Sorry, sorry, sorry!

I've been devoting all my blog time to the "cottonfieldsnc" blog, the one attached to my quilt shop, Cotton Fields Quilt Shop, Washington, NC.

During the lockdown in 2020, I discovered the Improv Triangle Sew-Along and Nicholas Ball .... that led me to a new Instagram experience, look for me there at loririchardsonquilts! 

I took a ZOOM class from Sujata Shah and learned to make kwandi quilts:

I played around with all kinds of scraps!

       There's so much more, but, like I said, it's over on the Instagram account,           check that out if you're curious.

Something led me to this old blog the other day and I found all of the other blogs I used to follow and find inspirational.  So, I'll try to check in more often!!!

Quilters Trek 2020

Quilters Trek is what used to be called "Row By Row".  This year the theme is TRUE BLUE.  I designed a bird block with four blue birds of happiness, sporting red rick-rack legs.

Block kit and pattern $14.95

I also have lots and lots of Quilters Trek paraphernalia to tempt my customers.

Timeless Treasures 18 FQ bundle $55.00

5" Cotton Fields charm square $5

2 1/2" Cotton Fields tokens $1

To order any of the above, call Lori at Cotton Fields Quilt Shop

252-948-0372

Schedule is limited due to coronavirus, leave a message.

Email cottonfields@embarqmail.com

Follow Cotton Fields Quilt Shop on Facebook 

Challenge Progression

Each member of my art quilt group had an identical fat quarter to play with.  We were free to do whatever we wanted with it.

I started by big stitching parallel lines that lined up with the print, to add detail and also to stabilize the base of the piece.  I also wanted to add curves to play against the straight lines.

I used felted wool and wool felt for the "moon" shaped piece.  Some brown ribbon was added to emphasize some horizontal lines.  I kept moving those small circles around!

The piece is coming together.  Yarn was couched around the edges of the curves.  Cross stitches cover the seams in the "moon".  I'm experimenting with some polymer clay buttons I made on an earlier occasion.  They're just the right color!  Notice I've folded the bottom under, making the piece more square than rectangular.

Here's the finished piece.  Small, only about 14" x 16".  Funny that the big felt circles didn't make it into the final composition.

Another One!

OMG I found another half finished spiral!!!

The dangers of teaching quilting are apparent.  I start things for the shop, I start things for myself, I start things to demo.  This is probably one of the latter.  It's small and so far along that I can probably add the finishing touches fairly quickly. 

Sometimes it's fun to find an old project.  I've learned new techniques, have a different view of things, etc.  I'm sure my kids will love to sort it all out some day.

And here's another BIG reward. Last weekend I attended the quilt show presented by the Crystal Coast Quilters Guild in Morehead City, NC.  There were two spiral wall hangings on display, made by people who had come to the store for a spiral lesson.

by Bonnie Sturtevant

 by Carol Sten

Long Time Finish

I had to look back to 2017 to find the post where I first showed this little idea.  I talked about no matter how much fabric you own, it is always fun to play with somebody else's scraps.

Here is my inspiration - seen at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in NYC.  Did I make a note of the artist's name?  NO.  Could I find it on their website scrolling through hundreds of works of art?  NO.  

This is the basket of "somebody else's scraps" that I began with.

I cut strips more or less straight, of a variety of widths.

I made strip sets.

I cut squares and played around.

Somewhere along the line I added borders, layered, basted and began to big stitch quilt with orange and red pearl cotton.  Then it was forgotten …..

It was unearthed the other day, along with the little spiral that I finished up last week.  Here it is, ta da!!!!

It's another little one, just 15" x 19 1/2".  But it is so much fun to play with different ideas and different colors!

  

Lost and Found

It's kind of scary how many unfinished projects I have.  Last weekend I ran across a small spiral, just started, stored away with extra strips and matching finishing fabric.  I sat right down and finished it off.  This week I machine quilted it and yesterday I added the facing.  It's only 15" square but it is FINISHED. 

Lines and Curves

This is where things stood in mid-January.  I had some family business that took me away for a while.  I'm back now!

Quilted and bound, this little quilt was all lines.  It needed some CURVES!  And so I added a curvy line of buttons.   Serendipity - in my large collection of buttons, I just happened to have some from a garment factory in two colors and three sizes that complimented my little quilt. 

New Year - New Post

I just received my copy if The Improv Handbook for Modern Quilters by Sherri Lynn Wood and made this small quilt as my first stab at trying some of the methods described.

This is approximately 24" square.  I cropped the photo so you can't see the ragged edges.  I will layer and begin machine quilting today.  It was fun, and a challenge to make with NO RULERS.

Many apologies for being absent so long.  Busy year, not all of it good.  But here is another recently completed quilt top, 44" x 44".  I saw a quilt on the internet that I liked and drew it up on EQ8.  I don't know the original pattern name or quilter but I am calling mine "Serpentine".

That's enough for now.  Wanted to check in and let everybody know I'm still alive.  Most of my posting goes on the shop blog, so you can always travel over to https://cottonfieldsnc.blogspot.com/

Crooked Crazy Squares

In progress on Saturday:

Blocks trimmed and sewn together today:

Does it need a border?

Recent Finishes

I had a private class here at the shop for three out of town friends who wanted to learn how to make spirals.  They had seen my earlier spiral quilt:

After the class and demonstration, I had another spiral started.  So, I forged ahead and finished it in record time.  18" x 21".

Close-up:

The Pamlico River Quilters Guild will present their quilt show "Stars Over the Pamlico" on Sept. 28 and 29.  Members are encouraged to make a small (18" or less) predominantly blue quilt for the challenge "The Sky's the Limit".  I just finished mine:

Close-up:

Preview of things to come …….

Who Spilled the Buttons?

It started as a color study at a meeting of Artrageous Quilters here at Cotton Fields Quilt Shop on May 5.  Finished tonight - unless I decide it needs more buttons.

Machine pieced, machine quilted, facing instead of border and binding.  Size 17" x 23".

Instead of studying color wheel and color schemes, we approached color from a more intuitive direction, noting what we liked about different combinations:  contrast, light vs. dark, etc.  It was interesting to note that, even though the center squares are all 2" and the next squares 4", their sizes seem to shift, depending on their backgrounds.  The three black accents were added both to add a little interest and also to provide more contrast in their respective blocks.

Another Cat

Prompted by an activity at "Artrageous Quilters".  We were instructed to use paints, stamps, stencils to create just the impression of something.  Simple, lots of fun, only 13" wide and 10" tall.

Scattered

I feel like my attention has been scattered in a lot of different directions!

I've been asked to teach a class on collage animals.  The patterns by Laura Heine (Fiberworks) have been very popular in this area.  So I had to give it a try.  It is not on a background or quilted yet, but my collage cat is together.

Next up is what I call "playing with Grandma's scraps".  I have a box full of scraps that came from my grandmother.  A while back I came across them and wondered what I was saving them for?  I have a love of free-form scrappy blocks, so, with inspiration from Victoria Findlay Wolfe's 15 Minutes of Play, I made four propeller blocks.  First it had a much brighter yellow border.  I was stuck for a while, then changed to the gold shown here.   

This afternoon I added half square scrappy triangle blocks for another border.  I'm not finished yet, but will think about the next step for a while.  I still have plenty of  Grandma's scraps.

The last item in today's SHOW-AND-TELL is a fidget mat that I made for my neighbor.  Her mother is an Alzheimer's patient and nurses had suggested this.  It was my first try, but I think it turned out OK.  It was kind of fun to find a variety of textures and baubles and sew them on VERY SECURELY. 

I continue to work on the small quilt with striped squares shown previously.  It is being hand quilted as we speak!  And I cut out to sew a bunch of Cathedral Window tree ornaments.  They'll appear here soon! 

Not a Quilt

It is a rainy Sunday afternoon and I headed upstairs to the sewing/craft room to play for a while.  I hadn't done any jewelry-making recently, so I sat down to see what I could find to do.

First I found a pendant that I had started.  Some wire wrapped around a (shell?) disc.  It was pretty plain and the wire wasn't stabilized very well.  I added some wraps with finer gauge wire and also added the dangles at the bottom.  I think it looks better now!

Next, I found a zip-lock baggie of brass "rice" beads.  I had to go to 22 gauge wire to get through the beads.  I made this dainty little bracelet.  As I was cleaning up, I came across the little turtle charm, so I made a jump ring and added him!

I  also found a bracelet that I had started a while back, with green  glass beads.  It didn't take too long to finish, but I'm not 100% certain that I used the same gauge wire.  Next time I won't leave an unfinished project for so long, or I will at least make a note!   

When I have a few more pieces ready to go, I will clean them all up and add a patina, which will darken the copper and make them look more finished.

Inpiration

I found the inspiration that I mentioned in the last post.  It was on my phone, not on the other computer!

I saw this at the Metropolitan Museum of Art when I visited NYC last April.  Epic fail - I failed to note the artist.  It was in the area of Picasso and other 20th century artists.  If you can provide me with a name, I'd appreciate it.

I started playing with the colorful strips of fabric with this in mind.

I sewed until I ran out of red and orange.  So that's how big it will be.  Since I like strips and strings so much, there may be more in the future.  Now, back to the machine to sew it up!

Somebody Else's Scraps

We've all done it.  No matter how wonderful our own fabric is, we love looking at what everyone else has.  I've started a new idea today, using my play scraps.

Someone gave another load to Lizzie and she gave me a big bag that I dumped right on top of my scrap laundry basket.

I fiddled around and kind of came up with a color scheme of sorts.  Red will be my accent or "treat" fabric as Victoria Findlay Wolfe calls it.  I cut a bunch of strips.

Then I started sewing strip sets.  Some strips were too wide so I trimmed. Nothing is over 1".

I'm trimming to 3 1/2" square.  The picture of  my INSPIRATION is apparently stored on the other computer, so I'll have to amend this.  The inspiration was something I saw at the Met in April.......