Remake of the Hairy Leg Quilt

My photo is a bit blurry,  but you can see that I am remaking my Hairy Leg quilt again.  The first one met a tragic end as inky pens and quilt tops do not mix well.  Trust me on that fact!

The history of this quilt is a collaborative effort between dear friend, Lori Seavey-Christian and myself during one of our “Lori & Carla’s Creative Adventure Weeks.”  Way back in the last decade, I decided to teach Lori how to make a quilt.  We decided on a shoe quilt and we both made our matching quilt.

I later quilted Lori’s quilt and decided to have some fun by quilting in legs, hair, tattoo, etc. since I knew Lori would love it. Here is my Hairy Leg quilting on Lori’s quilt:

We had lots of fun and laughter making our quilts.  For the last 5 or 6 years, I have been wanting to make a replacement quilt, so I finally got on the ball and made my own version.  Now I need to decide on a final border.  I am leaning towards the yellow-gold fabric.

Another project is another pigment quilt, this one will feature my Tropical Leaf pattern (available from Digitech patterns):

Next step is to paint the quilt with pigment powdered ink that I bought last year.  I was inspired after seeing a stunning black quilt that Sherry Rogers-Harrison had made and shown on Facebook.  I decided to try out her brand of fabric medium, too, since I have tried every other brand on the market.  Sherry does amazing work and is a nice person, too.  I have forgiven Sherry for teasing me by once asking if “my quilts whisper to me….”  LOL!!

I have done a few more quilts to show you in a later post.  keep watching!    Hugs, Carla

More Feather Star Quilting

Here are the updated images for the green feathered star quilt:

I am now working on the center quilting design, and plan to finish quilt on Monday.   Here is the center section, with a pin in the picture to show you scale.  I added some SID to the center star area, too:

I will update this post later to provide what designs are quilted freehand and which ones are digitized.  You all know I love to give credit to designers if I use a stencil or digitized design on a quilt.

Enjoy your weekend!   Carla

Quilt Color

I am almost finished with my color quilt.  I went from this:

to this:

I still have to bind this quilt, plus deepen the quilting lines.  I had used black thread, but still needs some finishing touches.

This was a different color palette for me.  The next quilt will be more aqua/green/teal color palette.  I am quilting it right now.

Work in Progress Quilt

I am testing out one of my quilting designs, and decided to pull out my pigment paint to color this quilt.  Here are a series of pictures:

Quilted sample featuring my design in the center:

Starting adding color.  Notice how vibrant the color becomes when I add aloe vera gel to the pigment color?

Now working on the background behind my design:

This center design is available from Digitech Designs located here.  

Back to coloring!  Carla

 

Wholecloth Quilt- WIP

Here is my latest WIP (work-in-progress), a wholecloth quilt created using digitized designs:

Of course, the next step is to freehand quilt some fills, which will be the finishing touch for this quilt.  Oh yes, the outside border, too.

I used designs from four designers- center is from Ronda Beyer, triangle design by One Song Needle Art,  border 1 by Lisa Calle, corner motif by Kim Brunner, and outside border by Lisa Calle.  As you can see, I am using my latest tool, (albeit an expensive one) my Intelliquilter, (IQ) and my designing skills with the IQ is improving.  This is actually a trial piece before I do a larger project.

I finished the quilted background for my Autumn quilt.  This is the background layer and I will be adding a top tree layer using fibers, beads and what not.  Here is the overall quilted background, (freehand guided) followed by a close up picture which shows the texture quilting:

That’s all from my studio today.  Happy creating!

 

Works in Progress

As always, I am working on several creative projects at once.  I am making progress on the art quilt shown in the post below, plus, I have been drawing quilting designs using my Tablet PC- which will be turned into digitized quilting or embroidery designs.    Plus, here are some other projects in the creative phase:

1.) Tree Overlay, made out of fiber, fabric and other embellishments, for my art quilt.

2.) Freeform Beaded leaves for quilt above.

3) Mokuba Freelace scarf. (I do have a tutorial for this project)

4) Wholecloth Series of Quilts.  I am working on several designs on both silk, cotton, and whatever materials I find on hand.

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I promise to write about each project as it develops.  Plus, I have some design projects in the works, but I can only share about that when they become available for sale.

Baby-wise, dear little Ethan has been getting over roseola, which is a type of childhood virus featuring several days of a high fever, followed by a rash.  Poor little guy, he has been feeling most crabby, but  thankfully, has had no complications.

What have YOU been up to?  Hugs, Carla

New Blog Look

Hello, I am playing around with how my blog looks.  It is way over due for an update.  I will be experimenting with several looks over the next week or so.  Feel free to comment about any that you like.

Long time blog readers may want to know why I haven’t been blogging as much as usual?  One reason has to do with a dear little boy who came into my life last year.  It is now official- Joe and I are the proud legal guardians for Ethan, now 14 months old.    He has blond hair, blue eyes, and is adorable.  Full of personality, Ethan has a fun sense of humor, too.  It will be a joy to see him grow.

As always, I am still creating, albeit more slowly than in years past.  In the works are some Carla digital quilting designs- to be carried exclusively by DigiTech Designs.  When they become available, I promise to share a link so you can see them.

I am also working on the Fall Class schedule, too, as well as updating the StepOnPins website.  When it becomes available, too, I will let you know.    How is that for a teaser?

Happy 4th of July to all the US blog readers!

Hugs, Carla

Freeform Beaded Pendant- In Progress

I thought I would show you how I am using the beads previously shown earlier this month on my blog.  This purple & green pendant piece will match my new purple sweater I bought last week.

Here is the beaded jewelry piece created so far:

It still has a ways to go, but I like how it is shaping up.   The way I work is to keep working the piece using alternating colors, until the freeform beading “feels” right.  It is an intuitive process.

I promise to reveal how it turns out in the end.  I am looking forward to wearing it soon.  Anyone want to create a freeform jewelry piece, too?  I do have a free tutorial  if you click the “Free Tutorial” link above or on the right sidebar.

Take care, Carla

Registration Update!

I am pleased to report that the class is now half full!  Registration continues until the first week of the class- usually I close it on July 15th, 2011.  For more info, here is a link to the class description.

This class has a wonderful mix of all types of quilters.  From domestic machine (home sewing machine) users to professional quilters.  Plus some art quilters, too.  Thank you for signing up so quickly!

WIP stands for “work in progress.”  You all know I always have several projects going on at any given time.  Quilty wise, I am working on a special “story quilt” for a friend, Virginia.  What makes this quilt special is that it memorializes her husband, who passed away about 2 years ago.  Virginia took a class from Mary Lou Weidman, who is known for her whimsical story quilts.  With Virginia’s permission, I will show you the quilt when I am done.

Other news:  Congrats to Jayne Moore, who won “Best of Show” at the local Fair show.  You all might remember Jayne’s quilt, which I quilted last year:

Here is a close-up of a random block:

Apparently, it won a first in the “professionally quilted division,” so I get a ribbon, too!

That’s all for now!  What are YOU up to?  Carla

WIP Beaded Embroidery

Getting the final touches on all the classes I am teaching at International Machine Quilting Showcase (MQS), but I did want to share a WIP I am doing.  I took a class on beaded embroidery at a local bead shop (Basically Beads) and thought I would show you my bracelet, in progress:

The center focal point crystal is created using a variety of offloom beading techniques and the beading to the white background is beaded embroidery.  The design is freeform, and even though I drew in guide lines, I am loosely following what I drew.

It still has a lot of work to do, then I finish the project.  I love working with fiber and beads, so this is a fun project to do.  The key to a successful end product is nice, even stitches and bead selection.

What are YOU working on?  Hugs, Carla