Creative Prompt #129

From https://www.facebook.com/noetic.alchemy
From https://www.facebook.com/noetic.alchemy

Post the direct URL (link) where your drawing, doodle, artwork is posted (e.g. your blog, Flickr) in the comments area of this post. I would really like to keep all the artwork together and provide a way for others to see your work and/or your blog, and how your work relates to the other responses.

The Creative Prompt Project, also, has a Flickr group, which you can join to post your responses. Are you already a member? I created that spot so those of you without blogs and websites would have a place to post your responses. Please join and look at all of the great artwork that people have posted.

Book Review: Quick Quilts from your Scrapbag

Quick Quilts from Your Scrap Bag (For the Love of Quilting)Quick Quilts from Your Scrap Bag by Patricia Wilens

I picked up this book as I was running out the door to wait for the Young Man while he went to an appointment. The title is fairly modest, but I ended up really liking this book. I received it from Quiltin’ Jenny in a blog giveaway. The book has 35 projects, which might be a compilation from other sources. 35! Since I read it, I have been paying attention to the numbers of projects in other books and none that I have come in contact with lately have anywhere close to that many.

As you well know, I am not much of a book-full-of-projects-girl, but I found that many of the elements and blocks in these projects spurred on my imagination in terms of incorporating them in other projects of my own design. One of these elements that I found really intriguing was in the Dizzy Geese pattern (page 106-109) where a unit of 3 Flying Geese is place in a wreath formation around a Storm at Sea-type block. It doesn’t look very difficult and really adds a look of complexity to the block. I was amazed and surprised to see a quilt using this (or a similar pattern) at PIQF 2011. Holly Casey used this pattern in a blue and gold colorway to great effect.

This 1999 book covers all sorts of techniques from piecing to applique’. A lot of piecing techniques have changed since 1999 and the book includes a lot of templates. One of the things I like about it is that the author includes a little of the story behind each of the quilts.

The book has a variety of inset tip blocks, including an inset tip box called Diagonal-Corners Quick-Piecing Method on page 11. This tip box really explains how to do the diagonal corner piecing method using the Angler or a similar products. Another tip box explains what they call “working with bias edges”, which is really an explanation of how to block a block and this is an excellent, clear one.

The Streak of Lightning pattern (pg.62) is really interesting. I like the combination of prominent lines and smaller squares. The example, however, does show its age in terms of fabrics. I was a little confused by the quick piecing method for the half square triangle with the square and two triangles as half of the block, which I think needs to add a step or two to be clearer.

This is the book that made me realize that books could help improve quiltmakers’ precision and accuracy by including the finished sizes of the units that make up a block. I really liked the Odd Fellows March quilt and block (pg. 72). This pattern does provide the size of the blocks, but not for each unit.

A number of the quilts have Irish Chain type settings (pages 20, 28, 88 and 129). The different quilts provide the reader with different examples that help add this setting to the reader’s bag of tricks. The Irish Chain setting is a good way to set blocks together.

This book has an interesting variety of projects some of which even I would like to try.

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Stars for San Bruno #3 Progress

Stars for San Bruno #3
Stars for San Bruno #3

I worked all Sunday and a couple of hours on Monday afternoon on the Stars for San Bruno #3. I am too small, so I asked the Young Man to hold it up to me, which, as you can see, didn’t work out very well.

The way I asked him to hold it is actually sideways. The plan was to make a row quilt with vertical rows of stars. If I would actually measure on occasion, I would have known that it would come out weirdly wide. Looking at it like this gives me a chance to see whether it will look ok with horizontal rows.

It definitely needs some kind of spacer on the [current] sides. I want something to separate the pieced stars from the embroidered stars I plan to use for the border.

Progress on one of the 26 Projects? Yes.

Design Homework: Line

During the last Quilting…for the Rest of Us Design podcast and my accompanying post on Line, I suggested some homework exercises. I did the exercises and thought I would share my work with you.

Exercise #1

I said that you would need the following supplies:

  • piece of blank paper (can be the back of junk mail)
  • catalog or magazine pictures you are willing to cut up
  • paper scissors
  • drawing or writing implement  (You can use anything, but one with a smooth line is great!)
  • glue stick

And I said that you should take the following steps:

  1.  Find a picture in your magazine or catalog and cut a 3×3(?) square out of it.
  2. Take a piece of blank paper and lay it on the table in front of you
  3. Glue the 3×3(?) square somewhere towards the middle on the paper. There should be at least 2? of white space around each side of the magazine picture.
  4. Turn the paper upside down so the image is upside down.
  5. Continue the image out from each side of the paper using your pen
  6. “Simplify the design in the square and its drawn continuation.” Use the cut off edges to make a new design.
  7. Perform this exercise over and over on different pieces of paper with different pictures until you are happy with the result.
  8. Use the simplified design as a starting point for a quilt.

(adapted from Fearless Design for Every Quilter by Lorraine Torrence, pg. 63)

Exercise #1 results
Exercise #1 results
Line: Exercise #1 (2)
Line: Exercise #1 (2)

What I did: I have a relatively large pad of white paper. For what purpose I originally bought it, I don’t remember, but I find it useful for photographing projects that need a white background and drawing out appropriately sized applique’ patterns. It also came in handy for this design homework.

I pasted the square onto these pages and drew the lines. I think the designs would have been more effective on an 8/5″x11″ piece of paper. The large size of the paper diluted the design, I think. Still, it was fun.

And then, on to:

Exercise #2
You can do exercise #2 with free motion quilting as well using a 3×3? square of fabric on top of a small (11×11? or so) quilt sandwich.

I told you that the supplies you would need were:

  • a charm pack OR
  • a group of approximately 50 3-5″ paper squares of all colors and designs (junkmail works well, you could use a scrapbooking paper punch if you have that) OR
  • cut a group of 3-5″ squares of fabric (approximately 50)
  • notebook or paper (reusing junk mail is just fine)
  • pen or other writing implement

Directions:

Line: Exercise 2
Line: Exercise 2
  1. Put all the squares on the floor or on a table right next to each other. Do not arrange them yet.
  2. Look at them and see if you see any dominate lines. Make a note of how the lines show up (because of the color? because of the design on the fabric or paper? Other?)
  3. Line: Exercise 2 (2)
    Line: Exercise 2 (2)

    If you have a camera, take a photo.

  4. Rearrange the squares in some kind of order.
  5. Look at them and see if you see any dominate lines. Make a note of how the lines show up (because of the color? because of the design on the fabric or paper? Other?)
  6. If you have a camera, take a photo.
  7. Based on what you saw in the squares of your fabric, draw simple lines in your notebook or on paper.
  8. Optional: think about and take note of design ideas that are suggested to you by the images you have created.

What I did: The Young Man took a scrapbook square maker and punched some squares out of some catalogs for me. Above in the first photo, I put all the squares on the white piece of paper in a rectangle. I removed some of the squares that were too obviously faces or letters, but otherwise didn’t rearrange the squares.

In the second photo, I arranged all the squares in color order in lines as much as possible. I didn’t see any designs that intrigued me right at the moment. I did really like the squares in the bottom lines, but I liked them individually not so much together. I liked the curved edges shown on some of the squares. I also liked the arrangement of colors.

Exercise #3

You will need:

  • notebook or paper (junkmail is fine)
  • pen or writing implement (colors are fun)

Directions: Draw different kinds of lines:

  • zig zag
  • curved
  • broken
  • straight (ish!)
  • continuous
  • fat
  • thin
Line: Exercise 3
Line: Exercise 3

What I did: I just drew different lines on a page of my journal. I thought this was a really boring exercise, though I can see its usefulness.