Monday, May 20, 2013

The Font Quilt--Finished Blocks

Here's how it's looking with all my blocks finished. I am still going to do a few more where I spray paint didn't go on perfectly or that pesky "J" where the fabric exactly matches the fabric directly above it. (Did I mix up my pattern?)
The Font Quilt blocks laid out.


I really like how this is going. My husband, upon first seeing it, asked me why I included the & and $. Well, because 26 makes a terrible rectangle! But 28 makes this kind of long-skinny panel. (I've seen people use the alphabet and add four blocks for 30 and this makes a more square 5 x 6 panel.)

Now I am debating on whether I should just sew all these blocks together in one big mass or use some sort of sashing inbetween.

At this moment, I am leaning towards using white striped dress shirts as sashing with red squares between, but I'm not sure.

Another thing I need to consider is the finished size I want this to be. A single bed? A wall-hanging? I'm not sure if the spray paint (which dries kind of hard) is the best thing for a cuddly blanket, but it's not any harder than the decals they put on t-shirts.

My Finished Cookbook

The cookbook is all done! I had it printed through iPhoto and then it came back in full-colour glory!
 It is 98 pages long with an index I am proud of!
 And better than a scrapbook, it's a book I use everyday, not just a book sitting up on a shelf collecting dust. (How I hate dusty yet also hate things being dusty.)

The Font Quilt--Spray Painting

I brainstormed a ton of ways to make the letters appear on the fabric. In the end, I ruled out silk screening (too much mess) and instead elected to cut stencils and then spray paint them. (Spray paint is permanent, right?)

So I am making a spray paint quilt. When someone asked me if other people were doing this, I must admit that I have no idea, but maybe somewhere, someone else has stumbled upon this great idea.

So first, I cut out each stencil with an Xacto knife and scissors. Then I use spray baste (for fabric) to glue the stencil to the fabric. And then it's painting time!

I'm using all recycled blue men shirts.





This "L" I didn't like and redid because of the "blurb" at the corner.


onto the

Friday, May 17, 2013

The Font Quilt--Planning

I have started a new quilt. It's an alphabet quilt and I am using 28 exciting fonts to make it. (26 letters plus $ and & to make it a rectangle.)

Fonts are such fun to work with! I read the book "Just My Type" twice in researching for this quilt. (My husband asked me, after I had borrowed the book a second time from the library, why anyone would need to read a book about fonts twice!)

Fonts also have the advantage of being 100% copyright-free, so I can use them however I like! Finally, I can capitalize on the amazing design experience of professionals without stealing! (Although I feel I have a decent feel for design, I need to work on my art skills.)