Home Again

 Home #1. Hand dyed and commercial cottons and a teeny bit of silk, fused, machine and hand quilted, mounted on painted wood panel. 12" square, one inch deep.

I am so, so, so happy to be back at work in the new studio, making house quilts again. It has been YEARS since the last one was made and I kept seeing them on Pinterest, and felt a bit nostalgic whenever one popped up. Obviously I wasn't done with the concept.

It's all coming around full circle. And I will be continuing this series til I run out of ideas. I love the French knots and the fringe on the light turquoise fabric. 

For those who weren't here in the very beginning of these quilts (2007!!!) they are mounted on the board with self adhesive hook and loop squares (velcro) in each corner. The panels have a recessed back making them easy to hang. O, and I painted the board too. 

To get started, I made a trial quilt on Sunday and used mostly scraps that I found collected in a bin. I was not happy with it and determined to get out some of the 'good stuff' and try again on Monday. O my! I had forgotten what gorgeous fabrics I had and choosing was so difficult. My tower of fused fabric is deceptive, because inside each roll of color are layers and layers of related colors, textures and large leftovers from previous quilts. 

 I decided to cut a large swatch from each of the rolls, but soon realized that I had already done that and the swatches were on the top shelf, wrapped up in paper to prevent spilling. Phew! That saved me hours of cutting and rolling. But then from those initial cuts, I made more cuts, this time into skinny strips for the construction of striped strips. 

I made a bunch of strips sets for use as borders in this and future work. Even the teeniest slivers are usable. Gotta love fusing!

Standing all day had been a problem before I had my knee surgery, and thinking ahead, I bought myself an anti-fatigue mat which helps quite a bit. I also found myself sitting at a stool to rest while continuing to work. I found the daylight just right for my eyes and never turned on the overhead light fixture, altho I did buy new LED bulbs in case I would have a cloudy day or want to work before sunrise. They are supposed to last 22 years. Geesh! I'll be 95 by then. Whoa.

I woke up today all excited to get back to work, and I haven't felt like that in ages. Such a wonderful feeling.

Yay! 

Home #1 is available for $100 plus shipping. Email me at fibermania at g mail dot com. SOLD