Wednesday, April 16, 2014

WIP: the one with millefiori madness


WIPs

Do You Know Where You're Going To? (the one with the arrows)

Going nowhere. I've been focusing on other projects lately - namely the Millefiori Passacaglia - and haven't done a thing towards this.

Plus, I'm having layout angst. That feeling when you only have a vague idea of the design you want, but you don't know whether or not it will work? That.

Mondrian's Nine-Patch

Nothing to see here either, carry on!

(I will make a concerted push this weekend to get stuff done, because Australia has an Easter extra-long weekend. Progress will be made - on the nine-patch if nothing else. It's easy, right? RIGHT?)

Millefiori Passacaglia

(Also known as the "Insanity: Passacaglia version 1.0" quilt.)

This quilt design was popularised by Tula Pink on her instagram. It's from the book "Millefiori Quilts" by Willyne Hammerstein, and there are some lovely handsewing patterns in there! You can photocopy-and-print the pieces yourself, or paperpieces.com sells them (for the Passacaglia, anyway) by the bucketload. Or you could probably do really funky things with one of those devices that cuts things for you, but I don't have one of those.

Hand-cutting it is!
millefiori passacaglia - early april

I photocopied and printed, but I also ordered in the paper pieces, because after a while you get tired of cutting out teeny tiny triangles, and this quilt is already tricksy enough!

Right now, I'm basting the pieces during my commute to and from work on the trains, and stitching them together on the weekend, while catching up on episodes of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (And, oh boy, Captain America: The Winter Soldier - talk about a game-changer!)

This is the productivity of 2/3 of my commute - I didn't pack enough pieces that morning, and ended up finishing all the basting I had.
millefiori pieces

This is the productivity of an entire commute:
millefiori pieces

And here is one I prepared earlier!
rosette 1

Finished, and photographed from above in more natural lighting:
rosette 1

I think I need to make better colour choices for the long, thin diamonds surrounding the centre star. Maybe I'll use Kona Ash instead of Kona Steel around the centre stars, so the star pops better? I didn't much like my original colour choices for the centre star either:

millefiori passacaglia - early april

So this is why I haven't gotten very far on my two show quilts! (Well, this is the sewing-related reason, anyway.)

To Do

Coasters Of Geekitude

Sewing all these little pieces of the Passacaglia - particularly the stars circled by bands of colour - along with my recent viewing of Captain America: The Winter Soldier made me realise that I could make not only a 'Captain America' star surrounded by concentric bands of colour, but also a 'Winter Soldier' star - scarlet on grey steel.

And then I thought of the Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. patches I made last year:


So that's one for Nick Fury, and one for Maria Hill (who's my favourite character in the Marvel Cinematic Universe - I love the quiet female characters who are full of surprises). With the Black Widow (a scarlet hourglass on black), and the Falcon (no icon), that makes six. Which is a full coaster set!

I'd have to work out a Falcon icon, though - perhaps a silver-grey wing on black?

I'd make two sets, give one away, and keep the other for when I have geeky guests. :D

--

Linking up at Freshly Pieced WIP Wednesday and possibly other places as I spot them!

8 comments:

  1. I really like the design yo hare using for your EPP. Working out fabrics and contrast sometimes take a little trial and error. It's a good way to productively use your commuting time.

    ReplyDelete
  2. That's a great handpiecing project!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Wow your handwork is beautiful and I love that you are using shot cottons, it will give the pieces an extra dimension in different light and angles.

    ReplyDelete
  4. I've been thinking about that millefiori pattern, but you are not selling me on it! LOL. It's so pretty... but all that work!

    ReplyDelete
  5. I just got the book and papers. OMG..its a lot of work. I am not sure where to begin.HELP!

    ReplyDelete
  6. This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Such a lovely quilt! Amazing fussy cutting! I’d recommend TheDIYAddict’s tutorial if individuals need additional assistance. http://thediyaddict.com/la-passacaglia-quilt

    ReplyDelete

I try to answer every comment made, but if I forget to respond to you, I sincerely apologise! Thanks so much for coming by and commenting!