Sunday, October 23, 2011

Venice BOM Quilt

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This my Block of the Month quilt project from

the Venice Area Quilters Guild that

I belonged to when we lived in FL.


I started in it 2004 when I was first learning to quilt.

Each block represents something special about life there in Venice, FL.


Every block was an entirely new learning process for me,

from general piecing, applique, paper piecing, fusibles etc.







Starting at the top row, left hand corner:



1. Sailboat at Sunset:


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The background is a hand-dyed fabric by Mickie Lawler,

the Queen of hand dyed fabric.

I bought that swatch at my first Houston Quilt show.


The sun is fused in place & then satin stitched

around with gold metallic thread.


The bottom row of blue & white is made

up of the pattern called "Ocean Waves".



2. Crab Claws:


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The middle block in the top row is called "Crab Claws",

to represent the abundant seafood in the area.




3. Heron at Sunset:

Blue Heron block


The other half of my precious (read "expensive")

hand dyed fabric was used for this background.

The heron is fused & stitched & has fluffy yarns

hand sewn into place for its feathers.

It also has a sequin for its eye.

Since this photo was taken,

I have fixed his missing leg that

got lost in transit.



Center Row:




4. Flip Flops in the Sand:

flip flop block

You can see the *trapunto*...Italian for stuffed effect better in the photo below:

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This block was done as raw-edge, fused appliqué

with machine blanket stitch.

The background fabric actually looks

just like sand with footprints in it.



5. Quilt Basket:

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The little town of Venice, FL has one quilt shop,

called "The Quilt Basket".

This block pattern is painted on her front window.

Debbie, the owner, was very involved & supportive of the quilt guild &

allowed us to hold our board meetings in her classroom.

Of course, we always bought something that day, too!




6. City Block:

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This block, representing all the little shops in downtown Venice,

is entirely paper pieced!

It has a million little quarter inch seams all over the back.

There are little machine embroidered flowers along the front

that don't show up very well.

There is also a free standing, thread painted pot of blue flowers

that I did on netting, in a round hand embroidery hoop,

beneath the quilting foot, with the feed dogs dropped.

You move the hoop with your hands to draw the picture!

It was from a class with Nancy Prince, who does spectacular work!


http://www.nancyprince.com/

Be sure to look through her quilt gallery....AWESOME!




Bottom Row:



7. Ocean Waves:

Ocean Waves block


This was a difficult block to do & I,

sadly, had to cut off some of my points

in squaring it off to fit the rest of the line.

I love the blue batik fabric that I used for this &

continued it through out the rest of the quilt.



8. Thread Spools:

spools block



I thought I was being sooo creative to use a narrow striped fabric

to depict the threads on these spools.

When I got to the quilt guild meeting

to turn my block in,

I learned that almost everyone else

had done the same thing!

We always made 2 blocks,

one to keep & one to donate to the raffle.

You handed in your block as you arrived

for the quilt guild meeting &

several gals would pair them up into batches

enough to make another quilt or two &

then names were drawn that night.

Whoever won, got all the blocks to make herself a quilt from them!



9. Turtle Block:

Turtle block


This is my favorite block in the whole quilt.

The head & tail are 3-dimensional & lift up from the surface.

I had to make sure his head was pointing downwards,

otherwise it flopped forward!

Back side of the turtle block quilting below:

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It was my first time doing curved piecing!

Thankfully, I watched Ruth McDowell on TV

right before I started it & she has lots of great tips.

The blocks handed in of this turtle were hilarious!

Someone put a pearl necklace on hers,

another was done in hippy/psychedelic color prints,

another in pink!

What a hoot!!

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This is my set up for sewing on binding

as well as all those ruffled tulle layers

when I do pettiskirts.

Wait till you see the Halloween tutu I just made!




The quilt was laying over my sofa &

the morning light really showed up the beautiful job

of custom quilting that the long arm quilter did on each block.


I grabbed my camera & while I know

these are not the best shots,

it really helps you to see all the different

patterns that she used to quilt this with.



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Thanks for sharing this walk down memory lane for me.

The 10 yrs. we spent in FL were wonderful &

I'm glad I now have this finished quilt to remember them.


I'm joining Susan at

Between Naps on the Porch

for her

144th Metamorphosis Monday!


19 comments:

  1. Good morning Rett! What a lovely quilt that is. I think my favorite block is the ocean waves.
    What a clever way to wind your binding and ruffles - you are inventive!

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  2. If EVER I have seen a WORK OF ART...this is it, Rett.
    So beautiful and so well done.

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  3. Hi Rett!
    This quilt is fabulous, and a wonderful memory of good times in FL. I love the turtle block the most, too!
    Have a great week, my friend.
    xoxo
    Donna and Tag

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  4. Wow, I was looking forward to seeing what you finished! You did a fabulous job & you have such wonderful memories of your time in FL. I especially love your creative set-up for doing binding!!

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  5. Wow, I was looking forward to seeing what you finished! You did a fabulous job & you have such wonderful memories of your time in FL. I especially love your creative set-up for doing binding!!

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  6. Oh, Rett, I love your quilt. How fun to have each block mean something special. I'm so glad that you showed us each individual block. When I first looked at the claw one, I thought " hmm, wrench? Is she like working with tools?". I don't eat seafood, so, crab claw would be the last direction that my brain would go. I'm a blue freak, so love all the different blues in the quilt!
    Beckie

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  7. Such a fun quilt Rett! How cool that it was not only one of the first you made but reflects a place you enjoyed so much:@)

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  8. Oh, Rett... you know I love this quilt! It is cute as can be, and I adore the beach theme of it. You are so talented!

    XO,

    Sheila

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  9. What a BEAUTIFUL quilt Rett. I also like the turtle block. Thanks for the link to the pattern, fabulous. Hope all is well with you and take care.

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  10. That is absolutely beautiful! I do love the turtle block, but my very favorite is the flip flops.

    This isn't only a work of art, it's an artifact. Fabulous.

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  11. You did a spectacular job on this,Rett. Your piecing is perfect, the colors luscious, I could go on and on.

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  12. Beautiful, Rett! I love the blocks and the colors you chose. I've made several pieced quilts but have never tried applique or curved piecing. You are quite the seamstress, my friend. Isn't it satisfying the look at a finished piece and think about all the work and planning that went into it? I get so much pleasure out of a completed project. Your quilt is a real treasure.

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  13. That is amazing! I could never. What talent you have.
    I like that it is a reminder of happy years!

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  14. Oh Rett! What a work of art! I love it all, but the sandals are just adorable. Yes, the fabric is perfect for the sand.
    Sounds like your Guild was full of great quilters!
    I love seeing and sighing over your talent!
    Yvonne

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  15. Rett, this quilt is GORGEOUS!!! I can't believe all the works that goes into one of these beautiful creations!!!! You should be SOOO proud of this. XO, Pinky

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  16. Rett~ I LOVE your quilt. Of course the turtle block is my favorite too~ I love how the quiltng on the back looks like a ship's wheel! My other favorite blocks are the heron and the flip flops~ my footware of choice and the only down side to fall :)

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  17. What a shane it would've been if I hadn't seen this post...this is absolutely marvelous! What a masterpiece! You are such a talented human being, and your spirit surely shows through in this quilt. I know lovely Venice...we vacation on Siesta Key and go to Venice some times. Love that whole area! Thanks for visiting and your sweet comments on my blue and brown Thanksgiving table rehearsal.

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  18. Trapunto = stuffed...well, of course it does. I've never tackled quilting, and I'm in awe of those of you who do such beautiful work. I love your Venice quilt. Thank you for sharing the stitching processes for the blocks. That was a fun tour of your handiwork.

    I've already found some photography classes at a nearby vo-tech. I'm determined to enroll. First I want to work my way through all the video tutorials on the Nikon website. Here we go....doooownnnn the rabbit hole. Cherry Kay

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  19. Great job! How have you been girl? Bet it's feels wonderful to have it done. That is my goal this year. Try and finish up what you have instead of buying new. Although, I had to sign up for a class teach 'Grandmothers Garden Party". I never really take classes, but this is made from 30's type fabrics. I couldn't resist!

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Thank you so much for leaving a comment. I read them all & each one is so very special to me & I try really hard to return the visit!

fondly,
~Rett~