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 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 5, 2009
A Blue Bouquet on Twilt Tuesday
A while back I made a quilt called “A Blue Bouquet for Barbara Jean”. It was a quilt I made in memory of my mother who passed away when I was very young. This little Twilt, “Blue Bouquet”, uses the same 3D flower block but has only six petals where the blocks in the larger quilt each had eight petals. I added hot stick Crystals in the light flower print inset and in the center of the 3D flower as well as a bead and embroidery.
The fabrics are several different blue batiks except for the inset fabric. I love blue and white quilts and I think I am not alone. 
The inspiration for the Twilt, “A Blue Bouquet for Barbara Jean”.
For more information on Twitter Quilts…..Twilts.
April 28, 2009
It’s Sweet and Simple this Twilt Tuesday
I just got back from the Seven Sister’s Quilt Show in San Luis Obispo, California and was worn out and didn’t have a lot of time for this weeks piece. But, that just goes to show how quick, easy and satisfying these little Twilts can be.
I started with a embroidered paper pieced basket block from my unfinished project stash. This was a left over piece from a couple of little wall hangings I made at least 15 years ago. It was too pretty to waste. 
I sewed the lot cabin strips on through the batting and back as I worked my way out to the outer edges. There are several Liberty of London type cotton lawn. These are very soft, light weight fabrics with wonderful prints. The added flowers are plastic molded flowers from Australia that have just been waiting for an opportunity to shine. I was quite satisfied with this project.
I would love to see your Twilts. Drop me a line and I will be happy to link to your Blog or send me a picture and I will feature it here. For more about Twilts see Twitter Quilts….Twilts.
Snips and Bits from Shelley's Studio 