Sailing Away...

As I continue my adventure into raw-edge applique quilting, I have found that it is taking no time at all (relatively) to finish these quilt tops!  I am so used to the long process of designing a garment, creating a pattern, sewing the sample, finding fit adjustments and fixing the pattern, then sewing the garment in final fabric.  All for one garment!  It's only been about 4 or 5 weeks and I already have 3 (and a half) quilt tops done!

I have set aside the quilt of my own tattoo to finish the pirate ship quilt.  This is what I have so far:

All the applique is done, but I still have to add the satin-stitching of the swirlies around the sides and some seagulls.  I bought some quilting stencils from The Stencil Company with a nautical theme, so I'm excited to incorporate those somehow.

The two other tops that I have finished have a backing and have been quilted, but just around the main image and its details.  They still have yet to be quilted around the sides and have a binding put on.  This the most recent one I finished :

I really wanted to experiment with sewing curvy lines, and it actually was pretty fun!  This design has been the most difficult one to stitch so far.  The sheer amount of satin stitching for the scales and fins was the biggest pain, along with layering the water splashes and stitching around those tight curves.  You can see my attempt to add a quilting pattern on the top left side, which I have tried to sew with my machine's free motion spring foot but I just can not get the hang of it!

This is the very first design I attempted:

It's a sugar skull from the Mexican holiday Dia de los Muertos, or Day of the Dead.  I thought it would be fun to play with the colors, especially with the selection I have of silk dupioni fat quarters I received for Christmas this past year.  This one's a little rough, and there are definitely things about it I would change... like not making him look so angry... but this one proved to be a very good learning experience.

So I continue to sail on with this applique quilting thing... once I finish the quilt top of my tattoo I will be on the hunt for my next design inspiration...

Quilt Show

I am a no longer a Quilt Show virgin!  This past weekend was the Batavia Quilt Show and the gown I had designed for my Senior Thesis collection was on exhibit.  While I did not win any awards (boo) it was fun to see my dress on display (and doing something other than hanging in a closet!)

I was amazed to see all the different types of quilts on display and felt that the efforts and great designs were very inspiring.  

The quilt show has refueled my vigor for sewing, and today I continue working on my tattoo quilts. This one I had started over a week ago but was waiting on the background fabric.  Now that it is here, I'm excited to move forth!  More pics to come when I am further along...

To Quilt or Not to Quilt...

After a long two year stint of non-stop garment sewing, I have decided to set aside the headaches of zippers, buttons, even hems, and fitting, and trade them for the headaches of my new endeavor:  Raw-Edge Applique Quilting.  Like I've said before, patchwork quilting isn't really my thing and I have always been attracted to art quilts but wasn't sure how to dive in.

I've been told by some seasoned quilters that art quilts are "hard" and a beginner like me shouldn't even try until I've done a few more patchwork quilts.  This sounded like a challenge to me.  But instead of trying it without any kind of knowledge of how to do it at all (like I usually do), I at least went on a hunt for a book about it.  I stumbled across a book by Leni Levenson Wiener called "Photo-Inspired Art Quilts,"  which not only has examples of her intricate and beautiful photo-quilts, but she also includes detailed instructions on how to create your own!

Although I was ready to jump right in, it did seem a little out of my league still.  So I tried to think of images that weren't as detailed as photos but could still transfer well into an image that can be made out of fabric.  That's when I thought: Tattoos!  I LOVE tattoo art, especially traditional tattoo flash.  I have a few tattoos of my own that I got mainly when I was too young to think of an actual good tattoo idea (but we won't talk about that...) I do have one that I'm particularly proud of on my upper back.  I got it done in the fall of 2008 by a really great artist in Chicago.  This was the second tattoo he's done for me, and it was well worth the money!  It's the coolest tattoo ever, but unfortunately it's on my back... so I can't see it!  That's when I thought of making it into an applique quilt.

I took a photo of it, printed it, enlarged it x3 by hand, cut out the pieces in cotton and 100% silk dupioni (one of my all-time favorite fabrics) and now am in the stage of having my main image but no background to put it on (I still have yet to rifle through my stash and find some suitable background fabric.) My hope is to finish by this weekend.

I think it's going pretty well.  I can't wait until it's a wall-hanging and finally be able to look at my tattoo!

New Venture...

So this is blogging.  For years I had heard of blogging, even used some tutorials in blogs to help me out of sticky sewing situations, but never thought of creating my own.  Now that I have graduated with my degree in Fashion Design (making me unemployed) it gives me much free time to work on my own projects and share with those who also enjoy the creative process.

I call myself a "radical seamstress" because I feel that I have never really belonged to any one group of sewing enthusiasts.  While studying fashion in school I was outcast because I found myself not being interested in "high fashion."  I was more interested in creating fun, colorful clothing for every day people, which did not go over well with my instructors or fellow classmates, for some reason.  After taking a quilting class, I yet again felt outcast, not only because I was the youngest person there (being 21 at the time), but I was more drawn to quilting as art rather than piecing blocks.  My personal style is also a little "unconventional" for traditional quilters, me having several tattoos and enjoying a little rock n' roll.

While I appreciate high fashion and patchwork quilting, neither defined me as a seamstress.  So now I am trying to find that definition by working on as many projects as I can handle while finding my niche in the fashion/sewing/quilting/textile design/whatever is creative industry.

I plan on posting pictures (and maybe some tutorials) on past and current projects, so follow my journey on defining myself and redefining the word "seamstress".