Liberated Flying Geese Tutorial

I'm always on the lookout for liberated techniques and concepts that can be listed in my own Liberated Quilting: Free Patterns, Blocks, Ideas and Tutorials section of my blog. What I wanted was simply liberated geese made "on the fly" from scraps.

Ones that I have seen are usually either paper pieced, such as the style used in waves and circular patterns, seen on the cover of a popular book (which I don't own) or they use rotary cutters and same size blocks to then create more random pieces as in popular liberated quilting books.



I wanted a truly random, free-pieced technique that was neither sketched out, nor paper pieced, and only used scissors for cutting super random pieces of fabric from my scrap bags. And since I couldn't find anything online where I saw someone doing this,everyone is paper piecing and I wanted true liberation ;) So, I did it myself and took some random photos of that process!

As you can see, no pre-cuts, no rulers, no mat, no rotary cutter...just some fairly raggedy strips and pieces and truly random piecing..but it worked and it was great fun! I'm sure when I'm working with a bigger sized piece I will have more 'in flight motion' but for now, I was happy with a little random line across the top of my little art quilt.



Step 1. Grab strips and pieces of fabric, and sew your first seam. I would sew and cut as I went along my pieces...always just using scissors as I sat at the machine.


Step 2: Flatten out first "sky" section, prepare center section for sewing on the second one.


Step 3: Grabbing a random bit, sew it on at an angle on the other side of the center section. Remember nothing has to, nor should it be, straight or perfect!


Step 3: Flatten out this other 'sky' section and get ready for the next goose!


Step 4: Switching colors now...so a sky color on top of a different colored scrap of goose!


Step 5: Sew the first goose to the second goose...finally, we have flying geese!


Step 7: Keep on making geese and seaming them to the previous one!

Step 8: You can cut straight across if this new raw edge bothers you but you don't have to. Just keep making geese and sewing them together to the flying chain if you want to!



Step 9: Three geese looking for a nice gander!


Step 10: Here he comes...how about an orange one. Notice how he's a scrappy little fellow, a bit raggedy but he joins in just fine!


Step 11: There he is..a fine feathered fellow!


Step 11: Keep going, in fact, it looks like he jumped ahead of the line now and is leading the flock!


Step 12: But another one got added to the lead position and now we're really off and flying!



Ahh, there they all are...a whole gaggle of flying and completely liberated flying geese! And don't they look good with liberated pieced curving strips and other random piecing of my little art quilt? They truly are great fun!

Oh dear, looks like a cat is near by...and I think he sees those geese ;)

Gaggle of geese...pedal to the metal! You're heading for the AAQI Liberated Challenge!

Liberated Quilting: Free Patterns, Blocks, Ideas&Tutorials

Links to my Liberated Flying Geese in this tutorial plus regular, 3D and other more traditional flying geese:

Liberated Free-Pieced Flying Geese
Flying Geese Tutorial3D Flying Geese Tutorial
Flying Geese Tutorial using a ruler technique
Color Wheel Flying Geese..paper pieced, in a circle[PDF]One Seam Flying Geese Tutorial

2014 Winter Olympics--Principle of the Patchwork Quilt?

The XXII Olympic Winter Games will take place in 2014 in Sochi, Russia. This week the Sochi 2014 Organizing Committee unveiled the concept of the "Look of the Games" which was designed by BOSCO Sports, a sponsor of the Olympics, as well as the official uniform provider for the Russian Olympic team since 2002. Their newest entry for 'the look' revolves around “the principle of the ‘patchwork quilt’ — a combination of 16 designs representing the most famous traditional Russian arts and crafts, ranging from Gzhel to Khokhloma.”
Using these compiled fabrics....

.....they created a design which the press release describes as....

"The design was created from the motifs of ornaments of the most famous Russian national crafts. Here we can see Uftyuzhskaya painting and Vologda lace, Gzhel and Zhostovo painting, Kubachi patterns and Pavlov Posad shawls, Mezenskaya painting and Khokhloma, Yakutsk patterns and Ivanovo chintz. A new modern approach to the folk motifs, a thorough work on the common algorithm for construction of the patchwork quilt - “an individual net”, and on each of the 28 constituent fragments, and an unconditional work of authorship of the BOSCO creative team add an exclusive urgency to the LOOK OF THE GAMES."

Check out the fabulous unveiling photos...










Oh yes....If I could vote I'd definitely vote for this patchwork crafts entry as the theme of the 2014 Olympics, how about you?

Are your link list photos failing to update for me in your sidebar? Please correct "With Heart and Hands" to this html setting and if I'm still invisible could yo please let me know?
http://www.with-heart-and-hands.com

Island Batik Donates $25,000 to AAQI

Posted on June 21, 2011 by AAQI Volunteer

Moira and Adam Dewar

Hold onto your hats!
Moira and Adam Dewar of Island Batik, Inc. have donated $25,386.00 to the Alzheimer’s Art Quilt Initiative!
This is our largest donation to date. As in EVER!
Moira and Adam have been proud supporters of the AAQI through the Rose of Sharon project and have donated fabric for “Alzheimer’s Illustrated: From Heartbreak to Hope.” But this! OH MY GOODNESS!!!
Adam said, “We are very happy to give this money to the AAQI. We think they are doing fantastic work.”
We are ecstatic! Jump-up-and-down happy! Over the moon! THANK YOU!

There are an estimated 5.4 million Americans with Alzheimer’s. One in eight people age 65 has the disease. Right now. If you are a Baby Boomer, your age cohort is turning 65 at the rate of between 7,000 and 10,000 people a day. Chances are high that you will spend your retirement years either struggling with this vile disease yourself or taking care of someone who is.
Let Island Batik’s commitment to fighting Alzheimer’s be a challenge to every quilting industry leader to support the Alzheimer’s Art Quilt Initiative. We fund research directly. 100% of the money that funds “our” research goes to budget, nothing to overhead. Our organization is run by volunteers and we spend zero money on fundraising. We are quilters doing what we love to do and making a difference. HELP US!
Share

Are your sidebar links and photos failing to update for me? Please correct your link list to this setting for With Heart and Hands:
http://www.with-heart-and-hands.com

Bah Humbug!

7148 – Bah Humbug!

Michele Bilyeu
Salem, OR USA
Width: 12" Length: 9"
Materials/Techniques: Cotton fabrics with some hand painting, embroidery floss details and free motion quilting.
Artist Statement: Everyone has those "bah humbug" moments, when everything that can go wrong, does! We can choose how we handle life's challenges, but someone with Alzheimer's cannot. It's up to us to make the best of whatever life has to offer us and help those who cannot help themselves. This quilt is filled with the good will that says "Bah Humbug!" to ALL challenges and "yes" to making the best of things...day by day!


Dedication: For all of those who face life's challenges and in the spirit of unruly determination to keep going no matter what!

Bah Humbug is now on the "For Sale" page and available for purchase! All profits from the sale of AAQI quilts go to fund Alzheimer's research. Please consider the purchase of this quilt ...for yourself, as a gift, or for anyone having a 'Bah Humbug!' kind of day!

When I made this quilt, I had joined Tonya Ricucci's Bah Humbug liberated letters quilt challenge...and of course Tonya had just had knee surgery. So, I couldn't help myself...vision of band-aids, crutches and bah humbug moments flew threw my head! I just had to make a Bah Humbug! art quilt for donation to AAQI.

We all have Bah Humbug! moments....but having someone acknowledge it and cheer you up with good humor and maybe a little art quilt...just might help and it certainly reminds all of us that someone out there truly cares!

It's been listed by AAQI as for sale for $75. Won't you consider a donation towards funding Alzheimer's research by buying this little quilt for someone you love, today?

7148 – Bah Humbug!

$75.00

For Sale Here

Please check out one of my other freshly updated blogs for this wonderful news!

Island Batik Donates $25,000 to AAQI

PS on buying a quilt from AAQI:
For those of you in the AAQI QAM club, it fulfills the requirement for the purchase of a quilt for the Quilt A Month club for June. Remember! It's just as wonderful to buy a quilt as it is to make one each month ;)

MICHELE NOTE:
Are your sidebar links and photos failing to update for me? Please correct your link list to this setting for With Heart and Hands:
http://www.with-heart-and-hands.com

Bag and ID Tag Tutorial

In my crazy Quillow making days last week, I also made this cute little carry bag with lots of pockets and a really, super easy ID tag to go along with it!

The way that I make bags and the tag are so much easier than how most people make them that I thought I'd shown them off, as well. And while sewing 4 gifts in under 3 days didn't allow for remembering to take too many photos..you'll figure it out from the ones I did take and my instructions or look here for the simple technique I use most often:

Basic Bag Directions from morsbags.com(PDF) or Basic Bag Directions (MS Word)
Previous morsbag post and instructional photos


I wanted the bag to be large enough to hold the newly created quillow, while in its pillow form and still have room for a gift card and whatever else the graduating great-niece might want to put in it for after her barbeque graduation party. Everything worked out perfectly. The bag was my standard 'morsbags' sizing.

This one was cut at 18" x 20" and used in a vertical placement with handles cut at 4" wide and 22" long. It takes two handles with placement in a loop shaped on each side of the bag center spaced 5 1/4" from each outside side of the bag. I lined it by cutting doubles of bag fabric and added my own pockets...one on the front of a quilt square block and two on the insides, one on each side. Peeking inside, you see:



Turning it inside out to see the lining and pockets looks like this..each side of the lining inside:


If you didn't mind colorful contrasts, you could actually even use it inside out ;)

But it sure was cute...right sides out.. it showed her knickname appliqued on front, plus a nice sized pocket to use:


But, I was on a crazy roll and besides there was fabric left over! So, an ID tag from scraps:

Supplies needed:
scraps of fabric, medium wt. pellon, clear plastic


The tag is simply two rectangles 3 1/2" x 4 1/2" of fabric, one rectangle of pellon for an interfacing and one rectangle of clear plastic.

The plastic layer is cut and sewn shorter than the finished tag for an opening at the tie end in which to slide an id or business card or a simple address label on paper or cardstock. It goes up to about 1/2" from the end of the tag when complete and is simply stitched down on the back of the sewn tag with one long tie looped and sewn down inside the stitched and flipped to the right side tag. The little ties are simply knotted around the bag handle to close. SO much simpler than those complicated luggage or ID tags I've made before!!!

Sewing steps simply shown:

1.Sew tag sections right sides together, pellon on one side, on three sides only. Turn right side out.

2. Make one long tag tie by folding in and in again, ironing flat, stitching down side.

3. Insert long tie in a loop shape. U of the loop is inside the tag. Stitch down the final tag end.

A super easy tag with a fun bag to put the quillow or anything else in!

Quillow: Etymological Note: quilt + pillow
Free Tutorial : Making a Quillow.

and see my first one:
How To Make A Quillow



Free Bag Pattern and ID tag tutorial

NOTE:
Are your sidebar links and photos failing to update for me? Please correct your link list to this setting for With Heart and Hands:
http://www.with-heart-and-hands.com