Update – 2016 Tesserae

The working title for my mosaic quilt is Tesserae – the term for small pieces of marble, glass, tiles, pebbles, etc., used in mosaic work. Design based on “Eden” (c) Kathy Thaden: http://thadenmosaics.com
Here are some views of progress so far:

Fabrics Pulled for Tesserae

Choosing fabrics is always fun and defines the final effect. I usually pull more than I think I’ll need. Somewhere during the process, I may decide against one or change my plan. I can always add unused pieces to my stash, which is where many of these came from.

Tesserae Applique Begins

Here are the first few pieces being attached. This will all be hand applique, with thick interfacing to give each fabric tile some dimension. The stiffness does make it difficult to maneuver as I applique, so the work is slow.

Tesserae Plan on Design Wall

On the left is the color key with unused templates attached. There is a unique template for each of the 350+ tiles. On the right is the black quilt background with the beginning appliques. I’m working from the center out.

2016 New Applique Project

Inspired by the silk applique class I took in September from Chris Wickert, I’m moving on to an original, all-applique project. Here are the steps I’ve taken so far: [If you’re seeing this on Facebook, please click on the photo to see all steps.)

Beginning Sketch

Design based on “Eden” (c) Kathy Thaden: http://thadenmosaics.com. I want to interpret the texture and glowing colors of mosaic tiles in fabric.

Pattern at Full Size

Next I cleaned up the edges of individual tiles and spaced them so even amounts of the background would show to represent grout. The final size will be approximately 24″ x 36″.

Tentative Color Placement

With a fistful of felt pens, I auditioned colors. The fabrics will have much greater variation, but this is a general sense of a progression from muted purples through nearly orange at the bottom.

Background Marked for Applique Placement

The background fabric is solid black, which should help the tile colors stand out. I used a chalk pencil to mark the placement of the appliques. I think I’m ready now to begin cutting fabrics and stiff interfacing to suggest the dimension of tiles.

More to come.

2016 Silk Pillow

I recently had the privilege of taking a class from Chris Wickert, an award-winning maker of hand-quilted silk applique masterpieces. It was a two-day class that gave me and my fellow students great experience with handling silk and improving our applique stitch.

2016 Silk Pillow

Chris uses a pattern adapted with permission from Deborah Kemball. It made a 14″ square pillow, backed with the fabric in the picture background.
What a wonderful experience!

2016 – Fly Away Home

Finished at last. The “geese” are dimensional, made using the one-seam method popularized by Ricky Tims.

Fly Away Home

It’s baby quilt sized.
On to the next project!

2016 – Secret Stars

Secret Stars youth quilt

This youth-sized quilt was made for my great nephew Nicholas. Here are some details:

All the 2″ squares are shirting plaids or stripes – except three that have stars. Also, all rainbow colors are included, so there are some fun things to search for.

2016 – Rainbow Hearts

The Rochester Modern Quilt Guild is helping the Orlando MQG collect heart quilts in rainbow colors for anyone effected by the June 12 shooting at Pulse. Here are the blocks I’m contributing.

Rainbow Hearts for Orlando Modern Quilt Guild

May we all live in harmony.

Update 2-2016 Fly Away Home

Progress on the Fly Away Home quilt continues slowly. It’s like assembling a jigsaw puzzle while painting the picture at the same time. Here’s one quadrant taking shape on the dining table.

Pieces of Fly Away Home

Update – 2016 Fly Away Home

Progress on the Fly Away Home quilt has been slow recently, but I finally pieced some of the flying geese blocks. I’m using the dimensional technique with one seam down the center, with the “goose” folded out.

Flying Geese Blocks for Fly Away Home Quilt

Some Blocks with Little Houses Theme

I’m contributing these two blocks to a friend making a “tiny houses” quilt. She likes orange and Kaffe Fassett fabrics, so I pulled some appropriate Lotus Leaf scraps from my stash. I don’t think anyone throws away even tiny scraps of Kaffe’s designs! The backgrounds are from Michael Miller fabrics. Finished size for the blocks is 6 x 6 inches. I will try to post a photo of her completed quilt.

Applique Blocks for Friend’s Quilt Project

2016 Fly Away Home

More on the new quilt, right now being called Fly Away Home.

Colors and fabric ideas for Fly Away

Here are some fabrics being auditioned for this quilt. I’m thinking the geese will fade from bright orange at the center through coral to very pale. The white/neutral background will hopefully deepen into aqua, then turquoise, toward the quilt’s edge. We’ll see how fabric selection proceeds. I tried a progression like this before (see Dwindle at https://lotuscove.wordpress.com/?s=dwindle from 2014) with only limited success.

First 3-D Flying Geese

The exception to the turquoise fade is the central “nest” block, here pinned to my design wall. The 3-d geese are easy to make, but the openings need to be pinned until the blocks are joined. Here’s a link to good instructions for constructing them:

http://www.generations-quilt-patterns.com/3d-flying-geese-quilt-block.html