Kristin Shields Quiltmaker

The Wayward Jungle Crow

The Wayward Jungle Crow
2015
23 x 27
Hand dyed fabric and thread, commercial fabric, vintage linens, old wool shirt, machine pieced, hand appliqued, hand embroidered, hand and machine quilted.
Inspired by A Tale for the Time Being by Ruth Ozeki.

I've posted lots of closeups so you can see the stitching.  My hand embroidery includes a lot of backstitching.  I did fly stitch on the tail.  

The bird includes and is surrounded by spirals.  The spirals represent the Pacific gyres that are talked about quite a bit in the book, plus they are fun to do!

The fabrics include several vintage linens, including the edge of a fine linen tablecloth (above) that was overdyed in indigo and walnut.  I laid the whole piece over the darker blue you can see below, and tacked the whole edge down.  I employed Jude Hill's invisible basting stitch quite a bit on this piece, so occasionally you'll see tiny stitches that show through.  On the right is the piece of a heavy linen table cloth that was overdyed in indigo.  I left the fringe hanging down.

The top piece is from an old Pendleton wool shirt gifted to me by a friend.  I machine quilted spirals and stars into it, then went over the stars with some embroidery thread and a backstitch to create the white star outlines.

The stars in the middle are created with liberated piecing.  I tried a lot of stitching here that I learned from Jude Hill.  The satin stitched points, satin stitched star and black and white star tails are all ideas from Jude.  

This piece was really fun to do.  I decided to bite the bullet and machine quilt it last weekend.  Good choice, actually, cause I had no idea I'd have the flu by Tuesday.  I've been very sick all week.  Both of the guys caught it too, so we've laid low all week and I haven't done any sewing at all.  I am resting a lot and trying to get healthy before I leave for QuiltCon on Wednesday.  I'm a whole lot better, but still get pretty tired.  I am glad this one is done though.  I have a few more finishes to show (small things), but don't know if I'll get to them before I leave.  In the meantime, I have started something for another challenge.  You can see photos of that in my Instagram feed.

If you are also traveling to QuiltCon say hello!  I will be Instagramming while I'm in Austin, but won't do blog posts until I get back.  I am taking my big camera though, so I hope to get some great photos to share!

Celia's Raven

Celia's Raven
2015
43 x 46
Inspired by The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern

Celia's Raven is done over 6 months early!  I am so excited about that.  No more sweating the summer over a book quilt.  Anyway, I love how the raven came out though it's hard to see the stitching unless you are in the right light.

I chose to keep the machine quilting fairly simple.  I added some lines of stitch to represent the face, but didn't try to add anything for an eye, for instance.The other quilting really doesn't show too much with so much pattern going on.  

The back is also simple, but I followed my rule about making the back fun and indicative of what's on the front.  I bought that circus tent fabric just especially for the back of this quilt and I was pleasantly surprised to find the raven fabric in the stash.  

I don't normally show my labels, but I did here because I wanted to show the book quote that inspired this quilt.  "In the blink of an eye folds of silk are glossy black feathers, and it is impossible to pinpoint the moment when it is fully raven and no longer cloth".

Stitching a Raven

My Night Circus quilt is coming right along (previously blogged here).  I have never had such an easy time with a book quilt.  I will have this done over 6 months ahead of time!  I think it's because I decided not to obsess about it and add a million details. It's actually pretty simple, and except for the hand applique, is all done by machine.  I am posting these photos to show my hand applique technique.  The raven is done with black silk.  It's a fairly substantial silk, so it's pretty stable, but it is slippery.  I didn't use any kind of stabilizer here.  Most of the time with cotton I don't bother with thread basting unless the pieces are unusually large.  The raven is large and also has those annoying points and is slippery.  

I draw the design out onto freezer paper.  Then iron the freezer paper to the applique fabric right side up.  I draw around the pattern on the fabric with a Sewline pencil (my favorite for white and black lines).  I cut out the applique (adding a scant 1/4" for the seam allowance) and remove the freezer paper.  The applique is laid on the quilt top in place and pinned in a few places. I then thread baste about 1/2" in from the line that I drew.  I use a blind applique stitch with lightweight thread and clip corners as I go. I use a combination of hand and needle turning. and usually just do a bit at a time.  I like to turn a few inches or a small section and pin in place, then stitch.  

I spent the weekend working on the raven and was so happy when it was done.  I also remembered that I needed some tent flags, so I did those.  I got the quilt layers basted on Sunday night and started machine quilting yesterday.  

Yesterday I started with the big tent, then did the background around it.  I followed up with the smaller tents this morning and just did the raven.  One thing I hate is marking.  I don't mark when I hand quilt and I sure don't want to mark when I'm machine quilting.  I think there would be no way I could stick to the line and the thought of having to later remove the lines gives me the willies!  So, with the raven I did one section at a time, deciding how I wanted the long wing feathers to look, then deciding what to do with the top part of the wing, etc.

I am so pleased with how it came out!  Do I sound surprised?  I am, I really, really am.  For many years I struggled to machine quilt and thought that I'd never be pleased with my own effort, but I think I've improved a lot in the past few years.

In other news,tomorrow night, Wednesday, January 28, I will be doing the program at the Sisters quilt guild (aka East of the Cascades Quilters).  It takes place at the Stitchin' Post in the classroom at 6:30 pm.  I will be doing a Trunk Show (aka glorified show and tell) with some of the quilts from the last few years.  I'll also have my newest pieces, including this one!  Hope to see some locals there.

Studio buddies

The Wayward Jungle Crow

This small quilt is for the Novel Idea book A Tale for the Time Being by Ruth Ozeki.  I am a bit enamored with corvids, so they are showing up in my quilts lately.  This one is in the middle of the hand embroidery stage.  I worked on the wing last night, but realized afterwards the purple is not going to show up, except up close. I'll be adding more and different colors.  I also need to define the bird's face and will add more embroidery and stitching in the background.  This one needs to be done by April 1. 

Journal Covers Now in the Shop!

I have just listed the journal covers in the shop.  I finished these three you see here. There's another one that will hopefully get done soon and listed later this week.  These make fantastic affordable and functional gifts.  Check out the shop here.

More Whimsical Journal Covers

I am going a bit crazy with last minute things to do, but I did get a bit of sewing done yesterday on more of the whimsical journal covers.  The shop will be closed until December 1, but when it re-opens I will have these journals listed and hopefully a few more.  They are perfect gifts for just about anyone!  Meanwhile, we are packing and getting ready to leave for warmer temperatures tomorrow.  I'll be posting to Instagram while I'm away if you want to follow me!  Happy Thanksgiving!

November Stitches :: This Week

This has been a busy month (are there any that are not?).  Here's a sampling of what's going on this week.  I am taking a once a month wool club class with Tamra at the Stitchin' Post. It's based around Sue Spargo's Bird Dance pattern.  I already have plenty of wool and embellishments, so I started a new project!  Silly me.

I taught my own class: Whimsical Journal Covers on Wednesday. It was a small, but very fun class.  Above is my fox I stitched on as a demo.  Below is Jeannie's dog, my pattern inspired by Scrabble.  So cute!

Lindsey was excited to make a cover to fit a different sized journal. Isn't that pretty fabric!  I forgot to get a picture of the other student's journal, but she did a pieced strip version that was really pretty.My fox is done and when I get a chance I'll be finishing up all these other journal covers to put in the shop.

Above is the quilt that's been my nemesis lately.  I got really, really tired of putting together all those little squares.  I will love the final product, but not the process.  Below is the little project I nearly finished while avoiding the one above.  This one is created from demo pieces from my Portland guild Improv class.  I love it!  And, best of all I love the process too.  If I know one thing about myself, it's that I need variety!

Lastly, hand quilting has been my nightly project for several weeks.  I am making good progress on this one and will update when it's finished!  So, what are you stitching on this week?

My Weekend :: Journal Covers

Last week QuiltWorks put out a call for mini class ideas.  It took me a few days to come up with an idea, but I think these are so much fun and quick to do that they'll work perfectly.  These mini classes are intended to be small projects that can be done perhaps as holiday gifts.  

These three are made to fit a standard US composition book, which means they'd be perfect for any age of student, journaler or artist.  I started with a tutorial I found online, but made my own changes, such as adding interfacing so they are a little sturdier than they would be otherwise.  These three are made with an oatmeal colored cotton/linen blend as a base, then scraps of commercial and hand dyed fabrics are used for the applique.

I also had fun with the sketchbook approach. I love the sketchy black lines.  In the case of the horse and owl, I used actual sketches from my journals to make the designs.  The bird I drew out free hand and it's definitely more stylized.  I happen to really love the more quirky designs myself.

Also, I've been trying out writing words when I do my machine quilting on some projects and thought it would be fun to add here.  The secret is to go over your lines multiple times.  Once or twice just doesn't look as good in my opinion. 

I added pockets to one of the covers, but they all have a ribbon book marker.

This last one is done on a smaller journal and uses Osnaburg fabric for the base.  I've figured out how to measure and fit any size of journal.  It's also a less ambitious cover design which might appeal to some.  I'll let you know when the class gets scheduled.

SOQS 2014 :: Animals

Animal quilts at the SOQS run the gamut in style and technique, but all are fabulously creative and big crowd pleasers.  I love this dragon above.  Ryan has requested a dragon quilt some day.  Who knows when I'll get to it, but I can get some inspiration here.  ** Remember to click to enlarge all the photos and see details.
This Charley Harper inspired quilt is based on his poster, "The Alpine Northwest".  It was in the Portland Modern Quilt Guild exhibit, but seemed to fit this collection better.

Love the upside down owl!The lighting is not good on this quilt by Pat Busby, but it's such a beautiful piece!  I remember it from a past exhibit, I think the Alice in Wonderland one?

June Jaeger's Pet Portrait exhibit is really special, partly because many of these pets are no longer living.  These pieces are made by June's students and she has a new book out with the technique! Check it out here: Best Friends.  June is Jean Wells' sister and also lives in Central Oregon.This frog is so cool because it's so huge!  This is a bed sized quilt.  Totally awesome!This giraffe was in the Teachers' Tent and is made by Vivienne Moore.  Those sections are all pieced.  So cool!

This last bunch are the Whimsical Cow quilts made by students of Mary Lou Weidman.  These are just so much fun!  I was planning to go back on Sunday to really take them in, but was not feeling well.  At least I have these photos.

Well, that was fun, wasn't it!  Next time I'll post the California State Park quilts.  They are really amazing too!

SOQS Michael Miller Challenge Fabric Postcards

The Wish Upon a Card fabric postcards were due yesterday for consideration for framing and for the Michael Miller Challenge. I spent all day finishing these, but got them delivered just in time.  The challenge fabric was available in two colorways, but I went for my comfort zone and chose the brightest areas of the print.  I paired the challenge print with hand dyes, except for the green print above. The balloons and the bird are created with needleturn applique. The beach houses are with fusible (when I really had to finish it fast!).  I think the beach houses are my favorite, though the bird is a close second.

These are created with crinoline as a foundation, then layered with regular batting and backing.  The crinoline provides a bit more stability than just the batting.  As I said before, I keep trying methods to get the best feel for a postcard. This seems like a good solution for something that's not so stiff.