Mid-Month WIP

Had a fantastic Grand Opening last Friday, June 14. Here is the actual ribbon being cut. Yes, they put that ribbon all the way around the building!  A film crew was in town getting b-roll for future advertising purposes of the area, so they got in on the commerce activity too. There were probably about 30 people who attended. For a little town like ours, this seemed very good. I really didn't know what to expect, but locals said they were very pleased with the turnout. I even had two clients come from Walla Walla and another from as far north as Brewster. So blessed!

I've now settled back into a grove of getting some long-over due commissions completed.

Four memory quilts...and I just might do a 5th actually.

A special story of a wife and mother lost to cancer. I knew her parents well. I'm honored to create treasures for the family to help them remember her.

After offering to quilt something for them....I was asked to create four items from her clothing. I thought, let's at least have a backing that each individual would like, so we went to the local quilt shop and they each picked a fabric. During that selection process, I noticed a tatoo on one of the girls and its similarity to the tree in the Manzanita fabric. I then learned that the tatoo was similar to a sculpture that was given to the family and they had chosen to use it as a symbol to unite them. So, my inspiration had begun.

All clothing was not nice cotton quilting fabric, so some needed to be stabilized. I like to use So-Sheer. I created this design in EQ as a rough idea of a tree and sorted the clothing by colors to figure out if I could get the effect of the tree.

I chose to use a bit of fabric from what they had personally selected and clothes that I thought would have some special significance based on their style, purpose, texture, or imprint.

Each border will also be the backing fabric.

Here is the first (top only) for her husband.

Each of the three for the girls is similar, but different.

This one is not finished being stitched together. But you get the idea. I tried to shade the blues used in the background from dark at the top to lighter at the bottom. Each has a different border as well.

Once each of the Half Square Triangles (HSTs) were made, I then laid out the squares. Picking up the entire 1st  and 2nd column and taking it to the sewing machine, I then sew each of the top row squares together, then the next row squares, etc. always continuing the stitch so you're chain piecing. Then the next two columns. Cut your thread only between the last row of each column set and the first row of the next column set. Repeat for all 8 columns. Then sew 1-2 and 3-4 together. Then 5-6 and 7-8 together. Then 1-2-3-4 to 5-6-7-8.  At this point everything is connected still

Now go back and stitch row 1 to row 2. With typical cotton quilting fabric, I'd be sure the seams alternate between rows so that they go together nicely. With the randomness of the clothing in these projects, I just do the best I can.

Because of my tight studio logistics, I had the upper 4 rows laid out in a separate area than the lower 4 rows, so have put together the center in two large sections.

And here is a design concept of a small quilt, using jeans in the blue bricks, that I want to give to her mother, maybe use as a wall hanging for now ....that ultimately could be given to perhaps a first grandchild of the deceased. This design idea is from Ann Kelly, a participant on the same bus on the IQFOI tour last summer. Thanks Ann!

So, now for the quilting of those trees. Got Ideas?