Four in Art Reveal

Urban Structures Reveal

Today is the reveal of the Four in Art Urban Structures theme for this quarter. I am happy with the results of my piece. I did more than a month's worth of thinking, sketching and pondering as to how I would depict Structure under our theme of Urban. I had so many ideas; some of which I will use in later projects. What I did execute was the use of words used in the building trade to create the piece. There are a number of words on the quilt, in fact, every part of the building contains printed words. From a distance the quilt looks like a building. But it is interactive, as the viewer will approach the quilt to examine it and begin to "read" it.

In an AQS class taught by Bill Kerr this past August, he told us that if one were to use fabric with words printed on it, there should be a number of word prints throughout the quilt. Otherwise, people would focus on the few words on the quilt and lose the ability to view the entire quilt. 

I wanted to use my computer printer to print on treated fabric for this project. I had so many thoughts on what to print, but the final idea came from my memories of building a treehouse with my dad as a youngster. He believed that even I, a girl, should learn to use tools. Then my husband and I built our own house during our first year of marriage with the help of his father and some friends. It was a wonderful experience. 

I have built many things using mostly wood; but, to build the home we lived in for 5 years was a great accomplishment. I have always viewed with awe, the buildings that people have constructed. From that of early man, the longhouse, wigwam, sod house, lean-to, or log cabin, to such great structures as the Eiffel Tower, the castles of Europe, the Empire State Building, Taipei 101, and the Tashmahal Hall, to name but a few. So with that I decided that I would print words on the printer fabric and construct a building--the shape of which one might see in an urban setting. I titled it, "Building Structures in Urbanania."

I did not put a binding on this project. Instead, I quilted the 3 layers, then trimmed to 12-1/2" square. Using a technique I saw Ricky Tims demonstrate, I covered the front with a solid black fabric, right sides together, and sewed around the entire perimeter. 

I cut a hole in the solid black piece that covered the quilt front and trimmed off the corner tips. This allowed me to turn the solid black piece to the back and the corners did not bunch.

I sewed the raw edge under by hand as if appliqueing. Ricky Tims makes wonky shapes on his quilt backs using this method, but the circular shape suited me just fine.

I attached a printed label, this time including the Four in Art logo.

Have you been able to try a new concept on a quilt project, or make a small project using some new idea? What was it? Leave me a message telling about it. 

Take time to visit the other Four in Art projects revealed today.  Here is the list:

Amanda @What the Bobbin
Anne @Spring Leaf Studios
Rachel@Life of Riley
Carla @Lollyquiltz
Elizabeth @Occasional Piece-Quilt
Betty @Flickr Site
Leanne @She Can Quilt 

More Pincushions

Pincusion Swap Update

The January pincushion I sent to my swap partner arrived and she was very please with it. This little bunny was not difficult to sew and the directions were very clear and easy to follow. I used wool from an old skirt and I felted it. The stuffing was polyester and the carrot was heavy polyester felt. My daughters each have asked for one, for simple decorations, so I will be making more of these cute bunnies. This was a fun swap and I thank Bea for organizing it. I have signed up for her next 2-month swap!

I found the pattern in the February/March 2014 issue of Sew-It. . .Today magazine. There is a projects and lessons tab on their web page. There is a little felt acorn pincushion that I am going to try. I like this magazine because the price is very reasonable and there are a number of project patterns in it. 

Pincushion Swap, W of B, and Recent Projects

My Pincushion Arrived Today!

The mailcarrier came to the door this morning and I was so excited! My daughter got a book that she ordered which would not fit in the mailbox. But, on the top of the stack of mail was a small package with a foreign stamps and a declaration sticker! It came from Norway!

     

It was my pincushion from my swap partner, Turid. And how cute it is--in my favorite colors!

I had fun making the two pincushions for my swap partners. I blogged about the pincushion I made for the December swap partner HERE. I won't post photos of my January pincushion until it arrives at its destination. You can be sure that I am going to make some more pincushions--it is so fun! Bea organized this swap and you can see the variety of pincushions that have been exchanged through her two swaps HERE.

Women of the Bible Block of the Week

I joined the on-line Women of the Bible BOW study. I had seen a few blogs where quilters had mentioned this study and posted their block photos. I worked through the first week's lesson on Eve. Here is the block I made for Eve. I am very happy with the results. I am trying to use the many scraps I have, so my quilt will be scrappy. 

Recent Projects

One project that I did not blog about yet was the pillows I made for my nieces and nephews for Christmas. My parents (who are no longer with us) had a bedspread or bedcover made with knotted designs. It was not in the best shape, but I cut 18" squares from it and made pillows. I put zippers on them for easy washing and a nice pillow form I bought from JoAnn Fabrics which had a zipper on the cover. I do not have pictures of the 8 pillows I made, but they all were similar to this one. These 20-something relatives were thrilled to have these and I was very happy to pass on something to them that belonged to their grandparents. 

The organizing of my sewing area and storage room is progressing--but slower than I expected. However, I discovered some items I had put away after my dad passed away 5 years ago. In a box were my dad's ties and his Auto Workers Union jacket with its patches and some other patches he had. My goal is to make a pillow for each of my sisters with his ties and a lap quilt for my brother with his Union patches.

Have you ever put something away, only to discover it some years later? Did you complete your project?

Organizing

Snow over the weekend and extremely cold temperatures have kept us in the house for the past few days. It was a good time to begin organizing. Today my husband and I drove to "the big city" for a number of errands---one was to find some type of storage that would be economical as well as practical for my workroom. We looked at many stores but made the final choice at a big home improvement store with these heavy duty plastic shelves. I got 2 and they interlock. 

Our daughter and son-in-law (who happen to be living with us for a short time since they returned from living abroad) have helped in organizing my sewing areas (yes, areas). For a number of years I have had this as one of my resolutions. My daughter told me I am good with the fine details but not so much with the overall process. Well, she was right. I would have organized in a different way, which would have taken much longer. I was nervous having other people help and worried things would get misplaced. I had projects in the works and panicked when I did not see them. They got placed in plastic boxes and I will find them once I sit down and examine each box. 

I will take a few "after" photos. I am very happy I did not take any "before" photos. 

I look forward to getting back to sewing projects once this organization project is done. More project photos SOON!

Sew in the New Year!

Happy New Year!

I look forward to a new year that is more organized and thus, filled with more sewing time. 

I have not made my list of new year resolutions, but I know organizing my sewing area will be at the top. 

Today I am working on the Merry Mayhem Mystery. I have not had time to get the preliminary sewing done, so I am already behind. But I have all day. I will save the directions given each hour and work as I can. I will be posting my progress every so often during the day. Let me know what you are working on, or doing today.

Update on my Mystery Quilt Progress: (3:18 PM EST)

I found the scrap fabrics that fit the dimesions. Pressed. Cut the larger pieces, then the smaller pieces. Knew these were to be sewn into half square triangles. Didn't know how the 2-1/2" squares were to be used until the clues were posted. Glad I waited since my interpretation of the initial instructions would have been a disaster (or a great deal of seam ripping). It was my interpretation. I am a very visual person -- I need directions with illustrations of the steps. But I think now that I have the entire set of steps, this will be a nice quilt. So I will post a photo of what I have done so far: 

The first 2 blocks are sewn. And they are the correct size! I am using an older sewing machine (my mother-in-law's Singer) and the markings are not correct, so I am pleased. 

Stopped to help fix dinner and eat. Decided it was time to stop when this mistake happened:

Fixed it and have 12 blocks done.  

So until tomorrow, the sewing machine will be off and I will do some twilling on the mug rug I am making. Look for photos and progress tomorrow. Thank you for visiting.