Blog Hopping Around The World

My friend, Juliann over at Lining Up My Stitches, asked me to join in on the Around The World Blog Hop. And I did!

What I am working on

This is the second quilt I have sewn using the double four patch block and this setting. The color in this photo is a bit saturated; I can't seem to get good color on this quilt in a photo so when I shoot the final pic, I'll do it outside. You can see the other quilt here. This time I wanted to do a more controlled blocking with the both color and value. You can follow the progression from yellow to orange to red to purple to blue to brown to green. The values go from the lightest in the 'center' out to the darkest at the edges. This turned out exactly as I planned!

I thought the top was finished but it said 'no' I want more! And so I auditioned borders. I started by using a 2.5" strip for an inner border and a lovely batik I had in my stash for an outer border. The inner border just doesn't do anything for the quilt, does it?

So I move the outer border fabric in until there was only 1" showing. It is much better, but I still felt there was something better.

How about a quarter inch flange? Eureka! I really like this one and will probably use it.

How does my work differ from others? 
I do love to work in color value. It is a time consuming endeavor, but, oh so fulfilling. The results can be spectacular when you get it right! The challenge of creating a beautiful object is so rewarding, especially if it is functionable.

How does my creating process work? 
It starts on a whim and then I jump in 100%. First the idea comes to me and I start sketching. Once I get it a bit firmer I will create the quilt in Electric Quilt. I don't color it correctly because I love working with all kinds of different fabrics in a quilt and never know what is going to be used. This type of process does generate a lot of spare quilt parts, though. This quilt doesn't have a repeat of any of the colored fabrics so each block is different; it is almost, but not quite, a charm quilt. As I work on it, I let it talk to me about borders and quilting designs. Some quilts emphatically say they don't need a border and others, like this one tell you that it isn't finished yet. As I work on the piecing or applique I always ponder how I am going to quilt it. Now that I have a Handi Quilter Sweet Sixteen, I do all my own quilting. How am I going to quilt this one? I don't know yet, but there are several ideas bouncing around in my brain. This is another area that I audition. I have a large sheet of heavy grade vinyl that I pin over the top and then draw a quilting design on it using a dry erase marker so it is easy to erase.

When I am not quilting I am . . .
Knitting. I have knit since I was a child and have been knitting for over 50 years. I don't design knitted garments, but I could if I wanted to do so, but I leave the designing to others. I am a process knitter, I like the process and give away a lot of the things I knit.

I am going to link to Susan at Patchwork Reflections who will do a post on October 27. Please visit Susan's blog as she is a very good storyteller and takes great photos!

I am also going to link to JudyL at PatchworkTimes.com for Design Wall Monday.