It's A Wrap!

I am heading home this afternoon....and won't be in Portland until late tonight.  So I'm posting this early today....with some final photos from my trip.  

Wisconsin....spring 2023...it's a wrap!

It's been wonderful!

Emily....the proud mom and my goddaughter!

And just for fun....Becky liked my new shoes enough that she ordered a pair too....and they came before I left.  We've been friends for a long time....and our time together is always good for both of us. Thanks Becky!

Slow Crawl

"There is something infinitely healing in the repeated refrains of nature - the assurance that dawn comes after night, and spring after the winter." Rachel Carson

Margie pointed out that today is 3-23-23!  I know several people who are tuned into number patterns....and this one is pretty cool.

Elaine let me know that Texas is in full spring mode.....the air is warm, the trees have leafed out, and flowers are blooming.  

I know it's coming here in Maine....because Janice has some crocus blooming in her yard just a few miles away. 

I actually don't mind the slow crawl to spring.  I enjoy hunting for bits of green....knowing pops of color will follow.  I love the changing seasons....and winter to spring....is about as wonderful as summer to fall.  Nature's awakening after the winter is such a wonder and I'm going to enjoy every slow crawling minute of it.  There's no hurry.

I did a little more hand stitching late last night....and finished the binding this afternoon. The baby quilt is done!  And Done....is better than perfect! 

I love that this quilt is infused with color inspirations from interesting things that caught my eye. So in some ways...it kind of tells a little story of some of my days. But it's not perfect....the squares aren't the same size (actually on purpose)...the color balance is a little off and it's a bit wonky.  But that  pretty much sums me up...and I'm good with that!

I love the back too....I'm so glad I went bold with the binding.

And look at what I did today....I connected the puzzle from side to side.  I needed one piece in the second quilt from the left to actually connect the path....and I literally smiled when I found it. I enjoy these silly moments and the slow crawl through a puzzle....there's never any hurry. 

Good Run

Back in 2020 I started my second 100 day project.  I didn't make it the full 100 days....but I had a good 50 day run making blue quilt squares infused with a little color.  

Each day I made a square...often times influenced by something that caught my eye during the day. It was a fun way to celebrate something beautiful...and participate in the ritual of a creative daily practice.  One square a day it also a great way to make a quilt....if you're not in a hurry.  But you do have to stick with it. 

I wrote about the start of my project here in this post:  http://joyfulputtering.blogspot.com/2020/04/antoher-100-days.html  My whole 50 day journey can be found under the label "another 100 days" along the side of the blog....if you've got nothing better to do. I had fun revisiting some of the inspirations for the squares.

This square was inspired by Eliza's fabulous outfit.

And this one by these tulips.  

I remember the day I took this photo. It was a picture perfect day...and this was one of those "Strikingly Pleasing" scenes....and it inspired this square.

I'm going to to Wisconsin in mid April.  I'll gather with my sisters and meet with my art group to exchange our finished accordion booklets. But most importantly, I'll be meeting a very special little guy...who, as of this post, hasn't even arrived yet. My Goddaughter Emily is expecting a baby boy....and I'm so excited to be a Grand Godmother!

Before the quilting.

I decided a while ago that I would turn some of these squares into a baby quilt.  I knew Emily would appreciate that this gift was born (pun intended) out of a creative daily practice.  She gets me.

I want this quilt to be the outside quilt....the one they use for picnics in the treehouse and trips to the park.  I want it to be the don't be afraid to get it dirty or spilled on quilt.  

I finished the quilt top a few days ago....and today I finished the quilting.  Machine quilting is not my forte....but I did the best I could.

I just did a series of loops....all sizes and shapes....and unfortunately all stitch lengths.  I'm not all that great at keeping my stitches consistent....in some places it's more like basting.

I used a variegated blue thread....and when it landed with dark on dark or light on light I couldn't really see where or what I was stitching so it's kind of wonky in some places.  But I'm good with that....and I'm sure the baby won't notice.

This photo is after the quilting....it has so much more texture.  Now I'll audition fabrics for the binding...and move on to the final step. It's been a good run so far...and I'm a month ahead of schedule!  Yay!

Moments

It was a great day today from start to finish....but there were a few special moments I want to celebrate. Sometimes joy just falls in your lap!  

I've been on a mission to get a great photograph of a snowflake or ice crystal....inspired by Alyson.  I do OK....but my iPhone is limited so it's hard for me to really capture things up close.  And snow is tough subject.

But I'm pretty proud of this photo from this morning.  Do you see the little flake balanced there on the lower left?  AND...do you see the little heart indentation on the right?

Alyson pointed out that snowflakes are easier to photograph on hard non-natural surfaces...so that's what I've been focusing on.  This was taken on a dark blue shovel with the backdrop of a bright blue sky.  Just the right combo!

And this moment tickled me.....you know I always celebrate it.

This wooden puzzle is tiny....and I didn't expect I would get this moment....when I would make a path from on end to the other.  Once I got the path going this morning....I had to make it to the other side.  

This has been just a delight so far...won't be long now.

It's always a good moment when an unexpected package arrives in the mail!  I got a fabulous gift from Ramona......she is a quilter, blog reader...and one of the recipients of An Ounce of Joy!  

Ramona gifted me this little pouch made from scraps left over from a quilt.  It's colorful and fun...and it was all tied up with a fabulous green ribbon. Which, by the way, was made from scraps from the fabric she put on the inside.

And here's her quilt where the scraps came from!

Isn't it amazing! 

Playing With Blues

I saw this colorful scene on my walk this morning.....I loved everything about it! 

I couldn't decide which view I liked best....so I'm including both.

Have I mentioned that I've been on my own for walks....Paul has a broken toe.  

I was compelled to try another small Kawandi machine quilt with raw edges and random shapes.  This time I used just blues.

I don't think I was very successful with the transitions in the middle....the lines are too harsh. Maybe I could soften them with some little tikelis.  

It was marginally successful.  If I do it again I'll use all the COLORS!

Like all Kawandi quilts....I worked from the outside in using darker scraps around the outside and overlapped, tucked and sewed as I went around.  

I transition to lighter fabrics as I went in....and like I said....I could have done better with the transitions. Always learning.

I trimmed it up and did a satin stitch around the edge using a variegated blue thread.

Oops....I forgot to add a backing fabric....so the back is just the interfacing. 

Maybe I'll stitch it onto a card. 

I made a second blue one just like the orange and purple piece.....so nothing really new to add.  That piece....BTW....is on its way to Elaine!

I would like to try another one by hand.  

And a little follow-up on the Devil's Bit....I'm loving this little flower.  Such a nice late summer treat!

Kawandi Quilts

"Courage is the commitment to begin without any guarantee for success." Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

Roseanne recently sent me a link to this video on how to make a Kawandi quilt.  I've seen this style of quilt before....but didn't know anything about them.  I watched the video...and went straight to a experimenting without doing any more research.  I  was only marginally successful...but it did peak my interest....and wanted to know more try again.

Kawandi quilts are made by Siddi women.... descendants of early African slaves who migrated to South Asia. The colorful recycled cloth quilts are rooted in their African heritage and designs are unique to family groups. 

Photo found here in this article. 

http://www.henrydrewal.com/exhibit_stitching_history.html

This is actually the second one I tried using a machine technique.  It looks better than my first one....so wanted it to be the first example you saw.

I wasn't going to share this first one I did earlier in the week....but because it's part of my learning process...I decided to show and tell. It's pretty small...basically an oversized coaster.  It has a lot of issues and I broke all the rules. But it was a window into the technique to see whether I wanted to explore Kawandi style quilting further....and I did.

Traditional Kawandi quilts are hand stitched in straight lines....but for some reason I was compelled to stitch around my patches. I guess it was my version of coloring stitching outside the lines. 

I think it would be greatly improved with more stitching.

After this first attempt....I read more about the history Kawandi quilts....and watched several more how-to videos. I happen to come across this tutorial....where Brenda used pre sewn quilt scraps to create a beautiful version by machine.  I was intrigued. 

I couldn't stop thinking about it last night....so had to gave it a try this morning.  I found a stash of scraps, and presewn chunks and strips from a project I never finished: http://joyfulputtering.blogspot.com/2019/10/one-cup-of-coffee.html  

If you're interested in exploring this technique....I recommend watching online videos......you'll get a lot better information. I really don't know what I'm doing.  But here's a little window into my second experiment.  

I cut a squarish piece of fabric and ironed a hem around all the edges.  I also cut a piece of thin batting. 

In a Kawandi quilt you work from the outside in....folding, overlapping and stitching as you go. Inspired by the video....I did use some of the pre sewn chunks....and you can see that I started with one.  

Many of the videos had you lay them on top of the folds...but I like this of tucking under the folds technique.  It makes for a cleaner edge.

Then I started top stitching right along the edge. Every time I added a chunk I tucked the folded edge under the last raw edge and folded it back. I used a combination of finger pressing and ironing.....there are no exposed raw edges in this type of quilt.

 I kept working my way around adding pieces and stitching along the edge.  Sometimes I used just one fabric scrap....other times I used a pre-sewn chunk.

I didn't do a very good job with that last piece...covering the last opening....but it all got a little wonky in the end....so it fit right in.  It's a learning process.  

Once all the outer edges were covered....I tucked in the batting.

Then I kept top stitching around the piece until I got to a point where I needed to add another patch to cover a raw edge...again by tucking, folding and overlapping.  When I get to the middle...it was a "make it work" moment...I just needed to be sure to cover all the raw edges.

I'm going to try this machine version again....and I'm going to try a more traditional hand stitched version again too. Traditional Kawandi quilts generally have small decorative floating patches called tikeli....my guess is to cover gaps and problem areas.  There are a few trouble spots in this one...so I may add a few tikeli.

The back makes me happy. 

Phew....I should have divided this up into a couple of posts. Congratulations if you made it to the end!  As a matter of fact....I'd love to give this little Kawandi mug rug quilt away.  So if you made it to the end and have any interest in this little wonky experiment....contact me by using the contact link on the blog or comment directly on the blog. If by chance there's more than one....I'll draw a name on Tuesday.