The Giants - Part One

When I talked about my stash the other day, I mentioned I use large prints on the back of my quilts. It's a funny thing, but when I take photos of my quilts I don't take photos of the backs, which is a bit of a shame because I choose the backings so carefully. I never just use what I have hanging around.

So last weekend I set up my quilt stand and remedied that situation. Some of the photos have a blue cast because they were taken in the shade on a sunny day, but you get the idea.

In 2009 I made this quilt, Letters From Home as a sample for Tonya Ricucci's book, Letter Play Quilts. Tonya had stipulated the quilts had to be quilted. I had never had one of my quilts quilted before and was wary to let somebody else loose with it. Fortunately Julie Sefton intervened and recommended Chris Ballard.

When I talked to Chris on the phone she said, in her inimitable Southern accent, "I don't know how I'm going to quilt your quilt. I'm going to hang it up on the wall. Your quilt will tell me how it wants to be quilted."

Right then and there I knew Chris was the one, and she has quilted all my quilts since. I let her do her thing and it is always perfect.

At that time I had been reading Julie's blog and saw how Julie used a lot of pieced backings for her quilt. So I assembled this out of a Kaffe and some leftover bits. As you can see I added a cat emoticon.

When the quilt arrived at Chris's house she gave me a call, "I like the way you didn't drop the ball on the backing."

I've never forgotten that, and make every effort to "not drop the ball" on every backing of every quilt I make.

 Here is The Quick Brown Fox, also made in 2009.

And here is the back. Generally I feel backings are a great big space, and need something equally big to fill it up so it doesn't look stupid. I guess I just don't like a lot of empty space.

 
In between "arty" quilts, I make "normal" ones, or my version thereof. I made this because I wanted to see how many so-called rules about placing fabrics next to each other that I could break. I was going for broke, and ended up with a jewel box. The result is my quilt "Laughing Out Loud."

Here's the fabric I chose for the backing. It's an eye-popping Philip Jacobs print I was lucky enough to get on sale. I figured if I was going for broke on the front, I had to go for broke on the back. I gave this quilt to my Mom, so I don't have a "proper" photograph of the back.

My son asked me to make him a yellow quilt.

 Really.

(An aside: The tutorial for this quilt, Slashed Squares, is here. It's an easy quilt to make, and has lots of possibilities. It is the single most popular page on my blog, having over 27,000 hits since I wrote it in 2008.)


He said he wanted a "Quilt of Sunshine" so when he took a girl to the fireworks they could lie on a nice quilt and he could make a good impression. You can read a bit more about it here. My son gave me all kinds of grief about the fabrics I selected, but I have "Mom Armor" and I ignored him.  He was, originally, quite dismayed at what I selected for the back.

Giant Magnolias.

I had asked him if I could make "to Paul from Mom with love" in free pieced letters on the back of the quilt. He said "NO WAY" so I just made "XXX..." which is the way we sign letters to each other. (Tell that story now, however, and he slaps his forehead and says, "I was WRONG! I should have LET YOU") This is the same son who's getting the Petals quilt. I only have one child.)

When I gave him the quilt, he carried it home and placed it on his bed. He's never once let it touch the ground on the beach or at the fireworks. It's on his and DIL's bed as we speak.

BTW, the other print on the back, a small Japanese design printed in metallic gold, was chosen by him against my advice. Gold sparkly stuff on quilts WILL wash off eventually. So now the back of the quilt is flowers, and gray.

He loves the flowers, and he's graceful enough to admit he was wrong about them.


More backings and more quilts later!

Friendly Friday

About a year ago I ran out of wall space. I gave my friend Julie a call and asked if she'd like to hang my sampler quilt in her house for a few months.

"Sure, on one condition," she said.

"What's that?"

"Next year when you come for Quintessential Quilts 2013, you leave me the Fox for a visit."
 

I thought it was a fair exchange. So now that QQ2013 is over (for me), my Quick Brown Fox quilt is  hanging in Julie's house. My sampler, "Letters From Home" is being shipped home to me with my other quilts. Here's a better photo:

Julie has terrific light in her studio.

Visiting Julie also gave me the opportunity to visit my quilt, No Rules for Julie, which I made for her in 2010, and haven't seen since.  It was good to see it "in person" again. I still think it's one of my best quilts.

 It was hanging in the auditorium when I spoke at QQ2013 this past Sunday.

2013 Calendar

When I was shopping for a 2013 calendar I saw this one, and -obviously- I knew it was the one!

Blogger's Spring Quilt Festival 2011

This is my quilt, The Quick Brown Fox, that I made in 2010. It started as just something to while away a few empty days, but grew and developed into a special quilt I love very much.

The phrase is an example of a pangram, a sentence that uses every letter in the alphabet at least once. It started as a way to use "orphan" letters I had made for another project, but grew when a blog reader wondered if I would add a jumping fox and a dog. To fill in the empty space, I added the flowers and the little bird.

I started the quilt in January of 2010, and finished the top in May. It went to the longarm quilter, Chris, in July, got back home in October and I finished it up in time for Thanksgiving. I love all my quilts, but this one is extra special. It's currently on display at Quilted Threads in Henniker NH.

It is completely original, designed by me. There were no patterns, I used no templates, and it is not paper pieced. The free pieced letters are inspired by Tonya Ricucci's Word Play Quilts. The quilt is 57" tall by 48.5" wide (145 x 123 cm).

See more quilts in the Spring 2011 Blogger's Quilt Festival.

The Fox Visits Henniker

My quilt, The Quick Brown Fox, is on display at the Quilted Threads quilt shop in Henniker NH.
It's nice to be able to see the quilt from a distance in a well-lit space. The colors really glow, and the quilting really shows up.I forget, sometimes, how unique my quilts are.

The Fox Moves

I was looking at my Quick Brown Fox quilt, and decided it wasn't being displayed to it's best advantage in the dining room, so I moved it into my bedroom. It didn't look right there either, so I moved it into my sewing studio.

It looks just right, and I love looking up and seeing it there.

(I did not make the four smaller quilts that flank the Fox. Two are swap quilts from the Doll Quilt Swap, and two are gifts from the Doll Swap Mamas.)

True Fox

I took the Fox outside this morning, and tried to get a good picture, but the sun was already too bright. It bleached out the dark blue, so I will have to try again later, when the sun doesn't shine directly on the fence. (Now that I've got nails in the fence to hold the rod, it will be much easier to do this again!) (actually this looks fine on my laptop).
The colors in this photo of the Fox are very true to real life on my desktop pc, (on the laptop it's a bit orange), and you can see Chris's lovely quilting. I was at Quilted Threads yesterday showing it off. They loved it.

Here's another attempt, taken in the early afternoon. The colors are spot on. The dark background looks good, and the colors glow. You can click the photo to enlarge. (Again, the quilt is 48" wide by 57" tall)

Of course, if you are ever in New Hampshire, USA, get in touch, and you might get a chance to see it in real life!

The Quick Brown Fox

It's all done. I think it's much prettier in real life. The colors are rich, the dark blue is VERY dark, and the orange-y binding just glows. It looks rather pitiful in this photo, taken inside with a flash in bad light. I'll try to take some pictures outside in the next few days, so keep checking back.I started this quilt on January 2, 2010; worked fairly constantly on it until I took a three week break in February (to finish Devon's quilt). After that I worked for another month until I took 2 weeks off to visit family in Maryland. When I got back, I worked on Helen's Rules quilt, made a version of the Rules for Tonya, and finished the top in early May of this year.

It hung on my wall all summer while I made No Rules for Julie, and then the Fox and No Rules traveled to Tennessee to be quilted by Chris.

It came back from Chris a month ago, and waited patiently while I worked on Nine x Nine (my color words flimsy.)

Now it's all done, all signed, and it's Mine! I'm keeping this beauty!


details: 57" tall x 48.5" wide (145 x 123 cm). Completely original, designed by me, no patterns, (no, there will -never- be a pattern), no templates, no paper piecing. Free pieced letters inspired by Tonya.

Fox Finish!

I've finished sewing the binding on the Quick Brown Fox. I still have to finish sewing the hanging sleeve, so hopefully that will be done tonight.I work hard to make sure my quilts are "square:" all four corners perfectly 90 degrees, the length of the sides is equal, and that the quilt likes perfectly flat. It's a nice feeling when it's folded in quarters (like above) and the corners and edges all match up.

Millie, as always, is giving the quilt a thorough Quality Assurance inspection.

Not Lazy

I've sewn the binding of The Quick Brown Fox across the top, down one side, and now I am halfway across the bottom. I always (always!) start handsewing the binding down about a foot away from a corner. That way, when I turn the fourth corner, I get the pleasure of "sewing down the home stretch."I'm not -supposed- to sew more than, say 24-30" at any time because of the arthritis in my hand, but I always do. I start sewing the binding, and I am so eager to get the quilt finished, that I always do more than I should. So, after I massage my thumb with ice (NO! It is NOT fun. It does NOT feel good. It hurts and I stop when I am on the verge of tears), I go to bed and give the hand a rest.

I am -SO- in love with this quilt!

Binding & Hanging

When I was finishing up the Fox this past summer, Helen suggested I use an orange-y batik for the binding. This week I have been making binding, and the hanging sleeve. Helen, honey, you were right on with this color for the binding. I love it!

I am always very particular about the backing fabric for my quilts. I never just use whatever I have hanging about. I feel the same way about the fabric I use for the hanging sleeves. Since I make art quilts and not bed quilts, I always need a sleeve. I was debating what to use for the back of the Quick Brown Fox, and then my friend Julie solved my problem. She uses the leftover fabric from the backing, since Chris, our longarm quilter asks for an extra 6" all around.

I read that post and thought, "D'oh!"

So my hanging sleeve will be the same fabric as the backing. I've made it, and attached the top edge to the quilt. Now I will enjoy handsewing the binding down over the next few evenings as I "watch" tv. Although I don't know what to watch now that Project Runway is over for the season.

Either Or

I really like this arrangement of the colored words. It is reminiscent of a sunset. (It's the same one that is on the wall in this post.)

I'm not sure about the two lightest words - CHAMPAGNE and GOLDENROD. I'm a little worried they may look like a "hole" in the middle of the quilt. There's not much I can do about CHAMPAGNE anyway. It's color value is very close to the background, and photos just make it look worse. It's not going away, so as Tim Gunn says, I have to "Make it work!"

So I played with my paper strips, and tried looking at the colors in a light-to-dark arrangement. (and actually I worked it out before Davenandlo suggested it.)

It is a distinct possibility. I have to try it with the real strips, but I have been busy adding the binding and hanging sleeve to the Quick Brown Fox.

Of course, Millie has been helping.

Quick Brown Fox at Home

To those of you wondering if the Quick Brown Fox could -possibly- look as good in real life as in the pictures Chris took...


the answer is most definitively... YES!

I love everything about the quilting. I love the thread Chris used. I love the swirls. I love that she outlined every element. I love the way she treated the flowers, and the bird, and the butterflies. I love the quilting in the Fox and the Dog. I love the lazy dog's eyelid. I -adore- the butterfly on his nose...

I am really, really, really happy with it.

The Quick Brown Fox is Quilted!

The Quick Brown Fox is on his way back to me. Chris has done a spectacular job quilting it. Here is a sneak peek.

I want her to post about it first, so you'll have to check her blog to see the first pictures.

I have learned to give Chris Carte Blanche when she quilts my quilts. Which is to say I put my flimsies in a box and mail them halfway across the USA to her and let her do whatever she thinks is best.

She's never let me down.

This Fox rocks!

The Quick Brown Fox, redux

The Quick Brown Fox is being quilted by Chris this week. She's the longarm quilter who did such a magnificent job quilting No Rules For Julie. (You can see more pictures of that one here.)

I'm VERY excited!

Quilts in Tennessee

My two flimsies, "The Quick Brown Fox" and "No Rules for Julie" (which I can't show you yet) are in Tennessee with Chris, waiting to be quilted.

In this photo, Chris is doing an imitation of me holding a quilt in front of the mirror, taking a picture.

Um, Chris, the idea is to include your smiling self in the photo!

Mission Accomplished!

The quilt for Julie, along with its backing, and the Quick Brown Fox quilt and its backing, are on their way to Tennessee to be quilted by Chris.

On Sunday I cleaned the kitchen (after finally getting everything organized after the new refrigerator) and actually did all the laundry, folded it, and put it all away.

Now it's time to get the sewing studio back in order.But, glory be! I finally got an air conditioner in there!Hallelujah!

The Quick Brown Fox

The Quick Brown Fox quilt top is finished!
Woo Hoo!

Happy Mother's Day to all Moms!

Test Run

You've seen this before. I just didn't tell you it was a test run for the letters on Helen's quilt. See how the space between the letter "I" and its dot, and the upper and lower horizontals on the letter "F" go up at angles to each other instead of making a straight horizontal line? That's when I knew these letters were going to have to be sewn together very carefully. I knew I would have to use the skinniest presser foot I could find on my sewing machine, since many of the elements would finish out at 1/2" wide (just less than 13 mm). That half inch was critical to the way the letters would look in the finished quilt.

More on the Helen's quilt tomorrow.... Back to some unfinished business...

I had hoped to get the top of The Quick Brown Fox finished before my trip to Maryland in March, but it wasn't possible. I hate stopping work in the middle of a project. I like to keep the energy and the excitement going. If the work gets too stressful, I might set it aside for a few days to clear my thinking, but I hate just stopping in the middle of a good run. Once my new sewing studio was ready, I completed the panel for The Lazy Dog.The quilt still isn't complete, it's in four big pieces, the fox, the dog, the two flowers on the lower right are all separate. And the pieces around the four sides are just set down to straighten out the jagged edges. I will sew them down, and then square up the top. The finished top won't be quite so wide.
I'm pretty happy with it.

The Eye

My son thinks the dog should be more to the left, and he doesn't think the words "the lazy dog" need to be centered underneath it.

He's got a great "Eye" so I'll give his opinion a lot of weight. Growing up, we went to an art show about twice a month for the first 19 years of his life, and grew up with art being created at home every day, so he's had a lot of exposure. My mother, a working artist, tells her friends that he is one of the three people she asks to critique an artwork-in-progress.

I'll think about it.

Remember, this is the same kid who didn't like the yellow fabrics I chose for his Sunshine Quilt.