Pojagi Panel #2

For this, my second pojagi panel, I used two colors of shot cotton, a magenta and a peach... Neither are colors that I am currently drawn to, but I thought they would work well in this venue.


Using 2 colors instead of 1 allowed me to play a bit more with the stained glass effect that this type of patchwork offers.


The piecing is all improvised, (I'd go insane if I had to sew something like this from a pattern!)


The seams on this panel were done differently then on my first panel, (which you can see here). To learn how the seams were stitched on both panels, see my tutorial in the post below!

Playing with Pojagi

Still playing with Pojagi inspired patchwork...


Because all of the seams are folded in and stitched down, both sides can be displayed...


I think that the stitched patches and seam work really give the cloth a wonderful utilitarian feel...


This shot cotton was woven with green and yellow threads, producing a beautiful chartreuse color...


By alternating the direction of the grain on the individual patches, sometimes, (depending on how the light hits the cloth) some patches appear more green based, and some more yellow based...


And of course, hung in the window creates a totally different look...




This Pojagi Inspired Utilitarian Patchwork Panel/Runner is currently available in my shop. Note: Now sold.

Work Quilt #2 - Finished!

Finally finished my 2nd "Work Quilt"! (My fingers are very relieved!)


Now, I have tried sooooo hard to get the colors accurate.... almost to the point of insanity. Proving very difficult as the shot cotton seems to constantly change and shift colors depending on the angle it is viewed and how the light hits it. Some days it looks more green to me and some days more blue. But that is one of the things I love about shot cotton!


Looking at my monitor, the red squares are showing up more bright then they actually are... in truth they are more of a brick red, actually being woven with a rust weft and a purple warp! (who-da thunk?) I believe that quiet purple warp helps this particular red fabric get along very well with the surrounding blues and greens.


This photo above seems to be the best as far as color accuracy.... of course every monitor is different. (I am working on a Mac, but just looked at these pictures on my daughter's PC and surprisingly they looked very accurate on the PC. Again... who-da-thunk? Never-the-less, I love my Mac!) ...But I digress... back to the quilt...

With a little math I have estimated that there are approximately over 15,000 hand stitches in this piece, which after washing now measures 40" x 41.5"



Not wanting to use up my shot cottons on the back side, I instead choose solid Kona fabrics, giving the back a more contemporary feel...


If you look closely at the back, you can see small patches of horizontal stitching where the patches on the front have been quilted down. I like that subtle variation.

This "Work Quilt", at least for now, is another keeper.... I want the Work quilts in my possession so I can refer back to them as I continue on this series. The next one is in the planning stages, but I also want to make some smaller, related pieces to put in the shop.... Oh my. These are a bit more labor intensive then I am use to. If only I could get by on 2 hours sleep!

New Quilt, Old Barn

Hello Everyone!
I hope that your Holidays were very happy and that your New Year is off to a great start!

The last few weeks of 2009 were a bit of a crazed blur at our home, starting with my daughter getting stranded for a few extra days in London due to bad weather and canceled flights, (happily she made it safely home 2 days before Christmas) then the plumbing broke and the car died. 2010 rolled in to save the day, just in the knick of time, and all is now well, (knock on wood!)

The Quilt

In between all the "fun", I did manage to start a new, utilitarian inspired work quilt, which helped calm me immensely. This is the first layer. I started with various sized pieces of shot cottons in blues and greens, pieced together to form long rows.


Next I machine quilted lots of closely spaced rows, of varying widths, followed by long rows of multi colored hand-stitching


I have just a few more rows of stitching to complete, and then I can move on to the 2nd and final layer which will be made up of appliqued patches and more stitch work.


The Barn

You may have noticed that I have a new blog banner to start off the new year. I wanted something to reflect the new path I am headed in and since I find a lot of visual, and soulful inspiration from the old, weathered barns found around where I live, I thought it would be fitting to use one in my banner.

The barn I choose to use in my banner is my new favorite. It is almost within walking distance from my home, but I never knew of it until a few weeks ago when my husband took me to see it.


Situated on State Game Land, it is gloriously removed and remote, with nothing but fields and trees all around.


Here is the date stone... 1795... isn't that incredible?!? To think it has stood for so many years and now has entered its 4th century! I find that most inspiring.

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Over the next few weeks I hope to start making some more changes to the blog and to my shops. I will be emptying my Etsy Shop of any remaining merchandise, (the big sale is still on, but not for too much longer!) and slooooowwwwly be filling it back up with new stitched work. Stay tuned!

Work Quilt - Finished Photos

Early this morning the sun played a little game of peek-a-boo, before deciding to hide once again behind dark ominous clouds. It was just enough light to get these shots...


I know to some, this quilt may look like a lot of random patches just thrown on and sewn down, a bit of cloth chaos. However, each patch of fabric and every stitch was placed with a lot of thought and intention.


The oddness of it was intentional as my muse were the heavily patched work quilts from long ago, where scrap patches were placed wherever the hole was, and stitching was simple but often varied and sometimes a bit quirky.


I find myself becoming increasingly drawn to those old patched textiles. Maybe it's my age, for as I grow older I am starting to feel worn in some places, and with each new phase of life I feel a bit more patched and mended, (teenagers will do that to you) and layered with memories and stories but with a lot of life and purpose left in me... Just like those old quilts. I think there is an inherent beauty to that and I am looking towards exploring it and expressing it in my work during this upcoming new year. This quilt is the first step on that path.


Thanks to everyone for the positive feedback you have given me on this piece during its construction. I hope the final results didn't disappoint. I am really in an exploratory stage right now, fumbling a bit in the dark and I truly appreciate how accepting everyone is each time I shift directions in my work!

NOTE: You can see close up, detail photos of each of the individual nine blocks that make up this quilt on my Flickr site. You can also see the richness of the colors and the clarity of the stitches more true to life over on Flickr, (not sure why but the photos are always a wee bit fuzzy and the colors a bit off on the blog). xo

Color and Simplicity

I think over the last 3 days, the sun only came out for approximately 20 minutes. The rest of the time was cold dark and gray, with lots of rain. This, coupled with recent life events, left me craving two things... color and simplicity.


As I considered how to channel this craving into some new stitched work, my mind kept wandering back to a recent visit to a Free People clothing store. The clothes there are great, although out of my humble price range. But the thing that always catches my eye in this particular store, even more so then the clothing, is the beautiful stitched Indian patchwork which is used as upholstery on the chairs and couches as well as for the curtains on the dressing rooms. Bright patches of fabric with colorful, alternating rows of hand embroidery. The stitching creates a secondary woven-like overlay pattern on top of the richly patterned patchwork. Below is an example of a similar piece of upholstered furniture, an adario patchwork ottoman from Arhaus...


Inspired, I decided to start exploring some simple constructed patchwork, in brightly colored patterned fabrics. However, having done lots, and lots of hand embroidered art quilts this past year, I decided to take a break on the hand stitching, and subsitute machine stitching.



I quilted the entire surface in horizontal and vertical rows of stiching spaced just a smidge over 1/8" apart.

The colors cheered me, and the piecing and stitching soothed me.


I'm happy with how this first piece came out, and am now working on my next piece. This time I am paying a bit more attention to stitching more deliberate and defined rows of alternating colored threads. My goal is to create a more definite overlay pattern, not as random as in this first piece. (I'll post the results as soon as I finish.)

Also, I was tagged by the lovely Victoria, (hey, there's a nice name!) from A Mile A Minute. Thanks Victoria! Now, as soon as I can think of 7 semi interesting things about myself to share I will play along, but right now I feel about as interesting as a slice of melba toast!