Finally Finished!

Ta da... took it to work today (just for the day) ~ it is definitely a "statement" quilt!

Here's a link to the Picasa album so you can see close ups of the borders and the awesome custom quilting that Chris added. And yes, it has a hanging sleeve AND a label... which means it is truly "done."

What a fun class this has been ~ so many really creative people!

Thanks, Tonya!

Quiltdivajulie

Flying Monkeys - first glimpse

I only had enough time last night to attach the binding to the quilt and get one corner stitched to the back... not sure how quickly I'll be able to get the rest of the binding done (soon, I hope!). Chris did some phenomenal custom quilting work on Monkeys ~ she and I are both thrilled with the results!

Quiltdivajulie

Finished Top!

At long last ~ the flying monkeys are off the design wall!!  

The completed top measures 61 x 86 ~ Chris and I have talked about several quilting ideas, but haven't decided on anything yet.  Hope to piece the back tomorrow (single vertical seam) ~ and then the monkeys will be off to Oakland where Chris lives.

Woo Hoo!!

Broken Dishes

Quick update ~ the double row of broken dishes blocks works really well (and if you let your eyes blur out a bit you'll discover a marvelous secondary pinwheel pattern dancing across the top border). Thanks for your suggestions, thoughts, and encouragement!

Still need to piece the left side's zig-zag border and then construction of the top can begin in earnest!

Quiltdivajulie

Monkey Business ~ Help Needed

Here's where the project stands at this moment ~ I'm a bit stuck on what to do with the top border. Contemplating a double row of alternating broken dishes blocks (love the play on words, plus the colors help balance the weight of the 'monkey wrench' blocks at the bottom). What do you see?

Thanks for sharing your thoughts! [note added later - please see my post of July 24 to see a rough sketch for my early asymmetrical border ideas]

Quiltdivajulie

More Monkey Business

Here is my not-to-scale sketch showing the direction I'm headed with the borders... gotta love a good eraser!!

Have loads of yellows but am a little concerned about the black background fabric ~ will proceed carefully to fill in the central panel and then re-evaluate the situation. Hope to stitch (a lot) on Saturday.

Ready for the Next Steps ~

All of the letters have been stitched and the words are spelled out on my design wall ~ now it is time to create the top itself. Still playing with multiple border ideas...

----------------
"Getting over a painful experience is much like crossing the monkey bars -- at some point you have to let go in order to move forward." (author unknown)

-----------------------

Added Later ~

The saying above is paraphrased from a scene in The Wizard of Oz ~ the Wicked Witch calls upon her army of flying monkeys to track down Dorothy & her companions, skyjacking them back to the castle... click here for more info on those monkeys. In my case, the motivation came from a bad day at work...

And so it begins...

Finally, visible progress!!! The first three words are constructed and fabrics pulled for the rest.

The monkey wrench blocks will form the lower edge.

Side and top borders yet to be decided (work in progress). . .

Better Late Than Never?!?!?

I have been dithering ever since I signed up for this class...

I just haven't been able to get my head around WHAT I wanted to do.

Wonky houses, wonky log cabin blocks, a row quilt ~

around and around and around...

And then today inspiration struck!!

It was one of "those days" at work when everything was needed 6 hours ago.

Too many people wanting too many things on a day

when we were short a receptionist

(meaning the rest of us had to take turns covering for her).

Anyway, I had torn a page from a catalog yesterday

because a particular color combination caught my eye.

The page surfaced on my desk this afternoon, and THERE IT WAS...

the phrase that has eluded me for so long

Don't make me break out my
Flying Monkeys!

I don't know which color combination I'll use,

but I finally know what I want to say on my quilt!

Finally, Something to Share...

Geese at Sunset was already partially completed when I signed up for this class... I had purchased the background fabric long ago and the first few geese along with the rest of the yardage had been waiting patiently in the studio closet. Now, the quilt is finished and it is full of repetition! (Chris even managed to carry out the repetition theme with her choice of quilting design, and she didn't even know that repetition was part of my effort!)

There are more photos here showing the different colors used for the inner borders, the different fabrics used for the two outer side borders, and close ups of the upper and lower outer borders created using the waste triangles trimmed off while making the geese. NONE of this was in my original plan and much of the inspiration came from Collaborative Quilting by Gwen Martson and Freddy Moran. The confidence to go forward came from the experience I gained during Tonya's first-ever online class. MANY THANKS, Tonya!!

----------------------------------

WHAT WE CAN LEARN FROM THE GEESE

As each bird flaps its wings, it creates uplift for the bird immediately following. By flying in V formation, the whole flock has at least 71% greater flying range than if each bird flew on its own.

People who share a common direction and sense of common purpose can get where they are going more quickly and easily because they are traveling on the thrust of one another.

When a goose flies out of formation, it suddenly feels that drag and resistance of trying to go it alone and quickly gets back into formation to take advantage of the lifting power of the bird in front.

It is harder to do something alone than together.

When the lead goose gets tired, it rotates back into the formation, and another goose flies point at the head.

It is sensible to take turns doing demanding jobs. Shared leadership and interdependence give us each a chance to lead as well as opportunities to rest.

The geese in formation honk from behind to encourage those up front to keep up their speed.

What do we say when we honk from behind? We need to make sure our honking is encouraging and not discouraging.

Finally, and this is important, when a goose gets sick or wounded and falls out of formation, two other geese will fall out with that goose and follow it down to lend help and protection. They stay with the fallen goose until it is able to fly or it dies, and only then do they launch out on their own, or with another formation to catch up with their flock.

If we have the sense of a goose, we will stand by our colleagues and each other in difficult times as well as in good.

Adjusting "The Plan"

When I posted my initial thoughts, I announced that I would focus on wonky houses. And I will still include a few houses.... BUT I’ve been “pondering” over the past several days rather than jumping right in.

Repetition defined: “The act or an instance of repeating or being repeated”

Here are bits of thoughts that have bouncing about between my brain cells:

I work as a legal administrative assistant/paralegal for three (and sometimes more) corporate/estate planning attorneys. That means I keyboard ALL day long, making edits to an unending flow of documents. “Put the comma in, take the comma out” ~ repetition in its most basic form.

Repetition creates familiarity (and sometimes, irritation).

Repetition can also lead to understanding (and/or frustration).

Repetition is one way of getting things into longer-term memory.

As Pavlov discovered with his dogs, with repetition you can connect a cue or trigger with a selected action.

Music, rhythm and repetition can have a hypnotic effect that often lull us into following a pattern in mindless ways.

Before assisted living, my mother had a dog and a t-shirt with this printed on the front ~
Today’s Agenda: Let the Dog In, Let the Dog Out, Let the Dog In, Let the Dog Out

So, where am I going with this?

I’ve decided to modify my game plan for this quilt. I want to make houses, but I also want to do much more and not get so intense about one particular element.

How? I’m going to use one particular fabric as my repeating element. It will be featured, along with an assortment of companionably scrappy colors, in every block, connecting segments, borders, back, and maybe even the binding.

I really don’t know where this approach will lead ~ which, as Tonya can verify, is a giant leap for me. The goal is not just free piecing, but a free spirit as well.


-----------
"Mistakes are the portals of discovery." (James Joyce)

Quiltdivajulie Checking In

Quiltdivajulie in Memphis here ~ I had so much fun & learned so much during Tonya’s First Ever Lazy Gal Online Class that I’m back for more!

Repetition ~ hmmm.... What should I use for my motif?

(ponder, ponder, ponder...)

I want to do a some kind of a year-long quilt project for 2008 using lots of brights, but haven't been able to settle on any kind of plan. Sooooo, this class will be my motivation and inspiration to play around with ... WONKY HOUSES! And the best part is, there’s no plan required!

I already have the back/border/focal fabric ~ here’s a photo of it (on the bottom) with a few of the brights that I had already pulled from my stash. These have been sitting on an open shelf in my studio, waiting for inspiration. And, thanks to Tonya, that inspiration has happened!!

More pondering....will need to pull a lot of scrappy blues next since ALL of my houses will have blue skies.... and some greens since they’ll each need some kind of lawn and lots of trees... and a few yellows, just in case I want to add a spot of sunshine here or there... Ohhh, I love playing with fabric and color!

----------------------
"I found I could say things with color and shapes that I couldn't say any other way -- things I had no words for" (Georgia O'Keefe)