Greetings from New York City

"Greetings from New York City"  Fabric Postcard  6" x 4.5",  Hand embroidery,  fusible applique, machine quilted.   Created for Project Quilting Season 12 challenge "Illuminating" 

UPDATE:  Sold to the private collection of eileen mann

I've been participating in Project Quilting for a number of years.  In the winter, the Kim Lapacek and Trish Frankland create themed challenges, released on Sunday afternoon.  Quilters have ONE WEEK to create a piece to respond to the challenge and post it on social media.  The following week folks vote for their favorites and there are some winners.  Then we get another challenge.  Its a great way to force yourself to MAKE something.  My projects nearly always have a political bend, which is why I originally created this blog. 

This week's challenge is based on the Pantone colors of the year,  a sunny yellow and a drab grey, speaking to the world mood as we hopefully move out of this past year of pandemic lockdown. 

It reminded me of yellow taxi cabs in the grey of NYC streets. 

Neil loves the iconic checker cab,  so I started with this line drawing: 

Using an embroidery technique I like to use,   I created this taxi on a gridded grey fabric, like the grid of streets and buildings in NYC: 

I used this size because I have been wanting to make fabric postcards,  so this was already trimmed to 4"x6" 

I decided to add vintage "Greetings from New York" elements, as can be seen on this vintage postcard: 

Using a bit of Steam-a-Seam fusible,  I cut out tiny letters using some NYC fabric, so you can see some buildings in the letters, like the postcard. 

Then placed them on black fabric, to get the shadow, to end up with this: 

Unfortunately, I had already cut this fabric to postcard size, so the letters fall right off the grey background. I had to rethink this design. 

I chose this coordinating solid grey with a nice linen texture, which is great justification for quilters to have a well stocked "stash" of fabric:

Then I laid out the elements to give space for the letters to float over the taxi embroidery. 

Finally I created the card using instructions from my friend Nanette and machine quilted all the elements to stabilize the whole project. 

This has a muslin backing, rather than a card stock because I don't really intend to send this to anyone,  but it is stiff like a postcard, due to the Peltex layer. 

I think its still missing the "Greetings from" text, which I may fuse on at a later date, but I want to print it on fabric somehow. 

UPDATE on 1/23:  Added the Greetings from text, printed onto Spoonflower swatch.   Completed work shown at the top of this blog post. 

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This is project is inspired by my love for my adopted city of NEW YORK.  Neil and I moved here 6 years ago (!) and I really feel like I've always belonged here.  We were hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic in March and April 2020 and I saw New Yorkers respond amazingly well: we stayed home, we wore masks, we washed our hands, we social distanced.  The streets of the city were eerily quiet.  Some people said "New York is dead." 

But its not dead, we are doing what we need to do to keep it alive as best we can.  Those that must ride the subways are masked and keep their distance.  The subways shut down every night for cleaning (can we ALWAYS do this please?!) 

In the summertime, when it was allowed, space on the already crowded streets was turned into outdoor dining.  Bravo to the restaurants for creating instant environments for really nice dining.  

We are not out of the woods yet, but as the vaccines start rolling out and life starts to get back to normal,  when restaurants and theaters open again,  I look forward to life in this vibrant city. 

And while we are at it, let's find a way to make the city better for everyone.  The pandemic and BLM protests this summer have pointed out something hidden in plain sight:  'normal' wasn't great for everyone.  Let's take a step towards a better normal. 

To steal a line from Monty Python (read this with a British accent): We're not dead yet! 

Greetings from New York City.

Peace, 

Paula 

One down, hundreds to go

Crisis face mask.  8" x 3", cotton, modal lining, elastic. 

Completed on 3/22/2020 as my prototype

I'll be sewing as many as possible for healthcare professionals who do not have the PPE (personal protection equipment) they SHOULD have during this coronavirus crisis.   Also for anyone I know who wants one.  Just ask. 

Here is a link to the pattern I'm using: 

https://youtu.be/TL9D6ZFtZHM

If you know anyone in a medical setting who is currently rationing masks, please reach out to me.  I know other sewists who would gladly produce these.  They are machine washable, so you can change them throughout the day as needed, then wash. 

These are scary times.  If the disease progression we have seen in Asia and Europe are a guide, we are about to experience a lot of severe illness, extreme social isolation measures, and stress.  A lot of stress.    Making these makes me feel like I'm helping in some small way.  

Ok,  back to the sewing machine. 

Peace,
Paula 

Cat and Mouse Pad

9" square Mouse Pad made of 'cat' print fabric for my friend Jenn Jones.  Machine quilted,   Completed for Project Quilting "Give it Away" challenge on March 8, 2020. 

I'm currently working on a secret project for a friend, using various cat printed fabric, and those who know me know I HATE cats.   When my pal Jenn stopped by and saw the fabric she loved it so I offered to make her a little mouse pad.   Cheeky, to make a 'mouse' pad out of 'cat' fabric.  So I quilted a little mouse running up one seam:    

I'll be glad when the rest of this cat fabric is out of my house! 

Peace - except for cats. 

Paula 

Keep the Birds in the Air

"Keep Birds in the Air"  12" x 8.5"   Machine pieced, and fusible applique,  Hand embroidery,  pulled thread 'feather', machine quilted.       

Completed on 2/23/2020 for Project Quilting challenge "Birds in the Air"


The lady's hat industry in the late 1800's caused or nearly caused the extinction of multiple beautiful bird species.  In 1896,  the near extinction of the Snowy Egret caused some high society women to petition for legislation to stop the killing.  This lead to the Migratory Bird Act.

more information at this article at Smithsonian Magazine:
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/how-two-women-ended-the-deadly-feather-trade-23187277/


Now about this project:

The challenge requirement was to use this traditional quilt block: 

There are many ways to set this and use it, and of course, I wanted to find a political message for my project.  I thought about birds, and had recently heard a podcast about the black market trade for particular bird feathers - in this case they are being used for fishing lures, but the real decimation of our bird populations happened because of ladies hats. 

I started with some images of lady's hats like these:

I traced off a hat shape, then added the quilt block behind.    Notice that the "Birds in the Air" blocks change color when forming the hat (brown and tan)  than when they are in the background (blue and white) 

Next I pieced the larger triangles of the block and created a background that looked like this - again, notice placement of brown/tan  vs blue/white: 

I knew I didn't have the patience or the precise sewing skills to piece all the tiny triangles, and I've been enjoying using Lite Steam-a-Seam 2,  so I started laying in all the small triangles and then the contours of hat like this: 

Once that was all done, the hat was not really visible, so I embroidered an outline and then started embroidering the feathers.  After 3 days.  the resulting feather was SO unsatisfying that I decided to take it out.  But here is it (as promised) for posterity: 

                             

Going, going.... 

Gone! 

What I really wanted was a large white feather,  so I appliqued then machine quilted this feather, and it was almost right: 

On Sunday morning, drinking my coffee before binding the quilt, I saw an online tutorial for making fabric feathers, and I was thinking, 'man!  my sister would love those'.   Then I headed to my sewing machine to wrap up the quilt - because the post was due in an hour.  But those feathers!!   

I tried doing it, but didn't have the right fabric.  I resigned myself to just binding this and finishing and then it HAPPENED. 

The right fabric poked its head out of the piles I have sitting on the side of my cutting table  (my VERY  neat, VERY  organized, VERY ………  oh who am I kidding .... the mess I have all over my sewing space )    So I did some quick fabric feathers,  sewed them down, and voila!   FEATHERS! 

We are abusing our natural environment. We rape the land, the sea, the animals for our venal purposes and resist out of comfort, misguided sense of superiority, stubbornness, inertia any attempts to curb our consumption.   The land suffers.  The sea suffers.  Animals suffer - some all the way into extinction,  some to brink.   People suffer too.  We formed democracies to pull us out of the cruelty that is monarchy and yet are failing to truly consider our neighbors' pain in our life. 

Its just a hat.  Put something else on your head that doesn't cause such pain. 

Those feathers belong on the birds in the air.  Shoot them with a camera. 

Plastic bag bans are not going to kill us.  Start carrying a reusable bag.  Its LITERALLY the least we can do.  

Lets do more. 

Peace, 

Paula 

Heartless

"Heartless" - manipulated fabric, hand embroidery, machine quilted.  8"x8" .  Completed on February 9, 2020  for Project Quilting "Put a Heart on It" challenge. 

I first imagined this as a whole body, with the heart ripped out, and then every drawing just cropped closer and closer to this chest piece.  

I drew a heart on this heavy cotton fabric, cut it out and basted in 4 layers of red fabric behind it.    After clipping the red fabric, I pulled back one layer slice at a time, securing it with embroidery floss.  I wanted to give it a look like the heart was ripped out (or just exploded out.) 

I machine quilted some of the cruel statements by this president:  "knock the crap out of him", "blood coming from her everywhere", "close the border",  "people are stupid",  "I like people who weren't captured".  We won't soon forget these statements because of all the art being made to capture it and preserve it for the future. 

I created a shirt collar and then this out of proportion long red tie which I tacked in place. 

The cruelty is the point with the monster in the White House, and frankly all those who stand by and say nothing.  The GOP is complicit in this evil and at this point all we can do is vote them ALL out in November.  I'm so sorry for all who will be harmed in the intervening months.  

I am an unapologetic liberal Democrat.  

Peace, 
Paula 

Blue Wave

"Blue Wave" - paper pieced, machine free motion quilted. 12"x12".  Completed on Jan 26 2020, for Project Quilting season 11 - Team Colors challenge 

My team is DEMOCRATS. 

I drafted my own wave pattern because I didn't want to use the traditional wave created with a snails trail  like this: 

They do look like waves, but I wanted a gentler angle (not 45 degree)   so I drafted something like this:   This is just my first sketch.  I don't have the final version because I used it as my foundation for paper piecing:  

After piecing, I machine quilted all over with the word 'vote'

I'm team Democrat in the upcoming elections - I hope there is a blue wave, but I also would be fine with squeaking by with a small majority.  Just win.  Watching the GOP obstruct a fair trial in the impeachment hearings, I want them all out.  

VOTE! 

peace
Paula

2020

17"x9" faced quilt,  Paper-pieced numbers exploring the concept of color transparency.  Quilted in 6 colors.   Completed for Project Quilting Season 11, challenge 1.


This small quilt was an exploration of transparency,  both in overlapping colors and dark/light transparency.  So the green '2' overlapping the yellow '0' turns light green  (color transparency)  and the blue '0' turns darker blue when it is on the black background.  However there is no actual overlapping going on.  This is all done with color and is paper pieced. 

I started with number patterns from Hunters Design Studio 'Quilt Talk' book, and traced then colored in how these might overlap.

Next I pulled the different shades of color fabric.  I didn't have exactly what I needed, so I made do with this:  










Then I had to transfer the lines to the actual pattern and I colored in the pattern so I would get the colors right.  This was more complicated that it sounds because paper pieced patterns are backwards. 

Finally I started quilting this (with an hour to go for the Project Quilting deadline!)  Why I decided that that needed 6 different colors of quilting is something I'm going to blame on Teri Lucas and her announcement of her new color quilting book coming out this year.   (image before quilting - also added black and white quilting in those background areas) 

I would do this again but make it much bigger and get the right dark red for the lower left corner (that one doesn't stand out from the black - oh VALUE my nemesis) 

Happy New Year everyone! 
Peace, 
Paula