Standing Tall

Standing Tall

I started this quilt by fusing small square patches to a background fabric to make a grid.

Then I made more grids.

And more grids with different combinations of patches and backgrounds.

Next I placed the grids onto my design wall and tried out different 'sky' fabrics. Notice the block poster of the Empire State Building in black and white at the bottom of the photo.

I finally found a pleasing arrangement of the grids and it was time to ...

... begin quilting.

After the quilting was finished, I laid the piece out on the floor and soaked it with water to block it. Taking a look from this angle about makes me dizzy!

Although I used the Empire State Building as inspiration, there are other buildings with the same semblance.

Standing Tall

37"X42"

New ways of building with concrete, glass, and steel have pushed aside natural materials of grass, wood, and skin. This art quilt depicts the wild growth of the concrete jungle with angular modern structures. Though the landscape has changed significantly, the same blue sky covers the expanse above.

Detail

Techniques: Raw edge applique patches fused onto an assortment of background grids; then fused again to the 'sky' fabric. Heavily quilted +/-1/8" on a domestic sewing machine
Materials: Commercial prints, batiks, and dyed cotton fabric; an assortment of Superior's verigated Fantastico and Rainbows thread.
For Sale: $950

Life as a Quilter

AUGUST

Life ...

Ashton, Kirby, and Stacy never seem to tire of each other.

I set the timer for 5 minutes for them to "play band."

Paul had me pull up bit by bit as he dropped the corn from the overhead bin into the trailer. 

 Craig entertained the little ones for a short moment.

... as a Quilter

I invited the Possum Town Quilters to our house for our monthly "Sit and Sew."

Using this picture I took of an antique shop in Columbus for inspiration, ... 

 ... I created this quilt block for a PTQ challenge.

For Thelma's birthday gift ... 

... I made this small quilt from a picture of her quilting.

Life and Roses Through the Lattice

Life ...

Blue Moon and Reflection outside our front door.

 Corn harvest is in full swing.

Getting ready for Sunday company.

I made two peach and two peanutbutter. 

Our guests:

Dwight & Chrystal and family

Paul's sister Miriam and Kenneth from Taylorsville, MS.

Paul's folks, Ben and Silva

Joel and Belinda and family. They just recently moved into our area from Michigan.

Paul's sister Jeanie and Galen

... as a Quilter

The quilting is finished and it's ready to be blocked.

It's amazing how a quart of water makes a quilt lay and hang flat.

CAM Rapid Response Meeting

I accompanied Paul and our son Joel to the annual Christian Aid Ministeries' Rapid Response Conference near Oxford, OH.

We stayed at Hueston Woods Lodge.

There were many vultures or buzzards making use of the roof on the lodge.

While the men had their meeting ...

... we ladies sat in the back and some brought along hand work. I wish I would have brought something to work on too.

 

Paul and I had a walk down to the lake.

I met a long time friend, Rachel from Minnesota. We taught school together by in the 1970s and she married one of Paul's best friends, Lynn.

A Glimpse Through the Lattice -- Roses

I'm working on a new lattice quilt. The challenge is to use the fabrics provided plus a few of your choice.

I marked a grid on the pink fabric and cut square patches from the floral fabric and fused them down onto the grided pink fabric.

Then I did the same for the green fabric; which is hard to see against the brown cardboard.

Now there are a pink and a green lattice window ready to use.

Close up of green lattice.

Close up of pink lattice.

Next I made a grid on the solid black fabric and fused another section of floral patches. When I was about 1/2 done with that I decided to lay the uncut floral next to the black lattice and I liked the effect.

I retrieved the small pink triangles from leftovers from my "Only a Lily" quilt and laid them around the composition.

Thinking that it still needed another element, I cut narrow strips to form three pink lattices in random areas. I thought maybe they may look too bulky.

So I tried laying a mesh at random areas.

I think I like the pink strips best.

Linking to Nina Maria's "Off the Wall Friday."