Photo Finish

This is finish #4 for 2014 - "1829" was a donation quilt for RIT's United Way campaign and was put into an online auction, with the proceeds going to the local United Way. I've been planning this quilt for a while.

 I had seen the pattern on the website All People Quilt, and had been visualizing it, collecting the "camera body" fabrics, and collaborating with a photographer friend for the photographs of RIT.  There are 20 different photos from well known sights on campus, different buildings, seasons, events and landmarks.

 

I used iron on transfers for the photos - as most of the other methods I have seen do not have the durability when washed, and I was not sure who would be receiving this quilt and what they would be using it for.  Nearly all the camera bodies are different fabrics, but each shutter button is the same, as are all the "flash cubes."

I wanted it to be hangable if the winning bidder wanted, or useable as a lap quilt -and as much as I don't like square quilts, this one ended up 58x59.  I widened the sashing from the pattern and unified it in color to make the cameras float. 

The orange is our school color, so I put in one orange camera and a narrow orange strip between the body and the border - and the tag on the back is a "Polariod" of my co-conspirator and I.

 

Kessel Run

This quilt was another challenge from my next door neighbor - the same one who challenged me last year to do a TARDIS quilt.  Her request - the Millennium Falcon.

After much googling and pondering and wondering - I came across a poster by an artist named Szoki that would serve as my inspiration.  Connecting Threads provided the perfect fabrics to paint my picture, and I set to work.

This project was made in three parts.

First I determined the finished size of the quilt (62x84) and cut a muslin rectangle a bit larger than that.  I then started attaching the rust colored strips to that foundation - stitching, flipping, pressing, basting raw edges, then repeating - and repeating - and repeating.  That took a VERY VERY long time!!  And as I worked and added, the quilt got heavier and heavier.  I was essentially working with the entire quilt body right from the beginning - and my shoulders felt it on this one.

The second part was making the Death Star. That was pretty easy, actually.  I looked at a number of pictures and art of the Death Star online, and then just pieced together my impression of what it should look like.  I was going for a techno feel with lots of trenches going across.  I was piecing the lower quadrant, so I didn't have to worry about the big dish/weapon area, as that is always shown up above the equatorial trench.  That made my task easier.  I made it bigger than it needed to be - because I knew I was going to cut it down and wanted to be sure I had enough to play with.

Once the Death Star was pieced, I made a giant pattern out of kraft paper so that I could cut the pie wedge out of the Death Star as well as out of the body of the quilt.  I stitched it just like a mini drunkards path block -only with a radius of 31"!!!  That was a tense step -but it worked out very smoothly.

The third - and most difficult - step was making the Falcon.  Matt did his magic in Corel Draw, taking the outlines of the image from the poster and converting it into something I could use with fabric - plus making it much much larger.

I printed it out on 9 sheets of paper and then pieced it together to make my pattern, first laying it out on top of the quilt to see if it was in the proportions I wanted.  In these pictures you can various stages of my testing.  You can also see the muslin foundation peeking out from the corner before the Death Star was attached.

We played with various placements of the Falcon but ultimately Matt felt that we should have it "flying" along the lines created by the diagonal strips, so that is what we stuck with.

To make the Falcon, I first cut the full outline out of a dark dark blue fabric (actually leftover from the TARDIS!).  I then took the various sections you see in white and traced them onto freezer paper - simplifying the design even more by making the sections larger.  I ironed them on to the front of a slate blue fabric and the cut each one out.

I did not want to add the bulk of fusible adhesive to this project -since the area near the Falcon would ultimately have 6 layers of fabric (backing, batting, muslin, rust strips, dark blue and slate blue) - so I used a product called Lapel Stick to hold the pieces in place while I stitched around each piece.  It worked quite nicely and held them steady.  I chose to do a raw edge applique because it is the "fastest hunk of junk" and I wanted to have that raggedy feel.

Once the Falcon was done -the quilting began.  I worked on the diagonals first - doing many many closely spaced lines along the strips, in the middles, on the edges.

Next came the Death Star - horizontal bands of quilting following the lines of the trenches.

And then I started quilting the Falcon... and quilting the Falcon... and quilting the Falcon.  I think I put more thread into this quilt than any I have ever done.  Outline quilting, free motion quilting, straight line detail quilting, more outline quilting....

And then it was done.. and then it was washed... and then it was photographed... 

Death Star - notice the change in binding color at the edge of the Death Star

The Falcon

Falcon detail

I like how you can see the Falcon on the back... and how much this one crinkled!!

Each strip of fabric on the back represents a location in the original Star Wars trilogy - in order from top to bottom.  This photo show the Death Star, Hoth, Asteroid Field, Dagobah and Cloud City.

and then it was delivered.

Truly a bit sad to see it go - but I know it will be loved.


 

Design Wall Monday - being 'challenged'

So - this is 'some' of what I have been working on.  I am perpetually challenged by "quilters distraction disorder" and the "I must try this new pattern or technique NOW" syndrome.  Hence the "art quilt" to the left, the "one block wonder" to the right, and the triangle diamond blocks below.

The one I am being "challenged" most by is the art quilt.  This is part of the Caledonia Quilt Guild members challenge - we were each given one piece of the same fabric, and challenged to make something with it - not to exceed 30" square.

I had been playing with these "Lotus" blocks for a while using the Hex-N-More ruler from Jaybird Quilts.  I had made a class sample using the batiks, and then made these blocks using the leftovers - and a smaller scale.  I set them a bit differently - "fussy setting" the challenge fabric into one big "flower" and the blue surrounding it.

I liked the idea of this being a garden -especially since our quilt show is "A Garden of Quilts" but my inspiration after the first layout fizzled for a while.  Then I decided to turn this quilt into Mary Ellen's Garden - inspired by my high school Latin teacher, who is a gardener and quilter.

When Jill was here, I sought out some "tree" like fabrics, and some cobblestones.  After pondering a bit with the idea of adding a stone path, I decided to add a wall, a tree, some branches, and some leaves.  More embellishing will follow with beads, silk embroidery, cording flowers and a jungle vine.

My intent is to put this in the show - and then give it to Mrs. Westlake (Mary Ellen) as a gift.  It pales in comparison to her actual garden - but I know she will appreciate it.

Some free motion quilting of bark on the tree trunk - including a big knot.

"leaf" clusters waiting to be appliqued - there are more and they will fill the top edge and corner of the quilt.

Mrs. Westlake also likes bird watching, so I had to add a bird house.