Journal Quilts and Omiyage

I had a lovely gift from my good friend and co-conspirator in Country Roads Quilters, Fenella, the other day, a delicious "omiyage", a gift.  The little bag, the design of which is daffodil or trillium, is made in "our colours" - Fenella's green and my blue, and it contained a blue and white crystal, sodalite, which is perfect for me at the moment as it is believed to promote creative expression and also diminish sleeplessness.  Thank you Fenella. I think, made in Christmas fabrics, these little bags would be lovely on the table instead of crackers, I wonder whether I'll get round to it for 2016?

It is fast approaching the end of the month and the end of the middle phase of the Journal Quilt challenge, quilts for May, June, July and August have to be published by the end of August.  So today I've done the final binding and taken the photographs.  Here are all four "green" JQs together:

Journal Quilts 2016

Decision made!  I have signed up to take part in the Journal Quilt Challenge 2016 with the QGBI Contemporary Group.  So, here are the challenge rules:

1.  One JQ for each month.
2.  8" x 10" portrait format.
3.  Include an area not less than ½" square of a set colour, this must be included as a whole, not cut up and used in several areas.
January - April a little bit of purple
May - August a little bit of green
September - December a little bit of orange

I have to say it was the colour rule that made me hesitate about signing up, I'm fine with green but don't usually work with either purple or orange.  So it's a case of the "outside my comfort zone" thing.

My own guidelines will include working with textured fabrics and silks, including hand stitching and some new techniques (new to me that is) and I would like to have an outline design for the year in mind so that the journal quilts sit together as a whole eventually.  So it's a case of finding some purple fabric and watching this space......could indigo be described as purple?!!!
   

September JQ - Machine Writing

The final four journal quilts of 2015 and going to have their text machined stitched.

This is my first real use of the technique which I learned in a great workshop with Angela Daymond.  Basically, you set the machine up for free motion quilting and then "handwrite" by moving the fabric rather than the pen/machine.  Hmm, if only it was that easy.  I'm not unhappy with my attempts but practising a lot would obviously lead to better results, as with all these things.

Having "written", today I am back to slow stitching by hand and much more relaxed!!

Absolute Unbroken Continuity - May 2015

This is my journal quilt for May.  The words, "absolute unbroken continuity", come from a poem my sister read at Daddy's funeral earlier this month.  It was Death is Nothing At All by Henry Scott Holland.  The quiltlet is similar to my usual style, and adheres to my rules.  The text this time was printed rather than written and I overlaid the fabrics with some sheers.  The stitching is all done by hand.

Today I remembered why I don't often make large quilts these days.  I spent a few hours layering this sampler quilt from a thousand years ago.  All that crawling on the floor, smoothing, adjusting, phewy.  The quilt itself is not terrible square (it was one of the very first quilts I pieced, using Lynne Edwards' Sampler Quilt book), and I like it but it has many, many faults.  I felt bad for it, sitting there in my sewing room, thrown over for more "arty" pieces and decided to layer it, quilt it and then use it!!

Talking of "arty" pieces, today was windy and sunny and a perfect day to rehang my prayer flags in the garden.  DH put the re-proofed gazebo up yesterday, complete with fairy lights, so we are all ready for balmy summer days and evenings.  The prayer flags from friends have been joined by a classic set I bought when we were in New Zealand last year and are all fluttering away beautifully with the prayer:

"May all beings everywhere receive benefit and find happiness".

The Quilters' Guild published a link to this pattern on Facebook and I loved it, possibly because it's blue and white/Japanese/indigo fabrics.  For whatever reason, it has inspired me to make a similar quilt with some of my indigo fabrics.  It will be for our bed, so a king size.  I have obviously forgotten the lessons of earlier already, but have been having fun pulling out all kinds of blue fabric.

http://www.selvedge.org/uploads/how-to-items/downloadables/How-To-Make-a-Strippy-Quilt-Instructions.pdf

http://www.selvedge.org/blog/?p=10754

http://www.selvedge.org/uploads/how-to-items/downloadables/How-To-Make-a-Strippy-Quilt.pdf

Getting Things in Perspective

It has been a very difficult period for my family recently but we are beginning to appreciate that the light at the end of the tunnel might not be an express train.

Getting things into perspective has been the order of the day over Easter and so that is the inspiration for my April quiltlet for the Contemporary Group Challenge.  The quotation is from Marcus Aurelius and I am continuing to adhere to all my rules.  This piece is based on groynes on the beach.

I stitched a prayer flag for my DD Sara over the Easter holiday.  She likes it but thinks it is a shame that the idea is that it disintegrates in the wind and weather.  I told her the prayers are already sent (and answered in some cases) and so I think she might hang the flag somewhere sheltered.

What else? Well how about these gorgeous Kantha stitched creatures on fabric dyed with woad?  Angela Daymond (Fenland Textile Studios) will be selling kits to create these yourself at Festival of Quilts this Summer.  She asked several people to trial the kit contents and instructions.  I've never measured the amount of thread I'm using before, quite interesting!  All the thread is beautiful Aurifil in various weights, including lana wool, all lovely to stitch with.  The Kantha stitching has been very therapeutic to work, just what the doctor ordered.

I love the movement and sense of freedom exhibited by Angela's hare.

The heron is so elegant and haughty.

This last hare is on plain fabric, not woad dyed and is only 4" round so it will be the perfect introduction to Kantha stitching.