Tag: pieced quilt blocks

Posted in hand embroidery, painting, quilting

Friday Finish: Here Be Dragons

Posted on by Laura Kate

After eighteen months in process, my multi-panel quilt that explores the dragonfly is finally finished. The painting and the assembly of the quilt took place in 2023. Then it languished while I fiddled around with hand embroidery. Finally, I made the commitment in December 2024 to get this WIP done. It took an opportunity to display it at an exhibition to set me in motion.

I would be remiss if I didn’t acknowledge the role Bill’s photographs had in inspiring me. Here is a gallery of some of his dragonfly images.

I also did research into the creature, to better understand what I was seeing. I was always puzzled about the legs. In flight, they are not visible. When the insect is perched, one can see either one, two or all three pair of legs. Why is that? I learned that the legs are swiveled back and held flat against the body, just like an airplane’s landing gear. The dragonfly catches its prey in flight, grabbing hold with its legs. When resting, the legs have no function. Dragonflies cannot use their legs to walk. That’s why they seem so motionless when perched.

Anyway, the quilt is finished, except for the label and the hanging wire. It will go on display February 6, along with my Badlands quilt, at Prairie Moon Exhibition, The Center, Bartlesville, OK.

Posted in quilting

In Progress: Pieced Landscape Art Quilt

Posted on by Laura Kate

Today I’m catching up on the abstract landscape quilt that I started in mid-May:

Obsessed by Strips

I would say nothing has changed, but I would be lying. During the planning phase, I started to think about Japanese quilts – most likely because I recently purchased two books on modern Japanese quilting by Susan Briscoe. She is a textile artist who worked in Japan for many years as an English teacher. In her book, Japanese Quilt Blocks to mix and match, she features 125 patchwork, applique and sashiko blocks in a modern style that is inspired by tradition. Textiles recycled from kimonos and other garments give the blocks an Asian look.

Consequently, I decided that my original plan was not abstract enough. I discarded the house block already constructed and made one using the Japanese block called Sunken Hearth.

In fact, I made two hearth blocks – one in bold colors for the middle ground and one in faded pastels for the background. This second block is located half-way up the mountain in the foggy part of the landscape.

I redrew the upper right corner of the design from clouds into a mountain. You could think of it as Mt. Fuji. The fabric is a white-on-white print of spirals, suggestive of clouds to me.

As of today, I am about 2 thirds finished with the piecing phase. I have completed four rows out of seven.

By the way, I have a new favorite tool:

This flexible flat-bottomed shape is a technical drawing tool that belongs to Bill. He got it back in his college days for a class. Using this tool, I can match up a long curve which crosses over two different blocks. I Love it.

One more Japanese touch will be added to the lower right corner. In the reference photograph, there is a group of red-twigged shrubs behind a stone wall. I plan to use the Pieced Ogi, aka Folding Fan, to abstract this feature.

Are you making something from your scraps? Do share.

Posted in quilting

SAHRR 2024 Border One: Grateful

Posted on by Laura Kate

I’m grateful to Pieceful Wendy for choosing the signature block for the 1st round of this year’s Stay at Home Round Robin. I’m also grateful to myself for pre-planning this project instead of winging it each week. You see above some of the fabrics I have painted (along with a nice purple solid.)

Here’s a few more that I painted. Most are commercially printed fabrics. I just added a few layers of color using Jacquard Dye-Na-Flo fabric paint.

These will soon appear in my SAHRR quilt rounds.

Okay – fabrics are at the ready, time to sew.

In reviewing my project map, I see that the colors purple and red are to dominate the first round, which will be attached to my center panel’s right and bottom sides. The right side will extend the trees of the panel into the border. The bottom will represent the forest fire. 

I started with the trees. They will go in the center strip of the signature blocks. I cut fabrics that looked tree-like and some smokey purple fabric and made a strip set. Then I cut some purple squares to use in the corners.

That’s the right side done. For the bottom, I got out some flame-like fabric that used to be part of a dress that no longer fit. It was cut up a few years ago and saved for just this moment. How fortunate for me.

Do you feel the heat yet?

After making a corner block that integrated the two sides, I sewed the blocks together.

Jan 29: After viewing a photograph of my work, I swapped out one of the fabrics in the corner block. Then I joined up the first round to the center panel. 

I also decided to use white fabric with a marble print as sashing around each group of blocks. SAHHR Round one is made of 4 inch finished blocks. My quilt is now 16″ and ready for the next round.

Be sure to check out all the SAHRR 2024 participants’ projects posted at the Linky party. You can find that HERE.