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Enough Said
Art Quilt Number 16: Bird House
I started this art piece, in the evening, on the very last day of the May, 2016 retreat. Present at the time were my new friends Barb M and our world famous teacher, Rayna Gillman. All the other students had already gone home.
Looking around the room it was kind of sad to see it almost empty. Only hours before the other workstations had been filled with activity. All that was left of that commotion now was the splattering of fabric strewn about on the carpeted floor. It looked like an explosion of fabric scraps had taken place.
Rayna and Barb were both engrossed in their own projects. I was on a mission to create one last art quilt. My mood was quite playful so I felt the urge to reflect that sentiment in this new piece.
To get my masterpiece started I began pulling the loudest pieces of fabric I could find. I felt like a kid using a box of brand new crayons. I couldn’t wait to use every single one to paint my new picture. No fabric, no matter how wild it might be, was automatically dismissed. One by one they all had their chance to audition.
This activity went completely unnoticed by my partners. That’s probably a good thing because I’m certain there was a devilish smirk on my face. Not being alert to my activity meant I didn’t have to explain my mood.
As you look at this piece you may see remnants of my other works. Some of them are so tiny that it’s difficult to trace them to their parent while others are huge pieces sliced from their original grouping and left as is. By the time the evening was over I had made huge progress on my piece. While I wasn’t ready to declare it finished I was pretty darn close.
After unpacking and displaying my almost finished art quilt on my design wall I felt the enthusiasm of that evening return. How awesome to have such fond memories.
During my push to bring to fruition my stack of unfinished art quilts this item received it’s much deserved attention. Here’s what I had to work with.
You can see there were a few areas that needed filling in. Especially along the top left and right corners. The strips of fabric at the bottom and the unit along the left side had not yet been stitched to the main piece.
My original intention for this quilt was to turn it into a house; leaving the angled top as is. But by now my feelings had changed. I decided to cut the majority of the rooftop off. The space left by the removed roof would be filled in with other fabrics.
Included below is a photo of the quilt as it is today.
I think I will wait a bit longer to make certain there are no other changes to be made. I want to be totally satisfied with it’s outcome before proceeding with the finishing touches.
If you look in the center of the art quilt you will see a white bird. This white bird was the inspiration for naming my project. I call it Bird House. As the piece stands now it measures 25 1/4″ x 20 3/4″.
Thanks so much for visiting!
Cindy Anderson of In A Stitch Quilting
Art Quilt Number 15: Hodgepodge
I’ve been on a mission to bring to conclusion a lot of my waiting art pieces. From those pieces I had accumulated a number of castoffs. I knew those odd pieces would one day be used to create a new art quilt. Lucky for them today was the day.
The photo below is of a grouping of leftover scraps.
These scraps were the main building blocks for Art Quilt #15. Using those scraps along with strips and pieces of other fabrics I created a new art piece called Hodgepodge. Hodgepodge seemed like an appropriate description for this strange gathering of fabrics.
My Hodgepodge art piece measures 32″ x 23 1/4″.
Thanks for stopping by!
Cindy Anderson of In A Stitch Quilting
Art Quilt Number 14: Tulip
I have tried in more ways than one to salvage a grouping of re-purposed quilt blocks. To date my attempts have failed miserably. At least until now. In the center of Art Piece #14 is a reclaimed, reconfigured quilt block assembled from small portions of four different blocks. These reassembled pieces are surrounded by white fabric.
If you look closely at the image you will notice an unplanned surprise. By pure coincidence the image, when the fragments were stitched together, formed a tulip. This happy accident just had to be preserved. So far this is the one and only block that will be saved. As you can see I surrounded the tulip block with an artful array of complimentary fabrics. This new art piece has been titled Tulip. The piece measures 17 1/2″ x 17 3/4″.
Thanks for your visit!
Cindy Anderson of In A Stitch Quilting
Enough Said
Art Quilt Number 13: Ticktock
With each of my art pieces, as work progresses, it’s absolutely normal for a stack of trimmings to accumulate. Sometimes the scraps are large enough to be reused and sometimes they are not. The very tiny ones find a new home in my trash bin. The salvageable ones are stockpiled for later use.
Art Piece #13 is an example of just how useful those scraps can be. The origin of Art Piece #13 was some of those scraps. One of the recycled pieces has a portion of a clock on it. This is a photo of the block before renovation.
This clock is the reason for the block’s name. I have named it Ticktock. Ticktock measures 16″ x 15 3/4″.
Here’s the final version of Art Piece #13: Ticktock
Thanks for visiting!
Cindy Anderson of In A Stitch Quilting
Art Quilt Number 12: Autumn
I covet every minute I can set aside to work on my art pieces. Today provided me with another opportunity to immerse myself in my preferred activity.
Retrieved from my design wall was Art Piece #12. This piece as with #11 was created as a means to repurpose another one of my recycled orphan blocks. At the time of its inception I was pleased with its outcome. I even took it with me to the retreat in May, 2016 to proudly share it with my fellow students. Reusing orphaned quilt blocks/pieces to create new art is one of the techniques advocated by Rayna Gillman, the instructor at the retreat.
Revisiting this piece for the first time in three months brought back memories of the wonderful time I had at the retreat. It also made me rethink the thought process I went through when creating it. This was another example of an art piece gone wrong.
Just as with art piece #11 the recycled quilt square, sticking out like a sore thumb, repulsed me. The stark contrast of the surrounding white fabrics as well as the reconfigured quilt pieces looked so out of place. There was nothing about their presence that I liked.
My mission today was to completely remove any hint that they were ever present. Once that was accomplished it was on to reviving the leftover pieces into a much more pleasing creation.
Using the techniques that had become very familiar to me I cut apart and added new fabrics until I was satisfied.
After carefully pressing and squaring up my new art quilt I added a border to finish it off.
Art piece #12 now rests on my design wall. Left to accomplish is quilting, the addition of facings, a hanging sleeve and a label. Since I have a strong desire to get this piece off of my to do list I am certain it will be completed very quickly.
I have named this art piece Autumn. I chose this name because it reminds me of the beautiful, deep hues of the fall season. Autumn measures 28″ x 18″.
Let me introduce you to Art Quilt #12: Autumn
I’m so glad we got to spend these few moments together. Thanks for visiting.
Cindy Anderson of In A Stitch Quilting
