Kristin Shields Quiltmaker

Boo!

HKF

Just call me the Hat Knitting Fool.  This week, it's all about the hats.  I'm desperate to use up the yarn stash and I have tons of single skeins of yarn.  Some are hand spun like the second one down and the two at the bottom.  Some are hand dyed like the third one down.  I know I said no knitting here, but sometimes you just need some blog fodder.  Thanks very much to my beautiful model Chloe.  The first hat is the only one that is hers and luckily, the one she loves most!   All the details can be found on my Ravelry page (id- stitchinghands).  

On the subject of basting

I had a quilt to baste yesterday and thought I'd take a few photos and say a few words about how I baste.  In the past I have always taped my backing to a surface just as you see here.  The backing is just taut, but not stretched out.  I find that I often get ripples in the back if I don't tape the backing, though I know there are others who never secure the backing before basting.  I actually have tried that a few times with varied success.

This quilt, by the way, is made from all sorts of scraps in a wonky Chinese coin pattern.  I had the strip sets put together and tucked away, waiting for a chance to get it together.  November is my birth month and part of my quilt guild's mission is to donate quilts to local charities.  All members are encouraged to make a birthday quilt to donate to our community quilts program.  This issue is always hotly debated at guild meetings and board meetings.  Some say we should require this and follow up on those who don't make a birthday quilt.  Others say it's unenforceable so why even try.  Well, it's a moot point for me as I've always managed to squeak in at least one quilt at the last minute.  This year, I've got two!

The other one here has an interesting story.  The top is made of the leftover fabric from a baby quilt I made for a very good friend of mine about 6 years ago.  My friend came late to motherhood and marriage, but always wanted kids.  I was so happy when she had her first and always assumed another would follow.  I made this top almost immediately after the first one so that it would be ready for the eventual sibling we hoped the first would have.  Sadly, it was not to be.  This top sat for these 6 years waiting for something to be done with it.  Finally, it seemed a great idea to donate this one to the community quilts program.  

This quilt was basted on a table the other day and I tried not taping the backing.  It came out okay.  I find that if you want to skip the taping, try it on a small quilt.  Really small ones I don't tape at all. 

Back to the basting- your choice of batting has a huge influence on the success of the quilt.  I have almost always used cotton batting, starting with Warm and Natural.  I even hand quilted with that batting in the early years.  I've since come to love Quilter's Dream Request and Select.   Request is wonderful for hand quilting as it's the thinnest.  Select is nice for machine quilting.  All of these are 100% cotton and so have a certain "stickiness" that makes them ideal when basting.  The batting stays put as you are quilting, so with pin basting, placing your pins up to 6 inches away is no problem.  

When I did last year's community quilt I took advantage of the batting offered for free through the guild.  It was an 80/20 cotton/poly batting (I think it might be Hobb's Heirloom).  I hated it! (***Edited later:  I don't think it was Hobbs Heirloom because I now use it all the time and love it) It shifted and slid, felt awful in my hands and I would never use that again.  I have also tried Tuscany Silk which I like and wool batting which is nice, but also a bit slippery.  I come back to cotton every time though.

The tool above has made basting less of a chore and I would recommend it highly.  It saves my fingers and is gentle on the fabric.  If you don't have a durable floor surface like this tile, you should try calling your local quilt shops to see if you can use their tables for basting.  I have a table surface that I can use for smaller quilts, but larger ones always go to the floor.   It took about 1/2 hour to pin baste this one.  Not bad and my knees did just fine.  

Once the backing is secured to your surface (by the way, if you are basting on a table you can also use clips, but I find they can get in the way and my new tables are too thick to allow the use of clips), place the batting over it and smooth it out from the middle.  It will stick to the backing and stay in position.  No need to tape the batting.  I think the hardest part is centering the top on the batting.  If you have a friend to help that's the easiest.  Once it's centered, smooth it out from the center and make sure the top is within the edges of the backing.  I forgot to check that on the coins quilt above, but I got lucky and it has enough of a border to be fine.  Then start pinning.  I usually place my pins 4-6 inches apart in all directions and a set of pins around the edge of the top.  Now, a quick machine quilting session, a couple of bindings and I'll be done!

Folded Log Cabin

A few weeks ago I got the urge to finish up this little wall hanging I started in a class with Sarah Kaufman, author of Folded Log Cabin Quilts.  Sarah is a neighbor and just a delight to work with.  I took the class early this year, but put it all away for months.  In September I had the luck to see Sarah do a lecture at the Sisters Quilt Guild.  It gave me the oomph I needed to get going on it again.   I only needed to do two more squares and put it all together.  I am quite pleased with the result. Once I did that, I had lots of leftover folded strips so I figured I'd just keep going.  I decided to make potholders with the rest of the blocks.  As you can see some of the pairs are fraternal rather than identical twins.  These are not yet backed or bound.

I've already given a pair of these to my mom for her birthday, who confessed she had no idea how they are made.  It's my little secret, but actually, they are so easy to make!  The book explains the process quite well and also shows Sarah's talent with fabric and display.  She has the most creative hanging ideas I've ever seen for quilts.  Definitely worth a look.  

Juxtaposition

It has begun!  This is going to be a La Nina year, which means more snow than usual here.  Local skiers are chortling right about now.  While I like winter, I could use a few more autumn days.  

Finally feeling like myself again

I'm finally feeling like myself again after nearly a week of fever, coughing and general malaise.  I can't believe I missed what is known around these parts as near perfect fall weather.  Of course, now that I feel good, the temps are dropping and the precipitation is heading in.  Meanwhile, I kept myself busy taming a huge pile of hand dyed Blue Faced Leicester roving.  I hand dyed these myself with food colors a couple of months ago.  My wheel sometimes goes for months without a workout, but the time seemed right to get some of that taken care of while watching dvd's and Netflix.

This pretty pink will become a ribwarmer vest for a little someone I know.  The one below is from roving my mom got me in Alaska.  She said specifically to make something for myself, so this is a scarf for me!

I was able to enjoy some of the good weather from the back patio, glorious as it was.  Tomorrow we are off for another college visit!  There are still a few more schools to see in November before Chloe takes the plunge and decides which to apply to.  

Have a great weekend!

A woven composition

 

Checking in from the land of lung infections.  Chloe had pneumonia (still coughing, but recovering nicely) and now I've got bronchitis.  Yuck!  

This piece is my composition made from weavings from the Cloth to Cloth 2 class.  I'm so sad that it's over, but Jude is making plans for future classes and you know I'll be there!  I had so much fun learning about all these techniques.  I'm now quilting it and will then embellish with more stitching.  By the way, can you tell that the star is made by weaving.  It's one of the most interesting techniques Jude taught.

My book/quilt group, The Undercover Quilters, has chosen our book for this year's quilt project.  It's called On the Divinity of Second Chances by Kaya McLaren.  If you haven't read it yet, you must!  It has so many possibilities for interpretation in cloth.  Anyway, I've got some ideas for what I want to do and I'd like it to be done in the style of a spirit cloth.  One of the themes of the book is the moon and what she sees.  Recently, I saw on a blog a wonderful rendition of the moon with a face.  For the life of me, though, I can't remember where I saw that.  If any of you remember a moon face done in cloth, please direct me there.  I'd like to include cloth weaving and lots of stitch.  For now, it's just in the thinking phase.  I haven't made any sketches or played with fabric yet, but I will document the process here as it evolves.  So long, I've got to rest!

Last of the dahlia days

Even though I'm sick this week, I just had to take one last trip to the farmer's market before it closes for the season.  These dahlias are an indulgence of mine.  They sure do lift weary spirits!

A trip to Rasmussen Farms

During our weekend on the Fruit Loop, Chloe and I sneaked out for a trip to Rasmussen Farms.  Everyone else was pooped from the apple picking fun, but we couldn't leave the valley without a trip to the pumpkin patch!

Eyes :: for Jude