A few more designs for machine quilting... After I finished drawing this one and took a good look at it... It reminds me of an Octopus Geometrics....always FUN Waves Big Leaf.....feather/vine design Filling Space... This is my favorite drawing of the day: This is a possible design for the raffle quilt. CLICK HERE to view the Raffle Quilt Top CLICK HERE to view my Online Sketch Book CLICK HERE: to see My Quilts May Your Bobbin Always Be Full, LuAnn Kessi
A few more designs for machine quilting... After I finished drawing this one and took a good look at it... It reminds me of an Octopus Geometrics....always FUN Waves Big Leaf.....feather/vine design Filling Space... This is my favorite drawing of the day: This is a possible design for the raffle quilt. CLICK HERE to view the Raffle Quilt Top CLICK HERE to view my Online Sketch Book CLICK HERE: to see My Quilts May Your Bobbin Always Be Full, LuAnn Kessi
Nine Patch Place Mat Version 1 Six 6"x 6" Nine Patch blocks make a 12"x 18" place mat. This definitely needs some quilting to make it interesting. Way back when I came up with this design using semicircles. Getting the semicircles to meet nicely at the centers of the white squares might be difficult. If I flatten the semicircle, then I don't have to worry about the centers. And the design still works So can I quilt this design? Yes I can. And here's how:
LuAnn Kessi
LuAnn Kessi
The last of the Leaf Designs from my Quilting Sketch Book: These leaves were inspired by the designs below: This is the last of the leaves, but I have lots more designs to share! More to Come... Here are some bird silhouettes taken in the yard: You are welcome to use these images in your personal art work. Gunnr enjoying the snow fall: Thread Shed in the Snow: Big Elk River... CLICK HERE to view Leaf Designs 1 CLICK HERE to view my online Sketch Book CLICK HERE to view my Machine Quilting CLICK HERE: to see My Quilts May Your Bobbin Always Be Full, LuAnn Kessi
A few background filler designs from my quilting sketch book: Swirl and Whirl Background Fill This design stitches out quickly Divide and Conquer Background Fill Chalk out random lines on the fabric, then stitch anything you want to fill them in. Very FUN! Geometric Background Fill The rain continues to fall here in Western Oregon: Lupine Enjoy the rain drops on the Lupine leaves: Be sure to click images to enlarge and see drops! If you are inspired, you are welcome to use these images in your personal art work. CLICK HERE to view my online Sketch Book CLICK HERE: to see My Quilts May Your Bobbin Always Be Full, LuAnn Kessi
LuAnn Kessi
The last of the Leaf Designs from my Quilting Sketch Book: These leaves were inspired by the designs below: This is the last of the leaves, but I have lots more designs to share! More to Come... Here are some bird silhouettes taken in the yard: You are welcome to use these images in your personal art work. Gunnr enjoying the snow fall: Thread Shed in the Snow: Big Elk River... CLICK HERE to view Leaf Designs 1 CLICK HERE to view my online Sketch Book CLICK HERE to view my Machine Quilting CLICK HERE: to see My Quilts May Your Bobbin Always Be Full, LuAnn Kessi
Here are a few designs from my Quilting Sketch Book: It is FUN for me to draw wavy horizontal lines in the sketch book... then fill in the sections with different designs. This mindless drawing helps me determine what designs will work under the needle. I chose these two designs and paired them together.....they flow nicely. This looks too busy... but, if it were stitched with matching thread, it would look great....lots of texture! Draw out some wavy horizontal lines... then fill them in and see what you come up with. Red Goat Barn Front Yard Hydrangeas Hydrangeas are at their peak right now... Thread Shed Hydrangeas Gunnr.....supervising from the pick up seat! CLICK HERE to view my online Sketch Book CLICK HERE: to see My Quilts May Your Bobbin Always Be Full, LuAnn Kessi
Blossoming Lonestar. Seriously wish I could find the time to finish this one. I am going to extend the blocks with Alison glass abacus fabric………hopefully soon! lol! Finally I have…
More Inspiration from the Sketch Book... Drawing quilting designs on paper reinforces them into your muscle memory... When you can comfortably draw them out on paper, then go to the machine and give them a try. Some of us are visual learners... Here are video tutorials to show you how these designs are stitched out on a quilt surface: CLICK HERE to view: Berries & Bananas Design CLICK HERE to view: Circle Echo Meander CLICK HERE to view: Branching Curled Filler CLICK HERE: to see My Quilts May Your Bobbin Always Be Full, LuAnn Kessi Brought to YOU By: The Hen House
Each evening in our Yellowstone Camp Site the birds kept us entertained... Clark's Nutcracker (This was taken from a moving vehicle, so a bit blurry) RAVEN On the last day of our trip we hiked out to Morning Glory Pool: Paul Harvey Quilt Saying Good Bye to Yellowstone A few more pages from the Sketch Books: Clam Shell or Hair Band Shapes surrounded by plumes. Makes a great background filler design. Same design as above except... Left Page.....Leaf shapes instead of plumes. Border Designs Would also work as background fillers Border Designs CLICK HERE to view My Quilts CLICK HERE to view: Woven Sunshine Quilt CLICK HERE to view: Watch Me CLICK HERE to view: ALL Sketch Book Posts May Your Bobbin Always Be Full, LuAnn Kessi
A few more quilting designs to inspire you... Curvy designs are FUN and easy for me to draw... Feathers are my passion... and probably the easiest thing for me to draw and stitch out. Feathers and Bubbles I am trying out a few new designs for the raffle Quilt that I will be stitching soon: CLICK HERE to view my online Sketch Book CLICK HERE: to see My Quilts May Your Bobbin Always Be Full, LuAnn Kessi
LuAnn Kessi
LuAnn Kessi
Here are a few more designs that I am working on for the Raffle Quilt... Here are a few images from my camera: The chickens enjoying an evening in the back yard Red Coneflowers Pink Coneflowers If these images inspire you... you are welcome to use them in your personal art work. Gunnr has perfected the art of.....relaxation CLICK HERE to view my online Sketch Book CLICK HERE to view the Raffle Quilt Top CLICK HERE: to see My Quilts May Your Bobbin Always Be Full, LuAnn Kessi
The last of the Leaf Designs from my Quilting Sketch Book: These leaves were inspired by the designs below: This is the last of the leaves, but I have lots more designs to share! More to Come... Here are some bird silhouettes taken in the yard: You are welcome to use these images in your personal art work. Gunnr enjoying the snow fall: Thread Shed in the Snow: Big Elk River... CLICK HERE to view Leaf Designs 1 CLICK HERE to view my online Sketch Book CLICK HERE to view my Machine Quilting CLICK HERE: to see My Quilts May Your Bobbin Always Be Full, LuAnn Kessi
The last of the Leaf Designs from my Quilting Sketch Book: These leaves were inspired by the designs below: This is the last of the leaves, but I have lots more designs to share! More to Come... Here are some bird silhouettes taken in the yard: You are welcome to use these images in your personal art work. Gunnr enjoying the snow fall: Thread Shed in the Snow: Big Elk River... CLICK HERE to view Leaf Designs 1 CLICK HERE to view my online Sketch Book CLICK HERE to view my Machine Quilting CLICK HERE: to see My Quilts May Your Bobbin Always Be Full, LuAnn Kessi
Here are a few ways to fill up a big, open space in the background areas of your quilts: You divide up the open space with lines... Then fill in each area with a different design I divided this area into 3 sections, then added a feather spine in each one: Then add plumes to the spines Horizontal wavy lines divide up this space... It is FUN to fill up each section with a different design. Triangle shapes divide up this space: This was a lot of fun filling in the triangles! A long curly line divides up this space: Then echo the line with another line. Now you are ready to fill in all the odd shapes. Last week we spent time in Central Oregon to attend a farm auction Sunset in Culver, Oregon Sunset in the Corn Patch Unfortunately, a forest fire outside of Sisters, Oregon is responsible for this gorgeous sunset. CLICK HERE to view My Quilts CLICK HERE to view: My Art Quilts CLICK HERE to view: My Take-A-Long Quilts CLICK HERE to view: ALL Sketch Book posts May Your Bobbin Always Be Full, LuAnn Kessi
This Clam Shell Quilt inspired a series of quilting designs: This is a classic Clam Shell shape... I decided to draw out the Clam Shell shape in my sketch book: Each Clam Shell was filled in with a different design This is a great background filler for free motion work That lead me to draw out an organic clam shell shape: This Clam Shell is less structured and looks better in different sizes Then I put the clam shells in a row: and echo quilted over the top of them. I started this design from the bottom of the page and went up Then I drew wavy horizontal lines... and stacked the clam shells on the lines Which lead me to draw more wavy lines... and echo quilt the clam shells to fill the entire space. One design lead to the next, to the next, etc. As ideas come to you, draw them out and see if they will work. Traveling home from Yellowstone... Paul Harvey Quilt in Eastern Oregon CLICK HERE: to see My Quilts CLICK HERE to view: ALL Sketch Book posts May Your Bobbin Always Be Full, LuAnn Kessi
LuAnn Kessi
A few more feather designs from the Sketch Books: It is FUN to take a given space (rectangle, square, circle) and fill it up with feathers. Use ALL available space....every inch of it... It is FUN to stretch out the plumes to fill in the space... Use a chalk mark to define the feather spine, then fill in all of the given space with plumes. Divide up the quilting area with lines (top of page). Fill in those areas with feathers to take up all available space. It is a great way to fill in a lot of negative space in the background areas of a quilt. We are still enjoying the last few hollyhock blooms: Pink Hollyhock......just opening Black Hollyhock Detail View CLICK HERE to view My Quilts CLICK HERE to view: Feathers on Baby Boy Quilt Border CLICK HERE to view: Feathers on Baby Girl Quilt CLICK HERE to view: My Portrait Quilts CLICK HERE to view: Feather Video May Your Bobbin Always Be Full, LuAnn Kessi Brought to YOU by: Gunnr and the Blue Ball
A few more quilting designs I drew while traveling: These work great to fill in background areas, negative space and around applique work Innies and Outies are always a favorite and look so organic. This is what you draw when your coffee has you a bit over-stimulated! While traveling back to Oregon we enjoyed the autumn landscape... Jackson Hole, Wyoming The golden autumn grasses are glowing this time of year. Pulling down our driveway... We had some autumn color right in our own yard... This October Glory tree colored up while we were gone... It was a great trip, so relaxing and inspiring. Now to get to work and install a new floor in the Thread Shed. Enjoy all this color! CLICK HERE: to see My Quilts CLICK HERE to view: English Paper Piecing Class CLICK HERE to view: Soy Wax Batik Class CLICK HERE to view: ALL Sketch Book Posts May Your Bobbin Always Be Full, LuAnn Kessi
I’m feeling much better today and ready to finally quilt my Super Quick Wholecloth quilt. I basted this big guy...
I LOVE Austin TX. I just returned from teaching at Quiltcon 2015 and I really don't think I can do a blog post without at least mentioning how much I LOVE the food in Austin. I'm not here to wax poetic about my diet or health but I will say I follow a pretty restrictive AIP Paleo diet and I found more delicious farm to table food than any celiac could shake a stick at. Just sayin'. Apart from eating at Max's Wine Dive a total of 5 times (in 4 short days), I also enjoyed seeing some of my favorite people in the world and meeting some of my new favorite people in the world. I am a very visual person and I am guessing if you're reading this blog, you are too. So, thanks for reading and come enjoy some photos with me. This quilt; Diving Geese, pieced by Katie Pedersen, won best machine quilting at the show!! Here are some pictures I took while quilting it. The last picture is a beautiful full shot of the quilt taken by Katie. The Back: The subliminal Star Trek emblem: Leonard Nimoy passed away four days ago and I started researching his life and his quotes. This one hit me hard and has resonated with me since. "The miracle is this, the more we share the more we have." -Leonard Nimoy photo courtesy Katie Pedersen I was able to share some of the things I have learned over the past ten years with my students at Quiltcon and I am so grateful to have had this opportunity. My students filled me with their energy and spirit. I made this as a sample for my zig zag sampler class, one of my students took it home as a door prize! I always love a rainbow. Speaking of teaching and sharing, have you gotten yourself a piece of plexiglass yet? This is THE TOOL I could not live without. If you were in one of my classes you might want to shoot yourself in the foot rather than hear me say it again but if you don't have one yet, DO IT, BUY IT, TAPE IT, USE IT! DO IT! I use a 20"x30" piece of plexiglass that you can source from your local home improvement store. TAPE the edges with painters tape......trust me, even though you think you won't, you WILL draw off the edge. Mark on the tape "drawing side" so you only use one side. Lay that bad boy down on your quilt and you can try out every design your heart desires to-scale. Deal with the density of quilting, play with different designs in different places. This is not a marking tool. This is a drawing tool to help you visually understand the space you are getting ready to quilt. You are also building muscle memory when you draw your designs. I'm not kidding, DO IT. Now that I got all my design work sorted out I can start quilting without stressing about what I am going to quilt. If you're wondering about this awesome quilt it is a pattern called Modern Mountains designed by my namesake bestie Krista. You can find the free pattern here. This version was made by one of my awesome customers, Amanda. Do I draw in a sketchbook? Yes, all the time. But the sketchbook does not give me the perspective to deal with density of quilting and other to-scale design issues. I'm gonna say it again. PLEXIGLASS. DO IT. Use your sketchbook too. Use it every day, bring it with you on the bus, train, airplane. Don't be afraid to use anything/everything you see. Designs belong to all of us. I love moons. I love drawing them. I love quilting them. Here is a sneak peak of a quilt my sweet friend Jen Carlton Bailly made for Cheryl Arkison's book, You Inspire Me to Quilt, coming out soon. Of course I consulted my plexiglass first: Collaborations are so awesome when you are on the same page with your friend/customer/collaborator. Plexiglass is a great way to visually communicate with your piecer, or yourself, if you're lucky enough to have the time to quilt your own work! Plexiglass again? Are you sensing a theme here? I finally finished my value quilt and have been sleeping happily beneath it, even though it still remains unbound. Sorry for the blinding flourescent reflection. And Voila: The last photos I am going to share are more WIP shots from a quilt that I quilted for Elizabeth Hartman for her book Patchwork City. I was so happy to see her sweet face in Austin and teach two doors down from her. I am always in awe of Elizabeth's work. This quilt is badass and completely blew my mind. There are some of the coolest blocks in this quilt that I have ever seen. I love the way the brilliant piecing in this quilt informed my design decisions to explore so many unexpected possibilities. I wish I had taken photographs of the plexiglass for this project. You can trust me though, I used it. As always, thanks for stopping by. I expect you to have a sheet of Plexiglass before my next blog post which technically means you are off the hook for at least another 6-7 months, right? DO IT.
Here are a few ways to fill up a big, open space in the background areas of your quilts: You divide up the open space with lines... Then fill in each area with a different design I divided this area into 3 sections, then added a feather spine in each one: Then add plumes to the spines Horizontal wavy lines divide up this space... It is FUN to fill up each section with a different design. Triangle shapes divide up this space: This was a lot of fun filling in the triangles! A long curly line divides up this space: Then echo the line with another line. Now you are ready to fill in all the odd shapes. Last week we spent time in Central Oregon to attend a farm auction Sunset in Culver, Oregon Sunset in the Corn Patch Unfortunately, a forest fire outside of Sisters, Oregon is responsible for this gorgeous sunset. CLICK HERE to view My Quilts CLICK HERE to view: My Art Quilts CLICK HERE to view: My Take-A-Long Quilts CLICK HERE to view: ALL Sketch Book posts May Your Bobbin Always Be Full, LuAnn Kessi
This design isn't really a feather... just plumes: Random plumes to fill the background areas of a quilt The bottom portion of the page is a diagram to remind me how to stitch this design out. Below is a fabric sandwich with random plumes stitched all over: CLICK HERE to view this design on quilted bags The following designs are lined up in a vertical row: It helps to chalk mark lines on the quilt before quilting. I drew pencil lines in the sketch book, then used the lines to keep me drawing the design an even distance apart. Professional Quilter - Pam Clark designed a stencil to quickly chalk the lines on your quilt....it works great! In the green border on this baby quilt, I chalked straight vertical lines all along the border... Then free motion quilted long loops along the borders. Fast, FUN and Easy! CLICK HERE: to see My Quilts CLICK HERE to view: Feather Border Quilting CLICK HERE to view: Grandmother's Flower Garden Quilt CLICK HERE to view: ALL Sketch Book posts May Your Bobbin Always Be Full, LuAnn Kessi Brought to YOU By: the Hen House
This is a fast and fun background filler for quilts: I drew this out on a piece of paper at a restaurant while traveling... Later in the day I played around with the design in my sketch book... I tried several variations to see what would work... This is the last one I drew.....Stix 'n Stones The bubbles can be isolated, or you can blend them into one another. There is a forest fire raging outside of Sisters, Oregon It made for a lovely sunset while we were in Central Oregon Sunset in the Corn Patch Sunset....through the trees Sunrise.....the next morning CLICK HERE to view: ALL Sketch Book posts CLICK HERE to view My Quilts May Your Bobbin Always Be Full, LuAnn Kessi
Here are a few Feather designs I have been trying out on paper: I like the circles going down the center. It will be FUN to incorporate more of them throughout this design. Left Page.....curvy lines...not really a spine, but they work. Right Page......plumes added to the curves to fill all available space. Left Page......Curvy Lines Right Page.....Plumes added to curvy lines I decided to draw an odd shaped circle and see if I could add plumes to it and fill the space. It worked. These long, narrow, thin plumes have more of a formal look to them. Playing around with some feathered border designs. It's that time of year... Filling up the wood shed... We depend on wood to heat our home... This is how we spent the day today... It was a beautiful day to be out of doors... Gunnr was a big help... 4 hours later... We made it home with 2 loads... We will be back at it tomorrow... CLICK HERE: to see My Quilts CLICK HERE to view: Textile Painting and Wood Cutting CLICK HERE to view: Detail Quilting Images CLICK HERE to view: ALL Sketch Book posts May Your Bobbin Always Be Full, LuAnn Kessi Brought to YOU by: The Hen House
Here are a few ways to fill up a big, open space in the background areas of your quilts: You divide up the open space with lines... Then fill in each area with a different design I divided this area into 3 sections, then added a feather spine in each one: Then add plumes to the spines Horizontal wavy lines divide up this space... It is FUN to fill up each section with a different design. Triangle shapes divide up this space: This was a lot of fun filling in the triangles! A long curly line divides up this space: Then echo the line with another line. Now you are ready to fill in all the odd shapes. Last week we spent time in Central Oregon to attend a farm auction Sunset in Culver, Oregon Sunset in the Corn Patch Unfortunately, a forest fire outside of Sisters, Oregon is responsible for this gorgeous sunset. CLICK HERE to view My Quilts CLICK HERE to view: My Art Quilts CLICK HERE to view: My Take-A-Long Quilts CLICK HERE to view: ALL Sketch Book posts May Your Bobbin Always Be Full, LuAnn Kessi
More Innies and Outies from the Sketch Book: These innies and outies have an echo of lines around them several times before I begin more innie and outie shapes. Left Page: Triangle Innie and Outie Right Page: Square Innie and Outie Both have a series of lines that echo around them several times before adding the next triangle or square. Left Page: very organic design resembles bark Right Page: Leaf Shape Innie & Outie without extra lines around it CLICK HERE to view: more Innies and Outies The gravenstein apple tree in the yard is ripe: This is the view looking out from under the tree. I have been busy making these: and these... I haven't been picking apples alone... Gunnr loves apples.....and jumps up and picks them himself off the tree! He plays with them like a ball for awhile, and then he eats every bite! CLICK HERE to view My Quilts CLICK HERE to view: ALL Sketch Book posts CLICK HERE to view: English Paper Piecing CLICK HERE to view: Surface Design Techniques May Your Bobbin Always Be Full, LuAnn Kessi
I learned Innies and Outies from Patsy Thompson years ago: Choose a shape....circle, square, triangle, etc. Draw lines into the shape, then draw them back out again. This drawing has lots of shapes Triangles work well on contemporary and art quilts I am considering this design for Brad's Green Quilt I recently had the Clam Shell quilt out for a photo shoot: This was my take-a-long quilt a few years back... This went along on planes, trains and automobile trips... To see more of the Clam Shell Quilt CLICK HERE CLICK HERE to view My Quilts CLICK HERE to view: My Take-A-Long Quilts CLICK HERE to view: Class Samples CLICK HERE to view: Quilting Arts Calendar May Your Bobbin Always Be Full, LuAnn Kessi
LuAnn Kessi
Here is more Quilting Inspiration from my Sketch Book... Top of Page.....Curvy Grid Bottom of Page....Larger version of Curvy Grid I filled in every other space with echo lines of that shape. The remaining empty spaces are filled in with bubbles or pebbles. You can fill them in with anything you wish. My first attempt at Stacked Feathers: Draw out the spine...starting at the bottom. Start adding feathers at the bottom... after 3 feathers, stack more on top of the 3rd feather. Have you started your own sketch book yet? Top of Page......Paisley with Bubbles in center Bottom of Page......Flames Top of Page.....Large curl then echo it a few times Bottom of Page......alternating Swirls and Lines Today is the day to prepare, to practice, to Quilt your own Quilts! Basic Feather Motif with grid work behind it. CLICK HERE: to see My Quilts CLICK HERE to view: My Challenge Quilts CLICK HERE to view: Gunnr in Quilting Arts Calendar CLICK HERE to view: ALL Sketch Book posts May Your Bobbin Always Be Full, LuAnn Kessi Brought to YOU by: Gunnr and his Blue Ball
