Radha - An Exploration in Scale in Quilt Design

Radha

80” X 80”

Just 16 large blocks. They literally took me an hour to sew. And then hours contemplating their layout, but that is beside the point. When you want to play with scale, going big is the easiest way to do it!

To make this quilt I took roughly 2 meters of a black on black fabric and 2 meters of a white on white. I split it all into even squares. Depending on the width of your fabric that ends up about 21” on each side. (A meter is about 40” so I used a bit more than that to get them to be squares.) After making pairs of black and white I sliced through each pair on the curve, freehand. This improv curve technique is a comfort and a classic to me. After sewing each set back together I was left with 16 blocks.

Then they sat. And sat. I thought I was going to use them for one thing, then another. Then, this spring, I was hunting my stash for ideas. Our oldest nephew was getting married and of course I was going to make him a quilt! In conference with my mother in law and niece it was determined that black would be a favourite colour in a quilt. Not my norm, but I could do it. Then I remembered these blocks!

Once uncovered, pressed, and measured it was clear they weren’t all the same size. rather than trim everything down to a smaller size I decided to add some strips to make those few blocks bigger. And what better option than neon solids? I added them randomly based off of what I had available.

Then I spent hours over days trying to come up with a layout that worked. You can see some of the ideas here. In the end I went with something that felt more black. Perception is everything, right?

Continuing with the neon theme I quilted the whole thing with a bright peach thread. A few episodes of Revisionist History while on the long arm rental at My Sewing Room and it was finished. Then the mad scramble to get binding on before I left on our big summer trip. The wedding was the first weekend we were away.

Normally, I don’t get too fussed about finishing wedding presents on time. Maybe I should? That’s another story though. But I was feeling a bit guilty that my daughter and I were missing the wedding so I really wanted to have the gift available on time.

The backing is a combination of Tula Pink neons and that great green whose name I cannot remember. The Tula was perfect not only because the colour but both my nephew and his bride are big animal lovers. Now it has the black side and the bright side.

If you’ve been at a trunk show with me over the years you’ve heard me tell the story of how my first quilt was made after I found out my future sister in law was pregnant. It gave me permission to try quilting. My first quilt ever was made for this same nephew. Well, when I was binding the quilt I realized I still had 1 scrap from that very first quilt! It fit perfectly on the binding. I adore this full circle moment in both family and quilting.

Sadiya - Our Trip Diary Quilt from Egypt and Turkey

Sadiya

36”x 42”

Our trip is long over, the tastes gone from our mouth, the smells disappeared, the noise in the distance. All we have left are our memories.

Our journey to Egypt and Turkey this summer was beyond memorable. I am so glad that my last minute decision to bring sewing supplies resulted in this special piece. I’ve been sitting with all the memories as I stitched it. Opting for hand quilting/embroidery in all the blocks meant I’ve been sitting with it nearly daily for a few months. Bit sad to be done, really, because that means the trip is truly in the past.

Make sure to check out the post I made right after the trip with block and trip details.

To see details of the stitching on each finished block, I made a reel that you can see here. It was a lot of fun to pick stitches and patterns to both highlight block elements and sometimes reference the original block inspiration. I played around with thread weights, brands, and colours. Not to mention, a collection of stitch options!

While the back of the quilt is not a perfect reflection of the front, I did try hard to be as neat as possible. This meant thinking through my movements as I stitched, burying knots, and a constant aiming for consistency. Oh, and a pick a busy print to give yourself a break!

The binding was a special experiment. Inspired by ancient linen seen in the Grand Egyptian Museum I wanted a fringe element. Knowing that linen frays so nicely I embraced this instead of fighting it. Stay tuned for a tutorial on that.

In our house we have a no quilts on the wall rule. Considering that vast number of quilts here, I think it is a pretty fair rule. But even my husband agreed we could break it for this special quilt. Now to find the perfect spot to hang it so we can all smile at our shared memories. Oh wait, I guess I have to sew a sleeve on it first!

In case you missed it, here is the small quilt I made with the scraps from this one.

Quilt Block Diary of Cheryl Arkison in Egypt and Turkey

It would be a cliche to say ‘there are no words’ to describe our epic trip to Egypt and Turkey this summer. But this is a blog and that makes no sense. I could also say something about a’ picture says a thousand words’ but again, you probably want more info than that.

My daughter, long time readers will know her as The Evil Genius, qualified for world championships at both the U17 and U19 level in her chosen sport: modern pentathlon. This is a five sport event that includes fencing, swimming, obstacle course, shooting, and running. Not wanting her to have all the fun, and because we were nervous about sending our 15yo halfway around the world alone, we planned to go with her and make it a big family affair. Egypt has long been a bucket list trip for me, so I was extra excited.

It was a packed month between the competitions and exploring. We started at the first event in Alexandria. Staying in an apartment and not the venue with the rest of the teams was certainly an experience! We were not in an area with any other Western tourists. A little bit exciting in the Ubers each day. But we were comfortable and felt safe, even if the city is very loud, active, and dirty. The competition went better than expected, especially considering she fell on the first day of training there and badly sprained her ankle. We gave her the choice of competing or not and she decided to persevere. As a mother I was both proud and horrified. Mostly proud.

After Alexandria and a few days in Cairo to recoup, train, and slightly be touristy we met up with the rest of the family in Turkey. I had travelled with my daughter to Alex, the rest of the family was at a wedding. There we road tripped through the beautiful countryside to the Aegean Coast. We swam in turquoise waters, ate all the food, visited mind boggling ruins, and laughed our butts off. We had an extra kid (one of the other athletes) and my MIL. And yes, we all got along.

The next competition was in Istanbul. My daughter stayed with the rest of the team there and we had fun exploring this massive and cool city when not watching the Canadian athletes. We were there a week and I feel like we barely scratched the surface of what there is to experience.

When the competitions were over and the rest of the team went home or on to other events our family travelled back to Egypt. This was our time to see all of the ancient sites. We got to go IN some pyramids, felt humbled by the craftsmanship, engineering, and detail of the ancient Egyptians, and then finished our trip on a houseboat on the Nile. Not a cruise, but a houseboat moored in Luxor where we even got to swim in the famous river (don’t worry, there are no crocodiles since they build the Aswan Dam).

Prior to leaving I decided to bring along a stack of fabric squares. My plan was for a block a day. I wasn’t entirely sure how this would play out, but I wanted to try. Surprisingly, I was very motivated and did indeed make a block for every day. I even finished the last one as we were boarding the flight home. The blocks serve as a bit of a trip diary. They are all appliqued in one way or another with freehand cut shapes. Oh, except one, you’ll be able to figure that out. Each block is inspired by our experiences, our sites, or events of the day. Most interpretations are abstract, some a bit more literal. The gallery above shares the block and just one inspiration photo.

Day 1 - Arrive in Alexandria via Cairo.

Day 2 - Training Day in Alexandria, where we discover the importance of shade and KT Tape.

Day 3 - First day of competition and opening ceremonies.

Day 4 - Competition for my girl and her sprained ankle.

Day 5 - Canada is killing it on the obstacle course!

Day 6 - Less events today so we explored Alexandria a bit into the evening.

Day 7 - Finals competition. All three Canadian athletes made finals.

Day 8 - Mixed relay and one last ride in an Uber in Alexandria’s crazy, potholed and crowded streets.

Day 9 - A bit touristy in Alex, the famous Library and the Kim el Shoqafa Catacombs

Day 10 - The new Grand Egyptian Museum is a cool building, but not really open yet.

Day 11 - Stressful travel day that ended with a gorgeous drive through Turkey and an amazing meal, plus all the family is back together!

Day 12 - Sidetrack to see the ruins at Troy.

Day 13 - Road tripping to Fethiye through mountains of olive groves.

Day 14 - Ah, that Turquoise Coast.

Day 15 - Pammukale, swimming in Cleopatra’s temple and the most beautiful coliseum.

Day 16 - From the coast up the mountains and arriving in Istanbul on the great Turkish highways.

Day 17 - Up the Galata Tower and exploring the streets of Istanbul.

Day 18 - The Blue Mosque and Hagia Sophia plus Sultanahmet Square and more delicious food.

Day 19 - Cheering on our girl at her second competition!

Day 20 - Wandering the Grand Bazaar and it’s surrounding streets.

Day 21 - Food tour of Istanbul means more delicious food. Oh, these little cups of tea.

Day 22 - Another competition day, with a side trip to explore a bit more of Istanbul in-between events.

Day 23 - Relaxing on the marble of a Turkish Hammer is glorious.

Day 24 - In Cairo again, exploring the old museum and the city

Day 25 - The pyramids!!!!!

Day 26 - Exploring the Black Desert, the White Desert, the Baharyia Oasis and camping under the stars.

Day 27 - Sunrise in the White Desert then a travel day to Luxor

Day 28 - So many tombs in the Valley of the Kings, and the Queens, but I was really there for the Temple of Queen Hatshepsut

Day 29 - The temples at Karnak and Luxor exceeded my imagination, the Mummification Museum? Not so much.

Day 30 - Saw the sunrise hot air balloons then swam in the Nile and began the long journey home.

As I worked through the jet lag on our return home I pieced the quilt top together. Stay tuned for that. If you want more details and photos you can always check out my daily posts on Instagram.

July Morning Make 2022

Frankly, I can’t believe it’s taken me this long to try my hand at the classic red and black Ukrainian embroidery. A first generation Canadian on my Dad’s side with a Baba (grandmother) who never spoke English and spent her summers gardening and winters with a needle, I honestly never felt the need. I mean, we have oodles and oodles of her stitching in our homes. And that doesn't count the suitcase full an aunt stole and the probably hundreds of pieces she gave away to churches, family, and friends. (Much like it will be with my quilts when I die.) With the war in Ukraine and some pride in my heritage, plus a desire for some hand stitched over the summer, I decided to pick up the floss.

For patterns I dug into my stash of supplies I have from my Baba - books, papers, and patterns. I recognized pieces and fondly recalled the decoration she would make for our blouses in Ukrainian dance. All patterns, no instructions. Without her here to guide me I turned to the modern teacher: You Tube.

In the end I finished 4 small bits of embroidery. I didn’t set out to ‘make’ anything. For one, I had no idea how long it would take. Two, I figured it would get tedious to do the same repeating pattern for an entire month. And three, I don’t really need more pieces of embroidery in the house. All four pieces could, if I wanted to, be turned into bookmarks.

I found the whole process quite relaxing. Challenging at first, just because of the counting and need to follow patterns. Once you got into a rhythm, though, it became very soothing. I don’t know that I will do it again, but it was special to go back to my heritage this month.