Although it is still some months before we go off on our round the world trip I am starting to think about what project I might take with me. This is because I shall be shopping at Quilts UK at Malvern next week and might as well buy something I need for a particular project rather than just for stash. (Ok, what I mean is I might as well buy for a particular project as well as for stash.)
I have an idea which could be done in at least three ways but I shall not reveal it until you , my faithful helpmates, have given me your ideas for I do not want to influence you or cramp your creativity, Besides, I suspect that you may come up with something better. So, should you choose to accept it, here is your challenge. You need to come up with a general idea for a project which meets the following criteria:
1. Requires minimal equipment
2. Is hand done
3. Is interesting enough and slow enough to last me three months.
4. Can have some initital preparation done at home before we leave
5. Ideally is something that will allow me to take a basic kit then add in items I buy as I go around the world researching quilt shops but is not dependant on me finding specific products which may not be available.
6. Is portable so I can take small parts of it out with me for the day in my handbag.
7. And finally - to really push it - has a design which, if I feel so inclined, I can adopt to reflect design inspirations I spot as I travel.
I'll give it a few days for this to trickle through people's blog readers and for me to get as many ideas as possible then I'll share my initial ideas.
8 comments:
I've got a couple of ideas for the mix:
1) prep a bunch of crazy quilt blocks and then do seam and motif embellishing while on your trip. Assemble into a top when you get home;
2)prep fabric postcards and do the embellishing on your trip; then mail them home when you finish them from around the world :-)
3)make a handmade bag to use daily on your trip (a backpack would be my style, but you might be more a handbag sort of person I don't know...) In one pocket include hand sewing tools,then, when you're out and about embellish the bag little by little as you travel.
Sheesh! That sounds like the perfect project. The only thing I came up with was a kind of crazy quilting to reflect each place but I see Quilt Pixie has already had that idea. But I think her idea of postcards is brilliant!
2 ideas - one os a slightly better fit that the other...
hand applique (My personal project of thir type that has been travelling with me for several years now...)
English paper piecing - this one is a better fit as it relates to number 7 in that if you move from a brown dry climate to a lush green climate, you can use fabrics to reflect those changes... Another example of how this will work with number 7, if you go to say Hawaii - you could get hawaiian themed fabrics.
For the record, I am seeing a mosaic hexagon EPP project instead of GFG - mosiac will allow for more variation...
oh darn, I just wrote a long suggestion and it disappeared. Like Calico Cat I was thinking of English paper piecing. Some time ago a member of my guild did a great double side hexagon quilt. One side was modern batiks [this could be precut or not]. The other side was individual designs cut from oriental fabrics -- yours could be fabrics found locally whether in quilt fabric shops or on souvenier items like cotton scarves.
Admittedly that might not keep you busy between stops so maybe you need to incorporate the crazy quilt idea as well. I agree that hand work is best.
Hi,
I have just found quilt 'patis'. These are hexagons, made from template plastic that you buy in lots of 50 in a size of your choice.you use them as you would english paper piecing but it is very quick and once you have sewn a couple of rows together, you flip them out and reuse them for the next row-I am finding it great fun-but as your quilt grows it will take up a bit of space -but you could include the fabric you find as you go.
I was going to say something similar to Calico Cat. English pieceing is great because you can cut paper and fabric before your go and work on it in small batches. A lap quilt or hanging would be my suggestion. Have you seen any of those old Victorian places where they have all the pictures hanging next to each other so that they can all be shown at once? Well what about a similar idea - each picture culd then reflect each country or area that you visit on the trip. You can plan some of it in advance and add or swap fabrics if you pick up specials on route (espiecally if you know you are going to visit a stash shop).
Opps - meant to add that you could have a "picture's" worth in a bag in your handbag ... and the rest in more bags in the luggage.
I'm gathering together fabrics for a cathedral windows quilt that will go in the living room. The background fabrics are various prints/solids and the centers are silks and other "fancy" fabrics. It'll be a hand sewing project for race track meets.
You could do something similar ... have the backgrounds already cut/folded/ironed/ready to sew. Then you could add various interesting fabrics you found on your trip for the centers.
Since it's mostly folded fabrics there's no need for batting. And rather than make a large quilt you could make smaller pieces that you'll make into pillows (or tote bags) to give as gifts. Include a photograph from the city/country where you bought the "glass" fabrics to show where they came from.
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