Quilt Retreat Report, Part 1

     A few weeks ago, I was able to join some old and new quilting friends on a 4 day quilt retreat.  This is my third retreat with some of these ladies, and what a nice time I had.  If you have never taken part in one, you should!  It is a great way to spend large amounts of time sewing, being inspired by the work done by others, and getting to know other quilters. 
     What I didn't realize before I started going on these adventures is that there is a healthy amount of wine sipping that happens in the evenings.  Sewing while sipping is a thing, and now I plan for it.
     When I am figuring out what projects to take for the 4 days, I include precision projects for the morning and afternoon, and "drinking-proof" projects for the evening.  I always take more projects that I can actually finish!  My precision projects were three versions of the GE Designs Lexie pattern I purchased.  I got a good start on those, and will share soon. 
     For the evening, I had decided to work on two scrap projects.  I have bags of scraps, some of which I had previously cut into 2 1/2 inch wide strips.  Before going on the retreat, I sewed those together into two long rolls.  I also cut lots of scrap batting into 2 1/2 inch strips, with the intention of making a jelly roll rug. 

 During the retreat, while sipping wine and binge watching Grace & Frankie on Netflix, I managed to sew the fabric covered cords to create a rug.  I used up all the batting I brought, and created this nice big ball!

   Yesterday, I had a few hours free, and decided to try a sample rug.  Because I was curious about how far these strips go, I measured out 60 feet before starting.  I put on my zig zag stitch and went to town.  I like how it turned out, although I'll probably tweak the next one a bit, especially where the coils end.  The finished little rug is 24 inches in diameter.  A cute little mat for the sink or lav, and almost no cost, since everything was scraps!   

     My other "drinking" project was to start working on a crumb type piece with all my little solid bits.  From my various bins of solids, I filled a huge Marshall's bag!

 

  For this project, I just started on building from a small center, and kept adding and rotating as the mood struck.  I ended up with dozen small pieces ranging from about 5 inches square to about 14 inches long.  I like how these look individually and how they may look together.  I am still mulling over what to do with them.  I barely touched the scrap stash, so I can just keep going.  I enjoyed this sewing tremendously!  The lighting was pretty bad when I snapped this photo - sorry!  

     I wanted to check my values, and had decided not to include white, so I used my phone camera to see if I had a mix of lights, darks and mediums.  I think I do! 

   So, 4 days of sewing, and only a small little rug completed, but lots of projects started, and lots of great memories of the retreat.

Take care,
Gretchen

Hey, Wassily #2 - Quilt Expo Modern Mini Quilt Challenge

     April and early May were BUSY!  I finished my two college art classes, took a 6 week (one morning a week) watercolor class with my mom at a community art center, completed 24 hours of Continuing Legal Education classes, took over newsletter duties for one of my quilt guilds, and co-hosted a wonderful 90th birthday luncheon for my mom! Whew!  No wonder I haven't been quilting or blogging!  

     May 1 arrived, and it was time for the Quilt Expo Modern Mini Challenge (link to web site). I have entered twice before, with "Off the Rails" last year and "Stepping Stones" in 2017. I enjoy this challenge, but couldn't begin to work on my submission until May 8!

     I did have an idea in my head for my piece.  The art of German Expressionist painter Wassily Kandinsky fascinates me and his Color Study piece inspired me.  I wanted to work in solids, and use the Kona color of the year, Splash, as a part of this piece.  I decided to forego white or black, and tried to pick a limited and saturated color palette that had some contrast created by using warm and cool tones, and dark and light tones.  I wanted the colors to zing!  

     I also wanted to experiment with free cutting (no templates) and piecing circles.  I continue to be inspired by Maria Shell's work.  I attempted a piece last year, but wasn't entirely pleased with the end product.  The curves weren't as curvy as I had intended and I also wasn't entirely happy with the composition of the final piece.  

I called this Hey, Wassily. 

     I started with a few test pieces to see how much work and fabric was required to make these blocks. 

You need lots of pins to sew curves like these! 

     I had picked 8 colors for the circles, and pieced them one layer at a time, trying to keep the center and finished shapes generally the same size.  I was enjoying the variety and the wonkiness of the shapes!  
     Since I was on a tight timeline, I made lots of decisions as I was going along.  I started with circles of just 2 colors.  I was also undecided about the background, which was between white or Kona's "Splash", a turquoise shade that is the color of the year.  
I put the two color circles on my design board.

     I looked at this for a day, and decided to use "Splash" for the background of all the blocks, and to add another ring of color to each circle.   

     I pieced the background around the circles, and used a square ruler to cut each block 8 1/2 inches square.  

      Once I fussed with the block placement, I began my quilting, using thread that pretty much matched the colors.  I usually like Aurifil for quilting, but didn't have all the colors on hand, and so ended up using Sulky (which worked just fine, too!)  I used a few different designs in the quilting to add a touch more textural interest.   Here are a few close-ups 

     I considered binding the piece in a black and white stripe, and also considered facing the piece.  I ended up binding in the turquoise, to to keep the focus on the colored circles.  

     I am quite happy with this piece, which measures 24 inches square.  I am glad I finished it in time to enter it into the contest.  There are loads of really interesting and beautiful modern quilts entered this year.  Please check them all out!  You can find all the entries in a photo album on the Quilt Expo Facebook page here.    

Submissions can be added through May 21, and winners are announced the following week.  

     Here is a photo of the back of the piece, where you can see all the quilting against the white backing.  

I am heading to a quilt retreat soon, and can't wait!  

Take care,
Gretchen