As I mentioned in the first post on this quilt (ScrapHappy October 2023), I’ve tentatively named this piece What Direction Do I Go? and it is made from recycled denim jeans and recycled home decorating fabric scraps.
Saturday night I finished up the 81 blocks for this 9 by 9 block piece and I just thought I’d share with you what my design wall looks like with all the blocks completed:
Now it’s time to figure out the final layout and then get the blocks sewn together.
But first I seriously need to clean my sewing machine it was a LOT of lint from piecing denim and home decorating fabric scraps (many of which are synthetic type of fabrics).
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).
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.
I’ve completed 51 blocks piecing recycled denim/jeans and home decor fabric scraps; and I put 49 of them in a 7 by 7 square so you could see a sample of a layout:
Yes I couldn’t decide which photo to use so I included all three!
I want the piece to be sort of large, and definitely square and I’ve decided to make a total of 81 blocks for a 9 by 9 square piece. I might hand quilt it, I haven’t decided but I am going to try some sample designs with scrap denim to see how the stitching would look.
There is going to be lot texture in this quilt, primarily from the recycled home decorating fabric samples I used:
Here is a collection of close up blocks to show you the textures:
There are more fabrics I haven’t cut yet that I will be adding/using for the additional 30 blocks I need to make.
The layout you see on my design wall is not the final layout, just a sample layout. When I finish all the blocks and go to layout the quilt, I realized I need to pay attention to secondary patterns that I might want in the piece.
For example I noticed this secondary pattern, from how the blocks lay together, in one of the sections on the design wall and I like it:
I want to make sure the final layout has a lot of “movement” in it.
My tentative name for this piece is What Direction Do I Go?
It is a deeply personal piece, inspired by my first recycled fabric random triangle piece Flying Triangles (2012); but about my struggles for the past 5 years since becoming a widow, selling my beloved house, moving to Colorado (leaving all I knew there), starting the 2nd relationship in my life, quitting my job, trying to focus on textile art, etc. (Yes I like to lump a lot of life changes and drama into one time period, ha!).
It should prove to be an interesting Artist Statement on the piece when I am ready to write it (not until the piece is done of course).
And you thought it was just some recycled denim and home decor fabric sewn together (wink).
As promised, here are the bloggers that participate in the ScrapHappy monthly posting event, check out their blogs linked below for their ScrapHappy posts:
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.
Back in November 2021 I posted that one of my art quilts made from recycled materials, RECYCLED HOPE III: WINDOWS OF CONVERSATION, sold to a private collector via a Seattle based art consultant – Another Recycled Fabric Art Quilt Sold.
I thought perhaps the quilt went to a private home. I did not ask what became of the quilt after I sold as the art consultant did not disclose her client’s details.
Well my random decision to google “tierneycreates” the other day led to this result:
I discovered my quilt is hung in Building A, L7 at this upscale apartments in downtown Seattle Washington and that my photo and Artist Statement is on their website.
I had fun exploring their website, learning more about this lovely looking downtown Seattle residence.
I also watched a YouTube video posted on the residence’s website…
And found my quilt hanging on the wall in their lounge at time 0:19 into the video (see left side of image below, a screen shot from their YouTube video):
Wow! What an unexpected surprise!
In December I sketched out some plans to continue my Recycled Hope series someday. Coming across this info of what happened to that quilt has inspired me to revisit this series of art quilts in the near future and expand my portfolio.
Was it a message from the Universe to get back to working with recycled materials and making art quilts? Maybe…
Here is what the representative from New Mexico Arts informed me in the acceptance letter:
Photos/videos that you submitted of your artwork will be placed in a slideshow presentation. This presentation will be shown to potential buyers across the state of New Mexico over the next two years. These sites can include: amphitheaters, animal shelters, community centers, courthouses, educational institutions, fire stations, healthcare facilities, recreation complexes, rest areas, senior centers, etc. Participating sites will have a total budget equal to 1% of recent capital outlay funds appropriated for new construction or major renovation projects. If your artwork is selected by a site I will contact you to begin the purchasing process.
So I am hoping one of the New Mexico public institutions feel that my piece is a match for them. If selected I have to go to New Mexico and oversee the installation of the art quilt under plexiglass (I am responsible for all costs related to installation it is included in the fee they will give me if selected).
RECYCLED HOPE
Windows of Conversation used to be part of my Recycled Denim Series (all my art quilt series are listed with images and Artist Statements on my page Art Quilt Stories). Recently I reimagined by Recycled Denim series into the Recycled Hope series. It seemed to me that “hope” was something many people needed with all that is going on in the world.
I added in newer non-denim quilts into this series I’ve made such as All the Trimmings (see post “All the Trimmings” is all done) which is made from recycled materials. If you scroll on my Art Quilt Stories page to Recycled Hope VII: All the Trimmings you will see it listed.
Here is what I put on the Art Quilt Stories page as an overview about the Recycled Hope series:
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.
Below is the updated Artist Statement for Recycled Hope III: Windows of Conversation
Photographed by Tierney Davis Hogan
55” W x 59” L, recycled jeans, various recycled clothing, and recycled home decor fabric
THE STORY OF THIS PIECE:
This textile creation in the RecycledHope series, was inspired my hope that in order to move forward as country we need to foster open windows of conversation and respectful dialogue between peoples of different cultures, socioeconomic statuses, ages, identities and life experiences.
I finished the piece made from recycled textiles (clothing, home decor, manufacturing samples, hand-dyed silk samples, etc.) for our local art group’s annual show with the theme “The Threads that Bind” – The Recycled Love. The 03/29/18 post provides details of the 8 types of recycled fibers that are contained in the piece and my musing on writing the Artist Statement for this piece.
The Recycled Love (2018) by Tierney Davis Hogan
Here is my finalized Artist Statement for the piece:
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
I think this piece is a better option than those materials ending up in a landfill.
Postscript
My long time blogging buddies really inspire me such as Claire @knitNkwiltwith her social justice and charity works, Cindy @inastitchquilting (A Quilter’s Corner) with the inspirational quotes she posts, and Melanie @catbirdquilts with her insightful musings.
I’ve been thinking a lot about kindness lately. With all that is going on in our world, each day I think about intentionally filling my heart with as much kindness and empathy as it can hold.
I came across this simple quote a week or so ago. I do not know who to credit with it so I will just post it as I found it:
I cannot give everyone in the world who is hurting a quilt but I can send them some virtual “recycled love” from my heart.
This post is actually part of my ongoing series of posts, What’son the Design Wall, in which I share my latest project in progress.
Since I’ve been primarily focused on hand quilting this piece, I will call this “What’s on My Lap” instead.
In addition to sharing my latest art quilting project, I want to continue the discussion on writing Artist Statements that I began in the 8/25/16 post, ArtistStatementsand continued in the 04/17/17 post Artist Statements, Part II.
What’s On My Lap
Our local art quilting group, Central Oregon SAQA, has an annual themed art quilting exhibit (with a measurement requirement of 18″ x 40″) at the Sisters Outdoor QuiltShow, as well at several venues in Central Oregon.
This year’s theme is “The Threads That Bind“.
In response to that theme, and keeping with my series of art quilts made from recycled jeans (and other materials) I have a piece in progress called Recycled Love.
Recycled Love by Tierney Davis Hogan, in progress
Keep in mind this piece is in progress and I have not yet evenly trimmed the sides (why it looks “wonky”), finished the hand quilting, or added the facing (or binding), etc. (I trimmed off the excess batting as I had finished hand quilting all edges/borders and wanted it to look semi-neat for the photo.)
I am still trying to decide if I will do a “facing” finish like I did for my piece The Recycled Road (the Central Oregon SAQA annual theme was “Pathways”) or bind it like I did for my piece Recycled Door (the Central Oregon SAQA annual theme was “Doors”). You can view these two pieces I reference at this link – tierneycreates.com/2017/04/11/the-recycled-road/)
But first I need to complete hand stitching the rest of the heart and the “folded quilts” in the piece.
Here are additional photos from the photo shoot I did in my backyard this afternoon:
Still working on hand quilting the heart and the rest of the “folded quilts”
In addition to recycled denim jeans, this piece is made from a whole lot of recycled textiles including:
Recycled jeans
Recycled upholstery fabric samples
Recycled couture silks
Recycled wool
Various bits of recycled clothing
Recycled sample book of hand dyed silk strips
Recycled blocks (made with recycled clothing) from my piece Recycled Windows)
Recycled section from another art quilt (Color Story VII: Ohio Shifted) that I had trimmed while making the original piece
Like I mentioned above – a whole lot of recycled textiles went into this piece!
As an example, in the photos below are the bag of hand-dyed silk samples a friend gave me; and me piecing them together on muslin to create the first “folded quilt” at the top of the stack:
The “heart” in the piece (representing “love” in the statement: “Quilts are Love”) is made from the scraps of the “folded quilts” I pieced for this quilt! I am still working on the hand quilting in the heart.
The back of the piece is also made from recycled textiles: I used an old shirt and upholstery fabric samples (I will share the back in a future post as I forgot to take a photo – oops).
I even used recycled batting in the “quilt sandwich”! Below is a photo of me zigzagging together two smaller pieces of recycled batting (that my long-arm quilter friend gave me) to create a large piece for the quilt:
Did I carry the whole “recycling” concept too far?!?!? (smile)
Next time I share photos of the piece they will be of the completed piece!
Artist Statement (Artist Statements: Part III)
In the previous posts on writing Artist Statements (Artist Statementsand ArtistStatements, Part II.) I shared my struggles writing Artist Statements on individual pieces and my general/overall Artist Statement.
In a recent issue of the SAQA Journal(2017, No. 4) I came across an excellent article by Allison Reker titled “Craft an amazing artist statement in less than 60 words”.
The article’s author emphasizes brevity in Artist Statements and her tips to achieve such brevity make a lot of sense to me. So my new thing is challenging myself on how meaningful a statement I can make in under 60 words.
Also I think brevity leaves more room for the viewers interpretation. I want to assist the viewer to get a feel of where I am going to (or coming from) on a piece but still give them room to draw their own conclusions/have their own private experience with the piece.
So with that in mind, here’s the draft Artist Statement I’ve written for this piece.
Recycled Love (2018)
18″ x 40″, recycled clothing, upholstery samples, hand-dyed silk samples, and other recycled textiles
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. Quilts are made from recycling the existing “love energy” from the quilt maker’s heart and hands into the pieced textiles, transferring it to the quilt recipient.
I am at 58 words (just keeping it under 60) and I plan to revisit this draft Artist Statement when I actually finish the piece. I want to play more with the concept of energy not being create or destroyed, just transferred/changed. Also I am trying to decide if I want to fit in the words in the theme “The Threads That Bind” into the Artist Statement somewhere.
Once completed, this piece will become part of my Recycled Denim Stories Series. If you would like to view the other pieces in this series (or my other series of art quilts) check out my TierneyDavis Hogan page on the Improvisational Textileswebsite.
Postscript
Finally some real signs of Spring in Central Oregon – the crocus have appeared (and the tulips are popping up their leaves everywhere).
This evening on our walk we saw a rainbow providing a halo to the setting sun – it was quite magical!
Update 01/14/18 – this piece is now named “Recycled Windows” and the Artist Statement and photos are posted on the Improvisational Textiles website on the Tierney Davis Hoganpage. It was added to the Recycled Denim Stories series.
This post is a follow up to my December 10th post What’son the Design Wall where I shared my piece Recycled Windows of Conversation in progress.
I completed the machine quilting this art quilt made from all recycled materials (clothing, home decor, see previous post for more details). I took several quick photos for his post and later on plan to take higher quality photos:
Here is a close up of the machine quilting. I used three different threads: orange, blue and variegated gold.
This post is a continuation of my ongoing series “What’son the Design Wall”, featuring my latest project up on either the small design wall in my studio or the large design wall my hallway.
I am working on my fourth improvisational piece from a group of recycled clothing and home decor titled: RecycledWindows of Conversation. This piece will become part of my improvisational art quilt series: Recycled DenimStories.
Here is Recycled Windows of Conversation in progress on my small design wall in my studio:
Recycled Windows of Conversation (2017) – in progress
This art quilt will measure approximately 18″ x 40″, the same size as these two other quilts in the Recycled Denim Stories series, The Recycled Road and Recycled Door:
The Recycled Road (2017) by Tierney Davis Hogan
Recycled Door (2017) by Tierney Davis Hogan, quilted by Guadalupe Designs, photographed by Marion Shimoda
You might ask why did I name the piece in progress, Recycled Windows of Conversation?
The “Recycled” part of the name is to tie it to the two other 18″ x 40″ pieces from the same recycled materials shown above; and the “Conversations” part of the name is to tie to Additional Conversations, a piece I recently finished the quilt top (but have not quilted yet):
Recycled Windows of Conversation is made from the leftover blocks (and additional blocks) from Additional Conversations (which is still laying on my larger hallway design wall awaiting quilting).
In case you are new to my blog and have not followed the development of these previous art quilts, here’s a list of the recycled materials used in these pieces:
Old jeans
Curtain (valence scarf)
Tweed jumper
Old sweat pants
Corduroy Shirt
Gold home decorating fabric scraps (given to me by an interior decorator from her sample collection)
The world’s ugliest orange corduroy pants
Denim duvet cover (used in Additional Conversations only)
I plan to quilt Recycled Windows of Conversation by machine and I have selected my thread colors – gold, blue and orange:
Here is the piecing hanging out on the iron board, awaiting quilting:
In case you are wondering, I have only a tiny pile of scraps left over from these four quilts. I might challenge myself and try to eek out a small piece to make it five total.
I continue to work on having a cohesive body of work when it comes to my delusional journey towards becoming an art quilter!
Postscript
A quilting friend recently remodeled her studio area in her vintage home (circa early 1900s) and asked for help organizing her fabric in the reconfigured back room (that used to be where meat was stored in the early 1900s.
Here is a photo of an alcove with newly added shelves that I found especially pleasing during my time over her house yesterday helping her organize fabric:
Her fabric used to be crammed into a dark back storage room – now it is easier to access!
Terry the Quilting Husband (TTQH) and I did an outside photo shoot with Additional Conversations, the improvisational art quilt from recycled materials I completed yesterday.
Here are some better photos of the piece (as opposed to those from yesterday where I squished myself to the hallway wall to take photos…):
Now the quilt sit on the ironing board awaiting batting, backing, and quilting.
The Recycled Materials
In case you are curious, here is a list of the recycled materials used in this piece:
Denim duvet cover
Old jeans
Curtain (valence scarf)
Tweed jumper
Old sweat pants
Corduroy Shirt
Gold home decorating fabric scraps (given to me by an interior decorator from her sample collection)
The world’s ugliest orange corduroy pants
All these items were destined for the landfill but instead they became this quilt!
Postscript
Tomorrow is the last day of October (and Halloween) and the end my month long 4th blog anniversary celebration (see post BlogAnniversary Celebration & Giveaway).
To close out the 4th anniversary I am putting together a post called “Random Follow-ups“. I am going to randomly follow up on posts over the past four years that are hopefully deserving of follow up!
This post is a continuation of my ongoing series “What’s on the Design Wall”, featuring my latest project up on either the small design wall in my studio or the large design wall my hallway.
I spent this weekend working on a new improvisational art quilt made with recycle clothing and recycled home decor fabric – Additional Conversations.
On Instagram I shared a couple previews/peeks over the past week, like the example below:
Well here are several initial images of the completed quilt top:
Better photos to come – I was challenged with taking photos of my large design wall, at an angle, in our narrow hallway. Note: My enthusiasm to get the finally sewn together quilt top up on the design wall exceeded my enthusiasm to do a quality job of final pressing on the ironing board.
I am thinking of hand quilting this piece like I did The Recycled Road (made from many of the same fabrics).
Now what to do with the left over scraps from the piece – perhaps a smaller companion piece called “Additional Small Conversations“!
Additional Conversations is the fourth piece in my series Recycled Denim Stories(see my TierneyDavis Hogan page on the Improvisational Textiles website).
I titled this post “What’s on My Lap” for two reasons: 1) The obvious: I am hand stitching the quilt, so it is on my lap of course; and 2) As a follow up to the hilarious comment from Sandy (or Cindy?) of Gray Barn Designs, (one of my favorite quilting blogs to follow) on my 03/21/17 Slow Stitching post:
Oh yes, I might do a future post titled “What’s in My Head” if Gray Barn Designs does not beat me to it! Of course that would be a very long post. Way too many design ideas going on in my head.
Update on ‘Recycled Road’
I decided to name to piece Recycled Road, even though I have not written the Artist Statement for it yet. I am having so much fun slow stitching it! (Notice in the photo below I included my shoe so you could see it really is on my lap!)
I am not looking to win any “hand quilting technique competitions” but I have fallen in love with the whole experience of hand quilting. All the fabrics in this art quilt, for our local SAQA group annual themed show, are recycled (jeans, corduroy pants, corduroy shirt, tweed jumper, curtains, home decor fabric sample, and sweat pants!) and they have a wonderful texture.
I especially love stitching through the sweat pants material. It is so soft and supple and I like to brush my hands along the fabric after stitching a section (ok Tierney are you getting weird now with your hand quilting?!?!?). Was that “oversharing”?
Interestingly, Terry the Quilting Husband’s two sisters and mother are quilters and one of his sisters is really into hand quilting. My sister-in-law Sue is a serious quilter. Like a paper piecing and hand quilting quilter. She is an expert hand quilter. I remember years ago watching her hand quilt while she was visiting us and thinking “yikes, why would anyone want to do that?”
Now I get it. I was teasing Terry the other evening as we sat in front of the TV and I hand stitched: “Terry, I have become your sister!” (In reality, the only thing I have in common with Terry’s very talented quilter sister, is that we both hand quilt now. My skills are light years from hers!)
I feel like I am on this cool ongoing journey related to my quilting, even after 17+ years of being a quilter.
(I will unveil a photo of the entire piece once I have it completed. I have to keep up the suspense…or at least the imaginary suspense…)
Postscript
I do plan to return to more Farm Girl Vintage blocks in the future. Hopefully!
tierneycreates 