a quilt in progress, part 2.

I did some more work on my quilt this weekend. After cutting out all those squares, I needed to cut them into triangles. It was monotonous work, but thankfully it didn't take too long to accomplish. Again, it came in handy to have my trusty rotary cutter and cutting mat.

The basic gist is that all those triangle pieces will get sown together in a pinwheel shape.

See all those triangle pieces. I'm pretty excited about them.

One of the things that I've already learned about quilting is that the whole process is an exercise in patience. Each phase of quilting (so far) hasn't been difficult in the technique required, it just takes time and patience to measure and cut and measure and cut. I like that there is a rhythm to it, even if it is slightly mechanical. I also like the idea of little pieces being used to create something big and purposeful.

a quilt in progress, part 1

A little over a month ago I finished writing up a 30 by 30 list, that is, 30 things that I want to do/accomplish/experience before I turn 30. As of right now, I have yet to mark anything off my list, but this past weekend I started one of them. One of the things on my list is to make a quilt. I've been interested in quilting for over a year, but until recently I just couldn't muster up the courage to dive in.

The weekend before last my parents were in town. I took my mom to the big (and I mean 4-stories big) fabric store downtown. It's a bit overwhelming and intimidating when you're flying solo, but having my mom there was much more reassuring. She's experienced in sewing herself, so it was helpful to have her lend her expertise. Plus it's just more fun to fabric shop with another person, to get their opinion, to have another perspective.

She helped me pick out and limit down the fabrics I chose to make my very first quilt. And here they are!

I decided for my first quilt to do something slightly smaller in scale, so I chose to do a lap quilt for my living room. The color scheme in the room isn't that well defined, but there are some oranges/rusts, golds, tans, and blues. So those are the colors that I tried to keep in mind when picking out fabric.

The quilt pattern I chose is a pretty basic pinwheel design. So my first step was to cut 80 squares, which I will then cut into triangles. I was pleasantly surprised that it didn't take me longer to cut out all the squares. Having the mat, ruler, and rotary cuter were lifesavers. I can guarantee that if I had had to cut those pieces by hand with a pair of scissors, my quilting hobby would have ended in a matter of minutes.

My next step is to cut all these squares in half to make 160 triangles. But then comes the fun part of designing the pinwheels and creating different color combinations.

painting.

I like to paint. It's not something that I dedicate a lot of time to and it's more accurate to call it doodling with paint instead of painting. But, whatever it is, I enjoy it. And, given that I have a new space to decorate, I thought it appropriate to try to make something myself.

So this past weekend, while Micah was out of town reminiscing the good 'ol college days at his 5-yr reunion, I spent some time nurturing my creative process.

And this is what I came up with, it's a tree if you can't tell (which I wouldn't fault you for). I began by drawing in pencil on the canvas, allowing myself the freedom to erase when needed. Then, I painted over the sketch with black acrylic paint.



Afterwards, I realized I wanted to go a little more bold, so I painted over the whole canvas in red, progressively using lighter shades as I moved towards the center.



Then, I chose to add a few more colors to the mix, mostly different shades of gold. One of the things I love most about painting is the ability to mix paints. I love that adding just a little or a lot of one color to another creates a whole new palette. The color spectrum is truly incredible!



And now this piece has a home in my office. I like how it turned out. It adds a little bit of happy to a very beige room that is in desperate need of more decorating!