Fall Inspired

So technically, this is a fall inspired quilt. Well, it was when I started it last fall. The colours and energy reminded me of a oh so brief yet spectacular fall season here in Alberta: blue skies and all the colours of the changing Prairie. I’m not sure what motivated me to pull out the blocks, add some more, and finish the top this past week. It certainly wasn’t the snow covering the sprouting crocus and green grass growing. Or maybe that is precisely what did it?

The blocks began in my Improv Square in a Square Playdate hosted through Quilters’ Playcation. I was enamoured with the technique and the colours that I committed to a quilt top. Just five blocks put together in a free hour here and there. No pressure making, just the way I like it! Play for the sake of sewing. I think that is what I needed over the Easter/Passover long weekend - sewing for the sake of sewing. Then, when I counted the blocks, I realized that I was pretty close to finishing up the total needed. Some quiet evenings, a snow storm, and a sick kid home from school meant that I was not only able to finish the blocks, but get the quilt top pieced!

These blocks are all improvised. That means points are sometimes cut off and they don’t always match between blocks. On a moving, used quilt though that will never be noticed. This construction technique is so much more relaxed than a paper pieced or precision pieced version, at least for me.

This entire quilt top was also an excellent way to play with fabric and colour. I chose my colour story - blue, coral, orange, and yellow - and explored value, hue, and tint in each block. Some blocks have bold contrast, some are subtle. Some move from light to dark, some are less prescriptive. The constants were the construction method, overall size, and the transition from warm to cool with each square in a block. Then I made half the blocks starting with warm, half starting with cool. That meant for a great overall pattern when assembling the quilt.

The weather is doing it’s normal, indecisive thing these days. Not yet spring but not really winter. When my son - who helped me with the photos because he is out of school with a bad cold - lamented that now we would have to baste the quilt I told him not to worry because it is definitely not fall. This quilt, well, it makes me think of fall. Don’t worry, son, we’ll probably be basting it next September! Or the one after that.

Gemma

Gemma

60” X 60”

This was the first iteration of the Quilters’ Playcation Adventure Sewalong. Every decision, from inspiration to binding stitches was voted on my Instagram followers. I needed to play and taking the decisions out of my hands was a unique way to do so.

She is a free spirit. Sure, she knows the rules, but she also knows that life is more fun when you veer off track a little. Or, a lot. Unsure where she will actually end up most days, Gemma is a risk taker. She might go too far sometimes, but she has good friends who will always help her pick up the pieces. No matter how many times she screws up. No matter what, she is always willing to go an an adventure.

Week by week I asked my Instagram followers to guide my decision making on this project. From the inspiration to fabric to block choices, from layout to thread to binding choices. It was a bit like designing by committee, but I found that most people leaned the way I did. Or maybe I led them to the same decision? No one will ever know.

It was an excellent exercise in letting go. Definitely a moment for the process to shine.

One area where my idea was not the winner in voting was the quilting. I’m not complaining about the 80s school photo laser background, but it is not the curves I was initially thinking of doing. You know what, though? It looks fantastic!

When it came time to bind the quilt a classic black and white stripe won the popular vote. Not a bad choice at all. When someone, however, suggested pops of the quilt colours in the binding I couldn’t resist that idea. To finish I wrapped the binding around to the front and used an 8W Valdani to finish with nice, prominent stitches. A perfect finish.

My idea for the back was thwarted by an odd alphabet print. Seriously, who makes an alphabet print and doesn’t include all the letters? Oh well. Some orphan blocks from the front, a good reminder to play, and a collection of fabrics from the stash all pieced together work just as fine.

In the end, it was a fantastic exercise for me to bring some real play back into my quilting practice. Truly, this was making for the sake of making. And an excellent reminder to look for that lust for life.

Quilters' Playcation Adventure Sewalong 2022

The joys of insomnia. Seriously. When the brain won’t shut off at night I find it better to just get out of bed and let the thoughts out before I try to tuck myself back in. So there I was, one night over the holiday break with visions of quilt blocks swirling in my head. (Who even knows what sugarplums are anyway?) I got up, sketched them out, and developed the idea that was keeping me awake. Add a mug of warm, honeyed milk and I was able to return to bed with my creative burst satiated.

That’s how the Quilters’ Playcation Adventure Sewalong for 2022 began.

Each week in 2022 I am going to offer you a free block tutorial via a live event on Instagram. That's right. Me, live on Instagram, demoing a unique improv block, 52 times this year. Tune in each Tuesday at 10 am Mountain, or watch the replay when it works for you. Sew right along with me or just watch and hang out.

This qualifies as an improv adventure in my books because I have no clue what it is all going to end up like! Sure, I've sketched out a couple of dozen blocks, but there is no specific plan for a quilt here. We're just going to sew and sew and sew and see what we come up with. You can make all the blocks, some, none, or even your favourite one over and over again. Then, in January 2023 we will get together and put them all together. Each quilt will be unique. Each quilt will be awesome. Each quilt will be full of fun.

I am actually making each block twice. Once in a group of solids, once in prints. I wanted to be able to share the possibilities of fabric changing and supporting the design. Not to mention, encourage everyone to play with their fabric choices too. This way I can make one block to build the tutorial then make another live to show how it comes together.

This middle of the night idea is taking off. Using the hashtags #qpadventuresewalong and #quiltersplaycation people are sharing their blocks. So much fabric play and twists on the designs. The excitement is there and it thrills me that is getting people to play. Think of me as the guide on this adventure, but you are going to make it work for you in the way that gets you going.

Mame - The Exclamation Point Quilt

Mame

77” x 72”

Like her namesake, Mame is known for speaking her mind and living wildly. She brings her best energy to everything, even when things are awful. She speaks what she wants, even if the consequences are great. People love her, even when it is hard. People love her, but don’t always want to admit it. At home with Princes and Sailors, Mame is fierce with love and other emotions Loving Mama doesn’t always mean less pain in your life, but definitely a lot more fun.

Confusion, solidarity, mourning, exhaustion, confinement, noise, and togetherness.

When the Covid Pandemic first started we all ran through the gamut of emotions. With or without children, whether you could work from home or not, whether you stayed employed or housed, whether you lost loved ones to illness or friendships to principles, no one is getting through the pandemic unscathed. Then there are all the emotions attached to it. At the beginning I admit to relishing the home time with my family; mostly, the break from rushing from one thing to the next. Soon, it wasn’t easy at all and I became annoyed with grocery shopping, a lack of entertainment, and home schooling. I slept more and still felt tired. More than once I held my head in my hands and cried.

Anger, frustration, laughter, annoyance, stress, despondency, grief, and fear.

I screamed a lot too. Mostly into the ether, but not always. The entire household all had our moments. To channel it all I started making blocks. I wanted to say all the words of anger, call our politicians and Covidiots all the names, give space for my kids to do the same. They say that swearing reduces the impact of pain, but I wonder what they would say about sewing swears? Because I didn’t want to sew all the words into blocks I sewed what would come at the end of each word - the Exclamation Point!

(And yes, I screamed for real when I took the above picture.)

Then I gave myself the freedom to quilt all those words right into the quilt. Using cursive to quilt such strong words felt amazing! It was really, really therapeutic. The overall quilting pattern reflects the first three waves of the pandemic as felt here in Alberta. In between those lines I added the best words, insults, and expressions to make a sailor blush. By the time I finished quilting it we were cresting the 4th wave so the final stitches have some very, very powerful things to say.

While I was making the quilt a lot of people suggested I make some red exclamation points. A strong colour for strong emotions. I wanted to stick to the story I was telling - ink on paper - but knew red would make an appearance one way or another. So I added a big exclamation point on the back, set in an alphabet print of my own. Oh yeah, and a bonus exclamation point in fabric sent to me by Brenda Suderman, a writer who published a story about this project.

Red also found its home in the binding. You know I love a contrast binding! This came from fabric I dyed with kids. You know how it was, sourdough and tie dye as pandemic activities.

There isn’t a quilter out there who doesn’t know the therapeutic power of quilting. Sometimes it is just about spending the time playing or slowing down or even going through the motions to calm our nerves. And sometimes it is about processing our emotions through what we are making, quite literally. This expressive form of quilting is powerful. For me, this very personal project certainly helped me get through these past 20 months. It gave me a focus for my feelings, an outlet for the pent up energy, and. calming for being able to create something cool out of such stress.

Remember, if you want to make your own Exclamation Point blocks there is a free tutorial available.