Modern Quilting

Several blogs I like have recently talked about Modern Quilting. I think, at last, I get what they are saying. I've been working on a blue theme quilt for about a year. It has Prairie Points (neat) and blocks, sashing, etc - all pretty traditional. I was really struggling with how to quilt it. I decided to do it by hand and completed a simple cross with beige thread in the small paisley square. Limping along, I decided to in-line (opposite of out-line) the light blue boxes in a light blue thread. I flirted with feather templates for the border, even bought one, but couldn't commit. It just didn't feel right.

Then I saw this post by Jacquie at Tallgrass Prairie Studio (well, I can't find it now). Jacquie tries all kinds of things. I realized that I like reading her blog because she test-drives techniques that I'd be afraid to try. One was using the different stitches that the sewing machine is capable of. Another was a link to this blog Silly BooDilly. The name alone compelled me to look! Her use of different weights of quilting thread was totally fantastic and invited me to read more and more!!!

Modern Quilting: the freedom to use embroidery floss when the quilt says ho-humm to feather templates.

Merry Christmas and trying new things

I hope you all had a very Merry Christmas. We did!

I have been holding on to my African fabric for a long time now. The colors are bold and the patterns so distinctive that they do not blend easily into my usual quilt patterns and colorways. So, I held on to the fabric but have noticed some really clever ways to use prints like these. Kelli used some of her stash for a really cute blanket just recently. She encouraged me to get out the scissors!

The cloth I chose for this first experiment is called Homme Boubou (French: homme = man: boubou = a boubou is a traditional dress for muslim men in West Africa). I fussy cut the men either solo or with a pal. The shapes are rectangles. I used a solid black to make a border. On some I used 2 inch borders. On others I wonkified (a new word) the homme boubou. On yet others, I wonkified the black frame. I used a bright, multi-colored pattern for the outer border. I made one strip just to see how they might go together. I'm not yet sure how they will all go together but it will probably work out.

I find that cutting and sewing without a pattern is more stressful than using a pattern. I am conscious of wasting fabric and thinking a head to "what could I do with this little bit?" So far, I am saving all the little scraps just in case. I worry that the shapes will not come together nicely. I think I worry too much. I've been holding on to this cloth for 15+ years. It is time. It is time to try something new.