Raevenfea

Maker of various fabric things

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To be a bit cliché, this shoemaker is a professional Web Developer and her child is this blog, but it was past time to launch what I have of a new design. All the content is still here, everything else is a work in progress (kind of like most of my sewing projects)!

Posts tagged: Challenges

Of All the Ys

“All the Whys”, Rachael Arnold, April 2017, 18”x18”.

Posted in Quilting

  • Challenges
  • Mini quilts
  • Solids

Spring has been a whirlwind so far. I am terribly behind on blogging about my finished projects. I have three completed quilts (two that are waiting to be delivered, the other finished this weekend at my guild’s spring retreat). This has been finished for a couple of months!


It started with a challenge of colors. Five of them, four greens, one yellow. Of course, none are fashionable; the greens are all slightly different from the famed 2017 Pantone Color of the Year, the yellow a bit too off-trend. Then there’s a challenge of size. 18″ square. Constraints like this are helpful to me when it comes to challenges.

“All the Whys”, Rachael Arnold, April 2017, 18”x18”.
“All the Whys”, Rachael Arnold, April 2017, 18”x18”.

The lacking part was inspiration, until I scrolled through Instagram and came upon this lovely bit of mixed-media art by @aykceramics and @aleksandrazee.

A post shared by Anna Y Krengel (@aykceramics) on Feb 14, 2017 at 4:57pm PST

Which, of course, introduced another challenge as said design doesn’t translate well into squares and blocks.

But through y-seams and trial and error, it came together.

“All the Whys” (in progress), Rachael Arnold, April 2017, 18”x18”. My partner said it looked like an abstract NY State at this point.
“All the Whys” (in progress), Rachael Arnold, April 2017, 18”x18”. My partner said it looked like an abstract NY State at this point.

The fabrics weren’t perfect. If I were making this again, I’d make sure the two lighter greens had slightly more contrast, and the darkest be a little more vibrant. I finally dug out my package of Quilter’s Dream Orient batting (a blend of cotton, bamboo, silk, and tencel) that I’ve had for years, thinking this was the right project to use it for. I quilted it with a perfectly matching Coats & Clark variegated green 30wt that came in a goody bag at some point (kismet). I like how the thread weight helps highlight the design lines, even as it blends in and out.

Fabric and palette for "All The Whys"
Fabric and palette for “All The Whys”

I finished it with facing instead of binding, incorporating a hanging sleeve into the finish. My corners aren’t perfect, but the green and yellow make me dream of daffodils popping up in this very slow-to-start spring we’re having in Vermont.

This and those of my guild mates will be on display at VQF in June. It’s a very eclectic mix of minis.

Fabric Details:
Kona Corn Yellow
Kona Cactus
Kona Limelight
Kona Peapod
Kona Peridot

May 22nd, 2017 |  Leave a comment

Oh, the Temptation!

Posted in News

  • Challenges
  • Plumleigh Augusta Babbage
  • Steampunk
  • Vague planning
  • Victorian

Can you keep a secret? I’m a bit of a closet Steampunk. I love the aesthetic. I like a lot of the literature. I mean, basically, if you take my love of Victorian fashion, computer science, leather, lace, the paranormal, and any number of intriguing anthropological and linguistic themes, you get Steampunk, like it was simply made for me. Although, with the exception of the fashion bit, the others might not be so obvious to hardly anyone. I live in my head sometimes.

Aside: speaking of literature, I’m biased, because I’m totally in love with the (now completed) series and have been since the first book was published, but if you like Steampunk, the paranormal, and absolute absurdity at times (packaged in extremely well-written prose), you needs must endeavor to read the Parasol Protectorate series by Gail Carriger (starting with Soulless—at least read the online preview available for the Kindle version). Go on. I’ll still be here when you’re done.

You’re back? Ok. So, anyway… where was I?

April 20th, 2012 |  Leave a comment

 

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