Posted in quilting

Under the Sea Progress Update

Posted on by Laura Kate

Today I finished assembling all of the log cabin blocks for Under the Sea quilt. While arranging the blocks in groups, I quickly realized that my original plan did not serve the overall design. So I switched to a layout in which each group of four blocks is rotated with the center squares touching. Now I have ten groups surrounding a central panel with the large sea turtle in the middle. Here is an overhead view.

This image excludes the top three groups. I couldn’t fit it all into the photo.

I’ve had so much fun coming up with images of underwater creatures. Ultimately, I decided to make my focus life found on a coral reef. Here is the center panel with some tropical fish, big and baby sea turtles, and an assemblage of sea horses…..

Next to and surrounding the panel can be found some jelly fish

The stinging tentacles will be added after the block is assembled.

… a living sand dollar (did you know that this animal is a type of sea urchin?)…..

….. a group of starfish, more tropical fish, and four additional baby turtles swimming across four different sections of the quilt.

Working with the batik pre-cut strips was such a pleasure. First of all, hey, I didn’t have to cut them. Secondly, the front and back of the fabric is the same, so you never end up with the wrong side on front. And finally, the fabric was so tightly woven that no twist or stretch happened while under the needle. This made the boring parts of piecing go quickly. I could spend time designing and painting my little sea creatures.

Next up will be sewing the blocks together, choosing a backing fabric and the actual quilting. There is a long way to go before this project can be put to bed. (Ha!)

Posted in Uncategorized

Let’s Make Pesto

Posted on by Laura Kate

Something completely different today. Fiber friends, please indulge me while I glory in seasonal produce.

During my daily walk through the back yard, I realized that the basil plants were at the perfect stage of growth to be harvested for basil pesto. They had lush, big, green leaves, without blossoms, but highly fragrant. How fortunate that I had all I needed in my pantry, including home-grown garlic dug up about six weeks ago.

After washing and spin-drying the basil leaves, I got out my well-used recipe for this delicacy. It’s from a collection published by my herb club friends in Plano, TX. This version was submitted by Gladys Denham. Begin with these items.

  • 2 c. packed fresh basil
  • 3 large cloves garlic
  • 1/2 chopped walnuts (I substituted cashews)
  • 1/3 c. olive oil (always use cold-pressed virgin oil)
  • 1/4 tsp salt

In blender or food processor, grind the garlic. Add the nuts and grind some more. Add a small amount of the basil and just enough olive oil so that the machine will grind the leaves. Keep adding the basil and oil until all is incorporated. Add the salt just before the final grind.

Here’s where I vary from tradition. At this point in preparing classic pesto, grated cheeses such as Parmesan and Romano are stirred into the mix. Instead, I pack the ground mixture into sterilized jars and freeze it.

Throughout the year, when I need some fresh basil for a recipe, I just thaw out a couple of tablespoons. If I am making classic pesto sauce for pasta, I will thaw the mix, add cheese and a little butter. It’s then ready to stir into hot cooked pasta.

The best part of making pesto is using the leftover bits in the blender jar as a topping for cream cheese and crackers.

What a heavenly and fragrant lunch! Today I had fresh mozzarella and Italian salami to accompany my pesto.

Posted in painting

Western Sunrise

Posted on by Laura Kate

Yesterday and today I took a break from sewing to paint with watercolor. I have been following a tutorial by Montreal artist Shari Blaukopf called Sketching Landscapes in Pen, Ink and Watercolor. My goal for this painting was to practice skies. I chose a reference photo that had a very nice sunset and featured clean, simple shapes. This would allow me to make a finished painting but focus on the sky. The photograph also featured a reflected sky (another good subject for practice.) After making a pencil sketch, I jumped right in on the sky and reflection. Next came a few pen marks to guide the rest of the work.

After drying over night I added the other washes – mountains, meadow and trees. Once these had dried, I used my brush to give texture to the trees and shadows to the pond.

So far I’m liking this. But I felt that the painting did not really show the warm glow of morning light that I saw in the photograph. To correct this, I made a wash of burnt sienna and quinacridone red and stroked it fairly evenly over the grass.

Ahh that’s better. I used a dry brush technique to give a little texture to the grass and let the painting dry. For the last step, I followed Shari’s instructions and added pen marks to the trees, grass and pond edge.

This painting gave me a great deal of pleasure. I avoided most of the miss-steps with the watercolor paint and achieved the look I was after. I guess it’s worth signing.

I will put in the link to Shari’s class, but it’s on Bluprint.com Unless you are already a subscriber, you may not be able to open it.

https://www.mybluprint.com/playlist/5120/11448?t=610

Here is the artist’s home page.

https://shariblaukopf.com/

Posted in quilting

Under the Sea WIP

Posted on by Laura Kate

I spent a good handful of hours this past weekend sewing up blocks for the Under the Sea quilt. So I thought I would show my progress.

My plan calls for 12 quilt sections made up of 4 blocks each. The blocks are constructed in Log Cabin chevron style. Each section will feature a different underwater animal. Here are the three I just completed.

The first two have coral reef fish swimming in formation. These will be placed across the top of the quilt. The third has starfish, which will end up somewhere in the middle.

I placed an order at Connecting Threads for more batik fabric that contains some harmonizing greens. Until the fabric is delivered, I can design and construct the sea creatures for the remaining blocks. So far I have baby turtles. I want to try making jellyfish, which sea turtles love to gobble up. and maybe some more coral reef fish.

Other ideas? Any suggestions will be dutifully pondered.

Link to Connection Threads website:

https://www.connectingthreads.com/fabrics/quilting-fabrics

Posted in quilting

Fishing for a Sea-Worthy Design

Posted on by Laura Kate

Since my last post, I have been casting about for a quilt layout that will suit the material I have acquired so far. As a reminder, I have a 20 x 20 panel, a bundle of pre-cut 2 1/2 inch strips and a charm pack in the same fabrics. These are supplemented by a few fat quarters and some quilt blocks with improvised fish shapes.

While the internet is a wonderful source for ideas, there is no substitute for printed works that you can hold in your hands. So I went to the library. I checked out this book:

This very useful book by Celia Eddy contains a survey of 100 quilt block patterns, groups them by structure, and provides easy instructions on making each one. Because I have a bunch of strips, I focused quickly on the log cabin-type blocks. Here is what I chose:

The author also shows variations created by re-orienting each block. I decided to go with the design that rotates the corner square.

Fiddling with this design on graph paper, I came up with the overall concept: Four 10 inch chevrons arranged in a 20 inch block. Each block will have one ocean image and a consistent color grouping. Including the turtle center, there will be 12 – 20 inch blocks to make up my quilt.

I spent yesterday afternoon sewing the first six squares.

So it seems I have set sail on my fibery journey. Making Under the Sea will be great adventure. I expect a few rough seas and difficult weather along the way, but trust that my intuition, skills and experience will get me to my destination.

To learn my about Celia Eddy’s book, access this link.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1631585.The_Quilter_s_Recipe_Book