What Are Quilters Blogging About Today?

In the early days of the pandemic I spent a lot of mental energy on a project to make circles and ovals out of silk fabrics I had painted, dyed, and printed. I ended up separating the shapes into groups of cool and warm colors, and hand sewing them together into lattices. The warm color piece was finished in 2021, while the cool colors chilled out in my black trunk. A few months ago I was struck by an urge to clear out unfinished projects, so the cool color circles came out of storage.

I decided not to ...

Last week I posted a photo of a mostly finished silk quilt and asked for your advice. And you delivered. Thanks to you my quilt is new and improved, and now almost finished except for burying some threads and a title.

The log cabin block was snuggled against the purple and blue blocks with the blue sides facing out. The purple/cranberry block was broken up with a broad orange stripe. I quilted over the additions (I had already quilted this) to join the existing vertical stitching lines. The hanging tabs are part of a ...

A look through my quilt galleries will reveal that I have a fondness for bright colors. Occasionally I work in subtle colors, but then I usually feel muffled as I create. My brain keeps telling my feelings to dial it down. Why do I try? Because I view such restraint as part of artistic training. Sometimes bright colors are set off by subtle ones, and I need reminders that subtlety is possible.

However, my latest silk piece makes no pretense of subtlety. My fabrics collection has many pieces of bright, even vivid, silks; so if I want to use what ...

I’ve returned to regularly scheduled programming, which means I’m back to my drawer of silk fabrics. Over the years I’ve bought all sorts of silk, augmented with 1960s/70s era dresses discarded by a theater’s costume shop and men’s ties. Because the silks range from tissue thin to heavy, I’ve fused backing onto many of them so they are easier to use.

So far this year I created my fantasy village from silks.

A few years ago I developed pieces made of silk ovals sewn together, then layered with wire and cording. Most of ...

In between work on the 100 day project and my Textural Styles class I wrapped up my fantasy village quilt. I had been quilting it in little bits for a few months, and decided it was quilted enough or maybe I was simply tired of working on it.

I used a pillowcase finish and spent lots of time steam pressing the thick edges. As the front is silk, I had to be careful about the iron’s temperature. It’s always an adventure to find the spot where the steam works ...

For many years I have planned to make a 3D quilted object. I have sketchbook drawings to back up that claim. My scheme was to create multiple small connected units with see through spaces between them. The piece could cast … Continue reading →

Sorry I lied to you. It turns out I wasn’t finished with finishes for 2019, though the final one is more of a collaboration than a solo effort. Several years ago I bought an Amish made wall hanging at a … Continue reading →