Progress on my crazy quilt project "Hats". Update #1

First I would like to show a view of my work set-up.  The day's here have been beautiful and as much as possible I like to work outside.  If the wind is light then sitting outside stitching and listening to music is the best!

Before I head outside I pick one block to focus on. I go through my stash and find the various threads, lace, ribbons and trims I think may work for that block.  I look for a varietey of weights and colors of threads and I try to find a special something for each block. Just a clean plain box top works great for making a safe way to transport my work from inside to outside.

Now it's time to start stitching.  These blocks are all in what I like to call a first phase.  I like to do most of the stitching with embroidery floss, and perle cotton #5 and #8 threads first.  I try to do an even amount of stitching across all the blocks.  When this phase is done I will move on to silk ribbon work and embellishments.  I like to work this way for several reasons:

1. It  gives my a chance to make a plan for each block. Picking something special to highlight while finding balance on each block as well as with all the blocks together.

2. I do silk ribbon work seperately so I can keep the ribbon smooth and so it doesn't catch as easily.

3. I work with the buttons and beads last as they can really get in the way and catch on everything. They also tend to sit up on the fabric and are harder to work around.  Finally, they are fun! But, a little goes a long way and it's easy to make an area look to heavy if you are not careful. Balance is key and having a plan already set is nice.

Focus items: vintage tatting, yo-yo, and a hexi.

Focus pieces: yo-yo's, textured ribbon, vintage edgeing.

Focus pieces: antique lace, hexi, vintage lace piece.

Focus pieces: yo-yo's, tatting, lace and wool thread.

Focus pieces: vintage lace, antique silk flower buds.

I hope you enjoyed phase one. If you noticed odd open spaces or unfinished areas that is because there is a plan in upcoming phases for those areas. I hope you will stop back and check out what happens next.

Thanks for stopping in.

Have a wonderful day!

MaryEllen

Gelli Printing!!

My gelli plate has arrived and now I'm experimenting!!!!

What a mess!!

The FIRST RUN.

experimenting with papers and fabrics.

For now I'm working with what paints I have on hand and scrap paper and fabrics.

Above are a few of the tools I used. These are just things I found around my studio to get me started.

The rollers I used!  Not what I was seeing on you tube but it was what I had on hand.

I thought I had some very interesting things happen and I learned a ton.  I'm sure I'll expand on what I use for tools but you don't need everything to be perfect before you try something new.   Always be open to just trying things, you may just find your true voice because of the experimenting and the make dos.

Below:

Because this is a new craft for me I'm trying to document things like type of materials and techniques each day.  You can also see were I'm marking each piece with the day I made it.   Now I can return to the pieces I liked and build on the techniques I thought were successful.

Oh boy, this is like eating potato chips, you can't stop at just one.  Look for more gelli plate pulls in the future.  And then, of course, how I end up using them.

Thanks for stopping in.

Have a wonderful day.

MaryEllen

Scrappy Stars (a stash buster)

Scrappy stars was a fun quilt to make and one that just kind of developed the longer I worked on it.

How it all began......

I was looking for a way to use up a few scraps. My process for saving scraps is I put all my scraps in a large bag under my sewing machine as I work on each project.  When that bag fills up I divide the scraps by color and they move to a box.  When scrap the box gets full ..... it's time for a new scrappy stash busting project.

Here I'm sewing the scraps into my new yardage.

That scrap yardage became the 6.5" center blocks for my stars.

Next came the question of how to lay out the stars. I decided I wanted sashing between the blocks but I was unsure what to use.

I had yardage of a dark green fabric?  Nice but I decided it didn't keep with the scrappy theme.

I had already used one fabric for all the star points so I felt they would anchor the blocks and give the eye something stable to focus on. Meanwhile, the sashing and block centers are more fun and bright, and busy for the eye to follow.

The sashing is all shades of green.  The pieces in each sashing row are a consistent width but all the rows vary in width.

Finished 71" X 70".  Flannel back, quilting done on my domestic machine.

I hope everyone is enjoying a wonderful day!

MaryEllen

New Year- New projects

Happy New Year! 

I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday season.  It's hard to believe we are into a new year!

To start off the new year I've prepared six blocks for a new crazy quilt project.



The focal fabric is from a set of very sheer napkins and a tea cozy from India.  These were a gift years ago from a dear friend. Over the years with many moves my decor has changed and the napkins moved to a drawer.  I'm hoping working them into this project will give them the new life they deserve.

Hopefully from the photo you can get an idea of how dainty this beautiful set is.

Here are some of the other fabrics I've added to the blocks. I'm saving all the edgings as well as the cozy, my plan is to work them in somewhere later.
Looks like I've got some work to do!  I'm hoping by publishing on my blog I will stay motivated to get it done in a reasonable amount of time!!!