Hexagons & triangles on the walls

After all that fmq obsession, I was itching to get back to designing and piecing. I decided to start BIG with a queen size bed quilt I've procrastinated about for a long time.

Making something for a friend can be tough - especially when it's a surprise.  Add a restrictive palette in prints and I'm stressing. But this year I intend to buckle down and not put off until tomorrow.

I've nearly decimated my stash of blue prints to make this stack of triangles.

360 equilateral triangles

Doubts and repetitious cutting almost did me in. Then hexagons morphed into triangles on this not-big-enough design wall:

an oblique view due to light fixture & worktable

Nothing like a project to get motivated with the next phase of the studio move. Picking up from half a year ago, I used velcro Command Strips based on this tutorial from Marianne of The Quilting Edge to put up an 8 foot square design wall from two 4x8 sheets of 1" thick foam insulation:

new design wall in new studio

The top and bottom seams mark the middle five-foot height within which I don't have to get on a step stool nor get on down on the floor. Here're the hexagons and triangles on the new wall:

 no obstructed view (yet) on the new design wall

It's not queen sized but with only one triangle left, I must've miscalculated.

That's okay. Instead of buying more fabric and cutting more triangles (ugh!), I'll go modern and add solid negative spaces. Wonder if there'd be enough leftovers for a baby quilt for the first grand nephew due in May.

You be the judge, part 2: quilt no. 3

This is the last of three quilts for you to judge. If you missed the introductory post, read about this little experiment here.

As a judge for a juried quilt exhibition, look at the following full and detailed digital images. Click on images for larger views. Then respond to each of the following nine questions. Or get a score sheet in pdf format for all three quilts here.

quilt no. 3, 21x21 - full view

Quilt no. 3 - detail

Judging criteria from Elizabeth Barton's Ultimate Quilt Judging Algorithm:

1. Did it attract your attention? Yes = 1 or No = 0
2. Did you want to look at it for  5 minutes = 1  or  for 5 seconds = 0?
3. Looking longer, did you see something more?  Yes = 1  or  No = 0
4. Did it stir something in you?  Yes = 1  or  No = 0
5. Was there anything in it that distresses/disturbs/bothers you?  Yes with artist's intention = 1  or  No = 0  or  Yes but unintentional = -1
6. Is it fresh & new = 1  or  is it a development of something familiar = 1 or  is it old hat = 0 
7. Is the value/color strong/balanced/interesting?  Yes = 1  or  No = 0.
8. Do the colors work together?  Yes = 1  or  No, but they clash for a good reason = 1  or  No, colors clash for no reason = 0
9. Does technique awe and amaze you?  Yes = 1  or  No = 0

Total and leave a comment with the score. Further breakdown or additional comments would be welcomed too. Or e-mail me your score sheet.

You be the judge, part 2: quilt no. 2

This is the second of three quilts for you to judge. If you missed the introductory post, read about this little experiment here.

As a judge for a juried quilt exhibition, look at the following full and detailed digital images. Then respond to each of the following nine questions. Or get a score sheet in pdf format for all three quilts here.

quilt no. 2, 16x17 - full view

quilt no. 2 - detail

Judging criteria from Elizabeth Barton's Ultimate Quilt Judging Algorithm:

1. Did it attract your attention? Yes = 1 or No = 0
2. Did you want to look at it for  5 minutes = 1  or  for 5 seconds = 0?
3. Looking longer, did you see something more?  Yes = 1  or  No = 0
4. Did it stir something in you?  Yes = 1  or  No = 0
5. Was there anything in it that distresses/disturbs/bothers you?  Yes with artist's intention = 1  or  No = 0  or  Yes but unintentional = -1
6. Is it fresh & new = 1  or  is it a development of something familiar = 1 or  is it old hat = 0 
7. Is the value/color strong/balanced/interesting?  Yes = 1  or  No = 0.
8. Do the colors work together?  Yes = 1  or  No, but they clash for a good reason = 1  or  No, colors clash for no reason = 0
9. Does technique awe and amaze you?  Yes = 1  or  No = 0

Total and leave a comment with the score. Further breakdown or additional comments would be welcomed too. Or e-mail me your score sheet to maddonaellen-judge@yahoo.com

You be the judge, part 2: quilt no. 1

This is the first of three quilts for you to judge. If you missed the introductory post, read about this little experiment here.

As a judge for a juried quilt exhibition, look at the following full and detailed digital images. Click on images for larger views. Then respond to each of the following nine questions. Or get a score sheet in pdf format for all three quilts here.

quilt no. 1 - 16x16

quilt no. 1 - detail

Judging criteria from Elizabeth Barton's Ultimate Quilt Judging Algorithm:

1. Did it attract your attention? Yes = 1 or No = 0
2. Did you want to look at it for  5 minutes = 1  or  for 5 seconds = 0?
3. Looking longer, did you see something more?  Yes = 1  or  No = 0
4. Did it stir something in you?  Yes = 1  or  No = 0
5. Was there anything in it that distresses/disturbs/bothers you?  Yes with artist's intention = 1  or  No = 0  or  Yes but unintentional = -1
6. Is it fresh & new = 1  or  is it a development of something familiar = 1 or  is it old hat = 0 
7. Is the value/color strong/balanced/interesting?  Yes = 1  or  No = 0.
8. Do the colors work together?  Yes = 1  or  No, but they clash for a good reason = 1  or  No, colors clash for no reason = 0
9. Does technique awe and amaze you?  Yes = 1  or  No = 0

Total and leave a comment with the score. Further breakdown or additional comments would be welcomed too. Or e-mail me your score sheet after quilt no. 3. 

You be the judge, part 1

What happens when judges review entries for an exhibition? Why are some works accepted but others are not? No simple answers to this recurring mystery that continues to vex all artists.

Elizabeth Barton gave this some thought and came up with a simple algorithm: nine questions in four categories for judging a quilt. Read her introductory blog post here and about her nine questions here.

These nine questions are fabulously straight forward and quick. Most are yes or no. Highest score is 9 points, lowest is -1 point. Short and sweet.

Jurying for an exhibition is often done with digital images rather than actual quilts. So with blessings from Ms. Barton, I invite YOU, dear reader, to be a judge.

Here's the plan.

I'll post three quilts on three consecutive days. Each quilt will have two images: full and detail views. The nine questions will be listed at the end of each post. Or print off this score sheet for all three in pdf format. Leave the total score, though I would really love to get the score for each individual question, as a comment. Be anonymous if you want. Or e-mail me your score sheet.

For comparison, local quilters did this same exercise, except they saw the actual quilts. I'm curious if there'll be any difference in the real vs virtual.

Thanks in advance for participating. I'll share results and what I've learned from this experiment.

Holiday hand stitches

packages prepared: rolled up quilts and tool box

Holidays meant a few days away from home and a few days without the sewing machine. So I prepared for a few days of hand stitching to finish bindings on four small pieces.

four bindings ready for hand stitching

The largest is 21" square, smallest 16" square. At two minutes per inch - not counting time fiddling with the miter corners - I filled many hours with stitching. This tortoise was happily productive. The result: four finished ufos - not counting sleeves and labels. 

front corners of the four finished pieces

For this one I cut the binding strips on the bias to curve around the corners. 

And the other three? I'll post them after my next critique group meeting.