2008 Journal Quilts

Here are the rest of the journal quilts then, from the beginning. So, later in the archives, you will see them in order...unless they eventually find a way to present blogs chronologically from top to bottom. (or maybe they do and I haven't discovered it yet.)

2008 Journal Quilts – British Contemporary Quilt Group
January – A few years ago, we had our holiday on Kintyre in Scotland. By the middle of the week I was going spare with not having any sorts of fabric shops or anything touristy. Finally, I went into The charity shop and found 3 old cream wool blankets. Every now and again, I hack a bit off and dye it with Kool-Aid. I had tons of the Kool-aid sent to me. the kids here don't like to drink it,but it works well on wool and silk.

Before this year, I made much smaller pieces somewhat like this, but hand stitched the bits on top of each other and embellished with buttons (also here and here) or beads. This time I worked with colours I don’t usually use, and instead of hand stitches, used the machine. Because the top is so thick, I used firm interfacing for wadding When you do the stitching, it helps the wool from getting caught in the feed dog area. It is thick enough to do this even when the feed dogs are down.

The actual composition was developed upside down to this, and it felt like a playground. But when it got stitched, I found it wanted to be this way. Looks a bit like buildings. I have done themes in past journals, but haven’t decided yet. Most likely will use the wool, as it is already there in several “flavours”!

February – more of the Kool-Aid dyed wool. This time I went with brighter colours. I felt very cheerful while I was doing it. I am a bit concerned that if I carry on with these sorts of shapes it will be same-o, same-o, but there are a few triangles in there. Perhaps I need to explore a different application method. Quilting boxes was easier this time. I do like the variegated threads from Thread Studio. I can generally find one to go with my work in some way.

March – Okay, I am starting to see that this is about colour and shape. In this one, we get much more of the triangle thing going on. It has a real zing to it. I don’t normally use yellow, but I love the brightness here. I have also turned the buttonhole stitch so it faces out. The blue is wonderful. I think I will have to use that for a background next. I have quilted triangles this time.

Much later - I can not recall which Kool-aid made the bright yellow. I could only make pale yellow later on in the year when I wanted more.

As I noted previously, doing this series did help me gain confidence in Free Motion Quilting. However, time will tell if I end up working in brighter colours more. And Shapes? Well, for now I think I am rather done with that rabbit trail.