Aurifil Block of the Month - July - Shruti Dandekar (Me!!!!)

Hiya there!!!

Its my turn on the color wheel!!! And I am super excited. Especially since my color is my favorite - actually my brand color - Orange!!!

Head over to Auribuzz to read my interview and also to download my fun pattern!

I have used the same Reverse Applique technique that has been used to make numerous quilts!!!

The first time I used it to make a pillow.

Then I tried it to make my Harry Potter Quilt

And then, I used it for portraits!!!

First was the iQuilt for my little brother

After that I wrote my eBook. ABOUT face! That will teach you step by step how to use it to make a portrait quilt! You can buy it in my craftsy store.

I made a portrait of Alex Veronelli for my book! We met up at QuiltCon 2015 where I gifted it to him!!! 

Since then I have made numerous more. Some for myself, like my self portrait. 

It is a very versatile technique and I have been thinking of expanding it to many more designs... Let us see where it leads me to!!!

Cheers!!!

My heart's delight : portrait of Aadi

It is every quilting mother's dream. To be able to make a portrait of her child. I did that this past week.

Remember Sandra Bruce's self portrait? I had interviewed her some time back. You can go here to read that interview. It was about 3 years back! Ever since I have wanted to make a portrait using her technique.

I visited her during my USA trip. And she wrote a wonderful post about it on her blog! (We do have a mutual admiration club!)

So back to the portrait...

I had this photo of Aadi, that has always been my favorite one. It was clicked by one of the members of the Amateur Photographer's Club in Sangli sometime back in 2008! Aadi was barely 11 months old then. We had gone for a stroll in a garden early in the morning. The club members were there and asked me permission to click photos of Aadi. I told them they could as long as they give me a copy of every photo they take and the permission to use them the way i want to. The did. and a few days later I had a CD with some of the most awesome snaps of Aadi delivered to my home. I still do not know the name of the person who actually clicked this photo. But I am very much indebted to him.

I knew this picture would make a great portrait. Until now I have only made portraits in gray scale. This one screamed at me to be made in color. What was holding me back, you ask? I was scared I would not be able to do it. But I decided to just go and do it! 

So I gathered all my supplies. In the end, I decided to crop out the background and use white instead. That made it easier on me. I did it one square at a time. I looked for prints that matched the position onthe photo. If I did not have prints like that, I improv-pieced the squares. Some I decided to applique because they were too complicated to be pieced. 

 I was on the edge of my seat, more  sure than not, that I am not going to be able to do this! Till this moment.

I got the eye right!!! That was the moment I knew I was going to be able to make it.

And then I got the other eye right too!!! That one was difficult since it had to match the first one. Between those two eyes I think I have 6 pairs of attempts before I got them right!

And at the end of 4 days all the squares were ready!!! Time to do the unthinkable. Piece them together! I managed to do that in another couple of days. The quilting took 2 days...

And at the end of the week : my quilt was ready!!!

Here it is, "My heart's delight : portrait of Aadi"

I decided to keep the quilting simple. And most often matched the thread with the background. I wanted the piecing to be the "hero" of this quilt rather than the quilting.

Here's a more detailed shot of the quilting.

I quilted his three favorite nursery rhymes (when he was 11 months old) in the background. I have no score of how many times I must have sung them to him! So you see  "Wheels on the bus", "Incy wincy spider" and "You're my sunshine" on the white background. I also wanted to include some Marathi songs, but there was no more space left.

I used a 'curly' design to quilt the hair. It turned out awesome!!!

I let Aadi pick the backing for this quilt, and he chose this one! Nummers from Ikea. Its perfect for this quilt!

Quilt stats

Name : "My heart's delight : portrait of Aadi"
Size : 40" x 40" - 200 squares 2.5" (10 appliqued, 76 pieced others whole)
Material used :
Fabric : Hand dyed fabric (for the skin), assorted Black and white prints (for the hair), Some local scraps (for the dress), Bella Solid White and Snow (background)
Thread : Aurifil 50 wt in Tan for piecing and applique. Assorted shades - black, pink, white, grey, blue and red for quilting. Aurifil 40 wt White in bobbin.(only because I was running out of 50 wt in white)

Pieced and quilted on my Bernina 710 using the Dual Feed System and BSR.

Aurifil & Bernina managed to go through several layers (at one intersection it must be close to 7) without ANY incident of thread breakage! Go "Berifil"!!!

Other material : My laptop, freezer paper and my brain (lot of it)

Experience : Amazing!!!

Thank you Sandra, for inspiring me to make this quilt and for sharing your process with me. Though I ended up doing it my own way - it was fun to see how I started out at the same point as you, with the same concept and reached the same destination, travelling down my own road!!! Your support has been phenomenal. This quilt is going to change my life! I know it! And thank you for being such a lovely friend!!!

Do you like "My heart's delight?"

I'm entering it into the Bloggers Quilt Festival  on Amy's Creative Side.

You can find my quilt in the Art Quilt category. Please vote for it if you like it!

Cheers!!!

Abhalmaya : The largest portrait quilt I ever made

My mentor in Architecture - Pramod Chaugule, wanted me to make a portrait of his father, who is known as Pappa among all those who are close to him. So after two years of pestering me I agreed. Why was I putting it off? He wanted me to make a HUGE quilt. And I wasn't ready for it!

Like I said in my earlier post, I started making this quilt in June. It was a daunting project and for a long time I could not decide which technique to use.

In the end I decided to make it into a pixelated porrtait.

I spent a lot of time trying to figure out the colours, and in the end acted smart and just created the pattern on You Patch. If anyone of you wants to make a pixelated quilt, PLEASE save yourself a lot of time and headache and frustration and just design your pattern on You Patch. They're quick, easy and most important, they tell you the shades of Kona Solids that you can use! It just eliminates all the hassels of fabric selection.

But of course I could not have done it the easy way, could I?

First, all those blocks... They made my head spin! So many pieces to cut in so many different sizes! And I suck at precision peicing! My 6.5" Tula pink blocks are ALL of different sizes!!! Don't ask me how.

So what do I do?

I had some Pellon Tru-Grid that I had ordered from the USA a few weeks back. So I decided to just calculate the number of squares I needed of each colour and fuse and stitch them, one block at a time! Easy, right?

Wrong again.


Firstly, I did not have all the Kona shades I needed and ordering online isn't an option when you live on the other side of the world.

And secondly, the very intelligent me had ordered a nun-fusible variety of the Pellon Tru-Grid!!!

I was almost in tears when I realized that!

But you know me. I always find a way out! So I matched the Kona Solids to whatever fabric I had and used a glue stick to 'fuse' the pieces!!! This is how I organized my fabric squares while I worked with them!



Thus began my adventure with the 4096 (8 x 8 blocks of 8 x 8 squares each)

Was it an easy road from there. Well yes, until I finished 3/4th of the quilt and made a startling discovery!

I had completed 48/64 blocks. Just finished putting them all together and laid it on the ground. I almost had a heart attack!

It looked NOTHING like the photo! I was, again, on the verge of tears! All the things had been finalized by then. Pramod Sir was eagerly awaiting snaps of the portrait! And I just could not see it!

I sent for Rohit. I thought a new set of eyes might see what I'm not seeing. And meanwhile, I thought i'd just click a photo of it and send it to my quilting peeps to investigate what went wrong.

When I looked at the screen of my iPhone I was surprised and so happy!!!

This is what I saw!!!



It totally looked like Pappa!!! Phew!!! The last 16 blocks came together super fast and the quilt top was ready.



Time to baste it!!!

I actually had to move out ALL the furniture from Aadi's room to baste it! It took 3 gruesome hours, down on my knees!!!

Now came the time to decide how to quilt it. I had a whole array of Aurifil threads in Greys. I had a very hard time determining how I was going to quilt it. 

In the end I chose to go with a simple stippling design with the Monofilament thread in the top and 50 wt White thread in the bobbin.

It took me 3 days of a quilting marathon to finish this one! But it was ready - 15 days before the exhibition - bound and with a sleeve!!!

This quilt was placed behind a curtain at the exhibition. About 5' from it we had put up a board that read "Look though your mobile phone camera". It was like magic! People loved it. It sure was a crowd puller. Kids called it a magic quilt! They were totally fascinated by the quilt.

Quilt stats :

Name : Abhalmaya (Love - as big as the skies)

 Size : 88" x 85" (The largest portrait quilt I've made)
Material used : Solids by Moda, Michael Miller, American Made, Robert Kaufman and Umaid Mills India
Thread : Aurifil Clear Monofilament thread on the top and Aurifil White 50 wt in the bobbin

 Technique : Patchwork!
Experience : Awesome! Terrifying!! Energizing!!!

Sew Mama Sew! Giveaway Day!!!

Hi all!
Its that day of the year! Yes! The BIG Giveaway Day at Sew Mama Sew.
And I am participating.

I will be giving away ONE copy of my eBook

ABOUT face : Portrait Quilts using the Reverse Applique Technique

To enter you just have to go to Facebook and 'like' my page!
13 Woodhouse Road on Facebook
Thats it! Like it and leave a comment that you've done that!

If you already 'like' me, leave a comment telling me so!

I will draw a winner on December 12, 2014 at midnight PST!!!

A book release and BERNINA ambassador!

Wow!
This  week has been totally awesome!

The highlight of the week is something I have been working on for almost 6 months now!

My first ebook!!!

Yes!

I'm nervous, excited, anxious, happy, scared, delighted, and utterly terrified ALL AT THE SAME TIME! I never would have thought you could be all those things together!

So here's presenting to you, my first ebook

ABOUT face : Portrait quilts using reverse applique technique!

 Alex Veronelli of Aurifil generously agreed to be the subject for the book! I loved making his portrait! I'm calling it Mr. Aurifil!


The quilt itself is @36" x 36"

I have used Aurifil monofilament thread, both white & smoke to put together the quilt top and Aurifil #50 and #40 threads in assorted shades of Grey to quilt it. I have used 5 shades of fabrics from Kona cottons and Ross (my Bernina 710) had absolutely no trouble sewing through all the layers!

 Writing an ebook was a super experience! I have no idea how people are going to receive the book! But I'm doing it for me! It will make me happy! 

I am really proud of my work, as well as the fact that I came up with this technique by myself. Making portraits using applique is a pretty common but highly time consuming method. I wanted something that is quicker! And this book will teach you how to make Portrait quilts, quickly! Want to know how quickly?

Well, Dada Ajoba's portrait took me 3 months with about 3-4 hours of work everyday (do the math). But Steve Jobs took me a week with about 1-2 hours every day (@10-14 hours). Alex took me 3 weeks with about 5-6 hours every WEEK! (@15-18 hours)

Go buy the book in my Etsy shop here! Or click the "My Etsy Shop" button on the bar above!

Quilt Stats
Name : Mr Aurifil
Size : 36" x 36"
Material : Fabric - Kona cotton - PDF Bleach White,Silver, Ash, Steel and Jet Black.
Backing fabric - Block Printed Indian Cotton from stash
Tulle
Thread - Aurifil monofilament Clear & Smoke
Aurifil 50 & 40 weight White, Dove, Grey, Very Dark Grey and Black 
Technique : Reverse Applique
Experience : Ranging from utter helplessness to ecstasy!!! Making the quilt was totally awesome, writing the book was, at times, terrifying!

And now coming to the second part of why this week is awesome!

I have been chosen as a BERNINA Ambassador! It is a HUGE honor! I have always loved Bernina and right from the first machine that I bought, I have been amazed by not just the quality of the machines, but also by the excellent service provided by Bernina India - specifically Mr. Ajay Gupta.

Be it my Bernette e56 (the lowest machine on the price ladder) or my 710 (somewhere near the top), they have been equally attentive and have always advised me generously. I still remember my call to Mr. Gupta when I was looking to buy a new machine. I told him my budget and then asked his advice about which machine I should buy, and he told me not just the features and limitations of the Bernette e56 that I ended up buying, but also of the machines of the other brands within that price range. Every trip to Mumbai, now, includes a heart to heart conversation with him where he guides me like an elder brother would guide his sister. He has been supporting and encouraging me right since when I was a novice! He believed in me even when my own belief was breaking down into pieces. 

And now, to be made a BERNINA Ambassador!!! Wow! You will find me blogging on the official BERNINA international blog very soon. I am actually working on my first project to be put up there, right now!

Smile!!!

My latest finish!

Its a portrait of a person who made many hearts go 'dhak-dhak'!

She is a person who has worked as a lead with both a father and a son in two different movies!!!

She is a person whose dance moves have made people drop their jaws to the floor and never pick them up again!

She is Madhuri Dixit, a star who has been a favorite of more than 3 generations in families of India!!!

I wanted to see how fast I could make the portrait. So this time I timed myself!

I used the reverse applique technique once again!

And I love how it looks...

Though, after Jenny Bawker, yes THE Jenny Bawker, suggested that I do some contour quilting to arrest the puffing, I am going to do that tomorrow!!!

It is small.... About 12" x 14" (I trimmed it down from the original 15" x 15")
I'm naming this one "Smile!!!" after that gorgeous smile of hers!!!

Quilt Stats
Name : Smile!!! 
Size : 12" x 14"
Material Used : Fabric - Modaa solids - Black, White and Greys
Thread : Aurifil 50 wt

Technique : Reverse Applique

Do you like it?

Cheers!!!

Portrait Quilt Along

At the beginning of the last year, I did a Self Portrait Quilt Along!

And I'm doing it again! I'm starting the Portrait Quilt Along in the new year.

I will be teaching 3 different techniques and you can sign up for one or all 3 techniques. Send me an email to shruti[at]13woodhouseroad[dot]com for details.

It will be an online-only quilt along and will run for 3 months.

I will guide you through the process of making a portrait quilt using one of the following 3 techniques:
1. Raw Edge Applique : Probably one of the safest and fool proof method to make a portrait quilt. It is simple, yet time consuming.



2. Pixelated 4 patch : This is a method for those who love to precision piece! Easier on the cutting side and comes along pretty fast!

3. The Reverse Applique : The fastest method of the 3. Not for the beginner. Needs really good photographs though.



I will guide you through the process of photo selection, editing, preparing and finishing the quilt over the course of 3 months.

I am charging a minor fee for this Quilt Along this time.

Please email me if you're interested in doing it with me!

Cheers!!!

The man, the machine and the quilt!!!

You haven't seen any action here on 13 Woodhouse Road since almost a month. But I have been VERY busy for the past month. Working on a super secret project with Bernina India!!!

I have been a Bernina user for over 2 years now. I bought my first machine, Betty the Bernette E56 in April 2011. And after that was gifted 'Emily' the Bernina 330 in April 2012 by Bernina India.

I have always loved the quality of stitches and the user friendly features of Bernina machines. Plus the owner of Bernina India, Mr Ajay Gupta is a true gentleman. He really markets his brand well. He sold me my first machine on the phone!

The point is I have been associated, voluntarily, with Bernina India since April 2011.

I am a convinced Bernina Girl and nobody can possibly make me change my choice of my machine.

When I heard the news the Mr H P Ueltschi was visiting their new Creative Center, I immediately conspired with Mr Gupta to make a portrait quilt for him as a gift from Team Bernina India!

Here's the finished quilt!!!

It was a pleasure making this one!!!

It was made in 3 weeks with 1247 raw edge applique pieces.
I used 6 shades of Moda Bella Solids for this : White, Fog, Stone, Lead, Charcoal and Black 
I used Pellon Wonder Under #805 for fusing my applique pieces.
I used Aurifil Wt 50 in 4 shades : White, 2 shades of grey ( I cannot recall the numbers, and the stickers from the spools have fallen off - but I do remember that they matched the Stone & Lead fabrics)

Meeting Mr Ueltschi was a surreal experience! Something that I'll never forget!!!

Here are his expressions when he saw the quilt! I finally managed to find out how to make the animated gif image!!!

The event itself was absolutely awesome!!! The highlights included meeting friends after a 'very' long time. But I will do a separate post about that!!!

This is a shot I will always treasure in my life!!!

Thank you, Bernina India, for this opportunity!!!

Quilt Stats :
Title : The Man behind the Machine
Portrait quilt of MR H P Ueltschi, Owner and Chairman of the Board of Directors of BERNINA International AG
Size : I do not really remember, I did measure it though. It should be about 30" x 36"
Material used : Moda Bella Solids, Aurifil Thread 50 wt, Tulle, Pellon Wonder under #805
Techniques used : Raw edge applique, free motion quilting
Experience : Out of this world!!! Not only making the quilt, but also meeting the man in person!!! Blows away all my previous ones!