My little quilt start - and more

My charm pack and some fun batiks are coming along into a quilt very nicely.  I sewed a few blocks and put it on my mini-design wall.
I am doing a variation on the Yellow Brick Road pattern. I changed it up to make 6 1/2" blocks so the charm squares would work like I wanted them to work. The picture came out pretty wonky but I didn't want to re-take it - so deal with it. Ha ha.

Those Modern Neutrals play really nicely with the batiks I chose to use. They are Hoffman Batiks AND Island Batiks - I never met a batik I didn't like!
Here are the pieces I cut.

My math was not good.  (I really didn't think it through.) So I have lots of scrappy bits  But that is just fine.  I will use these as insertions - or as we call them in Saori, TREASURES.

In other news, I have started learning to spin wool and other fibers into yarn.   I have one drop spindle but it is a heavy one. So I decided to try making my own with polymer clay (sculpey, fimo - etc.)
Here are two and you can see that they work by the yarn on the dowel,

The dark yarn is a merino wool. The white/orange is bamboo which is really soft and shiny.  Both of these spindles wobble, but they still spin nicely.


My blog is http://blog.geneblack.com
Comments are welcomed. I will reply when possible unless otherwise stated.

Winnings and a Plan

Just the other day, I was delighted to get an email telling me that I had won a charm pack of Amy Ellis' Modern Neutrals from Quilt Taffy.  That link will take you to the blog, but there is also a wonderful Etsy store for Quilt Taffy where you can get your own sweet treats!  So if you are wanting your own Modern Neutrals charm pack you can go there and get it - along with a lot of other wonderful stuff.  If you get more than one item use the "convo" feature and Corrie will set up a special listing for you and combine shipping (saving you $)

So here is the charm pack:

and here it is spread out with the batiks I want to use it with:

See how those teal/aqua bits go so well with my batiks.  I think I have some warm batiks I can add to go with the other colors.  But seriously the green batiks make those reds and the grays pop.

One of the designs is so simple -and it would make a great background fabric for a quilt.  It is available in every colorway in the the set.  Here it is up close.

There is also a teal/aqua one and a tan one, but I didn't think to pull them to the top.

Now - what type of pattern or quilt design will I use????  I guess you will have to wait and see.  I plan on starting this TODAY!   hooray, back to sewing for now.

My blog is http://blog.geneblack.com
Comments are welcomed. I will reply when possible unless otherwise stated.

Kai

Saturday I went to a "kai" which is a weaving group of sorts.  We did weaving, talking, sharing and just had a great time.
I wove this section of fabric on my loom.  (it is wonderful to have a portable loom)

And the bit at the top is something called 'sakiori' - a technique using thinly cut strips of fabric as weaving yarn. I used a batik and a floral. Here is a close up

The floral is one from a trip to Mexico; it wasn't quite sturdy enough for quilting - so this adds it to my cloth for garment making.  I will probably combine this cloth with some of the cloth from my previous post. I am thinking "shirt" at this moment.

I promise that I have not abandoned quilting.  Oh far from it.  I have plans and ideas brewing.  So stay tuned.

My blog is http://blog.geneblack.com
Comments are welcomed. I will reply when possible unless otherwise stated.

Slug

As far as quilting goes,  I have been a slug.  You know, slow and seemingly useless.


I have done some weaving though. I wove 125 inches of 18 inch wide fabric.  I am waiting for it to tell me what it will become. In Saori weaving, we have a theory of "weave your heart."  This means weave without intention for what it will become. Just weave for self expression.   There is no right or wrong.  Change colors at your own whim. Change techniques when you want to.  Just weave.  This makes the process very meditative and very freeing.

This fabric is off the loom and a new bit is started. The new is mostly warm colors.

Saturday is the day for the Kai.  A Kai is a weaving party basically.  We will weave and learn from each other.  
My quilt projects are waiting, but I hear them calling my name.

My blog is http://blog.geneblack.com
Comments are welcomed. I will reply when possible unless otherwise stated.