My 10-year Project, 2010 - 2020

 

Wow!  This post marks the completion of a 10-year quilt project!

Ten (10!) years ago I started a series of quilts, my own personal challenge project.  I was feeling the need of having some small, relaxing, just for fun projects in the midst of working on quilt repairs for clients.

I had been given a stash of decorator samples by an interior designer who was cleaning out her studio.  I decided to use them for my play space.  I set myself these rules:

My Happy Holiday Sewing

We had just a few holiday plans, no travel, no guests, and so I decided that sewing on all sorts of back-burner projects of my own was The Thing To Do.  It was so fun!  Here are the results.

The farm.
Another (could it be the last?) quilt in my Something From Nothing series.  This one's been in the planning stage for nearly two years, taking tiny steps towards construction.  It entered full-out construction mode during a fiber retreat in October.  And now it's done!  (It's made with plastic produce bags.)

Quiltin' On The Road - Retreat!

How many of you have had this experience - a group of people take a class or workshop together, get along well, trade contact info, vow to get together.....and it never happens?  Well, this is a wonderful group of people who have made it happen!

And we've been having such a good time, we decided to try our first retreat, a week ago.  Here's a view on the road.  It wasn't taken on the retreat property, but is such a perfect symbol of driving to a peaceful, joyful place. 

Polka Dots!

I made a small polka dot themed quilt as part of the copyright study at Just Wanna Quilt.   The basic question is to find the line between what's unique enough to be copyrightable and what is considered too common (eg., basic polka dots).  (By the way, any and all are welcome to join the project and make all sorts of things.  Visit the facebook page to sign up.  It's a great group, lots of interesting and fun discussions on all sorts of quilt-y topics.)

That may sound all highfalutin (which I discovered is actually in the dictionary and I spelled it right!), but actually I'm just using it as a reason to play with my stash.  You know, always so fun!

So, the background is white satin from a wedding dress that was too badly damaged to be re-saleable, but good in places for fabric and trim salvage.  And the polka dots are reverse appliqué, with machine zig-zag and invisible thread.

A Fun Couple of Weeks

I've had a bit of a lull between repair projects these last couple of weeks, and have been enjoying working on projects that are mostly for me, meaning they mostly don't have anyone waiting at the other end for me to finish them.  So relaxing!

Here's what's been on my worktable:

The Fine Art of Fiber

It's that time of year again!

Next weekend is the annual Fine Art of Fiber show at the Chicago Botanic Garden.

Thursday 11/1, 6:30 - 9 p.m.
Friday 11/2, 10 a.m. - 5 p.m. + fashion show at 11 a.m.
Saturday 11/3, 10 a.m. - 5 p.m. + fashion show at 11 a.m.
Sunday 11/4, 10 a.m. - 5 p.m.

As I say every year, it's a great show every year!  The show is presented by the North Suburban Needlearts Guild, Illinois Quilters Inc., and the Weavers Guild of the North Shore.  Soooooo many kinds of fiber art are represented, and soooooo many styles and ideas.  In addition to the exhibit itself, there are a boutiques of items made by guild members, a silent auction, and fiber art and quilts for sale.

The Garden is lovely at all times of year, so if the weather is good, plan for an enjoyable walk while you're there.

Admission is free, but the usual Garden parking fee applies.  Make it easy on your budget and come with a few friends - the fee is per car.

I'll have two little quilts on exhibit, both in the Something From Nothing series.  You can catch a glimpse of them both (and my Egyptian camels) in the photo.  One was seen in June at the EvanstonMade show, and one is hot of the presses, completed last night.

All the details are on the Garden website or the show website.  The show website also has photos from previous shows, so you out-of-towners can have a virtual visit.

Evanston Made 2018

The Evanston Art Center is once again hosting an exhibit as part of the Evanston Made arts month in June.

I'm just finishing up my entry:

Looking Back and Looking Forward

I took this photo of my design wall last March, to celebrate being able to walk around enough on my healing foot to get back to pacing around while creating in my sewing room.

Here are the four quilts, from left to right, that were in progress then and are finished now.  They are all new members of my Something From Nothing series. The series is my own challenge project, based on a pile of decorator fabric samples that was given to me years ago.

More Quilts in the "Something From Nothing" Series

Here come the next three Something From Nothing quilts.  The series is all made from unwanted materials, primarily out-of-date decorator sample books.  (To learn more about the whys and wherefores of the series, visit Something From Nothing, and also follow the links at the end that will take you to other posts about quilts in the series.  You can find the whole set on my website.) 

Cathedral - 32" x 44.5"
This was shown in last weekend's annual Fine Art of Fiber exhibit at the Chicago Botanic Garden.  (Photos of all the entries in the show are on the FAOF website.)  All the fabrics in this quilt are different colorways of one print, no other fabrics have been added!  It was one of those quilts that mostly fell right together as I started playing with the fabrics.  Yes, there were a few sticky, problematic places.....but once the work-in-progress had hung on my design wall for long enough, the sticky places seemed to find their way to coming unstuck.

 

Busy, Busy Month of May

This week takes a prize of some sort for having three newly-finished quilts signed, sealed, and delivered in just one short week.

My hometown of Evanston holds a month-long arts celebration every June called Evanston Made.  There are exhibits and programs all over town.  This year, I'm exhibiting in two events.

This quilt will be in the main show at the Evanston Art Center.  It's a new member of my Something From Nothing series called "Symmetry."  It's 16.5" x 16.5".  The opening is this Friday 6/2 5-8pm, and I'll be there.  The show runs for the entire month. 

Fun With Stripes

If I was writing a catchy newspaper headline it might read something like this:

Local Quilter Inspired by Late Night Stitching Session!

I'm working on another little piece for my Something From Nothing series, this one to be part of a show you'll hear more about soon where the size limit is just 12".  I'm making this piece using just this one really cool striped fabric.  (You can see that I used a little bit of it in a previous quilt in the series.)

Things Are Looking Up

After a long dry spell due to a broken foot, I am finally able to stand and walk long enough to get back into my sewing room and back to playing with fabric!  Phew!!!

It's amazing to feel the creative flow again.  And let me tell ya, it's whoosing after being pent up for so long!

The in-progress quilt in the Something From Nothing series got finished, thanks to my friend Julie who came and helped me with the basting.  It's 10" wide and 8' (yes, feet) long!  It will hang vertically.  The orange polka dot fabric is an old sheet as foundation fabric, and is not part of the finished effect. 

Working title:  Right Side / Wrong Side

Now, three more are now in various stages of planning. 

Working titles:  

left - Faded Photograph

center -Petals

right - Cathedral

I've got about four or five more in my mind's eye.  I am determined to finish the series in not too much longer!  You can read about the process in some previous posts, and see all but the four most recently finished quilts on my blog.

Summer Sewing

Sitting out in the back, beading and buttoning on my FFF (folded fabric flowers) project.  This will be another little quilt in the Something From Nothing series. 

It's quite thematic for a summer's day, don't you think?

And then I started looking for other things to photograph....  I love the freedom and the possibility of excess of digital photography!

New Quilts

I'm so excited!  Over the last couple of months, I've finished 6 new quilts for my Something From Nothing series.  And I have 4 more in varying stages of design and stitching.  I am bound and determined to get this series to a place that feels like completion.

The series is made mostly with decorator fabric samples, plus other bits and pieces of otherwise unwanted fabrics.  You can see the whole series on my website and the stories of making some of the quilts here on the blog.

Here are the newbies:

4 By 4

14 1/2" x 14 1/2"

Favorite Quotes #12 - Essence and Limitation

 

"Objectivity is of the very essence of photography, its contribution and at the same time its
limitation...."

I found this quote in the description of the current retrospective of photographer Paul Strand's work at the V&A Museum in London, and love the connection he drew between essence and limitation.

I consider this to be a very magical photo.  I took it for the marvelous sunset sky.  Only later did I see that in that little triangle of light between the bushes at the center there is a man sitting on a park bench, also enjoying the view.  The objectivity of the camera lens created its own essence!

For me, I really enjoy the challenge of working within limits.  I know some artists don't do commission work because of the size or design limits that customers can require.  Not me.  And I always love a great collection of challenge quilts or a show requiring a clear theme - the amazing variation within limits is a real testament to creativity.

1934 Sock Top Quilt

A short while ago, I repaired a late 19th century baby-sized crazy quilt.  The quilt's owner shared her family photos to add to my blog post about her little quilt.  As I keep saying, I meet the nicest people when I work on their quilts!

Well, her kindness didn't stop there.  She oh-so kindly sent me this photo of a quilt she saw on exhibit at the Mingei Museum in San Diego.  It is labeled "Sock Top Quilt", made by Ada Jones in 1934.

 

"What's a sock top?" you ask.  I certainly had no idea. 

A Quilt from a Galaxy Far, Far Away

 

For the past few years, I've been creating a quilt series called Something From Nothing.  These are generally just-for-fun, design experiments.  In addition, I've been making a more major piece, like this one, each year as my entry for the Fine Art of Fiber show.  (More info on Something From Nothing: intro to the series and quilts of 2015.  Previous fiber show entries: Cleopatra's Fan 2014 and What the Birds See 2013.)

The title of the quilt is Gas Giant.  No, this is not Saturn.  This is a planet in a solar system or galaxy that we haven't seen yet.  Gas Giant is probably the largest piece so far in the series (78" x 44").  Being about outer space, it needs to be pretty vast, right?

One of Those Amazing Coincidences

So, the other day, my husband and I were at the bank to sign some papers on a financial thingy.  We were ushered into a conference room and ---

The very first thing I saw was the chairs.  The chairs!  I whipped out my camera and took a couple of pictures.

For the last few years, I've been working on a series of quilts called "Something From Nothing", my own personal challenge project using decorator fabric samples. 

And........  The chairs are upholstered in one of the fabrics I used in one of the quilts!  Such fun!

 

The quilt is called "Something From Nothing -- Off Center".  It's 27" x 35".

In keeping with the challenge I set myself for this series, I used all the colorways of this pattern that I had, and I designed the quilt to relate to the pattern.  The appliqued rings and dots are all made with other circle prints, all from the stash of decorator samples.  The dots and the buttons I added are the same size as the design elements in the print.

Those chairs made my day, for sure!

For more on this series of quilts check out these previous posts:
--  the story of how the series came about
-- photos of some recently completed quilts
-- descriptions of the design process and step-by-step photos for two of the larger and more complex quilts - Something From Nothing -- Cleopatra's Fan and Something From Nothing -- What the Birds See

Fans, Color Blocks, and Bricks

Today I am debuting the three new quilts in my "Something From Nothing" series!  (To read more about how this series works, see this previous post or visit the whole set on my website.)  This is a just-for-fun project, and I am definitely having fun!

Fans

31.5 x 31.5

Inspired by a little roll of four brocade fabric samples found at an estate sale.  The borders are the reverse of each of the fabrics.  I added some other brocade scraps from worn out clothing and a roll of wide purple ribbon.

Cleopatra's Fan

My entry in this year's Fine Art of Fiber show is another in my series of quilts called Something From Nothing.  This is my own little challenge project, made with decorator fabric samples and other "found object" fabrics and trims.  You can find photos of the whole collection on my website.

What follows are the steps I took to create this quilt.