Chernobyl

Fini~ 

 Nuclear Disaster occured 4/26/86 at 01:23.4 am

I have had a lot of questions as to why I made this Chernobyl themed quilt.  The short answer is I wanted to make a tribute to the people who were killed during the accident and in the months and years after working to contain the disaster.

I used many different themes within the quilt from wildlife, snow, flowers, art, architecture and yes; death.

I used Jen Kingwell's steampunk templates because the propeller design reminds me of a radiation sign.

The disaster was the result of decades of cost cutting and cover up by the scientific community and the Home Office in the USSR.  Ultimately the accident happened during a safety test of the back up power generator.  

RBMK is the Reactor that was housed in building #4 in Pripyat,  Northern Ukraine SSR in Soviet Union.   Here is an aerial view of the wreckage.

After machine appliqueing the letters, I  back stitched embroidered around them to give them more dimension.  It is not perfect on the back, but the sleeve hides most of it.  Needs Must.

For the backing I used this beautiful collage of flowers, birds, music and architecture.  Russia has such a rich tradition in the arts.  It seemed an appropriate contrast to the sciencey nature of the front.

I considered several binding options but the simple black frame seemed best.

The straight and ripply quilting is how I imagine the radiation that is still and will be detected in the exclusion zone for hundreds of years.

Mr. Fun and I have been scouting out photo locations for a while and we ended up using a old forestry shack on the edge of a wooded area near our home.

and a old school building that is right off the Boston Post Road here in Madison, CT.  It was the original school for the town but has fallen into disrepair.

Both seemed fitting somber locations for this quilt.

Thank you for your interest in this quilt.  If you would like to learn more about Chernobyl here is a good link from the World Nuclear Association.

The HBO mini series is what first piqued my interest.  The attention to detail was incredible.  There is also a companion podcast to the series.

I also listened to the audio book "Midnight in Chernobyl" by Adam Higginbothom, which offered more details about the disaster those involved.

If you are still here, thank you for stopping by for the full story of my Chernobyl Quilt.

xo

Merry Month of May

 Cherry on Top is what I think I call this little liberated basket quilt.  I finished sewing the top yesterday.  

Here are a few other design ideas that I auditioned. 

I like the side element in the last photo and I'll use that in a future project I think.

At long last I have finished the machine quilting on Chernobyl.   I have decided to add embroidery stem stitching to the lettering to make them a little tidier.  Then on to binding.

Hand quilting is competed on my Whig Rose Quilt!  Just need to make and attaching binding.....and a sleeve......and oh yeah a label.  So you know still some work to be done.

Things have been pretty wild around here.  I spotted this beautiful male Oriole trying to drink my hummingbird nectar.

I quickly put an orange out and this sweet couple were coming every day for a while.  The male always went first!  

Coco and I spotted this juvenile fox on a walk this week in our neighborhood.  The photo isn't great because it was far away.

And this wild thing?   She went outside and stayed out for about 5 hours.   What's a mother to do?  She was quite pleased with herself and took an extra long nap.

Have you ever made a liberated basket quilt?  I'm thinking of offering it as a workshop because they are so fun and each one is unique.

Here is one I made many years ago.

And some blocks with African fabrics.  

And one of Gwen Marstons'.

Well that is all the news for now.  Have a great day!

xo

Eggsotica!

 April Mini.

Wendy our monthly hostess helped me name it.  The backing is from a  pretty blue  FQ print.

I machine quilted it with invisafil thread in a alternating design of straight and squiggly lines.  I have used this many times andI like on modern and contemporary quilts.

Here is how I approached this little quilt.   I first made circles become egg shaped.

I made slightly different sizes because, you know, eggs; not all eggs are the same.

I dug through my blue batiks to find appropriate exotic egg colors.

I prepared them the same way I do circles.  Easy Peasy.

Backgrounds!  Oh boy.  That is was the toughest decision.  I tried many things.  You might like one of them better.  Point is, I need to try lots of the ideas before making a final decision.

I glued them in place then machine top stitched to the background.

I missed the anniversary of the  Chernobyl Disaster which is April 26th but I'm machine it now.

For some reason my blog has reformatted for no reason - sorry about that. ha ha.

I'll leave you with this beautiful undulatus cloud I spotted yesterday while walking coco.  Being in the Cloud Appreciation Society has really increased my appreciation for the beauty right over our heads.

Have a great week! 

xo

p.s.  after finishing the quilt vault, I found a drawer with about 20 more little quilts. 

Domesticity

The Quilt Vault is Done!  The bottom shelf is the hand quilted quilts.

This is part of a bedroom re-do and a long awaited solution to quilt storage.

When Hanna moved to DC, my quilting stuff took over her bedroom.  

Quilt stuff was everywhere!

I designed an Elfa shelving closet with very deep shelves.  I have designed installed about a dozen of these over the years.

I came across this little quilt which was perfect for Easter.  The 9-patch blocks are 1 inch and it is hand quilted.

In other domestic news we had a full day of tree care done.

I love having a wooded property but it does take a lot of maintenance and we are catching up on tree work following 2 hurricanes and growth.

These were the views out my BR window.  Below is a view from kitchen window.

I have finished setting my propeller blocks and let me tell you friends, it was a challenge.   They DID NOT turn out 9 1/2" but more like 9 1/4" inches.   I had issues with the seam allowances too :(

When I asked my friend, Pauline "which is worse blocks that are too big, or too small?"  her response was "Both"!   Too true.

In order for the lattice to line up properly I cut 9 1/4" squares of freezer paper to use as guides.

I pressed the blocks onto the freezer paper centering as best as I was able.   I trimmed some edges.

and here I'm scant.

So I used the edge of the FP to line up the lattice.  Did I lose some corners?....sadly yes.   I have to live with it.  I think there is a flaw in the templates/pattern but that's just me.  Nutmeg liked the crinkly paper.  Me?  Not so much.

I graded the seams to avoid shadowing.   I have missed this step in the past and was sorry.  With light backgrounds these shadows become very noticeable once the batting is added.

I picked a font called "Kremlin Advisor" perfect for my Chernobyl theme.  I tried many many sizes and finally settled on one that I like.

Wednesday was my boy, Andrew's Birthday.  We enjoyed a picnic at the beach.   It was a gift and a joy.

I'm off for my second vaccine this morning.   So Grateful!

Take Care.

xo