Looking Good!

WOO HOO!

Spirit Song (2010) has been hung up in our foyer!

We were especially tickled to discover the almost-identical lengths 

of Spirit Song and  No Rules For Julie (Lynne Tyler, 2010).

Who could have planned that?!?!

Colors of Joy (2006) is now on the back of the sofa.

On the opposite wall, above the stairs:

Vortex Interrupted (2008).

And, in another couple of weeks,

according to my contact at Martingale

(publisher of Tonya's Word Play Quilts book)

Flying Monkeys (2008) will be making its way home.

We saved its spot next to Vortex . . .

(that's a reflection, not a streak, on the wall)

I am SO glad DH has a really long ladder

and that he's willing to hang quilts!

Quiltdivajulie

Meanwhile . . .

Each evening last week was spent creating a flimsy 

for Mary Lou Weidman using her new 

Benartex fabrics that are due out next year.

Fun At Heart (the flimsy) will be on the way to her later today ~

(photos very soon)

but meanwhile . . . 

Jester has been waiting not-so-quietly

on the rocking chair in my studio.

Chris did an awesome job of quilting.

(Waterworld is one of my very favorite pantos)

After checking sources, she told me the amazing rainbow thread 

we had chosen was backordered (rats!)

. . . so we had agreed on lime green as a second choice

but ~  look closely at the photo . . .

she had the rainbow thread all along!!!!

And the binding you see in the upper right hand corner

is what was left after binding Spirit Song . . .

just too perfect since Jester was created using

squares and rectangles cut from the remaining bits of

Spirit Song's fabrics.

Can't wait to sit and stitch!

Quiltdivajulie

“If You Were a Quilt, What Would You Look Like?”

I spend a lot of time waffling.

(too much time)

Should I or shouldn’t I?

This or that?

On and on and on . . .

But when I read Karen Griska’s 
challenge announcement,

I KNEW the answer.

Unequivocally and without a doubt.

Spirit Song is the quilt I would be.

Colorful.

Enthusiastic.

Unexpected.

Joyful 
(or, in Wanda’s terms, exuberant).

Perfectly imprecise and randomly symmetrical.

Inspired by a pattern but liberated in the details.

Spirit Song 
(formerly known as Pass the Pickles Please)

comes with its own tale of two quilters. 
(Chris and yours truly)

The project was begun well over five years ago

when the two of us decided to 
take a class at our local quilt shop.

My class quilt was created from scrappy batiks.

Chris chose to work outside her 
then-comfort-zone with brights.

I finished my quilt. Chris did not.

Hers was boxed up and stuffed into 
the closet in her quilt studio.

Along the way, I continued to make quilts

and Chris quilted them

(first on her beginner quilting machine

and then on her fabulous long arm machine, Iris).

Our friendship grew, right along 
with the list of completed quilts.

Fast forward to Spring 2009 –

a Priority Mail box arrived on my doorstep

with a note inside that included this phrase

 “be careful what you ask for.”

Chris had finally taken her unfinished project

out of her closet, re-boxed it, and sent it to me

with no expectation of return.

I was overjoyed

and immediately began gathering 
enough additional fabrics to create 
a king-size bed quilt for our master bedroom.

Summer 2010 –

when the 56-block flimsy was finally placed on our bed,

it was not nearly large enough.

Rather than make more blocks

or add ridiculously wide borders,

my husband and I agreed that I would turn

the amazing flimsy into a fabulous wall quilt

for our entry way to replace my original class quilt

that has hung there since 2006.

Every step of the way, this quilt has spoken to me ~

it nagged at me from Chris’s closet 
until it was released from captivity
and brought to life in my studio.

Yes, if I were a quilt, this IS who I would be!

Quiltdivajulie

Major Progress

Can you tell what I spent time doing this weekend?

I am totally in love 

with the way the binding plays

with the colors of Spirit Song!

(and to think ~ 

Chris bought the binding fabric

over 5 years ago when her idea

for her version 

of what eventually

became my quilt 

was fresh and new

and the class we both took

had barely begun.)

The view as I glanced up from my work . . . 

You are not seeing things.

The first vertical row of

  Stars Over Leehaven

has been assembled!

The 300 inches of binding is done!

At long last!

I still need to 

left-handedly 

attach the hanging sleeves.

The sleeves are 68" wide

and I can only stitch 15-20" at a time

so that means at least another week or so

before "the finish."

And then,

(assuming these ridiculous

- and dangerous -

heat-index-over-115 days end),

an outdoor photo shoot for Spirit Song will happen.

This quilt has absolutely been worth the long wait!

Catching My Breath

I finally took time to sort the stacks of fabric

for several quilts that have been 

roaming about in my head.

Summertime (leftovers)

Have A Seat

Good Morning Purple

Handle With Care

Dancing Star

and my bucket list SpiderWeb project

Not sure when I'll get working strips and pieces cut,

but at least the colors and general ideas 

are now safe in these boxes.

Speaking of "cut" ~

along with the snips,

I purchased two pair of 8-1/2" utility scissors.

The Fiskars are an updated version of a pair

I have used for years.

These move much more easily (and they're sharper).

The bent Wescotts are super sharp

and work for left or right handed use.

(When I need wonky cuts now, I use my left hand.)

The pieces for hanging sleeves and binding 

for Spirit Song

are waiting for me to sit and stitch

but

the heat index has been 

well over 115 every day this week

(at one point reaching nearly 130 just north of our house)

and, despite central air conditioning,

the oppressive weather is still exhausting.

So, instead of stitching,

I've been snapping idea photos

for my September class with Mary Lou Weidman

. . . 

I can SO see this character translated into fabric!

Be back Monday!

Quiltdivajulie

I Love Happy Endings!

The Tale of Two Quilters continues . . .

Back in 2005,

when Chris and I took the

 Fickle Pickle class at our LQS,

she purchased the fabric on the left

to use for binding.

Late last week,

I shipped Spirit Song

(the flimsy)

and the back

(that marvelous turquoise kenta cloth design)

to Chris for quilting.

Just now,

she sent me this photo

and asked if I would

be interested in using

her fabric to bind Spirit Song . . .

Interested?!?!

I LOVE the look

AND

I LOVE the whole idea . . .

[I think I remember seeing that fabric

on the bolt at the quilt shop

but I had NO idea she'd chosen

it for her binding.]

Using her fabric to bind Spirit Song

ties this amazing quilt together

in a way no one could ever have predicted . . .

It is absolutely PERFECT!

Thanks, Chris!

Quiltdivajulie

Amazing

I love this stage of the process ~ the blocks are down off the wall, the rows are assembled, and the flimsy begins to take on a new life of its own.

The colors and shapes are no longer flat and lifeless ~ they bend and flow and run into each other with  joyful abandon.  Dimensions and scope are finally revealed . . .

After sixteen months of pondering, gathering, cutting out, organizing, and stitching, I was able at long last to take the central part of the flimsy downstairs to our bedroom and spread it out on our bed  . . .

I anticipated that it would need borders to finish off the quilt but, to my dismay, I discovered that Spirit Song, the bed quilt, would need a lot more blocks (at least 14, maybe even 26) or really wide (read:  far too wide) borders to function the way we needed it to.

After recovering from that initial shock,  DH and I spent several hours thinking about the obviously too-small flimsy on our bed.

Neither of us were blown away by the effect (the colors did not sing, in fact they almost felt muddy - after all, the walls were a different color back when this project began).

Neither of us felt the "Oh,YES!" as we expected (and wanted) to feel.

Neither of us were excited by any of the block/border alternatives. (DH really didn't want to listen to me and I really didn't want to make that many more blocks.  Not mention the fact that my 'method' involved using each fabric only once for each block element and those cut from fat quarters had left nothing but threads.)

In the end, we arrived at an unexpected but wonderful decision:

Spirit Song, 70" x 80", is going to become a dynamic wall quilt in our foyer (joining Flying Monkeys and Vortex Interrupted) . . .

It will hang in the space where my first quilt from the Fickle Pickle pattern, Colors of Joy, hangs now (meaning Colors will finally become a usable lap quilt).  What a perfect win-win situtation!

In the wake of all this, I'm now re-working my plan for Jester (the former companion wall quilt).

And those asterisks . . . they are still calling me to come and play!

Quiltdivajulie
-------------------------------
"Change always comes bearing gifts."   (Price Pritchett)

... And We Have Lift Off!

The very last block is finally stitched together!

T minus ZERO ... the block assembly process is finally finished!

These remaining segments will be stitched into circles and appliqued on the back ~ just a bit of whimsy.

One of the rows pinned together ...

 

Rows 1 through 4 under construction ... and work continues! 

Quiltdivajulie

Final Countdown ...

T minus 7 ...

T minus 6 ...

T minus 5 ...

T minus 4 ...

T minus 3 ... 

T minus 2 ...

T minus 1 ... 

Quiltdivajulie

T minus 10 and counting . . .

WOO HOO - The final ten blocks are laid out on the wall!  [the row of curved segments will be used, just not on the front of the quilt ~ they are my 'extras' and have provided endless entertainment while I've been piecing  Remember the beach balls?]

It's been over five years since Chris and I took the Fickle Pickle class at our LQS and she pieced the two blocks at the lower left  . . . and just over 16 months since she handed off her partially pieced bits and her remaining colorful fat quarters.  Hard to believe it has been that long, but it's absolutely true.  

But wait . . . Houston, we have a problem.

Those two blocks are too small to work with my 50-plus 10-1//2" blocks.

Now, what's a liberated quilter to do?!? 

If it's too short, add on!!  

T minus 9 . . . 

T minus 8 and the countdown continues . . . . stay tuned!

Quiltdivajulie

My Countdown Continues (and the binding awaits)

14 . . .

13 . . . 

12 . . .

11 . . .

And, over on the other side of the studio ~ there are a lot of binding strips waiting to be stitched together.  The six quilts that belong to these bindings will be off to Chris in the next few days.  While the quilts are away, I'll get the bindings ready.  

I use an wooden old coat tree to hang the pressed binding strips while we wait ... colorful promises of good things to come.  [closet doors were removed for easier access and increased floor space]

Somehow, I suspect this, too, could be painted red one day in the not impossibly distant future!

Quiltdivajulie

Four and More

18 ...

17...

16...

15...

The first red chair is now in the sunroom near my laptop (Heavenly Fire draped over the back).

Here is another view ~ with Jazzberry Jam folded and hanging over the back.  SO happy with the way the chair turned out!!!

Only 14 more pickle blocks to go . . . 

Quiltdivajulie