Combining My Love of Quilting and Nature

Tuesday, November 29, 2016

The Weight of The World

This week I finished the quilt that I've been working on for a while and I've named it The Weight of The World.
 I think the theme is self-explanatory.  I really do think that time is running out--maybe not in my lifetime, but probably sooner than we want to think unless we all come together to preserve our endangered planet.  I really believe that if each of us did what we could and if world leaders did what they could things such as melting icebergs and diminished forest lands--and so much more--could be turned around.  But it would take a major shift in our thinking and behavior.  And I do get discouraged when I see the lack of recycling participation in my own neighborhood.  Really--how much effort does it take to put bottles into a blue bag for pickup?  And if we can't do the little things, then . . .well.

O.K., enough of that.  I just need to let my quilts occasionally reflect my concern and this is one of them.  But back to the actual quilt.  When I had finished quilting it, I wasn't completely happy with the result. I looked at it for a day or so and finally decided to add the black fusible bias tape around the perimeter.  This made it feel complete.  And, so, sometimes, just putting our work aside and waiting to see what idea may overtake you is the thing to do rather than "making do".  You never know what might be just around the corner.

One final comment.  I do think that a faced edge can be the best way to finish off many quilts rather than a binding.  And I usually make one with a mitered corner--which can be a real hassle.  When I took the class with Susan Brubaker Knapp, she talked about the more simple facing that I've used here.  I tried it and I liked it.  It was neater and much simpler to manage.  She has a free download on her website, www.BlueMoonRiver.com, where you can find the info if you'd like to try for yourself.

Tuesday, November 22, 2016

Snowflake Class

I don't often take classes anymore but when I learned that Susan Brubaker Knapp was coming to our Guild, I signed up right away.  I have admired her work for quite a while and I knew for sure that I would learn something new from her.  And I did--lots of things, actually.  Most of them small--but it's often the small things that make our quilting life more exciting, aren't they?
The class that she was teaching was thread sketching and the graphics were snowflakes (kind of appropriate this week with the onset of cold weather).

This is her class sample.  She had a bit to say about the direction of the wind on the snowflakes which you'll see shortly that apparently to which I didn't pay close enough attention.
In order to draw the graphics onto our DARK fabrics, we used a Lightbox.  For the most part, that worked pretty well but many of us (including me) had to sort of fill in the details because we couldn't see the individual lines very clearly.  I viewed that as an asset really because we each ended up with a more individual piece that way.



Susan is one of the best teachers that I have ever had the pleasure of learning from.  She is totally accessible to each student and has a giving personality.  She has spent a LOT of time honing her craft and developing her style and she shares the result of that time spent with her students.  As a teacher myself, I found it very inspiring.   
AND . . .she brought lots and lots of quilts.  Not only is she good but she's also prolific!

 And here are the results of my time in her class. Not only do I seldom take classes, but even more seldom do I finish the class sample.  This one, I did and I had a grand time doing it.  And note the difference in how my wind sketching doesn't blow against the snowflakes.   Oh well.  Another lesson learned.




Thursday, November 17, 2016

Patterns

I received a call from a Guild today that was interested in learning about the patterns I have made that I can use as a class when I visit them.  Unfortunately--or fortunately, depending on how you look at it--I had my computer upgraded today and some things don't work quite right yet--or at least not in a way that I have figured out yet!  So . . .I am doing a roundabout way for now.  Here are some of the patterns that I have designed that I also use to teach at Guilds.  I like to use my patterns as a method for also teaching and improving students skills in appliqué and piecing techniques, color choices and potential quilting designs.
This quilt is Snow Family and has been one of the most popular classes I have taught.    There is a lot of appliqué work but students also learn how to piece a curved seam and checkerboards.
35" x 47"















This is Natural Fibers--a combination of appliqué work and pieced log cabins.  I love making quilts that include log cabin blocks.
41" x 41'


And this is Los Flores del Sol.  Not only does this quilt have appliqué and piecing components, it also has inserting of a circular center.
30" x 30"
















Put Out The Welcome Mat uses the interesting construction method of most of the quilt being fused and sewn down with decorative stitches.  Pineapples often are considered a symbol of welcome.
30" x 30"













Flora Bella--a table runner and placemats.  A simple pieced layout, but graphically dynamic.

















These are the patterns that I am able to post right now.  If you have any questions about any of them, just ask:  judyheyward@gmail.com.  and I'll be glad to answer.


Saturday, November 5, 2016

Work Progressing

Well, today I got the rest of the applique pieces prepared with Wonder Under, cut out and laid on the background fabric.  At this point, I'm pretty happy with it (but tomorrow is another day--so who knows how I'll feel then!).   If I'm still satisfied, I'll fuse everything down and begin stitching.  Right now, it just feels good to have brought an idea to fruition.
The dead tree represents the drought we are experiencing right now.  Today, I received 4 apple trees that I ordered back before the drought began.  I planted them but it took a maddox to dig through the ground to form the planting hole.  When clay soil is dry--and this was bone dry--a shovel just isn't enough.  I added lots of compost and watered well--and am hoping for the best.
The girl here is standing on really parched ground--and I certainly hope we don't get to that point.  I've been saving water from our dehumidifier to keep these trees healthy.  Rain, of course, would be better but this is better than nothing and I'm grateful that we have it.

Thursday, November 3, 2016

We ARE The World

Although I like to tell myself that I am ALWAYS aware of how I should live in order not to take more from this world than is my portion,  I know that that isn't always true.  I think we all make allowances for things we THINK are necessary.   However, I've had to put quite a bit of thought into these issues lately as our area of the country has dealt with a worsening drought and gas shortages.  Figuring out how my personal choices can lessen the impact of my figurative footprint on the environment often calls for creativity and a willingness to rethink how I live.
So I guess all this thinking has led to my current work-in-progress.  I don't usually have a complete vision of a quilt before I actually begin to work.  Most often, it's a design for the center and then I sort of intuit it as I work outward.  But one morning this week, I woke up with a complete idea and was excited to get to work.  This was especially great because, ever since I finished my last quilt, I haven't been motivated to do anything original.  I've had a couple of ideas but they haven't made it past the thought  stage.  I've done several charity quilts--and there's certainly nothing wrong with that--but that's been about all.
The idea that came to me was about our place on the earth and our responsibility for its survival.


This is what came to me.  My husband--as always--helped me with some of my refinements.  I had had the girl holding both a clock and the earth and he said, "Why not make the earth be on the face of the clock?"  Sounded good to me.  He also suggested I change the alarm bells to the present choice.  I love to get his suggestions because he is almost always point on.








And this is the girl.





And the, finally, the girl with the world clock.  There is more to come, of course, but I think it's a pretty good beginning.














Tuesday, October 25, 2016

Another Challenge

Another challenge our art quilt group had recently was to make a quilt based on connections.  Once again, I really had no idea on how to approach the topic, but I finally came up with the concept of a jigsaw puzzle.  And tied up with the concept of the connected pieces of the jigsaw puzzle was the idea of connecting with things that could help our environment.
 I ended up having a lot of fun figuring out the pattern for the jigsaw (I really enjoy the "figuring out" part of designing) and then I digitized the blue part of the quilt with designs that remind us of ways to make our our world a better place--Such as Compost Your Yard Waste, Rethink Bottled Water, Buy Locally, Brush Without Running Water, Plant A Tree.  And I named the quilt Traveling.
Around the edge of the puzzle, I wrote this saying:  "Consider this:  We are all traveling on the Mother Ship.  And . . .together we can preserve it for future generations."
I know that many feel that it is already too late to turn things around--and that may be the truth, I don't know.  However, if we sit back and do nothing then, for sure, it will be true.  I look at this quilt everyday in my studio and everyday I am reminded of what I have and have not done and, hopefully, am more mindful of my own part in finding a solution rather than being part of the problem.

Sunday, October 16, 2016

There can be beauty and art in our food--depending on how you look at it.  Last year, the art group that I belonged to at the time, decided to do a challenge on Structure.   Well, I drew mostly a blank on that one because I don't really like to depict bridges or houses or anything like that in my quilts.  It's just not my thing usually.  So I started thinking smaller and it came to me that the structure of an okra leaf could be interesting--and beautiful.  How often do we stop and think about things like that?  Even though I've grown okra for years in the garden, I don't think that I had looked that closely at one of it's leaves.  Sure, I was familiar with the SHAPE of the leaf--but not it's structure.  So, this is my structure quilt.  I call it Lifelines.  And I'll never look at an okra leaf in the same way again.

Monday, October 10, 2016

Did You Ever Wonder?

How many times have you bought a particular product at the grocery store and ate it without thinking about where it came from or how it grew in its natural habitat? I think that is probably true about a lot of food that we consume.
I've been an organic gardener for more than 50 years but there is ALWAYS something new to grow--something I haven't tried before.  This year it was peanuts.  Have you ever thought about what peanuts look like before they make it to the factory to become peanut butter or to a ballgame where you buy a bag of them roasted?  Do they grow above ground?
Technically, I HAVE grown peanuts before but it was at least 45 years ago so it really doesn't count.  A friend asked me this year if I would like to have some peanut seeds.  Of course, I said yes--I thought that sounded pretty exotic for growing in the mountains as I thought they needed a lot of hot weather (and I guess we DID have a LOT of hot weather here this year).  Anyway, I asked him where he got his seed.  His answer?  The produce department of Ingles grocery store.  He bought a bag of raw peanuts and shelled them.  That would never have occurred to me.
Well, they grew quite nicely--the only problem being a hungry rabbit ( whom I cut off from the supply with a low fence once I realized he was eating MY food) and later voles attacking from underground.  (Gardening is a series of challenges) I still ended up with a good crop and harvested enough for my husband to have several batches of boiled peanuts.  Frankly, I don't understand the boiled peanut thing--they just seem like wet, stale peanuts to me--but he loves them and that's enough.   Glad to oblige.  I'm going to plant them again next year--only more--and maybe I'll get to make some peanut butter for myself.
So, here is what a peanut plant looks like after it has been pulled up.  These plants are upside down.  The bulk of the peanuts grow at the base of the  plant and others grow along the runners that the plant sends out.  You can't see how many peanuts you have until you pull them up at the end of the season.  Yet another exercise in delayed gratification.

Sunday, October 9, 2016

Giving Back

Every so often a couple of friends and I get together to make quilts for people who, hopefully, will find some comfort in the receipt of them.  And, of course, we receive so much joy and pleasure knowing that they will lift someone's spirits in a difficult situation.  This is our most recent one.
The interesting thing about it is how it came to be.
Two of us went to an quilt exhibition a while back put on by the Shady Ladies--a group of quilters in the Asheville area.   They also had a boutique with many different things for sale.  I happened to buy a bag of blocks--maybe orphan blocks--that were made of hand-dyed fabrics.  Ultimately, I took all of them apart and we reconfigured them into this quilt--with added sashings and borders.   And we were happy with the result.  I quilted it and soon it will be on its way to someone who needs it.  And,  of course, we've already begun our next one!

Tuesday, October 4, 2016

Another Beginning

Well,  it's been a while since I last posted on a blog--I guess about three years.  So long that I couldn't continue the blog I had in place--Carolina Musings.  So, here I am with a fresh start--new title, same love of quilts and nature.
Why am I posting after such a long space of time?  Why,  indeed! The real answer is because I had an a-ha moment at the Asheville Quilt Show this past weekend--or rather, my husband gave me one that evening at home.  You see, I did a demo at the show on Quilting On A Regular Sewing Machine and this was the first time he had ever heard me do this sort of thing.  He listened to me as I talked with the audience while demonstrating various quilting techniques and he watched them as they responded to that and asked questions.  His final impression of that demo was that people seemed to enjoy my method of teaching and sharing my love of quilting and that I should do more teaching with quilters who want to learn how to quilt their own quilts.
I HAVE done that quite often in the past but had pulled back from it in more recent times.  Various things had stepped in the way--mainly life itself.  You know how that can be.  But life moves on and attitudes change and some things look brighter--and you sometimes realize that life can still be full of surprises.
SO---here I am and, hopefully, some of you will find me after such an extended absence.  I hope so.
And, if you are interested in having me come to your Guild to teach Machine Quilting or to do a Trunk Show, you can contact me at judyheyward@gmail.com.

Coincidentally, I won a major award of Best Machine Stitching for my quilt, Patience, at the Asheville Quilt Show.  I was really surprised by the award because the competition was pretty stiff--and am quite grateful for the honor.  And so very many people made a point of finding me and telling me how wonderful they thought it was.  Such graciousness is humbling.
This quilt took me over a year to complete.  As I've said many times in the past, I try to listen to what a quilt has to to tell me as I go along.  Sometimes, I don't  listen closely enough and have to start over in some sections--but I'm almost always glad to have made the changes I think are necessary.  And when it comes to the quilting itself, I sometimes consider myself to be the Queen of picking out stitches and starting over.  Yes, it's tedious and time consuming, but I'm the one who has to live with it--so I just pull out the trusty seam ripper and go for it.  And in the creation of this particular quilt I had some of both things happen.

This second quilt, Sunshine Makes Me Happy, also won an award--2nd place.  Again, a surprise.  I really love to make log cabin quilts and this one was mainly a project of using some of the thousands of strips that I had "over-cut" for a project I ended up not making.  I added the curved black bias binding strips and red circles to add some additional character to the quilt and was pleased with the outcome.  And it DID remind me of standing in the sunshine and feeling its warmth on a cool spring day.  AND it made me happy!
And now, I'm back to a blank design wall in my studio--waiting for that next idea to present itself.  I feel a couple of things beginning to nudge me a little and, hopefully, they'll show themselves before too long.  Thanks for reading and I'll be back soon.