Claire Sherman Art

Speed Date with Improv!

Posted on October 28, 2021 by silvert@catskill.net

I took two EBHQ Zoom classes with Krista Hennebury #poppyprints. One was Speed Date with Improv which was totally up my alley! We made a bunch of blocks while learning a bunch of techniques. Everyone used black, white plus one color. I (somewhat randomly) put all the blocks on my design wall. I haven’t decided yet how I will sew them together.

The other class was a Courthouse Steps layout of the log cabin block. All the fabric strips were cut without a ruler and without measuring. I did manage to sew all the blocks together, because I was afraid that if I took it off the wall I’d never get it back together again.

These randomly sized blocks were put together with filler or coping strips. Many of these strips were pieced from the trimming leftovers. Here is mine before I sewed it together.

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Working on orange

Posted on October 20, 2021 by silvert@catskill.net

Yesterday I worked on my orange quilt for SAQA’s Prism Play challenge. I filled in some of the gaps and started sewing the blocks together.

tilted Orange I took this photo, and didn’t like the way the horizontal seam that goes through the top circle seems to run downhill! I repositioned it, and liked it better.

I still have a lot more to do on this quilt. Most of the blocks are not sewn together.

Posted in Improvisational piecing, SAQA, Uncategorized, Work In Progress | Comments Off

Orange!

Posted on October 12, 2021 by silvert@catskill.net

I’m working on my 15″ wide X 45″ long quilt for SAQA’s Prism Play challenge. I’m making an orange quilt and a blue quilt. I can only use the colors on the color card I received- no white or black, either.

Above is my pile of fabrics that match the card.

Above are the first four blocks. This photo has the truest color. The other photos are too dark, and not orange enough. The quilt won’t be sewn together like this because that would be wider than 15.”

In addition to the rectangular blocks I made four square blocks. Above, I started arranging them on my design wall.

I decided that I needed a lighter light, and made four more square blocks with a flesh tone as the lightest light. Also, the gap in the top circle inspired me to fill it with a pieced accent strip.

Here it is with the accent strips added, after a little more rearranging of the blocks. The blocks on the sides may not make it into the final quilt. I’m still several days away from sewing all the pieces together.

Posted in Improvisational piecing, Quilt Shows, SAQA, Work In Progress | Comments Off

Lone Robin top finished!

Posted on October 7, 2021 by silvert@catskill.net

This is my Lone Robin quilt top finished, with all 6 elements completed. I added the three turquoise squares on the top by machine applique, since the top was already sewn together when I decided to add them. This is a dark photo, I’ll try to get a better photo in different light.

To recap, the 6 elements were:

Points or triangles
Strip piecing
Organic/Curves
Paths/Roads/Ladders/Stairs
Gradations in color or strip size
Quilter’s choice

Each element needed to be adjacent to the element before it.

Posted in EBHQ, Improvisational piecing, Lone Robin, Machine applique, SFQG | Comments Off

Lone Robin element #6 continued

Posted on September 29, 2021 by silvert@catskill.net

Here I am auditioning two different squares, between the orange “mountains.” I didn’t like either version. Either way it looks like eyes and a frowning frog mouth. I decided to do more orange in a “V.”

Above I’m auditioning a blue square on point, and a striped square on point. After finishing the orange strips, I decided it needed some turquoise. I’ll add the square with appliqué since the quilt is already pieced together.

Posted in EBHQ, Improvisational piecing, Lone Robin, SFQG | Comments Off

Lone Robin element #6 (finally)!

Posted on September 26, 2021 by silvert@catskill.net

I’m working on element # 6 of the Lone Robin, quilter’s choice, which means I can do anything I want! I took some of the leftover strips from element #3 and cut them up on an angle.

Now I’m trying to figure out how to fill in the negative space.

Posted in EBHQ, Improvisational piecing, Lone Robin, SFQG, Work In Progress | Comments Off

dye experiments!

Posted on September 23, 2021 by silvert@catskill.net

dye 2

These are my dye experiments from two EBHQ workshops with Malka Dubrawsky from almost a month ago. I’ve been so busy with holidays that I never shared them. It was really exciting to work with soy wax resist for the first time. You don’t have to iron it out! You agitate and wash it out by hand. My favorite are the marks made by dipping my potato masher into the wax to resist the blue dye. I also used K’nex toys, cardboard, brushes, cookie cutters, and other odds and ends.

Posted in Classes, EBHQ, Work In Progress | Comments Off

Prism Play fabrics

Posted on September 14, 2021 by silvert@catskill.net

I went to both Bay Quilts and New Pieces today to buy fabrics for my 2 Prism Play quilts. I know some people are dying their own fabrics, but that is not my expertise.

Here are the fabrics for both quilts along with the color card for that color. We’re not even allowed to use black or white. If I had known that “orange” would include so much brown, I would have chosen purple or violet!

Here’s more info about the show. SAQA (Studio Art Quilt Associates) will have a juried show called Prism Play. I signed up to make 2 quilts, one in blue and one in orange. Each quilt will be one color, and 45″ tall by 15″ wide.

Posted in Uncategorized | Comments Off

When Day Was Night

Posted on September 10, 2021 by silvert@catskill.net

This is my 12″ x 12″ quilt, called When Day Was Night. Today is the one year anniversary of that day when the sky was a dark yellow/orange all day, from the smoke in the atmosphere from the wildfires. This quilt was in a show at the Blueline Gallery in Sacramento. I never saw the show in person, because of Covid.

Here’s a detail.

Posted in 12 x 12, Improvisational piecing, Machine applique | Comments Off

SAQA Prism Play

Posted on August 31, 2021 by silvert@catskill.net

SAQA (Studio Art Quilt Associates) will have a juried show called Prism Play. I signed up to make 2 quilts, one in blue and one in orange. Each quilt will be one color, and 45″ long by 15″ wide. I have to thank Cara Gulati who hand delivered my envelope with the color cards on Friday! The mystery of my missing envelope has been solved. It had been mistakenly delivered to a neighbor, who eventually delivered it to me. I have my choice of two different blues- that’s why there are 2 blue cards. Now I need to look in my stash to see if I actually have these colors.