A Prairie Home Quilts

While working with EQ7 to create some Inklingo-able quilt designs for Linda’s Love the Lines contest, I discovered how easy (and fun!) it is to draw applique shapes in EQ.  My first submission for the contest was a final version of the blue Feathered Star quilt idea I had had several months ago.

The Color of the Sky. I’m Told

 This design went through 5 different revisions and then several versions of each revision.  The Feathered Stars started out in a horizontal setting with an idea of adding applique in the borders and alternate blocks — something with a Celtic feel or maybe something with the San Kamon collection.  Somewhere along the revision process I had the idea that the appliques should be constellations, more Feathered Star blocks were added to the quilt and they got set on point.  I decided upon the zodiac constellations with their corresponding symbols when I wondered how people would be able to tell which constellations were what.  There’s a long, convoluted, serendipitous thingy with the name of the quilt, fabric choices, zodiac constellation idea, number of Feathered Star blocks, etc., etc. going on with this quilt that maybe I’ll explain in a post of its own some day…  This is also a real work-in-progress.  I have started stitching the Feathered Stars and border blocks which use the free Inklingo Diamond/Square/Triangle collection.

After I drew the appliques, I started to play with them in other quilt designs.  This is where the Mariner’s Compass blocks came into play.

I liked the larger constellation applique blocks with the Mariner’s Compass but I was willing to let that idea sit because there isn’t an Inklingo Mariner’s Compass collection yet and I don’t like messing with paper pieced designs.  [Besides, I'm still without a sewing machine so everything has to be done by hand.]

In the meantime, there was this antique book cover that was inspiring some applique ideas of its own.

I didn’t like the fish in the center as an applique motif so I wasn’t motivated to go anywhere with this design, yet…  Over the weekend I thought of using a Mariner’s Compass as a center medallion to replace the fish so I started working up some ideas in EQ7.

Ignore the color scheme and note that the anchor appliques aren’t quite finished yet.  I want to use bias strips in the circular design that connects the anchors and put appliqued circles in 2 sizes on the first thin border like the book cover.  I’ll modify the leave appliques a bit to be more like the book cover also; and instead of the circle motif in that border, I’d like to do a shell applique similar to the design on the spine.  Still lots to do to finish this quilt design.

Further playing with the Mariner’s Compass block as a medallion resulted in this.

Another EQ7 work in progress.  It’s not completely Inklingo-able as drawn with the size of center block that I used.  This is just a quick rendition to get the design idea down.  I’ll finish it up to make it work with maybe a 15 inch center medallion and one of the available Storm at Sea collections.  The final border coloring is an idea from Wenche using the Yin Yang collection.  Wenche used the collection as a border for an applique quilt she designed to look like waves.  Christiane Wipplinger used the collection in the same way [to create the look of waves] in her Love the Lines contest entry shown here.

I asked Linda about a Mariner’s Compass block and she asked if summer or early fall would be soon enough.  Yes, it would — any time is fine actually but I’m wondering how many more Mariner’s Compass ideas I’ll have done in EQ by then?

So, where have you been, I hear you all asking?  [Imagining to myself there’s at least one someone out there still listening after all this time… ] Welp, doing some house sitting, of course, and on a spiritual journey of sorts.  Yes, again.  Involving dragons again, too.  But, you know, I came away with a deeper understanding of the Hymn of the Soul and the meaning of the pearl.  Oh and the great Hydra was involved.  It was worth every minute of the journey.  Hehehe.  I will spare you the details of my spiritual epiphanies, though.  Really.  I’m sure you are more interested in the quilting I’ve been doing.  Wait, how could I forget?  There was a magical wedding and children visiting from far away lands happening in the middle of all this, too!

And I should probably fess up that I’ve been doing some writing also.  November is National Novel Writing Month, did you know that?  According to the Office of Light and Letters it is.  [Love their slogan:  We believe in ambitious acts of the imagination.]  The challenge is to write 50K words in 30 days.  I spent part of October preparing to write and I’ve written every day in November [obviously nothing for the blog!].  I’m at just under 39K as of this morning and hoping to hit 40K by tonight.  No one but me will ever read the thing, but it’s been another fun part of the journey to slay the great Hydra and let my imagination soar.

Okay, okay, on with the quilting…

I’ve been working on my .75″ hexagon project, Field of Flowers.  It was stalled.  I didn’t have all the flowers prepped.  I decided to go ahead and do that with Inklingo.  I can’t remember now how many flowers I needed but I printed and cut enough sets of flowers and centers to have 512 flowers when they’re all stitched. [I need 502.]  Then I went ahead and printed the corners and edges in the green fabric I’d purchased eons ago.

I started this project working from the middle out and then decided it would be so much easier to start from a corner as I was always getting the middle portion twisted around.  I have more than half the flowers done.  I feel like I’m making a huge dent in this project.

New starting point — bottom, left corner

Some finished flowers.

The box with the remaining flower sets.

And more of the wedding, just because…

Oldest daughter, Jessica with groom’s younger brother

Youngest daughter, Rachelle with groom’s older brother

Michelle and Jared McCarty

Daughters again…

Oldest son, Nathan and his lovely wife, Koren.

I’m away again without internet access but don’t worry. . .  I have this

to keep me entertained!

See this guy below?  That’s me.  A roadrunner.  Meh, maybe not.  That’s how I feel.  Like a roadrunner.

Or maybe more like a chicken with its head cut off?  I’ll spare you the photo that expresses that thought.  At least I’m not being chased.

I haven’t been home much and when I am all I want to do is veg.  I’m not home right now [house sitting] and I still just want to veg.  I should be working on my Liberated Amish quilt top or at the very least — answering emails.  Instead, I’m sitting here contemplating moving the coffee table off the area rug.  The area rug has inspired a quilt idea so I want to photograph it.  [Right, Erin.  Like you need another quilt idea?  Seriously?]  Perhaps, it’s just my body that wants to veg.  My brain does not stop.  It fills with new ideas for quilts day and night.  SOMEONE. PLEASE. STOP. MY. BRAIN. so I can veg out in peace.

• Let your mind wander and dream
• Forget the rules and follow your instinct
• Embrace life

More advice found while eating Dove Extra Dark Chocolate Promises.

Artists who seek perfection in everything are those who cannot attain it in anything. Eugene Delacroix (1798 – 1863)

I found this quote on the tag of my Good Earth Sweet & Spicy tea today.  It was like a personal message just for me.  It made me smile.  On the projects I’ve been working on recently, I’ve been obsessing a bit over my mismatched seams.  I’ve been making myself a little crazy unsewing seams.  Several seams I’ve unsewn more than once.   All in pursuit of perfection.  To what end I’m wondering?

What is perfection? Isn’t it different for everybody? Can we attain it then?

Then it hit me and I had to laugh out loud. I used to have a little sticky note on my computer reminding me to accept every day as perfect just as it comes.  When I just accept everything as perfect, there is no need to seek perfection. Perfection is already there, all around me.  I accept it.  To continually seek perfection just seems to leave me more and more dissatisfied.

Perfection:  It’s all in my attitude.

Now, can I transfer this acceptance of all things as perfection just as they come to my quilt seams and blocks? I think I’m going to give it a try.  I’m sure I’ll get more quilts done.

• Go confidently in the direction of your dreams.
• Don’t be afraid to give of yourself.
• Get out there and make your dreams happen.

Advice found while eating Dove Extra Dark Chocolate Promises and working on those three [not fun, but hanging over me like little dark clouds] computer projects.