Sailboat Quilt Project

One of the hardest things about going traveling by sailboat is missing your dear friends and family.  Barbara Kiehn is one friend I will especially miss.  She and I have collaborated on many award winning quilts over the years, long time blog readers may remember a few of them:

I decided that Ethan needs a new quilt for his new cabin berth, but time is short, so I asked Barb to help me design and put it together.  Yesterday was our work day at her house, and we were able to finish the sailboat blocks.  Of course, there is more work to do on this scrappy, red, white and blue quilt, so I will work on it whenever I can get a free minute.

Here are a picture of the blocks only, today I cut and fuse the flags at the top of the mast like shown in the top left block:

Barb and decided to make these topsy turvy sailboats, plus there will be scrappy pieced sashings in between each block.  Here is a sample from Barb’s quilt for what topsy turvy setting looks like:

So that is my WIP sailboat project for the boat.  Thank you shout out to Barb for her help, lunch yesterday, and for being such a wonderful friend.   Regards, Carla

Around the World Blog Hop- My Turn!

I was invited to participate in the Around the World Blog Hop by two amazing fiber, art quilt and digital artists, The Pixeladies, also known individually as Deb Cashatt and Kris Sazaki.   Years ago, I was asked to do the quilting on one of their art quilt projects, and through this collaboration, we became friends.  Recently, I visited their studio and got to see all their stunning works in progress.  If you are unfamiliar with their incredible work, and art quilts created with fabric text, click now to visit their gallery page.

The format for the Around the World Blog Hop is a series of questions that I answer, so here we go:

What are you working on right now?  I tend to work on multiple projects at the same time.  On any given day, you will find me machine quilting in my studio, then working on my Tablet PC laptop drawing and designing, and finally, working on a freeform beading or crochet project.  So, in that spirit, here is what I am working on currently:

Quilting by Carla Barrett

Machine Quilting- I recently borrowed back the above quilt (previously quilted a few months ago, titled Bold Beauty),  to share with students in Australia. The picture above shows you the back of the quilt. This quilt has won many awards in Montana for the owner, Teddie Egeline, including Best of Show and Judges Choice at the Montana State Fair.  Anyway, while in AU, I noticed a couple of places that need fixing, specifically, color repair of some white marking pen oops previously discussed in a post here.

I realized that to be more archival, I should have heat set the repair.  So now I will go back over the lines with several shades of Inktense pigment pencils and once dry, heat set them.  After this repair, I plan to work on 2 quilts- one by applique artist Jill Rixman, and also one by my friend, Doug Hodder.

 

Freeform Beading and Freeform Crochet- Currently, I have two different projects in progress, though both are freeform.

The first one is a freeform beaded purse, so I am working on the freeform peyote embellishment.  I have just started to bead a 18mm Swarovski crystal, which will be a focal point element of this project.  My color palette is magenta, purple and blue.

My current freeform crochet project is a bit different from my usual freeform crochet work.  I like the combination of my random freeform combined with some more traditional freeform scrumbles, so I decided to take a Craftsy Freeform Crochet class with the talented Myra Wood to learn her process.  Below is a picture of my class homework so far.  These are “scrumbles” in progress as I learn her technique.

Scrumbles in Progress

How does your work differ from others of its genre?  With regards to my machine quilting work, I plan out my quilting lines using a Tablet PC laptop in Photoshop Elements.  This allows me ease of editing and planning, communicating effectively with collaborators, as well as provide me with a road map to follow during the quilting process.  I also will design a special motif, border or fill to use on each quilt using a digitizing software called Art & Stitch.  I also will use my tablet to draw a quilting cartoon from time to time, too.  See more what you can do with a Tablet in this post here.

How does your creative process work?    As mentioned earlier, I use my Tablet PC to sketch out machine quilting designs (like the example above).  I also use my Tablet PC to create custom quilting designs that I can then stitch out on a quilt.  My process is as follows:

Copyright 2014 Carla Barrett

First, I draw with my stylist on my Tablet PC monitor in Photoshop Elements.  Once I like the design, I will import my design into Adobe Illustrator and  Art&Stitch digitizing software, converting the artwork from a raster drawing to vector artwork.

On the left is a custom design drawn for Teddie Egeline’s quilt, Bold Beauty.  This is a screenshot taken of the finished vector art.

In Art&Stitch, I finish editing the art, adding stitches and saving it in a computerized quilting format that my system can read- which for my Intelliquilter is “.iqp.”   The design is next imported to my machine and then I further manipulate the design to fit my border.  Here is a screenshot from my Intelliquilter tablet showing you how I used this design to create an interesting custom border:

I love to leave spaces for freemotion quilting because I love the look of freehand work.  The curlycues in the image above will be filled with my freehand feathers.  Once quilted out and the freehand work added, the finished design and border looks like this:

I also used my Scroll-Heart Design in other areas on the quilt, too:

If you have any questions about my process, I would be happy to answer them.  Just leave your question in a comment, below.  If you would like to know more about buying a Tablet, I do have a 4 part series on purchasing a Tablet for artwork here.  If you would like to know more about working and creating with Art & Stitch software, please see this post.

Before I close, I would like to nominate a very talented machine quilting artist for this Around the World Blog Hop:

Judi Madsen, quilting artist, author, teacher and designer.  During my teaching trip to AU earlier this month, I met Judi a couple of times as my class was ending and hers was due to begin.  Her freehand machine quilting work is young, vibrant, and has a modern vibe.  Be sure to visit  Green Fairy Quilts blog to see Judi’s stunning work.

Take care, Carla

Feathers Pearls and Hearts Set

Good Day!  I recently posted my latest quilting designs, available in digital form and paper patterns from Digitech Designs.   Now I want to show you what the designs look like quilted up.  First, here is the set:

Designs by Carla Barrett, available at Digitech Designs

 

 

I borrowed a quilt top from my quilt friend, Doug, at High Sierra Quilters Quilt Shop in Placerville, CA, and quilted away.  Here is the panto for the quilt body:

Here is the Border design with some free motion “finger” stitching on the outside edge:

Last photo show you an overview while the quilt is still on my quilting table:

It was a very forgiving design set up and use.  Plus, I feel the design actually elevates this simple shop quilt.  Love the fabric, too!   🙂

Here is a quick visual for how I do my finger quilting on the edge.  This is faster and much easier to do than piano keys or bead board.  Besides, it looks great!  Did I mention how easy it is?  Just quilt “U” shapes.

Any feedback on this design or other designs you would like to see in the future?  Happy Quilting, Carla

Peyote Necklace to Match Jacket

Here is the second project in my series.  I am creating jewelry pieces out of seed beads, fibers, metal or other beads, to match some of the jackets in my closet.

Here is what this jacket looks like- a colorful blend of fuschia, purple,coral, and orange.

Hard to see the true colors in this jacket picture, but it looks better in person than in the image.  I picked it up at a Chico’s sometime in my past.

The goal was to make a matching jewelry piece that I can wear with this jacket.  So what pattern did I use?

I used my peyote pattern, titled Undulations, from the free tutorial page, to create the necklace, which looks like this:

Here is a close up image of the necklace’s button closure:

I do love that the colors chosen for the necklace mimics the flow of colors in the jackets.  I plan to make a matching bracelet, too.

Here is one last image of my finished creation, next to the jacket:

Wine Harvest Freeform Beaded Pendant

Hello, been busy lately creating, so I thought I would share what I am working on.  This is the first in a series, which is making special wearable art pieces to match some of my clothing.

Freeform Beading by Carla Barrett

 

To the left is a pendant I call “Wine Harvest.”

The piece of clothing this was designed to match is actually 2 items: the jacket I am wearing in the blog header photo, and a purple sweater, too.

 

The colors in the piece changes- depending on the lighting and the background the pendant is laying on.  Here is the same pendant, and the colors have not been altered in any way.  I think the only difference is that I may have flipped the piece over:

By Carla Barrett

The background in the top photo is my black Coach bag, and if anyone is into fashion, I found it in the men’s section of the local outlet store.  This messenger style bag is great- carries my wallet, some make-up essentials, and also room for my iPad and Kindle Fire, too.

The bottom background is my quartz kitchen counter, which provides a lovely backdrop to show off the beading.  Notice the color difference between both photos.  Actually, in person, the bottom color is most accurate.

Finishing:  I haven’t yet decided how I want to finish off the pendant, but until I do, I used 3 strands of yarn and tied it to the pendant and also the clasp on both sides.  I did this so I could wear the pendant immediately- like tomorrow.  🙂

The next color palette will be different, since I am choosing the colors by pulling out a top, sweater or jacket, then creating the piece inspired by the clothing.  Anyone want to play along?  If so, here is your challenge- go into your closet and pick out a dress, top or other item that you like.  Next, pull out your fibers and beads, paint and anything else to create a wearable jewelry to wear with the article of clothing.  Send me pictures, too, when done.

Have fun!  Carla

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!