YEAR IN REVIEW

2013 was a very busy year for me.  Early in the year I made a couple thank you quilts for friends who helped with my husband's surgery recovery.

I made two of these.  They are called Friendship Star and came from Karen Combs pattern.
Challenge blocks for Chattanooga Modern Quilt Guild Banner.






"Janus" is my version of a
pattern called Deep Breath by Weeks Ringle and Bill Kerr.
"Tree of Life"
"My Little House"
Silk Scarf

Ten Degree Ruler Workshop
"Doorways"

Special Request Quilt for Nick
Floor Quilt with Buddies

Birthday Quilt



Ticker Tape Quilt-As-You-Go
Improv block for a cushion

Another Birthday Quilt, my version of a Gee's Bend quilt pattern called "Rooftop".

Modern Mini Swap

Tiny Pin Cushions

Birthday Quilt from an Eleanor Burns pattern called "Hole in the Wall".


There were more quilts and projects made during 2013 but I did not get photos of them.  Maybe I will do better in 2014.

I have so much planned already for 2014.  It will be great fun getting some of my ideas out of my head and completed at my sewing machine.

Please stop by off and on in the upcoming year.  I promise to bring you some new projects.

                                         -sandi




 

TRADITIONAL JOINS MODERN

Here we are in January 2013.  A New Year and a continuation of many good years.  This year promises to be an exciting time for my quiltmaking.  I am delving into doing more Modern Quilts. 

Thought I would give you a little history lesson to help explain the name of the first finished quilt of 2013.

Share

January is often considered the month for deep reflection. We look back at the year behind us, bemoaning our regrets and celebrating our successes. And then, we look forward to the future year. We make well-meaning resolutions and hope for the best. So, in this way, we’re all a little bit like Janus, the Roman god for which January is named. Janus is usually depicted with having two heads. that face in opposite directions. One looks back to the year departed, and one looks forward to the new and uncertain year ahead.


Janus also represented transition and was called the "god of doors".  This is where I am - making a transition in my quilting style and opening some new doors for creative expression.


The back of this quilt came from "the drawer".  You know, that drawer that is full of parts and pieces of projects that never made completion?

I reached in the drawer and drew out the largest piece I could find and used it as my starting point for piecing the back.  I continued to pull pieces from the drawer.  If the piece was too long, I cut it off.  If it was too small, I added strips to it.  Eventually I had it completed.

All of these blocks are very traditional with lots of calicoes and prints.


Now let's take a look at the front of this quilt!! This is from Weeks Ringle and Bill Kerr's pattern called Deep Breath.

"Janus:  From Traditional to Modern"

I enjoy piecing my backs as well as my fronts and this seemed to tell the viewer what kind of quilter I am. . . a little bit traditional leaning toward the modern.

This quilt was completed entirely on my domestic sewing machine, a Bernina Artista 640E.

The straight line quilting in the neutral squares stands out from the pebble quilting in the pieced units.


                                       -sandi

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, LUCY!

My friend, Lucy, just had a birthday.   A couple of weeks ago I received an invitation in the mail to come to Lucy's SHHH Surprise Birthday Party.  It meant I had about 3 weeks to come up with a gift for her.

I haven't known Lucy a long time; however, when I met her it felt like we had been friends from way back.  She has the sweetest temperament and is quite an independent, charismatic lady.  My kind of friend!  She is very creative and talented.  She has always used needle and thread to make things.  She is an avid reader and we have shared many discussions about books we like.  I liked her immediately!

She invited me to her home to have cocoa and cookies at Christmastime.  I loved her little cottage.  It is warm and cozy and comfortable.  Sitting right in the middle of the front room is a gorgeous Baby Grand Piano.  Did I mention that Lucy is an accomplished musician?

After the invitation arrived I pondered over just the right gift. After all, this is a momentous birthday.  I thought of a book; I thought of gift cards for dining out; and then it hit me!  Lucy would enjoy one of my quilts.

I knew I wanted it to be subtle and classic in color and style.  So on Saturday morning I awoke at 5am.  About 5:30am I headed to the Studio and stayed there all day.  I took a couple of breaks, but I went right back to making Lucy's quilt.

These are the fabrics I pulled from my stash.  They are in the warm neutral palette with some patterns here and there.  It seemed to say "serenity" to me.

At the same time, there was movement and fluidity in the designs that created some energy.

I wanted a very simple pattern that would not have any spots in it that would get greater focus than the overall quilt.  So I cut some rectangles and started piecing.



Sometimes it is a challenge to keep the pattern simple and let the overall personality of the fabrics carry the show.

I started piecing the thin rectangles to the wide rectangles in a random manner.  I simply reached for a pair and sewed.  The only prerequisite was that no two pairs be identical.

I just kept sewing until eventually I had 132 blocks made.

It is now ready to go on the design wall and I can start to put it together in rows for assembly.

While it is on the design wall I am able to tweak the patterns that are forming.  If too many of the same thing are too close, now is the time to move them.

I juggled the blocks around for quite a while until I was satisfied with the placement.

Then I took it back to the machine and assembled it into a quilt top.

 There are so many seams in this pattern that I would have a difficult time knowing when to press left and when to press right in order to get the adjoining seams to "nest".  I chose to press all seams open.  It makes for easier assembly.

Next I loaded it onto my quilting machine.  I chose a meander stitch with a variegated thread.

The meander with the variegated thread was subtle enough to not overwhelm the simplistic beauty of the blocks in the quilt.

Of course, it must pass the test of the Resident Quilt Tester before it is declared complete.

The final touch to this quilt is the label.  I incorporated the label into the backing of the quilt and then quilted over it.

Detail of the label.

When Lucy arrived at the restaurant where we were all waiting to celebrate her birthday, she was indeed surprised.

There was a real flurry of activity as Lucy started opening her gifts.

She had a lot of help from her great-nieces who were taking turns opening the packages and opening the cards.

In the midst of all of that, my gift to Lucy was getting opened.  My pictures are blurry because no one was being still long enough for me to get a good shot.

That is Molly helping hold the quilt for Aunt Lucy and Lucy's son, Bill, in the background.  Bill was our host and he owns The Sweet Shoppe in Charleston, South Carolina.  Of course, he provided the birthday cakes:  Strawberry and Lemon Blueberry.  They were out of this world delicious.  I know I did not get the exact name of these two delicacies.  Sorry, Bill,  I forgot to ask you to give me their authentic bakery names.

Molly is reading my "birthday card", a.k.a.  the label that is on the back of the quilt.

Here is Lucy thanking me for making her a "napping" quilt.  I think she really liked it!

I was so happy to make it for her.  She is one very precious, sweet lady!

Happy, Happy Birthday, Lucy!

Wishing you many, many more!!!

-sandi