Saturday, December 7, 2013

Saturday is in Progress and Kickin' Some Trash

It seems like there are a hundred million thousand projects and things to do. Some I committed to do months and months ago and others needed to be done right away. One of the ones that I've been working on is the Made With Oakshott Challenge with Oakshott Cottons and Lily's Quilts. 

Made With Oakshott Challenge, Jeifner, secondhanddinosaur.blogspot.com

The fabric is ethically sourced hand woven cotton. It has one color in the warp and a different one in the weft. In other words, one color thread going vertically and, in this case, black thread going horizontally. Or vice versa. The result is a perfect weight fabric for quilting and sewing that has a beautiful shimmer to it. I got sent this little bundle to make into a twin sized quilt. The design was up to me and I offered to make a visual sound wave inspired by Tula Pink. Here was one of the starting points I had in mind when I saw a picture of the bundle online.

Made With Oakshott Challenge

As I worked on the project, I realized that the way I had imagined it going didn't work. Not at all. So I had to switch gears. I went about it another way, cut up more pieces. Sewed pieces back together and although the technique I was using was what I wanted, it again was not going to work on a twin-sized large scale. Once again, I started over. It has been difficult translating my vision for these gorgeous fabrics in a way that showcases them and is true to the idea and to me as an artist. This quilt is like nothing I've made before, especially in a fiber medium. 

I finally laid out a twin sized sheet on the floor to arrange the pieces on. That way when I have to clean up for guests or visiting toddlers, I can literally roll up shop. I have only been able to work on it an hour or two every other day. There is no pattern for it, so it is a lot of sew, sew, check, cut, sew, check, sew cut, etc. etc. With it finally coming along well, I wish I could just work on it straight until it's done! 

I've gotten bee blocks done, this one is for the 3x6 Sampler Mini Bee, Sampler Group.

3x6 Mini Bee Sampler Hive, feathered star, paper pieced, red and aqua, grey, secondhanddinosaur.blogspot.com, jeifner

 I used the templates from Carolyn C. McCormick's Flock of Feathered Stars book block 12 "The Hour Glass" but I switched pieces around and did some backwards to achieve this look. I'll come back and show you all the blocks I did for the group. I am loving these feathered stars. I used another feathered star for my Mini Quilt Swap on Flickr. 

Mini Quilt Swap, feathered star, paper pieced, French General, chateau rouge, secondhanddinosaur.blogspot.com, jeifner

It's another one that I was worried about while I made it. I loved all the separate pieces and wasn't quite seeing the whole picture since, the whole picture needed to be finished to see it. Ha, funny how that works. Here's the middle of it. Love how paper piecing is so precise

French General Block Paper Pieced Red Cream,Mini Quilt Swap, feathered star, chateau rouge, secondhanddinosaur.blogspot.com, jeifner

I love how it all turned out and I'm excited to show it to you! And I will. On one of these days coming up when my Oakshott Wave is done, it is daytime to take pictures, I'm not at work, I'm not dodging small children and there's not an active blizzard. And the world is in perfect harmony, ha. Happy In-Between Holidays to you!