Oh look at me – now that I’ve caught up on all my blogging buddies’ posts (well I think I have), I’m trying to pretend that I am back to posting regularily 😉
Here’s a follow up to my mid November 2024 post – ScrapHappy November 2024: Update on Denim Quilt. The denim quilt you all are probably tired of reading about, is now hung on the wall leading up the stairway from the first to second floor of my house.
Here are photos:
John built the wooden hanger for the piece which I place through the hanging sleeve I added to the back of the quilt.
I am very pleased! We really needed something on that blank wall and the quilt seems to be what it needed!
Postscript
RECYCLED HOPE VS UPCYCLED HOPE
This quilt will become part of my “Recycled Hope” series of quilts which I describe as follows:
The Recycled Hope an ongoing series of improvisational art quilts using recycled materials to include denim as the primary fabric on many of the pieces, combined with other recycled materials. “Hope” and the interpretation of the word “hope” is the primary theme of infused into these pieces.Most of the fabrics were not reusable as clothing or home decor and were destined to end up in a landfill. Reimagining recycled clothing and other materials into art quilts satisfies my hopeful desire to honor the environment and make art that is eco-conscious. Ending up in an art quilt is a better outcome than ending up in a landfill.
One of the comments on the post ScrapHappy October 2024: Recycled Hope I wrote in October 2024 about this series, went something like this (paraphrased): “shouldn’t your series Recycled Hope be called instead Upcycled Hope?”
I thought about this and researched on line various definitions of “recycled” vs “upcycled”.
Recycled: “having been used before and then put through a process so that it can form a new product” (Cambridge Dictionary)
Upcycled: “to recycle (something) in such a way that the resulting product is of a higher value than the original item : to create an object of greater value from (a discarded object of lesser value)” (Merriam-Webster Dictionary)
After reviewing those two definitions and thinking a bit, I’ve decided to eventually rename my series – UPCYCLED HOPE!
I’ve added to my list of things to do to update my tierneycreates website…
It’s the 15th of the month and time for my monthly “ScrapHappy” post as part of the ScrapHappy group I belong run by Kate and Gun. At the end of this post I have a link to the other blogs participating in this monthly event in case you’d like to check out their ScrapHappy posts.
Update on the Denim Quilt
For this month’s ScrapHappy post, I am updating you on my post Now Quilting the Denim Quilt! on beginning the quilting the denim quilt I pieced from denim scraps (recycled old jeans) and home decorating/upholstery fabric samples scraps.
I finished quilting the quilt using an “organic matchstick” pattern and two different threads.
I decided to put a “facing” on/”face” the quilt instead of adding a binding on the edges. If you are unfamiliar with the concept of “facing” a quilt, here is the handy YouTube video I used to remind myself on how to do a facing as it seems like years since I added one!
Here is the newly faced quilt on the ironing table in my studio getting a good press:
Here is the back of the quilt showing the thrifted cotton tablecloth I used as the backing:
And finally, here is the quilt (still needing the facing edges sewn down) nearly completed:
Thanks to my friend Rick G. on photographing this quilt using his equipment.
So what name did I finally decide on for the quilt and what is my Artist Statement? The answer is below:
What Direction Do I Go?
54 inches by 53 inches
In my early 50s the direction of my life radically changed with the sudden passing of my husband who’d been part of my life since I was 20 years old. Part of my identity and all the direction of my life evaporated and I was left with the following life question: What Direction Do I Go? Made entirely with recycled fabrics including the batting, this quilt reflects my struggle to find a new direction.
I decided to stick with my original concept for the quilt that I discussed in an earlier post when I was piecing this quilt.
Here are the other bloggers that participate in the ScrapHappy monthly posting event, check out their blogs linked below for their ScrapHappy posts:
My quilting is a bit more “organic” with an occasional line touching or a little wiggle (why yes I of course planned that – ha!)
Here is the back of the quilt, I love the feel/texture of the quilting:
I cannot wait to finish it. I plan to do a “facing” instead of binding the quilt. Okay well back to work for me!
Postscript: Halloween Cuteness
Oh and here is some Halloween cuteness (yesterday was Halloween). We stopped over a friend’s house last night and they had two of their dogs in Hawaiian shirts dressed up as “Magnum. P.I.“ (if you remember that that 1980s show starring Tom Selleck):
Here are Pepi and Lewis doing their best Magnum, P.I. impersonations. Dolly the Aussie Shepherd was having no part in it!
Bet you can’t tell the dogs apart from Tom Selleck, right? Ha!
It’s the 15th of the month and time for my monthly “ScrapHappy” post as part of the ScrapHappy group I belong run by Kate and Gun. At the end of this post I have a link to the other blogs participating in this monthly event in case you’d like to check out their ScrapHappy posts.
The 15th of the month came around quicker than anticipated and I already blogged about the 22nd block I made for the very scrappy Farm Girl Vintage quilt I am working on September 26 (see post I Sewed Something!) so I couldn’t use that for my October ScrapHappy post, sigh.
So instead I will discuss my series of art quilts made from scraps of recycled denim, clothing and home decorating fabrics – Recycled Hope; and update on you that latest quilt I am working on in that series.
The Recycled Hope Series
Recycled Hope an ongoing series of improvisational art quilts using recycled materials to include denim as the primary fabric on many of the pieces, combined with other recycled materials.
“Hope” and the interpretation of the word “hope” is the primary theme of infused into these pieces. Most of the fabrics were not reusable as clothing or home decor and were destined to end up in a landfill. Reimagining recycled clothing and other materials into art quilts satisfies my hopeful desire to honor the environment and make art that is eco-conscious. Ending up in an art quilt is a better outcome than ending up in a landfill.
My first quilt in the series, Recycled Road, was made for annual art quilt show for the local SAQA (Studio Art Quilt Associates) group I belonged while living in Central Oregon:
This quilt was made using my late husband’s clothing that he no longer wanted, several recycled jeans, a little recycled scrap home decor fabric and this awful pair of orange corduroy pants someone gave me to use in an art quilt. The pants were too hideous to donate to be work as clothing but worked in a quilt! The quilt measures 18 inches by 40 inches which was the required dimensions for the art show which was titled “Pathways”.
I no longer own this quilt, it was purchased by a friend who wanted to support my art.
The second quilt I made in the series was also for an annual art quilt show for the local SAQA (Studio Art Quilt Associates) group I belonged while living in Central Oregon and titled Recycled Door:
This quilt is composed of recycled denim, recycled home decor fabric, and a little of those awful orange corduroy pants (I got a lot of use out of those pants, fabric wise). It also measures 18 inches by 40 inches which was the required dimensions for the art show which was titled “Doors”. This quilt was purchased by a private collector.
The third quilt in the series was also for an annual art quilt show for the local SAQA (Studio Art Quilt Associates) group I belonged while living in Central Oregon and titled Recycled Love:
Made from recycled jeans and home decor fabric, the Artist Statement for this quilt is as follows:
The first law of thermodynamics states that the total amount of energy in a system cannot be created nor destroyed, it can only be changed from one form to another.A quilt is made from changing the existing “love energy” from the quilt maker’s heart into a pieced textile; ultimately recycling that love energy into the quilt’s recipient heart.
It also measures 18 inches by 40 inches which was the required dimensions for the art show which was titled “The Threads That Bind”.
I have this quilt hung in my hallway next to my studio to remind me that “Quilts are Love”.
Here are the rest of the quilts in this series which were not created for a specific show.
Recycled Windows of Conversation:
This quilt measures 55” W x 59” L; and is made from recycled jeans, various recycled clothing, and recycled home decor fabric. It was the largest recycled denim quilt i’d made to date.
It was purchased by an art dealer on behalf of their client, and it now sits in the common area of an upscale apartment complex in downtown Seattle, Washington (see post Oh So That’s What Happened to It!).
Recycled Windows:
This quilt measures 18” W x 39″ L, and is made from recycled clothing, recycled denim, and recycled home decorating fabric. It was juried into the New Mexico ArtsArt in Public Places Program but was not selected by any of their public buildings for purchase. So it hangs in my bedroom and I enjoy looking at it everyday!
Recycled Business Casual:
Somewhere in this series of quilts I made this quilt from recycled jeans, recycled wool blankets and menswear wool suiting scraps (this is where I got the name “Recycled Business Casual“. It was more of an experiment than an actual art quilt but it did show along with many of the other quilts shown above in my first solo show: The Wardrobe Meets the Wall in April 2019 at the Seattle Municipal Tower in Downtown Seattle, Washington.
Current Project Update
And finally let’s get to my current project in progress to add to the Recycled Hope series – a denim quilt made with lots of recycled jeans and recycled home decor fabric scraps:
The tentative name for this quilt is “What Direction Do I Go?” but I am rethinking the name as my head is in a different space now than when I first started the quilt in October 2023 (What’s on the Design Wall: An “Upcycled” Work).
I have it back up on the design wall and it is set up for quilting with the backing and batting attached.
I am working out what quilting design I want to use. I created a sample square of scrap denim, backing and batting to try out some designs:
I am really looking forward to completing this quilt and I have a place on my living room to upstairs stairway reserved to hang this approximately 55 inches by 55 inches quilt.
After I finish this quilt, there will likely be more recycled denim quilts in the future as I have a nice stash of recycled jeans in my studio:
Earlier this year a local charity thrift shop had an “All Jeans $2” sale and I stocked up!
Here are the other bloggers that participate in the ScrapHappy monthly posting event, check out their blogs linked below for their ScrapHappy posts:
I’ve been taking a break from blogging after my push to do a daily blog post for the 31 days of October, my 10th anniversary month of blogging. Additionally recently I had a wonderful visit with out of town family that of course kept me from sitting down and blogging.
Here are some updates on my current adventures in creativity.
I now have 66 blocks completed and 15 more to go to make 81 blocks for a 9 by 9 layout:
This is not even close to the final layout, just blocks put up on the design wall to track my progress. I have a lot of cleaning to do on my sewing machine after all that lint from sewing denim and home decor fabrics!
I’ve completed the 80 crocheted granny square blocks for the next granny square blanket I am making. I am doing a 8 by 10 layout of the blocks and will set them in dark gray yarn as the lattice.
Mike the Miniature Schnauzer couldn’t wait to lay on the laid out blocks as soon as I moved away from them!
This also is not the final layout, just a general layout to show all the blocks (and a Miniature Schnauzer, ha!).
I used the pages she sent me to make a display in my studio of the article I am in using these cool 11 inch by 17 inch frames I found. John did a great job helping me hang them.
I’ll close this post with a cute meme my sister sent me the other day as we all struggle with Daylight Savings Time (setting the clocks back 1 hour in the Fall and 1 hour forward in the Spring); that is US states that agree to play along with it (Hawaii and Arizona do not participate).
Not sure what came over me but I somehow quickly finished the recycled denim quilt I shared in the post What’s On The Design Wall, and got it hung on the wall.
Here is the backing I selected for the quilt, I picked it up a couple of week ago at a thrift store:
Like the pattern designer/author of Wise Craft Quilts, Blair Stocker did, I wanted to hand tie the quilt (see cover of book in image below):
It’s been many years (maybe 16 or more?) since I hand tied a quilt – I forgot how meditative and pleasing it was to hand tie the three layers together with a large needle and yarn:
Once the hand tying was complete, I used the same fabric as the backing for the quilt’s binding.
Over the past couple weeks I’ve been working to turn this pile of recycled denim jeans,
into this:
I borrowed from the public library the book by Blair Stocker: Wise Craft Quiltsover and over again, until I finally broke down and bought the book, all because of the quilt on the front cover:
That was several years ago and finally I decided to actually just make the quilt I’ve been love struck over.
The quilt is comprised of 30 blocks (5 x 6) and when fully assembled will tentatively measure 50 inches x 54 inches (1.27 meters x 1.37 meters or 127 cm x 137 cm).
I am going to hand tie the quilt like the author did in her sample, I like the rustic look it gives to this recycled denim quilt.
Here is the first layout on my design wall when I got all the blocks completed:
But I had my partner John take a look at the layout and do some tweaking (since tentatively I am going to hang the completed quilt above our bed) and this is the final layout:
I’ll share an image of the completed quilt in a future post. I am so excited to finally be making this quilt!
tierneycreates 