2018 Goal # 1

32 Projects_Gold

A Challenge

My personal library is filled with wonderful resources on the subject of improv quilting. Among those amazing books is 15 Minutes of Play by Victoria Findlay Wolfe. I’ve read her book from cover to cover multiple times yet each time I open it I learn something new. Given the amount of valuable information available, at my fingertips, I am challenging myself to use this resource as inspiration in 2018.

32 Tasks

15 Minutes of Play has at least 32 different potential topics for discussion. With 52 weeks in the year this allows plenty of time to tackle my challenge. My goal is to successfully complete as many of the 32 tasks as possible.

I hope to learn as much as possible in 2018.

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Life After Nine Days Away

Welcome Back!

Returning to reality, after nine days away,  can be exhausting. There’s all the unpacking and laundry to do as well as catching up on household tasks. Once those chores are taken care of it’s easier to slide back into your normal routine. For me, it doesn’t take very long to get that out of the way. Once I put my mind to it, I keep myself focused on the tasks-at-hand until each one is crossed off. After my list has been accomplished and tossed into the trash I’m free to move onto more enjoyable things.

Let’s Unpack

Re-establishing my presence in my sewing room meant unpacking and stowing away the supplies I took to my little cabin in the woods. It’s also a great opportunity to clean-up and reorganize my things to give them a fresh, new appearance. I especially had a great time unpacking the items I made while on my trip. Each one was carefully removed from the plastic tub and checked for wrinkles. The small art pieces were stacked, one on top of the other, on a shelf. The two quilts, Circuit and Teacup, were draped over a rod for safekeeping until I have the chance to long-arm quilt them.

Time to Sew

After unpacking and tidying up my sewing room I created the backings for Circuit and Teacup. Even though I don’t have time to long-arm quilt them now I like having the backs already to go. Then when it is time to quilt I don’t have to stop to do it. As soon as I finished the backings I could finally move on to other items.

One of the improv art pieces I made during my retreat was this little quilt.

Art Quilt # 22: Crossroads
Art Quilt # 22: Crossroads

If you remember from this posting the inspiration came from this random grouping of fabrics.

Option Two

These small pieces of material, along with the addition of several others, morphed into Crossroads.

A Backing was Added

After pressing the final seam I decided, rather than add borders, I would fuse the mini art piece to black fabric. The borders would have provided a smooth finished edge. This technique would have worked just fine but I really liked the look of the raw edges. I wanted to preserve as much of that appearance as possible.

To accomplish this I used a piece of Misty Fuse, a product I learned about at the Rayna Gillman’s class I attended in May 2016. I prefer to use this product because it allows my piece to maintain a soft feeling. Some of the other products make your piece feel stiff. This is how my Crossroads looked after being fused to it’s new background.

Art Quilt # 22_ Crossroads with Black Backing.jpg

Left to do on this piece:

  1. make a backing
  2. cut the batting
  3. quilting (most likely a simple linear pattern with gray thread, except in the black area)
  4. binding (I will create a facing for this)

Once I’ve added the finishing touches I will share the final outcome.

Moving On

Not much else to share on Crossroads for now. Once I’ve had the chance to make further progress I will bring you up-to-date.

 

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Cindy Anderson

 

 

 

 

Quilt Retreat Day Nine

I’ve been on a private sewing retreat for the past eight days. Over those eight days I have shared the events that made my time meaningful.  As much as I would like to stay longer, by day nine I have to admit that I have expended every ounce of energy. My tank is absolutely empty. So empty it is challenging to go through the motions of packing and cleaning the cabin. When all was finished, I turned the key in the cabin’s lock one last time, then grabbed Sadie and climbed inside the truck. Together the two of us are heading south for our long trip home.

This has been an absolutely amazing adventure. I feel so blessed to have had the opportunity. Much has been accomplished but, for the majority of my projects, the adventure has just begun. Stay connected to watch the progress I make as I bring each of these items, as well as many, many more to completion. Shown below are photos of some of the projects I worked on.

Thank you for supporting my work through your likes and comments. Your continued interest is what makes this blog worthwhile. Links to all of my quilting retreat installments are listed below. Use them to catch-up on the ones you may have missed.

Cindy Anderson