Finishing the Joy Quilt (almost)

So i've put a big push on the Joy Quilt. I ended up going out to Victoria to help my mom out after some surgery. Victoria, B.C. also happens to be the home of the sister that got married last year, for whom the Joy Quilt is intended. So the quilt came out with me, and it ain't going home. i've changed the quilting approach a few times, and various attempts have come out. the trick is the block design on the front (5 inch squares) and random appliqued hearts on the back...and 2 pieced blocks on the back. How best to quilt it? so i enlisted my recovering mother to help me work through the quilting design and approach...and also to help me do the work!  we're coming along - but i'm not sure i'll get the binding on before i leave. it's all ready to go (cut and joined and measured), but the days are running out....and i need some good pictures!! stay tuned...

Joy quilt....getting a push on it

Finally, the Joy quilt is ready for sandwiching, basting and quilting. The only space large enough to lay it out is our living room floor, with furniture pushed aside and the front door blocked. That means I have to finish up the basting tonight so our room is back to normal. I'm saving the final post of this quilt, complete with process, lessons learned, etc for Amy's Quilt Blogger festival in the fall!! And lots of stories with it, too.

And here it is sandwiched, and 505 basted (fabric glue). Toby has to put his stamp of approval on it and have a nap while I go have dinner.

Peace Bag

Well, it's been the craziest time since my last post. Life keeps moving and changing. Since my last post in June, I believe, we've downsized and moved, and i've made a transition from working contract to working full time (salary). These were fairly significant changes in our lives, and we are still working through the transition, and it looks like we're still not through to where we want to be yet (whatever that looks like). So the adventure has been focused on things outside of quilting. We moved into our new house at the end of November, and outside of the hot tub going up in flames at the end of January, all seems to be going well. Routines are being made. Long walks with the dog are happening. Friends are coming to visit. Toby (the Best Dog) wanders freely around the house. David (the Dear Husband) wanders all over the house too. It's our little sanctuary.

More to come on all of that. The big surprise is that I have been quilting. I have been working to make my creative work my default work, when I'm not at the office job. That is a lot harder than it sounds. So there are 2 posts here, maybe 3...after all, one should be devoted to my new sewing room.

Anyways, we'll start back with my Peace bag. This is a bag i created using a free template i found on line. Caveat Emptor, of course - the free template did have very unclear directions and the measurements didn't exactly add up. However. I did make do. It was my first bag ever, and I am surely proud of it. The two squares are paper pieced. The triangle is spiral based, and comes from a design out of RaNae Merrill's book: Simply Amazing Quilts. This was my first attempt at a spiral and i loved it. The second block is Mariner's Compass , another free design that I am happy to advertise.

Why these 2 blocks? The 2 blocks are test blocks for a quilt i am designing (my first design ever) - my Peace Quilt. That will take up several blogs at a later date. The Mariner's Compass is for direction, for starting to learn and trust my own true north and true self. My higher self already knows all the answers i need to live my life - i just need to access them and understand them. The triangle is symbolic of many things that i have learned over the last few years - the move from victim/fixer/aggressor to creator/coach/challenger paradigms, the move to a self love paradigm of nurture/custody/letting go...and there are a few other triangle paradigms in there too. The spiral reflects a couple of symbols of well - spiral of life, and also the spiral of conflict. For me, the spiral helped me learn to understand where conflicts in my life exist, and what level of healing they require.

Anyways, the bag was a fun exercise. the pictures will start with the making of the blocks, to the design of the circle for the triangle (which my facebook friends know was quite the mathematical challenge for me!), through to the end product.

Mariner's Compass  - Block

Nested Triangle Spiral - Design

Triangle - working out the math to do the circle....

Nested Triangle Spiral - Block

Thread SNAFU

The majority of the material came from my stash, although i did go out and pick up some lovely batik fat quarters to assist with the Triangle Spiral. And all i will say to end it off is that i will always remind myself to wash all material before using, especially dark blue flannel that I may use for lining...let's just say the bag has lots of "character" after it's first washing...


And quilting plans for the next year? finishing up the Joy Quilt - my sister Lenore's wedding quilt; 2 baby quilts (for Eadie and Norah), and my peace quilt. Maybe more bags...Another blog at a later date...finally finishing my sampler quilt that I started in 2006.


What adventure are you having today? this week?

Amy's Creative Side - Quilt Blogger's Spring Festival - The Cottage Quilt

Thanks, Amy, for hosting this festival again! This is so much fun!
http://amyscreativeside.com/

In a previous post, I mentioned that my first quilt (as a grownup!!) was made at our cottage. I don't recall now why I selected this design, or what made me decide that now this quilt had to happen. I do know I started it in the fall of 2001. We bought our cottage in May of 2001, and I knew I wanted to spend time up there on my own. I also knew I didn't want to read all the time I was there, with guests - very anti social. I wanted something I could do while we had guests, so I could keep my hands busy and still be part of the group. I spent, well, maybe 2 hours in the LQS picking fabric. I didn't think about polyester VS cotton, or designer lines - i just went for colour. I cut out the same amount of squares from each fabric, and after I pieced all the 4 patches, my husband and I put it all together. My husband then bought me a quilt frame for Christmas 2002...and it took me 3 years to hand quilt this queen size quilt. Don't look at the binding too closely - well, OK, go ahead, do. It's something I've been working on improving since this quilt. I have made great strides in binding technique. Couldn't have gotten worse!

My husband and I slept under this quilt at our cottage, and when we sold the cottage, we moved it our bed at home. We sleep under it every night. The colours make me happy, and it evokes very fond memories of our very special cottaging period in our life.

Pattern: Four-Patch, from Diana McClun and Laura Nownes (http://dianaandlaura.com/) from "Quilts, Quilts and More Quilts!", published by C&T Publishing, 1993. The material...is all over the place, with a pretty traditional slant.
Machine pieced, hand quilted.

I managed to find a space between all the rain today to hang it outside and take pictures!!

Joy quilt teaser

OK, not posting too much about this one for now...but here's the cut quilt. It's already been sorted and organized...needs to be sewn up!

Peace & Adventure

Quilting, a celebration of creativity

There is a huge community of quilter in blog land. It is a fabulous resource for learning and inspiring creativity.

I've included a link here that celebrates all this diversity: Modern Quilting discussion.

Diversity, of any sort - whether in quilting, or in people, or in choice of career, or in the books we read or the music we listen to - is what makes the world go around. It inspires creativity and new ways of thinking.

peace is...a world in which women of all ages learn from each other's experiences....

Peace & Adventure
Liz

wow...it's been a few months

So a quick check in. The list of projects is growing, with little progress.

Christie sent a comment in in March - Christie, I don't have your email address. The Tulip Quilt is from a book called "Tulip Quilt", from The Quilt in a Day series. It's by Eleanor Burns, published in March 1991. Publisher: Quilt in a Day!

I gotta tell you, it took more than a day...

OK, projects on the go...
1. finishing up the sample quilt (hand quilting)
2. new baby quilt for Norah! (at some point)
3. pillows from scraps
4. completion of Listen test square
5. keep on planning the Peace Quilt. I think i have designs for all 9 squares. I have the designs for the corner spirals. There is a lot of prework for this quilt - i have to learn how to do the spirals, so there will be a number of tests. I need to learn how to do the applique required for the other other character block. And so on...the design for this quilt will be a whole 'nother blog.
6. gift quilt...more on this later, it's a bit of a surprise!

enough for now...time for some homework.

Peace & Adventure