Binding on the road!

Well I am home from Orlando, Florida for work and visiting RPI and my son, for Family Weekend. I have been itching to quilt again, but at least I was able to put the binding and finishing touches on two quilts!

I finished Carnivale! while flying back and forth to Florida.
I didn't do a traditional binding, as I didn't think this quilt called for real binding. Instead I faced it, like you would do while making clothing. I attached a narrow binding like normal, then trim/graded the seam allowance and batting, leaving just one layer of the fabric. I then topstitched the binding and turned it toward the back. When garment sewing they teach you that topstitching helps the facing/binding lay flat.

If you remember, I wasn't sure the color choices would work. But even after many discussions on color theory and why the flying geese wouldn't look as if they were on top of the ribbons, I decided to make it my way.

Well I think it worked. I have another variation that I will try with more somber colors as a background, but that will have to wait until I finish the current projects on the cutting table.

Next as Bob, Raven, my mom, my sister Irene and her husband and I all drove up to Troy, NY for RPI Family Weekend to vist Robert and watch some football, I took Hugs with me. I got all the handwork done, and am ready to take it with me to Vegas next week, to give it to my friend. I hope she likes it.....
Ok, next to a christmas present for my sister-inlaw.. a small family tree showing four generations and a medallion quilt I have been itching to make since the Northern Stars Quilt Show last May.

But before I leave... here is a picture of Robert in the game this Sunday.
Robert is #68 in white/red. He is fighting off #77 in green... all 340 lbs! Unfortunately, the JV team lost to HVCC. On Saturday, the Varsity team beat Susquahanna, making them 5-0 on the season.

We had a good time albeit a little chilly... but that is football in upstate NY. OK... that's it.

Until next time.


Cheers! Renee

What a weekend!

What a weekend I had. As always Quilt Escape weekend was fantastic. The gang was all there.. 46 strong this fall and our small group (7) had a great time quilting, chatting, laughing and yes eating!

I worked mostly on a piece that came to me one day during my morning walk. It is all based on curved flying geese (yes I am sort of fixated on them right now :-) ). From the flying geese shape came the triangular shape of the small wallhanging and of course a bright background is a must for almost any piece I do.

As a result, here is the top I created... the flying geese shape took the entire day Saturday, and then Saturday evening I appliqued the bright ribbons on the background and used the blind hem stitch to attach my geese, or as some in the room called them the ram horns. While sharing with the ladies, many thought it reminded them of an African mask, others of Madi-Gra and so I think it will be named 'Carnivale'. What do you think?

I don't really like where the right curve ends, since it is blue on blue and the point gets lost, so before I quilt it, I might think about slicing the background and weaving in another ribbon to enhance the visual effect. In fact there was quite a bit of dialogue Friday night on the piece as we discussed the impact the brights in the background might have on the pink/orange geese. Would they just fade into the background, will the bright yellow take over, will the geese really look like the are on top??? All questions we pondered and even took out colored pencils to explore. It sort of became a lesson in color theory. In the end I decided to make the piece as was my original design, and then create another similar in concept but with more muted colors in the background to see which works best to achieve the feel that the geese are on top of the background. I think both work visually, the question which works best from the standpoint of what I was originally trying to achieve.

To be honest I hadn't really thought that far until I was discussing the piece and the colors with Jane Davila, one of our hosts for the weekend. She is a phenomenal fiber artist and provided me quite a bit of guidance during the weekend. Thanks Jane!

Anyway, I will create a gallery of photos from the weekend and a vew of the other piece I started, but I want to share with you, one of the projects Evelyn Moccia worked on while we were there. Last spring, Elizabeth Rosenberg, another fantastic fiber artist taught a workshop for the Pelham Quilters. The subject was Finding your Inner Goddess and we began work creating original quilts that expressed who we were. Evelyn brought her goddess with her to finish this weekend and here she is... the goddess and its maker.... Doesn't she Look Beautiful!




























So, that was my weekend. Hope yours was as enjoyable! Looking forward to April 17th, 2009 and Quilt Escape Spring 2009!!

Cheers, Renee.....