When was in London back in 2011 and 2012, I took tons of pictures. I wanted to do something with them, other than framing and hanging them up. This spring I watched a program on fabric design and wondered if I could translate some of my photographic imagery into fabric. While I would still like to do that, I need a different computer set up and chunks of time, neither of which I think I will be getting anytime soon. So the next avenue was designing a quilt pattern based on a building that I photographed. Light bulb moment for me. The first I chose was our Embassy in London.
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| Three of the photos that I took. |
The building is striking. It is beautiful and geometric and has a repeating pattern. It seemed perfect for my first attempt. My third try at pattern design resulted in something that seemed workable. The blocks aren't square. However, they are to a scale that I could make a quilt big or small, and not end up with it really thin and long or wide and short.
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| 3rd attempt at designing a pattern. |
That was back in April. I didn't more forward with finding fabric or anything else because I had my big Birdbaths at Sunset quilt to finish and we moved. I haven't unpacked all the boxes yet, but we're in the house and know where most of our stuff is. I finished the Birdbaths quilt on Monday.
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| Pattern by Elizabeth Hartman |
Tuesday I cut out the fabric for my Embassy quilt according to my pattern sheet. I should have made it up with each size be a letter. Instead I lettered by fabric pattern. Note to self on ways to improve for clarity when I do this again.
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| Recording the selvages to reference the designer |
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| Tan for window frames, green for the windows, gray for the architectural detail |
Wednesday I got Selim to Concord where I met Robert who took him back to the Ashram. I drove on to Henniker to Quilted Threads as a treat. I had visited their website before but never made my way down there. Oh boy, what a wonderful shop! I had a lovely time and will go back some day when the weather is better and the road conditions allow me to relax and really enjoy the experience. I'm glad I made the trip, but also glad that I left when I did. By the time I got home, the roads were slick with frozen fog and drizzle.
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| Beautiful shop, but at 4:30, it sure was dark. |
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| Winter wonderland and slick roads |
When I got home, I began sewing the top row. I did all the tan window frames and green centers. I chose green because the trees from the park often reflected in the glass.
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| Large windows arranged |
Before I began to sew the gray triangles, my fabric rectangles looked really big. I went back to the tutorial at the Modern Quilt Guild website and realized that I did the math wrong. Instead of the 5 x 7 rectangles that I cut, I needed them to be 3 x 4. Sigh. I don't know what I was thinking. I cut twice as much fabric as I needed. It turned out not to be an epic fail, as I was able to cut 2 rectangles out of each fabric piece with minimal waste.
This morning I brought my mug of tea down to the sewing room and began on those triangles. The tutorial is great and I had success on my first attempt.
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| Sew on either side of the pink line |
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| Cut on the pink line and get 2 sets (I made 2 of each set). |
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| Pressed open, and not. |
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| Pressed and trimmed. |
And now, I have the top / first row complete.
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| When the quilt is finished, it should measure 44 x 60. |
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| Detail. |
I can hardly believe it. I feel such a sense of accomplishment. Granted, it is only the first row of 5 that I planned...but I did it. My math worked; the pattern pieces all fit together. It looks just like I envisioned. I'm so happy.
I've read two quilt books recently that have been really inspiring, for different reasons. The first is Quilt Local: Finding the Inspiration in the Everyday, by Heather Jones. She has transformed her locale into beautiful quilts. I love how she has taken elements of architecture and made a whole quilt from the sometimes small detail. And I appreciate how un-patchworky her art is.
Since reading her book, I revisited my Embassy photographs and sketched out a second idea for a quilt that is more modern, streamlined, and not patchwork. I'm excited to try that next. I like the idea of using the same starting point and having two different outcomes -- one more traditional in the patchwork approach and the second, a more modern and abstract based. I have several more photographs where I believe I can do the same thing.
The second book is Wanderlust Quilts: 10 Modern Projects Inspired by Classic Art & Architecture by Amanda Leins. I don't plan on making all 10 of her projects -- it is seeing her photos and how she translated them into fabric that will blew my mind. They are so beautiful. I'm amazed and awed. Her work gives me hope that my simple start has the potential to evolve if I stick with it. Looking at her quilt based on photos of the Pantheon in Rome, I flash on my photos of the ceiling at the Library of Congress. I aim to develop my skills enough that I could translate my vision of that ceiling into a fabric reality. Before I begin that one, I need to get better sewing curves.
I think 2016 is going to be a great year for project development. I'm excited to experiment with my quilting and try new things: designing new patterns, honing my sewing skills, getting out to new quilt shops and attending a workshop or two. And if I could figure out how to exercise, work full time, keep a cleaner house, and be more on top of the homework and school thing for Selim, rekindle my spiritual practice, and develop my creative life...now that would be awesome.
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