Sunday Quilt Inspiration: neutrals

I've been working on a couple of projects. All of them use neutrals so I've been had neutrals on my mind for the past week. Well, neutrals and Christmas--there's a conflicting proposition. I suppose one sort of offset the other because I wasn't all antsy and worried about getting everything ready. In fact, we have a wedding in Houston tomorrow and other than to clean house, shop, and finish up gift wrapping, I haven't been worried at all.

Neutral quilts

There was another SQI on neutrals back in 2014. I hope you enjoy!

More on those neutral projects after the gift-giving on Christmas. Shhh, don't say a word.

Bipolar 3: Balance {an art quilt series} Quilt Festival version

Number three in my series of art quilts exploring strategies for dealing with Bipolar Disorder is my favorite thus far, so I decided to write another post explaining the art piece.

Finding balance in life is especially important to a patient with BD because we tend to express emotion in extremes. Mania is the euphoria that we feel when everything is good. Depression is the polar opposite, so it's those hurtful, negative feelings that occur when life hands us a few hard knocks. 

People with BD tend to feel their emotions on a grand, out-of-proportion scale. What is a difficult situation to most people may become a disastrous situation in the emotions of a BD patient. 

Finding balance helps to keep those overly emotional states in check. Note I said "helps." BD requires a doctor's care and, most often, medicine and therapy. But balancing work, family time, and relaxation can help to alleviate the feelings of urgency that BD brings on. Eating well, exercising, and getting enough sleep are other ways of creating balance. 

This piece, like all of the works, has a dark and light side, each representing depression and mania, respectively. On the dark side is a small, almost black circle which represents that place in depression that is almost impossible to return from. Notice that the quilting runs right through this darkness as though it isn't there.

On the mania side are organic, wavy pieces of depression, showing that both can occur at the same time and at any time. The red circles are like balancing rocks, always about to tumble but somehow carefully balanced. Those circles are the things in life that we can balance, however difficult. 

I've carried the motifs of light/dark throughout the series. Always depression and mania are touching along a vertical, wavy line, never the same. That's because the two are impossible to predict. 

Another motif is that one darker area of depression which is in the same general area, but always changing. A third motif is the quilting--vertical lines that sway and wave and go around some objects, through some objects and are changed by other objects. 

Unpredictable. That's what BD is. Unpredictable and not easy to follow or track. Always moving and keeping just a step ahead--science, medicine, therapy, help. 

Visit the Bloggers Quilt Festival at Amy's Creative Side to post your own quilt finish--but hurry because it ends tomorrow. Want some inspiration? See the 150 blogs posted so far! 

Bipolar 3: Balanced {an art quilt series} finished!

The third in the series is complete, well—maybe. I haven't decided exactly how I want to add the final touches and the label. Otherwise, it's done. 

Here's the problem, as I work on the series, things come to me and, because I want all of the pieces to have some of the same elements, I can't seem to finish any of them. 

But I'm stopping on this one for now. At least until I decide on those things that have come and I don't know what to do with them.

On this quilt I wanted to give a sense that recovery is ongoing and left the raw selvage on the left and right edges. On the top and bottom, though I finished the quilt with binding. I tried to use a pillowcase fold but that didn't work because the edges were messy because of the quilting, so I cut and applied a bias binding, meant to follow the shape of the edges, which are sunken in toward the middle. 

The whole back of the work was a mess. In fact, all of them have messy backs even before I finish the work on the front. So to give this one a cleaner look, I added a backing. Then a sleeve and corner pockets. 

A good pressing and a label will put this one on the growing pile of art quilts that I've finished in the last year or two. Well, unless those nagging things force me to pull it out again.

Murky Waters ~~ FINISHED!

This scrap quilt is a finish! I thought it was started in 2017, but blogs tend to be a fairly accurate way of keeping track of things and mine says this was started on or before December 27. So I guess it's a 2016-17 completion. 

When I began the quilt I had one goal: to bust up some scraps. Well, that it did. Every bit of fabric in this one is from a scrap bin. In fact, the top is from the beige-to-brown bin and the bottom from the calicoes bin. I pieced the calico together.



How is it that every time I go into the stash, I find more calico? Do they somehow multiply and toss bits and pieces into the stash? I pulled what I thought was all of the calico out and move them to a separate pile on the other side of the closet. Yet, I find more and more of them in the stash.




But I digress (and do not solve the mystery). I've decided that this quilt shall be named Murky Waters simply because it reminds me of bayou water--murky, brown, muddy, messy and sometimes smelly. 

At 54 X 56 it will make a nice lap throw or small bed quilt. I don't have a particular person in mind to give it to, so it may go into the donation pile. 

I took it outside into very bright sunshine and laid it on Richard's woodpile, thinking the browns would complement each other. A few minutes later Rich walked up and offered to hold the quilt for me, which I greatly appreciate. 

One of the nice things about making a quilt totally from scraps is that any quilting motif will do. So I used this one to practice some motifs that are difficult to quilt. The problem? Because of the many different pieces, it is difficult to see the stitches and analyze how good or bad they are, but at least the person who eventually gets the quilt also won't be able to see any bad stitches. 

Quilt Stats
Name:	Murky Waters
Size:	54 X 56
Fabrics:	Scrap fabrics from stash
Background:	none
Binding:	Kona Bison
Pattern:	none
Quilting:	practice quilting with variety of motifs

Linking up with

Crazy Mom Quilts

Confessions of a Fabric Addict

Scrap Busting on Two Fronts

I'm determined if nothing else! I have a couple of scrap bins that are full. I mean packed in and shoved down to keep it from bursting over the top. I have got to get it under control.

To that end, I am working on the scraps in two different ways. Firstly, I cut up some of the thin, cheap fabric that I've had for a long time. These skinny strips of about one inch each are now in a basket next to my favorite chair, ready for me to make fabric rope. 

I'm winding the rope onto a cardboard and plastic cone that held ribbon once upon a time. (I keep a few of these cones in a box along with other sewing organizers. You never know when you'll need a free organizer.) 

I filled the cone and piled on a bit more of the rope before getting started on the actual project. We need a small run in the camper bathroom, so yesterday I started sewing up the rope into a rope rug. It's much easier than I expected and I ran out of rope quickly. I still need to add about four inches to the rug, so I'm back to making rope while Rich watches television. 

The second scrap project that I'm working on is an improv quilt using the scraps in my neutrals bin. Actually the bin holds neutrals, browns and whatever is sewn onto either.  This is where I was last night, but I added a few more chunks today.

There's no guarantee that I'll use up most of these scraps, but at least I'm giving it a go. Plus, I can see the difference in the baskets, so there's that! 

How do you handle scraps? What projects have you found to bust up some scraps?

Linking up with

AHIQ with Ann at Fret Not Yourself and Kaja at Sew Slowly

Les Bâtons ~~ finished!

This is a quilt that I started last year and put in the quilt que. It got buried there and, of course, forgotten. However it customer tee shirt quilt was stalled for several days, so I dug around said que and rediscovered it.

I am thrilled that I did! This is much better than the not-quilted version. Plus, I discovered a new quilting motif...which I happen to like very much. More on that later. There's so much going on that I almost can't contain myself.



Not only did I finish Les Bâtons, I am on my way home as I write this post...from Houston.














Last night we finally decided to leave early this morning, spend the day at the quilt fest, then return home this evening--which translates into "as soon as my body gives out."

I took hundreds of pictures, so be sure to come back on Sunday for a full report. In the meantime, here are a few more pics of Les Bâtons because I really like this quilt.

Quilt Stats
Name:	Les Bâtons
Size:	45 X 60 (approx.)
Fabrics:	Scrap fabrics from stash
Background:	Kona khaki
Binding:	Kona taupe
Pattern:	Chinese coins
Quilting:	Custom free motion

Dificulty:

Easy

If you are a beginning quilter, you should give this pattern a try. You don't really need a pattern; just cut some small squares and sew them into a line, then add as much background fabric as you feel you need. That's how I put this one together. 

Don't you think that system would work for you as well? Would you prefer a "real" tutorial? I can add measurements and steps without much difficulty. 

Linking up with

Crazy Mom Quilts 

TGIFF at Busy Hands

Kelly at My Quilt Infatuation

Fort Worth Fabric Studio

Sunday Quilt Inspiration: Lonesome Dove Neutrals

We've been watching the 1989 miniseries Lonesome Dove. Four hours of the movie last week and, now, another four hours of Return to Lonesome Dove. It's our second go watching these, but Richard loves them.  He really likes westerns. 

Today we need some inspiration and, since there seem to be only neutral colors in the movies--it feels almost as if it were shot in sienna--I started thinking about neutral quilts.

Could the colors be more neutral with these muted grays, beiges, and browns? All beautiful, of course, but without much pop.  

So for some inspiration--

And now for some quilts--

With over 5,000 pins, my Pinterest board, "heart, quilts" includes these and many other beautiful quilts.