Q112 – Cosmo’s Moon – Quilt and Wall Hanging

Good Day,

Andy and I have completed our 112th recorded quilt and wall-hanging – Cosmo’s Moon.

The idea for Cosmo’s Moon began last October 2012 when Andy and I were in Portland, Oregon at MQX. We heard that the theme for HMQS 2013 was to be “That’s Amoré”. We immediately thought of Dean Martin singing the song at the beginning and the end of the 1987 movie “Moonstruck”. And the scene we thought of was Raymond and Rita Cappomaggi looking out the window at Cosmo’s Moon.

And I immediately sketched our Cosmo's Moon, on my iPad, so as not to forget the idea.

I took my draft drawing to the SewBatik booth and MQX West and we were able to acquired two fabrics that we hoped would assist with our idea and construction.  When we returned home I sketched a quick pattern with my ideas of the strip piecing.

The dimensions for our Cosmo’s Moon are: Width 55” (139.7 cms) and Length – 56 ½” (143.5 cms). The fabric construction is of two fabrics from SewBatik of Mayville, North Dakota. The moon and the sky are constructed from one fabric, Nuance – Silver. The silhouettes of the tree and the buildings, I believe, were recreated from the fabric Batik-Spray – Deep Wisteria.

Here are some more images of our finished Cosmo’s Moon. (Click on each image to enlarge.)

And the back. (Click on each image to enlarge.)

Work on our Cosmo’s Moon is detailed at the following posts on Quilts SB. Check out the links.

My Quip – Cosmo’s Moon – Quilting in Progress

My Quip – Cosmo’s Moon – Update and Progress

My Quip – Cosmo’s Moon – Update

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

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

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

Stay tuned for the further stories of Cosmo's Moon. And tonight I will watch Moonstruck and bay at the moon.



Enjoy,

Jim and Andy

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My Quip – Cosmo's Moon – Quilting In Progress

Good Day,

Not going to reveal too much of the details about our original design for our quilt and wall hanging, Cosmo's Moon… but we thought you may like to get a few choice images of what we are doing. The progress is startling and we seem to be able to use a number of the new experiences and techniques that we have learned in the short past.

Cosmo's Moon is meant to be a large wall hanging… and it incorporates traditional strip piecing with other quilting techniques. Trust us, we do like SewBatik fabric. And we still have a lot to learn.

Stay tuned for our complete and detailed write up.

Some more images -

Quilts SB news - Our quilts: Colored Windows II, Coral Steps, and MEM911, are ready to be shipped to the International Quilt Festival of Ireland. Metropolis is complete and in line for delivery to HMQS in Utah. Cosmo's Moon is in the final stages of being quilted. And our new design, Quilted Equality is now in process. Continue to check out our status and updates at Quilts SB.

Enjoy,

Jim and Andy

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My Quip – Cosmo's Moon – Update and Progress

Good Day,

And on this St. Patrick’s Day evening, we have committed to the top of our original Cosmo's Moon. We are now amazed at seeing the translation from our initial draft to an accomplished fabric construction. It really is what we had hoped it would be.

One thing to remember, when you examine our image of Cosmo's Moon, we picked the time frame of 1987. And I can see me walking The Pack in the wee hours of the morning and just howling at the full moon as it crests over the neighbors’ roof tops. (Yes, they are coming to take me away.)

The current approximate dimensions of Cosmo's Moon are about 60” (152.4 cms) square. All fabric of the top was obtained through SewBatik in Mayville, North Dakota.

Here are some more images to give you a hint of our work.

We are now working on the quilting design… and I can say that this will be a new challenge for us. Check out the following past posts in Quilts SB to read about our journey with Cosmo's Moon.

Cosmo's Moon is intended as a wall-hanging.

Please feel free to contact us if you have any comment or question.

Enjoy,

Jim and Andy.

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My Quip - Cosmo's Moon - Update

Good Day,

The top of our Cosmo's Moon is just about finished.  And I'm not going to reveal a complete image until Andy and I have finished.  The following image is of 16 of the 30 strips.

Cosmo's Moon is created from two fabrics by SewBatik. There is a story to the reasons and why, but I will reveal that later when we do complete the whole project.

Cosmo's Moon will approximate 60" (152.4 cms) by 60" (152.4 cms) and is more-than-not meant to be a large wall hanging. We are now working on the quilting and examining thread to both complement and highlight the elements of the design.

Thank you for all the thoughts and comments expressed regarding our effort... I really did appreciate "Looks like the moon is made out of the abalone/mother-of-pearl shells."

Stay tuned for our progress and updates.

Enjoy,

Jim and Andy

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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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Q57 – Quilt – Continuation – Wall Hanging

Afternoon,

Continuation has been completed. It is a quilted wall hanging of a landscape with the intended hope of an insight into the elements of a family genealogy. Continuation is an abstract that incorporates Bargello, mosaic, and strip-piecing techniques.

The dimensions of Continuation are: Width – 35 ¼” (89.5 cms) and Length – 48 ½” (123.2 cms). The fabrics were chosen to represent the sky, the woods and the forests, the hills and the mountains, the mist of the Falls, the waters of the river and lake, the fields of farmed and tilled lands, and a solitary tree and leaf.

Continuation is destined to find its way to its new home in Asheville, North Carolina.

Here are the close-ups of the front and the back. The quilting of the sky and landscape is parallel lines one-half inch apart. The quilting of the tree and branch are free-form intended to represent the bark lines. Please note that colors in the images may vary on line.

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, it has found a home in a collection and is no longer available.

Please let me know if anything on the Blog site does not properly work, or do what it says it is supposed to do. I’m always striving to make sure an ease of use.

If you are interested, and would like some more information of the available quilts, regarding costs, shipping, and insurance, please get in touch with me at our Quilts SB Etsy shop.
Enjoy,

Jim

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