Ken Burns Collects Quilts????

Who knew that Ken Burns collects quilts???????????

Vulnerability Working Overtime on This Crazy Quilt

This exercise, sharing the handwork I am doing on my grandma's quilt, makes me feel vulnerable. This quilt was destined for the dump 30 or so years ago and is more ratty than not. It was likely created as a more utilitarian object than an artistic one, though creative thought was used. Grandma had a color scheme in mind: red, white, and blue. I can see that she considered balance, though probably it was intuitive rather than purposeful.

When I see the photos of my own work on the quilt, I see a hot mess. And the photos themselves? Whew!!!! I should take a class!!! (Will I? Highly unlikely.)

Am I enjoying working on this project? Absolutely YES. 

Do I think all the messy stitching will matter as I get more done? Not to me.

So, I'll keep going.

Snowy Day for Quilt Play

 It’s been snowy here a good part of the day and the quilt-play has been entertaining. I can tell I am overdoing it though, as I feel some pain at the base of my thumb. Probably it’s from holding the fabric in a weird way.

Crazy Quilty---Dirty Quilty

 This quilt is dirty. I didn't really notice it until I got up close and personal with it. 

I did pause a bit after noticing the dirtiness. Does it give it character? Is it gross? Is the brownish tint just a patina? 

I might have taken the time to try and wash the quilt but since is it 50% vintage red fabric, I was afraid to do that. The internet showed me pictures of runny red dye bleeding all over fabric, and I didn't want that to happen. If this was some exquisite heirloom piece I would definitely be doing all I could to clean it up. 

This quilt was a practical piece, not a show piece. That I am resurrecting it at all seems to be a generous act. 

Crazy Quilty - Starting off

The title here, "Crazy Quilty," was a typo....but I like it!!!

On this crazy quilty adventure here, I just jumped in like I usually do. Figure it out as you go!  This isn't the best method as I spend a lot of time committing to something I started out doing, and didn't feel like I could give up on.

Just a little bit more will fix this mess! Nope. Doesn't seem to work that way. 

Anyway, most of the worst messes I have made are in places where the fabric was almost non-existent. I stitches the heck out of those places. As I went along, they got uglier and uglier. But I am someone who commits to whatever it is. 

My thinking is that I can always pull it out later or cover it with a new scrap of fabric.

This mess:

is one that I woke up at night thinking about. Ugh! I kept thinking about how ugly it is.

In the morning I looked at it and thought, "Oh, it isn't all that bad." If I don't like it as I finishing the project, I can always deal with it then.  Of course, it also is a sort of document of my progress....my improvement. (I hope my improvement.)

And with that in mind, here was the first thing I did on the quilt. I appliquéd a new piece of fabric and then did a blanket stitch over it. Wow, is that primitive!!!

It will get better. 

And I need to investigate more about crazy quilts before I do too much. I need to look at what others have already done so I can get some inspiration.

Michael’s Arts and Crafts

Michael’s doesn’t disappoint!

Quilt Rescue - Finding Scrap Fabric

So, I’m trying to resurrect this old, old quilt.  It is not a nice quilt. Probably a lot of dry rot. Lots of batting is hanging out.

 I don't have a lot of old clothes around but I went through my closet to see what I could scrap. Dog gone it....I pulled out some Hawaiian shirts that are the right color. Looking on eBay for sold Hawaiian shirts with their particular brands, one sold for $20. Another sold for $40. Another ranges in sales from $40 - $140. 

So now I am stuck even longer with these shirts, as it is unlikely I will get around to selling them....and I still don't have fabric for my quilt repair.

Quilt Rescue

 Lately I have been trying to ween myself off Facebook. So far, so good! Over time, Facebook took the place of my blog and I’d like to get back to blogging. 

I have a couple of projects going on at the moment. My preference would be to have a nice piece of green walnut to carve, but the weather is too nasty to go out hunting for it.  

The project I have chosen, supports a larger project. (I’ll spill the beans on that one later.) For the larger project I wanted to have a nice red blanket. After looking at tons of them on eBay and all over the internet, I settled on one that has been right in the house for years.

This quilt came from my grandparents’ house in Amelia, Virginia. Almost 30 years ago, when the house was getting cleaned out to be sold, this quilt was hanging around at the end.  I took it home and it became a closet dweller.

I am not sure who made it. My assumption is that it was my grandmother or great-grandmother.

It has been “well loved” and needs some attention. So, I am going to replace some of the fabric where the batting is poking out. Also, the plan is to embroider over some of those spots.

Do I know what I am doing? Well, not really. Perfectionism is something I aspire to in some areas in my life, but not in most of my life. That’s one of the things I like most about doing art. I can consider “perfect” to be what I want it to be. 

First Black Walnut Spoon

Black Walnut Spoon

Here's my first black walnut spoon. I'm happy with it. It wasn't overly difficult to carve and I love the look.

Finding Black Walnut for a Spoon

First Time Carving Black Walnut

 I had been searching for freshly downed trees for months. Never did I find anything of interest. THEN I found a downed black walnut! 

I had never carved black walnut before and wondered if it would be too hard for me. I am used to green sycamore wood, which is so easy to carve. This black walnut wasn't bad though, and I love the grain!