Yellow Stuff

The past two days I've been digging up these uninvited guests:

Hate them in my yard but how about in a quilt?


Here's the free pattern from Robert Kaufman fabrics.
http://www.robertkaufman.com/quilting/quilts_patterns/dandelion_quilt/

Yellow Stuff

Every spring my yard comes alive with a "host of golden daffodils." The phrase comes from the poem, I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud by William Wordsworth 1770–1850

I wandered lonely as a cloud
That floats on high o'er vales and hills,
When all at once I saw a crowd,
A host, of golden daffodils;
Beside the lake, beneath the trees,
Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.

Continuous as the stars that shine
And twinkle on the milky way,
They stretched in never-ending line
Along the margin of a bay:
Ten thousand saw I at a glance,
Tossing their heads in sprightly dance.

The waves beside them danced; but they
Out-did the sparkling waves in glee:
A poet could not but be gay,
In such a jocund company:
I gazed—and gazed—but little thought
What wealth the show to me had brought:

For oft, when on my couch I lie
In vacant or in pensive mood,
They flash upon that inward eye
Which is the bliss of solitude;
And then my heart with pleasure fills,
And dances with the daffodils.

Arms of Love

Another detail image of Arms of Love. Here, the focus is on the crucifixion. Note the thorns on the crown of thorns are done with a satin stitch--the left hand guiding the quilt in the machine and the right hand adjusting the width to achieve the sharp points.


The elements of communion are shown as wheat and grapes representing Christ's names as Bread of Life and Fruit of the Vine. Wings represent resurrection. The candle means Light of the World. The crown stands for King of Kings with five jewels on the band depicting Christ's five flesh wounds.

Arms of Love

These detail images (see full quilt on 4/9/11 post) portray Christ's names as:

Alpha and Omega, Sunrise from on High: (alternating the wavy and straight sun rays created more interest than all the same type)


Anchor of the Soul, Living Water:


Lamb of God, the Good Shepherd: (darker fabrics used for two of the lamb's legs adds depth)


Lion of Judah, Ruler Over All:

Arms of Love

The Anno Domini year-numbering system was developed by a monk named Dionysius Exiguus in Rome in 525, as an outcome of his work on calculating the date of Easter. Anno Domini (Latin: "In the year of Our Lord"), abbreviated as AD, defines an epoch based on the traditionally-reckoned year of the conception or birth of Jesus of Nazareth.

For Christians, the season of lent and Easter are the solemn yet joyous remembrance of the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Inspired by the movie, The Passion of the Christ, I researched medieval heraldry to create a coat of arms for Christ.


In his classic book Mere Christianity, C. S. Lewis (author of The Chronicles of Narnia) describes Jesus as

a man who goes about talking as if He was God. He claims to forgive sins. He says He has always existed . . . This makes sense only if He really was the God whose laws are broken and whose love is wounded in every sin . . . A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic--on a level with the man who says he is a poached egg--or else he would be the Devil of Hell. You must make your choice. Either this man was, and is, the Son of God: or else a madman or something worse.

Vintage Sewing Machines

Check out this short video of All Saints clothing store in New York City, by Alex and John Anderson of The Quilt Show. To quote Alex, "while the clothes are interesting, it is the decor which attracted their attention."

English China

Need a hand quilting project? Try English paper piecing. My first attempt at the technique was on a very long flight to China, hence the quilt's name, English China.


If you keep old issues of American Quilter, check for my "Portable Pastime" article, May 2009. It gives the pattern and some tips on an updated version of English paper piecing using free downloadable hexagon templates from Incompetech to print on freezer paper.

Yellow Stuff

This is my favorite teapot. Could it be because it's yellow? I inherited it from my mother-in-law.

Loving all things tea and being primarily of Danish descent, I was tickled to find this story by Danish author Hans Christian Andersen, published in 1863:

THE TEAPOT

There was a proud Teapot, proud of being made of porcelain, proud of its long spout and its broad handle. It had something in front of it and behind it; the spout was in front, and the handle behind, and that was what it talked about. But it didn't mention its lid, for it was cracked and it was riveted and full of defects, and we don't talk about our defects - other people do that. The cups, the cream pitcher, the sugar bowl - in fact, the whole tea service - thought much more about the defects in the lid and talked more about it than about the sound handle and the distinguished spout. The Teapot knew this.

"I know them," it told itself. "And I also know my imperfections, and I realize that in that very knowledge is my humility and my modesty. We all have many defects, but then we also have virtues. The cups have a handle, the sugar bowl has a lid, but of course I have both, and one thing more, one thing they can never have; I have a spout, and that makes me the queen of the tea table. The sugar bowl and the cream pitcher are permitted to be serving maids of delicacies, but I am the one who gives forth, the adviser. I spread blessings abroad among thirsty mankind. Inside of me the Chinese leaves give flavor to boiling, tasteless water."

This was the way the Teapot talked in its fresh young life. It stood on the table that was prepared for tea and it was lifted up by the most delicate hand. But that most delicate hand was very awkward. The Teapot was dropped; the spout broke off, and the handle broke off; the lid is not worth talking about; enough has been said about that. The Teapot lay in a faint on the floor, while the boiling water ran out of it. It was a great shock it got, but the worst thing of all was that the others laughed at it - and not at the awkward hand.

"I'll never be able to forget that!" said the Teapot, when later on it talked to itself about its past life. "They called me an invalid, and stood me in a corner, and the next day gave me to a woman who was begging for food. I fell into poverty, and was speechless both outside and inside, but as I stood there my better life began. One is one thing and then becomes quite another. They put earth in me, and for a Teapot that's the same as being buried, but in that earth they planted a flower bulb. Who put it there and gave it to me, I don't know; but it was planted there, a substitution for the Chinese leaves and the boiling water, the broken handle and spout. And the bulb lay in the earth, inside of me, and it became my heart, my living heart, a thing I never had before. There was life in me; there were power and might; my pulse beat. The bulb put out sprouts; thoughts and feeling sprang up and burst forth into flower. I saw it, I bore it, and I forgot myself in its beauty. It is a blessing to forget oneself in others!

"It didn't thank me, it didn't even think of me - everybody admired it and praised it. It made me very happy; how much more happy it must have made it!

"One day I heard them say it deserved a better pot. They broke me in two - that really hurt - and the flower was put into a better pot; then they threw me out into the yard, where I lie as an old potsherd. But I have my memory; that I can never lose!"

The End

Yellow Stuff

This apple birdhouse is located at
Kuiper's Family Farm in Maple Park, IL.

Besides pick-your-own apples, they sell the best apple cider doughnuts. And other yummies like golden honey.

Good Morning

Welcome Spring!


I named this quilt Good Morning as it shows the sun rising on our wonderful world. Spring is my favorite time of year when creation wakes up in all its glory. Living in the midwest we have had enough of cold, dreary days and fighting snow. Today it's been raining off and on most of the day, feeding my newly sprouting flowers. With crocuses in bloom and daffodils inching up, it won't be long before the redbud tree pops out in purple.

Sometimes you can use traditional quilt patterns to form other objects. Note how the 1000 pyramids pattern creates trees and the waves pattern makes the sea.


And here's something you might want to watch. The Quilt Show is celebrating National Quilting Day with two free episodes (available free through March 21):
Episode 202 Cindy Needham (there's a short segment with me toward the end)
Episode 802 Edyta Sitar

Yellow Stuff

Welcome, first flowers of spring.


Nothing quilty to report but couldn't pass up the chance to spread a little cheer in the form of crocuses in purple and, of course, yellow.

Moral Compass

The central compass represents love, a moral compass for life. Eight smaller compasses depict other virtues such as joy, peace and patience.

This quilt dates from 2000. Having hung in an office with fluorescent lighting for many of those years, one particular fabric faded quite a bit. It's the burgundy fabric at the very top left of this detail shot.

Fabric pen to the rescue! FabricMate had a chisel tip pen in just the right crimson color to refresh the fabric. I was able to re-color all the pieces made of that fabric, being extra careful along the edge of each piece so I wouldn't slop over onto the adjoining piece. The quilt is (almost) as good as new.

Yellow Stuff

Quilting is sometimes a winding road of mistakes and setbacks. For those of us who at times get frustrated, here's a megadose of encouragement from an incredible woman. Meet Diane Rose of Waco, Texas, USA. What determination and strength of character.

"Be of good cheer. Do not think of today's failures, but of the success that may come tomorrow. You have set yourselves a difficult task, but you will succeed if you persevere; and you will find a joy in overcoming obstacles. Remember, no effort that we make to attain something beautiful is ever lost."
— Helen Keller

First Quilt

It's always fun to see a quilter's first ever quilt. Here's mine from 1989, a traditional 12-block sampler designed by Diane Schneck.

If you appreciate traditional blocks, please take six minutes to enjoy these delightful dancing quilt blocks in a video created by Gayle Thomas. ENJOY! I think I'll watch it again.

Branching Out

Left to my natural inclination I would always design a symmetrical quilt, and often one with radial symmetry. But one day I pushed myself to branch out into the uncharted territory of asymmetrical design. This is what I came up with.


For the entire quilt I chose to use each fabric for only piece. For example, this flower is made with five wine colored fabrics (same overall look but different fabrics). It adds interest.

Yellow Stuff

Yellow means DRIVER BE ALERT on this winding road in San Juan, Puerto Rico. It was easier to paint the rocks than remove them!


My husband just returned from a short trip there and got to visit the historic district of Old San Juan where the narrow streets are paved with blue cobblestones. Evidently the stones were made with European iron furnace slag that was part of the ballast of the sugar carrying ships.

Chromatic Transitions

Back to my latest quilt, Chromatic Transitions (Feb 1, 2011 post). As you can see in this work-in-progress image, there are a number of places where a foreground shape is attached to two or more different background fabrics.


The following pieces (shown from the back) are examples. The foreground shapes are backed with Wonder Under fusible web. Using an X-acto knife I gently sliced halfway through the release paper to expose the part of fusible I was ready to work with. That way I could fuse the piece to its loosely cut background before cutting away the extra fabric.




A lightbox is invaluable for accurately trimming away waste.


The finished quilt . . .

Yellow Stuff

Since I live with someone who grew up in steel country (Pittsburgh, PA) yellow and black are the colors for this weekend as the Pittsburgh Steelers confront the Green Bay Packers in the Superbowl.

Created in 1975 by then Steelers radio broadcaster Myron Cope, The Terrible Towel is widely recognized as a symbol of the Steelers and the city of Pittsburgh.

Proceeds from sales of the Towel have raised over US$3 million for a Pennsylvania school which cares for people with mental retardation and physical disabilities.

The current manufacturer of the Terrible Towel is McArthur Towel & Sports Co., in Baraboo, Wisconsin. Can you spell IRONIC?

With insincere apologies to Packers fans . . . GO STEELERS!

Chromatic Transitions

Here's my most recent quilt. Chromatic Transitions will debut at Mid-Atlantic Quilt Festival, Feb 24-27 in Hampton, Virginia. The design is adapted from a late 1800's tile by Minton, Hollins & Co.

One design unit is composed of four "tiles" pivoting on center. My starting sketch included a grid of 25 of these units of four. If the values (light, medium, dark) for each unit were identical the quilt would have a pleasant but static appearance.

Instead, by using tracing paper overlays on the sketch I used a soft pencil to play with the placement of values, deemphasizing some of the individual shapes and thereby creating new centers of attention. A whole new design emerged. The next step was color/fabric selections to give further life and depth to the design.

The following detail shots illustrate the reason for the title. Chromatic Transitions is simply a classier way of saying color changes.

Yellow Stuff

Sometimes--like lately when I have to shovel snow every other day--I just need a visual reminder that better weather is on the (very distant) horizon. Got out my flip flops and scrubbed them till they shined like the sun. Think warm thoughts.