Thursday's Thoughts - Quilting, Creating, and Photographing

Each week I think about what thoughts I am going to share on Thursday... Remember I work alone quilting all day long.  There is lots of time to think!
"Pause and View"... When you are doing something, almost everything and anything, you have to stand back and evaluate it --- "How's it going?" " How does it look?"
For example, when you are making a quilt, you have a pattern or a plan, if you are creating, like I usually do.  
You select your fabrics.

You lay them out on the table and see how they look together.  You imagine them in the quilt.  

As you are sewing and constructing your quilt blocks, you see how the fabrics combine to create the look you want to achieve.  

Then you lay out your blocks to assemble your quilt top.  You may rearrange them several times before you find the right color balance.  When you get it right, it will be eye pleasing and you sew them together. 

Next you add the borders to complete the quilt top.

Then the quilting.  I think this is a very important part of the process, as it not only holds the quilt together, it gives it life! It adds bounce and character! Then the binding finishes your quilt.

I created this quilt for a Project Quilting challenge.


Many things that we do everyday, have a plan. With each step in the process, we "pause and view" to see how it is going.  It is important to pause and view in order to have a successful accomplishment.


As I prepare the posts for my blog,(for you), I pause and view.  
My plan:  share what I do everyday.  I quilt, create, and photograph...  But the hardest part for me is the writing.  I am not a writer. Finding the right words is not easy.  Somehow it all comes together and I can share... I can share what I do everyday!
  
So if my words are not real clear, I am doing my best to say it, the only way I can.  Thanks for reading about what I do, because I am going to keep right on sharing, everyday - Well not everyday, but at least 4 to 5 days a week. That's my plan!

This is one of my favorite photos.  It reminds me of all the projects I still want to do!  The tomatoes are spilling out of the bowl, like the ideas in my head...  


I plan to quilt:  Develop new free style quilting designs and share them.


I plan to create: Using free form patterns to construct interesting quilts and quilted items.


I will photograph My World:  My quilts and quilting designs, quilted creations, fresh colorful food and place settings, my container garden, and last, but not least my dog, Gabby and my Mom's dog, Toby.  Oh and sometimes my family when they allow it!


I enjoy quilting, creating, and photographing... 

and sharing!

What do you enjoy doing?  Share with me...


Enjoy your day and thanks for being here with me!


Marcia
Click Here for the Zig Zag Quilt Block PDF Pattern on Craftsy.com for Only $1.00.

Linked with:
Favourite Things Friday - Oct. 13, 2011
Stuff and Nonsense: Fridays Unfolded - Oct. 13, 2011

A Weekend Post - Quilts at Organic Valley

The other day I posted photos of my quilts that were at the Organic Valley Quilt and Rug Show on my Crafty Sewing and Quilting in My Garden, Kitchen, and Home Blog. Friends and family suggested that I post them here too!  So here they are. In March I was invited to bring three quilts for their display!  The quilts were in their show from April through June 18th.  

I used my Easy to Sew Quilt Pattern to create the first quilt for a fabric challenge for Quilts by Barb's Retreat last year.  This quilt was also featured in the Ribbon Quilting video - click here for the post about it and here for post with up close photos of it and here for the link to the video.

My Red, Yellow, and Blue Baby Quilt was created for a challenge for Project Quilting.  I posted about the whole process of construction from choosing the colors, through the sewing, and the quilting .  Click here to see those posts.

This next quilt was made using a variation of the Easy to Sew Quilt Pattern.  I used four extra wide backing fabrics to construct this quilt. The floral black and white prints, the solid black, and the solid white.  Click here for the post about using extra wide fabrics for piecing.

Hope you are having a wonderful weekend!

Marcia

I thought a made a Baby Quilt ...Gabby thinks I made a Gabby Quilt!

These are the final pictures for the Project Quilting Season 2 - Challenge number 1 - Primary Colors Quilt. I had a blast!


It did push me to be a better machine piecer and quilter! I really enjoyed the process. It was a great quilt challenge.


It is so cool to see the photos of the work in progress on Flicker and now the final projects are coming in. What a color delight to see all the primary colors on display!


Follow the link on this blog to my flicker photos and I put more photos on my website photo gallery too! ENJOY!!!

Quilting is complete! Glad I took the challenge! What a blast!

What a blast!!! I definitely went outside my box on the quilting part of this challenge --- trying a variety of patterns and not afraid to make a mistake !!! Glad I took the challenge!

Project Quilting

The next step was the quilting of the borders and the lattice strips. I quilted the border with a free style Zig Zag pattern using yellow and red thread on the blue border and blue thread on the red border and yellow thread on the yellow border. On the lattice strips I quilted with a wavy line that joins a daisy at each end. I used the yellow thread on the yellow and green strips and red thread on the red and blue strips!

Back side of the quilt. You can see all the patterns and color changes on this side of the quilt. Done with the quilting... binding is next!

Wachuta Doodles - Starting to quilt the block part of the quilt!

I started to quilt my challenge quilt for Project Quilting - Using a form of Zentangle quilting which I personally named Wachuta Doodles.










I quilted on just the open blocks.... creating a pattern design in each block. Just had fun making patterns... the dot blocks - circular designs, the flower blocks - zig zag patterns and the plain white blocks - cross hatch and basket weave patterns. What a blast!
















More pictures from the yesterday's quilting at the end of the day will be on another post - maybe tonight or tomorrow! Photos in the Photo Gallery --- Click any of the photos and it will take you to the Picasa Photo Gallery where you will find all my photos - click on that and then on Project Quilting. Also photos on Flicker.

My Quilt Project for Project Quilting --- The next steps!!!

After work today I completed the quilt top - tomorrow after work I will quilt it!! Yippee...Here is how I got to this point... follow the steps below....

Selected the final fabrics for Project Quilting.

Cut strips in random sizes from 1 3/4 inch to 3 inches.
Lay them out to see how it will look....



Sew strips on one side of the block.

Sew strips on one side of the block.
Square up block at an angle to 6 1/2 inch square.

Lay them out in random order.. I changed the order many times before sewing them together. I should have just picked them up in any order and sewed them!

Sew the rows together unevenly to offset them.

More photos in the my Photo Gallery.

My Quilt Project for Project Quilting --- The Beginning

Project Quilting ---I am starting to select the fabrics and plan a bit! Yellow, Blue, and Red -- Reads solid with a little texture for interest!


OK Should I add more yellows and blues and reds???


How about adding secondary colors - Purple and Orange and Green? I don't know... maybe not?



Add fabrics with all the colors with white and black backgrounds and a bunch of strips of all the colors with more textures???? What should I do??



Add seersucker fabrics.......... I liked the idea of the white fabric with the colors and then I thought of all that seersucker fabric I have (which I will never use---- but I like how it feels)..... It will give the quilt more "feel texture" !!! And don't use the black and white fabrics in the picture above.


Add more white fabric to the colors? That might create a nice space to quilt on the plain white? I don't know?! I think I will add more texture yellows and a couple reds, with a touch of green to pick up the green in the tulips! What do you think?


I think this is it!! I will press and cut tomorrow and start sewing... ....have to do just a little bit each day, as the quilting business is busy in the winter months! Quilt, quilt, quilt.... then I can play! Maybe tonight I will dream about the way I want to sew the pieces together.... Sweet Sewing Dreams....



More photos in the photo gallery at www.craftysewing.com