Quilted Pillow Project

-




 

Some time ago I ran across the work of Yoko Saito in her book House Warming Patch Work and put it on my inspiration list for things I want to try. So, when our quilt guild gave us the challenge to create an architecture inspired quilt in a month, I was excited to put all other projects aside to use her "basic house" and "basic tree" blocks in a small project. 

The house and tree are pieced but the little heart is machine appliquéd. Embroidery floss was used to add texture to the background with echo quilting that follows the contours of the subjects and outlines the text boxes. The text was borrowed from a needlepoint given to me many years ago and was also embroidered with three strands of floss so it would stand out.

This relatively quick project was quite satisfying. Working on a smaller scale was a great break from the focus required by the larger projects I usually work on. In fact, many quilters use this smaller format for a test run before starting on a full quilt. (See this link for another example of working in this size: https://creativelifesampler.blogspot.com/2019/01/trying-something-new-hawaiian-appliqu-e.html) 

There is an added benefit: the end product was something I could share with a special friend.  


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular Posts

The Huntington- Galleries (3 of 3)

-
Image
If you're not into gardens, or there's just so much sun you can tolerate, there are plenty of indoor galleries to visit at our destination spot. After all we're talking about The Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens. ( https://huntington.org/ ) The gallery exhibits cover a wide range of art movements, styles, and periods. (In fact this would be a great place to study millinery designs for women's hats. LOL)  This vast collection is not exclusively one of painting.  Many art forms and disciplines are represented. And it's really interesting to have divergent styles to compare and contrast in one visit. We happily stumbled on the American Art Galleries. Walking into this room felt like coming home, with it's nod to American quilts and textiles.   This yarn sewn rug attributed to Hannah Rosina Maynard Phillips stood out to me. Loved the rich colors and the intricate floral design.  Contrast Hannah's piece with this one by artist Cai Guo-Qiang a
Read more
-
Ability to be Creative Ability , ( noun )- aptitude, intelligence, innate qualities, powers, potency, talent, capability, competence, proficiency, knowledge, technique, craft, skill, dexterity, artistry, facility, mastery, experience,understanding, faculty This is a partial listing of the synonyms for the word "ability" in Webster's New World Thesaurus . It seems to me that these words can be divided into two categories. The first category would be nouns which people generally think of as qualities that come naturally to the individual-  "innate qualities" . I propose that everyone has intelligence, capability, dexterity, even artistry, though some might say people possess them in varying degrees, and in different combinations. But isn't that called "individuality"? Now consider the second group of words. These are nouns that can be acquired: knowledge, experience, technique, skills, mastery . These are things you have with practice !
Read more

The Huntington- Textures & Colors (2 of 3)

-
Image
  There is so much to visually take in when you're surrounded by the natural beauty at The Huntington! Whether you soak in the vibrant colors and incredible textures of the many floral species, . . .  Or you pull back to absorb the magnificent collective textures created in the various themed gardens like the bamboo forest: or the cactus garden: There are also subtle color palettes created in garden displays that include a variety of plants: And then there are the man made textures that are thoughtfully scattered throughout the gardens: Plenty of inspiration for, say, quilt textures, and color choices; even shapes and design elements to borrow for future projects.
Read more