Sunday, December 19, 2010

Stories in Stitches



As quilters, we all write stories in stitches.

Few days ago Barb shared her quilt and the story behind it. 
A lot of the times, we start a quilt on an impulse, a basic instinct, a drive to design and create.
Which is what I believe Mary  is doing right now. 
Sometimes we get inspired by what surrounds us and we get motivated to design. 
Occasionally we take part in quilt along and let our creativity pour out. 
Sometimes, it is a group effort like the one Victoria has started us all with our 15 minutes Bee
or Beth who is building a neighborhood of quilters.

Either way we all are somehow involved in telling a story. 
It is the reason my blog is called "The root Connection"

 Every quilt has a story..whether it is a machine stitched, hand stitched, appliqued or pieced, or it is made of  a traditional or improvisational style. if you dig deeper than the surface you will find a story..If you ask the maker, he or she will tell you all about it! 

I have not met a quilt that has not told a story.

I hope you all  find this link below interesting. 


 

The native language in the story is 'Gujarati', the language I speak at home here and with my family back in India. My ancestors were from the western state of Gujarat, the bordering state of India to Pakistan.

This little preview of the documentary tells the story that is indented in lives of millions!
  Although, I was born way after the events that are depicted here, I somehow feel connected to this art that tells the story of human lives. 
  It is part of my culture and heritage.

There are great efforts being made to preserve this ancient art. 
You can learn more about it by visiting 

   
  If you would like to learn more about the Ralli quilts,   
visit 
 

Patricia Stoddard, the author of the book, "Ralli Quilts" represents the organization called Lila Handicrafts.   You can also visit this site and see the beautiful ralli quilts of all sizes.

  I also would like to share the link for the Folk Art Market in New Mexico. 
This site has been a great source of inspiration for me from the countries all around the world.

I hope you enjoy visiting these sites and get inspired and
even find a treasure for your home or friends along the way!

Friday, December 17, 2010

Ralli Quilt Close-Up







I know I have done really poor job on these pictures. It has been a crazy busy day but I could not resist taking new pictures of the quilt and posting them for those of you who wanted the close up of this quilt. 
As I said earlier, the blocks are made of 25 two inch squares. 
 
 

Wednesday, December 15, 2010

This past week or two....

 
 Another quilt inspired by a Ralli from India.
The quilt top was sewn during the fall of 2008. I call it my two inch love affair.
After two years, I finally finished stitching on the borders!

Back in 2008-09, I had moved back to Seattle with my two kids for the academic year so they could finish their high school and Jr. high. (Our big move to PA from Seattle had back fired a bit for our teenage kids)

Knowing that we will be spending for two homes, I shipped the fabrics from my stash. I did not want to buy even an inch of fabric while being there. Since Fall was just around the corner, I had picked up a box with Kaffe fabrics and dumped them in the shipping box.
I stayed true to using what I had for this quilt. Not an inch of fabric was bought. I know it is quite saturated with colors but it is quite meaningful to me.
I just found the border fabric in another box!

I designed the pattern with  blocks made with 25 two inch squares.
There are six different configurations of 25 square patches.
(does that make sense?)

It was a lot of fun making this quilt in the little apartment I called home for an entire year.
Being single mom for that year.. Not so much!
I have great respect for all of those single parent out there!


I finished the 'Confetti' quilt and hung on the wall by my sons' rooms to welcome them home. 
( In four days... but who is counting? )

I learned something new about hanging quilts on the wall. I used to use about one or two inches wide sleeve  on the back and insert 3/8" dowel to hang the quilts. 

For this quilt I made a four inches wide sleeve.
What is the difference, you ask? 
The quilt hangs away from the wall. The extra inches of the sleeve allow the quilt to FLOAT off the wall. 


Without the binding in natural light.. this one made it on the Explore on flickr!


I really am happy with this little quilt. 
The back looks like local farms covered with fresh fallen snow. 


Before quilting it looked like it was never going to lay flat. The experiment of  "quilting my way" was quite fun and pretty rewarding. If you click on the picture, it will show you how 'unflat' the quilt top was!








After getting inspired by all of you who have been working on Christmas quilts, I started a new project with no deadlines in mind. Bunch of red and green strips playing on the house top!
The stitching on the Confetti quilt has made me want to do more hand quilting. I think my red and green quilt also will get embellished with some heavy stitching.

Another slow project!
 



Thursday, December 9, 2010

Inspirations


This is not my quilt!

 Neither is this one.

The designer's name is Stacey.. and her blog is called, ' On the Design Wall.' She has been making these quilt for quite some time. Go visit her blog if you are interested in more of what is here. I really like her take on Gee's Bend inspired quilts.
And, for those of you who like to work with used shirts,check this out!
I wish I was there!

Monday, December 6, 2010

Her Book!

  Tonya Ricucci has a new book! 


  Emotions + Fabrics + Letters = Word Play

Back in early spring when she started her Liberated Amish Challenge, I was one of the last ones to join in. It sounded like so much fun. The challenge was to get inspired by original Amish quilts and put a liberated twist to the quilt. She also threw in a fun element of adding words to the quilt.

I have to be honest and say that back then I wasn't so sure if I was even going to finish the quilt before the June deadline. So, the idea of adding words to the quilt seemed far fetched at the time. I finished my quilt top around June 28th, just in time and decided to skip the words.  Pretty soon, other quilters who had made their quilts for the challenge started posting their work. It was fun to see all the messages that were written in quilts forever!

I then realized that I had missed out on great fun!

Tonya had given web lessons and tutorials on her blog but by the time I was ready to write with fabrics, they were no longer available due to the anticipation of her book. Now you can imagine how badly I want this book. Just look at the book cover! Can you imagine the endless possibilities? I like the playfulness of the letters.I can see myself writing all over the quilts.

Word Play Quilts can be pre-ordered or you can buy it tomorrow which is it's set release date!
I am so excited to get my hands on my copy.
I just finished quilting my challenge quilt. I had worked on my quilt a couple of years back but it seemed like a perfect fitting idea for Tonya's challenge. I am so glad I participated. I got to know a person who is not only artistic but quite generous with her gift. She shares her creativity and inspires all of us!



Have a wonderful day!

Wednesday, December 1, 2010

Memories from the attic


This little snowman was made during my doll making days. He comes out of the attic every year since 1994.
He is wearing the hat that was made from my old socks. His nose is made of clove stick painted orange. Clove heads are buttons for his shirt and mittens are painted and so are the boots. I even laced the boots. I wish I know who the pattern designer was. I really enjoyed making them.




I still love having them around the house during the holidays..They bring a little bit of past back with those wonderful memories when the children were little. These two were made for my two boys.. They come out of the attic every year and hang together on the tree. 
    
 

Wednesday, November 24, 2010

Happy Thanksgiving!


I hope you all are near your friends and family this holiday season.
I wasn't going to post this week but I could not resist when I saw Mary's post this morning. I have been looking to accessorize my unusually bold styled coat (for me) for a long time and I think I may have found a perfect thing!
Go check out her blog. You are going to love how clever she is and how beautiful her work is..
I am wondering if I need to buy a new coat or feel lucky that in future it will be used to make my home even more stylish like Mary's. LOL..

It has been a busy yet very relaxing and happy past few days. My long lost best friend from 1988 is back in my life. She visited for few days and we shared so much lughter over cups of tea.. Lots and lots of cups of tea! It is amazing that true friendships remain the same even after so many years and you can pick up where it was left off last time. We had not communicated in at least 17 years! It was a blast from the past for sure!

I am just thankful that I have people all around the world that are so near and dear to me!


 Before she arrived, I finished this little wall hanging and practiced my machine quilting.


I love finishing a quilt with bias binding for the curvy edges. The curved piecing becomes even edgier... 


Here are some pebbles!  I had to sneak them in!



Working on that scrap quilt.. Remember  this? I decided to hand quilt with Perle Cotton.. I have always loved heavy hand quilting. This one was particularly inspired by this.

It is a nice little project to finish before the year ends. There is a spot in the house that needs a little sprucing up and this quilt is just the right size for that.

I also did lot of machine quilting last week.
This is the back of my 'Amish Impressions Zigzag' quilt.



And here is the front!



Also build more houses..


Hope your home is filled with love and laughter this week.
Have a wonderful day giving thanks to your family and friends!

Sunday, November 14, 2010

One of my favorites...


Do you have this book? If you like houses, you must look into 'Home Sweet Home' by Deborah Harding and Laura Fisher.
The blocks in this quilt are only 4 inches square. Click on the picture to see the close up. 

    

 My little house is two and a half inches tall.
  Imagine an entire village out of little houses made of sticks and stones!


 Are you inspired?


 How many baskets of scraps will this take?

If you haven't been here, you don't know what you are missing out! 

Friday, November 12, 2010

She loved it!


She said so....


As she looked straight in to the camera!


and right into my eyes....


 Mom too!


She whispered in k' ear..

Meera loved her quilt.. 

And yes,

She loved the back more than the front..


Have a joyful weekend!

 

Friday, November 5, 2010

Wild thing...

You make my heart sing!


Yes, This wild and crazy thing makes me smile..  I have never finished a quilt in a week's time. 
You see, I was working on a deadline.. Don't like to do that a whole lot. 
You can't hurry love and you can certainly not hurry creativity.. unless it wants to hurry itself!
 
Amy is having her forth annual Blogger's quilt festival and this happen to be one of my very latest favorite quilts to share! 

Which is the other quilt you ask?


This one of course! 

Another one of my latest creations! 
The basket blocks were inspired by the quilts from Collaborative Quilting II by Gwen Marston.
I just decided to use crazy patches for the background. 
Since it is a gift for a baby girl, It had to be as cheerful and happy as possible! 
Then I wondered... Why should the fun stop at the quilt top?
So, I pieced the back..  


Now, I was really having fun and did not want it to end.
 I thought a black and whilte stripe would be a perfect binding for this quilt..
But my heart said.. 
NO...

It had to be another scrappy finish to a fun experience!


  I can't decide which is front and which is back.


I guess, I don't have to!
  

Baskets are fun.. 
They can be wild and crazy  and filled with joy!
These ones are loaded with love 
for our niece's first born!

Wednesday, November 3, 2010

Basket Quilt


I thought I was going to wait for another post until after I finished this quilt. But it seems like I have hit the wall and going no where. 
At first, I was not sure if I was going to use borders for this quilt. This quilt was just a fun experiment and had no ultimate goal.. I kept making my fancy baskets and as I made them the crazy patched up background seemed like a really good idea. I did have a great time making those blocks.

After looking at nifty's quilt, I thought of making it into a baby quilt and gifting it to our niece. 



According to my daughter, the baskets are just right for a little baby..her quilt should be soft and gentle in colors and pattern...
In my book.. soft and gentle does not exist.. Colors have to be bright. Use of dark and light is a must!
  I kept making my baskets..with wonky bases and handles because they are fun to make!




Now the quilt top is finished. I need to choose a backing. 
I think I am going to go with another crazy..

I hope the baby does not stay awake all night with bright and poppy colors..

That would not be good.

But as long as she is warm and cozy..

She will be alright!

What do you think?

Soft and gentle or wild and crazy for the back?

Enter to Win Bernina 455 QE Kaffe Edition

Hey everyone! It has been a while! I have to share some great news! I have some great giveaway announcement!     Alex and Ricky at TheQuiltS...