Cosmic Commotion

"Cosmic Commotion" 12" square by Judy Wedemeyer

This is my Wed@Pat's group challenge entry for the 2014 Alaska Fiber Festival.   The quilts will be sold to benefit the Alaska Fiber Festival.

My quilt was designed using the  4-patch method of tiles and symmetry as explained on Raymond K. Houston's website.  The top was actually created several months earlier when I was experimenting with Raymond's  'line alphabet' system (as explained on this posting) in which my chosen word spelled out BLUE.  I have made a RED, YELLOW, GREEN and MYSTERY quilt using the same line alphabet.   This month I shared the design method with a local quilt group and hope to see future art quilts from those members.  It is a fun and challenging exercise to create original works with repeatable design methods.  I have several 12" art quilts designed and waiting in the wings to be transformed with fabric.  Woe is me with so many ideas and so little time.

The backside of Cosmic Commotion

Transformed Treasures 2013 Lamp Project

In short, I refurbished this candlestick style table lamp with bell shade by hand scraping the old paint off the base and repainting with several light coats of copper colored Infusion spray paint.  I discovered the lamp was both metal and plastic composite.  Infusion paint is formulated to adhere to plastic as well as wood, ceramic and metal so it covered my base materials evenly without disappointment.  I'm a new fan!

The 'replacement' shade didn't work out so I ended up recycling the original one.

The old lampshade was layered with dust buildup and had no character to speak of.  After removing the fringe and outer fabric I carefully took apart the inner lining to use as a pattern.  I added a bit more seam allowance to accommodate the fabric fitting as the outer shade.  This bell shaped shade consists of two curved pieces sewn into a tube and is then stretched evenly over the outer shade frame.  I anchored the fabric to frame ribs at top and bottom with button hole thread.  This allowed me to stretch the fabric evenly before I hand glued the edges using Ailene's Fast Grab glue.  LOVE that stuff!  I chose not to replace the lining but I made matching bias tape to cover the edges. It too is secured with the Fast Grab glue.  Bias tape provides a stretchiness needed to follow the curves smoothly.  Voila! New lampshade I like so much I think I will have to bid on it at the auction.

Transformed Treasures 2013 - Lapquilt

This lap quilt measures 51" X 66", and was layered and machine quilted in seven separate sections to enable me the physical ease to do a project this size on my home machine without struggle.  It takes longer to construct but there is no fabric distortion from tugging on the quilt when it's done this way.

With my Salvation Army artist vouchers I purchased eight men's dress shirts and a purple corduroy jumper to coordinate with the two yards of leaf print fabric.  I ended up not using the black shirt.  With careful cutting, there was plenty of fabric to make the backing and still have some fabric left over.  All of the fabric is 100% cotton including the Warm & Natural batting inside.  This quilt is an original design and will be auctioned off at the Salvation Army's Transformed Treasures Luncheon in May.