silk, textile paint, variegated threads

 

Southern Hospitality (detail) 

Floridian Splendor by Michele Sanandajian of Stuart, FL
canvas, organza, silk, cotton, metals, fabric paint, pan pastels

Floridian Splendor (detail)

Flower Patch by Michele Sanandajian of Stuart, FL

silk, satin, commercial fabrics, hand-dyed cotton and cheesecloth, variety of threads and yarns

Flower Patch (detail)

Miami's Cross Currents by Nancy Billings of Miami, FL

hand-dyed and commercial fabric, acrylic paint, rayon threads, upholstery fabric

Miami's Cross Currents (detail)

Tranquility by Linda S. Hoffmeister of New Smyrna Beach, FL

hand-dyed silk & cotton, shibori silk, commercial fabrics, variegated threads

Tranquility (detail)

Sunshine State of Mind II by Susan Rienzo of Vero Beach, FL

cotton fabric and batting, permanent ink pen

Sunshine State of Mind II (detail)

In the next few days I will post the rest of the photos I took of this exhibit.  Until then, Happy Quilting!

Instant Gratification

Well, I'm off porch cushions and back onto quilting for a bit!  I'm sure most of you are relieved!  Here are several pictures of a simple 25-patch quilt I finished up this week.  I am gearing up to machine quilt a top that will require a substantial amount of time, so I needed something to do quickly to get back in the groove. 

I had pieced the top back in April when I was on a mission to use up a bunch of leftover scraps laying around from another quilt.  I am considering this to be a "fall" quilt for me since I really don't care for the color orange in our house (but yet I LOVE Halloween, go figure!) and this is probably as close as I will get to a fall-looking quilt.

Here is the top prior to quilting.  The small squares finish out at an odd size at 1 1/8".  Since I was using up leftovers, it didn't matter to me since this is an easy pattern to adjust accordingly.  Sorry if the lighting varies from photo to photo, they were all taken at different times and in different rooms.

This is after I have marked the entire top and am pin-basting the layers together.  And yes, I do mark every single line.  I want my quilting to be even and uniform and following the lines exactly is the only way I can get that look.

And here I've completed all of the quilting.  I approached this very simply, quilting vertical lines through the entire quilt at about 7/8" apart from one end to the next, all with my walking foot.  The quilt is small, at approximately 50" by 60", so the quilting process went very quickly. 

Next I quilted a grid in the opposite direction, but only in the 25-patch blocks.  I did this by free-motion quilting the lines.  I started at the far left side of each block, traveling down the first line, then over to the next line by quilting in the ditch, then back up the second line, then over to the third line by quilting in the ditch, down the third line, etc.  I could actually travel from block to block within each row with this method without having to stop and start.  (In the photo above, the free-motion lines I am referring to are horizontal in the picture.) 

I used Wonderfil Invisafil for the top thread and Mettler Metrosene in the bobbin, both of which are polyester and very, very fine at 100 weight. 

So now that I feel like I finished a project and got a sense of instant gratification, I am ready to tackle my next machine quilting project.  I have been laboring over what to do on the quilt you see below for three years now.  I am finally ready to get on with it!  I have a couple of deadlines rapidly approaching so this is as good a time as any to tackle a couple of tops that have been in "waiting" mode.  Here is a peek of what I will be working on, below.  The half-inch grid stencil is from The Stencil Company and I am using fine-tipped blue water soluble marking pens to mark the quilt.

I may disappear for a bit so I can focus on getting this quilt finished, but don't worry, once this quilt is completed, I will share plenty of pictures!  Until then. . . .enjoy the rest of your summer and Happy Quilting!





On the Porch

So where have I been, you ask???  Sewing like a mad woman!  And yes, I have been a slacker when it comes to blogging, but if you read on, you will understand!   

I am a procrastinator, I admit it, especially when it comes to daunting projects that I know are going to take me a very long time to complete.  However, I know I am not alone, especially where quilters are concerned!  We know we would much rather be cutting fabric up into little pieces and sewing them back together than doing just about anything else. 

But the time has come for me to snap out of it and take on some of these projects that are hanging over me (really more like NAGGING at me) and creating feelings of guilt and frustration for not getting them done!  (I am kind of being my own therapist here!)  And one of the biggest projects I've been putting off for a long while is making new cushions for ALL of our porch furniture.  It is daunting, to say the least. . . .we have FOUR porches!  And we hoard antique wicker furniture like we will never see it again, it's kind of scary!  But who can resist a bargain, right??  So here is my progress report so far. . .

Starting with a little sunroom off our kitchen. . .it's enclosed, fairly small, but probably one of my favorite spaces in our entire house (hence, I find myself wishing it was bigger at times. . .).  I hang out here a lot, it's usually where I talk on the phone, play on my iPad, and where my husband and I sit and chit chat about work.  It's also our pets' favorite hangout, they have a front row view to all that wildlife on the other side of the glass. 

The pink striped fabric is one I've had for years, but it's not an outdoor fabric, and I'm sure I will kick myself in a year or two because I know it's going to fade terribly.  But that's fine, faded is good, right?  It will just look antique!  The floral center in the back cushions is cut from a vintage rayon bedspread I have had forever.  I also have the same print with a blue background that I'm anxious to use somewhere else in the house.  The sofa/glider is old, old, old and super comfy, I love that piece, it's great for naps!  I made the cushions for it and did the ruffle around the bottom a few years back.  The flower pillows I crocheted from a Mary Englebreit pattern I bought years ago.  They've held up fairly well but I am still debating if I want to do something different there instead.

Now for the back porch. . .

Sorry, but I'm only showing cropped photos right now so you can get a glimpse.  I am still working on several things out here, it's a work in progress.  This porch is fairly good size and once again, lots of wicker!  It is outdoors, although it is covered.  But since it is exposed to all of the nasty elements we have here in Florida, all of this fabric is outdoor fabric to withstand the challenges of being outside.  I definitely don't want to be redoing all of this work in a couple of years!

Since I had both the floral and striped fabrics, I decided to keep this fairly monochromatic.  Our house exterior is blue, the porch floor is blue, it's just easier to keep it in the blue family and I will accent with color later down the road.  Fabric companies aren't really manufacturing anything in pretty florals right now when it comes to outdoor fabrics in particular.  So I am trying to make the most of what I already have, although I know I am going to run out of the floral soon, and then it will be a challenge to get creative.

This vintage aluminum patio chair is one of two we bought at an estate sale years ago for $10 each (no cushions included).  I wish I had the tables to match!  And I love how the stripe turned out on this. 

More chairs. . . .you would think we had 20 people living in our house with all this seating!  So far in the past month I've made 16 upholstered seat and back cushions and 7 pillows to date.  I'm almost finished with the back porch and getting started on the front porch next.  From there I will move on to another porch off our bedroom. . . Then I think we need to have a party to celebrate!

Finally, I wanted to include a few pictures my brother sent me of his quilt that I made (see my Brotherly Love post).  This is a second home he and his partner own in upstate New York.  I have yet to visit there, so I had to kind of guess how this quilt was going to coordinate with their décor. 

I am so thrilled to see the quilt hanging in his living room.  There is nothing better than seeing a quilt you have labored over and given as a gift being used and loved!  And I am so happy it goes with their décor and furnishings.

Doesn't he have great taste?  I think he should be a stylist or a decorator!  He is super creative and has a great eye for design.

So on that note, I will bid you all a Happy Summer and hopefully will have some more pictures of completed porch furnishings next time around!  Happy Quilting!

Floral Tote Bag

This is what I've been working on lately, nothing quilty this time around, but thought you'd still like to have a peek.  I've been preoccupied with work, home and yard projects these last weeks, so quilting hasn't been in the forefront.  But I still needed to be sewing something in my down time!

I wanted to play and experiment with a couple of things without getting involved with a huge project like a quilt.  I also have been trying to find the perfect tote bag for hauling stuff to and from work as well as for taking needlework projects along on road trips.  Everything I've seen in the stores just didn't grab me and all were lacking in some way, especially in pockets.  So what the heck, I thought I'd make my own!

The structure of the bag is based on a pattern by Ellen Medlock, but I veered from her instructions and design in several areas and did my own thing.  I was going for a vintagey floral look (what else!).  All of the floral fabrics are old home décor fabrics I've had forever.  The dot is an old Moda fabric.  I wanted the tote to be fairly sturdy and able to stand upright on its own.  I lined all of the outer pieces with two layers of Pellon Décor Bond fusible interfacing and lined the inner pieces (lining) with a layer of cotton batting.

 

This side has three pockets.  The photo of the ballerina is a picture of my grandmother as a young girl.  I added the quote in Photoshop and printed it on fabric pre-treated with Bubble Jet Set 2000 on an inkjet printer.  You can also buy the already treated inkjet fabric sheets in most fabric stores in packets of 10, I just chose to do my own since it's more cost effective.  All the buttons used on this tote are from my vintage stash.  The Dream and Create charms were purchased in the jewelry section at Joann's.

Here's a peek at the opposite side and end.  Both ends are the same.  This side has one large pocket.  I made a label of my name using the same method described above.  I layered vintage buttons with a piece of gathered lace in between.  The pocket closures are Velcro. 

Here's a look inside the outer pocket.  I made a Blooming in Chintz label for fun and sewed it onto a smaller pocket inside.



And here's the inside.  I thought I would make it water-resistant since I carry water bottles with me everywhere.  I experimented with fusible matte vinyl for the lining pieces.  It worked well on this home décor fabric and it was pliable and easy to sew.  You have to be really careful after you adhere it to the fabric, though, it can't be ironed during the construction process or it will melt.  It doesn't like to be overly handled, either.  Turning the bag inside out at the end caused it to rumple and crease quite a lot and if it was on the outside of the bag, it would be very noticeable.  But since it's the lining, it doesn't show much and no one will see it but me!

More pockets line the inside. . .

. . . and a label for the final touch.

Hope you might be inspired to even make a bag of your own!  I've been having a blast on Pinterest pinning tons of inspiration in case I decide to make more.  I also stumbled on a couple of websites that have great information. . . U*Handbag and You Sew Girl have some good tutorials for anyone interested.  Happy Sewing!

Brotherly Love

Thought I'd show you what I've been working on now that the weekend is over.  I made this quilt for my brother's birthday, which is next week, and gave it to him yesterday while we celebrated Mother's Day.  He was surprised, which is how I had hoped it would play out, since I have been really good about refraining from posting pictures anywhere he would have seen them until after the fact.

I challenged myself to use what I already had on hand, even the backing and batting, and the only thing I had to go out and purchase was thread.  Once again, it is such a great feeling to use up fabric that I've had forever!  Even the blue and white squares are actually leftover parts from a quilt I made several years ago.

I quilted it with a walking foot, doing in-the-ditch and crosshatch lines through the center part of the quilt. . .

and straight diagonal lines in the setting triangles around the outer edge.  In the outer border I did a cable, of course!  I can't resist cables when I have the opportunity to add them.

And I didn't even bother trying to figure out the spacing in order for the cable to wrap around the corner, I just let each side dead end into the seam line or off the edge of the quilt.  I think it looks fine doing it this way.  So many antique quilts were quilted just like this.

Here's a peek at the label I machine embroidered for the back of the quilt.

And for those of you that are curious, I used Quilter's Dream Request 100% cotton batting.  The threads I quilted with were Wonderfil Invisafil 100 wt. 100% polyester for the in-the-ditch quilting, Wonderfil DecoBob 80wt. 100% polyester for the straight line quilting, and Mettler Metrosene 3-ply/100wt. 100% polyester for the cable quilting and in the bobbin.  I've just started using Metrosene and so far am really happy with the way it works in my machine, a bit less finicky than Invisafil, and the final result is very similar with its matte finish and the way it sinks into the fabric.

And here is my brother, Steve, and me, with his quilt, Oswego Memory.  I am so glad I have a brother who appreciates quilts and all the other things I've made him over the years!  Happy Birthday Bro!

Happy Quilting!