Always on my mind ~ So Blue



You know how sometimes you get an idea in your head and you can't shake it? You might analyze the situation and say it is just not rational but then you really want to do it anyway?  This is "So Blue" a portrait of my mother when she was 16. The back building is the Joslyn art museum which I thought was fitting for my work of art!

So you start and you see this is going to be a big messy project. You can almost see pieces of your hair turning gray but you keep going.

Your iron is not trustworthy, you math skills are questionable but you stick to it and hope no one else in the house needs any clear space for the foreseeable future...so you keep at it.  Almost all the blocks are made up of 100 1.5" squares. The bottom row has one less row. 1960 cut 1.5" squares..yesserieeee!
 
Then, things start to happen. (I can tell you up close you have no idea what you are doing. Even stepping back I had to use my camera lens to look at it at such close quarters)

.....lots more pics in this post so Sorry ahead of time!


You are no longer in control.
 
 
This is taking over. I was dreaming in blue at this point and so worried that my calculating was wrong and that the 20 shades of blue I was using were going to run out.  I actually did run out of one. I only needed  5 more squares so I shaded it with another. That was scary. I had collected the fabrics over a years worth of time and had not done all the math when I was buying.
.....On a wing and a prayer maybe? I don't know.

My test block to sew and see how hard it was going to be to sew all those squares.

Starting to shape up and be a little more manageable.

 
 
The rows were pretty easy but the whole thing started being pretty heavy and stiff. Lots of seams to match!!!
 
 
I am already changing my mind on how to quilt this as it is very stiff and heavy yet fragile.  I think simple is best. Straight-line quilting in a simple grid for me!
 
 



I finished the morning I was heading to meet up with my sister and niece. So I brought it to reveal. It was very sunny.  It was very windy.  I hope I can get a few more pics posted that might or might not be a little better. This shot was in Memorial gardens where there are 1200 varieties of roses. Some of my sisters came here last year to remember the passing of our mother.  Even though this shot is not great it has a lot of meaning to me.


Me and my bad hair, sis in the shades. You can see the grid quilting in this pic. I realized when writing this post I have no other pics showing the quilting. It will have to wait because I am taking it to our guild quilt show and it will be hanging there till the weekend.  It is not a juried show which is good but no matter I love this piece so much.  I hope you all do to.
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   Linking up with I have to say for Show and tell Tuesday
and Fresh Poppy Design Fabric Tuesday
and http://sewfreshquilts.blogspot.ca/p/lets-bee-social.htmlSewFreshQuilts with Lorna
andWIP Wednesday at Freshly PiecedFreshly PIeced
and Crazy mom quilts Finish it up friday


Comments

Kris I seriously think this is so absolutely cool!!!!!!! I also appreciate that you shared the process with us. Congrats on a very awesome finish!
Jen said…
Wowza Kristie! This quilt is amazing! And such a neat tribute to your mother. I hope I can see it in person!
Wendy said…
that is just incredible. What a labour of love and a lovely way to remember your mum. It's just amazing, fabulous job!
Rachel said…
What a great piece of art and a touching memorial. I love the picture at a distance where you can really take it all in. Lovely. And how cool that you can share it with all the people coming to visit your guild!
Bess said…
This is breathtaking - so complex- very very clever. I can see your mum's sparkle coming through in your stitches.
That is REALLY cool! A beautiful way to remember your mum.
Jeanne in Ohio said…
Awesome quilt! I love the concept and the cool memorial to your mother.
Jean said…
This is awesome! I have wanted to do something like this, but haven't even started..not sure I know where to begin, though I have read about it. Did upload the pic to the computer and then pixelate it? I've heard of people doing this but haven't tried it.
Wonderful! I wish I was going to the quilt show so I could see it in person.
Katharine Yates said…
Wow! That's such a cool idea, I like how this turned out. Such a nice way to remember your mom.
Stitchified said…
What a lovely tribute to your mom! I love that your sister was able to be there for the photo shoot too, thank you for sharing!
That is absolutely amazing. How did you devise a pattern? I wouldn't have known where to start.
Jo said…
A truly amazing quilt, and a lovely tribute to your mum! I have just finished a Mario pixel quilt (3888x1.5" cut squares!) they take quilt some work and I often wondered if I would ever finish it!
Wow! This is absolutely breathtaking! I can not even begin to imagine how you didn't go batty. It is so worth your efforts, though. Its priceless.
It looks fantastic, so many itty bitty squares! Lovely tribute to your mum.
Anonymous said…
I just happened to find your blog because I followed a link from a comment you made on Facebook. As I was reading I realized I recognized the quilt because I had just seen it at the LQG quilt show. I was very impressed with the quilt, I was glad they hung it at the end of a row so it could be seen from a distance too. I guess quilting makes for a small world.
ShellyB said…
I meant to say that I was interested in the cross stitch program you mentioned on Facebook. Could you post a link?
dq said…
Wonderful and creative project for of your mother! You must have so much satisfaction from it.
I wanted to thank you for commenting on my Windmill quilts. Thanks for visiting my blog.
Gemini Jen NZ said…
Stunning! What a super tribute to your mum!
AnnMarie said…
Love love your quilt and how special it is. Oh yes, your photo shoots were pretty spectacular too.
Lorna McMahon said…
This quilt is simply incredible and such a fitting tribute to your mother - and to youth! I love it! What a work of art and a labour of love!
I've just bounced here from Jessica's Newsletter where your amazing quilt is displayed. What a truly wonderful memory quilt. As you say doing this at close quarters when you can't see the bigger picture must have been very difficult but what a fantastic finish. I love the fact it's a picture of your mum as a young woman.

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