Search Results for: misfit quilt

Bud can’t resist someone sitting on the floor.  It’s like he finally has someone he can be face to face with.

As I sat on my studio floor tacking my “Misfit Quilt“, Bud came into my studio, walked right under my strand of yarn and put his face in mine.

I’m not sure what he wanted, usually it’s attention and some scratching.  Or maybe he was relating to the quilt, being a misfit himself, it’s something we share.

Bud was the sole survivor of the dogs he lived with in an outdoor kennel in Arkansas until a rescue group bought him from the person who owned him. He was in rough shape when we got him, but he bonded with Jon who was very patient with him.  But I think he really felt at home when we got Zinnia.  She was a puppy, about Bud’s size, and even thought Bud was two years old, they grew up together and became best friends.

Here at Bedlam Farm  misfits are always welcome, since Jon and I are both identify as misfits.   I think that’s why subconsciously I include the batik pineapple fabric in the quilt.

In colonial America, when a sea captain came from from his travels, often away for years, they would put a pineapple on their stoop, a sign that visitors were welcome.

Today I sewed the top, back and batting of my Misfit Quilt together…

…and tacked it with orange yarn.

I’m not sure if my Misfit Quilt is sold or not. I’m waiting to hear back from one person and another has expressed interest.  But if for some reason neither works out, I will let you know.  Misfit Quilt  is 72″x 89″  and is $450. plus shipping.

It isn’t all sewn together yet, the outer most border is still in the works.  But my Bold and Unpredictable quilt is on its way to being complete.

I’m not going to say anymore about it today, but I did take some pictures of the pieces of the quilt close up…

The birds from this piece of fabric showed up a few times.  As well as the batik pineapples and flowers (which were napkins).  When I ran out of the flowers I found other fabric to fill it’s place.

I repeated the misfit patchwork  throughout the quilt.

Below is the original piece of misfit scraps, which inspired the quilt and the batik elephants.

Except for lunch and a trip into town to run some errands, I had the whole day to work on my quilt.

I took the picture above planning on documenting each step along the way.  But then I got into it and completely forgot to take anymore pictures until the end of the day…

But I have, so far, kept my promise to myself of bold,  unpredictable and a symmetry of my own making.  As well to feel more than think.

I had no idea what I’d be doing when I went to my studio this morning.  Once there I looked at my worktable loaded with fabric from making Potholders and Nature Spirits and started sorting.

I folded all the large pieces of fabric an put them in a pile.  Then I worked my way through the smaller pieces.

I  put them in  piles according to size and color.   But some didn’t seem to fit anywhere. Those I randomly laid  out on my worktable.

When I was done,  I liked what I saw so I started sewing together the misfit pieces.

The only trouble I got into was when I thought about what I was doing too much.  When I finished sewing what I had laid out, I added on a few more pieces that were left over on the table.

Then I put what I had sewn together on my studio floor and looked at it.

I looked and looked,

I asked the piece what it wanted

and looked some until I thought

“big flower“.

After I found the big flowers and sewed them on,

I looked some more until I thought “blue.”

As soon as I sewed the batik elephants on, I told myself “bold and unpredictable,” that’s what I want for this quilt.  As I worked I reminded myself to resist traditional balance and symmetry, (like when  I through of  removing the elephants and putting the flowers and pineapple on both sides).

I want to feel this quilt, not think it.

The leaves glow yellow like a million suns.  They float around me like falling stars.

My words from yesterday’s walk in the woods keep coming back to me.  But even more, I see the leaves, few compared to the still green ones, but transforming the woods even on a gray rainy day.

I was thinking of those leaves when I woke up this morning and before I even opened my eyes, the piece of fabric that used to be curtain showed up in my mind.

It has that yellow glow.

So when I got to my studio I stitched the solid orange border on my Misfit Quilt (if I had any doubts about it they drifted away when the piece of fabric I had just happened to be the perfect size).  Then I folded it in half and hung it on my wall.

I pulled out the old curtain, cut a piece from it and began working on a new Meditation Mat.

Above is as far as I got today.  I hope to finish the top of my new Meditation Mat tomorrow.

You can see all my Potholders for sale in my Etsy Shop.  Just click here.  Or if you’re interesting in my “Misfit” Quilt or my Meditation Mat you can email me at [email protected].