order from chaos

Order certainly drives me.  I love lists, and lineups( and queues), and sorting books on a shelf.  Although it is never complete, I take satisfaction from tidying up.

This also works in the quilting world! From an idea and a mess of fabric, you can put together something quite lovely.

I hate to admit that this is how it usually starts, but that’s the truth.

At our November guild meeting, we were given a piece of card stock and a bunch of scraps and told to play.  At the end of the meeting we were challenged to make that into something quilted. ( my post card appears further along in this post). Some sketching and math to make this bigger than 4×6″ and so that it was makeable in fabric. And then I began the cutting and laying out.

Some different shades of blues, but a decent representation of the post card on the right.

When I made the post card I was thinking of water at the bottom, but in fabric pulling, I decided it was grass.

Now, a nice small piece like this quilts up fairly fast, which is a refreshing change from what I normally put on my plate.

My favorite part is the trees along the dark blue.

So from the chaos of my dining room table, this one came out pretty well, I think.

PS, It does hang straight on a wall, but the branches were not very supportive of my photo taking.

 

Old one done

I know everybody says it, but really, where did that year go?

You can clean the bathroom, and the rest of the house and do all that laundry endlessly, and, oh look, there’s more.  But you can count the quilts you made and feel creative satisfaction!!!

What did I make this year?

My youngest turned 8 in January and I have started a tradition of making my boys a new quilt every 4 years.  So a pixilated Storm Trooper came into being.  I learned a bit about colour strength with this one. (i.e. that shadow through the middle should have been a much lighter fabric).  But you can see the grin on M’s face, so that’s really all that matters.

Next I finished my third rocking horse for the same girl.  She found me through a friend years ago and had me replicate her baby quilt in modern fabrics ( her fabric choices, not mine).  2 babies and a nephew all have versions of the same quilt.

And then I tackled a creative mini.  This is my rainbow Fibonacci quilt.  See the mathematical explanation here.  Maybe in 2018 I will to the reverse, starting with purple in the centre.

Hmm, I was pretty productive this year!

So along came baseball season, and I managed to finagle a bunch of baseball t-shirts and jersey’s.  This one will be in a silent auction for a baseball park fund raiser this spring.  Oops, this photo was before quilting and binding.  That is done.

My Canada was a big job.  So many details put into it, and so much time.  But I love it every time I look at it, and I am going to enter it in a show this year.

Then we had a challenge at my guild.  I made Shiny, Happy.  I love it.  And mini quilts are so satisfying cause they finish up so quickly.

And then my hubby’s birthday quilt, with lots of sentimental t-shirts.

And finally the Prairie Sunshine quilt for my sister-in-law.  I wasn’t a huge fan of the colour guidance I was given, but really warmed up to the yellows. This one had me going in circles, sorry, couldn’t resist.

It looks perfect in it’s cold prairie home

Along with all of that I quilted for a friend, made pillow cases and potholders, worked on a round robin quilt throughout the year and had lots of fun coming up with a block every month for my guild meeting.

Ooh, almost forgot the last quilt I squeaked in this year.  Not a bargello was a satisfying one, since it took about 8 years from it’s beginnings as a bargello quilt to this result.  Further explanation here.

Thanks for continuing to come and see my rambling and stitching.