2018 -Green Fuse

Wow, it’s been over a year since I posted on the blog!

Since the 2017 Genesee Valley Quilt Fest, I’ve been extremely busy with two projects: downsizing from a 4-bedroom house to a 2-bedroom condo, and chairing the first quilt show of the Rochester Modern Quilt Guild.

The show will be 10-5 on Saturday, September 29 at First Unitarian Church of Rochester, 220 Winton Road, Rochester, NY 14610. Hope to see you there!

And I’ve managed in the meantime to make a few quilts. I hope to cover them in upcoming posts, but here’s a preview of the free-motion floral quilting on a new queen quilt I’m calling “Green Fuse.” It’s inspired by Dylan Thomas’s “The force that through the green fuse drives the flower.”

 

This quilt should be finished in time to be part of the “Taking Flight” show. More to come!

Update 8 – 2017 Buckeye Ties

I finished most of northeast Ohio today. You can see the shore of Lake Erie and the area between Cleveland and the Pennsylvania border. Hello, Amanda, Nate, Jack, and Ivy – livin’ in the Heights!  That yellow triangle is for you, having fun at the park, with those great lake views.

Buckeye Ties Northeast Ohio – Cuyahoga, Lake, Ashtabula Counties and Lake Erie

Update 7 – 2017 Buckeye Ties

Will this quilt be finished by the Genesee Valley Quilt Club’s deadline? I have to deliver it on Tuesday, May 30 for judging for the 2017 QuiltFest. I’m averaging two stars a day, so in theory I have time to complete the blocks, sew them together, and quilt. There are 49 Ohio Star quilt blocks making one huge Ohio Star, so 50 in all. If you squint a bit, you can see the white star points beginning to emerge.

Buckeye Ties on Design Wall 14 May 2017

A map of Ohio is superimposed on the design, so the lower corners are dark. They’re like the edges of a jigsaw.

Update 6 – Buckeye Ties

I’m not sure the design for this quilt was a good idea, but it’s a little too late to change it now. At least there’s some progress on the Ohio Star pieces for the center square:

Buckeye Ties Center Square Progress

The tan is from one of my father’s Marine ties from World War II. I left the tag attached. I also found where he had writen his initials on the lining of another tie and decided to include it.

Buckeye Ties Details

“This necktie meets or exceeds United States military specifications.”

Update 5 – Ohio Stars

It’s been two years since I last worked on the Ohio Star quilt, fashioned with silks and other fabrics from my late father’s ties. He was a World War II Marine and life-long proud Buckeye. The design uses stars of many dimensions to make one large star block reminiscent of the map of Ohio. I have 14 of the 49 stars completed and am aiming to have it done by Memorial Day. I have no other projects currently so will have no excuses.
Here are some of the completed blocks. To kick-start the project, I worked on all the simplest blocks. Now on to the rest!

Ohio Star Blocks Made from my Father’s Ties

2017 – Tesserae

It’s finished. It has taken much time to complete the applique, assemble the quilt sandwich, do the quilting, bind the quilt, and add the embellishments. I began hand quilting it, but realized that the stiffness of the tiles made it difficult to hand stitch, so I switched to machine quilting.

Quilting Between the Tiles

I only quilted on the background (“grouting”) and just enough to keep the layers together. On this quilt, there was no room for quilting as a design element. My Viking’s “in the ditch” foot was perfect for keeping within the lines.

Completed Tesserae

Embellishments were stone, shell, and metal beads used in places instead of appliqued tiles. The final size of the quilt is 22-1/2″ x 34-1/2″.

Another huge thank you to Kathy Thaden for permission to base this quilt on her 9″ x 17″ mosaic “Eden” (c) 2012. Her work can be seen at http://thadenmosaics.com.

Update 5 – 2017 Tesserae

I’ve paused adding new tile pieces to Tesserae to make some corrections to earlier work. About a dozen tiles that seemed crooked, misplaced, or wrongly colored were pulled and changed.

Adjustments to Tesserae Tiles

This photo shows where several tiles were pulled to be adjusted. From the back, you can see the Peltex interfacing forming the stiff body of each tile. I used the numbered pattern pieces to assure that the tiles went back where they belonged. And yes, there are that many tiles – in fact nearly 350 – in the quilt.

Based on the mosaic “Eden” (c) 2012 Kathy Thaden.

Update 4 – 2017 Tesserae

Progress continues on the appliqued tiles for “Tesserae.” About 2/3 in place, with the end in sight.

Tesserae Progress thru 1/23/2017

I have combined some tiles in the original design and left some off to leave room for embellishments.
Based on the mosaic “Eden” (c) 2012 Kathy Thaden.

Update 3 – 2017 Tesserae

Tesserae Progress Through 1/4/2017

Here is the latest progress adding tiles to the Tesserae quilt. Design based on “Eden” (c) Kathy Thaden: http://thadenmosaics.com

Update 2 – 2016 Tesserae

I am making slow but steady progress on the applique for the mosaic-inspired quilt, “Tesserae.”

Tesserae Progress thru 12/6/16

I am really honing my applique stitch with this project! I can see a big difference between the first tiles and ones attached today.

Tesserae Detail 1

The tiles on the left in this photo were some of the first to be attached; those on the right a few days ago. I’m hoping the difference in technique won’t show when the quilt is complete.

Tesserae Detail 2

Here are tiles attached in the last week. I invested in some John James Size 10 applique needles – they just glide through the fabric. However, their tiny gold eyes made me go find my needle threader. I also started using Roxanne’s Glue Baste-It to keep new tiles in place while I applique. Well worth the price for both needles and glue.

Tesserae Detail 3

Another detail shot. You may have noticed a few empty spots in the layout. Those are reserved for flat stone and silver embellishments – a few real tiles. They won’t be added until the quilting is complete. Design based on “Eden” (c) Kathy Thaden: http://thadenmosaics.com