Wednesday, January 30, 2013

My Quip – Three to International Quilt Festival of Ireland – Galway, Ireland

Good Day,

Well Andy and I just received notice that three of our quilts have been entered for display at the International Quilt Festival of Ireland 2013… in Galway, Ireland. The Festival will be held June 7 to 9 at the National University of Ireland.

Our quilts and wall hangings that will be on display in the corresponding categories.

Quilt – Coral Steps
Exhibit Category - Cornucopia



Quilt – Colored Windows II
Exhibit Category – The Mantality of a Quilter



Wall Hanging – MEM911
Exhibit Category – I Believe

Enjoy,

Andy and Jim
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Tuesday, January 29, 2013

Q110 – Test 40 – Quilt

Good Day,

Our latest quilt has been completed. This is Test 40.


Is our Test 40 quilt something akin to the “cart before the horse?” Maybe… Thanks to Aurifil and Alex Veronelli for providing the impetus with Aurifil’s new thread No. 40. Andy and I accepted the challenge to test and experiment with the new thread.




No. 40 is a new Aurifil 100% Polyester Filament thread. It is a variegated thread. One of my first thoughts, after Andy had done his part using No. 40 on both our domestic and Longarm machines, was to attempt to create a quilt of the colors of the thread that would complement the variegated thread. This would be a flip to the most common of techniques of creating a quilt, which of course is to start with the fabric. We thought that we would start with the thread. It is a different approach but we feel that this type of design is meant to highlight the thread. With this focus, the thread becomes the major player not only the compliment to the final product.

The dimensions of Test 40 are: Width – 65” (165.1 cms) and Length – 80.5” (204.5 cms). It approximates a large afghan or lap size quilt. All fabric is 100% cotton of Robert Kaufmann Kona Cotton and Moda Bella Solids. The batting is our first attempt using 100% high loft wool. Our quilting, using the Aurifil No. 40 variegated thread, and our lattice work pattern has presented us with an interesting and intriguing configuration. Test 40 is a combination of polyester, cotton, and wool.

Our basic block is inspired by the construction design work Maggie Ball as presented in her book Bargello Quilts with a Twist, published in 2008. Our design is a replication of the block. We created 120 blocks and created our original configuration and design for our Test 40.

You can follow the progress of our design and construction of Test 40.

 - Aug 30/12Test 40 – OP and Bargello

 - Aug 31/12Test 40 – Progress

 - Oct 13/12 - Test 40 Quilt Top Completed

 - Dec 21/12Test 40 Quilt Progress – Bacon Cola Basted Ham

 - Jan 4/13Test 40 Quilt – The Quilting Continues

Here some additional images of our Test 40.




And our quilting continues.

Enjoy,

Jim and Andy.
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Sunday, January 27, 2013

My Quip – Blumish – Quilt Top Just About Completed

Good Day,

Andy’s construction is out of this world. (I just need to pat him on the back.) The top of our Blumish quilt is just about completed.


Do you think Kimberly Einmo will mind our deconstruction? Our current size is a 52” (132.1 cms) square. It will, once completed, present a nice lap quilt or wall hanging.

As you can see we added complimentary shades of beige and brown to offset and enhance the multiple blues. The fabrics are solid colors of Robert Kaufmann Kona Cotton. The wide sashing and the back will be composed of the light blue, a Moda Bella Solid cotton. Some of the design features will be incorporated into the back.

Stay tuned, more to come.

Also check out my new attempt to create the beginnings of a Quilts SB Tumblr site.

Enjoy,

Jim and Andy
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Saturday, January 26, 2013

My Quip – Blumish – Quilt Now In Progress

Good Day,

Andy and I are now working on a new quilt. This quilt began with Kimberly Einmo and her original 2011 design, Almost Amish Star Chain Mystery Quilt. After meeting with Kimberly and learning her prized techniques, we decided we would venture a wee bit out to left field. We have decided to deconstruct and explode her original design and tweak it a bit. We are creating our Blumish.


Keeping with some classic Amish traditions, we are using solid colored fabrics. All fabrics are of the Robert Kaufmann Kona Cotton series. Also we are maintaining an essence of a central design.

At present we’re heading toward a quilt with the width of somewhere between 50 and 60 inches.

Here are some of the constructed parts awaiting assembly.




Keep checking Quilts SB for our current progress and quilts and wall hangings in process.

Enjoy,

Jim and Andy
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Friday, January 4, 2013

My Quip – Test 40 Quilt – The Quilting Continues

Good Day, and Best Happy New Year.

This is my first Quilts SB post for 2013. We are continuing our progress on the quilting of our new original Test 40 quilt. Test 40 has now been transferred from the Longarm to the domestic machine.


And I am using my new Canon camera in my attempt to take pictures to record our progress.



Beginning with the new Aurifil Test 40 polyester thread, we extracted the series of variegated colors. We decided on six colors, matched to Robert Kaufman Fabrics Kona Cotton, to create each individual block. The pieced block is based on and inspired by the work of Maggie Ball as presented in her 2008 book, Bargello Quilts with a Twist. We created and replicated a primary block that we then used to create our original configuration and design, Test 40.

We have used 100% high loft wool batting, which has given Test 40 a more “puffy”, for the lack of a better term, look. Our quilting, using the Aurifil Test 40 variegated thread, and our lattice work pattern has presented us with an interesting and intriguing configuration.

In our Test 40 the fabric compliments the thread and the thread highlights the quilting.


Stay tuned for more updates and progress.

Regards,

Jim and Andy
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