Thursday, January 02, 2014

Collaborating with BJ

Happy New Year, Dear Readers, 
Starting off the new year, I am back in the studio working on a new piece for my friend BJ.
She is #20 on my list and while I am trying to do one a week, I sometimes get off track due to holidays and unforeseen circumstances, but now that the holidays are over and so is the remodeling, I hope to be more consistent. Since there are now 34 more to make, I appreciate the patience that it takes to wait for your name to surface.

Melody,
I have been following your career for many, many years.  Taken numerous workshops with you, the most recent being a fabulous week dyeing fabric in Kalamazoo, Michigan. I also have a small collection of your quilts and artwork. So this opportunity for you to make a quilt especially for me is an opportunity I just couldn’t resist.
I would really like a quilt similar to  Under a Silken Moon or October Gift. I’ve always longed for the opportunity to own one like either of these.
I think one aspect that draws me to Under a Silken Moon is the glow of the moon through the trees as well as the curvature of the green pieces.
If you would like to make this quilt a little larger it’s OK with me.  I’m retiring in February after nearly 30 years with the same company and I’ve decided that this will be a retirement gift to myself!
Thanks so much Melody—I just know I will be thrilled with whatever you create!
BJ
PS  Have you noticed that quite a few “Make Me a Quilt” folks have mentioned the Allegro quilt as one of their favs?

1. choices of size (with price based on size)  24”
2. orientation: horizontal or whatever works for you, vertical, square
3. color scheme: pastel, high contrast, dark and murky, neutrals, vivid, earthy  I love yellow, gold, reds, and greenshand-dyed fabric, please.
4. surface treatments such as hand quilting, fancy machine quilting, hand or machine embroidery, embellishments or stamping/paint (no beading!)  whatever you feel the piece calls for.  I have examples of all your surface treatments, so I’ll leave the choice up to you.

...so vibrantOctober Gift 12x24" Hand dyed cottons and silks, hand and machine quiltedYellow Bird
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I thought I would share my process as I make this quilt. What you are looking at is a drawing and a tracing. The under layer is a large sheet of paper, 32x27" upon which I initially sketched my layout. Then I used leftover paper from the Wonder-Under to trace the best shapes off the original drawing.  Since tape won't work on the Wonder-Under release paper, I have to fuse bits of fabric to it to make it larger.
I'll begin by finding the right fabric for the sky, and then I will do the hills and moon, and then begin to cut the tree shapes. Finally I will add leaves and then quilt it all. (The tree limbs are rather fine in this drawing, and will be bulked up a bit for the fabric version.) I plan to take photos as I build it.

7 comments:

  1. Yay! So glad the list is long! BTW the photos, other than your drawing, don't show up.

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  2. Anonymous11:45 AM

    This is one of my favorite quilts and I'm looking forward to seeing another version.Also,I can't see any pictures except the drawing either. Julie

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  3. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  4. Oh good: I love it when you take us through your process. Especially this one -- it looks especially inspiring!

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  5. This is one of my favourites too and I'm thrilled to follow your process! Thanks!

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  6. Happy New Year to you all. I love this quilt so I'm very glad to be able to learn more of the way you approach designing and constructing it.

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  7. i shall follow you, how nice is this start.

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Hello,
So nice of you to drop by. I love your comments, and if you would really like a reply, please email me at fibermania at g mail dot com