CAROL LOESSELL: Trunk Show and Lecture

EVENING STAR QUILT GUILD, Davison MI

CAROL LOESSELL: Recipe for Leftovers

I heard an enjoyable lecture last night about SCRAP QUILTING. CAROL LOESSELL, showed her trunk shows quilts that she has been making over the last 20 – 30 years. I am posting a picture of some of the quilts and a brief explanation. If you want to see more of her quilts or listen to her lecture contact her via her blog/ web page.

Carol Loessell Scrap Quilt Patterns

 

Carol believes in scrap quilting and using fabric she had on had.  She said her best scraps came from exchanges and gifts from other quilters in her various groups.  She also use to “GARBAGE DIVE” in the classes she conducted.  Later students gave her the scraps they were done or tired of.  Her are some of the quilts she made.  I took over 50 pictures of her quilts… she had a large collection, some still  IN PROGRESS.

 

QUILT from the scrap bag she got on the give away table at her guild.

 

This pattern was featured in one of the first issues of FONS AND PORTER’S BABY QUILTS magazine.

Carol did say she did have to buy background/ sashing materials for some of her quilts to help them blend.  Sometimes even her sashing were scrappy, for example various white on white.  The secret is to have those fabrics scattered through the quilt and not touching if it could be helped.

 

 

The last two quilts were based on what Carol called  MADE FABRIC.  She sews fabrics together Willy Nilly and then once the fabric was large enough she would cut out blocks to be used in her quilts.  Many of her sewing sessions ended with her sewing fabrics to go into her next blocks.

Carol Loessell is a quilter after my own heart.  I currently have a big box of made fabric that I plan to put into a quilt some day.  My fabric however is sewn on foundation of pellon.  Carol said she rarely used foundation.   The great thing about quilting is you can do any project just about anyway you want to.

Happy Quilting,

Nonnie

 

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FOUND A GREAT QUILT ALONG to check out

Oh My Stars! (A Quilt-Along)

CONTINUATION OF DESIGN HOMEWORK: part 2–RHYTHM from Jaye and Sandy

I would first like to extend a heart felt THANK YOU to Carol Bryer Fallert for allowing me to use her quilts to do this exercise. Check out her gallery at http://www.bryerpatch.com/

Progressive Rhythm (The Quilter’s Book of Design, 2d ed, pg.16)

“…uses the repetition of an element to deliberately move the viewer’s eye in a specific direction. It is a pattern in which the viewer can see a sequence that is predictable. (The Quilter’s Book of Design, 2d ed, pg. 16)

“In visual art, a progressive rhythm might consist of any repeated element growing or shrinking in size, shape, or number.” (Art+Quilt, pg. 80)
Example: “The expanding rays of a Mariner’s compass block as it reaches outward.” (Art+Quilt, pg. 80)

“A progressive rhythm is often found in nature when the size or shape of something gradually increases or decreases.” (Art+Quilt, pg. 80)
a musical theme that “grows in complexity, volume, and instrumentation with repetition.” (Art+Quilt, pg. 80)

“gradually diminishing pattern of ocean waves as your eye moves toward the horizon” (Art+Quilt, pg. 80)

Commonplace in nature, but not always readily apparent (Pentak & Lauer, pg. 107)

Cut in half, the inside of an artichoke shows a growth pattern. (Pentak & Lauer, pg. 107)

Chambered nautilus cut in cross section. (Pentak & Lauer, pg. 107)

This quilt reminds me of a plants growing upward to the sky (Yes, it is called feathers but it looks like my hostas and other shade plants as they are anchored in the ground.)  The horizontal curved lines are like puffs of wind moving the feathers/ leaves back and forth across the quilt. I feel this is a good example of progressive rhythm as eyes focus in an upward movement but you also focus on the curved undulating horizontal lines.  I think of a warm summer breeze ruffling the leaves of my plants.

  The feathers/ leaves echo the same shape but are of differing size increasing in curving line, smaller on the outside and largest in the center.  Each feather/ leaf sways with the horizontal waves of wind progressively across the quilt.

Syncopated Rhythm
“…gives surprising emphasis to a beat that is normally weak and adds unexpected interest.” (Art+Quilt, pg. 80)
“A syncopation or syncopated rhythm is any rhythm that puts an emphasis on a beat, or a subdivision of a beat, that is not usually emphasized…Syncopation is one way to liven things up. The music can suddenly emphasize the weaker beats of the measure, or it can even emphasize notes that are not on the beat at all.” (Connexions http://cnx.org/content/m11644/latest/)

The concept of syncopation might be heard easily in music but it was hard to explain visually. To me syncopation is represented by the changing of size or color of repeating elements.

The syncopation in this quilt is represented by the changes in the sizes of the elements…. The circles change size, the triangle points change size, even the waves change size as they move to the outside of the quilt top. The size changing cause emphasis on those elements, the largest elements being the strongest beat that is emphasized.

The colors changing from warm to cool also indicates syncopation; the darker colors indicate a strong emphasis and attracting of attention, “the strong beat.”

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WORD PRESS UPDATE:   It seems that WORD PRESS had updated their site.  It has also become very busy which means it became hard to upload pictures and blog in the time frame I have available.   So I may be blogging less as working at two in the morning does not work out well.  We will see.

I will be posting the remaining lessons in the future…. I am so far behind….. Sandy and Jaye also posted PATTERNS this week and have another design lesson posting next week.

QUILTING FOR THE REST OF US PODCAST about DESIGN: Rhythm

ARTQUILTMAKER DESIGN SERIES RHYTHM NOTATIONS

I would like to say that I do not own all the books mentioned by Jaye or Sandy, I do read up on the elements and principal of design in the books that I do own. I am really enjoying following along with Jaye and Sandy as they explore design.

Happy Quilting,

Nonnie

POSTING ON POD-BEAN as Word Press no longer posts pictures for me without a major meltdown…..

UPDATE: I found a neat video about the OAKLAND COUNTY QUILT GUILDS SHOW and I thought you might like to see it.. So if you have 5 to 19 minutes here it is…

OAKLAND COUNTY QUILT GUILD’S QUILT SHOW ON TV… ENJOY !

UPDATE APRIL 17, 2012: WORD PRESS site must be undergoing some kind of maintenance, as it will no longer load pictures. I am moving my blogging and pictures to POD BEAN FOR NOW. How long this will continue I do not know. Frankly, Pod–bean has become so much easier to use…. I just might stay there. I will be posting new announcements of POD CASTS here… but sadly no pictures.

http://nonniesquiltingdreams.podbean.com/ Nonnie’s Quilting Dream Podcast

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Nonnie

Looking at the Quilting… looking for inspiration

UPDATE APRIL 17, 2012: WORD PRESS site must be undergoing some kind of maintenance, as it will no longer load pictures. I am moving my blogging and pictures to POD BEAN FOR NOW. How long this will continue I do not know. Frankly, Pod–bean has become so much easier to use…. I just might stay there. I will be posting new announcements of POD CASTS here… but sadly no pictures.

http://nonniesquiltingdreams.podbean.com/ Nonnie’s Quilting Dream Podcast

Nonnie

MORE PICTURES WILL BE COMING WHEN WORDPRESS AND MY COMPUTER STOP FIGHTING…..

Quilt by Ruth McCormick

ART QUILTS, THREAD PAINTING and FREE MOTION QUILTING DETAILS

http://nonniesquiltingdreams.podbean.com/ Nonnie’s Quilting Dream Podcast

YOU can find more pictures on my Podcast blog since I ran out of room here!  I am also adding my TWO CENTS about what I think about some of the pieces.  AS you know I have an opinion about just about everything.

These pictures were viewed at THE OAKLAND COUNTY GUILD QUILT SHOW. This group of pictures detail the thread paining, embellishments of a series of art quilts. Several of these quilts are from a challenge using MASTER ARTISTS as inspiration for the pieces. (Georgia O Keefe, Van Gogh, Frankenhaler, Klimpt, Hokusair, and Hunderwasser.) These quilts will be going to exhibits in Europe as part of an exchange.

This portrait used surface embroidery to add texture and highlights to the surface.  I think the big stitches were used in lieu of  quilting as I do not see any free motion quilting on the piece.  I would think if a piece was quilted the embellishing embroidery would have to be added after the quilting was completed otherwise the FMQ would interfere with the embroidery.   I am not sure if that is the way it is done,,, but it would probably be the way I would do it.  I do not think I would bring the stitches to the back of the quilt but travel through the batting from section to section.  

This style of FMQ was called angles by Patsy Thompson on her DVD.  She talked about how the sharp angles added energy and edginess to a piece.  I think the jagged zig zag angles and the sharp flame like FMQ on this piece added contrast to the softer circles and spirals of the applique motifs.

I know this was one of several quilts made after the style of Georgia O Keefe.   The free motion quilting (FMQ) adds details to the flower petals.  Thread and fiber was used to embellish the centers of the flowers.   The FMQ in the background maintained the vertical movement of the stalks and leaves of the flowers on the left side of the piece.  The quilter mimicked the background fabric with circular flowing patterns.

What can be prettier than a lily in full bloom and this lily was skillfully executed.  The in person viewing shows that this is a fused raw edge layering of colors form the bloom.  Variegated threads was used to accentuate the petals and leaves.  I like the upward movement of the FMQ when it mimics the flower growth.  

It is difficult to see in this post  but when seen in person or  in the original photo where I could zoom in I could see the raw edge applique used in this piece.   The FMQ follows the movement of the fused applique pieces adding texture by heavily quilting some areas of the quilt and leaving some area softer expanded with the batting. 

I think this was one of my favorites of the pieces… but then I am a sucker for POPPIES.  This quilt has a lot of visual impact and I do not know if it can be seen in his picture but each petal seemed to be of a different but closely related values the darker in the back of the flower.  I am assuming the fabric  was  hand dyed  and the gradation and use of the fabric was effective in creating depth.   FMQ mimics the veins and details of the petals and leaves.  I  liked the scattered  “pick” stitches in the background using  variegated threads to quilt the background it provided interesting texture.  

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My grandson loved this piece when he saw it on the computer while I was resizing the pictures I took at the quilt show.  He called it LOLLIPOPS.  I have a feeling I will be trying to do my own rendition of this piece, in the future.   I feel the quilter successfully combined free motion quilting which mimicked the over all pattern of the quilt and embroidery embellishment that adds to the texture of the piece.  

 

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OAKLAND CO, MI Quilt Show 4-14-2012