Marty's Fiber Musings

It's a Sunday Morning in May ~

And a happy Sunday morning it is - a happy Mother's Day here in the U.S. While I've never had children, I am certainly enjoying the day.

To celebrate the day, I spoke with my sisters about their beautiful children and afterward reminisced about some of our mother's antics when she was here with us.

I made a doll quilt for community service...there's always a child out there who plays mother to her dearest baby doll.

From orphan blocks and fabric - a doll quilt - 18" x 20"

Lucky for me I had two orphan blocks given to me ages ago and also a half yard or so of handed down unwanted fabric with smiling lizards that made me smile. I first cut the blue and red block in half to spread the color, so to speak, then centered the stick girl for the perfectly sized quilt for a little one's doll.

Those smiling lizard eyes with oh, so much expression is enough to make for a Happy Mother's Day.

It's just how I flow ~

When I'm sad, I quilt and when I'm happy, I quilt. It's just how I flow.

A sad conversation with a friend about a friend left me listless last night so this morning I finished a little quilt top for a community service child in need. My mind just can't wrap around someone giving up on living. My hope is that this quilt will put a smile on a child's face and give them something to hold on to through a hard time. I allow this thought to make me happy ...as does this quilt top with pieced scraps and leftovers all set on point.

I don't know what's around the corner for me physically or mentally, but I will continue to push my limit for as long as possible......and continue to quilt in the meantime.

A view into my garden on a clear, cool morning - hosta and garden art.

.....and for the past two months

I've been busily enjoying myself, my husband, my home and garden.....but especially my time in the stillness of hand stitching.

Confession time: I have a problem. The problem is not necessarily a good one nor a bad one. It's just a problem I have of needing to finish what I start - whether a movie, a book or a quilt! I've learned through the years to walk out of theaters when the movie isn't giving me pleasure. I can even shut a book and return it to the library unfinished. Yet, I haven't been able to give in to having an unfinished quilt.

So, what started out in my mind to be a grueling task, turned into a joyous adventure. Two wool applique quilts finished in no time....an hour here, an hour there.

A quilt pattern....A Cottage Garden

Quilt pattern.....How Does Your Garden Grow

Add to that my newest wool applique table runner....a kit purchased years ago at a quilt show in Little Rock, Arkansas that was a bust for vendors. I stopped and chatted with one vendor who had not made a sale in her two days there. My heart went out to her and while I didn't embroider, I purchased the kit. Lucky me!

And still a work in progress that I had initially intended to finish with machine decorative stitch embroidery, but now might just do all the edging with hand stitches. Inspired by a painting I saw somewhere???

Revisiting some art quilts from my past...this one I dubbed 'Opposites in Black and White'.

and 'Chinese Checkers'

and some free motion thread work

Here is 'Collette' a framed fabric art card....one in the series "Pretty Ladies in Smart Hats".

and my thread sketched self-portrait. Funny thing is she has no mouth which doesn't equate to she has no voice!

Until next time. While I enjoy re-visiting previous projects, I remain being one who enjoys looking forward ~

Energy Continued ~ Part 2

Yay.....I finished another, albeit smaller, Orange Delight! And, I love it. Joy is using scraps for the best delights ever. This pattern on page 12 in Bright Quilts from Down Under quilt magazine I have for sale here. Edited....quilt book sold.

After finishing Orange Delight #2 but before putting Bright Quilts Mag away, I flipped a few pages and stopped on page 16. Immediately intrigued with this one called Bitz and Piecez, a quilt pattern by the delightfully eclectic Jan Mullen.

While I don't have these juiced up fabrics as Jan used, I do have tons of scraps which I took the time to piece together in random fashion and trimmed to 6" square. Next came the snowball by adding the 4 corners.

Here's what's happening to the patchwork snowballs on my design wall.

Cut loose and see where the feeling takes you ~

Feeling Energized ~

Wasn't QuiltCon Together a delightful event!

Certainly was from my viewpoint.

What energy!

And how easy and comfortable here at home to listen and watch lectures, participate in workshops and shop those marvelous vendors.

Yes, I'm feeling energized and lovin' it.

As many of you know who follow me and my activities, I've been downsizing in the hopes of becoming (tongue in cheek) a minimalist. And try as I may, some items that I love but am finished with just aren't selling as I thought they would. Case in point is this wonderful Bright Quilts from Down Under Australian Patchwork and Quilting magazine. I purchased it new for $25 and my price is a mere $10.

One of my favorites made from this book was the Orange Delight quilt, perfectly sized for sofa snuggling at 43" x 63" using all batik fabric front and back. Once washed it became perfectly soft and comfortable.

Where am I going with this story? Yesterday as I flipped through the pages of this magazine, wondering why it didn't sell, I re-discovered my need to make another orange delight, this one slightly smaller for lack of batik and instead of orange centers, I used more red and yellow simply because that's the batik fabric choices I had on hand.

Here's a sampling of 6 finished blocks in the purple/berry color range.

and the remaining center blocks in red with the sashing strips fabric selected. Yes, it truly is a bright quilt from down under and it's giving me so much energy just to cut and sew.

Hope you are feeling energized too. And just for grins, here is the FaceBook photo album link to some of the items listed for sale.

I haven't been sitting ~

Time waits for no one, and certainly not me. While I haven't been a very active blogger in the past several months, I have been an active quilt maker. My goal for the newest year was to downsize my fabric scraps. Goal almost accomplished with 10 or so quilt tops and backs made ready for quilting and then delivered to a community service project.

Many pictures don't get taken when in the winter solstice rain and gloom so I'll leave you with one taken several years ago while on a visit to Kansas City.

No, I've not been sitting on my arse!

Come sit a spell with me and let us laugh out loud while we map out the rest of the day.

When In Doubt ~

I didn't trust myself, so I looked it up!

After receiving a text this morning that a quilting acquaintance's brother-in-law had passed away, my first thought was, ohmygosh, I didn't realize she had a sister!!! In introspection, I think that the quilter's husband's brother-in-law was the one who passed away. The quilter was not related to the deceased therefore cannot claim that kinship. She would have a brother-in-law only if she had a married sister.

The older I get, the more doubtful I become of what I know and what I think I know and what I really don't know, nor never did. So, I continue to look it up just to keep myself in the know.

I do hope they ban me from the text group....the bings are driving me out of my knowledgeable mind!

Inspired by the quilts out of India

I was so intrigued with the display of Kawandi (quilts) made by the Siddi quilters of India way so long ago (it seems) while at QuiltCon in Savannah. Was that 2017???? While at home all these months now, I've been stalking some of those Siddi quilters and finally had an opportunity to participate in Sujata Shah's workshop this weekend past. What a great zoom treat. Sujata is also known as The Root Connection if you'd like to be inspired by her quilting style.

My kawandi finishes at 15" x 23". It was a new way to use fabric from the scrap heap.

From the beginning.....start with a thin backing fabric and a thin batting cut 1" smaller than the backing. Fold backing over and baste in place all around the quilt. Begin layering fabric and stitching from the outside edges of the quilt. Now that's a new twist! Stitching continues and layers are added round and round in concentric circles to the finish in or near the center of the quilt.

The Phula (flower) adorns the four corners. It's a traditional adornment and the quilters of Siddi feel their quilts are not finished until the decoration is added. I agree. That little flower in each corner just makes me smile.

It was a great zoom workshop with 30 participants from around the US and into Great Britain Just two little glitches which took away from my personal pleasure - one participant felt it was perfectly all right to interject her political viewpoint. I was dismayed that she wasn't immediately muted. Another participate dominated a goodly few minutes sobbing over the loss of her parents and how uncomfortable she was cutting into their clothing to make memory quilts. I felt her pain but did not feel this was the best venue to elicit sympathy. Both the politics and sobbing incidents diminished my $50 value of the workshop. Just saying ~

A break from the ordinary ~

I sometimes need a break......a break from quilting cottons! The silk fabric hoarder in me needed to take the dive and work up a quilt with those thrift store silk ties and scarves and blouses that had been languishing on the shelf way too long. Each piece was easy to improv because of the size and shape of silk scrap. After stabilizing each piece with an iron-on fusible, I simply cut to maximize the fabric.

What I discovered was that I would rather wear silk than work with it in a quilt! The stitching is finished on this 40" x 55" silk and the hand-quilting has now begun.

Now I'm back to working with cotton and my favorite of all times quilt pattern....the Chinese coins. Didn't bother me at all when I discovered there was not enough yellow to sash each strip of coins. Fillers just make me smile. You'll have to look closely to see my improv additions to lengthen the yellow strips. Every day in every way, life is good ~

I really didn't desert my blog ~

But, I say, things just get in the way. I was a happy camper this week, saying goodbye to ten little quilts made for community service. They are out of the house and in the hands of those in need. Some might have already been shared with you, but after quilting and binding, washing and drying all of them this past week, I thought I'd give one last glimpse of what can be done with a few scraps and left overs.

Three of my favorites using Kaffe Fassett fat quarters to make large triangles. So easy to cut and sew. I saw it somewhere....perhaps in one of his books!

Two made using the Karen Brown technique she demonstrated to rid herself of some unwanted fabric. I started with twelve 15" squares and here's the outcome. Was so enlightening, I decided to do it twice.

And.....who doesn't like scrappy triangles. The combinations are limitless ~

Still scraps in an improv windmill layout.

Here's the one made from the design Ginger shared with me. Size is a personal choice so I used twenty four 10" squares for this slice and insert approach.

Saying goodbye makes me smile and that's a good thing ~

How Brave Are You?

The poll question I was asked to respond to read "How brave are you feeling?" At the time, I was feeling so wimpish that I couldn't respond to the question. You see, I want to be brave and strong and be in the present....but at that present time, I was feeling bored and not sure where to go with my newest floating squares work-in-progress!

After having a second cup of coffee (too early for wine) and muddling around the possibilities, I decided this is it, this quilt is done!

But it still needed to be squared (she said) as she remembered that fabulous Alexander Henry "Afternoon Delight" recently purchased. The colors were right, the theme was right, it relieved the boredom and truthfully, it made me feel happy.

Bravely, I added the Alexander Henry to the left and bottom giving me wiggle room to trim up square. Yes, the borders are not symmetrical.

Feeling pretty darn brave - enough to go back and absolutely, positively respond to the poll ~ Whoopeeee.

Not Alone ~

I wasn't alone yesterday......not with 81 other participants! Being in a workshop with Sherri Lynn Wood, whether live or virtual, is always a joy. She quietly pushes without bruising body or ego. In her very joyful way, Sherri Lynn encourages and inspires by example.

No, how could I be alone while interacting with the group. We listened, we learned, we cheered each other along as we cut and sewed, each of us working separately, yet together on our personal vision of an improv floating squares patchwork.

I did so enjoy using a few of my vintage flower sack street finds in this improv patchwork

Progress after a full day of expanding my horizons ~ It measures 30" ish x 30" ish.....give or take a few ish'es!

My floating square improv patchwork from a few years ago continues to entice me to look a little bit closer and imagine "What If?"

Hello September ~

Well, Hello There! September.....I'm looking forward to a bit of time with no drama....please. While we are weathering the Covid Storm and the Political Storm, Hurricane Storm Laura threw us a curve ball. It's the first time in my memory that hurricane force winds nearly blew us away here in North Louisiana. She wasn't pretty. What a mess we had to clean up inside and out. After being without electricity for 32 hours, I won't be taking that luxury for granted any time soon. When it was finally turned back on , we were jubilant.....went outside and hugged our neighbors who were also celebrating the oddity of electrical power.

A few August finishes in spite of its tumultuous ending -

One that was started a couple of years ago (or more), Jen Kingwell's Green Tea and Sweet Beans. It's a little jewel, however tedious! Four applique blocks were stitched this week.