My Quip – Update – Quilts and Wall Hangings in Progress

Good Day,

In an effort to make sure that we are in somewhat of an organized state of mind, the following are the current quilts and wall-hangings we are working on.

- EssbeeCon – Completed. Prepare for display at QuiltCon.

- Test 40 – In progress. Complete blocks and strips to create top. We decided, as something new to us, to use 100% batting. Sandwich assembled. We have created a lattice-work design as a complementary quilting pattern using the new Aurifil Test 40 thread.

- Cosmo’s Moon - Fabric chosen. Muslin strips sewn together to prepare for Design. Design to be drawn on muslin strips.

- Confetti Primary YLI - Extract colors. Design completed. Get fabrics.

- The Amulet - Completed picking out stitching. New thread for backing. Quilt.

- Astro-Physics – First planet created. Design to be determined. Quilting to be done.

- Blumish - Design to be determined. Quilting to be done.

- Joseph’s Coat - Quilting design to be determined. Quilting to be done.

- Joseph’s Ladder Pants - Design to be determined. Quilting to be done.

- Mauk II - Blocks and top to be completed. Quilting design to be determined. Quilting to be done.

- Rán - # of Blocks determined 24 small; 24 medium; 12 large. Width 72”, Length 78 blocks. Design to be determined. Top to be completed.

- Gunta Stölz - Design to be determined. Top to be completed. Quilting to be done.

- Batique OM I - Design to be determined. Top to be completed. Quilting to be done.

- Batique OM II - Design to be determined. Top to be completed. Quilting to be done.

- Civil War Re-enactment II - Design to be determined. Top to be completed. Quilting to be done.

- Eagle - Design completed. Top to be completed. Quilting to be done.

- Orange Peel Indian Summer - Quilting design to be determined. Quilting to be done.

- Just Trees - Design to be determined.

- BirthYear Bargello - Workout formula to create design.

Keep abreast of all our updates. I have added a “Follow By Email” capability at the bottom right of each posting under The Grid. You can also become a Follower of Quilts SB. Click on the “Join this site” in the right-hand column to follow Quilts SB.

I’ve added another means to follow the images of our quilt creations via Pinterest. Also check out our new Quilts SB Page on Facebook. Link over to Quilts SB and become a Fan, albeit “Like” us.

Check out my new experimental format of my Blog, Quilts SB Test. Certainly would appreciate your feedback.

To see previously posted quilts, there is a visual Grid presentation at the bottom of the Quilts SB page. Move your cursor over any mini-picture found there and click to see an enlargement. Move your cursor to the "Q#" link to see the quilt's details. If the quilt’s title is highlighted in yellow or in red, it has found a home in a collection and is no longer available.

If you have any questions and/or comments please feel free to get in touch with me via Email Quilts SB.

I'm not sure if I have missed any, but enjoy,

Jim and Andy

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My Quip – Our EssbeeCon Quilt Has Been Accepted at QuiltCon – February 21-24 – Austin, Texas

Good Day,

Andy and I just received notice that our new and original quilt EssbeeCon has been accepted to be displayed at QuiltCon this coming February 21 -24 at the Austin Convention Center, in Austin, Texas.

QuiltCon is the first international Modern Quilting Conference and Show presented by The Modern Quilt Guild. It is to be the first modern quilting event of its kind. Check out the QuiltCon press release.

Check out my postings regarding our journey with EssbeeCon –

- Q107 – EssbeeCon – Quilt

- EssbeeCon Quilt Redesign Revealed

- EssbeeCon Quilt Progress

- EssbeeCon - The Piles of Fabric Converted to Blocks – In Progress

- EssbeeCon – A New and Original Quilt – In Progress

- New Quilt – EssbeeCon

Continue to check back to Quilts SB to see what we’re working on and our current status and updates.

Enjoy,

Jim

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My Quip – V-Bricks Goes Home to Delaware

Good Day,

A Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays and a forth-coming New Year’s.

Our creation V-Bricks has gone to its new home in Delaware.


After traveling to Providence, Rhode Island, and Portland, Oregon, V-Bricks has a new home.

You can see and read my previous blogs following the history of V-Bricks at the follow Quilts SB posts. I have provided the links below.

- Q47 – Quilt – V-Bricks

- Quilts in Progress – V Bricks

- Evolution Heads to MQX West 2012 – Portland, Oregon

You can also read and see more of our quilts and wall-hangings in our portfolio Quilts By Essbee. Scroll down on any Quilts SB to see the grid, our showcase of all our quilts we have made and created that we have a visual record.

If you have any comments, thoughts, ideas, commissions, questions, please feel free to contact me.

Enjoy,

Jim and Andy

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My Quip - Merry Christmas from Jim and Andy

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays...

I will be returning to my posting to Quilts SB after Christmas Day.

Enjoy,

Jim and Andy

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My Quip – Test 40 Quilt Progress – Bacon Cola Basted Ham

Good Day,

Only four days for us to construct a fireplace… and even though the sun is shining, the weather outside is frightfully cold… for Florida.

He’s just short enough… but he certainly is interested in my ham to be baked; basted with bacon cola. The house smells great. Supper tonight – Baked Ham, baked sweet potatoes, peas, and green salad.

Our Test 40 quilt has been basted on our Longarm. We have completed the design of the quilting pattern. An immediate descriptive adjective that I can think of is “architectural”… We are now using our domestic machine to quilt the body of the quilt.

Our design Test 40, is inspired by the work of Maggie Ball. We really like the concept and construction techniques presented by Maggie to create our primary blocks from her 2008 book, Bargello Quilts with a Twist.

The colors of our Test 40 are extracted from Aurifil’s recent line of thread, Test 40. Each block is constructed of six of seven solid color fabrics from Robert Kaufman Fabrics Kona Cotton.

If you have any questions, thoughts, ideas, and comments please feel free to contact us.

Stay-tuned for updates…

Enjoy,

Jim and Andy

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My Quip – We’re Tackling A New Quilt Project – Cosmo’s Moon

Good Day,

Andy and I are about to tackle another new quilt – Cosmo’s Moon.

Not much to say or reveal at this point in time… with the exception that we guesstimate that our final project will be about a 60” (152.4 cms) square. The above is the composition of strips of muslin template.

Notice the gentleman with his Pack… I definitely feel like howling at the moon on our nightly walks. Video clip from Moonstruck.

If you are interested, and would like some more information of available quilts, regarding costs, shipping, and insurance, please check our Quilts SB Etsy shop.

Keep abreast of all updates. I have added a “Follow By Email” capability at the bottom right of each posting under The Grid. You can also become a Follower of Quilts SB. Click on the “Join this site”, in the right-hand column to follow Quilts SB.

I’ve added another means to follow the images of our quilt creations via Pinterest. Also check out our new Quilts SB Page on Facebook. Link over to Quilts SB and become a Fan, albeit “Like” us.

Check out my new experimental format of my Blog, Quilts SB Test. Certainly would appreciate your feedback.

To see previously posted quilts, there is a visual Grid presentation at the bottom of the Quilts SB page. Move your cursor over any mini-picture found there and click to see an enlargement. Move your cursor to the "Q#" link to see the quilt's details. If the quilt’s title is highlighted in yellow or in red, it has found a home in a collection and is no longer available.

If you have any questions and/or comments please feel free to get in touch with me via email.

I'm not sure if I have missed any, but enjoy,

Jim and Andy

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Q109 – Grandma Remembers – Wall Hanging

Good Day,

Our task, if we accepted, was to take on old, beat-up deteriorating, and I mean deteriorating, patchwork quilt and create something. This old, old, old quilt had once belonged to his Grandmother. It was a part of him and she, his wife, wanted to create a remembrance… How could we not accept the challenge? And our completed project is Grandma Remembers.

Grandma Remembers will be tucked under the tree, to surprise on Christmas Day. I wish I could be a digital camera to snap the unaware moment, to capture his look when he remembers his Grandmother.

Our original construction design is based on a traditional Japanese wall hanging, a Kakemono, 掛け軸, at times referred as a Kakejiku. Andy and I recreated a small, picture version of the original patchwork quilt. We reduced the blocks, in order to salvage the material, from 3” to 2 ½” squares. All recovered patches were fused to interfacing to provide a consistent stability. We wanted the connection between the new wall hanging and the old treasured quilt.

Adding a dark chocolate brown background, also using the same for the backing, binding, two sleeves, and tie-ribbons, the dimensions of Grandma Remembers are: Width – 17 ½” (44.5 cms) and Length 53 ½” (135.9 cms). The quilting, in chocolate thread, is of parallel lines set horizontally and at angles to compliment both the quilt and the wall hanging. A place to hang in the house has already been chosen.

Here is what the old quilt looked like when we it was delivered to us.

Here are some more images, full and close-up, and the backing.

The following are links to a couple of previous Posts on Quilts SB detailing our work and effort.

- Dec 5 – Grandma Remembers – Update and Progress – Refurbished

- Dec 4 – A New Project – Old into New – Quilt Wall Hanging – Grandma Remembers

If you have any comments, questions, thoughts, and ideas, feel free to contact us.

Enjoy,

Jim and Andy.

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Q108 – Hexi-Abuelita – Quilt

Good Day,

A little girl will be cuddling up with her Great-Grandmother’s memories this Christmas morning, her new quilt Hexi-Abuelita.

Hexi-Abuelita is our commissioned design of a mosaic of half-to-whole hexagons cut and created from a great-grandmother’s shirts and skirts. The hexagon quilt has been in existence for many a year. An early recounting of a Hexagon Patchwork that I have found in my research dates to circa 1820-1840. There are various numbers of approaches to the creation of a Hexagon Quilt and Hexi-Abuelita is ours.

Our design is what we believe to be a combination of both traditional and modern quilting. We also approached the pattern of the hexagons by creating a structured but random strip piecing of half-hexagons. The quilting is edge-to-edge parallel lines in a patterned sequence.

The dimensions of Hexi-Abuelita are: Width – 59 ½” (151.1 cms); Length – 79” (200.7 cms). The backing and binding are a pink Michael Miller cotton fabric.

And more images of Hexi-Abuelita –

To read and experience our journey of designing, creating, and constructing our original Hexi-Abuelita check out the following Quilts SB links. Hexi-Abuelita is a construction and design of the same vein as our quilt construction Blue Memories.

- Oct 3 – The Beginnings of Hexi-Abuelita – A New Quilt

- Oct 4 - A Conversation – Hexi-Abuelita Quilt

- Oct 5 – Hexi-Abuelita – The Strategy Continues

- Oct 12 - Top of Hexi-Abuelita Quilt Completed

- Oct 23 - We Are Working On Quilts – In Progress and Update

Stay tuned for the completion of Grandma Remembers. And we have started another new project, Cosmos' Moon.

If you are interested in commissioning and contracting Andy and I to create your quilt or your wall-hanging, please feel free to contact us.

Enjoy,

Jim and Andy

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Q107 – EssbeeCon – Quilt

Good Day,

Our original design and 108th quilt is now completed; EssbeeCon. Our quilt title is a derivative of our surnames “Ess” – “S” and “Bee” – “B”; Smith and Brunhammer. It is an original of our joint effort, Quilts SB. “Con” stands for “Construction”. EssbeeCon; a Smith and Brunhammer construction.

The dimensions of EssbeeCon are: Width – 85” (216 cms); Length – 85” (216 cms); and Perimeter – 340” (864 cms).

Each block is paper-pieced from our original pattern design. The construction of EssbeeCon requires the piecing of each of the 100 blocks to be completed in fifteen parts. We used paper to create our foundation piecing. In this manner we were able to reproduce our block pattern and repeat exact copies. All pieces have been cut from the 11 Robert Kaufman Kona Cotton solid fabrics. Each individual block took approximately one hour to construct.

The top of EssbeeCon was bordered by three shades of grey fabric, also Robert Kaufman Kona Cotton. Also the backing is another shade of grey.

In order to maintain a complementary quilting to the overall design of EssbeeCon, we decided to quilt an arranged pattern of parallel lines using our Babylock Jewel longarm sewing machine. All blocks and the quilting pattern in the borders were sewn on our Janome Memory Craft 6300 domestic machine.

And here are some more images of our EssbeeCon.

To read and experience our journey of designing, creating, and constructing our EssbeeCon check out the following Quilts SB links. Also our EssbeeCon is a sister design to our original quilt, I Really Love Lucy.

- New Quilt – EssbeeCon

- We Are Working On Quilts – In Progress and Update

- A New and Original Quilt – In Progress

- EssbeeCon – The Piles of Fabric Converted to Blocks – In Progress

- EssbeeCon Quilt Progress

- EssbeeCon Quilt Redesign Revealed

If you have any comment, thought, idea, and opinion please feel free to contact us.

Enjoy,

Jim and Andy

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