Volare is the Italian for 'to fly' (or soar) and is the name of the current European Space Agency mission being conducted by Luca Parmitano on the International Space Station. And now it's the name of my latest quilt: It's now in the possession of the young boy I made it for, so here are a lot of photos... (closest to the sun, Mercury, then Venus) I explained in earlier posts about piecing the background. It came together really well, and with a bit of care at the sandwiching and quilting stages, laid beautifully flat, especially given all the free-form curves. The planets were all made from fabrics which I painted myself after researching the colours and textures required for each. One (Mars) was an over-pained commercial print, but the others were all plain white when I started. (Mars, with two Martians and an approaching Space Shuttle) Each of the planets is fused with a narrow (roughly 1/4in) ring of fusible web to a matching solid print, and then with another ring both layers were fused to the background and appliqued in place with a blanket stitch in matching thread on my machine. The double layer was used to enhance the colours in some cases, and avoid the background showing through. I only fused around the edges to keep them soft. Before sandwiching, I pinned cut-to-size circles of scrap batting under each planet (and the comet and moon) in a simple trapunto technique to add extra dimension and fullness. (Saturn, with rings added by machine and an astronaut on a spacewalk) Obviously it wasn't possible to make them all to scale - or keep the distances to scale; I applied a liberal dose of artistic licence to make the layout visually pleasing. With the exception of Earth, they're sized in order, and the planets were initially placed in order of their position from the sun, but somehow Saturn shifted a bit closer than intended and here appears about as close as Jupiter. (Jupiter; my favourite of my hand-painted planet fabrics) Most of the details were free-motion stitched prior to sandwiching (e.g. the Martians, plane, ISS and Saturn's rings) but near Jupiter is something I added during the quilting. It's visible in the image above, below and to the left of the planet, but here's more detail below: Rotated here to its more familiar orientation is the Southern Cross, a constellation always visible in the southern hemisphere, and depicted on the Australian flag (as well as others). On the Australian flag, all but the smallest star are shown with seven points, one for each of the six states, and another for the two territories. So I chose to quilt the larger of the two pointer stars (bottom left of the photo above) with seven points (the others were really too small for such detail). Uranus is a pale greeny-blue, but I'm still not used to how much lighter the painted fabrics are once dry, and it's a bit paler than intended: Furthest out is Neptune, among the darkest background fabrics: I remember the passing of Halley's Comet in 1986, so I decided to add it into the quilt as well. Some of the tail was added prior to sandwiching, but I added a little more yellow at the quilting stage, and if you look closely at the main image of the quilt (open it to view it larger), you'll see I quilted a subtle extended tail in navy thread round underneath and up past the left-hand side of Saturn. I used a pale yellow fairy frost fabric for the body of the comet, which gives it a but of luminescence. The greatest detail went into Earth. I over-emphasised its size to be able to include more detail - although it was still hard at 7in across. I used a commercial leaf-print batik for most of the land appliques on Earth - and a pearlescent snowy-white fairy frost for Antarctica. I used a combination of straight-stitch and blanket-stitch to applique the fused pieces in matching threads. I'll tell you a little secret. Australia is sufficiently symmetrical in shape that when traced in reverse on the fusible web, I forgot it was flipped. I carefully positioned it on the fabric with a brown section to represent the drier desert areas of the central outback and northern Western Australia - and ended up with it towards the lusher rainforests of far-north Queensland instead, and didn't realise until it was permanently fused in place - oops! The larger land areas and islands are appliqued (I especially like the peek of Antarctica down the bottom) and I added a few more in thread-only, but naturally had to simplify considerably. I took special care to make sure the Philippine archipelago was recognisable. This tiny little plane over China was also thread-sketched (by machine of course). And of course, one of my favourite details, the International Space Station (also rather simplified, at about 1 1/4in across) passing by New Zealand. I had the perfect fabric for the crescent moon, then had to find a section of sky that was both suitably close and suitable dark to place it! I mentioned several posts back about our plan to go and see the ISS. Well, we had a perfect viewing, as it passed right over Adelaide on a clear evening, and was easily visibly for over 5 minutes. James was the first to spot it. I set up my DLSR on the tripod and took a number of 4-second exposures. Without a remote-shutter, even the most careful depression of the button moved the camera a fraction, and my small tripod isn't the most steady, so the path looks rather jagged in my photos, but I was pleased with the results from so little effort. I especially liked the image below, which was towards the end of when it was visible (moving away from us, 'down') and shows a change in colour as the angle of the sun's reflection on it changed. (Several stars are also visible.)
This project has been in the works since August and I'm so excited to have it finished and gifted to my new baby nephew! My sister...
Welcome to those dropping by from the Aurifil blog! If not, check out my guest post on AURIbuzz where I was challenged by OLFA and Aurifil in the Slice & Stitch Challenge, a monthly event during which one Aurifil Artisan and one OLFA Ambassador each share how they put an OLFA tool and a specific weight of Aurifil thread to work. I had the privilege of using 80 wt Aurifil and the OLFA Rotary Circle Cutter. Don't tell anyone, but this was really not challenging. Both are soooooo easy to use. Getting them out of my tight grasp after I've experienced playing with these awesome notions in conjunction--- now that would be a challenge! As promised, I'll divulge some the techniques I explored during the process of creating my Galaxy Quilt, and how you can apply these methods to your own projects. Today I'll be sharing strategies for invisible machine appliqué. Over the course of the coming weeks, I'll be adding weekly posts explaining more of the techniques, so be sure to following Quilting Mod, or subscribe by e-mail. Before I give you the scoop, here are my astronauts making the foreign planet inhabitable by introducing OLFA and Aurifil. Invisible Machine Appliqué The Galaxy Quilt gave me an opportunity to try methods from Machine Finished Hand Applique with Beth Ferrier on Bluprint, as recommended by Nancy Arseneault when I admired her beautiful work at Quilt Fiesta. Beth has an out-ot-print book, Hand Applique by Machine, also. I outfitted myself with the gear, which included foundation stabilizer, turning rods, tweezers and a glue pen with refill. Budget alternatives are freezer paper instead of foundation stabilizer, a precision screwdriver set or chopsticks instead of the rods, economical tweezers, and a school glue stick. When using freezer paper, I tore two identical lengths and ironed one on top the other with the waxy side downward. The double layer is stiffer and preshrunk so it doesn't get smaller after I apply it to the fabric with the heat of an iron. I then used the OLFA Circle Cutter to cut a circle the exact size I'd like my planet. I adjust the OLFA Circle Cutter 1/4" larger using the guage to cut my fabric. I pressed the freezer paper circle in the center of the wrong side of the planet fabric with the waxy side toward the fabric. When I used the foundation stabilizer, I applied the stabilizer circle to the wrong side of the fabric with glue stick, and used a dry iron to dry the glue. While I've heard there's a fusible side to the foundation stabilizer, I found nothing to indicate this. To assist the seam allowance in turning under without creating lumpy pleats, I cut slits in the seam allowance almost to the stabilizer or freezer paper, but not quite. Run glue around the seam allowance, one small section at a time, so it doesn't dry before you get it turned over. If you have the turning rods, I recommend using the forked end to hold the foundation in place near the seam you're turning. Use the slanted side of the other rod to push the seam allowance over a bit at a time. Spinning the appliqué shape on an OLFA Rotating Mat is helpful so that getting an ergonomic angle doesn't require lifting the shape from the mat and repositioning repeatedly. I found the foundation stabilizer to be less stiff than freezer paper. At times, the stabilizer would fold onto itself and make the outer curve flatten into a straight line. The freezer paper does not have this problem; however, it must be removed unlike the stabilizer, which is meant to remain in the quilt and will turn into fiber as the quilt is washed in the future. If the use of glue was liberal, it can be slightly challenging to remove the entirely of the freezer paper without fraying the edge of the fabric. Press the edges of the planet over again after removing the freezer paper. Stitch the planet to the background using an 80 wt Aurifil thread that matches the planet and a zigzag stitch with a length of 2 and a width of 1. Stitches should alternate being on the planet and just barely on the background. Reduce the length to .3 to start and stop. If freezer paper was used, I recommend using a stabilizer on the wrong side of the background. To add a ring to a small planet, the shape can be traced onto the foundation stabilizer with a Frixion pen and cut out. Glue to the desired fabric and trim 1/4" around the shape. The ring only needs to extend 1/4" behind each side of the planet since it will be hidden underneath the planet. Turn the edges that won't be hidden by the planet over using the tools or a precision screwdriver and/or chopstick. I'll be back next week with more details on the techniques involved in the creation of the Galaxy Quilt, so be sure to follow via e-mail or your favorite blog reader.
Another commission for the same person, all my design. Late 2003.
I had promised my friend Amber a basket for do-dads on her changing table and finally got around to it this weekend. (Baby Liam is almost 2 month old...yikes!) And , here it is with my new baby, a garage sale find, works great... can you see me smiling? Also, I had quilted a signature into the Stars and Moon quilt... Have a great week!
52 of my favorite modern quilts from QuiltCon 2024.
Did anyone notice that I completely skipped over “Baby #1” when I started posting last fall? I posted the quilts made for babies #2 and #3, but wasn’t quite sure if I had photos …
This project has been in the works since August and I'm so excited to have it finished and gifted to my new baby nephew! My sister...
I’ve really been neglecting my friend the sewing machine in the last little while! It wasn’t completely voluntary, but most evenings my bed was calling just a little louder… which is also not too unusual for the last trimester I guess… 😛 But during those few precious sewing moments in the last two months or ... Read More about Y’s space quilt – a work in progress
Last year I made this paper-pieced rocket quilt block for Joy. I was so excited to design the pattern myself. [source] Joy received all kinds of fun space blocks from the Long Distance Quilting Bee and made this quilt for her nephew. My favorite block is the one directly below mine - so unique and very modern! Zoom in and check out the cute quilting in orange thread. I wonder if she did it herself? [source] Here's a closer look before it was quilted. So, this reminds me that I have two years of blocks to put together. I better get started!
I thought pairing it with some blacks might help draw out the galaxy colors. I went with blacks that seemed “starry” to me.
Current happenings in the store, on the website and in the internet shop.
10 FREE scrap quilt patterns! Make modern quilts with these free quilt patterns. Use fabric scraps from your stash or precut fabric.
This is the weighted quilt I wrote about a few days ago. As I mentioned, weighted quilts can be calming or soothing for people who have sensory issues (such as many people on the autism spectrum) or restless legs. I had to photograph it lying flat on the ground, because the added weight means it won't hang nicely on a wall, even if I had tape strong enough to hold it! It's 35 x 45in. I started with a 14x18 layout of squares cut from my stars stash (and a few plainer dark blues), layered the top with a single layer of plain black cotton (more strength to keep the pellets in) and pinned them as I would a regular quilt sandwich, then fused four five-point stars and appliqued them with a small buttonhole stitch by machine. I then created the double-decker sandwich; charcoal flannel backing, wool/cotton wadding to soften the pellets, plain black cotton (pellet security), then the pre-layered top, and re-pinned the whole lot. I quilted around the edges and the channels, then worked my way up the quilt, filling and quilting as I went, and double-securing the ends of every seam. I then added plain black binding in my usual manner - but slowly, due to the need to manoever all the tiny pellets away from the needle and keep it straight and even (which was harder than I'd thought).But after hand stitchign the binding to the back, I reinforced it with a neat row of machine stitching. I don't like machined bindings usually - I don't like the visible stitching, and they're rarely neat all the way around. But hand stitching first gives the back a perfectly straight (and perfectly placed) finish, and makes the final machine stitching much neater. Of course, this approach won't please those who choose to machine bind for reasons of speed, but in this instance it allowed me to add strength to the finish without sacrificing neatness. In a few places the stars overlapped the grid for the pellets, but rather than put ugly dark blue lines across the stars, when I came to a star, I followed the shortest path around the edge of the star back to the original gridline, so a few of the pockets are slightly odd shapes! I've sent this quilt off already, and I hope it works as intended for the little boy - and that he and his mother like it!
Explore c_nilsen's 29630 photos on Flickr!
Dieses Wochenende (vom 29. April bis 2. Mai) finden im Koningshof in Veldhoven (Niederlande) wieder die schon traditionellen europäischen Quiltmeisterschaften statt und wenn Sie in der Nähe sind, sollten Sie diese nicht versäumen. Die Organisatorin Ada Honders hat wieder viele wunderschöne Quilts an einem Platz vereint. Neben den Wettbewerbsquilts zum Thema "Rhythmus" gibt es Gastausstellungen von Anco Brouwers, Anna Dolanyi, Claudia Pfeil, Julia Avrahami, Leslie Gabrielse, Penelope Roger und Ryan NcKenna. Ein besonderes Highlight ist die Ausstellung "The Sky's the Limit". Diese Ausstellung wurde zum ersten Mal beim International Quilt Festival in Houston 2008 gezeigt. Die 40 schönsten Quilts daraus sind nun in Veldhoven zu sehen. Und einige dieser Quilts finden Sie hier. Natürlich gibt es auch Kurse und eine große Menge an Verkaufsständen. Das Patchwork- und Quiltjournal finden Sie am Stand des Ateliers Sigirid Pöschl, neben wunderschönen handgefärbten und handbedruckten Stoffen. Alle weiteren Informationen zu den europäischen Quiltmeisterschaften finden Sie unter www.oeqc.eu
