Wednesday, March 30, 2011

Modern Linen Charm, Spring Chickens, and Stars, Oh My!

Finally we had a nice day outside to finish taking photos of my Modern Linen Charm quilt.


This is truly an eco-friendly quilt! The top of the quilt is made from upcycled linen and linen-blend clothes. The backing is an upcycled organic cotton sheet and the batting is an upcycled flannel cotton sheet. I used a linen/linen-blend material purchased at a garage sale for the binding.


ModernLinenCharmFullFront


The top of the quilt features 6” squares of solids colors and floral prints. The prints are either a neutral tone on black or black on a khaki background. The solid colors include a range of natural browns, sage green, mushroom, black, rusty red, and a brighter red. Some of the blocks were cut to include seams from the original piece of clothing for added interest. Some of the solid squares have been appliquéd with smaller squares of neutral tan and black. These are raw edged appliqués, left to fray naturally for texture. The binding is also a natural tan color. The back of the quilt is a darker khaki brown cotton.


ModernLinenCharmFullBack


The quilt is approximately 48 by 60 inches, a good size to use as a sofa throw, a crib quilt, or for wrapping around yourself while rocking in the porch swing on a fall evening. The flannel batting provides warmth and a “blanket” weight to the quilt, but isn’t so heavy that you won’t reach for it on a summer night.


One of the things I like the most about this quilt is the grid pattern the quilting made at the intersection of the charm blocks.


ModernLinenCharmIntersection


ModernLinenCharmLabel


ModernLinenCharmTurnedCorner


ModernLinenCharmCloseup


And in other news...the spring chickens have come home to roost!


FeltSpringChickensTree


These ornaments are made from felted wool sweaters, scrap trim repurposed from clothes, and black glass bead eyes. They're firmly stuffed with felted wool scraps. Each one is approximately 5 inches long and about 3 inches tall.


BabyBluePlaidFeltChicken1


PurpleTealFeltChicken1


As almost always with my felt crafts, no two are exactly alike.


FeltSpringChickensBowl


Also new, I've begun making patriotic star ornaments for the Fourth of July.


Bowl3PatrioticStars


They're made of cotton and cotton-blend fabric stuffed with elted wool scraps. One side is navy blue with stars and the other side is a white with red ticking stripes. I've sewn a pearly white button in the center of the blue side and made a hanger from a shimmery gold organdy ribbon. Each star measures approximately 5 inches wide by 5 inches tall.


PS-See that gadget window in the upper right corner? The empty white rectangle that's titled "New River Quilt Works on Etsy"? Check back on Friday afternoon, when my Etsy shop officially opens, to see more of my work!

Wednesday, March 23, 2011

Modern Linen Charm Sneak Peek!

It took me longer than I expected, but I finished my Modern Linen Charm quilt yesterday.

ModernLinenCharm

I used my new walking foot on this quilt.  I didn't have any problem with little tiny pinch pleats forming on the back while quilting, but finding the right tension for the thread with this foot took some effort.  In fact, I ripped out the stitching the first time I quilted it because I wasn't happy with the way it looked and I knew it would annoy me forever unless I did it right.  In retrospect I should have spent more time testing out the thread tension with scraps before rushing into the quilting.  

Anyhoo, it's quilted now and I'm pleased with the results.  I'll post more pictures soon when the wind dies down outside...it's pretty gusty out there today.