I auditioned blue but decided on green. (What a combination! Nothing like my previous choices.)

I spent quite a while working with these strong prints and trying to use them at the largest possible scale.

It was challenging, especially since I didn’t have a lot of green fabrics.

I had a lot of trouble using the green fabric with circles “as is.” It was a very strong motif, but I didn’t have enough greens to go with it. So, I decided to cut it up. (See an entire blog post on that.) And I added a strong piece of black and white.

About this time I remembered my admiration for quilts I’ve seen with lots of tiny pieces. I like the busy-ness of them. I didn’t want to do all that piecing, but wondered if I could achieve a similar effect with my print fabrics.

It was definitely getting interesting.

I really didn’t want to cut into the black and white, but realized that I would need to. Here, those pieces are close to one another.

I thought they needed to be separated in order to space those high-contrast pieces around a bit.

Yes. Better.

Then, I basically started over. I first placed the black and white pieces, knowing that they would draw the most attention. Then, I did the same with the black, shown in-progress below.

Finally, I was moving along. (Later, I removed most of the right column and most of the top row.)

I’m getting close now. Soon, I’ll be ready to start quilting.

What do you think about a name? Maybe “Recalculating,” or “Detours?”

Ellen Lindner

The post Orange and Green and Black, Oh My! appeared first on Adventure Quilter.

Here’s my first 6×6 attempt. This was sewn in the traditional way. That is, the edges of the fabrics are folded under so no raw edges show. It works sort of like shingles. The first piece has 2 edges unfolded and raw – initially. But, the second piece covers that, and so on.

Pieces are stitched into place with running stitches parallel to the edges, (although I messed that up in one corner.)

This detail shot shows how the pieces land on top of one another.

This is the back of my first piece. It’s not perfect, but with Kawandi it doesn’t have to be.

Although I loved the “pick a scrap from the top of the pile” randomness, I found stitching through the folded layers to be challenging. Therefore, I decided to try it with raw edge pieces. Like this piece, shown in-progress. Don’t you love those rows of big stitching?

I was enjoying the process, but I found the look somewhat too scrappy looking. Therefore, in the piece above, I create light and dark diagonal halves. That looked great, but I missed that random picking. I decided I probably needed to work with curated scraps – a coordinating selection.

I made 4 blocks with the diagonal arrangement. This is what they looked like when joined together.

The pattern showed up nicely, but I didn’t like the mental challenge of paying attention. (I was really getting into the Zen-ness of it all.)

Joining the blocks provided quite a challenge. It was my intention to join them all along, but there was a problem. After hand stitching them they all turned out to be slightly different dimensions. So, I came up with a complex system, which I’m still testing. (This is similar to quilting as you go.)
1 – Unpick the edges of the stitching.
2 – Fold the bottom backing fabric out of the way and trim the squares down to 5 1/2″.
3- Join the back first. Carefully join 2 blocks with right sides (of the backing fabric,) facing one another. Match exactly the cut edges of the squares. Trim the seam and press it open. Tuck it up under the edge of the block.
4- If sewn correctly the front blocks are perfectly aligned and ready to be joined. Restitch the edges first. Then, stitch across the edges of each block. This is what mine looked like.

Of course, if you know you’ll be joining blocks you can avoid stitching the edges initially.

Here’s how the balck looked after joining the first 4 blocks.

I’m still not completely happy with this procedure, however. My next test will be to stitch the front first, by machine. I’ll leave the edges of the front fabrics long and catch them in a front seam. The back will then be invisibly stitched by hand.

I haven’t had a hand project in so long! It has really surprised me how much I’m enjoying this! More to come. (My goal is to reach something like a body sized blanket.)

Here’s a great video about Kawandi. And that same author has many more tutorials on YouTube.

Let me know if you try it. I’ll keep my eye out down here in the rabbit hole.

Ellen Lindner

The post Down the Kawandi Rabbit Hole appeared first on Adventure Quilter.

Because of the strong motif I intended to use this as my featured fabric. I wanted to combine greens and orange-reds, but my selection of greens was limited.

I got this far in the fabric audition process before I had to admit that something was really wrong.

The big green was just not playing well with the other fabrics – of any color. I thought the scale was off so I began to consider how I might change it. What if I just sliced into it and pieced it back together? The seam allowances would make it distort and get smaller. I tried it out by folding the fabric.

That didn’t look great, but it DID look more interesting! I decided to cut into and the Adrenaline was surging! (Part in fear and part in anticipation.)

Here’s a more accurate look at what would happen if I just sewed it back together.

Or, what if I changed the sequence of the sections?

Ooh, that got rather dramatic.

What if I flipped some sections upside down?

A

Or B

Or added another color?

The possibilities were limitless!

Well, I can tell you that I did ALL these things and also changed this one long strip into several smaller “block-ish” units. I’ll show you soon.

I don’t even break a sweat when I do this crazy stuff anymore. But, it was scary the first few times! What’s the scariest reinvention you’ve ever done to one of your quilts?

Ellen Lindner
Who really is an adventure quilter!

The post Reworking a Feature Fabric appeared first on Adventure Quilter.

I’ve been working with some fabric I printed with a garden screen as a stencil. That gave me lots of oval “bubbles” and I’ve been trying to stretch the fabric and see how many quilts I can get out of it. These were my starting fabrics.

This is the first quilt, Bubble Rap 1.

Next, I used the blue and yellow fabrics and made another quilt (not yet photographed.) I went to a retreat during the time I was quilting that piece and I took the scraps with me in hopes of starting a third one in the same colors. This time I knew it would need to be smaller, since I was getting low on bubble fabric. You can see that I’ve got my intended dimensions taped off in the photo below.

As usual, I started by putting my highest contrast fabric pieces in my desired focal point (i.e. off-center,) and then adding pieces around it.

It was coming along pretty well, I thought. I committed to the central section and pieced some of that together. But, I realized I’d need to make it smaller yet, and moved that tape in.

When I came in the next morning it hit me:

My trusty “bubbles” that added so much interest in the two larger quilts were now taking over. Do you see what I mean? I knew I’d need to cut down the pieces, even the ones that were already stitched.

About that time, I decided to make a 12 x 12 benefit quilt for SAQA, an organization to which I belong. I decided to use what I had already constructed/auditioned at the retreat. That really forced the proportion “conflict” into focus. I began to cut things up – especially those high contrast bubbles.

Here’s a sample of the 12 x 12 quilt in-progress. Look what happened when I cut up the bubbles and misaligned them. Wow! I never expected that. WAY more interesting than just blobs of brown.

And here it is, finished. I’m kind of in love with it. The smaller motifs and pieces of fabric were absolutely necessary to keep the eye moving at this scale.

You can probably guess the title: Bubble Rap 3. This piece was very fun. Maybe I’ll aim for more like this.

Ellen Lindner
P.S. BTW, this quilt will be auctioned off in the fall. I’ll tell you about it when the time comes.

The post Thinking about Proportion and Scale appeared first on Adventure Quilter.

I also dyed some coordinating fabrics, so I pulled everything out and auditioned them together.

Well, the one with the wild black lines wasn’t likely to work, but most other things looked usable. But, I decided to save the left bubble print for a later quilt.

First, I looked for ways that I could merge the bubble fabrics. Maybe something like this. I liked the angles at which the bubbles met and also the merge of two colors.

Above, I put up blue tape to show me my desired size. Eventually, I didn’t want to see the blue so I used fabric and/or toilet paper to hide the edges.

Below, it was coming together pretty well. At this point the left half was stitched, but the fabrics on the right were mostly just folded and pinned in place. I wasn’t sure about the blue mid-right, with the white vegetation.

Yeah, that fabric had to go. I was beginning to get pretty happy with it.

I reworked the top right corner and stitched it all together.

But the darkest blue at the bottom began to bug me, so I reworked it, below.

It was ready to stitch!

Finished photos coming soon.

Enjoying the adventure!
Ellen Lindner

The post Bubble Piece In-Progress appeared first on Adventure Quilter.

#1 – I used a piece of garden fencing (I think that’s what it is) as a stencil.

It made a nice big bubble motif and, because of it’s size, it covered a lot of space quickly.

#2 – I used some new-to-me premixed dye colors. I usually work with just 2 of each of the primary colors, plus black, and mix my own colors. But, over the years, people have given me premixed colors. I decided to work with only these and to experiment. Coincidentally, they looked pretty good together.

This was my sampling swatch, above. It includes each of the 8 colors at full strength, 1/2 strength, 1/4, and 1/8. Very useful! The colors are mostly from Dharma and they are Raspberry, Terra Cotta, Pumpkin Spice, Bronze, Marigold, Deep Yellow, Palamnio Gold, and Grecian Sea. I decided I really liked the 1/2 strength version and I worked mostly with that.

This is what I got. Pretty cool, right?

My hope is to get 3 quilts from these (around 36h x 24w.) I hope I’ve got enough fabric to manage that! I did dye some other near-solids and light prints in these same colors, so we’ll see.

The first quilt is finished and I’ll show it to you soon.

Enjoying the adventure!
Ellen Lindner

The post Dyeing with a New “Stencil” appeared first on Adventure Quilter.

Here I am with my quilt Mr. and Mrs.. Hey, I’m short, but they DID hang the quilt rather high.

And here’s a full wall of my quilts. They are Mr. and Mrs., Magnetic Attraction, Heat Wave, Happy Family, and Exuberance. (We had some miscommunication with the venue and sent them more quilts than they had space for. As you can see, they managed to squeeze them all in, but there was no room for signs. I’m glad the pieces had similar colors!)

Another wall of my quilts: Indian River Fruit, Easily Distracted, Daydream, 6 Croton Story pieces, and Cantilever. The quilts were beautifully lit and there was NO visible hardware. I really loved that!

And my last two: Miscommunication and Second Thoughts.

There was a very large sign with the exhibit title – on a brick wall. Seeing our names was pretty exciting!

This exhibit is on display at ArtSpace in Raleigh, NC. It will be up until April 18th and its free to view.

Ellen Lindner

The post Opening Reception! “Fabric, Dye, & Serendipity” appeared first on Adventure Quilter.

Here I am.

And here’s Gabriele.

While I was updating things I decided it was time to update my zoom teaching photo, too. It was about time!

I think we’re finally about ready for our exhibit. We’ll get to meet lots of people at the Friday night reception, and talk more about our work at an artists’ panel on Saturday morning, at 10AM.

All the details again:
“Fabric, Dye, & Serendipity”, March 5 – April 18, 2026
ArtSpace Gallery, Raleigh, NC
Opening reception: Friday, March 6, 6-10 PM
Artists’ Panel Discussion: Saturday, March 7, 10-11AM

Hope to see you there!
Ellen Lindner

The post Behind the Scenes: New photos appeared first on Adventure Quilter.

And the not-so-obvious, like sending instructions for hanging and for return packing.

Then, there’s the shipping. I sent four boxes from home and one more from QuiltCon. OF COURSE I didn’t have the right size boxes! I had one custom made, shortened one, lengthened one, and shortened a pool noodle – used for wrapping the quilts around. All of that took me over 4 hours! But, I became an expert at altering boxes in the end.

This one had to be lengthened – because it was 3/4″ too short!

I cannibalized another box, cutting the end from it, and applying it to the first box. I was PROUD of this!

And this was my send-from-home selection: about 12 pieces. Aren’t the boxes pretty? With their labels, their weights, and the shipping already paid. It was quite satisfying to take this photo!

The post Behind the Scenes: Exhibit Prep – Shipping appeared first on Adventure Quilter.

We’re calling it “Fabric, Dye, and Serendipity” because that’s pretty much how we work. Both of us dye our own fabrics, and then compose them with minimal planning, (although Gabriele does more planning than I do.) I design my compositions while I’m standing at the design wall, with LOTS of trial and error. Gabriele plans, somewhat, but is then quick to follow detours.

In addition to coloring fabrics with thickened dye, Gabriele also does quite a bit of cyanotype, which results in a blue background with white images in the foreground. She also manipulates some of her fabric before dyeing it with liquid. The creases in the fabric make it hard for the dye to penetrate those areas, resulting in a stripey effect.

Our think our work will look good together.

The exhibit runs March 5th through April 18th, at ArtSpace, in Raleigh. There will be an opening reception on March 6th, from 6-10. Both Gabriele and I will be there for that, (although maybe not until 10!) On Saturday, March 7th, there will be an artist panel with another art quilter who also has an exhibit there, along with Gabriele and me. That will be at 10 AM and will include questions and conversations from the audience. I’d love to see you there!

Ellen Lindner

The post Raleigh Exhibit, “Fabric, Dye, and Serendipity” appeared first on Adventure Quilter.