Winds of Change

I started this quilt in October of 2018. I was hoping to gift this to my daughter Kavita as a Christmas present but as you can tell, it is still here.

This quilt has gone through many changes. It evolved from a plain and simple Kawandi quilt to what it is right now.

Winds of Change 23" X 41"

I made the background from pale fabrics because I wanted to challenge myself with light and soft shades. Well that did not work out as a quilt in itself but they worked very well as a background.

I used every shade of red plaid I had in my stash to make the "table" for the pot of flowers.

 

They were layered and stitched like a Kawandi quilt. 

The pot was little difficult to stitch because that grey fabric is a piece of my pants. I machine pieced the rectangle pot and then hand stitched on the background. 

I love the use of large prints for the applique. It makes it easier to have a great impact with simple and bold design. One piece applique takes out all the trouble of registration of patterns. Gwen used to say, "Folk art applique used to be simple and then they made it complicated." I love simple so here it is!

I did use the freezer paper to make sure the leaves fit the background. I also wanted an oversized, organic shapes. The only way to get that was to not worry about prints, patterns and where the branches and leaves end up on the back ground. Because it was spontaneous, it evolved throughout with every step of stitching. 

  

Last step was deciding the shape and color of the flower. My basic instinct was to go for red and teal blue solids. 

This is what I had in mind but the fabrics were too thin and somehow for the first time in my life I thought, solids are not working. They were overpowering the entire quilt design. I chose blue and red prints in the end and changed the shape of the flower. I think the flower could have been the same as here but you learn as you go. 

This was another option but somehow I decided to go with the flower. I added lots of extra stitching for the feeling of winds of change that is blowing through my life. 

The quilt measures 23" X 41". It has layers of fabric as batting. It is stitched entirely by hand other than the construction for the pot. 

I will continue adding the "wind" for a while until it all settles down. 

I am also adding this quilt as a workshop sample for future workshops and retreats.

I hope you all had a wonderful Mother's Day weekend and have a great week!

Sujata

Twins

I am almost done with that other quilt I shared in previous post. I am going to have to wait to bind it until I get home again.

I basted two quilts before leaving for San Diego. Small quilts don't really take that long to quilt, especially when you have lot of time on your hands.

I am really glad these are small quilts too. After moving to California, I have missed seeing my quilts on the walls. This door in our apartment has become quite the feature lately. I have taken pictures of different quilts. You may have seen a couple of them on instagram. The light is always perfect here!
I will have to bring this quilt back here in the apartment once it is bound and labeled.

Once I started quilting, it progressed organically. It started to look like steam rising on a hot day.

Then I decided to change it up a bit and stitched with red thread. Quilts made with used clothing are so soft, the needle runs through it like butter.

You never know what tomorrow might bring.  I may add few more stitches to it to I will start on the second quilt.

This second quilt is made of an old shirt, a dress and few scraps of my husband's shirt.

Both these quilts were made at the same time. I can call them twins. Funny how they got basted at the same time and on the same backing too!

When I have smaller quilts, I layer them together. It makes it easier to quilt on the edges without having to use larger piece of batting or backing.

Do you ever do that?

Katell's Mini Quilt and a new blog!

 
It kept me calm and happy while I stitched away.

Here is what I showed on the first day of the tour.

This is how it looks now, ready for its new home.

Between then and now it did receive lots of stitch-love. Just like my book did from all of you. Thank you for hopping from blog to blog and leaving comments. In fact, if you just found this blog, the tour is still on!

Doesn't that sound like a pop of bright spot on a grey day?

Visit these blogs if you haven't entered a comment for a chance to win my book Cultural Fusion Quilts.


Monday December 8 Malka Dubrawsky @ A Stitch in Dye

Tuesday December 9 Sherri Lynn Wood @ daintytime Open

Thursday December 11 Jake Finch @ Generation Q Open

Friday December 12 Jan Burgwinkle @ Be*mused Open

Saturday December 13 Janet Treen @ Quiltsalott  Open

Sunday December 14 Lindsay Conner @ Craft Buds Open

Yesterday my husband and I listened to the podcast of my interview with Pat Sloan. This was my first time hearing myself. I must admit, I was nervous when I first started talking with Pat but she has such a great way of easing you into the conversation, I was right at home within first few minutes into the show.

If you would like to listen in, the direct link to the podcast is on the side bar of this blog.

And now the announcement for the new blog!

While I am still working out the details of the blog's appearance, Cultural Fusion Quilts is officially open for those who are inspired by this book and want to join the fun. If you would like to contribute, visit the blog and leave a comment.

http://culturalfusionquilts.blogspot.com/

Some of you have already shown interest and I request you to leave a comment again, even if it is in a word, YES. I will send you an invite.

Happy shopping, decorating and baking!

Human Hands

Do you ever wonder about why you like certain kind of quilts?

We all know we can not make every quilt that inspires us. There are certain ones that always catch our attention more than the others.

I am still reminiscing my trip to the Brooklyn Museum. Thinking about the quilts and also the exhibit of Egyptian artifacts.

I may have been in a quilting state of mind then and was 'seeing' things. 

This almost 10-12 feet tall carving of a King in the Garden on the wall looked impressive.

But then I got a little closer...

Even more amazing, right? Doesn't it look like hand stitching on a quilt? Like an overall running stitch pattern of quilts from India.

This is neither a kantha quilt as it's widely misrepresented nor a Ralli quilt. I am sure it is a leftover or rejected sample of an export order. I bought this one while I was in Rajasthan last year. Love the colors and all those stitches!

Back of that quilt is so muted, it was a surprise to me. But then how would these stitches show if it was as bright as the front? Do you see those with minds of their own going every which way?

Notice the edge of the quilt? It has no batting and it's finished with some sort of blanket stitch.

I like hand work on a quilt. Whether it is an applique or hand quilting, hand stitching for embelishing the quilt or just for fun. More time I spend on a piece, more of my life lives in it.

I saw this applique quilt at the museum and was immediately drawn to it.

These beautiful blocks with birds alone were enough to take me back home!

I stood there and smiled thinking - With mismatched corners and not so 'perfect' applique, in the eyes of today's judges this quilt may not even make it in top 10. Yet, it's in the museum! Teaching us history!

Human hands - That's what's important to me when I see a quilt. Slight imperfect and mismatched seams here and there, a trace of distracted mind in those uneven stitches and worn look of being loved to threads. I  have come to admire that in a quilt. No matter what style, colors or age they are.. They all have some personal stories behind them. 

I took pictures of  four different blocks with the circles in the center.

Each one has it's own personality!

No templates, no pre-cut plastic circles when it was made. Just two hands, a needle and thread! May be few friends by her side and lots of laughter!

I like that!

Something to think about, right?

What do you like in a quilt and why?

Threads and Needles

Few of you asked about the threads and needles I used for stitching my mini quilt in the previous post.

I use heavy weight cotton tatting thread for my long, running stitch in the quilts. Simply known as  DMC Perle cotton #8.

You can find them very easily at your local fabric store. Also, I found this site that carries tons of colors. I bought mine while I was in India but I do have some that I bought from local quilt shops and love using them over and over in my projects.

I also like using John James # 7 embroidery needles with these threads. They have long eye so they are easier to thread. They are quite sharp too.

Back to stitching! Hope you are having a good day.

He said... She said...

"That's my shirt!" My husband said when he looked at this little quilt. He was referring to the stripe fabric in the quilt.

I smiled and responded, "That's just a bit of your shirt. Rest of it is another quilt and yet another quilt."  I was a little surprised that he even remembered the fact that he owned this shirt. It was so old! And, amused at how quickly he reacted when he saw it.

I just picked up sewing after almost three weeks of break from sewing. Bad virus, missed the AQS show, missed seeing my friends and most of all missed sewing all these last few weeks. After three long weeks none of the 'old' ongoing projects seemed appealing. 

Now, I am stitching memories of past few weeks in this tiny piece.

"Don't you think your shirt is in a good place?" I asked.

He agreed with a smile.

The Preview!

National Corduroy Day!

It is just around the corner! 

Deb Rowden and Nifty has got me excited about the National Corduroy Day on 11-11-11.

I finished my challenge quilt and thought you all should have a sneak peek!

Hope you come back for lot more pictures of the quilt and it's inspiration. 

 You might want to visit Nifty's blog to see the list bloggers who are participating in this fun challenge!

  See you on the 11th!

What's in the name?

The story. Of course!

This quilt began little over two years ago when I had temporarily moved back to Seattle for a year. 

I called it 'Goodwill Shirts Quilt'.

Because, that's what it was!

I had bought some shirts from the Goodwill store to make a quilt. As I started cutting up the shirts in larger chunks of fabrics, I decided to use up all the skinny and long strips into this quilt. It went fast. 

At the moment my life was sort of like a driftwood, lacking a sense of belonging.

If you ever have moved after being in one place for a long time, you know what I am talking about.

This past week, I had the chance to go on a retreat with my new friends Kelly, Cheryl, Terry and Jane to Christine's house in Maryland. Together we cooked, laughed and sewed. Went on walks and of course worked on our projects. 

Christine's husband took us on the boat ride in the evening. On the way back I saw a little piece of driftwood on the beach..

Remember this?

 

Time I spent with my mom back in 2007 is one of the most memorable time of my life. We were visiting Deception Pass State Park on Whidbey Island and were surrounded by driftwood. 

At the retreat, I worked on my quilt and hand quilted away while sharing the stories of my early experiences in this country. 

I think for the first time in past three and a half years I was as comfortable as I look in the picture with my mom.

I honestly feel as if my emotions have finally stopped drifting and my mind has found a 'home' on the beach (here) full of new possibilities. 

My new friends have made me feel at home.

I will forever be grateful for that. 

Now this quilt hangs over my fireplace in the family room. 

It stands for lot more than curved piecing and hand quilting with Perle cotton thread.. 

It is the constant reminder of the good times I had with my friends but even more the fact that no matter how stormy life gets, there is always a peaceful outcome in the end. 

New beginnings are tough but sometimes all one has to do is to keep afloat.

'Driftwood' is what I call this quilt. 

For it's life which began somewhere else, had a wonderful younger years like a lush tree full of life and went through rough storms and survived, became sharper and smoother with every wave that hit.

  Do you name your quilts? 

Do you wonder what's in the name?

I say there is always a story.

I like to call it  'The Root Connection'

Organic Quilting

I like the freedom in traditions. In quilting, that means cutting with scissors and no marking the patterns while hand quilting which translates into fluidity in quilts. 

Of course, I have to be open to imperfections and raw look that it brings.. 

I like to call it "Organic Quilting" 

Quilting with minimum tools which may require hard work but the fruits are as sweet as the ones that grow in the backyard gardens.

I have been hand quilting one of my favorite quilts for past month or more. 

I wrote about it in the previous post. 

As structured as the blocks are, the quilt portrays freedom. I had a vision for the borders heavily quilted with Perle cotton threads like my Confetti quilt but it was not possible this time around. So, I settled with the next best thing I could possibly do for this quilt. 

I just took my thread and needle and started hand quilting by eye balling the pattern. 

After my first attempt, I knew what I did not want.

 

And this is what I settled for.

  It grew.....

and grew into wild ivy sprawling around an old broken barn or a log cabin.

 

I wish there was better way of taking good pictures of these borders.

I am pretty happy with my Organic Quilt Garden!

Have a happy day!