Sunday Quilt Inspiration: {artist} Beili Liu

I was looking through photos from the artist-in-residence open house at the Joan Mitchell Center in New Orleans. I realized that there were a few artists that I wanted to introduce to you. One of those is Beili Liu. Her work speaks to me through color, shape and theory. It helps that her grandmother's crocheted bed spread (and hundreds of needles) are part of one of her exhibits. 

 You can't see it in this photo, though I did try to get relatively close, but every thread hanging from this tar-covered piece holds a needle. I did not even see the needles until someone pointed them out. But once I did, my brain kicked into gear. I walked away wondering how many needles a quilter threads. 

How many in the case of my grandmother, who hand-pieced and hand-quilted exclusive of machines? How many did for the women before her generation, who had large families? who needed several quilts on every bed. who had many beds? Oh so many needles! And I want little more than to thread a needle and pull it through layers of fabric and fiber.

 I'm not quite sure what to make of these pieces. The indigo color was all I needed to be drawn to them. The second piece is a series of six inch squares each dyed using some form of blueprint coloring that is activated in the sun. The shapes are of objects that the artist recovered from one particular area.

Sunday Quilt Inspiration: Reproduction Fabrics

At yesterday's quilt show in Krotz Springs, there were quite a few quilts made of reproduction fabrics. Although they can be muddy and muted, they can be very pretty when done in traditional designs. Here are a few collections...

Civil War reproductions turned into beautiful quilts...

Calico

Recently I've been using up some of the calico in my stash as backing for baby quilts. They are light and soft and cheap. Well, cheap in my mind since I either bought them long ago or inherited them from mom's stash. 

As I was cutting into the last pile I was a bit sorry that they were all gone. Still, I decided to check one more time to see whether I could find a few small pieces or something to add to the leftovers. 

I found a few more than expected! Yay, right? After I pulled them out, I started looking through the pile to make sure that they were all calico and to look at sizes. That led me to thinking that maybe it would be good to discuss calico. 

Calico is a thin, woven cotton fabric made from unbleached, undyed threads. The selvage is slim and tight but barely noticeable or distinguishable from the rest of the fabric. Generally there's no writing or label on the selvage. 

It is generally coarser than other cotton fabrics, but softens when washed. It's about the same weight as muslin and is usually overdyed in small print patterns. One of the oldest fabrics made in mills, it was used for dresses, aprons, and quilts. 

It may have more than one color but rarely has deep, rich colors or large prints and are not colorfast because they are cheaply processed. They work well with solids, especially thin, cheap cottons. Calico is used by fashion designers and sewists who create dummy pieces when designing since it is much cheaper than luxurious, expensive fabrics, such as silk, damask, chiffon, etc. 

Calico makes great backing for quilts, especially children's quilts, precisely because they are thin and soft after washing. I am thrilled to have found more calico in the stash. I think this may be it, though. I'll have to move on to other fabrics when the basket is empty.

Pin It Weekly #141

I had a great sewing day! I'll have to wait to tell you about that tomorrow because today is Pin It day! And I'm all about the plaid this week. Those plaid circles are mounting up! 

Fleur de Lis Quilts and Accessories

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I wish I could do my ad in plaid. Wouldn't that be fun?  What are you pinning this week? Leave a link to your blog or Pinterest so we can visit.