Bulging Checkerboard Complete!

This quilt started as a thought, back in early 2012, when I saw the optical illusion on line.  I jumped on the challenge to design this in a quilt, entirely pieced with no applique.  It went through a couple of iterations on the design board, as I tried to find the ratios that would make the illusion work.  When I thought I had it right, I cut a bunch of blocks and started sewing.  Fortunately, I decided to have a look at the center, before I went too far.  Because I discovered that my ratios were off and the illusion had disappeared completely. 

So I made another set of 25 blocks and tried again, this time leaving 1/8" rather than 1/4" for the 'reveals' that make the illusion work.  This was better, as you can see in the photo.  First attempt on the left, second on the right.  In person, only the one on the right 'bends'.

So I modified the initial set of blocks and kept on sewing. 225 blocks later, I had the center of the top complete.  I chose to quilt it with a simple petal design in each block, using matching thread.  The back of the quilt is a cream & brown print, so the thread blends nicely there, too.

I designed the quilt and assembled it in September 2012, and then quilted it in November.  I was very glad that I had a long arm at that point, because I could not contemplate the thought of quilting a 102" square quilt on my regular machine.

Binding took another few months, and I put the last binding stitches into the quilt at a retreat in April 2013 - just in time for show and tell. And as of today, it has a name: "Beyond the Squares".

I am now contemplating a new version of this - a bit smaller this time.  The illusion is great in photos, but a bit difficult to see in person - partly because the quilt is so big, and partly because the 1/8" reveal is still too big.  I am going to make a new one using piping for the reveals, and see if that improves the "in person" result.  The pattern for this version is avilable for free on my patterns page.

More Border thoughts

There were several suggestions on my borders for the mystery quilt I showed on Monday.  Some people thought I should scrap the pieced border - I just can't do that, for two reasons.  First, it is part of the quilt design.  While I don't mind modifying colours, I don't really like the idea of scrapping a large part of the border which was designed for this quilt.  But, I have done that in the past. I think the bigger issue is - there's  a heck of a lot of work in that border :)

I did come up with a couple additional thoughts today. I think I like the second one of these best, and will probably go with that.  The green gets tossed, but I like the way the multi-coloured fabric works in the two border positions, better than the dark brown.  I also added an applique that I am thinking of including, which picks up the blue and multi-colour from the star blocks, and adds a touch of the green..  The large plain square seemed out of place to me, so I thought I would add something.  This was inspired by the Ricky Tims presentation I saw last Thursday, where he talked about his applique.

linking up for Work in Progress Wednesday, over at The Needle and Thread Network and at Freshly Pieced.  

Design Wall Monday - Aug 5

Happy, happy day.  It's a holiday today, and I plan to spend the whole day in my sewing room.  It's been a therapy weekend, and an extra day of sewing is just what I needed.

I pulled out a couple of half-finished projects - victims of my mother's visit in June when I cleaned up my sewing room.  Time to get back on track and finish these two mystery quilts.  The first one is up on the design wall.  I stopped right at the last clue.  But now that I pull the fabric she calls for, for the borders, I don't like it at all :(

Apparently I hated it so much that I didn't even take a picture of it.  It looks like this one, except the blue was a green fabric instead.  I tried replacing it with the blue, but I really don't like the way the border fabric plays with the dark brown.  They blend too much.  I really wish the border fabric was the same as the focus fabric, but it's not and I don't have nearly enough of that left.  And since these are all batiks, finding a matching fabric at this point is pretty much a lost cause.

So I put up a few other choices.  First, I tried adding an additional border in the green, to help the outer border fabric.  I like that effect, but now I really don't like the blue in there.

Taking the blue out and replacing it with one of the light fabrics helped a lot.  I'm kind of liking this, but the brown/green/multi outer border feels a bit heavy.

So I removed the brown border, and left the green.  Getting better, but it still seems to be missing something.  I'll have to ponder this some more, so my design wall will likely look like this for a few days.

While it hangs out, I can contemplate the big empty spaces.  They seem a bit lost and lonely - like maybe they need applique added to spruce them up.  Of course, applique is not my favourite activity, but Ricky Tims did provide some inspiration and a desire to try new things.  So something might happen there.

Check out Judy's blog for more design walls today.  And leave your thoughts on borders & applique in my comments below :)

Catch Up Day

I have been neglecting my Back to Square One Mystery quilt for a few months.  The August clue was posted a couple of days ago, and this reminded me to dig out my progress.  I put the quilt top away in May, and haven't had it out since.  Looking at the clues, I know why I avoided it.  Clue #4 was square-in-a-square, in a square.  A bit intimidating, and with visitors coming I had the perfect excuse to put it away. 

However, it's time to get back on track.  I pulled the top out yesterday, and started to work on the May clue.  I wanted to get caught up in time to post my progress on the July clue, so I had some work to do.  Clue 4 finished - 20 blocks.  And low and behold - clue 5 was 20 more of the same block in different colouring!  Those, I left for today.  But I pushed through, finished all the blocks, and attached the borders to the quilt.  Clue 6 done.

Clue 7 at least was a change of pace - 24 log cabin blocks.  Little strips, finishing at 3/4", but at least there are no triangles here :)  I finished those too, and I am now officially done all the clues up to and including July.

August is more square-in-a-square. I think I will take a break for a week or so, before I tackle those.  But hopefully they'll be done before the end of the month, and I can stay on track again.

Drop by Judy's blog to see how everyone else is doing with their quilts.

Stash Report - Aug 4

Retail therapy - great for the state of mind, not so good for the pocketbook.  But I was in need of some therapy (and an excuse to stay away from my house) on Saturday, so I headed to the most natural place - my local quilt shop.  They were most helpful as always, and I left feeling much better - albeit lighter in the wallet.

Makings for 3 quilts followed me home.  At least one of these will become a BBQ (that's "Big Block Quilt") - probably the purple/green combination. The others have no plan yet, but I'm confident something will come to me when the time is right.

Once again celebrating the fact that I stopped counting stash in :), here is my report for this week:

Labyrith quilt top completed - 2 1/4 yards
Backing for labyrinth - 2 1/2 yards

usage this week: 4 3/4 yards
Total stash usage this year: 163 yards out

Drop by Judy's blog for more stash reports today.

A new finish!

I feel like I've been talking about my Hunter's Star quilt for weeks, but I haven't shown a recent picture of it.  I finished stitching the binding last night and this quilt is now Done!  It doesn't have a home yet, but for now I'm just basking in the joy of a finish :)

The fabric for this quilt was bought in Texas, 18 months ago when I was on a retreat.  Actually, I bought the green, pink, and a different brown at that time.  The brown was used for a different project before this one had a plan, so when I decided to make this pattern I added in a  new brown bought locally.

I bought a Rapid Fire Hunter's Star ruler in February this year - pretty much one year to the day from the fabric purchase.  The quilt top went together quickly, although borders slowed me down a bit.  I did a lot of recalculating to make sure I had enough of the various fabrics to finish the borders.  The top was finished in March, and in April it made my UFO parade.  Since then, it's been hanging out in the "to be quilted" pile, with backing ready to go I might add.  I finally loaded it on the long arm a couple of weeks ago.  The open spaces are quilted with feather wreaths. there are feathers in the outer border, and all the stars and bars are outline quilted.

An August finish!  Maybe I can back on track with the linky parties over at Such a Sew and Sew, and do at least one quilt a month for the rest of the year.  For now, I'm linking this one up for August.

Ricky Tims!

I just spent an inspiring day with an absolutely amazing man.  And about 200 other quilters.

Most of you probably already know that Ricky Tims is a quilting legend.  Today, I found out that he is also a fabulous teacher, storyteller, and musician (including composer, pianist, conductor, and singer).

Ricky Tims is on a Canadian tour, and he started right here in Ottawa, courtesy of The Running Stitch.  The day was filled with 3 lectures - on applique techniques, quilt design, and finishing.  Thank goodness he gave us notes to take home, because there was so much information there, I'll need to refer back to it many times.  The lectures were interspersed with stories about his background - how he started quilting (on a 1956 machine from Sears-Roebuck that belonged to his Grannie), how he ended up in Colorado (seems it was a better choice than Missouri), and his journey from white trash to 5-star (when carp became "silverfin", and a delicacy according to a Louisiana chef).

This picture isn't great quality, but I wouldn't have dreamt of distracting him with a flash on the camera. 

The evening closed with a 2 hour concert, featuring several of Ricky's compositions. Including one composed "on the fly" based on 4 notes provided by an audience member.  I am amazed.  I am in awe. And I haven't decided if I'm inspired to "go forth and quilt", or dismayed that my work could never equal what I saw today.

I'm sure inspiration will win out. But for tonight, I will settle for a general feeling of awe. And I'll think healing thoughts for Ricky & Justin's dog Raisin, who is not well while Ricky is away on tour.