Basket Project – 2018-19

It started with a gift exchange at Rochester Modern Quilt Guild. We were to make a small container or basket to exchange with other members at our January meeting. Here’s the one I made for the exchange:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The interior fabric is from Mali, and the handles are riveted-on leather tabs. The pattern I found was so great, I also used it to make some Christmas gifts.

These went to my sister-in-law and husband, to coordinate with her MacKenzie-Childs collection. Handles were made from the same fabric as the binding, with wire inserts.

These cat-themed baskets were gifts for my daughter, again with the riveted leather tabs.

The pattern was designed by Anna Graham of Noodle Head Designs and can be accessed at:  http://www.robertkaufman.com/assets/pdf/Baskets.pdf I changed the dimensions of the fish bowl basket here, and the Mali-lined one above, by reducing the square fabrics and innerfacings to 12-1/2″ but still used the larger dart template.  It makes a great size.

If you decide to try out this, please send me a photo of what you’ve made. I’d love to see it!

 

2018 – Green Fuse – Finished

Green Fuse – a full-sized bed quilt – was part of the Rochester Modern Quilt Guild’s “Taking Flight” show (September 29, 2018).

I used a bright lime thread for all the quilting.

2018 Green Fuse Floral Quilting Details

2018 Green Fuse Floral Details

I quilted florals on the white area, seedlike ovals on the green, and roots on the gray.

2018 Green Fuse Quilting Detail “Rose”

Also among the roots was part of the Dylan Thomas poem “The force that through the green fuse drives the flower.”

More quilting details in next post.

 

2018 – Ten Squared Plus Five

At last, the Rochester Modern Quilt Guild’s first show, “Taking Flight,” is over (September 29) and I’ve nearly recovered. It was a huge success; we had lots of visitors, lots of quilts, and lots of happy vendors. It was also a huge job creating a show out of whole cloth, a job I’m glad to pass along to another guild member.

“Taking Flight” – inaugural show by Rochester Modern Quilt Guild, September 29, 2018

So, here is a quilt I made for the show. You can also see it hanging lower center in the show photo.

Ten Squared Plus Five

I used three packs of mini-charms (2-1/2″ squares) sorted by color, then added a few extra black squares to counterbalance at the bottom. To contrast with all those straight lines, I quilted it in a spiral on my Viking.

Ten Squared Plus Five – center quilting

Ten Square Plus Five – Showing Back

The back matched the fabric of the yellow square.

This is now with my new grand niece in Virginia.

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!

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 – 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.

Complete – 2015 Big Square

I finally took the photos for this charity baby quilt.

2015 Big Square

This has been donated to the Rochester Modern Quilt Guild’s charity effort to provide quilts for a local neonatal unit. Here are some details:

2015 Big Square – front detail of quilting

2015 Big Square – complete back

2015 Big Square – back detail showing quilting

I like the texture of channel quilting; it makes running a hand along the quilt fun.

Update – Big Square 2015

Big Square Quilting Around a Corner

The quilting is about half done on this lap-sized modern quilt. I’m using my even-feed foot on this, trying to keep parallel lines and right angles. It’s harder than it sounds – so easy to get off just a bit, then multiply the mistake with each successive row.

Hopefully, the half-square triangles used to assemble the top are disappearing into the design. The quilting should help.
This will probably become a charity quilt, either through the Genesee Valley Quilt Club or the Rochester Modern Quilt Guild. It’s great to have these groups spreading the comfort to those who need it at critical times.

Curved Piecing Demo

Samples for RMQG Drunkard’s Path Demo

September 9th, Julia Deal and I teamed up at the Rochester Modern Quilt Guild (RMQG) to demonstrate ways of incorporating curves into quilt designs. Julia showed a method of applique, and I used the classic Drunkard’s Path block to demo machine curved piecing. I used an 8″ block pattern so everyone could see. I also gave out patterns for a 4″ block.

Drunkard’s Path Demo – how pattern pieces fit

That’s Julia to my right, with a table of applique samples.

How to place pins

Drunkard’s Path Demo – We had a full house

Before we began, someone commented that curved piecing was too hard. But I showed them an easy way to sew the curve with just three pins.

Part of Semi-Circles quilt top at RMQG Demo

The demo blocks became the bottom row on the Semi-Circles quilt top. Both 4″ and 8″ blocks are included in the design.

Photos by Marie Soom for the RMQG Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/groups/254795224639735/

Also see my Pinterest board of classic and modern sets for this versatile block: https://www.pinterest.com/fish4739/drunkards-path-blocks-and-sets/

 

Update 2 – Semi-Circles 2015

After presenting my curved seam demo to the Rochester Modern Quilt Guild, I completed construction of this quilt top. The blocks on the bottom row were used in the demo.

Semi-Circles complete quilt top

I now have three tops ready for quilting, so I’ll be assembling quilt sandwiches, basting, and quilting on my machine for a while. Here are the other tops I’ll be working on:

2015 Purple Square Baby Quilt Top

2014 Princess’s Crown Quilt Top

I’ll post photos as they’re completed.