When Spaghetti is the Main Course

Quilts and spaghetti don't really go well together.

• Spaghetti stains.  Need I say, "Don't eat it in the sewing room?"
• Spaghetti inherently requires noodles, which are full of carbs and cause fat retention.  Try the sauce on veggies or quinoa instead.
• When you are eager to get to sewing you may forget to put it in the crock pot at noon to cook, resulting in no dinner to fill your tummy after burning lots of sewing calories.

The other kind of spaghetti has no calories, does not stain and "cooks" as you sew, although it may cause temporary, frustrated hair pulling.  This is the center of my quilt with 8 seams coming together with a seam down the center of each piece = 16 seams!  Is that a mess, or what?  I couldn't even attempt stitching because, with the paper from paper piecing in there too, I couldn't get the presser foot to go over it.  I love my baby spiral better every minute and can't wait to cut this mess out and attach the spinning center.  I have to pull out the paper backing first and that is tedious, but is a great bit of television handwork.

Spaghetti at center point.

Additionally there is the problem of skinny points in my spiral quilt.  It begins with the design.

Pattern with fabric sewn to other side (seam allowance untrimmed).
These big triangles will be sewn together down the center.

See the arrows (click to enlarge)?  They show the troublesome, long, elegant strips of fabric.  Now imagine all these skinny pieces of fabric with 1/4 inch seam allowance between all of them.  Then sew the two main shapes together and you have another seam with another 1/4 inch seam allowance.   The result is major spaghetti.  The points at the very bottom are the center of my quilt and this is only one quarter of the center.  It is a major mess that I did not visualize in the design process.  A real learning experience.  Burned spaghetti!!!  Not only that, but the mess of tiny points is so thick it is impossible to work with.  What to do?  As usual I let it percolate and worked on some less problematic point challenges, which I will address next week.  

TIP:  Got a problem?  Don't despair.  My favorite, and oft-stated recommendation is to sit on it, sleep on it, think about it, and you will eventually come up with a solution.  I do this often!

I was not giving up on this quilt!  I went to my computer to play with ideas, and decided to try covering the center with a four-point star offset from the one already there, then appliqué my spiral into the center of it before appliquéing the whole thing to the quilt.   Ultimately, I will cut away as much of the over-seamed area underneath as possible.

This was not exactly simple, but do-able.  Without the center sewed together the quilt was a bit unstable so that had to be tackled first.  I cut away about 1/2 inch of the spaghetti so I could see what I was doing.  I unglued the center seam allowances (see above) and ironed them open.  That helped the center to lay a little flatter.  Then I pinned six straight strips of fabric across the center to temporarily stabilize it so I could measure the center of the quilt east to west and north to south.  It came out the same!!!  Now it was time to make the star.

TIP:  It is imperative to stay on top of the quilt measurements or you will have difficulty when it comes time to apply the border(s).  It was especially important here because there was real risk of the center going wonky.

Four pieces for a star.

I used one of the above points to cut two pieces of freezer paper ironed shiny sides together as a guide for pressing back seam allowances.  Then I cut the fabric, starched and ironed the seam allowance around the sharp pointed sides of the pattern.  I stitched the four pieces together to hold the center solid.  Next I hand appliquéd the spiral to the center of the star.  I laid the quilt back on the table, measured again, removed the pinned, stabilizing strips, and glued the star in place.

Appliquéing was the easy part.  I did the hand sewing with Kimono silk thread.  I had never used silk for appliqué and I LOVE it.  It is strong, thin and melts into the fabric invisibly.  Hurray!  Very happy.

Here is a graphic of what the center was supposed to look like:

Illustrator version.  Four point star

Here is a photo of the  new center with the appliqué completed:

Red marker is appliqué.  Green marker is the star that is part of the pieced quilt top.
Eight point star.
(click to enlarge)

See how the appliqué points line up over the teensy points?  The worst of the spaghetti is underneath and will be cut away.  Not only did this solution fix the problem, but I really like the way it looks!

Sew a happy seam this week.  I wish you successful solutions to your problems.

Appliqué Problem and Solutions

Here is the promised post on why I had to briefly quit work on the Phoenix.

I recently finished an art quilt with lots of complex design in it.  In the center is a Mariner's Compass among other things.  In each corner around the center is a complex baroque-style appliqué reminiscent of the intricate designs of the Middle East.  I applied the appliqué with gold, metallic blanket stitch.  It looked so nice before quilting and I was very pleased.  Then I quilted the quilt with two batts - wool and cotton.  This made the quilt very heavy, but the central motifs are puffy, pretty, and fully filled.  The appliqué, on the other hand, looked rumpled and ugly to my eye.  I didn't know what I could do about it, but I put it in a show anyhow.  The judge said the appliqué was "very good," which was like getting a "B" grade.  Not too bad, but I would have preferred an "excellent."

In the quilting process I stitched around the appliqué before doing the filler design, as is recommended.  I didn't notice the buckling until later after blocking the quilt, and I almost cried. My beautiful appliqué didn't look so beautiful anymore.  What to do?  Before I tell you what I did I will explain what I might have done early in the process, or rather what I will think about doing next time.

Rumpled Appliqué

*I like the double batting everywhere except the corners.  I could have cut away the wool under the corners only.  I am sure the appliqué would have laid flatter and the corners would have receded behind the other motifs.  It might have been a nice effect.

*Trapunto?  The appliqué is probably wrinkled because the dense background fill squeezed the unquilted fabric.  I don't know that trapunto would work since the extra batting would have to push up from behind the background fabric into the appliqué motifs.

*I could have cut away the blue fabric from behind the appliqué leaving a narrow seam on all those curves before layering the sandwich so the batting could push up and fill the motifs.  This would be dicey since I did not secure the appliqué with a straight stitch before doing the blanket stitch so the narrow seam might not be dependable.

*I could have secured the appliqué first with a straight stitch, which I have never done before.  I don't know how it would look.  Worth testing!

*I could have finished the appliqué with satin stitch and then cut away the back.  My old machine had a poor satin stitch so I would not have attempted it then.  My new machine does a beautiful one so I am ready to learn how to do it well.

I finally came up with two reasonably viable options:

*I thought of machine quilting narrow echo lines inside the appliqué.  How's that for insane?  I was afraid to do that with my brand new machine because I have not done enough free motion quilting on it to know its idiosyncrasies, especially the touch of the foot pedal.  Uneven stitches would be very noticeable.

*I finally decided to hand stitch tiny, gold seed beads all over the appliqué, 1/4 inch apart.  Once I found the beads and bought needles I used a slightly off-white Bottom Line thread and spent 27 hours sewing on tiny, little beads.  The beads evened out the fullness into a more uniform look.  In addition, the gold beads make it sparkle.  They are not noticeable from a distance, but they are very obvious and attractive up close.   The appliqué metamorphosed from a rumply, bumply error into carefully embellished,  planned texture.  I am sooooooo happy!

Beaded appliqué - click to see large.

TIP:  You may dread the extra work, but going that extra mile is usually worth it.

The judge also noted that some of my border lines (there are several) were not straight to her satisfaction, so after the beading was done, I soaked the quilt and re-blocked it.  Every line in the quilt has been pinned into absolutely straight submission (it didn't take much!).  Live and learn.  Tomorrow the pins come out.  I have applied to another show and will hear in a few weeks if this quilt gets juried in.

TIP:  The judges' comments are not meant to hurt.  Take them to heart and learn to make better quilts. I have learned how to improve and enhance my work by showing my quilts.  Try it!  You don't have to start big - try your local quilt guild show or the county fair.

Sew a happy seam this week.

Egyptian Tent Makers

The Egyptian Tent Makers are from a family that has decorated tents in the middle east for generations.  Around the Mediterranean Sea almost every surface is intensely decorated with intricate designs and many colors.  The tent makers carried this tradition to fabric and they made tents that were exquisite works of art.  Today they use the same techniques to make decorative wall hangings and they are amazing.  See their website for more information about them.

The base fabric they use is heavy and thick, like for tents.  I am sure the book they are selling gives more specific information, but I passed up the opportunity to buy it so I really cannot talk about materials and techniques in detail.  Men are the artists and do all the sewing, and two of them were at the Albuquerque show working on hangings.  There were many completed examples for show and sale.

Each man had a grocery bag full of pieces of fabric.  He cut a shape or a strip with huge, tailors' scissors as he was ready to sew.  No patterns.  The only references I noted were some minimal markings on the background fabric, which somehow told him what to put where.  Using a large needle the cut pieces were appliquéd with functional stitches that were rather large compared to what we are used to seeing in our traditional quilting appliqué.  The designs are amazingly intricate, beautiful, and each one is different.  All are done by hand.

I hope you can see the stitching on this closeup

Some more examples to drool over:

It was a wonderful quilt show with lots of interesting and beautiful things to see.

Negative Space

RETRO:  Before I start this post I must refer back to my last one.  I never mentioned the value of "needle down" for FMQ.  If your machine has it, use it.  It is invaluable for keeping the quilt in place as you reposition.  Also, I didn't mention that I do all my quilting on my Viking Sapphire.  No space for a long arm machine.

TODAY:  Now for a discussion of negative Space:  What is it?  What am I supposed to do with it?  Is it important?

Negative space is a place where nothing lives.  It can be a plain block between colorful pieced blocks or it can be empty space around a central motif.  Note the quilt below.

Look at all that black around the spiral design.  It makes the spiral look a little lost.  I had finally reached the place where I was able to draw lovely feathers and all that space is heavily quilted with trapunto feathers.  I used a dark grey to stitch the feathers.  When you get up close you can see the quilting, but from a distance it might as well not be there.  The spiral itself is all done with stitch-in-the-ditch quilting.

Galaxies detail

This quilt was juried in to two quilt shows and I was quite pleased with that, but didn't win anything.  One judge dinged me for too much negative space.  The other judge found seam(s) that didn't match up.  Two lessons learned and acted upon with following quilts.

What is to be said for seams not matching?  Not much.  It takes fastidious pinning, sewing and persistence to get it right when there are several seams coming together in one place.  Next time I am going to forget the pins and glue baste.

TIP:  If you are interested creating exquisite quilts, it is important to pay attention to technique from the time you cut fabric to the time you finish the binding.  This is critical if you want to show your quilts.  If there is a mistake, the judges will find it!

As to negative space there is a lot that could have been done and my instinct kept nudging me that I needed something in those corners.  I didn't listen.  Another lesson learned!  I could have put a colorful quarter star in each corner or some sort of appliqué.  I could have quilted with a bright color of thread.  I could have (and may yet) added color to the feathers with Shiva Paintsticks.

TIP:  Pay attention to your creative muse.  It is usually right.  A creative muse is a source of knowledge reflecting an inborn sense of design, experience, vision, inspiration, technique, and external learning.  It will guide you to excellence, but only if you listen and act on what it is saying.

Off Topic:  Can you figure out how Galaxies was made?  I'll share that next week.

Satin Stitch Epiphany

I have mentioned a time or two that I do blanket stitch appliqué because my machine does not do a nice satin stitch, no matter what I do.  An epiphany occurred today while watching a U-tube tutorial and I feel really stupid.  My machine has a preset satin stitch and I never knew it!  I might have found it if I had read the manual.  You may already know about such a preset, but I was thrilled and there may be a person or two that this will help.

TIP:  Read your machine's manual.  There is a wealth of informative material there.

Before I explain the stitches it is important to know which presser foot to use.  In figure 1 you see the top of three possible options.  A and B are general feet.  C is an appliqué foot, which does not have a bar in front.  It is free of visual obstruction so you can see what is ahead of the needle and thus you can be more accurate when sewing a complicated piece.

Figure 1

Figure 2 shows the bottom of the three feet.  A is flat on the bottom.  B and C have a recessed portion in the middle, which allows thick stitching to slide under the foot easily.  These recessed feet are what you should use.  I like option C because it allows me to see and guide the work more accurately.

Figure 2

Zig Zag
We all know about the zig-zag stitch.  It has been around for years.  Shortening the stitch length will create a satin stitch (sort of), but it does not make a nice edge for appliqué.  The reason is that each stitch is taken at an angle from the previous stitch.  When I tried to shorten the stitch length to make the stitches closer together than in the photo, it gummed up under my presser foot, and I created a rat's nest on the back.

Zig-zag stitch

Satin Stitch
The satin stitch is designed and preset into some machines to create a closer, more regular stitch.  The sequence of needle placement creates a stitch that is straight across first, then at an angle for the second stitch.  I was able to shorten the stitch length by one increment, but no further.  Still, it is shorter than the zig zag and looks tons better.  The actual stitching is a scant 1/8 inch wide and looks really spiffy, although the enlarged view in the photo shows the minor imperfections, which are not noticeable in the actual stitching.

TIP:  Test before using this stitch on your fine appliqué.  Every machine is different.

When using the preset it is still possible to make adjustments to stitch length and width according to your needs and preferences.  The preset is only a starting point for the correct stitch.  My Viking machine has three presets:  narrow, medium and wide.

Have fun with this useful stitch from your lexicon of decorative options.

Learning to Quilt

By definition a quilt must have a top, a filler (batting, flannel or, as in pioneer days, an old blanket), and a backing.  The sandwich must be fastened together.  A simple option is to tie it together with thread or yarn in multiple places.  Alternatively, the layers can be hand stitched with a varying amount of complexity.  A nicely done hand quilted quilt is a beauty to behold with a quality that cannot be duplicated by a sewing machine.  Today, with the world in such a big hurry, we want to speed up the process, so machine quilting has been reluctantly accepted and is also stunning when well done.

As with anything else, there is a learning curve.  Even a baby has to learn to feed itself and the first attempts can be pretty messy.  It takes time and practice to learn to coordinate the foot pedal, hand movement, machine speed, and even the movement of your eyes.  You can and should research the process via classes and/or reading, but YOU have to experience it yourself and practice.  You must learn about thread and needles in order to rein them in to work for you without causing alarming noises from your machine or broken needles and thread. You must learn what your machine likes and dislikes, and how to adjust the tension properly.  Lots to think about.

TIP:  Practice, practice, practice.  Start with paper and pencil to develop muscle memory of a design.  Make up fabric sandwich squares and spend some time each day to develop coordination.  Mark designs and learn to follow the lines.  Learn to stitch in the ditch.  Learn to do curves then straight lines.  Learn to draw freehand with the needle.  Inundate your brain with quilting ideas and improve your performance one step at a time.

Finally, the appliqué on Hallelujah Rhapsody was done.  It took a very long time.  I quilted it with numerous filler patterns, and that took a long time too, but I believe that on this quilt I became more competent than ever before, and I turned the corner into becoming interested in doing the quilting.  I always loved the sewing, but dreaded the quilting, because it never looked good enough.  They say that the quilting should be planned in the design process as it is an integral part of the quilt.  I knew that, but didn't yet know how to even think of quilting designs that wouldn't be executed for months yet.

TIP:  Before you begin quilting you should quilt around the outside of the appliqué.  I don't remember if I knew that when I made this quilt, but it is great FMQ practice and really improves the look of the quilt.  You can do it with invisible thread if you are worried about possible imperfections.

I quilted the Hallelujah Rhapsody on the fly with different filler designs.  There was no room for anything bigger.  I had chickened out on feathers and added them as appliqué.  Was that insane or what?  I have posted this picture before, but this time note the different fillers.

I learned how to do pebbles.  They are not easy, but invite a rhythm and commit you to strive to follow previous stitching lines perfectly.  They are a great exercise for developing control of the myriad parts that must interact in the process of quilting on a machine.  Among some of the pebbles I inserted flowers.  That was fun, and they make the quilting more interesting.  You will learn to either draw freehand with the needle or follow the marked lines, depending on your personal inclination.  I stippled some.  Did you know that stippling is one of the most difficult filler designs?  You have to constantly move in many directions and this is hard for a novice.  After finishing Hallelujah Rhapsody I found myself thinking about quilting ideas as I designed my quilts rather than as an afterthought.  Definitely a step in the right direction.

TIP:  In your early attempts at quilting try a more defined pattern and leave the stippling until later.  Don't distress too much over your imperfections.  If I had done so on this quilt it would still be in the UFO (Unfinished Objects) pile.

This quilt was my first to be juried into not one, but two shows.  I learned how to enter a show!  I was most gratified to have my quilt accepted even though it didn't win anything.  The judges offered several suggestions regarding my quilting:  attention to tension, strive for even stitches, watch starts and stops.  These comments were not unexpected as I was still very much a novice quilter so I worked on the areas in which I was judged deficient.

TIP:  Don't be discouraged by feedback such as this.  Just work on getting better.  The judges aren't mean, but they are very experienced, and I have found that even their negative findings are couched in positive terms on the evaluation.  Remember that you have achieved some level of competence to be juried into a show.  Very exciting!

Hallelujah Rhapsody

I was planning to show the finished quilt after I explained the rest of the steps that went to complete it.  However, I came across an online Quilt Festival that requires a post showing a finished quilt.  It is at Amy's Creative Side and the entry deadline is May 23.  It sounded like a fun activity so here is my entry.

I learned how to make this quilt from reading Ricky Tims' "Rhapsody Quilts."  I learned new techniques and feel that I am a better quilt maker for the experience.  It has certainly opened up new avenues for designing quilts because I now know how I can sew ideas that once would have seemed impossible.  I used to look at quilts with strange seams and appliqué and wonder how on earth they were made.

TIP:  Challenge yourself.  You'll be surprised what you can do.

Hallelujah Rhapsody

I named it "Hallelujah Rhapsody" because that is how I felt when I finished it.  It was a lot of work, but I enjoy challenge and complexity.

I made the label from a photo of the quilt (address removed):

This quilt was the first one I ever entered into a show.  It didn't win anything and I will tell you why in another post, but it did get juried in.  That is a major first step toward winning something.

TIP:  Don't be afraid to enter a show.  The only thing you can lose is the entry fee, and if you are not juried in take some classes, make some more quilts and improve the quality of your sewing.  Practice.  When you are juried in, it is exciting to see your quilt hanging in the show, and the judges' comments are invaluable.  My competence and confidence were both given a boost when I began to show my quilts.

Today you see the finished product, but I still plan to write a post on sewing the appliqué and another on blocking quilts because those topics are both relevant to this quilt.

Appliqué to Background

Appliqué can be applied several ways.  It can be sewed on by hand (needle turned), and within that category there are tricks using freezer paper, starch or glue.  The fabric can be fused or glued to the background and the edges sewn down with the machine.  Satin stitch done with a tight zigzag is common and looks lovely when done well.  There are many special stitches on machines today that can be used. 

TIP:  Experiment with the fancy stitches on your machine.  They work best with stabilizer under the fabric.

My favorite method is to use a fusible material, iron the appliqué to the background, and sew it down with a machine blanket stitch.  I trace all my appliqué pieces onto Soft Fuse IN REVERSE.  It stays soft.  It has paper on only one side, and that paper stays on until you want to take it off.  It is easy to pull off when you are ready.

First the designs are drawn IN REVERSE on the paper side of the fusible material.   If you are using fusible with two paper sides, read the directions for which side to use.

TIP:  I often squeeze all the designs that will be made from the same fabric together about ¼-½ inch apart so there is little waste, and iron the whole bunch to one piece of fabric without cutting the fusible apart first.  You don’t have to worry about grain on the appliqué.

TIP:  Did you get that?  The designs must be drawn on the paper of the fusible IN REVERSE of how you want them on the quilt.  A new habit to develop! 

Now I sit down with an audio book in the player and carefully cut out all the pieces.  Watching TV is OK too.  I like to get all of the cutting done first to get it out of the way.  What I really want to do is sew and I don’t care to stop in between to cut.

TIP:  I find it helpful to put all the cut appliqué for one background shape into an envelope, label it and put it, the original tracing paper drawings, and the background piece into a folder...one folder for each background shape and its appliqués.  Everything is labeled of course.  It is nice to be able to find it all together when I am ready to work on that part.

Finally, I tear the paper off, lay the appliqué in its predetermined spot and iron it to the background according to the directions of the fusible material.

TIP:  Is it hard to get the paper off before ironing to the fabric?  Use a pin to lightly score the paper in the center of the appliqué piece.  The paper will pop up and is easily grabbed.

TIP:  Use a heat resistant ironing sheet over the appliqué.  It will protect your iron from any AWOL fusible goo.

MAJOR BIG TIP:  reverse (design) + wrong (side fabric) = RIGHT.  Two negatives make a positive! In this case two wrongs make right.  

Why am I do adamant about reversing the design on fusible?  I made a whole quilt backwards one time.  That's why!