Tag: quilting

Sheldon Cooper Quilt

sheldoncooperquiltFor those of you experiencing another blast of winter weather, this Sheldon Cooper quilt by semel at Craftster might be just the thing you need to keep warm. Semel, of Candy Coated Quilts in Nova Scotia, said it is made of  7,500 individual squares and took 6 months to make. “I started cutting pieces for this quilt in July and finished the whole thing in January.”

And in case your very own Sheldon blanket just isn’t enough, semel posted some advice on how you could make your own Leonard, Raj or Howard quilts.

“First, I made the pattern using the above photo and myphotostitch.com. This is a cross stitch pattern maker but it works pretty well for a quilt pattern as well. You will have to play with the settings a little bit to get the image you want. Once I had my pattern, I purchased my Kona colors that roughly match the suggested thread colors.

sheldoncooperquilt2“So then, I basically followed Sew Mama Sew’s instructions for how to ‘quick-piece tiny squares.’ Here’s the link to that. …I drew the grid directly on the interfacing which came in 8.5×11 sheets. Next time, I would definitely buy a pre-gridded interfacing that came in metres as this became quite expensive. This is supposed to be wash-away interfacing but I haven’t tested that theory yet.” (Don’t you like how semel worked the word theory into a post about a Sheldon Cooper blanket?)

For those of you new to Dr. Sheldon Cooper, he’s been portrayed by actor Jim Parsons since 2007 on CBS’s “The Big Bang Theory.” A couple of Sheldon Cooper fun facts for you: The asteroid 246247 Sheldoncooper was named after Sheldon. In 2012, a newly discovered species of bee was named Euglossa bazinga, after the character’s noted catch phrase, “Bazinga!”

 

LHC Quilts

Flipping though Physics World magazine , I turned a page and caught my breath; there was the tiniest picture of the most beautiful quilt. I still, several hours later, cannot quite find words with which to explain how awe inspiring, how wondrous these quilts, made by Kate Findlay, are.

But what was a picture of Kate’s quilt doing in a physics magazine? Well, it turns out to be one of a series which she has made themed around the LHC. There are 20 quilts (so far) in the series, some inspired by particular particle detectors, and some inspired more generally by the science of supersymmetry, dark matter and particle physics. ‘Atom – Silver’ (pictured above) is based on the structure of Ag, while Atlas (below) is based on images of the ATLAS detector.

What initially caught Kate’s eye were the symmetry, repeating motifs, and colours present in CERN’s images, and I agree that quilting is a perfect medium to reflect those ideas – Kate’s mixed textures of silks, satins and sheers really capture the source material, the pieces feel modern,full of hope  and wonder. Kate also cites the vastly disparate scales that any physicist works with as a source of inspiration – and I for one can see how the juxtaposition between atoms and astronomy, and the interplay between the two, is a captivating concept.

The early pieces from the series incorporate wire, card, beads,and other mixed media to further play with texture, while the more recent pieces are traditional 3 layered beauties. Kate has experimented with screen printing and dyeing to personalise her fabrics, and of course this adds yet another dimension to the quilts.

Continue reading LHC Quilts

A Call To Arms

I’m not much of a quilter – and after seeing this amazing little piece I think I know why. They are all in support of The empire! Clearly us needleworkers, dressmakers, papercrafters and up-cyclers need to form an impromptu branch of the Rebel Alliance and quell the evil quilters to re-establish the reputation for good that crafters have so long held dear. Just as soon as we finish chuckling.

I spotted this piece on Strawberry Jam Designs, a craft blog ran by an anonymous ’30 something gal in San Francisco’, that is well worth checking out for some amazing embroidered and quilted craft inspiration.

Strawberry Jam Designs

Fascinating… (And Logical)

In truth, I don’t need a Spock quilt. However, if I did, Fascinating… quilt would be my choice. I love how it looks pixelated and slightly abstract but still clearly conveys Spock. And, according to quilter funthreads, it’s a great way to use leftover scraps of fabric. See? That is logical. Spock would approve.

Space Invaders Quilt Plan

My PMQG guildmate Elizabeth Hartman just posted about her plans for piecing a Space Invaders quilt for her nephew. She used one of the Kyla May video game prints I also loved (found at Cool Cottons here in Portland) as inspiration, and she’s hand-drawn a blueprint for a super-unique pixelated quilt top made with Kona solids and prints…

From her post:

I played around with a couple of different ideas before I determined that I didn’t actually want to use any of the print on the front of the quilt. Instead, I decided to play with the pixelated look of the print and make the quilt top into a super-enlarged version of the fabric.

I can’t wait to see this quilt project unfold!