My WIP Wednesday 14 - Sharing My Creative Spaces

For several weeks I've been sharing my creative spaces with my 19yo, who is home for the whole summer after her freshman year away - far away - at college. When she was back for spring break, she saw me working on Beachwalk and Sea Breeze and said, "I could make a dragon quilt that way!"

In her rare spare moments back at school, she worked up sketches in a little notebook of 10 different dragons depicted in their environments. When the semester was over and she moved back, she worked those into full-size layouts, then loaded them into the computer and flipped them to print out reversos.


She blithely combed through my stash and scrap collections, where she found most of what she'd need. We made a run to JoAnn's and the quilt shop for missing component choices, then she did a thorough search online to fill in the gaps. 10 dragons with individual environments require a LOT of different fabrics! Oh, and a WHOLE BUNCH of Steam a Seam Lite 2 - we ordered 14 yards, and maybe that will be enough. 

She patiently traces her pieces onto the fusible stuff, spreading out all over the kitchen counter. She meticulously cuts out the pieces and then steals the iron for solid spans of time - usually, of course, right when I'd be needing it, too. ;D But I'll have plenty of share-free time with my iron when Fall term starts up again, so I'm not really complaining.




She's written out the story of each dragon - explaining its tendencies, character, and environ and plans to incorporate those on the back.


So far she has completed the Blue Desert Dragon with its adorable baby - it's absolutely amazing in real life:

Blue dragons are extremely lawful, despite their proclivity for evil works.  As such, they are often chosen as fair and honorable judges among dragons when disputes of Draconic law arise.  They are among the most long-lived of dragons and have become very hardy living in their harsh, desert environments.  They strive to find order in things and are excellent strategists.  They love collecting historical items and information and freely interact with sages to learn new historical findings, strategies, and battle tactics.

Then emerged the Black Swamp Dragon with its purple highlights (the colors are much more balanced than they show here):

Black dragons are among the more common types of dragons, inhabiting bogs and marshes.  The spiny fin along their neck and back serves to push aside detritus in the swamp water as they swim.  They are extremely territorial and pride themselves with the age and quality of their swamps.  The better and larger the swamp, the higher the black dragon is deemed in their society.  They dislike trespassers, but they will generally let travelers through if they offer something that will improve the quality of their swamp.


Then we met the Green Forest Dragon:

Green dragons inhabit forests across the land; it’s quite easy to tell if a forest is inhabited by a green dragon do to a prevalent odor of chlorine gas from the dragons’ breath.  They are quite territorial, but they will allow travelers to pass through their forests as long as they don’t harm the forest.  Elves are usually welcome to coexist in their forests, as the elves will generally improve the quality and beauty of the forests.  They love to play psychological games with travelers.  Their spines are poisonous, and normally they do not tolerate riders at all.  

(She thought the tree pieces looked like mustaches and had to stage a photo op with her beanie dragons.)






And finally the White Arctic Dragon (breathtaking in real vision with its sparkly ice and shimmering auroras):

White dragons are among the smallest of dragon species and will give way to larger dragons when confronted.  Living in the arctic, they are built to conserve heat and withstand icy temperatures.  As they fly, the ends of their wings freeze and chip off; as such, the membrane is constantly regrowing to replace the lost bits.  They use their frosty breath to freeze prey before devouring it.  Their lairs are filled with strange ice sculptures surrounding the artifacts of their hordes.  They mark the edges of their territory with identifying ice sculptures that are unique to each dragon like a fingerprint.

Right now she's working on the Red, and then will come Brass, Bronze, Copper, Silver, and Gold. She just amazes me - saw me using a given process, envisioned her very own creation using that process, plopped down and made it all happen. I can't draw something out to match my mental image with any good results at all!! lol And here she just spits them out with no artistic training whatsoever. She'll probably be a natural at thread painting, too, when she gets to that stage! If she wasn't my Beloved Egghead Sweetie, I'd probably be utterly green with jealousy. ;D

A big "Thank you!" to Lee at Freshly Pieced for hosting WIP Wednesdays 

It really keeps me motivated to keep those UFOs going! (Go check out what everyone else is doing - there are some really neat projects out there!)

Also, Check out my BOMs AWAY Mondays regular link-up.

This week's stats:

New Projects - 0    

Completed Projects This Week - 0    (Machine broke, couldn't finish Hugs and Kisses)   

In Active Progress - 3    (Hugs and Kisses, What a Hoot, Sailing)

UFO Firing Range - 36.333          

Finishes for 2011 - 17  

Completed tops awaiting quilting:

Hugs and Kisses from Above (in progress!)

What a Hoot, Devon! (longarmer’s!)

Sailing with the Flying Needles (is at the longarm studio!!)

Around the World with Mr. Hernandez (Mr. Hernandez's)

Around the World with Mr. Hernandez (Heather's)

Marissa’s Howling at the Moon

One charity wheelchair quilt

Dreamy Unicorns

Wagon Wheels West #2

Be Attitudes

We Love Kelly

Devon's Silk Spinners

Marissa's Minky Squares

Kelly's Thirties Hand Quilter

Kelly's Calico

Leap Frog Lily Pond

Poor Forgotten Orphan from 15 Years Ago 

BOMs AWAY #7

Welcome to my Link-Up for BOMs Away Mondays! 

(We'd love to see the BOM you're working on lately.)

I have two sets of BOMs to show-and-tell this week, but first let me say that the silicone appliqué sheet is one of those quilting tools that is definitely worth purchasing. I find it indispensable when doing art quilt work.

While working on the May half of this section of the quilt, I had a “you’re kidding me!” moment when I pulled out the background piece – see that nice chunk cut out of the side?  ::rolling eyes::  No fears – it’s an art quilt. . . easily fixed.  :D

I set a piece down for a backdrop, 

applied Heat n Bond to another scrap of the background fabric, 

cut out a patch, and: 

  

Voila! Nobody will ever know it wasn't supposed to be that way! The patch comes just to the bottom of the bike's back wheel. Couldn't be more perfect!

 Here’s that section with the June side added. 

 This is definitely my favorite part of the quilt.

  

I also have a couple more Patriots in Petticoats tales for you.    

The June blocks and ladies:

June Gal #1 was Elizabeth Freeman. Born a slave, “Mumbet” won a legal suit against her owner in 1781 when her attorney successfully argued that the new Massachusetts constitution rendered slavery inherently illegal. She was dedicated woman who helped end slavery in Massachusetts.



June Gal #2 was Polly Cooper, who was an Oneida woman who cooked and kept house for George Washington throughout the Revolutionary War. She performed these services as what she felt to be her patriotic duty.

That's all the BOM work I got finished this week. Now it's your turn! Show us the monthly project(s) you're working on lately, and check out what the others are doing!   

What the heck? (and a couple little finishes)

So, the last few days needles have been breaking inexplicably while I've been quilting or sewing.  This morning, after about 12 inches, I found out why:

The needle-holder-thingy just disintegrated! What the heck??!  Nobody uses this machine but me, and it's not been abused at all. I've only had it since February. Methinks the part was defective.

So, Sapphira and I will be going to the "ER" to visit Bobby as soon as the shop is open. Hopefully it's a very simple fix for him to take care of for me, because I really want to finish that quilt!  (I don't enjoy free-motion quilting anywhere near as much on my cheap machine.)

Now  to rework my plan of attack for the rest of the week's sewing . . .   ;D

P.S.  I have some minor finishes from this past week:

I free-motioned this wheelchair charity quilt. I felt much more satisfied with my design flow on this one than the first one. :)

And a baby quilt from the charity bins at guild needed a binding, so I took it home. Was bundled with binding, and everything, so I assumed it was all set. Got around the last corner, and : "Oh, my!"

::sigh::  The only pinks and greens I had to work with looked dirty or too bright with what was here, so I resorted to a spot of white on white.  All's well that ends well.  :)

My WIP #13 - and some new tools!

Devon holds it to her cheek and says, “I want to be a baby!”

Quilting on Minky is – WoW!!  OK, there are 5 quilts in my lineup that are definitely getting minky backs. You guys cannot believe how luxurious it feels and you can see how cool it shows the quilting up. (This baby quilt has a 100% cotton front, and I’m using quality minky back and thin poly batting.) By the way, I just I found a great selection on sale over at Minky Delight Fabrics – not affiliated, just passing the word along.

I also have new quilting tools that I prepped and used for the first time with this project. I call them “Trial Sheets.”  Got the idea from Desley, and it’s fantastic and fun. Never would have thought of it myself.

Picked up some acrylic sheets at Lowe’s, along with some funky-cool duct tapes. (One roughly baby quilt size, two about 18 x 24 so I can work up a large quilt area and compare two different ideas at once.)  I wanted the edges taped to both protect the quilt tops from any snags and to give a visible and physical barrier that would prevent accidental markings on the quilts. (I cut the duct tape down the middle so it wouldn’t be so wide.)

You just lay it on top of your project, and then scribble away to your heart’s content with dry-erase markers!  Well - I say "scribble," but use care so that you don't any dry-erase ink on your fabric. 

Hmmm. . . not exactly the effect I want, and too much busy-ness on the minky, anyway, I’d imagine.

Easy to change it up.  :D  

And what about down here? Some playing around. . . although, I don’t think I’ll do more than the shapes – again – too much busy-ness on the minky back.

These trial sheets are going to be some of my favorite tools, I can tell already!

A lot of pinning, a little marking (blue disappearing pen and minimal quilter’s tape). . . I’m gonna want to be a baby, too!  ;D

A big "Thank you!" to Lee at Freshly Pieced for hosting WIP Wednesdays - it really keeps me motivated to keep those UFOs going! (Go check out what everyone else is doing - there are some really neat projects out there!)

Check out my BOMs AWAY Mondays regular link-up.

This week's stats:
New Projects - 1     (a charity baby that just needed binding – done!)

Completed Projects This Week - 2    (Wheelchair and baby charity quilts)   

In Active Progress - 4    (Hugs and Kisses, What a Hoot, Sailing, Marissa’s Howling at the Moon)
UFO Firing Range - 36.333          

Finishes for 2011 - 17  

Completed tops awaiting quilting:
Hugs and Kisses from Above (in progress!)

What a Hoot, Devon! (longarmer’s!)
Sailing with the Flying Needles (is at the longarm studio!!)

Around the World with Mr. Hernandez (Mr. Hernandez's)
Around the World with Mr. Hernandez (Heather's)
Marissa’s Howling at the Moon

One charity wheelchair quilt
Dreamy Unicorns
Wagon Wheels West #2
Be Attitudes
We Love Kelly
Devon's Silk Spinners
Marissa's Minky Squares
Kelly's Thirties Hand Quilter
Kelly's Calico
Leap Frog Lily Pond
Poor Forgotten Orphan from 15 Years Ago #1

BOMs AWAY Monday #6

Welcome to my Link-Up for BOMs Away Mondays! 

(We'd love to see the BOM you're working on lately.)

Making good headway on getting all caught up with the entire BOM list – should make it this month!

Wild Rose Cottage (from the Marti Mitchell 2010 Patchwork Party) was on schedule - well, *my* schedule, so here is the June block for that project:

Sea Breeze, on the other hand, was waaay behind. Apropos for this week, though, as we’ve had a Tuna/Swordfish tournament going on in the Destin area for the last few days! For the April block I picked up “Tweedle Dee”:

Which meant for May I needed to do “Tweedle Dum,” of course!  (Couldn’t figure out the reasoning for the name until my NaGISA daughter said, “Oh, a cute dolphin fish.”)

And “The Clampets” got done for June. I love this block, but let me just say that if I had chosen it for April, I would not have done two more blocks this week!!  (Lots and lots and lots of pieces to trace and cut and set and really cut.)

Speaking of NaGISA, just for fun, I had to snap a shot of this really cool Egypt visa in Heather’s passport since she had it out for something she needed ID for. She got extremely lucky and got to go to Egypt on the science team after Christmas 2009 – did their science, helped a university set up a new team, dove in the Red Sea, and got to tour the pyramids, Luxor, and sail the Nile. (Am I still jealous???)  I don’t expect any school teams will be going out there any time soon.

But now it's your turn!  Show us the BOM you're working on lately, and check out what the others are doing!   

My WIP Wednesday #12

Ahhhh. . . :D 

What a Hoot is all topped up now, ready for a date with Patty and her longarm! (This is a long-twin, perfect for cheering up a drab dorm room.) 

Oops - I still need to pop in a movie and comb over the back for all the trailing threads. This much white with that many dark/bright patches is a recipe for disaster. If you don't, the strings show through when they meander under the white. Yes, I worked on a tutorial for those Celtic Knot borders, but it's not quite ready yet.

Marissa's Moment only has 5 heart yo-yo's left to stitch on. It lives in my "Away Tote," which gets pulled out for handwork during appointment waits, etc.  (She wanted them stitched this way around, and it's her quilt, so I oblige.)

And it's time to put the next project on the front burner, which is finishing Hugs and Kisses from Above. Need to change Sapphira over for free-motioning, and then I'll quilt up the pin-basted charity quilt for a little practice before popping Hugs in. I think I need to get some plexiglass first, too, and draw out the quilting idea in my mind and see if it really looks like I think it will on that top. 










I even already cut out the binding.

And, finally, my Ginghers are getting little workouts when I use the BOM of the moment to take a break from my main focus:

Check out my BOMs AWAY Mondays regular link-up.

And a big "Thank you!" to Lee at Freshly Pieced for hosting WIP Wednesdays - it really keeps me motivated to keep those UFOs going! (Go check out what everyone else is doing - there are some really neat projects out there!)

This week's stats:
New Projects - 0     (still being good)

Completed Projects This Week - 0          

In Active Progress - 4    (What a Hoot, Devon!, Sailing with the Flying Needles - at longarmer's!, Charity wheelchair quilt, Hugs and Kisses)
UFO Firing Range - 36.667          

Finishes for 2011 - 15  

Completed tops awaiting quilting:
What a Hoot, Devon! (going to the longarmer's any day now)
Hugs and Kisses from Above (minky here - next task)

Sailing with the Flying Needles (is at the longarm studio!!)

Two charity wheelchair quilts
Around the World with Mr. Hernandez (Mr. Hernandez's)
Around the World with Mr. Hernandez (Heather's)
Dreamy Unicorns
Wagon Wheels West #2
Be Attitudes
We Love Kelly
Devon's Silk Spinners
Marissa's Minky Squares
Kelly's Thirties Hand Quilter
Kelly's Calico
Leap Frog Lily Pond
Poor Forgotten Orphan from 15 Years Ago #1