Follow my process re-posts of the Beth El Synagogue Torah Mantels.
October 26, 2009
I like the way it’s coming out but I’m surprised the piecework is going so slowly. Only about a third of the composition will be visible when it wraps around the Torah.
Before I moved to San Francisco in 2008, I lived in North Carolina for 32 years, the last 18 in Durham, Chapel Hill & Carrboro. That’s where I am now, visiting friends and family in NC. I’m also heading east from Durham to Wrightsville Beach and then west to Asheville and beyond to Penland School of Craft for a couple of days.
This photo was taken by Artie Dixon of the Passage Quilting workshop I taught at Penland the Summer of 2006. We worked through a lot of issues in two weeks including, divorce, anniversaries, coming of age, and death. See pictures from that workshop here. I’ll be teaching again at Penland, during the Summer of 2011. Stay tuned…
Follow my process re-posts of the Beth El Synagogue Torah Mantels.
October 22, 2009
Drawings:
Arranging shapes (lots of fun):
Reality – things change quite a bit when the design gets sewn together:
End of day shot:
My love for puzzles has served me well as a quilt maker.
A. In step 4 you created either rectangular or curved sections from wedged shaped strips according to your moods. At some point you will have a lot of moody “sections” made from the striped wedges. Now the fun begins. Take your sections and enjoy moving them around on your floor or work wall. Notice the kinds of relationships that are formed between colors, lines, and shapes.
B. The first rule of thumb is to go with the flow. Begin to create your composition by fitting your sections together like a puzzle. You will discover some natural fits, where the shapes seem to fit like they were cut from a pattern. Allow the shapes fall into their natural place, and your composition could take some unexpected but delightful turns.
C. The second rule of thumb is to avoid inset seams whenever possible. If you are connecting two sections of different lengths, you have two choices. You can either add to the short section or subtract from the long section so that they are of equal lengths. Once they are equal you can sew them together and thus avoid the need for an inset seam. In the example here, I have added a piece of yellow to my blue wedge section so that I can sew it to the other blue wedge sections without an inset seam.
D. Once you begin to sew the smaller sections together you will eventually have even bigger sections to sew together. Follow the guidelines above until you have the quilt sewn into one complete piece. As your sections get bigger you may need to pin in order to keep things in line. In step 6 of the quilt-along I’ll review curve piecing techniques.
The Mod-Mood Quilt Givaway is open through September 1st. Visit the post for a chance to win a half yard of hand-dyed fabrics in your color range of choice. I’ll be announcing the winner during the week of September 8.
Please post any questions you have about the process or techniques and I will respond. Share images of your process on the Mod Mood Quilt Flickr pool. Any surprises? Discoveries? Satisfactions? Dissatisfactions? If you are working on your mood quilt, give me an update!
I can never find a good pair of scissors when I need them. That’s why I keep several pairs on hand at a time. I date them with a sharpie when I enter them into service, and retire the old scissors as they dull over time.
I entered my scissor collection into Pat Sloan’s August scissor challenge. There’s still time to show Pat your scissors. Take a look at all of the scissors here!
How do you keep track of your scissors? Share your tips for running an efficient studio.
Follow my process re-posts of the Beth El Synagogue Torah Mantels.
October 20, 2009
Many hours spent cutting and piecing 1/2″ to 1″ strips from clothing donated by congregation. Also mixing prints with solid silk shantung that was purchased for the project. Some how I will mix these sheets of striped fabric with the kippot.
October 21, 2009
I am pleased with the vivid colors so far. The kippahs are so bright. My goal is to bring out as much contrast and vividness as possible by by juxtaposing high contrast clashing colors. As the designs for the mantels develop I will ground the colors with neutrals, black, white, creams, navy and deep plum.
Besides a scarf here or there, I’ve never been much of a knitter but I knitted my first pair of socks in January and was immediately hooked. I finished knitting my 4th pair of socks last week, (see pair #4 in progress here) and I’ve already started pair #5 (see bottom right corner of the post image). So yes I’m hooked and addicted, not only to knitting socks but to buying sock yarn.
I can’t seem to resist buying a ball of lovely sock yarn whenever I visit a yarn shop. So let’s count… Since January, I’ve bought yarn for another 12 pairs of socks. At the rate of four pairs of socks every six months, I currently have enough yarn to keep me knitting for the next year and a half… If I continue to buy three skeins for every one pair I knit… in a year and a half I’ll have enough yarn for 36 more pairs… which will keep me knitting socks for the next nine years… after which I’ll have 108 skeins… which will keep me knitting for another 27 years… Oh goodness enough!
What do I like about knitting socks? Project portability, their unlimited necessity (everyone can always use another pair of socks), the luxury of wearing them, the relatively inexpensive cost of the materials ($8-$20/pair as opposed to $350/sweater). If you’re a sock knitter what do you like about knitting socks? Or tell me about your most recent craft addiction. What about it hooked you?
Follow my process re-posts of the Beth El Synagogue Torah Mantels.
October 16, 2009
Strips are cut irregularly without a ruler from Beth El clothing and silk shantung purchased for the project, 1″ to 1/2″ wide. I’m making sheets of fabric. Some are all solids, some alternate light prints with solids, some alternate prints and solids, all prints, etc. These strip pieced fabrics will all get cut up and remixed later on.
