Hilary Clark Studios

Words for Grey, Part 2

I spent the best part of the week creating the “canvas” for Words for Grey, so this is going to be a short post because there’s not a lot of status, or work, to report.

(By “best part”, I mean the random time available after day job, exercise, chores, errands, meals, etc. You know, life. Long weekend does not necessarily equal more free time.)

Anyway, the “canvas” is five strips each of 10 different greys, 1″ wide, and sewn together on the 1/4″. Once completed, it had a warp to it that gives off the illusion of 3-D.

GREY Canvas — I love bright colors so I wasn’t sure I’d love a grey canvas, but it seems to shimmer and who doesn’t like a good shimmer?

GREY Canvas Closeup — The shimmer shows a little better here

I like it.

I’m sure there’s some neat trick one can use when strip piecing so the finished product lays flat but I’m not sure I want to know said trick. I like the life this has as it buckles. Rain doesn’t fall straight and true. Why should this?

I still need to square off the top and bottom, but I want to finish the layout first.

The cabin is made of five strips each of four brick-reds, cut 1″ wide, folded in half, wrong sides together, then stitched with a slight overlap to create “siding”.

The cabin strips warped to an even greater degree than the grey, which demanded the roof go on at a jaunty angle, turning the piece into a fun little redwood log cabin.

GREY House Closeup — See the siding? See the warp? It’s like the cabin is planning to climb the wall.

Once I plant a tree and it sprouts a few leaves, this quilt top will be complete. Please come back next week and I’ll show you.

Do you want to know the tricks or do you prefer when work has quirks?

Words for Grey, Part 1

In previous posts (here and here), I mentioned the poem that provided the inspiration to combine my poetry with my quilts. Around this same time, I was also reading Wonderbook: The Illustrated Guide to Creating Imaginative Fiction by Jeff Vandermeer. My taste in books is nothing if not eclectic.

Wonderbook is aimed at science fiction and fantasy writers, which I am not, but I carry a strong conviction that lessons can be learned about story structure and character development in any genre. And besides, the book was filled with imaginative art work as visual aid for story telling, which was a selling point.

I don’t think we ever out grow the desire to read picture books.

I was reading this very intriguing book because I intend to finish my novel someday. Nothing more. I expected to learn more about the art of writing. Maybe pick up a couple of pointers to guide me in the process. I did not expect to learn something about making art.

I think that’s what did it, really. The book, combined with my poem and the picture the poem drew in my mind, exposed the connection between my compulsion to tell stories (even in the typical short narrative form of poetry) and my desire to create something that is visually pleasing (quilts).

The What If? moment came while reading the book.

The AHA! moment came with the poem.

So this is the journey to bring Words for Grey, the poem, to life, as the quilt.

Next week: Part 2 – Creating the Canvas

Do you find inspiration in what seem like random connections?

GREY - Rough Sketch — Rough, original sketch of “Words for Grey” after writing the poem

GREY - Detailed Sketch — Detailed sketch

GREY - Fabric — Most, but not all, of the fabric. Still need roofing “material”

The Kite Perspective, Part 3

The Kite Perspective is finished!

I’m amazed at how pleased I am that I finally made this quilt. I’ve carried the design in my head for close to a decade and to see it come to life was so satisfying.

I considered several options on how I wanted to quilt it. Straight lines radiating out from the center, like a star burst? Follow the diamond shape of the kite, starting in the center and grow the diamond as I neared the edge? Or follow the abstract shape of each piece?

I went with option 3, the abstract shape because that was the finished product I could see in my head. I used a cotton / poly Madeira rainbow variegated thread in both the needle and the bobbin. I would have loved to use metallic thread, but I gave up trying to fill a bobbin after one epic, snared fail.

Stitching short strips of each of the fabrics used in the quilt top created the binding. I used to have mad skills to machine stitch the binding to catch on the back, but those seem to have diminished with all the years of not quilting, so I hand blind stitched to anchor the binding to the quilt. I added little “V” pockets at each corner on the back to hold dowels for hanging. And, of course, added a tail because what is a kite without a tail?

I had such fun making this fun design. I could see mass producing the pattern one day in the near future for others to make their own.

To follow the construction stages for this quilt, please see Part 1 and Part 2.

How do you feel when you complete something you’ve waited a long time to do?

The Kite Perspective (link to poem)

The Kite Perspective, Part 2

When I saw the painting that inspired The Kite Perspective, two things struck me and have remained vivid memories in all the years I’ve carried this design in my head. The bright colors and the abstract shape of each color as part of the whole.

My initial sketch was very geometric.

My original concept sketch — See all those triangles and rhombuses? Rhombi?

However, I knew that wasn’t what I wanted the quilt to be as soon as I finished drawing it. But I colored it anyway so I’d have a visual concept from which to work. I wondered how I could piece the fabric together if I cut it with curves. Until I went to IQF Chicago in June. Where the puzzle of how to build my puzzle was solved.

At the show, I peered intently at the numerous, miraculous works of fabric art and a light bulb went off: MistyFuse and top stitching along the raw edge! As soon as I had the idea, I also did a mental face palm because, really? Crazy simple solution and I’d complicated it in my head.

But this light bulb moment is one of the reasons why I think it is important to attend quilt shows and guild meetings and talk to other quilters. The answer will almost always be found by looking at another piece of art or talking about it with another artist.

In Part 1, I shared photos of the paper pattern I made to cut out the design pieces. I used triangles for the back, so that was pieced with a 1/4″ seam allowance. For the top, I cut the fabric to match the pattern piece, allowing for overlap. I then laid all the pieces on the full size poster board mock-up. Working one at a time, and by piece number, I pinned the pieces together at the overlap, flipped to the wrong size and drew a guideline on what would be the “top” piece. I cut MistyFuse to fit and ironed. Once all the pieces were fused to create the kite top, I top stitched just shy of the raw edge using a corresponding thread color.

Next week: Part 3 – The Quilting

How did you solve your last art puzzle?

Fused, not yet stitched — A little closer

A feast of color for the eyes! (not yet top stitched)

The Kite Perspective, Part 1

Almost a decade ago, I worked for a general contractor who filed a claim for compensation for construction time lost. We lost a month of production due to flooding at the job site from a tropical storm. The site collected all the water from the surrounding area in the large excavation we’d dug for the future building. This “Act of God” issue lingered, unresolved and disputed for months and, as these things tend to do, ended up in the hands of lawyers.

One day, my boss and I went to see our lawyer to discuss the claim. We were escorted through the office suite up a flight of stairs. Hanging high on the wall near the plush mezzanine was a brightly colored kite, which turned out to be a painting.

My first thought?

“Quilt!”

So I’m making my own kite.

Next week: Part 2 – Piecing the Top

What is the most recent thing to inspire you?