Pictorial Log: Quilt-On-The-Go by Donna Hussain

Wedding Quilt by Donna Hussain, 120”x130”

My daughter recently married and asked me to make a quilt for her as my wedding present.  How could I refuse her request?

Over a period of several months I sent the newlyweds sample pictures of quilts that I thought might appeal to them.  Their final choice was a quilt design that I found in a Keepsake Quilter newsletter (www.keepsakequilter.com). The pattern has large-scale patchwork blocks that are easy to sew. However I decided to add side extensions to the floor and a pillow tuck of my own design to the queen-size quilt. With these additions the quilt grew quite large.

To sew the quilt on my home sewing machine I chose the method of quilting-on-the-go. That is to say I would first join and machine quilt the center blocks of the pattern, then add rows of patchwork blocks to encircle the center. In this quilting method each added section, usually one or two rows of patchwork blocks, is machine quilted before adding additional sections to the quilt top.  For detailed stitching directions read How To Machine-Quilt A Large Bed Quilt On A Home Sewing Machine, an article I wrote earlier for this blog.

 Pieced quilt center ready for quilting

The major problem in sewing a large quilt is handling the bulk of the fabric and batting. I do not have a quilting studio or a long arm quilting machine.  My quilting hobby occupies half of the master bedroom that I share with my husband.  The surface for my domestic sewing machine, cutting boards, and sewing supplies is a door purchased from Home Depot that sits on table legs.  The only way I can machine quilt a large quilt is to quilt-on-the-go.

My work space

Unfortunately, I lack a large design wall, so I built the quilt design by laying out sewn patchwork blocks on the bedroom floor.  My ironing board, bed, dresser, and sewing table all helped support the quilt bulk during various phases of construction as you will see in the pictures.

Two rows added to one end of quilt center, ready for quilting.

Joined rows ready for machine quilting

 

Marking the machine quilting pattern

Machine quilting

Edge blocks ready for quilting

 

 

Close-up of machine quilting pattern

After completing the quilt center I added a narrow brown and blue frame to the center design. The squiggly free motion quilting pattern that I chose for the blue stripe required movement of the fabric (changes of stitching direction) while sewing, a flexibility that was possible when quilting the blocks along the edges of the quilt. 

 Fabric frame of quilt center

 

 

 

Machine quilting the blue stripe

Next, I added one of the sides to the bedspread.  I cleared my dresser for workspace when smoothing out the wrinkles as I bundled the back, batting, and patchwork together. Note that the bulk of the quilt center is lying on the floor.

Bundling the patchwork side blocks with batting and back.

 

 

 

Preparing a side for quilting

 

 

 

Quilting the side

 

 

 

Checking the look of the attached side

Once the two sides of the quilt were attached and quilted I worked on the section for the foot of the bed.  This addition has the same pattern as the sides but needed additional blocks at both ends so that the section would extend the full width of the quilt.

Preparing the end section for quilting

 

 

 

End section quilted

The final hurdle before completing the quilt was to add the pillow tuck. My choice of design was blue and green stripes because stripes would be easy to quilt. Believe it or not, the pillow tuck caused me more problems than any other part of the project because I failed to get the back smoothed and stretched adequately before machine quilting.  The result?  Back puckers. Correcting my carelessness caused me many hours of “reverse sewing” and stress.

Last week I presented the wedding quilt pucker free and complete with binding to my daughter and son-in-law who are celebrating their first anniversary. Their appreciation is reward for all the time and effort I spent making their wedding quilt.




California quilter, Donna Hussain, has exhibited in major quilt shows around the country, authored books, and is a regular contributor to Fiber Focus. Click on her name to see all of her past articles.

The photo shows Donna with her husband, Pascha.

Pictorial Log: Quilt-On-The-Go by Donna Hussain

Art Quilt Exercises by Donna Hussain

Click on this link to see the book:

Art Quilt Workbook: Exercises & Techniques to Ignite Your Creativity

A year ago a group of my quilting friends formed an art quilt circle to study techniques that Jane Davila and Elin Waterston present in their book “Art Quilt Notebook.”  Each month we read one chapter, then made a 9x12 inch quilt using skills we learned from the chapter. In the fall of 2009 many of our exercise quilts were entered into the annual quilt show of River City Quilt Guild. The quilt photos in this article were taken at that show.
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One of our first projects was to sew a quilt with the design of a pear and its shadow. Most of us used the pear pattern and sewing instructions from the book.

by Vera Karnes

 by Janet Van Wert

The early chapters in the text emphasized basic principles of design, such as focal points, balance, movement, repetition, depth, prospective, proximity, proportion, space, variety, rhythm, and movement. We each experimented with these design principles when making our exercise quilts.

by Maureen Caputo

 

by Maureen Caputo

 by Joyce Reece

 by Beverly Beedie

Some of us chose a single theme for all of our exercise quilts. Kari’s was gourds. (We had a laugh over her quilt Gourd by a Bull.)

 by Kari Bauer

by Kari Bauer

 by Kari Bauer

 by Kari Bauer

After reading the chapter “Inspiration from Images,” many of our group members used photographs as inspiration for their quilt designs.  I scanned a family photo of a relative into my computer, then printed the photo on fabric to make my exercise quilt of a Muslim girl wearing a burka. Beverly used a family photo and a map of a backpack camping trip for her exercise quilt.

by Donna Hussain

 by Beverly Beedie

The chapter on painting and stamping techniques inspired Janet to dip a potato masher in bleach, and then stamp the masher on fabric. The resist pattern made by the masher looked like a Japanese pattern to her, so she added other oriental motifs to her quilt top.

by Janet Van Wert

The chapter on found objects suggested ways to add three dimensional items to our quilts, such as stones, sticks, buttons, shells, and earrings.

by Janet Van Wert

by Loraine Brown

Figure 16, Donna Hussain

The chapter Thread Work was instructive on thread painting bobbin drawing, couching, and free-motion quilting.  Formerly not my style, but after reading the chapter I relaxed and gave thread play a try.

 by Donna Hussain

Our group members also made exercise quilts using hand-dyed fabrics and fabrics that they painted.     

            by Loraine Brown

This year our art quilt circle has added many new innovative members.  We also have a new source book, “The Quilting Arts Book” by Patricia Bolton, spend part of our monthly meetings watching how-to quilting videos, and plan occasional workshops and play days to enhance our artistry and quilting-making skills.

How about you?  Are you part of a group that has used exercises like this to develop your art quilt skills?  I would love to hear how others explore their creative potential through a group process.




California quilter, Donna Hussain, has exhibited in major quilt shows around the country, authored books, and is a regular contributor to Fiber Focus. Click on her name to see all of her past articles.


The photo shows Donna with her husband, Pascha.

Art Quilt Exercises by Donna Hussain

Try This Quilt Binding Technique: Eliminate Corner Bulk!

by Donna Hussain

An advantage of belonging to a quilt circle is that group members share their quilting skills. In the past year I have learned how to discharge the dye in fabric to uncover hidden colors and create new fabric patterns, how to embellish my quilts with machine thread play, and a new way to bind my quilts.

Of the three new skills, the binding technique is my favorite. Binding is what covers the raw edges of a quilt after the top has been decorated, bundled with batting and back fabric, and then quilted by hand or machine.  In the past I have used a mitered corner technique for my quilt bindings.   Unfortunately the bulk in the corners often gave my quilts a slightly rounded corner instead of a crisp right angle.  The new technique eliminates that problem and is much easier to sew. The binding works for all square or rectangular quilts regardless of their size.

I suggest that you make a small quilt to practice the binding technique that I describe below. Cut two 8½ x 11 inch rectangles from two different colored fabrics. Label one fabric as the quilt top, the other as the quilt back. Cut batting the same size.  Bundle the front fabric, batting, and back to make a quilt. Baste or quilt the three layers together.

Binding Directions

The binding fabric required for this exercise should be 12 inches square.

Step 1
Cut two 2 inch wide strips of fabric two inches shorter than the quilt length from the binding fabric.
Cut two additional 2 inch wide strips of fabric two inches shorter than the quilt width.
Cut four 2 ½ inch fabric squares.

                          

Step 2
Fold each fabric square in half on the diagonal, wrong sides together.  Press the folds.  Open the pressed squares wrong side up. Draw a pencil line on each square parallel to the fold as illustrated.  The parallel line is a cutting line. It should be ¼” away from the fold.

Step 3
Cut along the pencil lines. Discard the cut-off fabric. Repress the folds. You now have corner triangles with folded hems for your binding.

Step 4
Place your quilt front-side up.  Put one of the binding triangles with hem-side up in each of the four quilt corners. Be sure the right angles of     the triangles align with the right angle edges of the quilt corners. Pin or baste the triangles in place.

Step 5    
Fold and press the binding strips lengthwise in half.  Press the folds. Center these strips along the top, bottom, and sides of the quilt front with the raw edges of the strips aligned along the edges of the quilt. While centered strips will partially cover the corner triangles they will be one inch short at each end. The strips must not overlap.  Pin or baste the strips in place.

Step 6  
Machine stitch the binding fabrics to the front of the quilt close to the edges of the quilt. Remove all pins and basting stitches.

Step 7     
Turn the binding to the back side of the quilt. Poke the binding in the corners to get crisp right angles. Pull the binding so that the binding seam is at the very edge of the quilt, not visible when looking at the quilt front. Pin the binding to the quilt back, and then stitch the folded edges to the back by hand.

Folded edge of the binding needs to be stitched (hemmed) to the quilt back by hand.

The binding measurements in this article are appropriate for both small and large quilts.   However, you can enlarge the binding strip widths and the size of the corner triangles if you choose. But be sure that the binding strips are centered and do not overlap in the corners. The finished look of the quilt will not change.  However, the width of the binding at the back of the quilt will increase.           


California quilter, Donna Hussain, has exhibited in major quilt shows around the country, authored books, and is a regular contributor to Fiber Focus. Click on her name to see all of her past articles.


The photo shows Donna with her husband, Pascha.

Try This Quilt Binding Technique: Eliminate Corner Bulk!

Quilting Trends and Their Impact on Quilt Shows by Donna Hussain

When I first became a quilter in 1990 I learned how to sew traditional patchwork quilts and how to quilt by hand.  I delayed learning to machine quilt because I was told that  judges favored hand quilting and would penalize show entries that were quilted by machine. How times have changed... The photos in this post are examples of the use of commonplace machine quilting and thread play in quilts today.

Recently I attended the Pacific International Quilt Festival (PIQF) in Santa Clara, California, featuring more than 1,000 quilts.  Approximately half of the quilts were in a juried competition: the others were displayed in special exhibitions.  The artistry of the quilt makers impressed me as did their sewing skills. Unfortunately there were few quilts in the competition that were hand-quilted.

The new trend is to cover the quilt surface with machine stitches and thread play. Instead of having soft quilted patterns with hills and valleys, the quilts in the show were flattened by line after line of machine stitching, which cost them their suppleness as well. I surmised that most quilts with heavy thread decoration were quilted on long arm sewing machines. If jurors in quilt shows continue to reward quilts made using expensive high tech tools will quilts sewn on domestic sewing machines cease to be competitive?   I quilt because I value the comfort, warmth, and beauty of quilts in the past and the love that is sewn into their seams. I wonder whether these values will become passe.

Another trend noticeable at PIQF this year is that more art quilts than usual were juried into the show. There were few traditional bed quilts on display. I didn’t see a single Baltimore Album quilt.  Perhaps the reason for this shift from the traditional is that more people with formal art training are turning to fabric as their medium of expression. Their work is inspiring traditional quilters to be more innovative.  In addition, a flurry of books and videos on the topic of art quilts are currently on the market. These explain basic art and design principles, suggest exercises to implement these principles, and introduce a variety of surface techniques to use in making art quilts.

Or, maybe the surge of art quilts comes from quilters having a stash of fabric.  The making of an art quilt is a new avenue of cost-free creativity luring traditional quilters from patchwork patterns and templates.  The experimentation is fun, the commitment to a small art quilt is short-term, and our first art quilt project energizes us.  I know that I have returned home from the PIQF show with many new ideas swirling in my head for future art quilts of my own.

The increased numbers of art quilts of all sizes at quilt shows is creating new problems for show organizers.   Should art quilts be entered in the same categories as traditional quilts or should art quilts be judged against one another in categories of their own?   The quilting world is quite diverse today.  It includes hobby quilters, quilters who place their work on sale, and professional artists who work with fabric and thread. Should these three groups compete for the same prizes and monetary awards?

The use of long arm sewing machines and growing presence of art quilts at shows are hot topics among quilters.  What is your opinion on these subjects? I hope you will write your views in the comment section at the end of this blog post. 

California quilter, Donna Hussain, has exhibited in major quilt shows around the country, authored books, and is a regular contributor to Fiber Focus. Click on her name to see all of her past articles.


The photo shows Donna with her husband, Pascha.

Quilting Trends and Their Impact on Quilt Shows by Donna Hussain