Tuesday, August 23, 2011

Quilt Whimsy is temporarily out of service. . .

Hello everyone,

I am sorry to say that my computer has crashed.  I am unable to blog (without the assistance of a good friend) at this time and am leaving town for a week.  I will be up and running as soon as I can make it happen so keep watching.  I am anxious to get back to demonstrating my melon project.

Blessings,
Karri

Saturday, August 13, 2011

Velda Newman's Melon Study well on its way. . .

Here is my melon study project to date.  All of the components are built.  The highlight and shadow painting comes next.  The building of each melon will be described in the next few blogs.  Today I will begin with the lime green melon in the background.  This melon has cheesecloth added to it for texture.

Begin by cutting the melon pattern out of fabric choice 1" larger than actual pattern and thin cotton batting cut to the exact pattern size.  The two are then layered together.
It's now time to play with the cheesecloth.  Begin by pulling three threads vertically every 1".  Next do the same horizontally.  The above photo shows what the cheesecloth looks like when done. 
The cheesecloth is now laid over the melon that has been spray basted.
Here's a close-up of what it looks like.
Circles are made at the intersections of the pulled cloth.  I used tweezers to manipulate the cloth.
Once satisfied with results, stitch circles, using free motion quilting, around the cheesecloth circles, varying the sizes.  When done, trim the cheesecloth even with the fabric.  This melon is ready to have seams turned under to be sewn to background.


The front yellow melon with cheesecloth texture will be shown next.  Until next time,





Monday, August 8, 2011

Art Quilting Workshop revisits Velda Newman. . .

Our art quilting workshop happened last month but my lemon study project didn't.  It has been put aside probably never to be finished (it seems I have a lot of those lately).  I have been able to let go and move on to this month's project also from Velda Newman, "The Melon Study."  This project goes into the technique of manipulating and painting cheesecloth.
Here is the project layout.  The workshop has decided to make a few adjustments to make it a bit smaller so some of the melons will not be done.
This the project kit with the exception of the orange polka dots.  That is my background.  Each participant will choose her/his own background.
And, having gotten further along this time than on the last project, here is the rough layout with all pieces cut and laid out.  With any luck you will see more completed in the next few days.



Friday, August 5, 2011

Quilt Whimsy studio gets a sign. . .

Look at the great gift my great friends gave me!
It's so great to see my logo in print.
The sign is hung outside my studio.  Come on in and see how my quilt studio is looking.
It's a bit rough still.  Here's what you see coming in the door.
This is my work station in the corner to the left of the door.
These are my shelves for my stash.  What you see, however, is not my stash.  This fabric is for planned projects or projects begun.  I can't move my stash in until I get more shelves.  Does anyone else have this problem? :)
And here is the real reason I needed such a large space, my longarm machine.
I'll keep you updated as I begin decorating and getting everything in good order.  But I want to say thanks to my good friends one more time.  I really love my sign.  What would this world be without our friends?  I know I wouldn't want to know.