June 30, 2009
Twist and Twilt
Silk and Linen are the focus for this Tuesday’s Twitter Quilt, “Twist and Twilt”. The ribbons and the twisted blocks are made from silk ribbons and silk fabric that was scrunch painted. The painted fabric was also used for the flower. The blocks are folded and basted to a backing fabric before the top was pieced. After the quilting was finished, I mostly stitched in the ditch, the ribbons were laid out and twisted as I applied them to the Linen block with a running stitch of #8 pearl cotton. Each petal and leaf of the flower was shaped using a candle to burn the edges.
The shapes were than applied using a running stitch with pearl cotton and embroidery was added to the leaves and flower center.
Credit goes to Yvonne Porcella who introduced me to the techniques through her books. She is a fabulous artist.
For more info: Twitter quilts…….Twilts or see all my Twilts : Flickr Twilts Page.
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June 23, 2009
Sizzling Summer Twilt Tuesday
The sun batik and the Asian print at the bottom were laying near each other in my stack of fabric, calling out to be used together. I pondered what to do with them for several days and decided that sometimes the fabric wants to be the star and you don’t want to cut them up. Still they needed some piecing to make them spark. I tracked down the feather and crane prints and then used the flower colors in all the fabric to pull batiks for the multi colored bands.
The bands tie all the other pieces together. Add a little black to outline the bands and sections and it was ready to quilt. For the quilting I chose to leave my feed dogs up and use a straight stitch. In addition to background stitching and stitching in the ditch, I outlined the suns in the batik and the bamboo.
I think “Summer Sizzle” turned out quite nicely for a simple design.
For more info: Twitter quilts…….Twilts or see all my Twilts : Flickr Twilts Page.
June 16, 2009
Tuesday’s Twilt … Wisteria
Having crashed for a few days after my latest road trip I am refreshed and ready to get to work.
Todays Twilt is “Wisteria”, silk ribbon embroidery on crinkled fabric with machine stitching and couched glittery threads. The frame of this piece has Cathedral Window corners. I have some ideas for more complex Cathedral Window corners coming up in future twilts.
The silk ribbon I used is from my collection of ribbons that I painted and dyed a while back. I have really enjoyed revisiting the silk ribbon work that I enjoyed so much in the past. Expect to keep seeing more.
For more info: Twitter quilts…….Twilts or see all my Twilts : Flickr Twilts Page.
June 9, 2009
Checking in From the Road
I was up at the Central Coast Shop Tour this weekend and ran into lots of friends and made some new ones. I got to meet a couple of Tweeps (friends from Twitter) even. A student and friend, Judy Hines, brought in a small piece that she made in one of my classes in September of 2005. Its called “Stars for Rick” in memory of her son. It’s a Cathedral Window with a 9Patch layout. The high contrast used with the frame fabrics makes the nine frames stand out and the grid and scallop finish makes the frames look like stars.
Judy has taken lots of classes with me and I was so thrilled to get this picture and show everyone her quilt. Thank you, Judy.
I know it’s Twilt Tuesday and my Twilt isn’t finished since I have been on the road for a week and will be in San Diego for the next couple of days but I will post it on Friday if I can, so check back then.
June 2, 2009
Twilted Trees for Twilt Tuesday
The colors in this Twilt are just fabulous. I couldn’t have been happier. They just seem to glow. I plan on making a larger version of this pattern in the future.
I have wanted to try this design for a while and a Twilt is the perfect way to test it. Two different sizes of 3D triangles were used to create “Trees” .
I am reminded of the mountains and forests in the late summer or even fall.
The picture below shows what the piece looked like before I rolled the bias folds of the triangles. 3D triangles can be used without rolling the folds because they are already finished bias edges.
I often pause at the construction stage because most of my designs could be used with out the rolling. Still, the curves add another dimension and so I go ahead and roll and stitch.
As you read this I am on the central coast of California for the Central Coast Quilt Shop Tour. I will be demoing my technique at The Quilt Attic after nursing my adult daughter after she has her tonsils removed. Ouch!
For more info: Twitter quilts…….Twilts or see all my Twilts on my Flickr Twilts Page.
May 26, 2009
Red White and Blue Twilt Tuesday
Yesterday was Memorial Day here in the US and I was inspired to dig out my red, white and blue fabrics and work on a patriotic Twilt. As you can see I have collected quite a few batiks in those colors. “Stars & Stripes” went together pretty quickly. Twelve 3D triangles point to a single 3D square offset from the center. I had rejected the muted strip with stars but when I laid it out I changed my mind. 
The 3D square and triangles are grid quilted and then the folds are rolled. Straight lines of quilting echo the stripes of the star stripe fabric. What have you been working on? I love to hear. Have you started your own Twilt project. If not, you should give it a try. I am enjoying myself immensely.
For more info: Twitter quilts…….Twilts or see all my Twilts on my Flickr Twilts Page.
May 19, 2009
May Flowers
As you look at my “May Flowers:” Twilt I am teaching a workshop in La Habra, California and set this to post automatically. Here’s hoping it worked. I did a bit of embroidery on this piece with floss, pearl cotton, silk ribbon and some wire edge ribbon flowers and leaves. I added buttons, leaves and a charm. The base for the larger square is crinkled batik with a few couched threads.
I will probably go back and add some beads and silk ribbon leaves since I had to focus on my Lecture and Workshop. Please send me links and pictures when you finally get around to making your own Twilt.
For more info on Twilts: Twitter Quilts…….Twilts. You can also see all my Twilts on my Flickr Twilts Page.
May 14, 2009
A Twilt from Jules Quilts
Please visit Jules Quilts and check out her fabulous contribution to the Twitter Quilt….Twilt project. I love it! Thanks Jules! “Curves Conquered“
May 12, 2009
Starlit Night for Twilt Tuesday
I went back to the early days of my process to create “Starlit Night”. The larger star in this piece is a Floating Star block from my second book, “Machine Stitched Cathedral Stars“. I shrunk the block and used a grid of 1” background squares. The smaller stars are miniature versions of Star Puzzle. I love the strong constrast created with gold prints and dark star prints. Machine quilted stars and a few Hot Stick crystals on the background add to the celestial feel.
The border print is an older Batik from the early 90’s, I think. I enjoy digging through my fabric collection and finding the older pieces. Twilts are the perfect place to finally use these fabrics. I am considering offering patterns for some of the Twilts so if there’s one you really like let me know.
For more information on Twilts: Twitter Quilts…….Twilts
May 11, 2009
Nice Start to the Week
I had a quiet Mother’s day, heard from all my kids and got flowers which I will probably enjoy for quite a few more days.
I did get out and walk this morning. It feels a little like the mountains here in the foothills of Banning. 
My class for the Piecmakers quilt group went quite well and I really appreciate Dianne Thayer setting it all up. I introduced a new project, The Cathedral Window Sampler. The ladies did very well! So, it’s time to get to work on tomorrow’s Twilt!
Snips and Bits from Shelley's Studio 