My Quip – Cosmo's Moon – And Then There Were 10 – Fitting In?

Good Day,

The strip piecing of Cosmo’s Moon continues. Ten strips have been fixed and sewn together. We are attempting to combine a number of elements of our quilting journey, past and present.

The design is sort of becoming evident… ya think? The above image is a whole image and it is moving along in a way that Andy and I are hoping that it should. The completed top will be a composition of 30 strips… All fabric has been acquired through SewBatik.

And I have just a few thoughts. We’re trying to understand where, with our quilts and wall hangings, we actually fit in. Traditional, modern, classic, free-form, art, structured, programmed… there just seems to be so many categories and subsets and we are wondering if it is important to actually fit in. Andy and I, in our short sojourn into the unfathomable scale of the quilting world, at times, feel somewhat overwhelmed.

We have experimented, and continue to do so, with different types of quilts and wall hangings and realize that there is still a very long way for us to travel, with fabric, needle, and thread. There is still so much to learn, so many quilting and sewing skills that we can glean from so many experts and fabric artists. But is it necessary that we fit in? Do we have to, purposely, stick to one style? Does that mean, that if we do not pick an exclusive style, that we will then, innately, become just mediocre?

Maybe these are just growing pains? Do we have to, as at time has been indicated, make up our minds? Any thoughts?

Enjoy,

Jim and Andy

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My Quip – Cosmo’s Moon – And Then There Were Four

Good Day,

The work continues on Cosmo’s Moon.

Four strips have been completed, 26+ more to go. All-thing-being-equal Cosmo's Moon should approximate a 60-inch square.

We have completed the design of a new small quilt – Phidias (aka Andy) Shrugged. This one should be interesting as the component parts are all based on 0.618.

Congratulations to Cathy Wiggins and your Best of Show – Carousel Stampede at the Mid-Atlantic Quilt Festival, Hampton, Virginia.

Stay tuned for updates and our progress.

Enjoy,

Jim and Andy

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My Quip – Cosmo’s Moon – The Strip Piecing Has Begun

Good Day,

I have received a number of inquiries about our new and original quilt and wall hanging, Cosmo’s Moon

Our technique in the creation of our new Cosmo's Moon is strip-piecing using only fabrics from SewBatik. This strip is one strip which has been completed. Eventually it will be joined to 29 other strips… but you will have to keep tuning in to see the final design.

In order to capture Andy’s strip piecing detail, I had to piece two images together to create a complete strip. I think this is strip number 15. (But one can't be too sure.)

If you have been following my quick updates on Quilts SB Facebook page or on Jim’s Trek, the drawing of Cosmo's Moon has been drafted. It was drawn on a canvas that Andy created in muslin. All fabrics and shade scheme have been chosen. The fabrics in Cosmo's Moon are from and available through SewBatik of Mayville, North Dakota.

Scroll down this, or any page at Quilts SB to see our current portfolio of completed quilts and wall hangings. Each quilt or wall hanging that has a yellow title is no longer available and is currently in a new owner’s collection. All quilts and wall hangings with a white title are available. To see our final write-up of each available quilt and wall hanging you can link by clicking on the “Q” number. If you are interested please feel free to contact me.

Enjoy,

Jim and Andy.

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My Quip – Blumish Two Quilt Top Completed

Good Day,

And we’re just waiting for our third winter this season. Yeah, that’s right, Tampa has mini-winters. This cold snap should bring in some possible freezing temperatures. There’s supposed to be snow up in Tallahassee. Guess there are enough quilts in this house to keep warm, and I so glad, not necessarily pecuniarily, but we had a brand new AC – Heat pump put in this week.

We have finished the top of our new Blumish Two quilt. Here is a preview taken this morning in the sunshine.

Blumish Two is a composition of 56 six-inch and unique blocks. Inspiration of our Blumish Two can be attributed to the works of Yoshiko Jinzenzi and Kimberly Einmo. The fabrics are of Robert Kaufmann Kona Cotton and Moda Bella Solids. We worked with a gradation of blues and beige-browns. The overlay of an intermittent grid has been created through our process of a machine appliqué. Obviously there is an inspiration of sorts from the works of Piet Mondrian. In our recent quilt, Mondrian I, (See Q98), we created the grid borders by sashing.

Our guesstimation for the final and completed size of Blumish Two will be 54” wide and 66” long.

We have been working on the designs for the quilting for both our Blumish (See My Quip – Blumish) and Blumish Two quilts. I believe we have settled on initial complimentary patterns.

Stay tuned to Quilts SB and check our Quilts SB Facebook page for updates of our progress.

Enjoy,

Jim and Andy

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My Quip – Blumish Two – A Peek at Our Progress

Good Day,

Blumish Two is beginning to take shape. The top, constructed of 56 original blocks, is now complete. Each block is uniquely different. The only similarities are that they all are the same size and constructed of shades of blue and brown. The fabrics are both Robert Kaufmann Kona Cotton and Moda Fabrics Bella Solids. The borders, which aren’t really borders, have been added.

And we are trying something very new, that is, new to our quilt workings. From our design for our Blumish Two, we included a number of strip-like borders which provide an offsetting highlight to the top. Andy has created each strip individually and is endeavoring to machine appliqué the strips to the top. We are not adding them to our pattern design as sashing.

And here are a couple more previews of the work on Blumish Two.  Lighting and shades are somewhat variable in each image.

I am still working on ideas for the overall quilting design… and each day I get closer to something that I hope will be a part of the art-form and complement the complete design.

Continue to follow our progress on Blumish Two. And stay tuned for our new work, Cosmos’ Moon.

Enjoy,

Jim and Andy.

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My Quip – Blumish Two – New and Progress Update

Good Day,

As you know we finished the quilt top to Blumish, our deconstruction of Kimberly Einmo’s Mystery Amish design. (See My Quip on January 27.) And we were toyed with the idea of using the leftover scraps to create the backing.

Well as I was designing the back of Blumish I flipped through Yoshiko Jinzenji’s book Quilting Line + Color and thought that we could attempt a construction with similar attributes to her designs. Then one thing led to another, and we realized that Andy and I were actually creating another new quilt. Thus our Blumish Two.

Here are a few more of the 56 blocks that we created for Blumish Two.

Initially we began with the idea of 49 squares. Blumish Two will now be the construction of 56 six-inch squares. Each of the 56 blocks will be uniquely different. Including the borders it will approximate 54” wide and 66” long. In our design Andy is going to attempt something that is sort of like sashing but yet not really. He is also going to attach the irregular sashing in what we think is akin to straight line machine appliqué. We hope it works.

I’m toying with ideas for quilting Blumish Two. I like the idea of straight parallel lines, either horizontally or vertically across or crisscrossing at 90° angles. Stay tuned for the updates.

Thank you Kimberly and Yoshiko and to all who have provided comments, thoughts, and questions.

Enjoy,

Jim and Andy

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My Quip – Tampa Lightning to Mid-Atlantic Quilt Festival XXIV – Hampton, Virginia

Good Day,

Today’s mail just brought us some great news. Our quilt, Tampa Lightning has been selected to be displayed at the Mid-Atlantic Quilt Festival XXIV in Hampton, Virginia. The Festival, “Out of the Ordinary” will be held February 21-24 at the Hampton Roads Convention Center.

Here is our Tampa Lightning –

Details of our Tampa Lightning can be seen at Q97 - Tampa Lightning – Quilt.

We’re tickled pink.

Enjoy,

Jim and Andy

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