Tag: quilting

A Crafter's Life, tierneycreates

Reacquainted with an Old Quilt

tierneycreates: a fusion of textiles and smiles

Recently my friend K reacquainted me with an old quilt with emotional ties I had forgotten about.

I’ve been quilting since the late 1990s and I’ve made a lot of quilts, most of which I’ve given as gifts or in some cases sold, so you kind of forget some of the quilts after a while; and sometimes the emotional connection you had with a particular quilt.

One of the quilts I had forgotten about was a blue and white quilt that I made from a pattern many years ago (10 years ago?) and ended up sellling (for basically the cost of the fabric and the professional longarm quilting) to a quilting friend L who fell in love with it.

Last week my friend K was staying at L’s home in New Hampshire and ended up sleeping under that blue and white quilt I made (and had forgotten about) and sent me photos:

It was nice to see the quilt but I forgot the emotional connection I had with the quilt until K mentioned that the quilt had a spectacular backing.

I gasped as I suddenly remembered the backing I put on the quilt and asked K to send me a picture of the back of the quilt so I could see it again:

On the back of what one might consider a “quiet quilt” (blues and white in a traditional setting) I put what one might consider a “very bold” fabric!

At the time I made the quilt I thought the front of it was “boring” and decided to spice it up with a colorful backing fabric I found in my stash.

That fabric was from my friend Tracy who suddenly died a couple years after giving me the fabric which she found at a thrift shop.

I met Tracy at work back in the 1990s when I lived in Houston, Texas and we stayed friends for many years, occasionally losing touch but finding each other again. I started quilting while livingi in Seattle, Washington and she, unknown to me at the time, had also started quilting! When we reconnected a couple years after each of us becoming quilters we were very elated that we now shared the same hobby.

I however have some intense regret related to Tracy. Over a year before she died we were supposed to go to the International Quilt Festival in Houston in October, and I cancelled and said it would work better for us to go next year.

There was no next year quilt festival for Tracy as she passed away the following year before the festival. I had missed a glorious opportunity and memory with my friend because I delayed going to the event with her a year. I also missed an opportunity to spend time with her before she left this existence.

Perhaps this is why many years ago I decided to sell the quilt to L. L loved the quilt and the quilt was just making me sad, reminding me of Tracy’s passing and my regret on not going to the quilt festival with her.

Now of course I wish I’d kept the quilt and honored Tracy’s memory by still having a quilt a made with a backing she gave me.

However, all I can do now is be grateful that is being used and not in a closet somewhere tucked away; to remember not to wait to do special things with special people; and tomorrow is not promised.

Special Events, Studio

“Toward 2050” – Volunteering to Make A Quilt Top

tierneycreates: a fusion of textiles and smiles

Back in May I shared in the very long post QuiltCon February 2025, Phoenix Arizona, that while in Phoenix, Arizona for QuiltCon 2025 I visited the Desert Botanical Garden and got to spend time at the Toward 2050 exhibit.

I was so taken by the exhibit that I wanted to be part of it if possible and signed up to volunteer to piece one of the quilt tops together.

But let me back up and first give you some background from that May 2025 post.

BACKGROUND ON TOWARD 2050

Here’s an excerpt from the Toward 2050 website:

“According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), the United Nations body for assessing the science related to climate change, global climate is on track to increase by 1.5° C by 2040, and with that, irreparable damage will likely be done to earth’s ecosystems if our course is not changed decisively and with haste. In the IPCC’s Climate Change 2023: Synthesis Report, clear goals and pathways have been defined to reverse our emissions of green house gases – 50% by 2030, and to arrive at net zero emissions by 2050, keeping the global rise in temperature to under 1.5° C in perpetuity. Hence, 2050 marks a very important point in our human history…

Textile work from makers from 45 U.S. states and 9 countries have become important parts of TOWARD 2050, which has culminated in this immersive installation at Desert Botanical Garden in Phoenix, Arizona – February 8th through June 1st of 2025. Makers were called to create environmentally themed, textile panels in the style of “prayer flags”. Our goal was to collect enough double sided flags to define the pathways of ​this interactive labyrinth experience. That goal was met thanks to the generousity and commitment of all the makers participating in this project.” 

Here are some images from the TOWARD 2050 textile flags  labyrinth (which took over a half hour to the center and back) I walked during my visit to the Desert Botanical Garden.

I recently found this video on YouTube of the labyrinth I walked back in February 2025:

NEXT STEP: MAKING BLANKETS (QUILTS)

As you can see from the Toward 2025 website screen shot above, after the exhibit (and raising awareness), the next step is to make “blankets” (to me they would be quilts) to donate to communities that will “suffer future climate catastrophe).

From the Toward 2050 website here are the packets that will be sent out to volunteers and what they want the “blankets” to look like:

Images credits: Toward 2050 website

VOLUNTEERING TO MAKE A QUILT/BLANKET TOP

So I signed up and a couple weeks ago (while I was traveling) a package of 30 flags arrived in the mail:

Here are the 30 blocks laid out quickly on my design wall:

And here is a sampling of some of the blocks I was sent to piece together made from participants all over the world:

Volunteers are required to provide the fabric for the lattice and borders for the “blanket top” they are piecing from the Toward 2050 blocks (the “blanket” will then be longarm quilted by other volunteers).

I was planning to search through my fabric stash to find something that would work with all the different colors in the blocks when I received a gifted piece of fabric in the mail from one of my awesome penpals! (You know who you are and you ROCK! Impeccable timing!)

Turns out this fabric would work well with the blocks and I tested it out in the image above.

Talk about a serendipitous surprise!

I will of course share the pieced blanket/quilt top with you all in a future post once I get it put together.

Postscript

If by chance you are interested in participating, they are still looking for volunteers to piece tops using 30 of the textile flags the they will send you.

See the link below if you are interested:

Join us to make blankets from the TOWARD 2050 flags!

Toward 2050 overview taken from a nearby desert mountain. (photo courtesy of Bill Timmerman, Timmerman Photography)

Quilt Shop Tours, tierneytravels

Stitch a Quilt Store in Durango, CO

tierneycreates: a fusion of textiles and smiles

Well it’s been quite the Summer of Travel (after a Spring of Travel) so far; and I thought I’d dive into sharing my adventures with a little tour of a quilt shop I visited for the first time in Durango, Colorado in June 2025 – Stitch.

We visited Durango, Colorado as part of a Colorado roadtrip. In May I turned a “milestone birthday” and we’ve been celebrating with travel and adventures that I’ll share more about in a future posts.

Stitch is located in charming downtown Durango and has a warm and inviting atmosphere and friendly staff.

Here are scenes from inside the shop:

And here is where I got into trouble (ha!) and invited fat quarters that I did not need to come home with me:

I mean I got one free, how could I turn down the deal?

And here is the sign in front of the shop to lure you in…

(Because quilters need to be lured into quilt shops…)

Finished Quilts

“Pieces of Colorado” Now Hung in the Guest Room

tierneycreates: a fusion of textiles and smiles

I love Colorado and I’ve been lucky to live here for a little over 6 years.

In 2019 when I was considering the move to Colorado and not sure if it was the right thing or not, the Universe gave me a sign, and this ad was the first thing I saw when I opened a magazine to read while I was still deciding:

That ad did not lie, I feel “truly alive” here!

I want to share that feeling and my love of Colorado with friends and family who come to visit, so I placed my completed Pieces of Colorado quilt in our daylight basement guest room:

In addition to celebrating Colorado, I wanted to celebrate the beauty of the U.S. National Parks some of my country’s most beautiful and precious lands.

So throughout the guest room I have framed posted of National Parks especially those that John and I have visited (together or in our previous lives) and ones we plan to visit in the near future. I thrifted the pictures – got them from a book on the art of of National Parks posters that was not in good condition but most of the pages were.

I also thrifted all the other art/decor in room, including the beautiful rug which I found for $12 at a Goodwill Outlet (we cleaned it very well).

And John made the bedside tables which include built in outlets for easy access to charging devices for guests.

He also built a little bookshelf for the “guest library” where I keep books that I’ve already read and want to keep for guests to read while they visit and/or take with them home.

Here’s a tour:

Here’s a closer look at some of the cool Colorado and National Park art I found at thrift stores (many for under $5):

I struggle with buying anything new these days and there are so many treasures at thrift stores (plus I am keeping stuff out of landfills and giving them a new home).

On the desk in the guest room (we did buy the desk years ago new), I have a collection of thrifted books on National Parks below a thrifted radio:

Yes that is a National Park (Grand Canyon) thrifted mug holding pens for guests to use (I have a thrifted note pads in the desk drawer).

I also have a basket where we are keeping any maps, brochures or pamphlets were pick up while visiting National Parks for guests to look through (along with some unused slippers for them we’ve collected from hotel stays):

When designing our guest room I wanted to have the things I wished people would have for me when I visit and so we stocked the guest room closet with two (relatively inexpensive) bathrobes so our guests can feel cozy:

I hope this doesn’t sounds like a “soapbox” but I feel strongly that if people spend their money and time to come and visit you, you should make them feel VERY welcome. When traveling it is challenging to be away from your comforts of home so we try to give them as many comforts as we can.

We have our guest bathroom well stocked with what we think guests might need so if they are visiting us they don’t have to worry about bringing a lot of toiletries. We also make sure there are plenty of fresh towels. We’ve even put a little hamper basket in the guest room closet for their dirty towels, etc.

People might think we are “over the top” in our hosting but we want to honor each person who visits our home.

I guess this thrifted sign in our guest room we hung above one of the windows sums it up:

Oh wait, this post was supposed to be about the Pieces of Colorado quilt being hung, I think I digressed – ha!

(By the way if this post left your eyes rolling in your head, just accept that John and I are weird…ha!)

Quilt in Progress

Two Blocks for “Tealing (Telling) All Our Stories (TAOS)”

tierneycreates: a fusion of textiles and smiles

For the second year in a row I am participating in the annual group Ovarian Cancer Charity Fundraising Quilt headed up by the lovely Australian based quilter Kate C. @talltales from chiconia.

I made two 12.5 inch by 12.5 inch blocks and shipped them off to Australia on Monday. (By the way I have a really good friend and penpal in Austria that I regularly mail letters and I made sure to clearly enunciate the country to the my regular postal clerk and make sure envelope was going to “Australia” this time and not “Austria” – ha! My Austrian based friend years ago sent me a funny magnet with a kangaroo with a slash mark over it that read: “there are no kangaroos in Austria”!)

This year’s theme is “Tealing All Our Stories” and we are to make bookcase shelf themed blocks. Check out Kate’s blog I linked in the first paragraph if you’d like to see some of the blocks she’s received from other quilters around the world.

So if you haven’t guessed, we needed to make teal, the color used to represent Ovarian Cancer Awareness, the feature color in our blocks.

I had a fat quarter of tiny stripe pattern Figo fabric I won at QuiltCon in February (see my post QuiltCon February 2025, Phoenix Arizona if you’d like to read about my first trip to QuiltCon), that reminded me of pages in a book seen from the side of a book and that was my inspiration.

I created two blocks of stacked books view from the pages side:

I happened to have in my fabric stash some unusual ombre teal fabric that sort of looked like mountains and I used that as the. background for my book stacks to represent Colorado where I live.

In order to unify all the bookcase blocks, Kate asked us all to put a 1 inch finished border around our blocks and that is why you see a cream border. She also asked us to use a dark teal as the background for whatever image we create for our blocks.

Fingers crossed the blocks arrive safe to Kate’s house in Australia (and don’t wander over to Austria, ha!)

If you are interested in the progress of this quilt please follow Kate’s blog @talltales from chiconia; and I will try to post an update on the quilt when she has the layout complete (she does a tremendous amoung of work on these annual charity quilts, the rest of us just have to make a couple blocks and ship them off!)

Postscript

I’ve fallen a bit behind in blogging as we’ve been enjoying the late Spring/nearly Summer warm weather and going on some fun holidays and roadtrips – from day long trips where we come home at night to trips over several days. I’ll blog about some of them in the future.

This past weekend we went to the community garage/yard sale and picked up some fun items, each for $2:

A leather top hat for John (for fun or costume wear):

And a lovely cast iron Japanese tea pot set for me:

Quilt in Progress

Quilt in Progress: “Pieces of Colorado” Update #2

tierneycreates: a fusion of textiles and smiles

Please see the post Quilt in Progress: “Pieces of Colorado” for background on the quilt Pieces of Colorado.

In this post I want to share an update on my Colorado themed quilt, which will be hung in our guest room, that is made from panels I picked up during the 2021 Rocky Mountain Quilt Shop Hop.

The quilt arrived back from the professional longarm quilter who used an Aspen Tree Leaf pattern (Aspen trees are so Colorado and I have several in my yard) for the quilting.

I have the binding sewn on as well as the hanging sleeve. I just need to sew them down and then hang the quilt!

Speaking on Aspen trees, the Aspen trees next to the windows in my studio (on the 3rd level of our house) are in full bloom now as are all the other deciduous trees in our backyard.

Once again I feel like I am crafting in a treehouse!

Postscript

I mentioned above I just need to sew down the binding and then it is done. But alas, that will have to wait because first I need to work on two blocks for the group Ovarian Cancer fundraiser quilt that Australian-based quilter Kate of Tall Tales From Chiconia is spearheading again (see her post Ovarian Cancer Quilt 12: Tealing All Our Stories ).

I think I am the only U.S. based quilter participating again this year. Correct me if I am wrong and you are participating.

The theme is a bookcase quilt and since I love books (and libraries…and bookcases), I had to participate! I’ll share my blocks in a future post. Check out Kate’s blog if you want to see some of the blocks the group working on this charity quilt has made so far.

Colorado Quilt, Quilt in Progress

Quilt in Progress: “Pieces of Colorado”

tierneycreates: a fusion of textiles and smiles

Back in August 2021, John and I drove around the southern Front Range area of Colorado to visit the quilt shops in the 2021 Rocky Mountain Quilt Shop Hop.

Each quilt shop on the shop hop had a small panel, displaying something about Colorado, that you could purchase for $5 and make part of a Colorado themed quilt or use individually in project:

And then there were several Colorado themed larger panels to select from that you could buy to make a Colorado themed quilt including this one shown in a sample quilt in one of the shop hop quilt shops:

Here is another sample quilt using the same panel combined with the small panels each quilt shop participating in the shop hop had available:

While attending the 2021 Rocky Mountain Shop Hop, I bought this panel (“Welcome to Colorful Colorado”), collected the small panels from each quilt shop we visited along the shop hop, and bought this pattern – Pieces of Colorado.

And then they all sat in a box together for 4 years…

Recently I decided to finally make the quilt (which is wall hanging/small lap quilt sized) for our basement guest room which I was in the process of redecorating. Originally due to some waterfront/boating art John had from his previous life, the room was ocean/beach/sea themed. But we are “landlocked” in Colorado and the closest ocean is roughly 1000 miles away; and I thought we needed a theme that better represents where we live.

Colorado has the 3rd most National Parks of any states in the U.S. (Black Canyon Of The Gunnison, Great Sand Dunes, Mesa Verde, and Rocky Mountain National Park) and it’s a beautiful mountainous state.

Image credit: U.S. National Park Service website

So I thought for our visitors, the guest room should celebrate Colorado as well as the amazing National Parks we have in my country.

At a later time I will reveal the remodeled guest room (and all the National Park themed art I havw added) but for now here is MY version of the Colorado themed quilt (“Pieces of Colorado”) in progress (I finished the quilt top) that is going above the bed in the guest room:

In addition to the large and small panels, I used several yards from my collection of Peppered Cottons in green and saffron. I will be using a brown Peppered Cotton for the quilt binding to “frame” the quilt.

Here’s the backing fabric that I found thrifting. It is a heavy cotton duvet that I disassembled to salvage the fabric:

So right now the quilt top and back are with my long arm machine quilter getting professionally quilted. I can’t wait to put the binding on and hang it on the wall (I will make a hanging sleeve for the back) when it returns!

Postscript

Here is the inspiration for the “Welcome to Colorful Colado” panel:

This sign is located at various borders between Colorado and neighboring states.

It was also the 2021 commemorative Rocky Mountain Quilt Shop Hop pin that I got when I completed my “passport” by visiting all the shops on the shop hop!

Finished Quilts

Completed: Farm Girl Vintage Quilt (and trying a new quilt binding technique)

tierneycreates: a fusion of textiles and smiles

Sending thanks out to those of you who’ve followed the journey of this quilt completion. A special thanks to Kate of Tall Tales From Chiconia who inspired me to work on this quilt as part of the monthly ScrapHappy online group she helps run (the blocks for my quilt are entirely of fabric scraps, many of them from other quilters).

If Kate hadn’t inspired me, the quilt might have continued to be an old UFO (unfinished object for the non-quilters) for endless years!

Quick story behind this quilt: I began working on blocks for this quilt at a quilt retreat back in 2017 (yes 8 years ago) when several of my quilting buddies were working on blocks from Lori Holt’s book  Farm Girl Vintage. I am not into the “farm girl” aesthetic but the blocks looked so fun; and I was drawn into the fun and excitement my friends were having making the blocks.

But the blocks got put away to gather dust (because I didn’t know what I would do with such a quilt that didn’t fit into my more Bohemian decor aesthetic) until I did an audit a couple years ago of my UFOs and decided I should finish the quilt.

And now finally the quilt is done!

I hate binding quilts and decided to try out of new technique for binding the quilt per this YouTube video:

It worked and I ended up with nice crisp corners, which I’ve always struggled with:

The finished quilt measures approximately 96 by 97 inches (2.44 meters by 2.46 meters) and it was a bit unwieldy to try and photograph for this post. First I tried photographing it on my front porch draping it over the railing and photographing the front and back on the rail:

Then John got a long board of wood from his woodworking project pile along with a couple of woodworking clamps and clamped the quilt on. He held it above his head while I took photos.


Yes there is a shadow up top but I didn’t want to ask him to redo it in another location. This photo is good enough!

And here is a little section of the quilted back of the quilt with the Cortez Mill Flour sacks and disassembled recycled duvet cover:

So my future plan is to send a photo to the Cortez Flour Mill so they can see what I did with their flour sacks!

Quilt Shop Tours, tierneytravels

Men Hypnotized by a Computerized Longarm…

tierneycreates: a fusion of textiles and smiles

As I mentioned in my previous post Variegated Yarn Surprise, early-ish in November John and I traveled to the Carolinas (Charlotte, NC and Greenville, SC) to visit our Asheville, NC based friends E and S who needed a break from their post Hurricane Helene life in Asheville.

Originally we were going to visit them in Asheville (we made plans before September’s flooding disaster) and instead of canceling our trip (they are discouraging visitors to Asheville as they try to clean up from the massive damage), we decided to meet up with them in Charlotte, NC and roadtrip to Greenville, SC where my quilt Langston Hughes: Pioneer Poet was showing at the Upcountry History Museum as part of the traveling show Black Pioneers: Legacy in the American West. We also decided to attend the Fall for Greenville Fall festival.

I’ll post more about those two events, but for this post I wanted to share a fun stop we made during our roadtrip – a visit to a quilt shop, Carolina Quilt Studio, where the John and E became enthralled with a computerized longarm quilting machine at the shop.

I knew S, who is an elementary school teacher and a very crafting-orientated person, would keep herself entertained wandering around the quilt shop while I looked around, but I wasn’t sure if I would be torturing the husbands if I spent too long in the shop.

Well halfway through my wander around the shop I discovered the husbands had “set up camp” around the shop’s computerized longarm quilting machine that was quilting a quilt.

They were absolutely fascinated with it and didn’t want to walk away from it. They joked that if someone gave them some chairs and a nice glass of bourbon they’d be good for a while! (After we left the shop, John and E keep talking about the “cool machine” that did the quilting and asking how much something like that costs…new career for their retirements perhaps?!?! Ha!)

In addition to the husband-hypnotizing computerized longarm quilting machine, the shop had Shop Dog that wandered about looking for pets:

I am sure if they could have provided comfy chairs and bourbons, John would have placed the dog on his lap and settled in for hours of computerized longarm quilting machine viewing!

I found a couple items at the shop – some Art Gallery Fabrics for 1/2 off in their clearance rack and then this – a bin of FREE fabric scraps where customers could take whatever they wanted:

I was well behaved and carefully curated what I was going to take – only if it was a scrap I could really see myself using in a piece in the future and only larger scrap pieces. I ended up finding some nice Art Gallery Fabrics scraps in the bin. S, who is a teacher, found some free panels to make ornaments in the bin and plans to use them for a student craft project.

The quilt shop staff were very nice and I recommend the shop if you happen to be in the Greenville, SC area!

Fabric Scraps Obsession, ScrapHappy, Studio

ScrapHappy November 2024: Update on Denim Quilt

tierneycreates: a fusion of textiles and smiles

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:

Kate, Gun, Eva, Sue, Lynda, Birthe, Turid, Tracy, Jan, Moira, Sandra, Chris, Alys,
Claire, Jean, Dawn, Gwen,Sunny, Kjerstin, Sue L, Vera, Ann, Dawn 2, Carol, Preeti,
Nóilin, Viv, Karrin,  Alissa, Tierney, Hannah and Maggie

Fabric Scraps Obsession, From the Woodshop, Studio

From Journal Cover to Pillow

tierneycreates: a fusion of textiles and smiles

Pausing my series of posts about my September trip to the California Coast to share my conversion of a journal cover to a pillow.

I made this journal cover from fabric scraps in the first Journey to Art Quilting class I took with Jean Wells at the Stitchin’ Post in Sisters, Oregon, likely around 2013 or 2014.

We were working on improvisational quilting exercises; and I remember I added the turquoise in because Jean said your piece needs a “surprise”, something unexpected, and she called it “a poison”.

For some reason I just just feeling tired of this journal cover and no longer wanted to use the journal it covered, I wanted to fresh start for creative journaling. However I didn’t want to get rid of the piece.

So I decided to make it into a pillow!

The class with Jean was very memorable, it was actually a workshop series where we met monthly (or it might have been bi-weekly). The piece which eventually because Abandoned Water Structure and was sold to the City of Seattle’s Portable Works Collection was started in this workshop:

Long arm machine quilted by Guadalupe Designs

For more on this piece see the post “Your Body of Water” Exhibit, Seattle Municipal Tower Gallery (in this post you will find the original image that inspired this piece – an actual abandoned water structure outside of Maupin, Oregon)

Oh and back to the pillow – for now I am keeping the pillow in the basket in the entry to our home in a basket under a table John built (see post From the Woodshop: Floating Top Hall Table).

Postscript

We had a chair at the top of the top floor stairs landing that I like to sit in and stitch. The other day John the Woodworker made me a little table to hang over on of the chair arms so I would have a table there.

It’s a cozy place to hang out and quietly stitch.

Adventures in Paper Piecing, Special Events

Paper Piecing Paradise

tierneycreates: a fusion of textiles and smiles

I’ve been working on an English Paper Piecing (EPP) quilt forever and my most recent post on this quilt was in May – All 99 are finally done!.

Someday the quilt I finish will look sort of like this quilt from Issue 1 (October 2016) of Quiltfolk Magazine:

Well a week or so ago (not sure exactly as most of October seems like a blur) my quilting friend and her partner; and attended the opening of two quilt shows, one of which I will share in this post and the other in the next post, at the Rocky Mountain Quilt Museum.

The first show of the opening was all ENGLISH PAPER PIECED QUILTS – English Paper Piecing. There were so many amazing quilts and I am inspired to complete my quilt someday (smile).

Thought I share photos of my favorite quilts in the show, including the details on some quilts to show the immense EPP work that was done to make these quilts.

My photos don’t do the quilts justice and some of them I had to take at off angles as the exhibit was super crowded and it was difficult to get a photo of a quilt without a group of people in front of it.

The Rocky Mountain Quilt Museum has a gift shop/quilt shop inside of it and it was open for the evening show. I wandered around the shop and then John wandered around it and found some fabric he liked – a mathematical themed print. I am going to make a laptop case for him out of it and will show share an image of the fabric when I post about the laptop case.

Here is John buying the fabric for his laptop case – his first personal fabric purchase in quilt shop:

Special Events, Studio

Now Quilting the Denim Quilt!

tierneycreates: a fusion of textiles and smiles

This is a sort of follow up to my post: ScrapHappy October 2024: Recycled Hope .

Finally I am machine quilting the denim quilt I made last year which is currently called “What Direction Do I Go?”.

Here is up on the design wall before quilting:

Here it is in progress while I am quilting with the first color of thread (I used two colors):

Here it is partially finished (I am over halfway done with adding a second color of thread):

I am quilting it in a style I call “Organic Matchstick” quilting. Yes I totally made that phrase it. Matchstick quilting looks like this:

Image credit – Epida Studio – epidastudio.com/how-to-quilt-it-matchstick-quilting/

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!

We had quite the giggle over the dogs’ costumes 🙂

Fabric Scraps Obsession, ScrapHappy

ScrapHappy September 2024: The Curation of Scraps

tierneycreates: a fusion of textiles and smiles

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.

This month’s ScrapHappy post will be sort of lame because I’ve been doing everything but working on textile projects it seems! By the time you read this post (yes I am writing this ahead of time while on vacation with my sister in Virginia) I will just be returning home from another trip. We’ve also been working on some house projects and life has just been busy.

Okay so onto my lame post – ha!

The Curation of Fabric Scraps

Over the past several years I’ve been working on curating my crazy fabric scrap collection. In my earlier days of quilting I would indiscriminately accept any decent fabric scrap from fellow quilters as evidenced by the quilt (see post “All the Trimmings” is all done) that was made entirely with scraps from fellow quilters, most aquired at quilt retreats:

I used to have all my scraps in a HUGE bin, then I organized them by color into various bins:

Then I organized them by collection/type of fabric.

Then I gave a lot of them away and significant reduced my collection.

Now I have them in a series of baskets, organized by collection or type of fabric in a couple areas of my studio.

A couple months ago I bought some little wooden tags to label some of the baskets.

In addition to those type of scraps labeled above, I also have a collection of “art quilting fabric scraps”, shot cotton scraps, flannel scraps, ethnic fabric scraps, and “general” fabric scraps (doesn’t fit into any category):

And denim scraps:

So that’s my current collection of fabric scraps and I am looking forward to making projects with them. I probably have 1/3 the amount of fabric scraps I used to – yay!

Next month my ScrapHappy post will be about me actually making something again with fabric scraps!

Here are the other bloggers that participate in the ScrapHappy monthly posting event, check out their blogs linked below for their ScrapHappy posts:

Kate, Gun, Eva, Sue, Lynda, Birthe, Turid, Tracy, Jan, Moira, Sandra, Chris, Alys,
Claire, Jean, Dawn, Gwen,Sunny, Kjerstin, Sue L, Vera, Ann, Dawn 2, Carol, Preeti,
Nóilin, Viv, Karrin,  Alissa,Lynn, Tierney, Hannah and Maggie

What's on the Design Wall

Update on “Go Boldly”

tierneycreates: a fusion of textiles and smiles

Here is a follow up to the post The Expansion of “Go Boldly” , and an update on my progress on this quilt which I expanded from  it’s original size of 56 inches by 56 inches (142 x 142 cm) to 82.5 by 82.5 inches (2.1 x 2.1 meters) by adding additional blocks:

I figured since this was the quilt in the background of my photoshoot for the October 2023 Issue 28: Colorado of Quiltfolk Magazine I should go ahead and finish it.

image credit: Quiltfolk Magazine

(A little background on this quilt: my friend D started this quilt four years ago and didn’t want to finish it so she offered me the initial pieced blocks, the templates, and the fabric she bought for the project. I’ve pieced about 50% of the blocks for the quilt and the rest were pieced by D.)

So I got all the blocks sewn together and discovered it was nearly Queen bed size when I laid it out on the guest bed:

I had a bit of remaining fabric and some blocks leftover, but I didn’t want to expand the quilt further.

I decided I didn’t need it to be a real Queen sized quilt as I didn’t plan to use it as a bed quilt as the colors do not go with my decor.

I did however want it to be a colorful large lap quilt to have at say the foot of a bed. So I pieced the remaining blocks into circles as the center part of the back of the quilt:

From there I used remaining fabric to build out the quilt back to be a little bit larger than the quilt top:

Yes it is a messy wrinkly mess as I didn’t iron it before I took the photo. This is the back in progress, I added one more row of fabric to each side to make it bigger than the quilt top.

It will basically be a reversible quilt with the pieced back.

I’ve decided to tie the quilt instead of sending it out for professional long arm quilting. I have some cool heavy weight colorful threads I plan to use to tie it. They are close to thickness of embroidery floss.

Studio

Studio Refresh

tierneycreates: a fusion of textiles and smiles

Two Sundays ago, right before the Super Bowl game, I decided that I needed a studio refresh after I had completed my year long purge of my fabric stash.

It began in Winter 2023 while I was recovering from a broken ankle where I realized that 1/2 my fabric stash was fabric that other quilters had generously given me over the years. This happened with my fabric scrap stash and my UFO pile and I purged and donated what I didn’t want any longer.

It was now time to get really honest with my fabric yardage stash (again, as I’ve had other purges); and a couple Sundays ago I finished what I began in early 2023.

In addition to the fabric purge, I did some reorganization in my studio.

Here is my studio the morning of Super Bowl Sunday:

I realized I needed more vertical storage so I repurposed some of the wine crates I was storing scraps or fat quarters in and had John mount them to the wall:

And here is the “refreshed” studio right before it was time to sit down and watch the game:

Someone (or someones) are going to have a very happy surprise at the charity thrift store as I donated bags and bags of fabric. I now mainly have fabrics that I have selected/purchased or those others have given me that I REALLY LOVE.

The refreshed space feels good!

Studio, What's on the Design Wall

The Expansion of “Go Boldly”

tierneycreates: a fusion of textiles and smiles

I mentioned in my previous post What’s Going on in the Studio, that I was planning on enlarging the small lap quilt/wall hanging size quilt I made Go Boldly (quilt pattern by Elisa’s Back Porch Designs) which was 56 inches by 56 inches (142 x 142 cm), since I had a lot of extra blocks:

Well, here is the expanded quilt after I laid out additional blocks on my design wall (I still need to sew them together to the existing quilt):

As part of what’s up on the design wall is a sewn together quilt and the other part are individual blocks, I can’t tell you exactly how big the expanded version will be (without doing a lot of pesky math subtracting seam allowances, etc.). However what is currently up on the design wall measures approximately 86 inches x 86 inches (218.5 cm x 218.5 cm).

Believe or not I still have 48 sections leftover and I plan to make them into 12 blocks (each block has 4 sections) that I will piece together as part of the back of the quilt.

I’ll sew it all together after I finish machine quilting Strings Attached:

Studio, What's on the Design Wall

What’s Going on in the Studio

tierneycreates: a fusion of textiles and smiles

This is sort of a follow up to this post – Update on Some W.I.P.s.

I thought I’d do a quick share of what is currently going on in my studio…

1) Sewing Machine Cleaning – it was time for a deep clean after I finished quilting SuperSymmetry Table Runner (see post SuperSymmetry Table Runner is Finished! ):

2) Expanding Go Boldly – I decided to make Go Boldly bigger as I had more pieced blocks. Originally I was going to make two quilts with the block but now I think I will make one big one and then use any left over blocks for a pieced quilt back. I now have it up on the design wall to work on enlarging it:

Right now the quilt is 56 inches by 56 inches (142 x 142 cm) which is wallhanging or small lap size, but I should be able to bring it to large lap size or perhaps a bed size (perhaps…) with the expansion.

3) Strings Attached – I decided to go ahead and get it ready for machine quilting. I made the quilt sandwich with batting and backing fabric and I plan to just go ahead and machine quilt it with coordinating red thread and just get it done!

4) What Direction Do I Go – just waiting to start hand quilting in the evening in front of the TV. First I have to finish the gray granny square blanket I am working on in the evenings in front of the TV (see posts Guest Blog Post: Progress on “My Blanket” and Update on Some W.I.P.s on the crochet project). I received some awesome hand quilting advice from one of my blogging buddies and I cannot wait to start on it, I even put together my little hand quilting bag of supplies which is lying on top of the quilt in the image below:

I feel like I am really moving forward on my projects (because there are new ones I want to start but not allowing myself to until I finish these!) 🙂

Studio, tierneycreates

Update on Some W.I.P.s

tierneycreates: a fusion of textiles and smiles

Here’s an update on some works in progress (aka WIPs) that I’ve discussed in previous posts…

Gray Granny Square Blanket

Previous post on this project: Guest Blog Post: Progress on “My Blanket” 

I am plugging along with this great-to-work-on-while-watching-TV in the evening project. I’m working on attaching the 7th row of blocks. It will be an 8 by 10 blanket when done as I made 80 granny squares. I will add an extra border or two of the same yarn I am using as the lattice (to attach the granny squares).

SuperSymmetry Table Runner

Previous post on this project: ScrapHappy January 2024 – Update on Table Runner and More 

As I mentioned in that previous post, I decided to use a collection of traditionally pieced “orphan blocks” that my friend Wendy gave me as the backing for this table runner.

I figured that if I got a stain on the front of the runner while entertaining, I could flip it over and use the other side!

I’ve completed the machine quilting of the table runner and just need to sew the binding strips together, sew on the binding, and sew down the binding.

For the quilting I just went with a simple double crosshatch pattern (no that is not a real pattern name, I just made it up on the spot), following the lines of the pieced blocks.

I plan to press it, ha! It just came off the machine and I just finished trimming off the excess batting and backing so it is pretty wrinkly!

What Direction Do I Go? (Denim Quilt)

Previous post on this project: Denim Quilt Top Done and a Visit to a Fun Brewery 

I am so looking forward to hand quilting this quilt (yes I decided to hand quilt it)!

I got the batting and backing put together with the quilt top to make the “quilt sandwich”. I’ve also auditioned some threads (I plan to use multiple and to use pearl cotton weight) for the hand quilting.

Other WIPs Growing Inpatient As They Sit in Queue…

I have two more quilt tops awaiting quilting by me:

Strings Attached

Previous post on this project: Scrap Happy September 2023 – Strings Attached

I am going to machine quilt this small wallhanging.

Go Boldly

Previous post on this project: What’s on the Design Wall: Go Boldly

I haven’t decided on machine vs. hand quilting but if I do hand quilt it I have some cool threads I collected many years ago I want to use.

I will get to these two quilt tops eventually – ha!

I’ve been trying not to start any additional MAJOR projects before finishing my existing WIPs…but then some small projects might sneak in…you know how us crafters are!

Oh Mike wants me to tell you that he’s happy he doesn’t have to fill in for me with blogging since I seem to be back at it again (see his recent post Guest Blog Post: Humans Traveling and Dog Camp).

This leaves him more time for napping in the sun, on fleece blankets, in the upstairs bedroom (with the occasional waking up to intensely bark at people walking by and delivery trucks coming into the neighborhood).

A Crafter Needs to Eat, Fabric Scraps Obsession, ScrapHappy

ScrapHappy January 2024 – Update on Table Runner and More

tierneycreates: a fusion of textiles and smiles

It’s the 15th of the month and time for my monthly “ScrapHappy” post as part of the ScrapHappy group I belong. 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 SUPERSYMMETRY TABLE RUNNER

For this month’s ScrapHappy blog post, I am sharing an update on the table runner I’ve been working on that is made from my friend Wendy’s fabric scraps and orphan blocks from a quilt she made SuperSymmetry (see blog posts Update on SuperSymmetry Table Runner and the Library Book Borrowing Bonanza, A Table Runner for the New Table, and Quilter Distractions: Good Mail filled with “Taupe” ).

I completed piecing the table runner per the piecing instructions from her pattern SuperSymmetry, and discovered I needed to make more blocks in order to make it long enough for the table as well as finish each end (more on that later). Unfortunately Y seams were involved in the piecing (shudder) but I made it through.

I ended up making 14 additional blocks.

I floated the pieced SuperSymmetry blocks in taupe-brown Peppered Cotton (a heavy duty linen like shot cotton). Here is a little photoshoot I did of the completed table runner top on the new dining room/library table:

In the last two photos you can see the new rug that arrived that I mentioned in a previous post. It is one of those Ruggable rugs that can be laundered in the washing machine (in case there is “The Great Spaghetti Sauce Spill” during a meal someday).

And in case you are curious here is how I finished the ends of the table runner with all those triangle blocks in the piece:

Thank goodness for a good steamy iron as there was a lot of pressing involved to get it looking like I hadn’t been on mind altering substances while piecing…

In addition to the SuperSymmetry orphan blocks and fabric scraps, Wendy also sent me 7 traditional quilt blocks orphan blocks for a taupe quilt she was working on. I’ve decided to use these blocks as part of the back for the table runner.

I am going to float each of them in the taupe Peppered Cotton and then add in enough length in side borders as well as a bottom and top to meet the length. I am getting ready to start working on floating each block by doing some “log cabin” style piece around each block:

AND MORE

We’ve had a run of sub-zero Fahrenheit (colder than -17 Celsius) temperatures in the Denver metropolitan area and we’ve been spending a lot of time inside. John got addicted to watching cooking/culinary themed videos on YouTube and this weekend decided to try and make a copy of the famous Chick-fil-A (very popular fast food eatery in the US) chicken sandwich and the accompanying sauce after watching a video on how to do it.

He made enough for his father, sister, son and son’s family (who all live nearby) and then delivered them to their homes! You might have heard of the popular food delivery service DoorDash – well we named John – “DadDash”!

The sandwiches were a hit and included the famous pickle like the original. Here is a little photo spread from yesterday to close out this post.

Oh and if you’d like to try and make them yourself, here is the video John used:

As promised, here are the bloggers that participate in the ScrapHappy monthly posting event, check out their blogs linked below for their ScrapHappy posts:

Kate @Tall Tales from Chiconia , Gun @Rutigt – G Adrian, Eva @bambisyr-evaj, Sue @From the Magpie’s Nest, Lynda @Life on the Farmlet, Birthe @Birthes rom, Turid @Den syende himmel, Susan @DesertSky Quilting, Cathy @nanacathydotcom, Tracy @It’s a T-Sweets Day!, Jan @The Snail of Happiness, Moira @The Quilted Snail, Sandra @Wild Daffodil, Chris @chrisknitsews, Alys @Gardening Nirvana, Claire @Claire93’s Blog, Jean @onesmallstitch, Dawn @DawnGillDesigns, Gwen @Deep in the Heart of Textiles/Textile Ranger, Sunny @The Adventures of Team Wil-Sun, Kjerstin @Quimper Hittys, Sue @Going Batty in Wales, Vera @lifebyacompassnotaclock, Ann @Ann F Stonehouse Quiltmaker, Dawn @myquiltprojects, Carol @Quilt Schmilt, Preeti @Sew Preeti Quilts, Nóilin @Paper, Pen and Mug, Viv @Where the Journey Takes Me 2, Karrin @Karrin’s Crazy World, Amo @View From Our Hill, Alissa @ Snakes & Cranes, Lynn @Tialys, Tierney @tierneycreates, Hannah @quietwatercraft

A Year of Finishes - 2023

2023 Recap: A Year in “Makes” and WIPs Going Forward

tierneycreates: a fusion of textiles and smiles

2023 RECAP OF WHAT I MADE

I was inspired by other bloggers’ year end recap posts and I thought jump in. I have a paltry amount of “makes” for 2023. Below are photos of projects that I either finished or at least finished the quilt top on:

Oh and I didn’t make all the handmade Christmas gifts I had planned, but I did make a Dallas Cowboys (American Football team) tote bag for one person who is a huge fan:

I did have to include a little bit of humor and added this tag on the side which states “Dream Impossible Things” – ha! She got a kick out of it.

My excuses for an underwhelming amount of makes in 2023: I broke my ankle in January 2023 and have my first under anesthesia surgery when I had a surgical repair of my complex ankle fracture; as well as immobility for several months…so yes I am using that as one of my excuses – ha!

Another excuse for a lack of “makes” in 2023 was that once I was able to be mobile again I did a bit of traveling. I’ll share a recap of my 2023 travel in a separate post.

WORKS IN PROGRESS (WIPS) HEADING INTO 2024

Here’s what I have on my plate to start out 2023:

1) 3 finished quilt tops to quilt (the first two below I will machine quilt and the 3rd one I plan to hand quilt

2) 2 granny square blankets to finish

3) A new table runner in progress

And then I have like a million (ok perhaps a little less than that) projects in queue.

What's on the Design Wall

A Table Runner for the New Table

tierneycreates: a fusion of textiles and smiles

There were 7 of us for Christmas Eve and we were going to make do with our 6 person seating kitchen table, with one person (#7) either crammed in or sitting at the kitchen counter.

We don’t have a formal dining room, just an open room when you first enter the front door which we turned into the library (previously it was a “sitting room”).

Well I came up with the semi “hare-brained” idea on December 23 that we should go buy an actual dining room table and put it into the library. It would serve as both a library table (it’s always been my dream to have one) and a dining table when needed.

So off we went to IKEA on 12/23, which was surprisingly empty so close to the Christmas holiday, and bought a table which seats 8 (but you could fit 10 at the table).

image credit – ikea.com

Yes John could have built a table in his woodshop but we figured it would cost the same or more to build from scratch a 92 1/2″ x 39 3/8 ” table (234 cm x 100 cm approximately) and he wouldn’t have it ready for December 24th!

We got the table home and before you know it we had it set up and made up for Christmas Eve (including Christmas Crackers):

And the table worked perfectly for our Christmas Eve dinner of 7 people (we used the loveseat in the library as seating for 2 of the 7 people; and the chairs are the existing kitchen table chairs):

In addition to candles on the table, I set up tea lights on the bookshelves in the library for a nice atmosphere during our festive dining.

And the two dogs that attended (Mike and Ajax) enjoyed foraging under the table and begging for food:

Christmas morning I was having some quiet time sitting at the new table in the library having tea and looking at library books with Mike the Miniature Schnauzer…

…and I thought: this table needs a table runner! (And a new larger rug under it…I am looking into one of those Ruggable rugs that remove from their pad and are machine washable).

Luckily I had in my stash a group of blocks my friend Wendy gave me (see post Quilter Distractions: Good Mail filled with “Taupe”) from a quilt she made for a magazine article/pattern she wrote for October 2010 edition of The Quilt Life called SuperSymmetry.

It is not enough blocks to make a quilt but it was enough to start a table runner!

I used up all the blocks Wendy sent and I am only at about a 6 foot table runner. The table is over 7 1/2 feet long so I am going to have to piece more blocks. Luckily Wendy sent me a bunch of coordinating fabric scraps!

I plan to add some type of thin border to the pieced blocks to float them. I don’t plan to make the table runner very wide as I just want to run the center of the table.

I’ll update you on the progress.

Oh and I’ll close this post with something sweet I saw this morning on my walk.

We have a lot of deer in the area so there are a lot of “deer crossing” warning signs as crossing deer (who like to randomly cross the street when you least expect it) are a dangerous traffic hazard.

Well someone decorated one of the “deer crossing” signs with a red nose (like Rudolph the Red Noses Reindeer!) to make it festive!

This bit of whimsy gave me a huge smile on my walk!

Beastie Adventures, Guest Blogger

Guest Blogger Post: Beastie Holiday Greetings and More

tierneycreates: a fusion of textiles and smiles

Hello! This is the tierneycreates Beastie guest blog posting (if you are new to this blog, my story is on this post –  I’m A Monster!!! and you can see all my posts at this link: Beastie Adventures).

The main reason for this post is my husband John Beastie (Guest Blog Post: Mail Order Groom) and I would like to wish you and yours a very Happy Holidays!

If you are admiring our “Ugly Christmas Sweaters“, Tierney and John (aka “The Humans”) picked them up from Hobby Lobby and they are actually Christmas tree ornaments and hang from little hangers!

I think John Beastie and I looks so cute in our sweaters I will share a couple more photos for your enjoyment:

Yes it’s pretty much the same photo but Beasties love photos of themselves!

And here is the “More” part of this post.

Remember that scary Halloween house that Tierney shared in her post The House That Won Halloween?

Well the other day Tierney and Mike the Miniature Schnauzer were on their daily walk and noticed the house had a friendly and sweeter look for the Christmas season:

What a big difference!

And a little more – Tierney thought you all might enjoy photos of Mike the Miniature Schnauzer (even though I am cuter) out holiday shopping with John and Tierney the other day:

Once again they snuck him into the Food Court (like in the post Mike in Macy’s). I think he is pretty spoiled. They are yet to take John Beastie and I to the mall.

Ok…they did take us to Ireland in October 2022 so that might be more significant…

ScrapHappy

ScrapHappy December 2023: A Legendary Scrap Quilt and Honoring its Maker

tierneycreates: a fusion of textiles and smiles

It’s the 15th of the month and time for my monthly “ScrapHappy” post as part of the ScrapHappy group I belong. 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.

For this month’s ScrapHappy post I thought I would honor a legendary scrap quilt and it’s maker.

Harriet Powers is recognized in the African American quilting community as one of the “Mothers of African American Quilting” and is known for her famous Bible Quilt (which is a scrap quilt) first exhibited in 1886.

Image from the Smithsonian Museum website

According to the Smithsonian Museum, “Harriet Powers, an African American farm woman of Clarke County, Georgia, made this quilt in about 1886. She exhibited it at the Athens Cotton Fair of 1886”.

Two of her bible themed quilts which are considered icons of American quilt making are in the collections of the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston and the Smithsonian National Museum of American History in Washington, DC.

Here is her Bible Quilt from the collection of the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston:

Image from the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston website

Last year Dr. Carolyn Mazloomi, founder of the Women of Color Quilting Network (WCQN) to which I belong, sent out a request to WCQN members to contribute to purchasing a headstone for the gravesite of Harriet Powers.

Harriet Powers passed away in 1910 and the small cut stone marker, inscribed by one of her sons (she had 9 children with her husband Armstead Powers) originally marked the grave for her and her husband who passed in 1909. In 2008 this fragile marker was broken and removed.

Members of the WCQN, including myself, contributed to purchasing a beautiful headstone for Harriet and Armstead Powers gravesite and on December 2, 2023 there was a “Recommittal and Dedication Ceremony” at Gospel Pilgrim Cemetery in Athens, Georgia.

I was invited but could not attend. Dr. Mazloomi kindly sent me the pamphlet from the ceremony.

When I lived in Central Oregon in 2016 I took an appliqué quilting workshop at the Stitchin’ Post in Sisters, Oregon with the amazing teacher Janet Storton (who runs the Sisters of the Heart Foundation helping women in Uganda empower themselves through craft making).

In this appliqué workshop you could work on making a Bible Quilt inspired by the one made by Harriet Powers or another project. Janet brought in a bag of her scraps, which included African themed fabrics, to share with the class.

I ended making my wallhanging sized quilt Tree of No Hurry based on the Lao Tzu quote: “Nature does not hurry, yet everything is accomplished” with the new appliqué techniques I learned in the class.

Here are my blog posts from 2016 – 2017 related to the process of making this piece:

Adventures in Appliqué

The Backstitch and the End of Tangled Floss

Everything is Accomplished (What’s On the Design Wall)

“Tree of No Hurry” at QuiltWorks Gallery

Here is one of the Bible Quilts made by Ugandan women that Janet works with as part of her foundation that was exhibited at the 2016 Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show (Janet shared the quilt top before it was quilted during our workshop):

As promised, here are the bloggers that participate in the ScrapHappy monthly posting event, check out their blogs linked below for their ScrapHappy posts:

Kate @Tall Tales from Chiconia , Gun @Rutigt – G Adrian, Eva @bambisyr-evaj, Sue @From the Magpie’s Nest, Lynda @Life on the Farmlet, Birthe @Birthes rom, Turid @Den syende himmel, Susan @DesertSky Quilting, Cathy @nanacathydotcom, Tracy @It’s a T-Sweets Day!, Jan @The Snail of Happiness, Moira @The Quilted Snail, Sandra @Wild Daffodil, Chris @chrisknitsews, Alys @Gardening Nirvana, Claire @Claire93’s Blog, Jean @onesmallstitch, Dawn @DawnGillDesigns, Gwen @Deep in the Heart of Textiles/Textile Ranger, Sunny @The Adventures of Team Wil-Sun, Kjerstin @Quimper Hittys, Sue @Going Batty in Wales, Vera @lifebyacompassnotaclock, Ann @Ann F Stonehouse Quiltmaker, Dawn @myquiltprojects, Carol @Quilt Schmilt, Preeti @Sew Preeti Quilts, Nóilin @Paper, Pen and Mug, Viv @Where the Journey Takes Me 2, Karrin @Karrin’s Crazy World, Amo @View From Our Hill, Alissa @ Snakes & Cranes, Lynn @Tialys, Tierney @tierneycreates, Hannah @quietwatercraft

What's on the Design Wall

What’s on the Design Wall: An “Upcycled” Work

tierneycreates: a fusion of textiles and smiles

I’ve been itching to work with recycled textiles again and the other day I put together a collection of pieces to work with from my recycled textiles stash (recycled clothing, jeans, home decor fabrics):

I wanted to make a piece that is primarily recycled denim but also includes home decor fabrics in warm colors with lots of textures. I decided to revisit a piece I made in my early days of improvisational/art quilting (circa 2012/2013) where I was working with recycled silk and linen couture fabric samples – Flying Triangles:

Here is my design wall with the piecing I’ve been playing with this evening. Note it is late at night and I did not bring out the “ring light” I use for photographing pieces so the image is dark:

I am going to keep playing, I started out setting recycled fabrics in oranges in denim; and next I will use some browns and golds, and I’ll see what else feels right.

I’ll share more images in the future as the piece progresses and I’ll even take the photos with better lighting!

Upcycling: The act of taking something no longer in use and giving it a second life and new function. In doing so, the finished product often becomes more practical, valuable and beautiful than what it previously was.

UpcycleThat.com/Habitat for Humanity