Well, I’ve got to keep pushing through this. I have to say, I think you may be surprised by a couple of my last pandemic projects, so stick with me. We’ll get there eventually!
I had started putting together a quilt for my queen-sized bed maybe 5-6 years ago. This pandemic was a good reason to force me to focus on it and get it behind me. After buying all of our bed coverings in the previous 40 years, I found that making your own is several times more expensive than buying one, not to mention much more time-consuming. I’m sure I’m not the first to realize this.
Our bedroom is decorated in blue and purple, a combination of our two favorite colors. I made the quilt to go with it. I didn’t choose a very intricate design of piecing. I decided I would rather finish it in my lifetime! No one ever sees our bedroom with it upstairs, so no real good reason to make a show-stopper. But I got a lot of practice out of this quilt, and I loved the free-motion-quilting. I bought Bernie (Bernina 770) with this quilt in mind. It was time to make it happen. I honestly had to force myself to work on it. I focused on one square at a time. In the evenings, I would go to my sewing room and not come out until bedtime. I would focus on one square at a time and design what I wanted to quilt for each square. Honestly, I loved the look of the back better than the front, as I could see the quilting better from that side. I made it a commemorative quilt, dedicating one square to the year 2020, our fortieth anniversary year, one square to the birth of our sons, one square to the entrance of our daughter-in-love into the family (their marriage and both of their college graduations), and another square to the grandsons. It is probably the size of a king bed, as I made it long enough to touch the floor. One more thing crossed off my old dusty list! Phew! It was able to just keep me warm by winter.
Another fun free-motion-quilting project was a portrait pillow. I did one of these before and it was fun. It was fun for many reasons, but I love that I could do it in one sitting. I made a portrait of Dr. Dan Berger for his wife and my friend Jeni. As their number of grandchildren grows, this gives them a way to hug their grandpa (since he passed away) and also let him participate in their pillow fights! One of the boys has the middle name of Daniel. I thought this would be a fun way for the kids to still connect with their grandpa.
I took a mosaics class in the summer publicized by the Greenville Art Guild hosted by Selena Burk. It was a wonderful class where I had great fellowship with other artists and what we all needed… HUMAN INTERACTION! 😊 I took one of my dad’s old bowling balls and had a great time covering it with glass, stones, a few marbles, and whatever else came my way. I have enjoyed it in my flower garden, and it winters over beside my fireplace.
Inspired by my mosaics class, I did one more free-motion-quilting project. It was a quilted banner/sign to hang in the Joy and Whimsy Depot in Lewisburg. Check out their website to learn more about this Art Center! Its grand opening is coming soon in June! I have the honor to display one of my fabric portraits for their grand opening.
This banner has fused applique in a mosaic style, accented with my free-motion-quilting again. If you look closely, I quilted the name of the place in the background in a variegated thread. This project was loads of fun!
The best gift was when I delivered it, Jane and I hung it and went to sit on the porch until Dave could get a break from his work at home. After we had chatted a while, Dave joined us on the porch with tears in his eyes. That says it all. (God had led them to start this Art Center, and it IS an emotional journey to watch God put it all into place.)
I want to add that I did dedicate this banner to my dear friend Debbi Cline (you’ve heard me speak of her before). She had been a math teacher in Lewisburg and passed away in July 2019.
I’ll add one more project. I got an idea from my mosaics class. Mom had an old concrete birth bath top that Dad had poured (made the form and poured it himself). It had cracked, and she planned to get rid of it. She asked if anyone wanted it. Since I’m trying to own fewer things, I didn’t want to take it unless I had a good reason. Fortunately, the light bulb went off over my head just before the garbage man beat me to it! I would put mosaic all over it!!! What a big project this ended up being. We also had an old ceramic field tile that I used for the base (covered it too). What a fun addition for my flower beds.
Well, this blogging is becoming exhausting! How many blogs will it take to get me through the rest of my pandemic projects? I’m going to estimate two (at least I HOPE!). Let’s see how it goes. Hope to see you again soon. (Look forward to the biggest project yet! It was so big it took both Mike and me to make it and to carry it!)
Comments
Brenda, I love seeing your Pandemic Projects! You are amazingly creative! Thank you for sharing that creativity and artistry with us by making our Joy & Whimsy Depot banner. It is beautiful, and I hope people will come see it in person! Thanks for the shout out for our Grand Opening on June 5!
It was a joy to make it (and somewhat whimsical!). Looking forward to your Grand Opening!
Really enjoyed you sharing your many beautiful projects that you have done. Thank you also for mentioning our mosaic workshop that was at our home and given by Bonnie Steinbach. I’m looking forward to seeing some more of your future projects.
I knew Bonnie helped, but thanks for making clear her role. As you can see, the workshop had ripple effects! I hope to see you again in the near future. I’ve learned through Fb that I think we have a lot in common. 😀 Remind me to tell you of my garage sale stop on my way home from your place.
I love the mosaic styling and the free style quilting. Beautiful works of art.
Thanks, Patty!
Let me just say that you are incredible.
I’ve been called a lot worse! But let’s not get carried away. 😉 Thank you.
What a wonderful range of beautiful projects you have here! Love them all, especially that banner for the new art space. It’s really gorgeous! Can’t wait to see the next batch! Thanks for sharing!
My list of pandemic projects is certainly less interesting than yours! Refinished floors, made two gray and white quilts ( I’m not a fan of grays). Painted a couple of rooms, scrubbed woodwork in hopes of getting it painted soon, and finished a few small quilts. Oh, and pulled lots of weeds and pruning is on going.
Wow, it sounds like you got a lot done added to moving during the pandemic. You can see how much I can get done when my friends move out of state. 🙂
I’m exhausted and jealous reading all this! What determination! What perseverance! What talent! What a blessing! Can’t wait to see your future endeavors!
Love
Trudy
Thanks, Trudy. And realize this is the most productive (creatively speaking) I’ve ever been in a year. Doubt it will happen again, but enjoying the ride!
Love all your creative projects!
And we shared one of these projects (from Pandemic Projects 2)! That was so fun.