It’s all about the fish
February 28, 2007
I remembered that I had another quilt you guys haven’t seen. This is my entry to the shop hop challenge. We were told the fabrics we had to use and the minimum size. The fabrics have an oriental theme and we had to make a table runner. I would only use a table runner for a very special occasion, I am too messy to have a cloth on the table normally. So I wanted something special, and oriental. It had to be sushi.
As you may have noticed I love my sushi.The idea of a table loaded with sushi beautifully set on a table runner. Perfect.Initially I wanted to cut the words in to the runner. Unfortunately I couldn’t find fish that I likes that had characters that would work. I settled on salmon, tuna, mackerel. I hope they read OK. I had a very small phrasebook to work from and it wasn’t easy to see which way the strokes went. I know enough to know it is important but I don’t know enough to be sure if I got it right. If anyone does know please let me know either way. If I have it wrong I would like to know for future reference. Also is it legible?
I think that for those who don;t read Japanese it is nice to have a reversible runner (see previous comment about how messy I am). So I used the other colourway to make the back. It didn’t come out quite the way I planned, but I like the result anyway. You may have noticed that I have been rather busy, and that was true when I was doing this, so I did a machine binding. Not my usual option but I was quite pleased with it. I don;t really like the look, but I think the technique was well done and for the sake of speed I can live with it. I have actually decided to do it on another project I have in the pipeline!
Archway Update
February 26, 2007
So it may not have made it to the show, but I might as well show you guys. It will be getting more quilting and some door handle before next year, as well as some kind of finish to the edge. I haven’t quite decided how to do that yet, but I will. Having a year to think about it makes it seem a lot easier. I just hope they do have the show again next year. It will also give me time to think about the title. I have a couple of ideas and I know what I want to convey, I just need to get it right. It feels almost like this quilt wasn’t quite ready for the world.
This doorway is life size, OK as an old door it isn’t as tall as modern doors but it is still pretty big. I struggled to find space to hang it to take the pictures, so please forgive the odd angle. The door handles are ready to go on, I wish I had put them on before taking the pictures as I can’t wait to see them in place. I think they will help a surprising amount. It is that sort of detail that gives the realism. Like the hinges I am planning on attaching them using the longarm. I have done so much without a domestic machine recently it seems wrong not to. Given I have to remount the quilt to add more quilting, why not put the handles on at the same time.
I look forward to it being hung in shows, I am hoping they will be able to hang it so the bottom is very close to the floor and it will feel like you could walk through it. It would be so fun to walk round a corner and see a door, to who knows where. That is very much the point. I seem to have a talent for finding this style of door in odd places, and always somewhere where I can’t find out what is behind it. It drives me nuts. They look so interesting, they must go somewhere good. I am already thinking about a door you can open, but then what can I put behind it that is as exciting as your imagination?
Of course I will also be planning other architectural quilts. I have three already I want to make but all would be very costly to ship to the USA. I need to find cheap ways of moving large objects. I wonder how long a boat does take to make the crossing
Clear Desk Day
I work in chaos, I like it that way. Most of the time. Today was one of those days when I just HAD to clean my desk. I now have lots of space and I feel much better for it. I can now get on with my new log cabin design and write some intructions for classes. It isn’t the most thrilling work, but I feel like doing it today and it needs to be done. I do rather like having all this space, but I am quite calm about the fact it won’t last
Best laid plans
Maybe my mistake is declaring my plans here. It seems that every time I do things conspire to make me wrong. In this case I found lots of other things to do this weekend. I should say I’ve had fun, but I haven';t got done the things I wanted to do. I have done a lot of work on my challenge quilt and I am quite pleased with it. I helped a friend find things to photograph for her university project and I went to another friends birthday party. All great fun and probably very valuable rest and recuperation.
In Full Bloom is off to America. If anyone is going to the IQA Celebrate Spring show could you take pictures of it for me please? I would really like to see it hanging in the show but I have no way to get there.
Lessons Learned
February 23, 2007The last few days I have had to relearn a lesson I thought I knew. An oversight on your part does not make for an emergency on mine, and not all paying work is worth taking. I took on a rush job, partly because it looked interesting and partly because I needed the money. It meant leaving myself very short of time to make my Tactile Architecture entry, something that was very important to me. I haven’t managed to finish it and I am very miserable about it. I can’t actually see any way to finish the edges of the quilt so I am stuck for a while. But the last straw is the rush job landing back here in need of more work. I really didn’t need it today. I stuffed up my chance at this show, for a rush job that wasn’t used and is now back with me for more work. Stupid. I know I couldn’t foresee it not being used, but I do feel I shouldn’t have done it and I should have done the thing I really care about.
If anyone knows if the Tactile Architecture show is an annual event I would love to hear. I would feel much better if I knew I had a year to finish this quilt (and maybe another) and then enter them in this show. It may seem odd but I love architecture and engineering, and this was really important to me.
Now I am going to try and get myself back on track with the Friday challenge quilt, which quite bizarrely requires me to work with one of my other loves. Odd how these things happen isn’t it. I think I will try and finish it today and then tomorrow I can play with the swap quilts.
What have I been up to?
February 22, 2007
I know it has been a while since I posted, but things are still mad here. I think I might have a free day sometime next week, but I am not certain 
I hope I will I have my pieces planned for the swaps and the art meme, and I would love to get them made.
I have spent the last few days in a quilting frenzy. I know that dense quilting is a commitment, and every time I start it I think I should be committed. This time it is a Gothic doorway, with lots of carving. Of course there is also a pressing deadline. I have to have my forms postmarked tomorrow. Just as well I like a challenge, although even I think this is one I am going to miss. I have finished the quilting on one of the columns, and the fineal on it, I’ve got most of the marking out done, and the ‘carving’ in the insets at the top of the doorway. On the other hand I still need to make the hinges, banding and handles for the doors, and I need to quilt the other column. Still here is the picture of it now, on the frame. It is a pig to roll onto the rollers. It is too lumpy to tension up evenly.
Wish me luck, I think I will need it. Oh I suppose I should mention, it is a life size door. Only a small one, but still pretty large.
Trade Fairs
February 19, 2007Well they are interesting aren’t they? The most interesting factor was how many people I already knew. I didn’t realise how much I had been getting about recently. It was lovely to catch up with you all. I also got to meet new people, which was great. There are a lot of people trying to do a lot of interesting things in craft right now. I hope they are all successful.
I nearly had a significant purchasing accident. There was a stand there for the sock wool I really like. I want more of most of the ranges, and they had a special deal if you bought 50 balls. Yes I really do like it that much. I decided that honesty was the best policy though and asked them about more sensible ways to buy wool. They were very helpful and quite happy to try and win even a little customer. It was really heart warming, and guess what, I will go out of my way to keep buying their product.
There were a lot of traders who assumed you weren’t a real business customer. This is a sure way to lose my business. I want to be in a position to sell things like wadding and wide backings to my customers, I am happy to meet their minimum order requirements so I would say I am a valid customer. If they don;t want my money I will take it elsewhere. I was also disappointed by the wholesale cost of some fabrics. Our wholesale prices before VAT are more than the retail prices from the USA. It is cheaper for me to buy from retailers in America, pay shipping and taxes. Sadly that will be how I do it. I can’t afford to subsidise the whole UK fabric trade. I will obviously continue to support my local quilt shops though, what would I do if I couldn’t get my emergency fabric fixes. So next time you go shopping here and are upset about the cost, please be assured it isn’t the shops making a huge profit. In fact I would say their prices are remarkable reasonable given what they are working with.
I also came away with a lot of new ideas. There are materials I want to play with, and new designs to refine. It has been a very valuable day and will be trying to get to this event again.
Patterns are hard to handle
February 17, 2007I seem to have spent half the day wrestling with a quilt pattern. It is my entry for Tactile Architecture and I need a full size pattern to work from. It is tricky to deal with. It looks good but is a little short. That is the hazard of the printing method I use. I can easily fix that but I might wait till tomorrow. The fix is simple but very unwieldy. This thing is lots of sheets of A4 stuck together to made one sheet 80″x45″. I am really looking forward to getting started on the quilting on this. It will be a lot of fun. Much faux trapunto.
Relaxed and refreshed
February 16, 2007I seem to have found the cure for the common cold. Relaxing. Well it has worked for me. I’ve spent the day sorting out paperwork. Putting pictures of the quilts into my show quilt file. Upadeted where my quilts are going when, and almost finished last years scrap book. All stuff that needed doing, but didn’t need much thought. It’s been fun.
I also relearned crochet. I haven’t done it in years and I have a friend who wants me to teach her. I feel I can now. In playing I have made the start of a blanket in truly nasty wool. I don’t know if the stitch I have been doing has a name, but I like it and it seems to be working.
I’ve finished the evening with home made brownies. I love them but I don’t often find time to make them. However my main motivation was to save money compared to Gu brownies. I did save a little maybe but it isn’t as much as I thought. I will feel better about buying them next time.
So the house smells of chocolate, I feel refreshed I think I will have an early (for me) night and get started on my Tactile Architecture entry tomorrow.
Secret two
February 15, 2007
OK this one was less secret, but I still couldn’t show you until the owners had seen it. I have quilted this for Amwell quilters who will be raffling it. The funds it raises will go to two charities, Womens Aid Broxbourne and FutureHope. FutureHope is a bus that provides activities for youths in Hertfordshire. They are both very good causes, who I suspect find it hard to compete with all the big national charities.
The quilt is a single size, 68″x86″ and is a scrappy bow tie design. It has some fantastic fabrics in it, that change in different lights. It’s a really fun quilt. I tried to keep the quilting simple and in keeping with the quilt. Sorry the pictures aren’t great I left the room lights on and they give a very yellow tint to the pictures.
The raffle will be draw at their Patchwork and Quilting Exhibition in May. It is being held at The Drill Hall , Amwell End, Ware, Saturday 12th and Sunday 14th of May. If you would like to buy raffle tickets phone, (01992) 892590. If you are outside of the UK but would like tickets let me know and I will organize it for you. I have a paypal account and can thus buy tickets on your behalf. I should mention that the quilt will be bound and finished before it is raffled, hopefully I will be able to get a picture of it finished to show you all.