Archive | April, 2018

Fragrance-Free Flowers

What an unexpedted delight.  My sewing group meets in a local library and when we walked in today we were greeted with this new art installation.

Fragrant-Free Flowers. Ellen Lindner, AdventureQuilter.com/blog

Aren’t they great?  There was a recent class about making these flowers and I guess this was the collective result.

They’re made from paper and each one is about the size of a dinner plate.

Fragrant-Free Flowers. Ellen Lindner, AdventureQuilter.com/blog

Fragrant-Free Flowers. Ellen Lindner, AdventureQuilter.com/blog

I’m thinking there must be a way to do something similar with fabric.  You could stiffen the fabric, right?  Or maybe use something already fairly sturdy.  Felt, maybe? Perhaps I’ll investigate.

Ellen Lindner

13

“Mid-October” Complete

Well, here it is, version two now complete: Mid-October.

"Mid-October" complete. Ellen Lindner, AdventureQuilter.com/blog

"Mid-October" complete. Ellen Lindner, AdventureQuilter.com/blog

After completely finishing AND photographing version one, I began to think it was too dark.  It just didn’t remind me of the bright fall colors I was going for.

See what I mean?  (Actually, the two quilts photographed slightly differently, but I think you can see the duller patches throughout.)

Leaf Quilt Complete - Maybe. Ellen Lindner, AdventureQuilter.com

What do do at this stage?  I “painted” over several spots with Inktense color blocks.  (See the detail shot.) To my eye it’s much better.

Have you ever painted over a completed quilt?  This is not my first time around that particular block.

Ellen Lindner

7

Leaf Quilt Complete – Maybe

Working on this quilt inspired by fall foliage, I added many more little orange bits.

Leaf Quilt Complete - Maybe. Ellen Lindner, AdventureQuilter.com

Hmm, maybe I got carried away there. I removed a few and it looked better.

And here it is finished, called Mid-October.

Leaf Quilt Complete - Maybe. Ellen Lindner, AdventureQuilter.com

I liked it.  But something was bothering me.

Ellen Lindner
P.S. Have you ever had that nagging feeling that something isn’t quite right?

5

That Fabric Again

Remember the great fabric I used in my quilt Initial Response? I still had half of it, ready to use on the next project. This portion made me think of fall leaves, with the twigs and branches of trees peeking through.  Can you see it?

That Fabric Again. Ellen Lindner, AdventureQuilter.com/blog

That was enough to get me started.  From there I cut it into 9 pieces.  (Not square, of course.) If you look closely, you can see the cuts, above.

I decided the feature fabric should be about 1/4 of the quilt design, which helped me determine the size.

That Fabric Again. Ellen Lindner, AdventureQuilter.com/blog

I put 4 of my 9 pieces in the corners and scattered the others throughout.  Then I started filling in with fabrics from my stash, both commercial and hand dyed.

Soon, I had this.  “Not bad,” I thought.

That Fabric Again. Ellen Lindner, AdventureQuilter.com/blog

I added a little more interest with some small snippets of plaids and stripes.  And then began to audition twig fabrics and widths.  I decided most of them would need to be pretty skinny.

That Fabric Again. Ellen Lindner, AdventureQuilter.com/blog

I added QUITE A FEW twigs and was happy with the results.

That Fabric Again. Ellen Lindner, AdventureQuilter.com/blog

As I thought more about fall leaves I realized I should probably add some color variations.  I tried several fabrics in the orange family. Some were very bright and sort of took over.  Maybe I could still use them in small pieces.  Others were too dull and were removed from consideration.

In the next post I’ll show you what I did with these fabrics.

Ellen Lindner

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AQS Daytona Show 2018

I was VERY impressed with the quits shown at the recent AQS show in Daytona.  MANY of the quilts on display could have been winners in any show.

AQS Quilt Show Daytona. Ellen Lindner, AdventureQuilter.com/blog

Andrea Brokenshire, My Rhodie

This piece, made entirely of little black dots, garnered a lot of attention.

AQS Quilt Show Daytona. Ellen Lindner, AdventureQuilter.com/blog

Olga Gonzalez-Angulo, Captivated by Nature,

The largest dots in this photo are about the size of a sequin.

AQS Quilt Show Daytona. Ellen Lindner, AdventureQuilter.com/blog

Olga Gonzalez-Angulo, Captivated by Nature, close detail

I loved the energy and transparency of this piece.

AQS Quilt Show Daytona. Ellen Lindner, AdventureQuilter.com/blog

Christina McCann, OR7

AQS Quilt Show Daytona. Ellen Lindner, AdventureQuilter.com/blog

Christina McCann, OR7, detail

 

AQS Quilt Show Daytona. Ellen Lindner, AdventureQuilter.com/blog

Sonai Grasvik, Flicker II

Check out the textures and details of this feather.

Sonai Grasvik, Flicker II, detail

Doesn’t this look like the contours and light of a slot canyon?

AQS Quilt Show Daytona. Ellen Lindner, AdventureQuilter.com/blog

Kimberly Lacy, Fire in the Canyon

 

AQS Quilt Show Daytona. Ellen Lindner, AdventureQuilter.com/blog

Cindy Peterson, The Buick 8

This elephant shows a wonderful use of plaids and other prints.

AQS Quilt Show Daytona. Ellen Lindner, AdventureQuilter.com/blog

Elizabeth Ownes, The Ellephant

AQS Quilt Show Daytona. Ellen Lindner, AdventureQuilter.com/blog

Elizabeth Ownes, The Ellephant, detail

This large piece was one of my favorites.

AQS Quilt Show Daytona. Ellen Lindner, AdventureQuilter.com/blog

Bonnie Bucknam, Tumble

The quilts were so great I hardly had time to visit the vendors! 🙂

Ellen Lindner

 

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Lots of Apples in Palm Harbor

Teaching classes is so much fun!  Add to that the satisfaction students get from mastering something new and it’s one big Adrenalin surge for all of us. This was the case when I recently taught “Double Reverse Applique” in Palm Harbor, FL.

With Double Reverse Applique (DRA) the pattern is stitched from the back and loose fabric is trimmed from the front.

Lots of Apples in Palm Harbor. Ellen Lindner's "Double Reverse Applique" class, AdventureQuilter.com/blog

Lots of Apples in Palm Harbor. Ellen Lindner's "Double Reverse Applique" class, AdventureQuilter.com/blog

A little concentration helps!

Lots of Apples in Palm Harbor. Ellen Lindner's "Double Reverse Applique" class, AdventureQuilter.com/blog

And by the end of the class you get this!

Lots of Apples in Palm Harbor. Ellen Lindner's "Double Reverse Applique" class, AdventureQuilter.com/blog

Aren’t they great?  I love how different they all ended up.

I always try to deliver a high quality class and I’ve been repeatedly told that I succeed.  How nice! I’d love to teach for your group, too.  See my class offerings.  Not able to attend a class?  There’s also an eBook version of this class, available for immediate download.

Ellen Lindner

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Learn about Value from Kestrel Michaud

My  friend, Kestrel, is a wonderful artist.  She creates intricate work using fused fabric, and a special “Cricut” cutting machine. With it and her techie abilities she can create designs and cut TINY elements for her artwork.

Learn with Kestrel Michaud. Ellen Lindner, AdventureQuilter.com/blog

Like this.

Learn with Kestrel Michaud. Ellen Lindner, AdventureQuilter.com/blog

She typically mounts and frames her work, but is slowly embracing stitching.

This one is my favorite, Flamingo Beach Patrol.

Learn with Kestrel Michaud. Ellen Lindner, AdventureQuilter.com/blog

Kestrel is very generous with her knowledge.  She’s posted a lesson about value on her blog, which I thought you might like.  Check out Kestrel and her work!

Ellen Lindner
P.S. There are several brands of these cutting machines.  In another blog post Kestrel compares two of them.

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